《天堂旅館》長篇奇幻愛情小說

【三十四】咒語解方原來很簡單

黃立華風塵僕僕回到瑞士，隨即前往銀行匯出一筆現金。隨後，回到天堂旅館，總管威爾森見黃立華孤身回來，就知道他沒達成公主交付的任務。
威爾森提醒說︰「立華，公主在城堡等你喔。」
「等我放下行李，稍作休息，就進城堡晉見公主。」黃立華說完，提著行李箱，往樓梯走去。

黃立華進到天空城堡，瑪莉亞已在大廳等他。公主身旁站著龍騎士和大法師魯夫。
立華來到台階下，拱手說︰「公主，此行未能達成任務，我辦事不力，請公主責罰。」
公主聞聲轉過身來，平靜地說︰「我知道你已盡力，連你都勸不回來他們夫妻，可見我的確深深傷害了大衛的心。」
立華聽出公主話中的自責，心裡反而踏實些。可魯夫不出意料說︰「大衛和愛琳夫妻不願回來，其中想必有些隱情，我願意專程跑一趟，力勸他們夫妻倆回來，為公主效力。」
龍騎士卻不看好，提醒說︰「大法師，雖然你法力高強，可大衛和愛琳夫妻早已今非昔比，你想使用蠻力硬來，恐怕討不到便宜喔！」
魯夫苦笑說︰「我當然不會對大衛夫妻硬來，我自知我的本事抵不過大衛，不過，如果我出馬還是不能勸他倆回頭，公主就可以考慮使用…」
還沒等魯夫說完，瑪莉亞就揮手示意，魯夫識趣地立即住口。
「我不會這樣對待大衛，他的前世已經還給我父王一條命，這輩子又幫我除去安德森，我不會也不忍心再傷害他了。」公主說著，眼眶不禁泛起淚光。
黃立華看到此情景，心中那顆石頭悄悄落地，暗想︰「原來，咒語的解方，就是”不忍心”這三個字，公主果然是個重情義的女中豪傑。」
魯夫嘆氣說︰「唉…既然公主無意使出撒手鐧，那麼就算我找到大衛夫妻，也只能苦口婆心勸他們小倆口了，而我的苦勸很可能徒勞無功。」
公主說︰「你還是去跑一趟吧﹖魯夫法師，幫我面交一封親筆信給大衛。」
魯夫說︰「好的，希望此行能幫公主了卻一樁心事。」
公主向黃立華招手說︰「畫師，你通華語，我想請你到書房，幫我寫那封書信。」
黃立華拱手說︰「請公主起駕，我隨行。」
公主揮手說︰「各位退下休息。」魯夫和龍騎士，隨即拱手，轉身離開大廳。
主僕兩人一前一後，兩個內侍隨行在後，進到公主書房。
圓形白色大理石牆面，一面及腰的彩繪玻璃窗，面向庭院花園。牆面上一整片環形書架，整齊擺放著許多典籍。牆角擺設一架象牙材質的豎琴，窗口下一套鑲嵌紫水晶的橢圓形書桌和長條椅，桌面上擺著兩本東方的佛經。侍者搬來一張長腳椅，黃立華一眼瞥見桌上兩本華文佛經《金剛經》和《楞嚴經》，心想︰「公主竟然也會主動研讀東方佛教經典，難怪她見識過人。」
公主拿起桌面上那本《楞嚴經》，裡面每一段都有翻譯文，翻開到摺頁，指著其中畫記號的一段說︰「畫師，請幫我謄寫這段華語經文。」
黃立華接過佛經，定神看著這段經文和翻譯文︰「汝負我命。我還汝債。以是因緣。經百千劫。常在生死。汝愛我心。我憐汝色。以是因緣。經百千劫。常在纏縛。以是因緣。業果相續。」
"You carry my destiny. I still owe you a debt. Thus, through countless eons, we remain entangled in the cycle of life and death. Your love is in my heart, and I have compassion for your form. Through countless eons, we continue to be bound by this karmic connection. As a result, the cycle of karma and its consequences persists."
侍者隨即備妥絹紙和鵝毛筆，攤平在桌面上。黃立華調勻氣息，開始謄寫，內心卻忍不住思緒翻湧︰「原來，公主的心裡如此苦楚，她何嘗不想要大衛陪伴，喔…！公主心裡只愛著曉陽一人…」。
謄寫完這段經文，公主取出一面手絹說︰「畫師，這首詩是我寫給大衛的詩，請陳約翰神父翻譯成華語，就附在這封信裡，一道交給魯夫法師。」

《相知此生》

但曾相見便相知，相見何如不見時。安得與君相訣絕，免教生死作相思。－「情僧」倉央嘉措

紅塵滾滾，人海蒼茫的世間
原以為此生一旦跨入空門
斷情去欲無悲無喜
刪節號的後面就該是一片留白
直到和你相遇，才驚覺
你是我後半生，無從迴避的習題

山谷間，我是徘迴困頓的晚雲
你是那抹陽光，撥開我晦暗的心房
照亮整片山谷，晨鐘悠然響起
迴音來回敲響山壁，我是毬果
懸掛在松枝枒上，被你摘取、開解
掏出這一生情愛的松子
你溫柔地呵護著，說要陪伴我
如陽光雨露，等待我回心轉意
甦醒過來，讓所剩下的後半生
吐出嫩綠的青芽，結出智慧正果

天若有情，我該相信輪迴嗎？
相信你，來渡我到智慧彼岸
曾顧慮多情有損梵行
其實，我何其有幸和妳相知
萬水千山，攜手結伴同行
「不負如來不負卿」
我終於開悟，當真無情無愛
這一生的修行，肯定不見如來

黃立華一句句讀完這首詩，深刻感受到瑪莉亞公主，對大衛那份深情執愛，竟然穿透前世今生，眼裡禁不住泛出閃閃淚光，為這對有情無緣的男女被造化作弄，深深動容不已。

大法師魯夫懷著公主的親筆信，風塵僕僕來到台灣。從大城市到小鄉村，從海邊到深山，易容後的魯夫一直沒有感受到大衛的磁場，即使面積不大的台灣島，想找到這對夫妻談何容易？站在淡水金色水岸的魯夫，呆望著河面那端被烏雲遮掩大半的觀音山，心想︰「人海茫茫，要找到林曉陽夫妻，恐怕只能碰運氣了。」

這時，在澎湖的無人島港灣裡，停泊一艘小遊艇，甲板上曉陽夫妻忙著把剖洗過的魚掛到網繩。這些曝曬後的魚乾，適合長期保存，正是他們的口糧。
「敏華，遠離塵囂的生活，妳還習慣嗎？」
「很好啊！每天有不同的海味佐餐，有海鳥相伴，閒下來時就作畫寫生，這樣的日子我沒有什麼好抱怨的。」
「跟著我浪跡天涯海角，真的委屈妳。」
敏華微笑說︰「我不覺得委屈啊！有你相伴，天涯海角處處都是樂園。」

~~(The End)~~~

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Spell’s Solution Was Surprisingly Simple

Huang Lihua returned to Switzerland after a long and exhausting journey and immediately went to the bank to transfer out a sum of cash. Afterward, he returned to Paradise Inn. When the general manager, Wilson, saw Huang Lihua come back alone, he knew that he had failed to complete the mission entrusted to him by the Princess.

Wilson reminded him, “Lihua, the Princess is waiting for you at the castle.”

“After I put down my luggage and rest for a while, I’ll go to the castle to see the Princess.” After saying this, Huang Lihua picked up his suitcase and headed toward the stairs.

When Huang Lihua entered Sky Castle, Maria was already waiting for him in the main hall. Standing beside the Princess were the Dragon Knight and the Grand Mage Ruf.

Lihua came to the steps, clasped his hands, and said, “Princess, I failed to complete this mission. I did not handle the matter well. Please punish me.”

Hearing this, the Princess turned around and said calmly, “I know you did everything you could. The fact that even you could not persuade the couple to come back shows just how deeply I have hurt David.”

Hearing the self-reproach in the Princess’s words, Lihua felt somewhat relieved. But, as expected, Ruf said, “There must be some hidden reason why David and Aileen are unwilling to come back. I am willing to make a special trip there and persuade the couple to return and serve the Princess.”

The Dragon Knight, however, was not optimistic. He reminded him, “Grand Mage, although your magical powers are formidable, David and Aileen are no longer what they used to be. If you try to force them, I’m afraid you won’t gain anything from it!”

Ruf smiled bitterly and said, “Of course I won’t use force against David and his wife. I know that my abilities are no match for David. But if I go there myself and still cannot persuade the two of them to change their minds, the Princess could consider using…”

Before Ruf could finish, Maria waved her hand, signaling him to stop, and Ruf immediately fell silent.

“I will not treat David that way. In his previous life, he gave my father a life in return, and in this life, he helped me get rid of Anderson. I will not, and I cannot bear to, hurt him again.” As the Princess spoke, tears began to glisten in her eyes.

Seeing this, the weight in Huang Lihua’s heart quietly lifted. He thought to himself, “So the solution to the spell is simply these three words: ‘I cannot bear to.’ The Princess truly is a woman of great loyalty and courage.”

Ruf sighed and said, “Sigh… Since the Princess has no intention of using her ultimate weapon, even if I find David and his wife, all I can do is patiently persuade the young couple. And my efforts to persuade them may very well be in vain.”

The Princess said, “You should still make the trip, Ruf. Mage Ruf, please hand-deliver a letter written by me to David.”

Ruf said, “All right. I hope this trip can help the Princess put one of her lingering concerns to rest.”

The Princess beckoned to Huang Lihua and said, “Painter, you speak Chinese. I would like you to come to my study and help me write that letter.”

Huang Lihua clasped his hands and said, “Please proceed, Princess. I will accompany you.”

The Princess waved her hand and said, “Everyone, go and rest.” Ruf and the Dragon Knight immediately clasped their hands, turned, and left the main hall.

The master and servant entered the Princess’s study, one in front of the other, with two attendants following behind them.

The study had round white marble walls and a waist-high stained-glass window facing the courtyard garden. An entire curved wall was lined with bookshelves neatly filled with many books and classical texts. In the corner stood an ivory harp. Beneath the window was an oval desk and a long bench inlaid with amethyst, with two Eastern Buddhist scriptures resting on the desktop. An attendant brought over a tall-legged chair. Huang Lihua glanced at the two Chinese Buddhist scriptures on the desk, *The Diamond Sutra* and *The Shurangama Sutra*, and thought to himself, “The Princess actually takes the initiative to study Eastern Buddhist scriptures as well. No wonder her knowledge and insight are so extraordinary.”

The Princess picked up *The Shurangama Sutra* from the desk. Each passage had a translation alongside it. She opened it to a marked page and pointed to a passage with a mark beside it.

“Painter, please help me transcribe this passage in Chinese.”

Huang Lihua took the Buddhist scripture and carefully studied the passage and its translation:

“You carry my destiny. I still owe you a debt. Thus, through countless eons, we remain entangled in the cycle of life and death. Your love is in my heart, and I have compassion for your form. Through countless eons, we continue to be bound by this karmic connection. As a result, the cycle of karma and its consequences persists.”

The attendant immediately prepared silk paper and a quill pen and spread them flat on the desk. Huang Lihua regulated his breathing and began transcribing, but his thoughts could not help churning inside him:

“So the Princess has been suffering so deeply in her heart. How could she not want David by her side? Oh…! In her heart, she loves only Xiaoyang…”

After he finished transcribing the passage, the Princess took out a handkerchief and said, “Painter, this is a poem I wrote for David. Please have Father John Chen translate it into Chinese and include it with this letter, then hand it all to Mage Ruf.”

### *Knowing Each Other in This Life*

“But once we meet, we come to know each other; what is meeting compared with the time when we do not meet? How can I sever all ties with you, so that love will not turn into longing through life and death?” —“The Passionate Monk” Tsangyang Gyatso

In this mortal world of rolling dust, amid a vast sea of humanity,

I once thought that once I entered the Buddhist path in this life,

I would sever love and desire, feeling neither sorrow nor joy,

and what followed the ellipsis

would be a blank expanse.

Until I met you, only then did I suddenly realize

that you are the problem I cannot avoid

for the second half of my life.

In the valley, I am the evening cloud,

wandering and lost.

You are that ray of sunlight,

parting the darkness in my heart,

lighting up the entire valley as the morning bell rings leisurely.

Its echoes strike the mountain walls again and again.

I am a pine cone,

hanging from a pine branch,

picked and opened by you,

releasing the pine nuts of love

that have been hidden within me all my life.

You gently cherish me and say that you will stay by my side,

like sunlight and rain,

waiting for me to change my heart,

to awaken,

so that the remaining half of my life

may send forth tender green shoots

and bear the fruit of wisdom.

If Heaven has feelings,

should I believe in reincarnation?

Believe in you,

and let you ferry me to the shore of wisdom.

I once worried that having too much affection would harm my Buddhist practice.

Yet how fortunate I am to have come to know you.

Across thousands of mountains and rivers,

we hold hands and journey together.

“Neither betraying the Tathagata nor betraying you.”

I have finally attained enlightenment.

If I truly become without love or affection,

then in this life of spiritual practice,

I will surely never see the Tathagata.

Huang Lihua read the poem line by line and deeply felt the Princess Maria’s profound love and devotion to David, which had pierced through both their previous and present lives. Tears involuntarily glistened in his eyes. He was deeply moved by the fate that had toyed with this man and woman who loved each other yet were destined not to be together.

The Grand Mage Ruf, carrying the Princess’s handwritten letter, traveled a long and difficult journey to Taiwan. From the big cities to small villages, from the coast to the deep mountains, Ruf, disguised in another appearance, never sensed David’s magnetic field. Even on an island as small as Taiwan, how could he possibly find this couple? Standing along the Golden Waterfront in Tamsui, Ruf stared blankly at Guanyin Mountain, more than half of it hidden behind dark clouds, and thought to himself, “There are countless people in this vast sea of humanity. To find Lin Xiaoyang and his wife, I’m afraid I can only leave it to chance.”

Meanwhile, in a harbor on an uninhabited island in Penghu, a small yacht was anchored. On the deck, Xiaoyang and his wife were busy hanging cleaned and gutted fish from ropes. These sun-dried fish could be preserved for a long time and were their staple food.

“Minhua, are you getting used to this life far away from the hustle and bustle of the world?”

“Very much! Every day we have different seafood to go with our meals, seabirds for company, and when we have free time, we paint and sketch from life. I have nothing to complain about with a life like this.”

“Following me as we wander to the ends of the earth, I’ve really made things difficult for you.”

Minhua smiled and said, “I don’t feel that way at all! As long as I have you by my side, every place at the ends of the earth is a paradise.”

(The End)~~~