50 Silk Road 10
Xuanzang's Solitary Expedition
A door separates two worlds.
Helan Dao sat down at Liu Qiaoer's original position, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on the table. Curiously, he dipped his fingers into the tea and tasted it.
Zhu Heng looked at Helan Dao and raised one eyebrow slightly, watching him put his fingertips on the silk of his right arm and draw a line, then wipe away the remaining water stains on his fingertips.
"How do we find tea leaves?" Helan Dao asked casually, then raised his eyes to look at Zhu Heng.
Zhu Heng retracted his gaze, his Adam's apple moving slightly: "No need to look for it."
"What do you think?"
"I don't have any ideas, just a guess," Zhu Heng said. "Perhaps, we don't need to look for it. It will appear on its own. As long as... we just stand still."
"You sound very confident."
"I'm not sure, it's just my intuition."
Helan Dao pulled out a black porcelain Jianzhan teacup that had been turned upside down on the table and poured the remaining tea into it. "But you trust your intuition."
Zhu Heng was stunned for a moment.
It's hard to describe what the feeling is. The strange feeling should have started when he got the bronze mirror, or perhaps it started as early as when he fell into the bottom of the oasis lake and accidentally obtained the blue and white porcelain bowl. He just didn't pay attention to it at that time.
He vaguely felt that there was something waiting for him down there, and he could give it unconditional trust.
Some ideas flashed through his mind, and he stretched out his conscious hand to grasp them, but most of them slipped through his fingers.
But he caught one.
He caught an idea.
The thought came to Zhu Heng almost logically, and it seemed so natural that he couldn't find any logical flaws.
He heard his own voice ringing in his ears: "Have I been here before?"
In an instant, his whole body felt cold, as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head. The chill that ran up his spine spread to his limbs, but that was where it ended.
Helandao held his hand, forcing back the coldness that only he could feel, and a steady stream of heat entered his body to fight against it.
Zhu Heng was startled and knocked over the tea bowl on the table.
Tea splashed everywhere, soaking the back of his hand. Between his and Helan Dao's clasped palms, something strange appeared.
They are small and prickly, like tea leaves, with a faint tea fragrance that drifts into your nose.
Zhu Heng and Helan Dao looked up at the same time and saw a glimmer of surprise in each other's eyes.
It really appeared.
-
The moment she closed the door, Liu Qiaoer's heart suddenly tightened.
She immediately covered her chest with her hands, feeling a strange sense of regret, an emotion she had never experienced before.
Liu Qiaoer never liked to meddle in other people's affairs, but today, what she thought was the right thing to do made her doubt herself.
Why is this happening?
She was leaning against the door, her hand still tightly gripping the door handle, and she herself didn't realize that her body's unconscious posture was as if she was ready to rush into the house at any time.
What is it...?
Liu Qiaoer carefully recalled everything that had just happened in the house: Zhu Heng and He Landao went home, she and He Landao reminisced about the past, and Zhu Heng went to the table alone to check the teapot...
stop.
Zhu Heng used his left hand?
Liu Qiao'er's eyebrows knitted together. As if to verify her findings, she continued to recall: she explained the future she had seen to Zhu Heng, and Zhu Heng lifted the teapot with one hand and poured out the water...
stop.
It’s the left hand after all.
Liu Qiaoer's pupils suddenly dilated, but she did not act rashly.
There are so many left-handed people in the world, and not every left-handed person has the same ability as her.
Zhu Heng's left-hand dominance didn't prove anything. Liu Qiaoer comforted herself in her heart and placed her palm on the right side of her chest.
Unless... his heart is located on the right side, just like mine.
Under her palm, Liu Qiaoer's heart suddenly beat very fast.
I still have to go inside and take a look, she thought.
Liu Qiaoer pushed the door open without hesitation. Fortunately, the two people in the room were still there and hadn't left yet. Liu Qiaoer shouted, "Wait a minute!"
However, at the same time, two whirlwinds arose in the room, blowing the faint fragrance of tea onto Liu Qiaoer's face, forcing her to close her eyes subconsciously.
Liu Qiaoer secretly cried out in disbelief!
When she opened her eyes again, the room was empty, with no trace of Zhu Heng and Helan Dao.
-
This is an ancient city. A setting sun hangs upside down in the sky, with gusts of wind and sand, and the setting sun looks like blood.
It is located at the strategic point of the Hexi Corridor, with a constant flow of merchants from the Western Regions and the Central Plains. The market is prosperous and the transportation is convenient. The temples are popular and have many believers.
Its name is Liangzhou.
Zhu Heng and Helan Dao both fell to the ground, covered in dust. They looked up at the name of this important frontier town written on the city gate in front of them, as well as a group of Tang Dynasty soldiers guarding the gate with their spears pointed at them.
"Where did you two come from? Show me your passes!" one of the soldiers ordered them aggressively.
"What pass?"
Zhu Heng stood up and looked at the soldiers silently together with Helan Dao.
The soldier felt a chill run down his spine when he was looked at by these two evil spirits, and his tone unconsciously weakened: "Without the permission of the court, no one is allowed to leave the country."
His fellow soldiers poked him as a warning, and he straightened his back immediately. In front of the two evil spirits, he said fiercely: "What are you two doing? If you can't answer, please return to Chang'an immediately!"
Zhu Heng scratched the tip of his nose and exchanged glances with Helan Dao.
Zhu Heng and He Lan Dao seemed completely unaffected by the soldiers' movements, ignoring them and lost in their own world. In just a few seconds, they had already completed a complete conversation.
Zhu Heng: Chang'an? I'd really like to go see it.
Helan said: "There will be a chance. I'll have the central city arrange a Sui and Tang Dynasty dungeon for you."
Zhu Heng: Can I specify the dungeon mission? I can choose any dynasty I want?
He Lan said: "Not necessarily. It depends mainly on your boss's ability. Following the right leader is crucial. For example, you are very lucky. You should cherish me."
Zhu Heng: ...
Seeing the two men exchanging glances without saying anything, the group of soldiers thought that they were indeed trying to sneak out of the border and were caught red-handed.
Then they raised their weapons, sticks and spears, and pretended to arrest them.
"Wait, wait." A slow voice sounded. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person coming was a monk with extraordinary bearing and a gentle face but still a sense of majesty.
The soldier was stunned when he saw this: "Master Huiwei?"
"Amitabha."
Master Huiwei walked up to the soldiers, pointed at the two men surrounded, and said, "These are my two disciples. We are not trying to sneak out of the border. Please don't misunderstand me, sir."
The soldier hesitated for two seconds. The Master Huiwei before him was different from other monks. He held great prestige in the Hexi region. To have him personally rush to the rescue was no small matter.
Thinking of this, the soldiers slowly put away their weapons and loosened their encirclement of Zhu Heng and Helan Dao: "Let's go!"
Zhu Heng looked down at the robe he hadn't taken off yet, then glanced at Helan Dao's thick hair and fell silent.
A monk telling lies with his eyes open?
But Zhu Heng thought about it again and it made sense. Master Huiwei should be an NPC in the system. He rescued them as his disciples, perhaps to assign them some tasks.
Sure enough, as soon as Master Huiwei rescued Zhu Heng and Helan Dao, he took them away without stopping, and it seemed that they were going somewhere.
Helan Dao, hands in his pockets, sat at the back, looking around like a tourist, glancing here and there, then slowly spoke: "Where are we going?"
His voice was not loud, just loud enough for Master Huiwei to hear. The old monk did not respond, but instead quickened their pace and soon stopped in front of a local temple. "We're here. I'll bring you here for a lecture."
Helan Dao looked at Master Huiwei, chuckled, then turned around and decisively stepped into the temple gate.
After one left, Master Huiwei turned to look at the remaining Zhu Heng.
Before Zhu Heng went in, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing here?"
Master Huiwei smiled, but did not answer Zhu Heng's question. He only said, "You'll know after you go in."
Zhu Heng looked at Master Huiwei, lifted his robe and entered the temple.
The temple gate is like a barrier, with two different worlds inside and outside. It is desolate and quiet outside, while it is bustling inside.
There were people everywhere, and monks could be seen everywhere. The setting sun shone in, casting a shadow over a young monk who was preaching in the middle of the hall.
Zhu Heng's gaze remained fixed on him.
The voice of Master Huiwei sounded behind Zhu Heng, introducing him: "This is Xuanzang."
The famous Tang monk Xuanzang, who is about to travel thousands of miles alone to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures.
"So what you want us to do is come here and listen to Xuanzang's lectures," Zhu Heng said.
"No." Master Huiwei smiled, "I want you to be my trusted disciples and escort Xuanzang to leave Liangzhou safely."
Master Huiwei explained, "Xuanzang has been here for over a month. During this time, he has been invited to preach the Dharma and spread his fame. However, because of this, news of his upcoming journey west has also spread, reaching the governor of Liangzhou. Now Xuanzang does not have a pass, so I need to find two people to help him leave safely."
Leave Liangzhou?
It sounds like a joke.
Zhu Heng said: "You see, we can't even get out of the barrier ourselves."
Master Huiwei shook his head. "Don't worry about that. You don't need to leave the country. Just send Xuanzang from Liangzhou to Guazhou. The governor of Guazhou is familiar to me. We studied Buddhism together in Liangzhou for many years. I will write a letter of recommendation. You can send Xuanzang there, and the governor of Guazhou will help him."
"Can I ask a question?" Zhu Heng asked.
"Speaking."
"Why did you come to us?" Zhu Heng glanced at Helan Dao out of the corner of his eye. This guy was sitting under a big tree with his back to him, listening to Xuanzang's lectures with relish, and he didn't care about what was happening here at all.
"Because..." Master Huiwei took out a handwritten note.
Zhu Heng glanced at it casually and couldn't see clearly what was written, but he could see that the handwriting was ugly.
Master Huiwei said, "I prayed to the Buddha last night, but I didn't know how to help Master Tripitaka escape. This morning, when I offered lamps to the Buddha, I found this note under the lamp. It contained what the Buddha wanted to tell me."
"The Buddha said: Go find the two people who appeared at the city gate when the sun sets."
【Author’s words】
This dungeon seems a bit long, and the outline is quite large. We are only about halfway through...
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