Chapter 50: The Secret of Linhu Village 21

Su Qingyun's wish was simple. She hoped to get clues about the lake monster as soon as possible.

But the red koi did not appear.

The most common koi did not appear, but the wishing pond in Chui Ling Temple was home to unusual golden and silver koi, which was really weird.

Su Qingyun lost interest and turned around to walk towards the main hall. She wanted to see if Xu Xinghe had finished his enlightenment.

At this time, the bell rang again.

Article 5 of the rules for entering Chui Ling Temple: If you hear the bell in the temple, you must immediately squat on the spot and count silently to sixty seconds. After the bell stops, you can stand up. If the bell does not stop, quickly go to the side hall and stay there until the bell stops.

Su Qingyun quickly squatted down and raised his wrist to count down.

In fact, she was not worried that the bell would not stop ringing after sixty seconds, because the bell only struck three times, and although there would be a few seconds between each strike, it would definitely not exceed sixty seconds.

Su Qingyun waited for the bell to end.

Sixty seconds later, the bell continued to ring, ding-ding-ding.

What's going on? Why does the bell sound so long?

Su Qingyun quickly got up and ran to the side hall. When she passed the wishing pool, she saw red koi fish in pairs.

Su Qingyun took out coins from her bag and threw them into the wishing well while running.

The coin fell into the water silently, but it startled the koi in the pond, causing them to jump and dance in joy.

Su Qingyun ran into the side hall.

The side hall enshrines the Three Pure Ones, namely, Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun.

This discovery shocked Su Qingyun. How could a Taoist deity be enshrined in a Buddhist temple? This was too unbelievable.

Unexpectedly, something even more incredible happened next. The Jade Pure Yuanshi Tianzun among the Three Pure Ones actually spoke.

"Who is Your Highness standing with?" This was a question to Su Qingyun.

Su Qingyun looked up at him and did not answer.

Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun asked again, "Have you made a wish?"

Su Qingyun didn't make a wish after she threw in the coins. Firstly, it was too late, and secondly, she didn't know how many coins she had thrown in, so it was difficult to make a wish.

So Su Qingyun still didn't answer.

"Why don't you speak?" the other party asked.

Su Qingyun walked around the shrine and did not find anyone behind the Buddha.

At this time, the bell outside the hall stopped ringing. Su Qingyun did not stay for a moment and walked out of the side hall.

Xu Xinghe also came out of the main hall.

The two walked towards the dormitory together.

Su Qingyun asked Xu Xinghe what he had gained.

Xu Xinghe, "Listening to chanting scriptures can help you sleep." He asked Su Qingyun, "What about you?"

"This temple is polluted. We must be careful tonight."

"What happened?"

"The side hall is dedicated to the Three Pure Ones."

Xu Xinghe turned around and glanced at the side hall.

Su Qingyun also turned around. Under the cover of night, the side hall looked lonely and dilapidated, with no life in it.

When the two returned to the dormitory, the temple keeper came over with food. He asked Su Qingyun and Xu Xinghe to go to the main house to eat.

The dormitory is in the shape of a U, with houses on three sides and an entrance on one side. Su Qingyun and Xu Xinghe's rooms are opposite each other from east to west. The main house is in the north and is a room with a square table and a long bench.

Su Qingyun and Xu Xinghe sat down, and the temple keeper brought potatoes and steamed buns to them, as well as two plates of side dishes, one plate of shredded radish and one plate of water tofu.

A pot of tea was also given. Su Qingyun sniffed it and found it was green tea, which should have been picked and roasted by the monks in the temple themselves.

"Please enjoy your vegetarian meal, both of you." The temple keeper left the room and considerately closed the door.

"Why are you sending us food?" Xu Xinghe asked.

"I bought it with money." Su Qingyun looked at the vegetarian meal on the table without picking up his chopsticks.

This temple is polluted and you have to be careful about what you eat.

She took out her cell phone and ordered another bag of bread, opened it, took out a piece and handed it to Xu Xinghe.

Xu Xinghe took it and asked in confusion, "Since you spent money to buy vegetarian food, why do you want to eat bread?"

"I'm not sure if these are edible."

Xu Xinghe touched the vegetarian food with his ring-wearing hand. He took away the dish of water tofu and told Su Qingyun that potatoes, steamed buns and shredded radish were edible.

"The water tofu is contaminated."

Su Qingyun chewed bread and watched Xu Xinghe's technique. She originally wanted to use Xu Xinghe as a night watchman, but she didn't expect that he really had the ability of a night watchman.

They have similar personalities too.

Ye Yi is cold and arrogant, and so is Xu Xinghe.

"Does Mr. Xu have a nickname?"

"Are you asking this because you're going to give me a nickname?"

"yes."

Su Qingyun really wanted to call him Ye Yi 0.5.

I don't know if Xu Xinghe saw through her thoughts, but he refused, "I don't like people giving me nicknames."

Su Qingyun tore off another piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth. She smiled and didn't insist.

Xu Xinghe poured a cup of tea for Su Qingyun, and he also poured a cup for himself, but did not drink it. Instead, he walked to the window and listened to the sounds outside the dormitory.

"Should we squat down again when the bell rings?" he asked Su Qingyun.

"In principle, yes. The rules say it's within the temple grounds, and the dormitories are also part of the temple grounds."

Su Qingyun raised his wrist to check the time. There were still seventeen minutes before the bell rang.

So the question is, if the bell does not end within sixty seconds this time, how can they rush into the side hall?

This place is still a bit far from the side hall.

"Is this rule intended to lead us to the side hall?" Su Qingyun discussed with Xu Xinghe.

"There's more than one side hall in Chui Ling Temple," Xu Xinghe recounted his experience sixty seconds after the bell rang. "I went from the side door of the Main Hall to another side hall, where Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjusri Bodhisattva are enshrined."

“Did the Bodhisattva speak to you?”

"The Bodhisattva spoke to me?" Xu Xinghe turned around and sat back down at the table. "So, the Three Pure Ones Master spoke to you?"

Su Qingyun felt that she now enjoyed chatting with Xu Xinghe, because he was so smart and he could understand some of the things she said without her having to say anything.

Su Qingyun told Xu Xinghe the two questions that Master Sanqing asked her.

Xu Xinghe analyzed that the other party should be more concerned about whether Su Qingyun made a wish.

"So you didn't."

"Yes, I didn't have time to make a promise. I was just running away."

"But it doesn't necessarily mean it didn't come true. Wishes shouldn't be restricted by formalities. Whatever you're thinking or worrying about can be fulfilled without you even having to say it out loud. I think we should go to Master Sanqing's side hall again."

Su Qingyun looked at the time and saw that there were still ten minutes before the bell rang.

The two of them stood up at the same time and left the main house. They opened the door of the dormitory, but saw the temple keeper standing outside with his hands hanging down.

"Why is the temple keeper here?" Xu Xinghe asked.

"I'm waiting for the two donors to finish their meal so I can clear the table."

"We will deliver the dishes and chopsticks to the vegetarian room ourselves tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that's fine." The temple keeper said this, but he had no intention of leaving.

Su Qingyun knew that they could not go to the side hall.

The two returned to the main residence. This time, Su Qingyun decided to have a good meal. She picked up a potato and slowly began to peel it.

After eating a potato, the time was up. The bell rang outside and the two of them listened attentively.

Ding-ding-ding.

Three times, and then silence.

Xu Xinghe raised his eyes and said, "We'll go to the side hall after ten o'clock."

After ten o'clock in the evening, the world becomes strange.

"Mr. Xu, are you sure?"