Chapter 226 Xie Lingjiang: Please sit down, Senior Brother (Bonus Chapter!)
Early morning, just as dawn was breaking.
The area around the morning meal hall of Donglin Temple began to bustle with activity, as monks and lay devotees filled their stomachs during their morning prayers.
Apart from Zaozhaiyuan, most of the other palaces and residences in the temple were dimly lit, with only a few shadowy figures.
The same was true of the Beitian Nursing Home, where most people were still unconscious.
Little did they know that a beautiful figure in red, travel-worn, appeared before the dry well in the backyard.
"The well rope shows signs of having been used recently..."
At the wellhead, Xie Lingjiang took a breath, bent down and looked around, her weariness instantly vanishing.
Without saying a word, she flipped herself into the well and leaped into the underground palace.
Xie Lingjiang landed lightly, her tiptoes touching the lotus pedestal first.
"Senior Brother!"
She called out and looked around.
Then he scanned the underground palace called "Pure Land".
The words were swallowed back.
Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath, ignoring the monk Xiuzhen who was getting up and walking out of the darkness.
Her figure swept through the underground palace like the wind, quickly making two rounds before finally returning to the lotus pedestal.
“Not here…” Xie Lingjiang murmured.
The light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Inside the underground palace, there was only a strange, withered monk who seemed to be sleeping.
"Wait, what's this?"
Xie Lingjiang's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something, and he looked down.
On a lotus pedestal half a meter high beside him, lay an empty gray monk's robe.
Xie Lingjiang slowly reached out, picked up the monk's robe, lowered her head, and slightly sniffed.
"It's the eldest brother, no doubt about it... He also likes to wear sleeves with a folded sleeve, and the everyday wrinkles on these sleeves are something he often carries with him."
"He...he sat on this lotus platform wearing this monk's robe? Where...where did he go...where did our senior brother go..."
Her eyes suddenly brightened and then dimmed. She slumped onto the stone seat, clutching the clothes Ouyang Rong had left there.
Just then, a series of "thumps" sounded from the ground beside Xie Lingjiang's feet, like a combination of sounds of marbles bouncing off the ground.
She bent down in a daze, picked up the bead, and looked down to examine it closely.
This is a round bead, crystal clear, faintly emitting a hint of moonlight.
It resembles a luminous pearl.
It's unclear whether it fell from the lotus pedestal or slipped from Xie Lingjiang's monk's robe.
“This is… the luminous pearl that my senior brother gave me. It’s a precious item, how could it have been left here? My senior brother is not usually a careless person who loses things.”
Xie Lingjiang gazed at the monk's robe and the luminous pearl left on the lotus pedestal, and slowly murmured to herself:
"Why were only clothes and a luminous pearl left behind...?"
"My sister said before that she was coming to the underground palace to ascend to the Pure Land. Ascend to the Pure Land?"
"How...how could he ascend? There's no such thing as a pure land in this world. He hasn't even started cultivating yet. It must be fake. How could it be..."
Xie Lingjiang's words gradually caught in her throat.
She looked up at the beam of sunlight falling from the well above her head.
The sunlight shone directly on Xie Lingjiang, whose face gradually revealed an expression of disbelief.
It also landed where Ouyang Rong had sat last night.
The underground palace was dark, with only this one beam of light, as if it were falling on the chosen one.
Her long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips were somewhat pale.
"Does the Pure Land really exist...? Is there really a hidden story behind Master Zhongma's attainment of Buddhahood in his physical body?"
"Did our senior brother also achieve physical ascension? Is there really a pure land in this world that even a man like him would yearn for..."
At this moment, Xiuzhen emerged from the darkness, her face filled with grief: "..."
“Amitabha Buddha, female Bodhisattva, this is the Pure Land of Lotus, and above it lies the Avici Hell! Come here quickly, don’t stand there…”
Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned his head, interrupting the withered monk's words, and asked:
"Where is my senior brother? Have you been here the whole time...? Have you seen my senior brother?"
Xiuzhen looked puzzled:
"Who is this female Bodhisattva senior brother? Has she also ascended to this Pure Land?"
Xie Lingjiang's voice trembled as she raised the gray monk's robe in her hand to indicate:
"He wore this monk's robe not long ago, and may have even sat here. This bead is also his."
"He was eight feet tall, with a faint scar on his right forehead that had not yet healed. His cheeks were thin, and he was handsome and dashing. Moreover, he was gentle and kind, like a spring breeze, but occasionally he liked to cause trouble, catching people off guard..."
Xie Lingjiang spoke very quickly, trying her best to describe it.
Xiuzhen suddenly realized, and put her hands together in prayer:
"Is the female bodhisattva referring to the benefactor whose eyes shone with purple light last night? This humble monk remembers that he wore this robe at the time."
“His eyes are filled with purple light… Where did he go?” Xie Lingjiang asked in a daze.
Xiuzhen nodded: "So, you were looking for him, Bodhisattva. Why didn't you say so earlier? Please come with me, Bodhisattva. He's here!"
Xiuzhen led Xie Lingjiang to the mural "Prince Sattva Sacrifices Himself to Feed the Tiger" on the east side of the underground palace.
He looked delighted and pointed to the mural of the compassionate Buddha who sacrificed himself to feed a tiger and attained enlightenment: "Look, female bodhisattva, he's right there."
Xie Lingjiang smacked her lips slightly.
Xiuzhen pointed to three other murals with her index finger and said with a smile:
“Female benefactor, he will go here, here, and here again in the future! If you stay in the Pure Land, you can observe with this humble monk.”
"He went into the murals? Is there really a Pure Land...? Is the eldest brother a reincarnated immortal from mythology? No wonder he's so extraordinary. He just descended to the mortal realm to accumulate merit and ascend to immortality..."
Xie Lingjiang stared blankly as she looked around at the underground palace buildings on all four sides.
His hands, which had been clutching the monk's robe and the luminous pearl, slowly drooped down to his sides.
For a moment, I looked around blankly.
Silence fell over the underground palace.
I don't know how much time passed.
"Oh, Bodhisattva, why are you leaving? No, don't go up there, that's the Avici Hell! Bodhisattva, come down quickly and stay with this humble monk in the Lotus Pure Land..."
Xie Lingjiang doesn't remember how she left the dry well underground palace.
I don't remember how I managed to shake off the monks from the charity home who came up to ask me questions and leave the Compassionate Charity Home.
Xie Lingjiang looked down at the gray monk's robe and the luminous pearl in her hands.
Walking slowly along the unfamiliar temple passageway, with towering green tiles and yellow walls on both sides.
She walked blankly past the Buddhist temples and pagodas.
Her once dazzling red dress now appeared dull.
As if exhausted from a day and night of toil, the morning dew dampened the vibrant red, turning it into a deep gray hue.
Even so, her red dress still made her the most vibrant and beautiful sight in the temple filled with ancient Buddhist scriptures and lamps.
However, the scenery was somewhat withered and faded, like a red rose that had fallen on a cloudy day.
The sky was now fully bright, just beginning to lighten in the early morning.
Xie Lingjiang wandered as if in a dream, vaguely passing a pagoda and a sutra-copying hall, before gradually stopping in front of a yellow wall.
She smelled the aroma of hot porridge and steamed buns.
Xie Lingjiang looked dazed. After regaining her senses, she belatedly raised her hand and touched her abdomen.
She turned her head and looked around; behind the wall should be the morning meal hall of the temple.
Faint noises and the aroma of food could be heard wafting through the air.
Xie Lingjiang remained silent for a while, then walked around the yellow wall and into the Zaozhai Courtyard.
He found a corner with practiced ease, and sat down with a calm and desolate expression to wait for his meal.
She was quite familiar with this Zaozhaiyuan.
I still remember when Xie Lingjiang had breakfast in this courtyard with her father, her eldest brother, and Aunt Zhen.
I remember Aunt Zhen almost gave her a jade bracelet that belonged to my eldest brother's mother. If only she had...
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs".
Some people and some things, once missed, seem to be gone forever.
"The stars tonight are not those of last night; for whom do I stand in the wind and dew at midnight?"
Xie Lingjiang muttered a self-deprecating remark.
Before the porridge and rice from the kitchen were served, she suddenly reached out, dragged a small earthenware jar from the table to her, opened the lid, and picked up a small piece of pickled radish and put it in her mouth.
Pick up one piece, two pieces, three pieces...
For a moment, the spacious morning meal hall was half full of monks and guests. In one corner of the hall, a woman in red was eating pickled radishes with her head down, and her shoulders were trembling slightly, but no sound of crying came out.
She held her chopsticks and kept putting chunks of radish into her mouth.
After such a frenzy of eating, the small earthenware pot was obviously not enough. Xie Lingjiang didn't even look up, but reached out and grabbed a food jar from the empty table next to him.
Fortunately, Xie Lingjiang was sitting in a corner of the lobby, so this strange scene of eating pickled radishes didn't attract much attention.
"...Hey, Master specifically told us not to make a fuss...The Sutra Copying Hall hasn't been open for the past two days, and we're not receiving any visitors...The monks guarding the hall are too scared to go there...The strange noises from the Buddha statue are really creepy. Hey, our temple hasn't done anything immoral lately...We've never done anything like this before!"
The main hall of Zaozaiyuan was quite lively, and from not far away, the faint sigh of a young novice monk could be heard:
"Master said that you are a brilliant detective and happen to be in the temple. He asked me to take you there and help take a look. You just inspected the Sutra Copying Hall. How was it? Did you find any clues?"
"Here you are, this is the list of visitors who have entered and exited the Sutra Copying Hall for the past month, which you just requested..."
"Hmm, please eat slowly. I'll go get you another jar of pickled radishes. I'm not bragging, but our hot rice porridge with pickled radishes at Zaozhai Temple is absolutely the best in Longcheng. Even lay Buddhists and pilgrims from the foot of the mountain come all the way here just to eat it..."
Just then, a magnetic, slightly husky young voice, as if he had a sore throat, rang out from not far away.
"The strange noise from the Buddha statue means someone is crying out for justice and the Buddha is manifesting his power. By the way, is your Donglin Temple a shady temple in secret? Do you do shady things in the dark of night?"
"Your Honor, we've been wronged! We've been following the law..."
"Alright, stop complaining to me. This isn't my responsibility right now. I'm only helping out because you treated me to breakfast."
"It's a very simple idea. Since the Buddha statue is making strange noises, then there must be something wrong with the Buddha statue in the hall. Check the Buddha statue. Don't scare yourself... Let me give you a final suggestion."
"Don't worry about reputation damage or keeping it a secret. Write a police report, go down the mountain immediately, and send all the details of the strange noises in the Sutra Copying Hall, as well as the records of visitors to the Sutra Copying Hall, to the Longcheng County Government and give them to Constable Yan to ask them to come and investigate."
"But remember, you are not allowed to mention my name in front of them."
Xie Lingjiang looked up in a daze, straining her ears to hear the familiar young man's voice stop, as if he were chewing on a pickled radish. After a pause, a soft sigh followed, and he muttered to himself:
"Hey, I just came up here for one last vegetarian breakfast, and some pickled radishes, to fill my stomach before I leave... Why does your temple have so many troubles? I really owe you guys something."
The young novice asked curiously, "One last meal? Where is the magistrate going? Is he never coming to our temple again?"
"Don't pry into the affairs of adults. Alright, Xiufa, go about your business and convey what I just said to Master Shandao."
"Let's go, don't worry about me. I want to finish this meal in peace and quiet."
"Oh, yes, Your Excellency, I will not disturb you any longer."
In the corner, Xie Lingjiang suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, then turned around and silently walked towards a two-person dining table not far away.
There, sitting face to face at the table, were the two people who had just been talking.
One was a young novice monk with a shiny bald head, seated facing Xie Lingjiang.
There was also a young man dressed in civilian clothes and wearing a low-brimmed felt hat.
This understated outfit wouldn't stand out much in the breakfast hall alone.
Xie Lingjiang gripped the knife handle with her right hand and walked silently behind the young man who was hunched over the table eating.
At this moment, a little novice monk named "Xiufa" in front of the table nodded in response, as if pecking at rice.
He got up to leave.
But the next second, Xiufa froze, her face blank.
"The county... the county magistrate."
The young novice's pupils reflected a beautiful figure in red, which loomed over him like a mountain, the red shadow in his pupils growing larger and larger.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you leaving? What are you standing there for?"
The young man in the felt hat pursed his lips, then looked up silently.
But in the next instant, the felt hat on his head was gone.
His handsome eyebrows and eyes were exposed, along with a slightly reddened nose.
"No, you..."
Ouyang Rong's face immediately fell, and he turned around unhappily to look behind him.
But suddenly, it collided with a pair of wide, red-rimmed eyes.
His felt hat was being picked up by a fair, white hand.
Xie Lingjiang stood high above, her face stern and her eyes cold.
Ouyang Rong leaned back tactically, supporting himself on the bench under his buttocks with his hands.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Her hair and mouth, her eyes darting between the two of them, showed that despite her young age, she was quite adept at reading people.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, he chuckled twice:
"Oh, it's Miss Xie. Good morning, Miss Xie... Um, magistrate, I still have to go down the mountain to report a case, so I'll be going now."
The bald-headed young novice monk slipped away and made a hasty escape.
"you……"
Ouyang Rong's expression changed.
"Wait a minute, don't run so fast! I suddenly know how to investigate this case, wait for me..."
His face darkened, and he quickly got up and ran after Xiufa.
Unfortunately, in the next instant, the felt hat was back on his head.
A delicate hand with visible blue veins was now attached to the felt hat.
Ouyang Rong was pinned to the spot by Xie Lingjiang.
He maintained his starting running posture, bent over and half-standing, but at this moment he was as if he had been frozen in place and could not move.
Only a pair of bright, round eyes remained, slightly turned to the side.
All he saw was his tall, red-clad junior sister, one hand pressing down on his felt hat and the other tightly gripping the familiar skirt knife at his waist.
In this situation, Ouyang Rong had a slight doubt that his junior sister might suddenly pull out her sword with a backhand slash, and in a flash, send his senior brother's head flying to the ground, thus venting her anger completely.
Ouyang Rong noticed that the small crown adorning her hair was slightly crooked, her sideburns were a little messy, and her eyes were red-rimmed.
Her pitiful eyebrows and eyes were shaped like two crescent moons, making her look somewhat haggard.
There was still a bit of pickled radish oil on the corner of her lips that hadn't been wiped off, but it made her lips, which weren't covered in rouge, appear even redder and more delicate.
As if sensing the gaze, the junior sister turned her face away and seemed to sniff her delicate nose.
She puffed out her rosy cheeks and nodded slowly:
"Please sit down, Senior Brother."
Ouyang Rong: ...
or2 Sorry, my brothers, it's a bit late. Here's a 4,000-word chapter. To explain why I'm late, I stayed up all night writing until 8 AM this morning. My eyelids started drooping, and I didn't dare to stop writing, so I lay on my back and dozed off for a while. I slept until 3 PM, and then got up to write until now…
(End of this chapter)
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