The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

When Jia Jue woke up the next day, he was still in the Land of Illusion.

He seemed to have forgotten his identity, retaining only a person's most primal longing for love.

Therefore, he and Fairy Jinghuan have been inseparable these past few days.

Just like how Baoyu was inseparable from Keqing.

In this dreamlike fairyland, he lost track of time, lost only in his entanglement with Fairy Jinghuan.

Finally, on this day, he saw a Yaksha.

This yaksha was ugly and had a ferocious face. He held a three-edged steel fork in his hand, and his dark blue skin gleamed with a cold light.

He asked Jia Jue, "How did you get into the Land of Illusion?"

Jia Jue replied, "I don't know either. Maybe it just happened the moment I opened and closed my eyes."

Yaksha burst into laughter as if he had heard a joke.

"You brat, you're always talking big! What kind of place is the Illusionary Realm? It's not something you can enter so easily!"

Jia Jue asked him, "Then how do I get in?"

Yaksha said, "How would I know how you should enter? I only know that without Fairy Jinghuan's permission, outsiders cannot enter!"

"The Fairy Disenchantment?" Jia Jue exclaimed with delight, "Isn't this her?"

"Kid, you're really good at talking nonsense! Look around, where did this Fairy Disenchantment come from?"

Upon hearing the sound, Jia Jue turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw only an empty space around him; there was no sign of Fairy Jinghuan.

Before Jia Jue could think any further, the yaksha had already raised its steel fork and lunged straight at Jia Jue.

Jia Jue was not some weak scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken; on the contrary, he had some strength and skill.

Therefore, when he encountered a Yaksha attacking him, he did not turn and run like his brother. Instead, he faced the challenge head-on and fought with the ferocious Yaksha.

The Yaksha was also caught off guard by Jia Jue.

He had assumed that a mere mortal like Jia Jue would be too intimidated to face him and would turn and run away, but to his surprise, Jia Jue launched an attack on him.

Caught off guard, he was punched hard in the face by Jia Jue and kicked hard in the waist by Jia Jue.

"Ouch!"

He cried out in pain.

Along with the pain came boundless rage within him.

To think that Yaksha, once a guard of the Dragon Palace, was later valued by the immortals and transferred to guard the gates of the Illusionary Realm, was actually injured by a mere mortal today!

Isn't this the most humiliating and ridiculous thing in the world?!

So he decided to torture this mortal man before him mercilessly.

He decided to use magic.

Although this Yaksha was not a powerful immortal, he had still shed his mortal form and entered the ranks of immortals, so he possessed some special skills.

So after Jia Jue punched and kicked him, he immediately made hand seals and chanted incantations. Then he saw his body suddenly change, transforming from a hideous and ugly yaksha into a five-zhang-tall giant with green skin and black eyes.

Looking at the giant, Jia Jue knew he was doomed to lose.

So he turned and ran.

This was something Yaksha had never expected.

He had assumed that Jia Jue would continue to fight him to the bitter end, but to his surprise, this once-imposing mortal turned and ran away.

He froze for a moment.

But the anger that followed made him quickly lift his legs and chase after Jia Jue.

-

Jia Jue runs very fast, jumps very high, and is very agile.

So he deliberately chose to travel through dense forests and treacherous paths. That yaksha was too clumsy and could not catch up with him in such places no matter what.

That Yaksha clearly understood this as well.

So his already ferocious expression became even more ferocious and terrifying.

The yaksha howled and cried out, its voice loud and penetrating, the sound waves traveling for miles, startling the birds in the forest and making Jia Jue's ears ache.

By this time, Jia Jue had long since given up hope on Fairy Jinghuan and the others.

He had already guessed that this Yaksha was probably acting on the orders of Fairy Jinghuan, and that his purpose was to get him back to the human world.

Knowing this is one thing, but who knows what would happen if this Yaksha hit me?

So Jia Jue still ran as fast as he could.

But after a while, he realized something was wrong.

He realized that the demon behind him was intentionally leading him in a fixed direction.

No matter whether he deviates slightly to the left or right, the demon will suddenly accelerate, forcing him to return to his original direction.

Jia Jue guessed that if they continued running in this direction, the end might be the place where they would return to the human world.

-

He finally reached the end of the road.

This is a coastline.

Before me lay a dark, treacherous sea.

Jia Jue was not unfamiliar with the ocean; in his previous life, he had seen it many times.

But the sea I saw back then was either blue-green or at least clear.

But the ocean before me was clearly a thick, black color.

The sheer blackness made Jia Jue feel nauseous.

The Yaksha behind them had also arrived.

The Yaksha has returned to its original form, its body shrinking from five zhang to three zhang.

It's still very tall.

Yaksha said proudly to Jia Jue, "Boy, you have nowhere left to retreat!"

Jia Jue looked at the Yaksha's hideous and ugly face and asked, "What kind of sea is this?"

Yaksha was taken aback that he would have the leisure to ask him such a question at a time like this. He paused for a moment, but still said, "This is the Sea of ​​Bitterness."

"sea of ​​bitterness?"

Jia Jue asked him.

"Naturally, this is the Sea of ​​Bitterness," the Yaksha said. "The Sea of ​​Bitterness is boundless, therefore it has no limits; yet the Sea of ​​Bitterness has limits, therefore there are boats and oars."

Jia Jue looked back and indeed saw a small boat drifting on the murky, dark sea.

"Who are the people on the boat?" Jia Jue asked him.

"On the boat is the Great Bodhisattva of Clay," the Yaksha replied. "The Great Bodhisattva of Clay has great perseverance, and thus he ferries suffering beings across the sea of ​​suffering."

"Can even a clay Buddha fall into a sea of ​​suffering?" Jia Jue asked.

"I don't know," Yaksha replied. "I've never seen it, and perhaps not."

"Have you ever heard of a Chinese proverb?" Jia Jue asked.

"What proverb?"

"A clay bodhisattva crossing a river—barely able to save itself."

Jia Jue smiled slightly.

"You shouldn't speak of the Great Master like that." Suddenly, the Yaksha's expression changed, becoming one of sympathy and compassion. Such an expression appearing on such a ferocious and ugly face, Jia Jue actually felt a sense of holiness.

"The Bodhisattva is a person of great perseverance, great compassion, and great transcendence. Even though he may not be able to save himself in the sea of ​​suffering, he still saves millions of sentient beings. His spirit and perseverance are what we ordinary people should aspire to."

As the two were talking, the small boat gracefully arrived.

Jia Jue looked into the boat and indeed saw a clay Bodhisattva statue standing inside.

"Have you left?"

The Bodhisattva statue spoke.