Chapter 49

The door closed behind them, and the two grown men squeezed into the entrance, looking a little cramped.

Xiao Ziyu's chest heaved slightly. He originally wanted to leave the man outside the door overnight, but he underestimated Yuan Heng's ability to pretend to be pitiful.

After his breathing calmed down a bit, he set the rules: "You can't do this again."

Yuan Heng humbly asked: "What if I can't?"

Xiao Ziyu's momentum weakened, and he used a powerful word: "You can't control me like this."

Seeing Yuan Heng start to laugh unceremoniously again, he couldn't think of how to fight back, so he put two fingers together and poked Yuan Heng's chest: "You just admitted that you were wrong."

Yuan Heng nodded: "I was wrong."

Xiao Ziyu: "Then don't do it again next time."

Yuan Heng grabbed his finger and said, "You'll dare to do it again next time."

"You..." Rui Feng glared at him fiercely, and was about to get angry again.

Yuan Heng felt an itch in his heart, and he tried to take advantage of it, saying, "It hurts my chest."

He pinched Xiao Ziyu's fingertips, then grabbed his whole hand, pulled him to the table, and poured two glasses of wine: "You're about to sober up too much, don't waste a good thing."

Xiao Ziyu picked up the goblet and drank it all in one gulp. The slightly sour and bitter taste filled his mouth, and his lips were stained with the wine, which was fresher than newly picked grapes.

He glanced sideways and raised his eyelids to look at the person: "What does that French phrase you taught me mean?"

Yuan Heng pretended: "Which sentence?"

Xiao Ziyu didn't want to say it again, and said angrily: "I am disrespectful to my teacher."

Yuan Heng clinked his glasses with his, and the rims of the glasses made a clinking sound. "There are even more disrespectful things, but I'm afraid you'll kick me out, so I don't dare to do it."

Xiao Ziyu learned from his tyranny and sneered, "Is there anything in this world that Mr. Yuan is afraid of?"

Yuan Heng stared into his eyes, drinking with the beauty, and said solemnly after finishing a glass: "Yes."

There seemed to be some deep emotion flashing in his eyes, and Xiao Ziyu couldn't help but look away and didn't investigate further.

The two of them drank a bottle of wine standing up and spent most of the night, and finally felt sleepy.

Xiao Ziyu was tired after a long day and had been drinking, so he slept soundly at night. It was already noon when he woke up the next day. He jumped out of bed with his socks half-put on. Only then did he realize that the filming of the scene had been completed and he didn't need to rush to the crew early in the morning to do his makeup.

The sound of a razor blade came from the bathroom. Yuan Heng washed off the shaving cream and applied aftershave. After going out, I saw Xiao Ziyu standing barefoot on the carpet, one foot wearing a sock, and the other stuck in the fluff, his toes were round and white, grabbing the ground awkwardly.

"Did you fall asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah." Xiao Ziyu rubbed his eyes and tied up his long hair. "I thought I had to go to the crew today."

Yuan Heng walked closer, put one arm around his waist, and with a little force lifted him off the ground, placing him steadily on the bed before Xiao Ziyu could start to struggle.

Xiao Ziyu was still a little confused, and he clumsily reached out to pick up the socks on the ground. Yuan Heng picked them up before him, half-knelt down to put them on him, and patted his ankle: "Are you still not awake?"

Xiao Ziyu woke up and felt ashamed. His two feet in his socks curled up like shrimps. "Don't do this."

"There are so many rules," Yuan Heng resumed his capitalist attitude, "You are not allowed to do this or that. The boss sleeps on the sofa while you sleep on the bed. Will you climb over the boss's head someday?"

There was only one bed in the suite and a pull-out sofa in the living room. Xiao Ziyu said: "I can also sleep on the sofa."

"He can't even drink half a bottle of wine, and he just went to bed after drinking it," Yuan Heng said sarcastically, "I guess he couldn't even find where the sofa is."

Xiao Ziyu lost some face and was eager to make up for it. He saw the folder on the table and said, "Now someone wants to take a photo with me."

These were all the ones Luo Li had screened. Yuan Heng picked up the file and flipped through it. "Are there any you want to take?"

Xiao Ziyu humbly said: "I want to consult the boss's opinion."

Yuan Heng took out more than half of it and threw it aside: "We won't accept this kind of small company. The exposure is low and the endurance is too poor."

Xiao Ziyu knew: "But big companies won't let me shoot star products."

"You can't get rich overnight," Yuan Heng said. "Although you are not very famous now, there are almost no actors of the same quality. Big companies value your differences. If you grasp the difference, you will not have to worry about lack of discussion."

Xiao Ziyu understood a little: "Then I should shoot..."

"A business that can highlight your characteristics," Yuan Heng took out a game book from it, "For example, this one is good."

"Jiang Hu Wu Yang" is a game with a fairy-tale background. It was developed by a large company and spent a lot of money on publicity. It is estimated that they valued Xiao Ziyu's costume appearance.

The script is about a high school boy who accidentally enters the world of immortals and experiences a series of explorations there. It is only a few minutes long and is quite story-like.

Xiao Ziyu took out the contract and said, "I'll consider it."

As we set out on our journey home, the summer in Yunjing is another kind of dry and hot weather. I haven't been back for more than two months. The room has been cleaned regularly by the cleaning lady. The lily of the valley on the table was just replaced and the buds have not yet fully opened.

Xiao Ziyu stayed at home for two days to prepare himself mentally. On the third day, he went out early in the morning and took a taxi straight to Qingyun Temple.

The driver was a local uncle who spoke fluent Beijing dialect: "You are so handsome, like a famous star. Why did you go to such a remote place like Lantian Mountain?"

"I heard there is a temple over there that is quite effective." Xiao Ziyu said.

"It seems there is a temple," the uncle pondered, "What's its name..."

Xiao Ziyu reminded at the right time: "Qingyun Temple."

"Yes, yes," the uncle nodded, "some time ago my sister-in-law went there to pray for a marriage partner, and guess what, she actually found a pretty good match."

"Really..." Xiao Ziyu thought thoughtfully.

"You are so young, and you also go to have your fortune told?" asked the uncle.

"I'm going to...visit an old friend." Xiao Ziyu replied. He was unsure and secretly pinched the edge of his jeans, wondering if he could meet Du Ruochao's great uncle on this trip.

The reborn person who came from Daliang like him.

There was a traffic jam on the elevated road during the morning rush hour, and by the time we got there the sun was already high in the sky. Outside vehicles cannot drive into the mountain, so the uncle pointed and said, "It's only half an hour's climb up."

Xiao Ziyu got out of the car and walked up the stairs. The mountains were densely wooded and the heat was oppressive. Cicadas were chirping under the scorching sun. He tied his ponytail high, revealing his snow-white neck.

Qingyun Temple is located halfway up the mountain. When the morning mist has just cleared, the red tip of the temple stands out clearly against the greenery.

Xiao Ziyu climbed the second half in one go. The steps under his feet turned into several huge bluestone slabs connected together. The surface was smooth and soft, and looked quite old.

A little monk in a cassock came out from the door, sweeping the fallen leaves in front of the steps with a broom. When he saw him, he was stunned at first, then his eyes widened, and he dropped his tools and turned and ran back towards the door.

The broom handle hit the ground with a crisp sound. Xiao Ziyu didn't dare to go any further, wondering if he had violated any taboo.

Just as he was hesitating, the young monk brought his senior brother out and hid behind a pillar to secretly watch him.

When the senior brother saw Xiao Ziyu, he paused and welcomed him in before saying, "My name is Hua Zhen. May I ask what brings you here?"

Xiao Ziyu came prepared, and instead of answering, he asked, "Why did this young master react like that when he saw me just now?"

Hua Zhen bowed again and said, "Because the donor's appearance is somewhat similar to a portrait enshrined in my temple, my junior brother wipes the altar every day, so he might have made a mistake."

Xiao Ziyu was curious: "Can you take me to see it?"

"Please follow me." Hua Zhen led him into the temple. After entering the narrow door, the smell of incense suddenly became heavier. There were already a few believers praying in the main hall, and wisps of smoke lingered around.

Hua Zhen had no intention of going in, so he led him around the main hall and headed towards the monks' living area at the back.

Xiao Ziyu was slightly surprised: "This is..."

"We're almost there." Hua Zhen introduced to him that the monks' dormitories were located on both sides of an alley, all with white walls and green tiles, and were usually not open to tourists.

At the end of the alley, there is a narrow house with a low door, and one needs to bend down to enter. The space inside was even more cramped, only five or six square meters, just enough to put a table. It was difficult for two people to turn around after entering.

Xiao Ziyu went in with him, but was stunned when he looked up and saw the portrait on display.

The person in the painting is not like the three-headed and six-armed Buddhas outside. One can tell at a glance that he is a mortal. His cheeks are even slightly sunken, and he looks a little sickly. He lowered his brows, suppressed the compassion in his eyes, and held a half-foot-long piece of cloth in his hand, as if he was about to hand it to someone.

Xiao Ziyu's heart was shocked, the face of the person in the painting was clearly his own!

She was just wearing a plain robe, with her long hair loose, a veil covering half of her face, and jade bracelets on her wrists jingling, a kind of attire worn by the prince of Daliang.

His whole body was stiff, as if someone had revealed a secret to him. He turned his gaze to the wall beside him as if to escape, and saw a small glass cabinet with a rubbing inside.

Xiao Ziyu couldn't help but stepped forward: "This is..."

The wolf-hair brush wrote in tiny regular script, with a pause at the end of the stroke. Xiao Ziyu looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar handwriting, while Hua Zhen beside him began to recite:

“Furthermore, Ksitigarbha, in the future, if there are good men and women who plant good roots in the Buddha Dharma.”

Xiao Ziyu blurted out the words that he knew by heart: "The Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva."

This was written by him when he and Yuan Heng went to the temple to pray for blessings. Why, after so many years, was it copied by someone and hung here together with his portrait?

Xiao Ziyu's voice trembled, "Do you know who is in this painting?"

"This is a portrait of Wang Jun," Hua Zhen said, "The portrait and the original copy of Wang Jun's letter are kept elsewhere. The abbot will have someone remake it every year and hang it here for people to worship."

"Why do we have to offer sacrifice to the king?" Xiao Ziyu murmured.

"Thousands of years ago, this place was the border between Liang and Zhao, and wars were constant. After each war, the king would lead people to donate, buy more clothes and rice, and also find doctors from the palace to treat the people," Hua Zhen bowed respectfully to the portrait, "In the Dharma Ending Age, the people do not pray to gods and Buddhas, but only worship the king."

Xiao Ziyu was stunned. He thought he would die quietly, but he didn't expect that just because he did a little good deed, he would be remembered by people for a hundred years.

He reached out his hand and stroked the words in front of him. The rubbing was incomplete, and he could only glimpse a glimpse of the truth. There seemed to be a flash of fire in his eyes, taking him away from that dynasty and bringing him here unclearly.

Xiao Ziyu couldn't help but ask: "Do you know about Wang Jun's afterlife?"

Unexpectedly, Hua Zhen shook his head and said, "The king was still young when he died. After that, Daliang underwent a three-year transformation, reforming the government internally and recovering lost territory externally. The harshness of the method shocked future generations, but it also laid the foundation for Daliang's century-long continuation."

Hua Zhen fiddled with the Buddhist beads in his hand, secretly sighed "Amitabha", and then continued: "After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was very secretive about the past events and did not allow people to talk about them anymore."

The transformation of Daliang actually began after his death. Xiao Ziyu only felt the blood rushing in his chest, making a roar, which made him almost dizzy. He managed to find his voice again: "The new emperor is Yuan..."

"It's the eighth prince, Yuan Yunhe." Hua Zhen said.

Xiao Ziyu suddenly opened his eyes wide. Yunhe was clearly Yuan Ye's courtesy name, and the new emperor who ascended the throne that year was not Yuan Heng!