Zhao Chan, standing behind the screen, heard his followers cursing and some ignorant people chiming in. He suddenly felt powerless and didn't know what to do.
"I'm telling you, let that witch come out, or we'll go in and arrest her," a vicious middle-aged man said, while rolling up his sleeves, displaying a scoundrel-like demeanor.
"That's right, young monk, why don't you bring that demoness out here, okay?" The person next to him smiled insincerely and tried to negotiate with the young monk who was blocking the way.
"Amitabha, esteemed benefactors, this humble monk cannot let you in," the young monk said without looking to the side.
"You!" The leader pointed a finger at the little monk, looking like he was about to fight.
Zhao Chan sighed and stepped out from behind the screen. "Amitabha, esteemed benefactors, my Dharma name is Zhao Chan. Please tell me what you need to say and do not make things difficult for others."
When the crowd saw that it was their beloved Buddhist disciple, they instantly became somewhat reserved and at a loss.
The leader also stepped forward respectfully and said, "Buddha's disciple, how could such a trivial matter have troubled you? It is our fault."
"It's alright. I just heard that you were looking for Miss Wen. What is it about?" Zhao Chan asked, pretending not to know.
"We...we just have something to discuss with Miss Wen, haha." The leader of the troublemakers looked around awkwardly and said sheepishly.
"What is it? Tell me, this humble monk will listen." Zhao Chan pressed on relentlessly.
"She's a witch, we should burn her alive!" a little child suddenly said in a clear voice.
Zhao Chan's face instantly darkened. When those people saw the Buddhist monk's expression change, they all shrank back like quails, not daring to make a move.
Zhao Chan slowly walked towards the child who had just spoken. When the child's parents saw the Buddha walking towards them, they hurriedly hid the child behind them, but Zhao Chan still managed to grab him. The child stood sideways, half of his body behind his parents, and the other half pulled outside by Zhao Chan.
Zhao Chan slowly squatted down, looked at the somewhat frightened little boy, and asked, "Why did you just say that Miss Wen was a demoness and wanted to burn her to death?"
Zhao Chan's face was cold and hard, his voice was clear and cold, and he was very authoritative. The child was so frightened that he immediately burst into tears. He tried to get rid of Zhao Chan's hand that was holding him tightly, and cried for his parents to help him.
Seeing their child crying so heartbreakingly, the boy's parents knelt down and kowtowed to Zhaochan, saying, "We were wrong, Buddha, please forgive him. He's just a child. Please."
Zhao Chan ignored the two crying and begging for mercy, and continued to hold the child tightly, asking again, "Why did you just say that Miss Wen was a witch and wanted to burn her to death?"
The little boy cried and hiccuped. Looking at Zhao Chan, whose face was getting worse and worse, he said between sobs, his voice trembling, "Because, because she seduced the Buddha's son."
Zhao Chan received the answer he expected. He closed his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and slowly stood up. He looked at the crowd with a distant gaze and said in a firm and powerful voice, word by word, "Everyone, Miss Wen and I are completely innocent. I don't know where you heard these rumors that led to this misunderstanding. Now, I will explain this to you, and I hope that you will explain it to your neighbors when you go home. I will be extremely grateful."
"Yes, yes, Buddha, we will definitely explain everything to everyone. Don't be angry, don't be angry, haha." The leader said with a fawning expression.
"Thank you all for your trouble." Zhao Chan nodded slightly and left.
As soon as Zhao Chan left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The Buddhist monk had been terrifying. He was noble, pure, and holy, and had never shown any emotion in front of others. He always appeared aloof and indifferent. But now, he had gotten angry because of that Miss Wen.
Does that mean that he really treats that Miss Wen differently?
"I didn't expect Gongsun Gua to be so courageous," Jing Xi commented, observing everything unfolding before her.
"Yes, so why did he transform from a Buddhist disciple into a ghost doctor?" Jiang Bai asked, somewhat puzzled. What exactly did he go through to go from being a high-ranking, revered Buddhist disciple to a ghost doctor in the eyes of the world, known for his strange temperament and tendency to kill more than heal?
"Perhaps we will soon know the answer," Ji Mohan said in a deep voice. He had a premonition that the story of Gongsun Gua was coming to an end, and perhaps then everything would come to light.
The scene shifts, and Zhao Chan is standing at the entrance of Wen Su's courtyard. He lifts his leg to go in, but then stops. How should he talk to Wen Su?
"Buddha, why are you standing here instead of going in?" Granny Li asked in confusion.
"This humble monk has come to see Miss Wen. Is she available now?" Zhao Chan asked Granny Li nervously.
Granny Li looked at Zhao Chan with a puzzled and strange expression, and said, "Buddha, don't you know? Miss Wen left this morning."
"Leave? Did she leave voluntarily?" Zhao Chan looked at Granny Li with a nervous expression. Had she also heard those rumors? Had those words hurt her? Was she heartbroken?
Zhao Chan had a thousand words he wanted to express, but in the end, they all turned into one sentence: "Amitabha."
"Miss Wen was preparing to see the Buddha one last time this morning, but Master Xuhuai called her out alone and we don't know what he said. When Miss Wen came back, she started packing her things and then left without ever returning," Granny Li said, carefully recalling the events of the morning.
"Thank you, Grandma. Amitabha." Zhao Chan put his hands together and bowed gently to Grandma Li.
"Oh dear, Buddhist disciple, I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it," Granny Li waved her hands repeatedly, appearing simple and honest.
After thanking Granny Li, Zhao Chan stood outside the courtyard where Wen Su used to live for a long, long time. It was good that she left, so that she wouldn't have to deal with the gossip. In the end, it was he who had wronged Miss Wen.
She left, and he no longer needed to think about her. At the moment she suggested that he return to secular life, his heart, at that very moment, was damnably moved.
She can live without him, and he can live without her. Everyone can live without each other, right?
Zhao Chan stood there from sunset to moonrise, and then to sunrise, before finally limping away. He had been standing for too long; his legs ached and ached, and so did his heart.
For the first time, he experienced the emotions of a normal person. So this is what sadness feels like, and it's really unpleasant.
“Master, Junior Brother…” Zhao Hua said, looking at Zhao Chan who was limping. He had seen his junior brother standing outside Miss Wen’s courtyard for a long time yesterday afternoon.
"Amitabha, he can leave now, which means he has come to terms with it. Let's go too." Xu Huai sighed and said. It's good that he has come to terms with it; now everything should get back on track.
"Do you think this Gongsun Gua, or Zhao Chan, likes Wen Su at this moment?" Jing Xi asked with some doubt, as she really couldn't figure out Zhao Chan's attitude.
“He must like it, otherwise he wouldn’t have stood there for so long,” Li Shang replied.
"Does standing here mean you like her? That's not how you show affection! I don't think he likes Sister Wen Su." Shangguan Wei'er nudged Li Shang with her elbow and voiced her opinion. She really couldn't see how much he liked Sister Wen Su!
"A person who doesn't have normal human emotions has started to become somewhat like a normal person because of Miss Wen Su. His change means that he treats Miss Wen Su differently from others. As for whether he likes Miss Wen Su, and how deeply he likes her, only he knows," Jiang Bai analyzed seriously.
Yan Wan nodded in agreement, and looked at Ji Mohan, asking, "What do you think?" She was quite looking forward to Ji Mohan's views on love.
"I only like you." Ji Mohan used this opportunity to confess his feelings.
Yan Wan lowered her head in embarrassment. Jing Xi rolled her eyes speechlessly. "You vixen, all you know is how to seduce Wan'er."
Shangguan Wei'er looked at the two of them with envy. They were so sweet and adorable.
Li Shang and Jiang Bai looked at Ji Mo Han with a speechless expression. "No, bro, everyone's analyzing this, what are you doing? Trying to show off? You're making us look like idiots! You're something else!"
Everyone was just being silly, but now that you're saying this, it makes them look incredibly stupid. They don't care about their brothers' lives at all, just for their own sake, right?
Your brother will go to great lengths for you, and afterwards, you still want to stab him in the back.
After Wen Su left, Zhao Chan returned to the way he was before Wen Su came: indifferent, aloof, and respected. He no longer went to the back mountain to gather herbs. Apart from chanting scriptures every day, he meditated, sat in meditation, and studied Buddhist scriptures. He even locked himself in a cave in the back mountain, ignoring everything outside, and kept carving the "Meditation Sutra" on a stone.
He became the same as before, yet something was different; everything seemed to be back on track.
Xu Huai noticed Zhao Chan's change. He looked at the Buddhist scriptures that Zhao Chan had carved in the cave behind the mountain. In the past, Zhao Chan was most reluctant to carve Buddhist scriptures in the cave because the dust from carving would dirty his clothes. He always tricked Zhao Hua into carving them for him. Now, however, he was willing to calm down and properly study the Buddhist scriptures. Xu Huai nodded in satisfaction.
As long as the outcome is good, nothing else matters, right?
"Brother Zhaochan, are you going to the cave behind the mountain to carve scriptures again?" a passing young monk greeted him respectfully.
"Yes, there are still some carvings left. I'll go and finish them," Zhao Chan said succinctly.
Since Wen Su left, his only interest has been practicing the formations she taught him and carving scriptures in the cave.
"This is so boring! Are we supposed to just sit here and watch him carve scriptures forever?" Shangguan Wei'er said in frustration.
"Yes, how long will this go on? I can't take it anymore," Jing Xi said listlessly, leaning against Yan Wan.
"It should be soon. This plot won't last too long," Yan Wan estimated.
The scene shifts, and they see Wen Su leaving. Next to Wen Su, they see a familiar face – Crown Prince Ji Mosheng. It turns out that Ji Mosheng had followed them in as well.
"Your Highness?" Li Shang exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Why did he come in too?" Ji Mohan frowned. Why didn't he stay in the military camp outside the city? What was he doing coming in?
"Your Highness," Jiang Bai greeted Ji Mosheng, who was walking towards them.
Ji Mosheng raised his hand, indicating that everyone did not need to be so polite.
“Ever since you left, my heart has been unsettled. Later, Chao Shuo told me that you had an accident in Huangzhou City, so I came in,” Ji Mosheng said, glancing at Jing Xi beside him.
He took such a huge risk this time, just to fight for himself. He was really unwilling and worried.
"So what did you come in to reassure me about?" Ji Mohan asked the Crown Prince, hoping he could bring some different clues.
Ji Mosheng nodded and said in a deep voice, "Since I came in, I've noticed that whenever I go back, I keep reappearing in the same place. It seems that the master who set up the illusion array wants us to keep following the scenario he created. So, we can only leave after everything is settled."
Ji Mosheng shared his speculation, and the others nodded in agreement. There was no other way but to play along and finish the charade.
Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Ji Mohan and his group have settled down near the temple and are living an ordinary life. Everything is so peaceful and beautiful.
Yan Wan even thought that it would be great to live such a life.
Over the course of those two years, Zhaochan gradually covered the entire mountain wall with Buddhist scriptures carved into the cave behind the mountain. His temperament also became more stable, and his demeanor became noble and pure, like a snow lotus atop a snow-capped mountain.
However, unlike in the past, it is said that during these two years, the Buddhist disciple not only inherited Master Xuhuai's medical skills, but also made great achievements in the art of formation, making him an absolute genius.
In just two years, he accomplished what others could not do in their entire lives.
Snowflakes fell one by one, the heavy snow covering the earth in a silvery-white dress, and also fluttered down onto Zhaochan's robe.
Zhao Chan stood on the cliff behind the mountain, with caves carved with Buddhist scriptures behind him and towering mountains covered in ice before him. Zhao Chan looked at all of this with a cold eye, "Amitabha, good, good."
Two years have passed, and he should be going down the mountain by now. I wonder how she is doing?
He had thought he could accept the two-year gap, but the longer it went on, the stronger and more intense his longing became. He wanted to see her, even if it was just to see her doing well from the shadows, so that he could let go of the past.
But what Ling Zhaochan didn't expect was that before he even went to see her, she appeared before him, and in that way, it was as if she had ripped his heart out.
He hated himself for not going to find her sooner. If he had gone to find her sooner, would the outcome have been different?
The heavy snow could not suppress Zhao Chan's deep longing for her; he longed to leave the monastic life and marry her.
Two years later, he finally made this decision. He was so glad that he could finally go to her and tell her in person that he was no longer the high and mighty Buddhist monk, that he had fallen from his pedestal, and that he could marry her.
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