Chapter 448: Snow on the Mountain, Bright Candles in the South 8

Mingnan understands the truth, but understanding and accepting it are two different things.

At night she lay alone in bed, looking at the cold moonlight outside the window, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

He Yunfei and Yuan You's words kept circling in her mind, tugging at her heart.

She felt like she was torn in two. Half of her rational mind believed that they were right. This was how the world was, and people should not and could not interfere in the cause and effect of others.

But her partner asked her back: "You are cultivating immortality, but what kind of immortality are you cultivating? If you see people suffering but don't help them, or see people dying but don't save them, what kind of Tao are you seeking?"

The two voices kept repeating and pulling her apart, making her sleepless until dawn.

The next morning, she said she wanted to go out for a walk alone without even having breakfast. He Yunfei was worried and wanted to follow her, but Yuan You stopped her and said, "It's better to let her be alone."

He Yunfei couldn't help but sigh, "Junior Sister is good in every way, but she is too kind and innocent. I'm afraid she will get stuck in a dead end and lose her faith in Taoism."

"But the path of cultivation can only be walked and understood by her alone. We can't help her much after all. What we said yesterday was a warning to ourselves, wasn't it?"

Yuan You looked at her deeply, his eyes complicated, "Don't interfere with other people's karma, even if that person is our junior sister."

He Yunfei was silent and turned to look out the window.

…

The sky was gloomy early this morning, as if a storm was coming.

Mingnan walked along the long street from beginning to end.

The streets are still very busy during the day, with many vendors setting up stalls to sell everything from food to daily necessities and entertainment.

The waiter at the bun shop lifted the lid of the steamed bun basket, and white hot steam blew in his face, carrying a rich fragrance that drifted far away in the wind.

Mingnan didn't eat much last night and tossed and turned in bed all night. He was so hungry that his stomach was growling.

The wonton stall next door also started boiling the soup. The stall owner gently pushed the wontons with a spoon, and the wontons with thin skin and large fillings rose and fell in the boiling soup.

She hesitated for a while between eating buns or wontons, and finally decided to eat wontons. As a result, she felt a sinking sensation on her legs as soon as she took a step.

"Um?"

She looked down in confusion and saw a small pendant wearing a pink skirt on her leg.

The small pendant looks very cute and delicate.

When I looked up at her, my eyes looked especially big.

"Sister, do you have no money to eat?"

Mingnan was stunned, and squatted down to rub her head and asked, "Why do you ask that?"

The little girl shook her head, grinned and showed her uneven teeth, "Because I heard your stomach growling, you looked at the buns and wontons for a long time, but you didn't move. Who wouldn't eat when they are hungry? You must be out of money."

Without waiting for Mingnan to answer, she untied her small purse, took out a few copper coins from it and put them into her palm, "Here, this is all I have, enough to buy a meat bun."

The few copper coins felt cool against his palm, and Mingnan's heart suddenly tightened.

She stared into the girl's clear and bright eyes and asked softly, "You gave me the money, what are you going to do?"

The little girl smiled and pointed to a cloth shop nearby and said, "Ask mom for it."

Mingnan shook his head and returned the copper to her, "I can't take your money."

The little girl was confused for a moment, as if she didn't understand why she didn't want it.

After a while, she suddenly let go of Mingnan's legs, turned around and ran away.

Mingnan thought she had gone to look for her mother, so he stood up and prepared to leave. Unexpectedly, the little girl came back with a big bun in her hand and said happily, "It's hot, eat it!"

Seeing her stumbling towards him, Mingnan was surprised and happy, and hurried over to pick her up.

"Slow down, be careful not to fall!"

She picked up the little ball and weighed it; it was quite heavy.

"I'll simmer it for you. It's not hot anymore. You can eat it."

The girl thought she was embarrassed to accept the money, so she just bought the buns for her.

Mingnan looked at her clean and innocent face and felt incredibly soft in his heart.

She opened her mouth and took a bite. The bun had a thin skin and large fillings. The meat was fragrant and juicy, which comforted her empty stomach very well.

The little girl asked expectantly, "Is it delicious?"

Mingnan nodded, "It's very delicious."

"That's good." The little girl touched her face and said, "Sister, you are so beautiful."

Mingnan smiled and said, "You are also pretty. Not only are you pretty in appearance, but your heart is pretty too."

"How can the heart be beautiful?" The little girl was puzzled and looked down at her chest. "I can't see it."

205: [Oh my, so cute oooooooooo——]

Mingnan was also amused by her and kissed her round little face, "A kind heart is pure and clear, like this——"

She took out a translucent jade bead from her storage ring and gave it to her.

"Here, this is for you."

“Wow, it’s so beautiful!”

The little girl didn't know what it was, so she took it and played with it in her hand out of curiosity.

"Let your mother put a string on it and put it around your neck. Then you will be as beautiful as me."

"Really?"

The little girl became even happier and held the beads tightly.

“Wanwan——”

"Wanwan, where have you been?"

Suddenly, Mingnan heard two panicked calls from behind. She thought they were calling the little girl in her arms. She turned around and met the gaze of a beautiful middle-aged woman.

When the lady saw the child in her arms, her eyes widened immediately, she ran over quickly with her skirt lifted up, and almost cried for joy, "Wanwan, you scared me to death!"

Mingnan didn't speak immediately. His eyes moved between the two of them and he found that there was indeed some similarity between their eyebrows and eyes.

The little girl also became excited, turned around in her arms, and called out crisply: "Mom——"

"Hey..." Madam reached out to hug her, but suddenly remembered Mingnan was there. She bowed and said, "Thank you for watching Wanwan for me, young lady. I'm her mother. I was buying cloth just now, and I wasn't paying attention, so she ran out. Am I causing you trouble?"

"No, your daughter is lovely and kind, and she just treated me to a steamed bun."

Mingnan returned the little girl to her, and the lady immediately hugged her daughter tightly.

The little girl hugged her mother's neck and stretched out her hand to Mingnan, saying, "Eat buns."

"Okay." Mingnan took over and said, "I will finish it."

The little girl smiled contentedly.

The lady breathed a sigh of relief, patted her on the shoulder and said sternly: "Don't run around in the future. You are lucky to have met a kind sister this time. What if you meet a bad person next time?"

"I'm not stupid. I bought the buns for my sister because she's pretty." The little girl raised the jade bead in her hand and said, "My sister also gave me this."

The child didn't know what jade and beads were, but her mother could tell at a glance that the item was very valuable. Her face immediately changed and she said hurriedly, "It's too expensive. We can't have it. Wanwan, return it to your sister quickly."

Wanwan was confused for a moment, not knowing what to do with the jade beads.

"You gave me a papaya, and I will give you a jade pendant in return. It's not a reward, but a token of our everlasting friendship (1)!" Mingnan held Wanwan's hand and slowly tightened it, letting her hold the jade bead. He then turned to her mother and said, "True love is hard to come by. When she heard my stomach growling, she thought I had no money to eat, so she took all the copper money in her purse to buy me some buns."

"I have nothing to repay you with, but this jade bead is pretty. I'll give it to her as a souvenir. It's not worth much, it's just a token of my appreciation. You've taught your daughter well, and she will surely be happy in the future."

The lady thanked him and said, "I will let her keep it well. I appreciate your good words."

Mingnan touched Wanwan's head and said, "Sister is leaving first. You go back with mother. Don't run around alone in the future. Don't let mother worry."

"Got it. Goodbye, sister—"

Wanwan waved at her.

Mingnan raised the buns and turned away.

——Digression——

(1) Quoted from the Book of Psalms.