Chapter 98 Nothing More Than a Smoke in the Palm of the Buddha's Hand
Pei Yuzhen felt she had done a good deed after buying the large basket of mushrooms the young monk had collected, and slept very peacefully that night.
When she woke up and learned that another person had died in the temple, she was filled with despair as if the sky had fallen.
"I never want to come back to this Jade Buddha Temple again, not even in my next life!"
Pei Yuzhen prayed to Amitabha Buddha all over the courtyard, hoping that the road down the mountain could be cleared as soon as possible.
When Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi returned and told her that the dead person was Huijue, the eldest disciple of Master Liaokong, Pei Yuzhen showed a strange expression.
"How could it be him?"
Sensing something amiss, Shen Lingyue immediately pressed, "Does Auntie know Master Huijue?"
"Tch, I'm not bragging, but which temple within a fifty-mile radius of the capital haven't I visited?"
Pei Yuzhen looked at the two of them with disdain, as if they were ignorant. "What do you young people know? I know which temple is for wealth, which is for marriage, and which temple has rituals."
Shen Lingyue: I see, so my aunt is the "temple exploration blogger".
“This Huijue…” Pei Yuzhen looked pained and conflicted. “Forget it, he’s dead. Let’s not dwell on his petty flaws of being opportunistic and greedy.”
According to Pei Yuzhen's recollection, she visited the Jade Buddha Temple several times last year when she was praying to gods and Buddhas everywhere for Dong Lanyi's marriage. Huijue was the one who received her at that time.
"I bought seven or eight peach blossom charms from him, but they were completely useless!" she said indignantly. "More than a hundred taels of silver have gone down the drain, and he even tried to persuade me to have a love spell performed. When I heard that it would cost nine hundred and ninety-nine taels, wasn't that robbery?"
She admitted that she wasn't very bright, but she wasn't stupid enough to waste money on these vague and unrealistic beliefs.
It would be better to give this money to Hua Ming; at least Hua Ming could make her happy...
Stop thinking about it!
Pei Yuzhen suddenly shook her head vigorously and said to the two men with certainty, "You only found less than a hundred taels of silver in Huijue's room? Impossible. He took more than that from me. There must be something you haven't found yet."
Upon hearing this, Shen Lingyue perked up and gestured with her hands in a flourish, "Auntie, shall we search Huijue's room again?"
"Walk!"
With a subtle feeling of revenge, Pei Yuzhen set off with the two of them, full of pride and high spirits.
Upon arriving at Huijue's room, Pei Yuzhen transformed into a ruthless imperial guard, searching every nook and cranny of the room. She actually managed to find a rather heavy blue cloth package hidden in a compartment of the wardrobe.
Upon opening it, one finds dozens of palm-sized gold ingots, crudely made and varying in size, as if they were haphazardly melted down from gold jewelry.
Pei Yuzhen said smugly, "See? It was me, otherwise you would have missed such an important clue."
There was also a booklet under the gold cake. Shen Lingyue curiously flipped it open and exclaimed in surprise.
This is Huijue's diary!
It was called a diary, but it was actually filled with the private affairs of the women in each family that no one else knew. They confided in Huijue out of trust in the master, but he secretly recorded everything, even commenting on it: so-and-so can use her family background, so-and-so's family is wealthy, the price of the next ritual should be raised...
Shen Lingyue also found Pei Yuzhen's name on it.
"The old widow pretends to be a delicate flower, loves to show off and save face, is petty and calculating, and is hard to squeeze any juice out of her..."
Pei Yuzhen's face turned ashen upon hearing this. She ripped the paper off and tore it into pieces, angrily saying, "This shameless bastard deserves to die a thousand times over! He deserves to die a good death!"
Shen Lingyue quickly stuffed the booklet into Yan Yi's hand to prevent Pei Yuzhen from tearing it all up in a fit of anger.
She clicked her tongue twice. "As the old saying goes—no respectable person keeps a diary."
Besides, this isn't a diary; it's clearly a death note.
If they weren't trapped in the Jade Buddha Temple, wouldn't any one of the people in this booklet have a motive to kill Huijue?
Yan Yi took the booklet and flipped through it, not to pry into the privacy of the other women, but to turn all the way to the last page with writing on it, where she found traces of tearing along the binding.
There should have been another page here, but it's gone now.
...
After repeatedly warning Gao Wu not to go out and spread rumors that would slander Princess Lekang's reputation, Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai left Gao Yu's courtyard.
They hadn't gone far when they encountered Yunzhi on the way.
Yun Zhichong and the other man bowed and said, "Uncle-Master Liaokong is still heartbroken over the death of Brother Huijue and has ordered me to assist you two in your investigation. Please feel free to ask if you need anything, and I will certainly make arrangements for you."
"Master Yunzhi, you're too kind." Pei Jingyi asked, "What are the temple's plans for the disposal of Huijue's body?"
Yun Zhi said, "Senior Brother Huijue has severed his ties to the mortal world. Now that he has died and his cultivation has ceased, according to the custom of Jade Buddha Temple, after the purification ceremony, he will be sent to the Self-Sacrifice Cliff in the back mountain for cremation."
"Understood." Pei Jingyi nodded calmly to Yun Zhi. "Master, please make yourself at home. I will come to your meditation room again if needed."
Yun Zhi stood there, watching the two leave. She vaguely heard Pei Jinghuai saying that he was hungry and that he would go to the canteen to eat an extra bowl of noodles later.
He chuckled softly, turned his head to look at the courtyard gate at the end of the path, and his eyes turned cold in an instant.
Yun Zhi took a detour from another direction, avoiding the Pei brothers, and quietly went to the kitchen.
The monks who were preparing lunch all stood up to greet him.
"I came to check on the temple's food reserves for my senior brother," Yun Zhi explained amiably. "Let's add a mushroom soup for lunch; that will save some food."
...
Pei Jingyi returned to the courtyard and learned that they had made a new discovery in Huijue's room.
"Let me see the booklet." Pei Jingyi reached out his hand to Chen Lingyue.
Shen Lingyue reluctantly took it out from behind her back, and reminded her, "Big brother, you'd better forget about it after you've seen it."
Pei Jingyi rubbed his temples helplessly, "...I'm not doing this for gossip."
He had no interest in the privacy of these women; to him they were just a group of insignificant strangers.
Pei Jingyi quickly flipped through the pages, then looked up and met Yan Yi's gaze. As if they were on the same wavelength, they asked, "You also feel that something is missing here?"
Yan Yi smiled unconsciously and nodded gently.
"Huijue even keeps track of the incense money of a few dozen taels, how could he forget the most 'powerful and influential' person in the temple now?"
Shen Lingyue looked left and right, then suddenly realized, "You mean... Princess Lekang?"
That's right. Given Huijue's obsession with power and fame, Princess Lekang was practically a stepping stone to heaven right in front of him.
But there was no record of Princess Lekang in his diary?
Is it because they haven't found out yet, or... has it been deliberately erased?
...
At this time, Princess Lekang and Qiushan were still copying scriptures in the Medicine Master Hall.
After arranging for Pei Jinghuai to keep watch at the intersection, Shen Lingyue no longer hesitated and pulled Yan Yi straight to Princess Lekang's courtyard next door.
"Speaking of which, on the night Gao Yu died, I really heard a scream coming from the princess's courtyard, but she said it was just a nightmare."
Shen Lingyue didn't want to admit it, but she had to, that perhaps Gao Yu's death was indeed related to Princess Lekang.
Yan Yi stopped at the courtyard gate and bent down to carefully observe the position of the door latch.
"You said that when you and your second brother heard the noise and rushed over, the front door wasn't latched and just opened with a push?"
Yan Yi reached out and touched the door latch, finding several messy scratches on the inside of the horizontal bar.
"As Gao Wu said, Gao Yu, drunk, made wild claims that he would take liberties with the princess. Taking advantage of the rainy night to conceal his tracks, he arrived outside the princess's courtyard, then used a dagger and other sharp weapons he carried to pry open the door latch and sneak into the room—"
She glanced at Shen Lingyue; both of them wore the same solemn expression.
Shen Lingyue took a deep breath, strode forward, pushed open the door to the main room, and began to search the room carefully.
She finally discovered a dark brown mark embedded in the brickwork at the foot of the bed.
She lay on the floor, stretching her arms to reach under the bed, when suddenly she hissed.
Yan Yi, who had been looking around behind her, heard Shen Lingyue gasp and quickly came over to ask, "What's wrong?"
Shen Lingyue slowly took out a shard of porcelain the size of a quail egg from under the bed; it was this thing that had pricked her just now.
“No wonder… I knew something was missing here.” Yan Yi pointed to the display cabinet at the other end of the room, where a section was abruptly empty.
Shen Lingyue: "That's right, my aunt also lives in the main house, and it's the same layout as this place. I remember there was a celadon vase on the shelf."
Princess Lekang's injured right hand, the brown stains on the soles of her shoes, the missing vase in the room, the broken pieces of porcelain under the bed, and the bloodstains in the cracks between the bricks.
All signs indicate that Gao Yu sneaked in late at night with the intention of committing adultery, and Princess Lekang fought back and accidentally killed him.
"But how did Gao Yu's body end up in front of the main hall, and what about that demon-subduing pestle...?"
Yan Yi walked to the table, picked up the Medicine Buddha Sutra at the bottom, and quickly found a familiar handwriting.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly exhaled, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
"I see."
...
It was lunchtime.
Gao Wu impatiently took the food box from the monk, opened the lid to take a look, and then angrily closed it again.
"Why is it always these bland, tasteless junk?"
The monk delivering the food bowed his head and explained, "The temple's food reserves are running low, and the road down the mountain is not yet cleared. Please bear with us, benefactor..."
Gao Wu was seething with anger, and he gave the monk a thorough dressing-down before carrying the food box into the courtyard and inviting the others to come and eat together.
A large bowl of mushroom soup was placed in the middle of the stone table. It smelled exceptionally delicious, and the tender white mushroom slices had an excellent texture.
Gao Wu tore the steamed bun into small pieces and soaked them in the soup, then happily ate a big bowl.
Others followed suit, and soon the large bowl of soup was completely devoured.
About fifteen minutes later, a series of painful groans suddenly came from the courtyard, accompanied by the clattering sound of bowls and chopsticks being overturned and falling, before quickly returning to silence.
...
Inside the Medicine Buddha Hall.
With a snap, a sea lantern placed on the shelf suddenly and inexplicably cracked, smashing to pieces on the ground.
Princess Lekang, who was engrossed in copying the sutra, was startled. She stared intently at the paper and, without noticing, a drop of ink from her brush fell onto the paper, spreading into a blot.
Akiyama, standing behind her, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this, his face showing regret, "We were about to finish copying this page of scripture, and now it's all wasted."
"It's alright, just copy it again."
Princess Lekang composed herself, set the soiled page aside, laid out a fresh sheet of white paper, and almost without thinking, the scriptures flowed smoothly from her pen.
This copy of the Medicine Buddha Sutra contains 5,388 characters. During her stay at the Jade Buddha Temple, she had copied it countless times and it was already engraved in her heart.
As soon as I close my eyes, those neat and upright small characters will automatically appear in my mind, just like that person, always keeping a distance from her, never willing to take another step forward.
When I think of him, a secret smile will unconsciously appear on my lips, but after the smile comes endless bitterness.
Princess Lekang never imagined that she would fall in love with a monk.
From the moment she found him at the foot of the mountain and he opened his eyes in the carriage, she was like a traveler wandering in the vast darkness, not knowing the way ahead, who finally saw a bright moon hanging high, shining equally on everyone.
Yunzhi is her moon.
At first, she copied scriptures in a corner, while he meditated in front of the Medicine Buddha.
Just gazing at his retreating figure from afar, Princess Lekang's lost and bewildered heart seemed to find its direction.
She found peace and happiness here that she had never experienced in the palace.
But Yunzhi is not just her moon.
He was so far away and so wonderful, so wonderful that even the most timid person would feel greedy and want to possess the moon in the sky, so that it would belong to her alone forever.
Princess Lekang did the boldest thing she had ever done in her life.
She asked Qiushan to go down the mountain to buy a pot of wine and bring it up, then deliberately got herself half-drunk and broke into Yunzhi's meditation room under the cover of night.
She clung to his monk's robe, refusing to let go, and when he was helpless against her, she secretly kissed him.
It was soft and cool, even better than she had imagined.
Yun Zhi seemed to be startled by her bold move. He stood there for a while before pushing her away and forcibly dragging her out of the room, using his strength against her for the first time.
She got drunk that night and only remembered talking a lot while leaning against the closed door. The moon that night was big and round and so close, as if you could reach out and pluck it from the sky.
She probably fell asleep sitting outside the door, but when she woke up the next day, she was lying in her own room, fully clothed, with her shoes taken off and neatly arranged by the bed.
From that day on, Yun Zhi never went to the Medicine Master's Hall again.
He locked himself in the library.
Princess Lekang couldn't go inside. But she knew that whenever she left the Medicine Master Hall to relax in the Stele Forest behind the mountain, he could see her from the top floor of the Sutra Repository.
That day, she deliberately used a little trick, pretending to be bitten by a snake hidden in the grass, and fell to the ground crying incessantly.
Not long after, Yun Zhi arrived with the medicine. At that moment, a hint of concern finally appeared on his face, but when he realized she was faking it, his expression turned cold, and he turned to leave.
Princess Lekang was in a hurry to catch up with him when she accidentally stepped on a stone and twisted her ankle. She endured the pain without uttering a sound and limped behind him.
Until he finally realized something was wrong and turned around, he saw that her tears had been silently flowing all the way, yet she still stubbornly followed him.
At that moment, she saw a complex helplessness and a hopeless sigh on his face.
Yun Zhi squatted down in front of her and said softly, "I'll carry you back."
That day, Princess Lekang lay on his back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and wished that the road down the mountain would be longer, and that it would never end.
...
"Your Highness."
The sudden sound interrupted her recollection, and Princess Lekang looked up.
Pei Jingyi stood against the light outside the hall, his handsome face dark and icy, carrying a chilling aura like snow-covered frost, as he strode in.
Princess Lekang met his sharp gaze and felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. Forgetting the proper order of ruler and subject, she couldn't help but speak first: "Lord Pei, what brings you here?"
Pei Jingyi stared at her intently, his voice soft: "I have come to tell the princess that half an hour ago, the five attendants who went up the mountain with Gao Yu were all found dead in the courtyard."
Princess Lekang's face turned ashen instantly. She abruptly stood up, but the movement was so sudden that she knocked over the inkstone, causing ink to flow everywhere and quickly stain the stack of papers on the table.
She heard her own voice trembling: "How...how could this happen? How did they die?"
Pei Jingyi said meaningfully, "They must have accidentally eaten the poisonous mushroom 'White Ghost Coptis' from the mountain. This mushroom is extremely poisonous; just a small one can kill a full-grown horse, so a few people would naturally be no match for it."
Princess Lekang gripped the table tightly, her knuckles turning white from the effort. Her body trembled slightly uncontrollably as she whispered, "So, so it was an accident? Why did Lord Pei come to tell me?"
"Huijue is dead, Gao Yu's attendant is dead, and no one knows anything about it anymore—"
Pei Jingyi raised his hand, revealing the dark-colored jade pendant with a unicorn design. "Gao Yu was killed by the princess herself."
Princess Lekang stood frozen in place, as if she had been frozen in time.
"You...you knew all along?"
"Your Highness, Gao Yu attempted to take advantage of you first. Even if you killed him in public, it would be perfectly justified. The Gao family would not dare to utter a single word of dissent. Why are you doing this—"
Unable to contain herself any longer, Shen Lingyue peeked out from behind Pei Jingyi, grabbed Yan Yi, and quickly entered the hall, her voice urgent, "We all know, you and Master Yunzhi..."
"No, that's not it!"
Princess Lekang suddenly retorted fiercely, "I have no relationship with Yunzhi whatsoever. I forced him to clean up my mess, I forced him to silence everyone who knew the truth, it was all at my behest!"
She clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to hold her head high, suppressing her sobs: "You don't need to say anything more. Once the mountain road is cleared, I will return to the palace to apologize to my father..."
"Princess, you did not kill anyone, so why are you asking for forgiveness?"
Yun Zhi emerged from behind the Medicine Buddha statue at some point, still wearing the same gray monk's robe, his eyes lowered, his face calm and compassionate.
He looked at Pei Jingyi and the rest of the Marquis's family and nodded slightly.
“Please, Benefactor Pei, do not slander the princess. She only accidentally knocked Gao Yu unconscious. I dragged him to the main hall and stabbed him in the heart with the Vajra Pestle. As for Huijue and the Gao family's attendants, it was all my doing and had nothing to do with the princess.”
"Stop the clouds!"
Princess Lekang could no longer hold back, tears streaming down her face. "You did it to protect me... I won't let you admit it like that!"
She rushed to Yun Zhi, grabbed his sleeve tightly, and looked bravely at him like a warrior ready to fight the whole world. "That's right, Yun Zhi and I love each other. He killed someone for my sake. When I return to the palace and tell my father everything, I will ask him to issue an edict to let Yun Zhi return to secular life and become my consort!"
Princess Lekang was extremely nervous when she said these words, fearing that Yunzhi would reject her again.
However, he did nothing, letting her tug at his clothes.
Princess Lekang waited quietly for a while, then turned to look at him in disbelief, "You, you agreed?"
Yun Zhi lowered his eyes and remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing.
Princess Lekang burst into tears of joy and boldly took his hand, "Yunzhi... I don't want the princess's residence anymore. Let's leave the capital. I'll go wherever you want to go from now on..."
She knew that her behavior was outrageous and that her father might be furious, or her mother might scold her for being bewitched, but at that moment she didn't want anything and didn't care about anything.
All she wants is her moon.
Yun Zhi finally raised his head, and for the first time, her image was clearly reflected in his bright, calm eyes.
He gave her a faint, almost imperceptible smile and said softly, "Okay, let's leave here together."
Princess Lekang seemed to have found the greatest support in the world. She spread her arms and stood in front of Yun Zhi in a protective posture, and said to Pei Jingyi with a righteous air, "Lord Pei, you don't need to interfere in my affairs with my husband, do you?"
Pei Jingyi paused for a moment, then performed a standard courtier's salute to Princess Lekang.
"Your subject will respectfully obey your instructions."
...
Stepping out of the Medicine Master's Hall, Shen Lingyue's mind was still in a daze.
She suddenly slapped herself hard. "I'm so stupid, really."
Her gossip-loving radar failed to detect the romance between Princess Lekang and Yunzhi!
Shen Lingyue clung to Yan Yi's arm and wailed, "Who could have imagined... that was a future abbot... even I only dared to make a few casual remarks..."
Princess Lekang, that timid little girl who was even more cowardly than a rabbit and didn't dare to fight back against Gao Yu's harassment, is actually doing something big in silence?!
Shen Lingyue frantically pulled at her hair, "She's too brave, and she's acted too well. No wonder she's a master of palace intrigue..."
After Gao Yu's death, they encountered Princess Lekang several times, and her calm and composed attitude fooled everyone.
"Actually, Gao Yu's death is just that—death. But Yun Zhi just had to..."
Shen Lingyue seemed to want to speak but hesitated, then hesitated again but still wanted to.
Wouldn't this be considered breaking the precept against lust first, and then breaking the precept against killing?
Princess Lekang was willing to defy the world to be with him, but could she truly find happiness?
Seeing the conflicted and struggling look on her face, as if she was already worried about Princess Lekan's future, Yan Yi gently patted Shen Lingyue's back to comfort her.
"No one can predict the future, but at least for Princess Lekang at this moment, she has achieved her wish and fulfilled her desire."
...
"Your Highness, you haven't finished copying the scriptures for today."
Yun Zhi said gently, "What needs to be done today should be finished today. You made a vow before the Buddha, and you must not break your promise."
Princess Lekang's heart and eyes were filled with him at this moment. She tugged at Yun Zhi's sleeve and refused to let go. "Then will you stay and help me finish copying?"
Yun Zhi chuckled and shook his head. "Your Highness, I also have my own studies to do."
Princess Lekang wrinkled her nose slightly in dissatisfaction, with a hint of coquettishness, "You're going to be my consort, why are you still thinking about your damn homework?"
As the saying goes, "A monk does his job every day, just as he does every day."
Yun Zhi seemed to be joking with Princess Lekang, successfully making her laugh and putting away her last bit of doubt.
She looked at him with reluctance, "Then today is your last day ringing the bell. After the road is cleared tomorrow, you will come down the mountain with me, and we will go to the palace to see Father Emperor."
"Okay, last day."
...
"We should be able to get down the mountain tomorrow, right?"
Shen Lingyue held a cornbread and nibbled on it, not daring to touch it even though there were no mushroom dishes on the table tonight.
What if Yun Zhi goes crazy and kills all of them, the "insiders"?
Pei Jinghuai casually picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks, "Don't worry, we tested it with silver needles, it's not poisonous."
Just as he was about to put the food in his mouth, he received a death stare from Shen Lingyue: "I will not remain a widow for you."
Pei Jinghuai: ...
He silently put down his chopsticks and picked up the cornbread.
Pei Yuzhen was still worried about the basket of mushrooms in the yard. She was now afraid of mushrooms as well as meat.
The people at the table ate their meal listlessly, hoping that these unbearable days would pass quickly.
Pei Jingyi turned his head unintentionally and saw that thick smoke seemed to be rising from the isolated mountain peak behind the mountain, dyeing half of the evening sky red, like blood splashed and spreading.
Shen Lingyue noticed his unusual gaze and followed it, her eyes widening in surprise.
"What's going on? Arsonists will land them in jail for life?"
With so much smoke, won't it burn up here soon?
Ahhh, has Yun Zhi really decided to silence them? He actually went to such lengths—
In a flash, a thought crossed Pei Jingyi's mind.
"It wasn't arson."
"It's the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice."
...
Shen Lingyue and the others put down their chopsticks and hurried towards the back mountain.
When they finally arrived at the so-called "Cliff of Self-Sacrifice," they saw a cave carved out halfway up the mountain, from which thick smoke was constantly billowing out, and a familiar figure was vaguely standing at the entrance of the cave.
"Clouds stop!!!"
Princess Lekang stumbled and climbed up, her hair disheveled, her skirt covered in mud, and she looked extremely disheveled.
She lunged forward like a madwoman, but Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi desperately held her back.
"Your Highness, the fire could spread at any moment, you mustn't go!"
Princess Lekang struggled incessantly, tears streaming down her face, shouting hoarsely, "Yunzhi, come out! Don't do anything foolish! You promised to come down the mountain with me! You big liar!"
Yun Zhi stood at the cave entrance, his face gradually swallowed by thick smoke, becoming increasingly blurred in the gray mist.
Behind him was a scorching heatwave, but he seemed oblivious to it, and bowed deeply to Princess Lekang with his hands clasped together.
“Your Highness, I am aware of my grave sins. Whatever punishment the Buddha may bestow, I will bear it alone, and it has nothing to do with Your Highness.”
Princess Lekang knelt on the ground in despair, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls, only to be quickly evaporated by the scorching air around her, leaving burn-like red marks on her skin.
it hurts.
She was in pain all over her body; her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly and churned inside her, leaving a bloody mess.
"Come out..." she cried, her voice hoarse, barely able to speak, "I beg you, don't leave me alone..."
He had promised her that he would leave this place with her and live somewhere where no one knew them...
The flames spread and licked at the hem of his clothes.
Yun Zhi's gaze remained compassionate and gentle as he stared at her for a long time.
He slowly retreated until his figure was completely engulfed by the flames.
Princess Lekang seemed to hear him sigh in her ear.
"This humble monk, Yunzhi, prays for Your Highness's long life and good health."
She could no longer bear it and completely lost consciousness.
...
The fire burned all night.
The next day, Princess Lekang woke up and, despite everyone's objections, insisted on going up the mountain again to collect bones for Yunzhi.
Fearing for her safety, Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi called their husbands to stay by her side at all times.
This cliff was originally the place where the monks of the temple were cremated. The fire burned it to ashes, and the cave walls were pitch black, with faint gray traces visible throughout. It is unknown whether these are the remains of other deceased monks.
Princess Lekang stopped in front of the cave entrance, turned around and calmly said to the two of them, "You two wait for me here. I want to have a few words with Yunzhi alone."
The calmer she was, the more chills ran down Shen Lingyue's spine. She nodded with mixed feelings, "Your Highness, you... you've finished speaking, so please come out quickly."
Princess Lekang smiled slightly, turned around, and walked inside without hesitation.
"Oh no, oh no, could she have suffered some kind of trauma?"
Shen Lingyue clung to Yan Yi's arm, trembling with fear and heartache.
No one expected that Yun Zhi would ultimately choose this path, using his own death to cleanse all sins.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Princess Lekang came out empty-handed.
Shen Lingyue blinked, still a little confused.
Didn't you say you were going to collect the bones? Could it be... that they were all burned?
Just as she was lost in thought, Princess Lekang suddenly opened her tightly clenched right hand and said, "Look."
Shen Lingyue held her breath for a moment, "This is..."
Yan Yi asked softly, "Is it a relic?"
In Princess Lekang's palm lay a hazelnut-sized, grayish-white stone, very round, which seemed to have a faint pearly sheen in the sunlight.
“I knew he wouldn’t abandon me,” Princess Lekang said to herself, carefully putting the stone into her purse.
Once she returned to the palace, she had the best jeweler in the Imperial Workshop make a setting for her, which she wore every day.
It was as if he had never left her.
After descending the mountain, Princess Lekang said she needed to collect Yunzhi's belongings.
She was very serious: "Yun Zhi is not a monk of the Jade Buddha Temple. He has no fellow disciples here. Only I can help him organize things, and then we will return them to the master of the White Dragon Temple."
Shen Lingyue forced a smile: "Your Highness is right, we can do whatever you want."
While organizing Yunzhi's clothes, Princess Lekang found the fortune slip hidden under the clothes.
Shen Lingyue curiously leaned closer, "Isn't this the bamboo stick we used to have our fortunes told? Why did he hide one?"
Princess Lekang stroked the dark red numbers on the divination sticks, then suddenly strode out of the room and went to the back to find Master Kong, asking him to interpret the divination.
"No wonder Huichen said there was one missing when he was tidying up the fortune stick container yesterday. I thought it had fallen outside and been lost."
Master Liaokong squinted and examined the numbers on the divination slips for a while, his white eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Why did this particular slip have to be lost?"
Princess Lekang asked nervously, "Master, what does this divination slip mean?"
Master Liaokong sighed, "Your Highness, look at this number. This is the last divination stick in the container, and it's an extremely rare and very unlucky one."
His aged, cloudy eyes seemed to see through everything as he slowly read the divination slip to Princess Lekang—
"I once asked Wei Tuo for a wish, but who knew that the vow would become a calamity. I knelt before the temple until my knees bled, but it was nothing more than smoke in the Buddha's palm."
-----------------------
Author's note: Finished writing it in one go! [Sprinkling flowers]
I decided on this ending from the very beginning of the story. I kept thinking about whether there was a way to break the deadlock, but I couldn't come up with anything. So you can imagine how conflicted and agonizing I was every day while writing this. It really is like that saying, "I stand at the beginning of the story, looking towards your inevitable death." [crying]
While I also enjoy the "femme fatale x holy monk" trope, personally, I think the most appealing is the holy monk who doesn't descend to the mortal realm [doge emoji]. If Tang Sanzang had stayed in the Women's Kingdom, it wouldn't have been as engaging, and there wouldn't have been so many memorable quotes. [Let me see]
//Lately, things have been really hectic at home. My cat's been sick, and I've been feeling down. Those who don't own cats might not understand how exhausting urinary retention is – it's incredibly difficult and prone to relapse. I have to monitor my cat's potty training almost constantly, and contact the vet immediately if anything seems off. And then I have to try my best to keep up with daily updates and avoid being affected by some of the less-than-ideal comments… I'm kidding, how could I not be affected? [crying emoji] The day I got reported, I turned off my computer and cried silently for a long time QAQ
As you can see from my articles, I was practically nobody before. Suddenly receiving so much attention and love from so many people makes me incredibly grateful and also incredibly humbled. Posting daily for over three months has been quite stressful, but I've been trying my best to adjust and not disappoint all the readers who follow my updates every day. However, it might have backfired. Sometimes I get so nervous that I can't type a single word in front of the computer. Even though the plot is right in my head, I just feel like a rambling, incoherent fool. [crying emoji]
Oops, I accidentally spat out some nasty stuff... but I'm okay! I can still hold on! No matter what, I'm determined to create a happy world for my beloved daughters and sons-in-law whom I've poured my heart into writing! They are the driving force that keeps me sitting here every day 55555 And of course, you guys too [doge][doge] Okay, that's all for now, love you all, muah muah muah! I'm going back to watching the big fat cat pee ()
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