Chapter 80 Little Mouse, Why Are You Running?

Xie Mianmian was led inside by her second sister's hand. Facing them was a simple and wide temple gate, which was made of sturdy blue bricks.

A plaque hangs high above, bearing the three characters "Fohua Temple" in solemn script.

Moss was faintly growing on the bricks, and the bright early summer sunlight poured down from the plaque. Xie Mianmian gently sniffed and smelled a fresh and cool scent.

A monk put down his broom and walked over, and the child observed him curiously.

He was an ordinary-looking young man, bald, with unremarkable, rounded features that gave him an air of non-aggression. His overall demeanor was peaceful and approachable.

The monk put his hands together in prayer and said to them, "Amitabha, have you distinguished guests come to offer incense?"

Xie Mingyi replied yes.

The monk, with his eyes half-closed, gestured for him to follow, saying, "Please come with me."

Xie Mianmian was led by her older sister as they walked up the long stone steps. The trees on both sides were tall and lush, and the pale yellow sunlight dappled the steps.

The child, head down, skipped and hopped across the spots of light.

But Xie Huaijin gently lifted her small ear and said, "Walk properly, do you know what it means to fall flat on your face?"

Xie Mianmian puffed up her frog-like face in anger, walked over to her third brother's thin shadow, and hopped around a few times, shouting, "Third brother is bad!"

Xie Huaijin shook his head helplessly, a doting smile appearing on his lips.

Climbing the stone steps, you enter a spacious courtyard where you can see a magnificent hall standing in the distance, its walls painted a thick yellow, giving it an ancient and solemn appearance.

In the courtyard, a square bronze incense burner, about half a person's height and eight feet long, was placed in the center, with many incense sticks densely inserted on it.

More often than not, the incense sticks that have burned out are sparsely burning, and the wisps of smoke slowly dissipate in the air.

Xie Mingyi asked in confusion, "Why are there so few people coming to worship Buddha today?"

The monk turned his head and said gently, "Perhaps today is not the first or fifteenth of the month."

He sighed softly, "Since Master Qianjing went into seclusion, the number of pilgrims coming to visit has become increasingly scarce."

They walked toward the main hall while talking.

Xie Huaijin walked last, concealing the sharpness in his eyes. "Oh? I heard Master Qianjing was ill. How is he now?"

The monk turned to the side and continued to lead the way for the group, saying, "Master is advanced in years and suffers from frequent minor illnesses. He is currently resting in bed. We are very grateful for your kindness, benefactor."

As they spoke, they arrived in front of the main hall.

The palace gate was very high. Xie Mianmian looked up and felt that it would take ten of herself stacked on top of each other to reach the door frame.

Just as Xie Mianmian was about to step over the threshold, she caught a glimpse of a colorful figure out of the corner of her eye.

The child turned his head and saw a strange person standing at the end of the left corridor.

He was extremely tall, appearing to be two heads taller than his elder brother. He wore a long white robe and carried a square bamboo basket on his back, looking like a scholar. He also wore an exaggerated clown mask on his face.

His hands, raised to his chest, held bamboo strips that were intricately connected to a puppet.

This doll was almost the size of an adult, with a pale face and a magnificent silver crown on its head.

It wore an elaborate robe, mainly navy blue, with red fabric embroidered with brocade patterns between the collar and sleeves, and several bright red skirt pieces fluttering on its lower body.

The scholar holding the puppet stood quietly. The puppet's crown was decorated with two long, wide, bright yellow tassels that hung down to its chest, seemingly moving without wind.

Xie Mianmian was about to leave when she realized that her legs were stuck on the high threshold.

A sneer came from above.

"Ah." Xie Mianmian was lifted up by a pair of large hands under her armpits and then gently placed down in the hall.

The child didn't care about anything else and quickly clung to the door frame, peeking out to look, only to find that there was no one there, as if no one had ever been there.

She tugged at Xie Huaijin's sleeve, pointed to the corridor on the left, and asked, "Third Brother, did you see someone there just now?"

Xie Huaijin turned his head and looked around. "I didn't see anyone."

Xie Mianmian wanted to say something, but Xie Huaijin patted the child's head and said, "It's okay, Third Brother will go check on it later."

The child then followed them into the hall, relieved.

Xie Huaijin looked around the hall and noticed that there were still a few worshippers inside. He gave Xie Mingyi a wink and said, "I'm just a rough man, so I won't disturb you any longer. I'm going out for a stroll."

Xie Mingyi understood, and she waved her hand impatiently, "Let's go, let's go."

Xie Huaijin turned and walked away with a grin, but after only a few steps, his expression turned serious.

Using his agile skills, he hid and dodged his way to the backyard without alerting anyone.

Xie Huaijin looked around as he pondered where Master Qianjing's room was. He needed to know if the monk was deceiving them.

He walked deeper and deeper, and suddenly saw a furtive figure slip into a side room.

"I've caught a mouse," Xie Huaijin thought.

He took a few light steps and arrived at the door of the room. He pushed the door open and slipped inside without making a sound.

This appears to be a study, crammed with wooden shelves filled with books and bamboo slips.

The person was rummaging through the books on the desk.

The man was short, only reaching Xie Huaijin's chest, dressed in coarse gray-brown clothes, with his hair tied up, and was probably a thin young man.

Xie Huaijin silently twitched the corner of his mouth, and quickly reached for the man's shoulder with his right hand.

Just as he was about to grab him, the man nimbly bent down, and Xie Huaijin missed.

The man turned around, saw Xie Huaijin, froze for a moment, then his hands became flustered, and he began to run towards the door in a panic.

Xie Huaijin took a step forward and blocked the man's path, chuckling, "Little mouse, why are you running?"

He sized up the person in front of him. The person's face was covered with an inverted triangular cotton cloth, but those eyes were beautiful, pure, and frightened. They looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

"Oh, it's someone I know," Xie Huaijin said with a smirk.

Their eyes met, and Xie Huaijin attacked first. Despite his extremely fast hand speed, this person could always bend his body at an extremely strange angle in the half-second before being caught, dodging his attacks every time.

This requires an extremely high degree of flexibility, which most people cannot achieve. Of course, most people wouldn't sneak here like this.

I've seen this person before, but who is he? Such skill requires practice from a young age; is he a circus performer?

Before he could think too much, Xie Huaijin found himself getting more and more excited as he fought. Although he still hadn't managed to touch a single piece of the other man's clothes, he felt an inexplicable sense of excitement at meeting a worthy opponent.

He stretched his right arm back and felt a sense of comfort throughout his body.

I felt a strong urge to fight him; in all this time, very few people have been able to fight him so easily when they are empty-handed.

"You're pretty good, kid." During a brief pause in their fight, Xie Huaijin chuckled and said this.

The man's pupils constricted, his mind went blank, and his fingertips dug into his palm.