The bamboo mats hanging outside the corridor blocked out most of the sunlight.
Dao Ci and two Tibetan monks holding ancient Sanskrit scriptures discussed the interpretation of several passages of the scriptures for a while.
“I never imagined that Master Daoci was so proficient in Sanskrit,” one of the Tibetan monks exclaimed.
Dao Ci put his hands together in prayer position.
“When I was young, I studied Sanskrit with my master, the Dharma Master Kasyapa, and I also traveled to various countries in the Western Regions with my master.”
After he finished speaking, he seemed to sense something and looked outside.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the bamboo mat.
The hustle and bustle of the world and the smoke of sandalwood fall equally on everyone.
…
Outside the Guanyin Pavilion, amidst the bustling crowd, Qi Su's gaze suddenly fell upon a familiar figure.
It's like a stillness.
She held a tray with a lotus incense stick in her hands, her head bowed, her expression unreadable.
A person stood alone in the shadow of the colonnade pillars.
At a time like this, Qi Su shouldn't have paid too much attention to her.
For some reason, something about her seemed to be attracting Qi Su's attention.
Qi Su stared at her for a moment, then jumped off the wooden railing of the corridor.
"Little Master Jinghe."
The little nun standing in the shadows did not respond.
"Jinghe—" Qi Su patted her shoulder.
The young nun seemed to wake up suddenly, and slowly raised her head.
"Qi, benefactor Qi..." she mumbled.
The eyes are red.
When she speaks, it's as if something tiny is wriggling under her skin.
Qi Su's mind went blank for a moment. In that instant, everything around her seemed incredibly far away.
Only Jinghe's bloodshot eyes held sorrow and tears.
Jinghe stared blankly at Qi Su.
Her lips parted, and she struggled to call out, "Qi, benefactor..." but she seemed no longer aware of what she was saying.
It felt like something was pricking my chest, causing a slight pain.
Qi Su smiled at her, her voice soft, as if afraid of disturbing a cloud.
"Why is little master standing here?"
Standing here?
It took Jinghe a while to figure out what she was asking.
Yes, that's strange. Why is she standing here? It seems like someone told her to stand here.
I have something very important to do later.
No, she also has something very important to do. What was it again? I can't remember now.
Qi Su's gaze fell on the gray cloth bag at her waist.
"Did you bring me these pastries and fried dough sticks?"
Jinghe's dim eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yes, fruit! For Benefactor Qi."
She staggered forward a step, still holding the lotus incense on the tray in both hands, as if she didn't know how to take the things out of the bag.
A gentle voice came from above her head.
"Don't bother, I can do it myself."
As she spoke, Qi Su opened the cloth bag she was carrying and found four pastry peaches inside.
Qi Su took out two, leaving the rest in Jing He's cloth bag.
"I'll eat two, you can have the rest."
Jinghe smiled and said, "Mm!"
Qi Su carefully packed the pastries and put them into her bag.
Looking closely at Jinghe's face, she gently placed her palm on Jinghe's head.
"Does the young master have any other wishes?"
Jinghe felt a cool sensation coming from her palm, and her chaotic thoughts instantly cleared up.
She murmured, "I always feel so itchy..."
His gaze fell on his hands.
As if to prove her words, countless tiny, wriggling things instantly surfaced beneath the skin of the back of her hand.
Jinghe stared at the little creatures for a moment, then a look of realization dawned on her face.
"I remember now."
"What did you remember?" She didn't tell Qi Su.
But the eyes that were looking at Qi Su slowly welled up with tears.
“My parents sold me to the nunnery. But I don’t resent them, because we were really starving. I just want to know if they are doing well.”
Qi Su nodded.
"Okay, I'll go take a look for you."
Jinghe: "Benefactor Qi, am I going to die? Will it hurt a lot?"
She remembered.
Last night, my body was very itchy, so itchy that I couldn't sleep.
She kept scratching herself and got scolded by her roommate.
But it was so itchy, like countless tiny insects were burrowing into her skin, gnawing at her flesh, and extending their tentacles to pierce her bones.
In the middle of the night, she secretly lit a candle to watch.
But they discovered that there really were worms growing under their skin, swarming, swarming...
Two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks.
Qi Su lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Buddhism teaches that all things arise from causes and conditions, and that all things are empty of inherent existence.
When conditions come together, things begin; when conditions end, things disperse.
Their connection wasn't particularly deep.
However, the spot in my heart that was pricked is getting more and more painful.
She should have been more observant yesterday; she clearly noticed something was wrong.
If she investigates more thoroughly, perhaps there is still a chance to salvage the situation.
"I'm sorry, it won't hurt."
.
Ah—a high-pitched scream pierced the air above the Buddhist temple.
"Murder! Murder!"
A strong, pungent smell of blood filled the air.
Not far from the preaching platform, outside the Guanyin Pavilion, beneath that huge cypress tree, crimson bloodstains flowed like a winding stream over the bluestone bricks.
The crowd quickly dispersed, revealing a vacuum.
The young woman, with a blank expression, wiped away the few drops of blood splattered on her face.
The blue shoes, socks, and hem of the clothes were soaked in blood, revealing a deep, dark color.
Right at her feet, in a pool of blood, lay a young nun.
The young nun bled a lot; it seemed as if her entire body was almost emptied out.
The body lying on the ground was limp and deformed, clearly indicating that it was no longer alive.
The young woman, with a cold expression, took out a flask of wine from behind her and carefully poured it onto the little nun's corpse.
Then, the flint in his hand flashed.
The spark landed and instantly incinerated the little nun into a ball of scorching flames.
.
In just a short while, the area outside Guanyin Pavilion was in complete chaos.
The Dharma assembly could not be held as scheduled.
All the secret plans were thrown into chaos in an instant.
Inside the Guanyin Pavilion, Qin Shang looked down at the chaos outside from the window, his face grim.
"Why did it suddenly start? The rabbit hasn't even entered the net yet."
The subordinates standing nearby were also unaware of the reason.
"We've already sent someone to ask Miss Ayan. They seem a bit surprised over there, and Miss Ayan has personally gone to handle the situation."
Qin Shang's handsome face was covered with frost.
Who pulled this stunt and ruined their carefully laid plans ahead of schedule?
He was confident that once Yun Zheng stepped onto the preaching platform, he would be in his grasp.
From then on, she could only become his pawn, and she could never break free from it in this lifetime.
Unexpectedly, an accident occurred ahead of schedule.
With his hand slamming heavily on the windowsill, Qin Shang gave the order:
"Give the order: advance the plan and move out immediately!"
…
When the disturbance first appeared outside Guanyin Pavilion, the black-robed monk Yuanmao had already protected Daoci.
Seeing that the young woman who usually fawned over her Zen master now had a cold expression and cleanly burned the body.
This really shows that you can't judge a book by its cover.
Dao Ci's gaze passed through the fragrant bamboo mat and landed on her.
The young woman seemed to sense something and looked up.
His gaze was clear and cold, like a piece of frost and snow.
She parted her red lips and said something.
He turned and disappeared into the crowd.
…
"Get out of here quickly," she said.
Even though everything was already arranged, she was told to leave first.
Dao Ci frowned, then regained his composure.
Since things have come to this point, we might as well go with the flow.
He gave a few instructions to the monks standing beside him:
"Go, find someone to keep an eye on her. Cover her movements."
Yuan Mao nodded in agreement and turned to make the arrangements.
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