"Well……"
After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Lu Zhaozhao regained consciousness.
At first, I couldn't control my body. The first thing I could move was my fingers, which I could only move gently with all my might.
Then it's the entire arm, down to the neck, then down to the lower body, and finally the whole body.
I suddenly opened my eyes; they were dry and painful from not seeing light for so long, and everything was blurry.
It took a long time for him to recover.
She sat up and observed her surroundings.
A cold wind was blowing, and the room was very simply furnished, with only a bed and a table and chairs.
Outside the window, everything was white, and it seemed to be snowing. Lu Zhaozhao rubbed her temples. She remembered that the weather before she fainted wasn't winter. How long had she been unconscious? And where was she?
Just then, someone pushed the door open and came in.
He had a bald head, wore coarse linen clothes, and held a bowl in his hand, which was steaming and filled with something.
"Hey, you're awake!"
The young novice was pleasantly surprised. He shoved the bowl into her hands and said excitedly, "Drink up, drink up! You don't have to think about how to force it in today!"
After saying that, he immediately ran outside, shouting, "Master, Master, she's awake! She's awake!"
"Wait a minute!"
The sound traveled further and further away, but it was so penetrating that Lu Zhaozhao could still hear it even after running quite a distance.
Lu Zhaozhao wanted to call him back to ask what was going on, but he ran too fast and disappeared in a flash, leaving Lu Zhaozhao alone on the bed in a daze.
Not long after, the young novice returned. This time, he followed behind an older-looking monk, not speaking but his eyes darting around.
The older monk walked to Lu Zhaozhao's bedside, put his palms together and bowed to her, saying, "My name is Puyuan. Are you still feeling unwell, benefactor?"
Lu Zhaozhao returned the greeting with her hands clasped together, saying, "Thank you for your help, Master. I am much better now, but I have some doubts. I don't know where I am now, or how I got here?"
It's no wonder she was anxious. After all, she had been poisoned by the Demon Lord before losing consciousness and was in a dangerous situation. When she woke up, she was in a completely unfamiliar place with no one around her. How could she not be worried?
“This is a snowy land. You have been in a coma in my temple’s meditation room for two years.”
Two years!
Lu Zhaozhao exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected to be unconscious for so long and didn't know what was happening outside.
"Is this the Snow Region? That is, the Northern Territory. But... the Northern Territory has not had any diplomatic dealings for hundreds of years. How did I end up here?"
Lu Zhaozhao was full of doubts, but Master Puyuan was not in a hurry and explained them to her one by one.
"Before my late master passed away, he told me that there would be a destined person in the future who carries my Buddhist secret treasure. In times of crisis, she will be teleported to the Northern Territory, and I must help her in time. Two years ago, I met Shi Kong, who is the person you first met." He patted the little novice beside him, and the little novice winked mischievously at Lu Zhaozhao.
"When Shi Kongxing and I were traveling on the snowfield, we suddenly saw a person lying in the snow, seriously injured, with blood staining the surrounding snow. When we got closer, we found that he was holding something in his hand, which was our sect's secret treasure. We then realized that this was the person our late master had spoken of. After bringing the benefactor back, the environment in the snowfield was harsh, and the benefactor did not wake up for a long time. I was quite worried about him. Fortunately, he has woken up now, and he has lived up to our late master's last wishes."
He said this with a sigh of relief.
Lu Zhaozhao didn't quite understand.
"A secret treasure? I had no idea I possessed such a treasure?"
Pu Yuan took out a broken wooden hairpin from his sleeve, handed it to Lu Zhaozhao, and said, "This is it."
Lu Zhaozhao accepted it.
The crack was uneven, and the hairpin was carved with lifelike red spider lilies. It was the hairpin that Master Jingwen had given her.
She suddenly remembered the light that appeared when the hairpin was knocked off that day. Could it be that this hairpin was not an ordinary hairpin? Could it be that the nun had left me a backup plan?
Lu Zhaozhao fell into deep thought, and Pu Yuan continued, "When we rescued you, all your meridians were severed, and you were also poisoned. Logically speaking, there was no way to save you, but you had taken something beforehand that forcibly preserved your heart meridian and protected your dantian, which gave you a glimmer of hope."
What to take? Lu Zhaozhao immediately thought of the Soul-Returning Pill.
I never expected this thing to be so useful; you could say it saved my life.
However, if that's the case, she was severely injured, with her meridians damaged. Then what about her cultivation level...?
Lu Zhaozhao hurriedly activated her true energy to check her cultivation level, but to her surprise, there was not a trace of true energy in her body, which made her panic.
Puyuan saw through her thoughts and comforted her, "Don't worry, benefactor. Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps your opportunity is yet to come."
"What advice do you have for me, Master?"
Lu Zhaozhao asked hurriedly.
Pu Yuan shook his head and said, "I dare not offer guidance, but there is a forbidden area in the Snow Region that I have heard can only be entered by those with a destined connection. I suppose you are that person."
After a moment's pause, Lu Zhaozhao asked, "May I ask where this forbidden area is?"
"It's located in the very center of the snowy region."
Lu Zhaozhao got out of bed and solemnly thanked Master Puyuan. Puyuan quickly stepped aside, put his hands together and said, "Amitabha."
After thanking her, Lu Zhaozhao hurriedly set off.
Shi Kong clutched at Pu Yuan's wide sleeve, somewhat disappointed, and asked, "Master, Master, she's just gone like that?"
Puyuan patted his head.
The snowy plateau has few people, and even fewer children. Zen Buddhism practices reincarnation, so disciples born here are considered a gift from heaven. He understood Shi Kong's feelings, because when he was Shi Kong's age, he also longed to have other people to talk to, but unfortunately, that was a luxury in the snowy plateau.
Therefore, Puyuan could only comfort her by saying, "Some people are destined to travel far away."
"And what about us?" Shi Kong asked.
“I will always guard this snowy land, but Buddha said that you will leave this place.”
"Really!" Shi Kong was pleasantly surprised. Pu Yuan nodded; this was what his master had told him.
An endless expanse of white, a silver-clad world, covered in pristine snow.
Lu Zhaozhao walked in the snow, leaving behind footprints that were sometimes deep and sometimes shallow.
With no signs in the snow and no way to tell which way to go, she could only move forward in one direction based on the position of the sun.
Without her cultivation, she only had a slightly better physical condition than ordinary people. After walking for a day and a night, a lake appeared before her.
The lakes in the snowy region are calm and mysterious.
She approached and saw her reflection in the lake.
Two years in a coma made her look much thinner, but she also grew up.
His facial features became clearer, and his eyes showed more determination.
Lu Zhaozhao opened her palm; she had been clutching the hairpin tightly the whole way.
Zen Buddhism flourished a thousand years ago. She had seen that scene in a dream, and her master, Abbess Jingwen, gave her this hairpin. What was she trying to tell her?
Lu Zhaozhao sat by the lake, hugging her knees, examining the broken hairpin over and over.
As another night fell, the moonlight shone on the lake, making the calm surface of the lake look like a mirror.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the lake's surface.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock."
The clear and melodious sound attracted Lu Zhaozhao.
She looked down at the bottom of the lake, which was no longer clearly visible but instead presented a strange sight.
The scene shifts, and a small house appears by the lake.
Lanterns hung in front of the cottage, their orange candlelight warming the snowy night, and the house was also lit up.
A figure was reflected on the window screen.
Lu Zhaozhao cautiously approached, hesitated outside the door for a long time, and finally decided to knock.
"Knock knock knock".
Three knocks were heard on the door, and after a while, sounds came from inside.
"Please come in."
It was a very gentle voice, like a spring breeze that melts away ice and snow.
Lu Zhaozhao pushed open the door and went inside.
The interior was simply decorated: a Buddhist altar, a prayer cushion, and a small bed. That was all.
At this moment, a woman knelt on a prayer mat, holding a scripture in one hand and prayer beads in the other, and quietly chanted the sutra to the Buddha statue.
Lu Zhaozhao stood at the door, waiting for her to finish reciting this section of the scripture before gently closing the door.
The woman closed the book, stood up, bowed to the Buddha statue, picked up the incense sticks beside her, lit them, bowed three times devoutly, and placed them in the bronze incense burner in front of the Buddha statue.
Her movements were fluid and graceful, showing that she had practiced them many times and had reached a level of proficiency.
Lu Zhaozhao looked at her with great interest, unable to see her face clearly, but just this action calmed her down, as if an invisible energy was temporarily keeping her away from anxiety.
For a moment, she became quite curious about this person.
After finishing her actions, the woman slowly turned around.
Lu Zhaozhao froze on the spot.
After a long while, she choked up as she looked into the other person's smiling eyes.
"Master..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com