About a quarter of an hour later, the Kongxiang Temple that Ji Xian mentioned suddenly appeared in the field of vision.
The old yellow tiles and red walls are hidden among the towering ancient trees. The mottled plaques are covered with cobwebs, swaying gently in the heat wave.
He Zhuo nudged Ji Xian with his elbow: "Old Ji, you have a good eye!"
Ji Xian raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "Not bad."
Chi Yi parked the car under the shade of the ancient cypress trees in front of the temple.
Lu Nange let the macaw fly out first, bringing a cool feeling when its wings flapped.
When the heat wave subsided, everyone got off the bus one after another.
Lu Nange moved his fingertips slightly and put the RV into the space.
The mottled wooden door made a harsh creaking sound and slowly opened.
There were several dried corpses lying in the yard, their skin clinging to their bones, a strange waxy yellow color.
On the wall opposite the door, the four large blood-red characters "Amitabha" are particularly eye-catching.
All kinds of garbage were scattered on the ground - soaked scriptures, broken prayer beads, and rotten prayer mats, all of which were traces left after the flood receded and were now dried, hard and brittle by the scorching sun.
In the center of the main hall, a Buddha statue with peeling gold paint lowered its eyes and looked at everyone with a compassionate gaze.
The Arhat Bodhisattva statues on both sides have different postures, some with glaring eyes, some with compassion, and their dusty faces are looming in the dim light.
The wooden door of the Zen room in the side corridor was half open, and through the gap one could see the mess inside the room.
The furniture was tilted, and the bedding and scriptures were tangled together, covered with a layer of dried mud.
Next to the ancient well in the center of the courtyard, a rusty iron bucket lay tilted in the mud.
The well rope had long since rotted and broken, hanging among the moss on the well wall.
The vegetable patch in the backyard was overgrown with weeds, and the wooden door of the toilet next to it was half collapsed, revealing the moldy and blackened partitions inside.
Everyone bowed three times reverently in the main hall.
He Zhuo stood up and brushed the dust off his knees, looking at the mottled Buddha statue: "Is it embarrassing for the Buddha to ask him to restore the world to its original state?"
Wen Qing called out with a serious expression: "Xiao He."
He Zhuo put his hand to his mouth and made a zipper gesture.
The heat in the hall was unbearable. The macaw flapped its wings violently, and its ice power spread with the air flow.
In an instant, years of incense ash, indoor dust, and spider webs were all rolled up and scattered in the slanting beam of light.
"Ahem——"
"A-choo!"
Amid the coughing, Wen Qing covered his mouth and nose and said, "Let's clean it up properly, shall we? If you are sincere, your wish will come true."
Wen Qing rarely spoke, and no one refuted him.
Lu Nange took out several plastic buckets, a stack of rags and rubber gloves from the space.
Gu Qi raised his hand, and a stream of water leaped out from his fingertips and poured into the bucket.
Everyone worked together to clean the main hall. The rags brushed across the mottled surface of the Buddha statue, and years of incense ash fell down.
Only after the Buddha statue showed its majestic appearance did they turn to the meditation room on the side.
Lu Nange waved his hand and moved all the moldy futons, rotten low tables and other items into the yard.
The doors and windows were wide open, and Gu Qi controlled the water column to flush the room. Foam mixed with detergent flowed out, carrying with it old dirt.
Everyone took a hard-bristled brush and carefully scrubbed every corner until the wooden floor's texture was revealed.
Finally, Gu Qi washed it with clean water, and the turbid sewage, accompanied by foam, flowed down the stone steps.
Lu Nange raised his hands lightly, the wind swirled around the room, and the humid water vapor quickly dissipated.
She then moved the items drying in the yard back to the Zen room in different categories, and each item exuded the scent of sunshine.
At seven o'clock in the afternoon, the setting sun was still scorching, casting long slanting shadows on the window lattices of the Zen room.
Everyone sat in one of the Zen rooms, eating a vegetarian feast prepared by Wen Qing - cold-mixed black fungus, braised shiitake mushrooms in sauce, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and thick millet porridge.
Outside, the all-day heat wave finally began to ease.
Before dusk fell, they picked up shovels and went to the door.
Under the ancient pine tree near the door, the soil was turned over shovel by shovel.
The dried bodies were wrapped in clean coarse cloth and carefully placed in the pit.
When covering the soil, someone whispered "Amitabha".
......
When it was completely dark, Gu Qi asked: "The temperature is too high during the day, should we change our journey to the night?"
Lu Xici: "At night, mutant plants, animals, and zombies are all active. Isn't that a bit risky?"
Lu Nange's mind was filled with extreme heat, extreme cold... "This weather is extremely abnormal, why don't we stay in the temple and observe for a few days before setting off?"
"Are we still going to the traffic jam tonight?" He Zhuo sat under the eaves, throwing a ball in his hand.
Chi Yanzhou: "Let's check the weather first, and then decide whether to travel during the day or at night, and then see where the traffic is."
The allocation of Zen rooms is simple and clear - except for the room where temple supplies are stored, the remaining three rooms are just right.
Lu Nange and several other girls lived in the middle Zen room, and the boys lived in the two rooms on the left and right.
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