Enter through the southeast gate.
First is the tomb of Master Yi Xing.
"Besides being a master of the Tang Dynasty, he was also a famous astronomer. During the Kaiyuan era, Li Chunfeng's calendar made several inaccurate predictions of solar eclipses. The emperor and his entourage presided over the revision of the calendar, and it was this eminent monk who compiled the Dayan Calendar."
Lu Yibei introduced himself to the three people who were with him.
It may be disrespectful to say this.
For contemporary people, neither "Master Yi Xing" nor the "Dayan Calendar" may be familiar.
However, celebrities like Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng have at least been known to the public through various film, television, and literary works.
But those unheard-of figures actually had interactions with those famous people in ancient times, which makes one marvel at the charm of the vast history.
Then came the Bell Tower, Yuhua Hall, Mahavira Hall, Medicine Buddha Hall, and so on, all enshrining similar Buddha statues.
The smoke curled gently, and the candlelight flickered.
Ma Jiaojiao felt that compared to Lingyin Temple, which she visited last year...
Although Guoqing Temple is not as bustling as Lingyin Temple, it is much more serene.
She had previously read a travel guide on a certain app, which said that during the period when highways were toll-free, the free attractions were even more crowded.
But now the Lunar New Year has passed, and the Lantern Festival is just around the corner.
The temple is no longer overcrowded. Although there are still quite a few tourists, everything feels quiet.
Walking along Guoqing Path, all you can see when you look up is dense foliage.
Despite the cold winter, the leaves only turned yellow and did not fall.
The warm sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled patterns of warmth on the stone path.
The walls of Guoqing Temple are painted orange-yellow, which, together with the warm sunlight and the drooping branches and leaves, creates a serene and profound atmosphere.
Whether it's appropriate or not, Ma Jiaojiao did think of that song.
"The allure of worldly pleasures has been lost in the retreat to a life of monastic seclusion, a tragedy for humanity."
"Dreams are cold, a lifetime of wandering, how many debts of love remain?"
—And it's the Lin Zhixuan version.
Perhaps Zhao Xun felt the same way, because he unconsciously asked:
Did people from over 1,400 years ago walk the same path as us?
Ma Jiaojiao looked at him.
But she found that he was also looking at her.
Their eyes met.
Zhao Xun quickly looked up to see the sunlight hidden among the leaves.
Zhao Xun's romantic reverie made Lu Yibei smile, and he said gently:
"How could that be? You're dreaming. This temple underwent a complete renovation in the 1970s."
"—You fucking!"
However, isn't it a bit too much of a mood killer to just blurt it out like that?
"But that tower over there is indeed a tower from 1,400 years ago."
Lu Yibei pointed to a towering tower.
The tower is tall, but thin.
It is a very simple stone tower, without a pointed spire, and you can see the blue sky directly when you look up.
The stone tower walls are covered with moss, and the stones seem to have traces of copper rust, making it easy to tell its ancient age at a glance.
Ma Jiaojiao and Zhao Xun are not history majors, nor can they even be considered history enthusiasts.
But one can indeed see the passage of time on this stone tower.
"Where will we be 1,400 years from now?" Zhao Xun sighed.
He lowered his eyes and saw Ma Jiaojiao smiling at him from the side.
Zhao Xun: "...What are you doing?"
The laughter was eerily unsettling.
"So cringey, senior~~~" Ma Jiaojiao teased.
Zhao Sun: ...
He fell silent, intending to remain tight-lipped once again.
I will never say anything that would make me a laughing stock again—like "Brother Fourteen Hundred Years Old".
“If reincarnation were possible, we would have already been reincarnated more than ten times in 1,400 years,” Ma Jiaojiao said.
Zhao Xun wouldn't listen.
Ha, what's it to him?
He's definitely not going to say anything more!
Ke Ma Jiaojiao said:
"Perhaps 1,400 years from now, we'll be in college, and then we'll stand here looking at this 2,800-year-old tower—"
Zhao Sun was taken aback.
Ma Jiaojiao's eyes crinkled into crescents, and although she was joking, there seemed to be a certain certainty in her expression.
—We will meet again 1,400 years from now.
"...You're no better off."
Zhao Xun muttered something. So childish.
Ma Jiaojiao apparently didn't hear Zhao Xun's rambling, and continued on her own: "Then, senior, if you ask me, 'Where will we be 2,800 years from now?' I'll tell you, '2,800 years from now, we'll be in university, and standing under this tower from 5,600 years ago...'"
Zhao Xun interrupted: "Stop with the nesting dolls!"
Ma Jiaojiao put her hands on her hips, hummed smugly, and looked around.
"...Huh? Where are Senior Lu and Qingqian?"
…
Lu Yibei interrupted Ji Qingqian, and the two left the ancient tower together.
They ran to a plum tree in the main hall and began to look up at it.
The ancient pagoda is ancient.
However, this plum tree is not very young either; it was planted during the Sui Dynasty, more than 1,300 years ago.
The vitality of life is simply incredible.
The only regret is that while other red plum blossoms are already budding, this white plum tree from the Sui Dynasty has not yet reached its blooming time.
But Ji Qingqian didn't feel any regret at all; she held her boyfriend's hand.
They looked on, oblivious to their surroundings.
The plum blossoms bloomed on their own.
It was their first time meeting, and neither of them was willing to make concessions for the other.
"Hey, what's that?"
"Oh, the Hall of Arhats."
"...What about this side?"
"There's an explanation on the side."
"I can't read? I want you to tell me."
"The Qianlong Imperial Stele—tsk, this old man really does stamp things everywhere."
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