Hungry Ghost (Wei Dan Sheng)

She was crying.

Her tears were not many, yet the young woman before him clearly showed panic and helplessness.

Wei Dan Sheng's fingertip lightly brushed the surface of the cup; his breath slowed for a moment, his face still devoid of obvious emotional fluctuations.

In truth, from the very beginning, he had paid no mind to this so-called "Young Master Gao."

A person who frequently appeared before him, believing herself to be perfectly disguised, yet was in fact utterly clumsy and full of flaws.

Because he paid no mind, Wei Dan Sheng had no interest in wasting time on her.

He rarely loved or hated anyone. Most people in his eyes were merely like grass and trees; very few could truly stir his love or hatred.

As for Wu Huai Fei, to him, she was a special existence.

Wei Dan Sheng still remembered the first time he met Wu Huai Fei.

It was at Ren An Pharmacy at the foot of the mountain.

She looked beautiful.

This was his feeling when he first saw her stepping into the pharmacy.

Wu Huai Fei's appearance, even in the imperial capital where beauties were as numerous as clouds, was in no way inferior; on the contrary, she possessed a unique sweet and rustic charm.

Unadorned, bare-faced, wearing a short green dress, her slender, fair neck faintly visible beneath the green silk, her robe and sleeves seemed to carry the scent of medicine.

She was truly like a transparent jadeite, making people forget vulgarity upon sight.

Her words were gentle, and she busily diagnosed patients, paying no attention to him.

Wei Dan Sheng couldn't help but be surprised by his sudden fondness.

Immediately, he felt astonished and bewildered.

Perhaps he liked her.

Not love.

But a slight fondness.

He did not resist this feeling; on the contrary, he was very curious.

Wu Huai Fei was like a white camellia. "Its flowering period is not as fragrant as others. Camellias must bloom first."

Resilient against winter and tough.

When he saw her, he felt very happy.

He was like someone tending a camellia tree, deliberately nurturing her, using his connections to introduce her, helping her carve out a niche in this imperial capital.

When a storm raged at night, he would worry whether that delicate camellia blossom would be battered by the wind and rain.

He would not allow others to climb or break the branches of this camellia; he wanted her to bloom quietly before him.

However, Gao Qian appeared.

Immediately after, came this person called "Young Master Gao."

Originally, he had never paid attention to her, because he truly didn't care about anything she did.

But then, he found her an eyesore.

She had inadvertently disturbed him and his flower.

Moreover, she had hurt the flower he meticulously cared for.

He had always detested those who did not know their place.

Just like that mountain bandit before.

After becoming a disciple of Zen Master Shan, he no longer took lives and found another way to release his desires.

In the temple, devotees often knelt before Buddha, imploring Bodhisattvas for mercy. He would expound the Dharma to them, listening to them pour out their inner suffering.

Death was death, after all; no one could make it lively and interesting.

Compared to watching those beasts, Wei Dan Sheng preferred to observe the suffering of others.

He looked down from his high perch upon their pain, outwardly compassionate, offering solace and comfort, but in reality, his heart held a cold mockery, deriding them for being obsessed with these so-called afflictions.

Wei Zong Lin had given him a pleasing appearance, which made people feel very amiable towards him upon first meeting.

If they knew that this compassionate monk before them actually trembled with joy at their pain, they would probably be terrified to faint.

This was even more captivating to him than killing; they needed his help to be liberated.

He felt like the Buddha expounding under the Bodhi tree.

Except, he was a hungry ghost disguised as a Buddha.

The scriptures once said that the throats of hungry ghosts were as narrow as needle holes, swallowing food like fiery coals, their bellies burning like fire.

He was like a starving hungry ghost, greedily absorbing the pain of others.

Birth, old age, sickness, death, meeting with what one hates, separation from what one loves, not getting what one desires.

These sufferings seemed to have become his motivation for living; seeing others in pain made him happy.

Sometimes, he would also think of that mountain bandit.

Although he had personally killed that mountain bandit, it seemed to have left an indelible mark on him.

Wei Dan Sheng often wondered.

When that man pitied him before, did he harbor a similar mentality to his own now?

This so-called "Young Master Gao" reminded him of that mountain bandit.

Wei Dan Sheng looked at her without speaking.

Clearly, their appearances bore no resemblance, yet why did she repeatedly give him such a familiar feeling?

So much so that when he saw her cry, when he saw her distressed appearance, his once unruffled heart surged with towering waves, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

She wore a black robe, unlike other delicate and graceful women, but rather like a newly sprouted willow branch.

Slender and upright.

Tears washed away her makeup, revealing a glimpse of her original appearance, several shades gentler and more refined than her male guise.

At this moment, illuminated by candlelight, she looked more like a man than a woman, with a handsome androgynous beauty.

Now her eye sockets were red, her expression utterly distraught.

The more she suffered, the happier he became.

A joy from the depths of his heart made him tremble.

He excitedly bit down on his teeth in secret, as if greedily savoring some delicacy.

The young woman before him took a long breath, as if forcing herself to regain composure. "I fear Junior Master will laugh at me, but in this Gao family, I truly hold no significant status."

He listened as she recounted her background. She continued, "At home, I have no friends with whom I can confide, so I wished to use my paternal grandmother's birthday as an excuse to come to Kongshan Temple to seek tranquility."

How pitiful.

He thought pityingly, but instead of feeling sympathy, he felt more excited.

It was still not enough; he wanted to see more.

Strangely, it had been a long time since he felt such happiness. Even when he had redeemed those beasts before, it had not made him this happy.

This feeling only appeared when he personally killed that mountain bandit.

He lowered his eyes, concealing the excited glint within them, almost with a twisted thought, saying, "A monastery is not a place to escape worldly affairs. In this world, there are countless people who fare worse than you, Lady. For you to return to the Gao family and reunite with your kin is a blessing others cannot seek in a lifetime."

"Speaking of which, Lady, you are still young; it is nothing."

He stood up, walked to the low cabinet in the corner, and pulled open a drawer.

Inside the drawer were shortbread cookies, four or five boxes in total, neatly arranged.

He handed her one of the boxes, deliberately choosing the most hurtful words, and sighed gently but cruelly, "Do not be so willful, Lady Gao. I have said all I can today. I respectfully ask Lady to descend the mountain and return home."

As he handed her the box of shortbread cookies, his fingertips brushed against her cold fingers. Wei Dan Sheng's fingertips twitched slightly, and his breathing suddenly became heavy.

A tingling, numb sensation gradually rose in his heart.

This was not a stir of emotion, but a contradictory desire.

Was this slender figure as fragile as a tender willow branch?

Like the weak kitten that had died in his hands.

He wanted to see a little more, a little more of her suffering.

His heart pounded in his chest, his mouth dry.

Wei Dan Sheng eagerly licked the corners of his lips.

He suddenly no longer hated her.

In fact, he liked her very much, immensely.

This had nothing to do with love.