Chapter 85 The Doll Is Not a Doll
The puppet moved, but unlike its previous dance, its current movements were somewhat comical. Sometimes it bowed deeply, and sometimes it waved its hands in a funny way, as if it were apologizing.
Feeling the man's sincerity, Xie Mianmian was amused. "Alright, I won't blame you anymore. Now Mianmian is going back."
The puppet stopped, and under the scholar's manipulation, it actually drew something on the mud ground—a crooked, distorted character: the character "千" (thousand).
Xie Mianmian frowned and stared for a long time. "Is it... Master Qianjing?"
The doll nodded frantically.
"Okay, when Mianmian gets back, I'll ask Third Brother to help you, okay?"
The doll shook its head.
Since Master Qianjing's incident, he dared not attract the attention of the evil monks. He could not speak or read, so he could only wander around the temple every day, trying to attract pilgrims to rescue Master Qianjing.
But countless people passed by, some just smiling and tossing him a few copper coins.
The child in front of him was the first and only person willing to talk to him. He didn't want the child to leave, fearing she would never return and that he would lose this only chance.
The scholar and the puppet knelt down together and began kowtowing repeatedly to Xie Mianmian, startling the child who quickly moved away, asking, "Is it dangerous?"
The doll shook its head frantically, pointing to safe routes, but it kept making mistakes for some reason.
Rewind to before, after parting ways with Xie Huaijin, the nanny was rushing back.
Inside the main hall, the gentle and kind monk was still speaking to the women of the Xie family. "I have a connection with you two benefactors. Why don't you come with me so I can offer you a profound blessing?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Mingyi and Wen Shuwan exchanged a glance, and then stood up.
The monk lowered his eyes, concealing the sinister smugness in them, and also stood up.
Unexpectedly, Xie Mingyi said, "No need, thank you, Master."
The monk's smile froze. "Is there something you're worried about? Please tell me."
"Do you really want to know?" Xie Mingyi's eyes sharpened. "What you said before was indeed very interesting and we learned a lot from it, but you were too impatient."
Wen Shuwan continued, "In the next three sentences you said, one of them was trying to persuade us to go with you. Although it was very subtle, anyone with discerning ears would know it immediately."
Xie Mingyi stood in front of her sister-in-law and said, "We will definitely inform the manager about what happened today. You'd better watch yourself."
The monk looked around and saw that all the other worshippers had left, and the maids from the Xie family had also gone about their business. Only the three of them remained in the main hall.
The monk smiled faintly and slowly walked towards them.
Xie Mingyi shielded Wen Shuwan as she stepped back, and Wen Shuwan clung tightly to her side, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
"Amitabha Buddha, you two have misunderstood..."
"Whoosh!" Before the slender, aloof monk could finish speaking, he was sent flying by a slightly overweight figure.
With a muffled groan, he slid headfirst from one end of the hall to the other.
It was the old nanny, panting heavily. "Are you two masters alright?"
Xie Mingyi shook her head. "Where's Mianmian?"
With tears in her eyes, the old woman told them everything, "It's all my fault for being so useless..."
Xie Mingyi frowned. "Now that things have come to this, call all the maids back, grab their weapons, and let's go find them together."
On the other side, Xie Huaijin found his way to the small kitchen, which was now crowded with people. Besides the enticing aroma of meat, there was also a strange, fishy smell.
They are all problematic people.
One of the monks noticed him, and Xie Huaijin stopped hiding and stood out openly.
Without uttering a word, the monks stood up and drew their weapons.
Xie Huaijin also drew his sword, deftly twirling it as a provocative gesture, signaling for a fight.
It's unclear who rushed forward first, but they started fighting.
At first, Xie Huaijin was able to handle the situation with ease, even when facing multiple opponents alone. But gradually, he realized something was wrong.
How come these people are all so strong? They're like wooden dolls that never get tired or feel pain.
At that moment, a dagger was thrusting towards Xie Huaijin's back.
With a "ding," a small stone flew from nowhere and knocked the dagger away.
Before they could react, several more blows struck the hands of several monks, who cried out in pain and dropped their weapons.
Xie Huaijin also got a chance to catch his breath. Seeing a monk walking in the direction where the hidden weapon was thrown, he rushed over and kicked the monk away.
There was someone hiding around that corner; it was Bai Yun.
Xie Huaijin pulled her close, shielding her in his arms, and while brandishing his sword, he took a moment to ask, "Why did you come here in such danger?"
Bai Yun hugged the small stone in her arms, occasionally throwing one out, saying, "How can we stand by and watch an adult die when they are in trouble?"
The voice was so soft that Xie Huaijin almost couldn't hear it.
With a backhand thrust, he stabbed into the chest of a monk, then, with Bai Yun in tow, turned and stabbed another man.
"I didn't realize Miss Bai's martial arts were so formidable, hmm?"
Feeling the hot breath beside her ear and the strong hand tightly holding her waist, Bai Yun could hear her heart pounding.
Whether it was the heartbeat in her ears or her own, Bai Yun's face flushed.
"Bai Yun has practiced dancing a lot, so her arms have some strength. She has swung her water sleeves tens of thousands of times, so she has some accuracy in her hands."
With another clang, a short sword fell to the ground.
Whether Xie Huaijin believed it or not, he didn't say anything more. The two snuggled together, one attacking from close range and the other defending from a distance, cooperating perfectly.
As noon approached and the sun grew stronger, the shadows cast on the ground became much smaller. The doll led Xie Mianmian along the shady path.
Finally, they came to a tall building made of stone bricks. After looking around, they couldn't find a door, only a small opening.
The puppet drew another character, "thousand," and then pointed inside.
"Is Master Qianjing inside?"
The doll nodded.
Xie Mianmian scratched her head, "Mianmian can go through this opening, but it's too high..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xie Mianmian was picked up in someone's arms.
She turned around and saw a pale face; the doll had picked her up.
Xie Mianmian secretly pinched the doll's hand; it was soft. She then tapped the scholar; it was hard.
It turns out that the scholar was a puppet, and the puppet was the real person with flesh and blood!
Xie Mianmian gasped in surprise, "Why did you lie to Mianmian?"
Doll: ?!
He can't even speak properly, what could he possibly be lying to a child about?
Soon, Xie Mianmian climbed over and landed safely on a wooden table.
It was very large and empty inside, with nothing in it, and it felt cold.
Xie Mianmian walked to the left and saw a withered old monk sitting cross-legged on a futon with his eyes closed.
A beam of golden sunlight streamed through the high skylight, landing directly on the meditating old monk.
There is nothing here except for the devout Master Qianjing.
Xie Mianmian walked over slowly, afraid of disturbing the old monk, and said softly, "Are you Master Qianjing?"
Upon hearing the voice, as if waking from a dream, the old monk slowly opened his wrinkled eyes, saw the person who had come, and smiled gently, his expression very kind.
"Child, you've come."
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