The pond was calm, but there was a tsunami in his heart.
He was extremely shocked.
Nothing like this had ever happened in his career of theft.
That year, Shi Yanxin was 24 years old and Shui Yanzi was 18 years old, and they fell in love.
The master entered the crematorium, and a wisp of green smoke was burned. A bird happened to fly over the chimney, over the master's body that no longer existed. The door was locked, the cat was missing, and only a grape tree was left in the yard. At this time, autumn was in full swing, frost dyed the yellow leaves, insects chirped in the grass, and crystal dewdrops hung on the grapes. Shi Yanxin and Shui Yanzi picked a grape and put it in their mouths, sour and sweet with a cool taste.
They left Hetang Village and rented a house in the county town. Instead of stealing, they took a driving test at a driving school.
Shuiyanzi said, "Brother Yi, if we learn how to drive, we can steal cars and make a lot of money."
Shi Yanxin said: "Yan'er, I want to drive you around the country."
The second part of the course at that time was different from today's, which included driving around a discus and crossing a single-sided bridge. Today's second part is to practice reversing into a garage, turning at right angles, driving on a curve, starting on a ramp, and parallel parking. Three months later, both of them got their driver's licenses and learned driving skills.
In winter, when the first snow fell, their rental house was close to the street. A large coal truck was parked on the side of the road, and the driver was drunk in the restaurant.
Water Swallow said: "Brother, let's buy some coal, it's so cold."
Shi Yanxin said: "No need to buy coal, I will take you to a docile place."
They stole the big truck, drove 500 kilometers in one night, and sold the coal in an unfamiliar city.
At that time, the highway monitoring facilities were not perfect. You could drive a stolen car smoothly by simply changing the license plate. Even if you encountered a traffic police, they would not be able to verify the authenticity online. As long as you paid the fine automatically, you would be allowed to pass.
Let’s go south together, the south is not cold.
There are many distribution stations along the national highway. They don’t care what goods you give them, as long as they go south.
They live as they please, freely and at ease, never losing their way, just enjoying the time on the road.
Some people say that one of the body and soul must be on the road.
The two people used the car as their home and lived and died in a hurry . They modified the car, isolated a space, put a bed, a table and a folding stool, put in pots and pans, firewood, rice, oil and salt. It could be used for living and for transporting goods. It became their RV, a home they stole.
They drove a big truck, traveled together, and stole together.
In Wuhan, they went to the movies and specifically stole the belongings of the audience in the front row. During a movie show, they could steal several gold necklaces and more than a dozen wallets without anyone noticing.
In Changsha and Guilin, they robbed several mobile phone stores at night. At that time, there were no smart touch-screen phones. The more popular mobile phones were flip-cover, slide-cover, and candy-bar phones. They filled several plastic bags with such phones.
In Chaohu, Anhui, they moved into a villa by the lake and stayed there for three nights. The owner of the villa was working in another city and the house was idle, so they ate, slept, and watched TV in it while lying on the sofa.
Shuiyanzi said: "In the future, we will also buy a house like this."
Shi Yanxin said: "It won't work just by stealing phones and wallets."
Water Swallow said: "What should we do then?"
Shi Yanxin said: "You can steal the money of corrupt officials. They don't dare to deposit their money in banks, so they hide it in their offices and homes."
Shuiyanzi said: "When we have enough money to buy a villa, we will get married!"
Shi Yanxin said, "Okay."
Although it was someone else's home, Shui Yanzi was reluctant to leave. She made the bed, washed the pots and bowls, and mopped the floor of the villa. This had nothing to do with quality, but probably stemmed from a woman's yearning for marriage. Shi Yanxin and Shui Yanzi accidentally met a fellow villager in Liuzhou and asked about some things in the village.
Whose family built a new house, whose son went to jail, whose family stole a priceless piece of jade.
The father of the village chief in the thief cloak passed away. No one cared about him. He wandered around the county town all day, hanging out with a group of ruffians.
Shi Yanxin and Shui Yanzi continued to head south to Guangxi. On the way, they stopped their truck on the side of the road and went to a small restaurant to eat. A group of oil thieves drove a van and tried to drain the oil from the truck's tank under the cover of darkness.
Sometimes, people will see truck drivers hanging rope beds on the carriage and the front of the truck and lying on them to rest. In fact, this is also to protect the fuel tank and prevent theft.
Shi Yanxin was furious. He had traveled far and wide and stolen all over the country, but this time he actually ran into a few petty thieves who dared to target him.
Shi Yanxin and Shui Yanzi immediately chased after the oil thieves. The truck overturned the van, and one of the oil thieves was killed and another was injured.
This traffic accident became a turning point in their fate. The police arrested Shui Yanzi, and Shi Yanxin ran away in confusion. Under the threat of electric batons, Shui Yanzi confessed all the facts of the crime, including how they stole the car, committed theft together, and how they killed someone.
The interrogating police officer said: "Do you want to make meritorious service? We can reduce your sentence and give you a few years less."
Water Swallow asked: "How can we achieve merit?"
The interrogating police officer said: "Your partner ran away, help us catch him."
Water Swallow said: "I don't want to, I hope he runs away."
The interrogating police officer said: "If you were to take on these crimes alone, you might be sentenced to more than ten years, or even life imprisonment."
Shui Yanzi helped the police to trap Shi Yanxin. The two sat in the same police car, without saying a word, and didn't even look at each other. The two people who once loved each other became strangers in an instant. The passion of love feeds the cold wind, and the indifference of hatred cultivates evil spirits.
A few years later, Shi Yanxin was released from prison. He came to a crossroads, not knowing where to go. After thinking for a while, he headed west.
People always have to make wrong choices before they can find the exact direction.
He was penniless and started stealing again. In a hospital, he stole someone's medical money. The man committed suicide in despair and jumped from the building. He looked at the bloody corpse in front of him and felt regretful, but it was fleeting. He then felt that life was impermanent and it was difficult to determine whether to be sad or happy. From then on, he changed to a vegetarian and felt sick when he saw meat.
He put down his late-night drinking and got used to the early-morning porridge.
Shi Yanxin has been to Tibet and even as far as India, and read a lot of books along the way. Sometimes, he would think of Shui Yanzi. At first, he hated Shui Yanzi for betraying him and helping the police to trap him, but later he let go of this relationship. Shui Yanzi had been released from prison at that time and continued her career of stealing, specializing in stealing from officials' offices. Her only wish was to save money to buy a big house.
He goes with the flow, wanders aimlessly, stops when he wants to, leaves when he wants to.
When the wind and sand come, just walk into it.
When it snows heavily, stand in the snow.
Shi Yanxin visited many famous mountains and rivers, and stole when he had no money. One day, he got lost in the mountains, found a temple at night, sneaked into the main hall, and wanted to steal the money in the merit box, but was caught by the night watch monk. He thought he would be beaten and sent to the police station, but unexpectedly, the abbot of the temple released him.
The night watchman said, "He wanted to steal our money, so we just let him go?"
The abbot was a kind-looking old monk. He asked, "Is this money really ours?"
The night watchman hesitated, not knowing how to answer.
The abbot said: "This money comes from sentient beings, and he is one of them."
Shi Yanxin was in great embarrassment and turned around to leave.
The abbot said, "Donor, you forgot to take your money with you."
The abbot pointed to the donation box.
Shi Yanxin turned around and looked at the abbot with a somewhat violent look in his eyes, and shouted in a rough voice: "What do you mean? Do you know who I am? I am a thief. I have stolen cars, wallets, cell phones, and all kinds of things. I have also been to prison. Who knows, I may have killed someone."
The abbot said, "Donor, I don't know who you are. I only know that you are tired and hungry. This money can allow you to eat and find a hotel to sleep. That's enough."
Shi Yanxin said: "I am a thief. You caught me, but not only did you not beat me, you also wanted me to take the money away?"
The abbot said, "The money is yours too. You can come and take it anytime." After saying that, the old monk turned and walked away, leaving him alone. After all, thieves also have a sense of shame, and they were too embarrassed to openly take out the money from the merit box in front of everyone.
He took out the money in a huff, put it in his arms, and walked out of the hall.
There is a pond outside the temple, with lotus flowers in bloom. Dewdrops are condensed in the middle of each leaf, and there is a bright moon in each dewdrop.
He lowered his head and saw all this.
The pond was calm, but there was a tsunami in his heart.
He was extremely shocked, as nothing like this had ever happened to him in his career of theft.
He came here because he was lost and left in a daze.
Every lotus in this world blooms where it should.
Everyone in this world appears where he must appear.
In a small town at the foot of the mountain, Shi Yanxin was getting a haircut in a barber shop. The barber asked him what hairstyle he wanted.
Shi Yanxin said: "Shave your head, it will be cooler."
There was a wooden table in front of the mirror in the barber shop, on which were placed scissors, combs, sponges, hair dryers, and an old radio. He tied an apron on his head and looked at himself in the mirror. The barber shaved his hair little by little, and a song was playing on the radio – "Freedom" by Huang Siting.
Lost in fame and fortune, suspense for fortune and luck
Like a fog covering you
A person with rare thoughts and calm mind
Like a spring rain moistening the lotus
Life is like falling flowers and flowing water
Those who are busy with business
The bright colors of the heart watch the changes in the world
The blooming blossoms are sublimated
Ah…ah…
…
Om Mani Padme Hum Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum Om Mani Padme Hum
…
A Buddhist song gave him an epiphany. The sound of the temple bell rang in the distance. He went up the mountain to become a monk and the abbot gave him the Buddhist name Yanxin.