A quiet road unfolds beneath the light,
One steadfast thought dispels the night.
No crowd is needed, nor applause to claim,
The righteous path endures without a name.
A Life Rearranged
At the end of 2020, after stepping away from the voice-mobilizing initiative, Hoa Long entered a quieter phase of his life. He reflected upon his solitary journey from the end of 2017 to the present. During those years, he had reconciled with his family and taken on a humble position as a strategic consultant. His income was lower than in his corporate past, but his savings granted him something far more valuable than wealth: time.
With his basic needs secured, he could devote himself to the three responsibilities of a Dafa disciple without being driven by the pursuit of secular gain. He no longer belonged to a group, followed a fixed project, or depended on the momentum of others. He walked alone, following the quiet trajectory arranged for his spirit.
At first, this solitude seemed uneventful. Yet the path he now walked had not begun recently—its roots stretched back several years through encounters that had quietly tempered his soul.
The Elderly Vendor
In 2018, Hoa Long had noticed an elderly woman selling incense, flowers, and offerings near the entrance of a temple in the park. Her earnings were meager, and few passersby stopped. One afternoon, her bicycle broke down, leaving her distressed and helpless. Moved by compassion, Hoa Long quietly gave her two hundred thousand dong for repairs.
Tears came to her eyes. After that day, she often approached Hoa Long while he quietly studied the Fa in the park, offering him water or simple sweets. Hoa Long accepted a little, simply so she could feel her kindness had been received, while sharing truth-clarification materials with her and the surrounding drink vendors.
Eventually, the woman received a copy of the True Scripture of the Great Fa. At first, she studied diligently, but the crushing weight of ordinary life pressed upon her: an unemployed daughter, a husband suffering from cancer, and endless financial anxiety.
When security personnel came to intimidate her and seized her copy of the True Scripture, her resolve shattered. Under pressure, she let the precious opportunity slip away. Seeing her continued suffering, Hoa Long lent her money three times—totaling nine million dong—knowing he would never ask for repayment. Yet after the third time, he gently halted, recognizing that true compassion meant offering spiritual awakening rather than fostering endless secular reliance.
The Hidden Watchers
Hoa Long's actions in the park drew constant scrutiny from unseen forces. Hostile operatives and plainclothes security personnel repeatedly observed him, waiting for a moment when his Righteous Thoughts might weaken.
On one occasion, they arranged a deliberate entrapment, sending a man to sit beside Hoa Long to provoke him into handing over materials. Instead, Hoa Long spoke sincerely to him about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance:
"What we study in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance carries a broad meaning. The character 'Truth' contains the traditional virtues of benevolence, propriety, righteousness, wisdom, and trust."
The words struck the man deeply. Reminded of his sick mother in the hospital and his duty as an elder brother, his hostile intent vanished. At that moment, nearly ten security personnel rushed out from a parked car to arrest Hoa Long, but as they reached within a meter, an unseen force repelled them, forcing them to retreat in confusion.
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An Unannounced Interference
Not long after, while reading at a roadside tea stall, an aggressive agitator named Tuan approached Hoa Long, demanding to inspect his book before declaring:
"Ah, the True Scripture. This is prohibited. I am seizing this book."
Hoa Long’s Righteous Thoughts solidified like iron. Looking directly at him with absolute composure, he replied:
"This book belongs to me. Who are you? What credentials grant you the authority to demand the seizure of my property? I operate entirely within the framework of the Constitution and the law."
Hoa Long then silently sent forth a concentrated, unshakable thought:
"All matters rest upon the Master’s decree. May the Master protect my path. ‘FA ZHENG QIAN KUN!’ (The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos!)
‘MIE!’ (OBLITERATED!)"
Instantly, Tuan’s phone vibrated violently. Startled, he dropped the True Scripture onto the table and stepped away. Hoa Long reclaimed the book. Moments later, a local uniformed official arrived, ordered Tuan to cease his harassment, and departed. Hoa Long then read aloud an official state decree to the surrounding crowd, clarifying that the discipline was a practice for physical and spiritual elevation, not a prohibited cult.
When the agitators slunk away, Tuan remained slumped over the table, drained of energy—a small, powerless figure once the invisible evil behind him had been purged.
Back to the End of 2020
By the end of 2020, having just stepped away from the voice-call project, Hoa Long sat at a crowded roadside tea stall with his young colleague and several acquaintances, discussing his understanding of the global pandemic.
He spoke of the SARS outbreak of 2002 and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, sharing his view that these events carried a profound warning directed at the Chinese Communist Party and those who supported its tyrannical ideology. He exposed the fabricated narratives and deceptive propaganda promoted by the regime, contrasting those who acted with moral conscience against those who blindly followed evil.
His young colleague nodded in strong agreement, adding that many praised figures had been utterly embellished for political indoctrination.
Around them, ordinary patrons listened in silence, their eyes widening as a wave of sudden awakening swept over them—realizing how deeply they had been brainwashed for decades. Yet among the crowd, several Party members sat frozen in sheer shock. The open revelation shattered their lifelong ideological illusions like a collapsing monument. Unable to process the disillusionment, a few of them secretly reported the gathering to local security.
The Three Approaching Figures
The following morning, as Hoa Long sat alone in a quiet corner of the tea stall reading the True Scripture of the Great Fa, three plainclothes officers approached simultaneously from different directions, intending to seize him while holding the sacred text.
As the officer on the left lunged forward, Hoa Long remained perfectly still, projecting a concentrated, unyielding command from the depths of his soul:
“FA ZHENG QIAN KUN!” (The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos!)
“MIE!” (OBLITERATED!)
An invisible shockwave resonated through the surrounding space. The lead officer stumbled backward as if struck by an unseen hammer, sheer terror flashing across his face. The other two froze in their tracks. Realizing that righteous force could never be overcome by evil schemes, the lead officer gestured nervously:
"How about... we sit at that table instead?"
They hurriedly moved to another table. Hoa Long calmly placed the True Scripture of the Great Fa into his bag, remaining seated in serene dignity until the stall grew crowded, then quietly walked away.
Looking Back
Years later, Hoa Long understood that these encounters had never been isolated incidents. The elderly vendor, the operative sent as bait, Tuan, and the three officers had all appeared along the same solitary road.
Some lost their opportunity due to fear, while others had their conscience awakened. Through every test, Hoa Long himself had been refined into gold. He learned that the truest advance was sometimes to step away from what no longer belonged to his path, remaining immovable when the path itself was tested.
He needed no grand project or public acclaim. He needed only to stand where he was destined to stand, keep his Righteous Thoughts upright, and walk the road before him.
Canto 71 — The Solitary Path
A quiet road unfolds beneath the light,
One steadfast thought dispels the night.
No crowd is needed, nor applause to claim,
The righteous path endures without a name.