Chapter 136 Xiawei Temple: Then I shall become your god or Buddha.
The stone Buddha's inherently somber and austere aura was also a factor contributing to the heavy snowfall. To put it more poetically, the stone Buddha's own state of mind reflected this scene of harsh winter snow.
[That's right. The state of the guest in the instance is reflected in the surrounding scenery. The climate inside and outside the temple is completely opposite, partly because the Butterfly Monk himself has a gentle and soothing demeanor. Moreover, based on the Butterfly Monk's personality, he probably intentionally or unintentionally made the climate and seasons this way to provide a more comfortable and livable environment for the monk NPCs inside the temple.]
[Huh, didn't the Stone Buddha come out with the female guest? I was watching from the butter monk's perspective the whole time, so I missed the Stone Buddha's side. I thought that since the Stone Buddha was so attached to the female guest, he would definitely stay by her side every step of the way.]
[The female guest asked him, and the Stone Buddha said he wanted to sort out his current thoughts alone. Many of his memories and consciousness, previously tainted by resentment, were too chaotic, and he needed time to organize them.]
Looking at Yu Naixin's beautiful and radiant face, the butter-flower monk suddenly understood why the unchanging snow had melted away.
He took a few more steps forward, stood in front of Yu Naixin, and said, "Yes, the snow has melted."
"—Benefactor Yu, let's...go home."
The last word was pronounced softly and unclearly by the butter-flower monk.
For a moment, it was unclear whether it was "going home" or "going back".
From the moment the butter sculptures were created by that old monk with an indistinct face, the places where the monks could reside for a long time were only Nizhu Temple and Xiawei Temple.
Needless to say, Nizhu Monastery left the butter flower monks with no good memories whatsoever. It was only after losing their freedom and arriving at Xiawei Monastery that the butter flower monks felt a sense of "home".
Now, he has finally met Yu Naixin, and the two of them are returning to Xiawei Temple together, which truly has a sense of... returning home hand in hand.
After reciting those words and thinking about this matter, the butter-flower monk's face couldn't help but flush.
Fortunately, Yu Naixin seemed not to have heard. She greeted the butter flower monk with a smile as always and asked a question that was completely unexpected by the monk.
"Master, if when I first came to this show, I only chose you as my favorite male guest, and I didn't go into the venue on my own, but just followed your instructions to observe the surrounding situation, which is the typical practice for show guests, how would you introduce my background to me?"
This is the only question that Yu Naixin is currently unsure of the answer to.
This is exactly what she did when she did her first simulation at Xiawei Temple. The identity that the butter flower monk assigned to her at that time mainly consisted of three elements.
The first piece of information is the same as the basic information of the program. Yu Naixin, as a guest on the program "Xiawei Temple", is a pilgrim who visited the temple to pray three years ago.
The second is the side room where Yu Naixin "lived three years ago". This was arranged by the butter flower monk himself to give Yu Naixin a place to rest and at the same time avoid the possible indiscriminate attack of the headless stone ghost.
The last one is Yu Naixin's statement: "This morning, she chose to start climbing the mountain at the second quarter of Yin (3:00 AM), and arrived at Xiawei Temple at the second quarter of Mao (5:00 AM) today."
This information was so specific and filled with more than one uncommon noun concept that when Yu Naixin heard it, she thought it contained some important clues and speculated that the location of this episode would be very large, including not only the temple but also the area "below the mountain".
After figuring out all the information about "Xiawei Temple", Yu Naixin realized that it was purely a compilation by the monk who made butter flowers. He emphasized the two times to remind Yu Naixin to pay attention to the time, and he himself used this ancient method of timekeeping. He did not know that it was no longer commonly used in Yu Naixin's time.
Yu Naixin still has doubts about the claim of "pilgrims coming up from the foot of the mountain." The butter flower monk is not one to speak nonsense; he must have had his reasons for saying that.
Could it be that there are other scenes in "Xiawei Temple" that are completely absent from the memory fragments of the two male guests?
The butter-flower monk paused, pulling himself out of his earlier self-consciousness, and seriously considered Yu Naixin's question.
Although he didn't understand why Yu Naixin asked that question, the butter monk still gave his answer: "Your wish made at Xiawei Temple three years ago has come true, and you have returned to fulfill your vow. This is a 'setup' that the program team requires this humble monk to abide by."
"Before the program started, I prepared the southernmost east wing room in the front yard for you as a room. I will tell you that this is where you rested three years ago. With your intelligence, Benefactor Yu, you will surely know the purpose. I will not go into details."
"In addition... I will probably also thank you for your hard work coming all the way up from the foot of the mountain."
The butter-flower monk looked at Yu Naixin with an unconsciously soft gaze: "In the past, I lived on that vast and boundless plateau, searching for a possible paradise at the foot of the mountain, and leading the innocent Xingchan people to settle down. That was my highest ideal."
"Therefore, this humble monk hopes that the female benefactor who has come to Xiawei Temple was born in a paradise located below the plateau."
[Oh my god! I thought the Stone Buddha was good at sweet talk, but I didn't expect the Butter Flower Monk to be just as good! His expression and tone when he said that to the female guest, what's the difference between that and a confession?! Anyway, he's always been so innocent and reserved!]
[Congratulations to the female guest on the show "Heartbeat 1000%"! You have received 10 Sweet Coins from a viewer with the ID "Look at Me with Starry Eyes"!]
[The butter monk's gaze alone is enough to make me do a reading comprehension exercise! Although he said he would assign this "highland, paradise" identity to every female guest who might appear on this reality show, his previous statement was about "his highest ideal"! What does this mean? It means his ideal has changed! As for what it has changed to, you can tell from the way he looks at the female guests! His current ideal must be related to the female guests!]
[Congratulations to the female guest on the show "Heartbeat 1000%"! You have received 3 Sweet Coins from a viewer with the ID "Microscope Sugar-Picking Master"!]
[Wow! You're such a shipper! And the more I watch the butter monk and the little witch, the more I feel like this is the truth!]
[Congratulations to the female guest on the show "Heartbeat 1000%"! You have received 3 Sweet Coins from a viewer with the ID "Ziling"!]
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Yu Naixin and the butter flower monk returned to Xiawei Temple together, naturally taking the back gate on the north side.
Entering the main hall through that small door, Yu Naixin discovered that not only had much of the snow outside melted, but the mess inside the hall had also been largely restored. Although it still looked very old, at least there was a place to step. The roof beams were no longer collapsing, and the furnishings were no longer broken into pieces.
This time, passing through the headless stone ghost's territory, Yu Naixin encountered no obstacles as usual. However, because the headless stone ghost was more lucid, the butter flower monk could feel a very obvious spatial repulsion. He had to spend some spiritual power to cover himself before he could pass through smoothly.
It wasn't that the headless stone ghost's friend intentionally obstructed them; it was purely the instinctive hostility of the guest host, who possessed a certain degree of clear self-awareness, towards other competitors.
Pushing open the main hall door, the rest of Xiawei Temple remained largely unchanged. Yu Naixin gestured for the butter flower monk to follow her, and they walked straight to the lotus pond.
The butter-flower monk had a pretty good idea of what Yu Naixin was going to do: "Are you going to perform the 'fulfilling vow' procedure?"
"Pilgrimage fulfillment" is also a segment that the program team explicitly requires the program guests to complete.
Yu Naixin neither nodded nor shook her head: "I guess so."
With a leap, Yu Naixin skillfully applied a little spiritual power to her legs and feet, easily clearing the three-meter pool and landing on the jade platform in the center.
Yu Naixin glanced at the tall Buddha statue, not at all surprised; it was still shrouded in thick gray fog, refusing any prying eyes.
Yu Naixin's lips curled up slightly, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes, like a little fox plotting something mischievous.
She turned around nimbly and stood in front of the statue of the Buddha, extending a hand towards the butter monk by the lotus pond three meters away.
“Abbot,” Yu Naixin used a more formal title this time, “would you be willing to—take refuge in me?”
[What?! What is this female guest doing? What does it mean to ask the butter monk to convert to Buddhism?]
【Aaaaaaah! The classic is happening again?! The Great Demon King became the Mountain God in her very first dungeon, and now she's going to become the deity represented by this statue in this dungeon?!】
[Wow, this actually works?! The concept of "deification" in "Heartbeat 1000%" is no simple matter. Can a new guest really pull this off?!]
[She had never been a guest on any TV show before, but she succeeded the last time she did.]
Upon closer analysis, the Buddha statue in this pool indeed seems to have no restrictions. Initially, it was thought that the Butter Flower Monk had moved the main Buddha statue from the main hall, but this assumption is now invalidated after it was confirmed that the main hall is the domain of the headless stone ghost. This statue is located at the core of the Butter Flower Monk's domain, and theoretically, it has a close relationship with him. If the Butter Flower Monk determines that the female guest is the Buddha statue itself, it's entirely possible that he could successfully "transform" her into this deity.
[What about the conditions for ending the wish-fulfilling event? Oh no, I'm being silly. Since I've become a god or Buddha, of course I can make myself fulfill my wish successfully.]
Butter Monk: "...?!"
This wasn't the first time the butter flower monk had been shocked by Yu Naixin, but this was the most incredible time for him.
Does Benefactor Yu intend to... replace this statue of a deity or Buddha?!
This was truly beyond the comprehension of the butter flower monk.
Is this even possible?
Yu Naixin tilted her head and smiled playfully: "The space where this Buddha statue is located is actually a blank space, right?"
“Abbot, you have long lost faith in the so-called Buddha and Bodhisattvas. It is only because of the origin of your offerings and your status as a monk that you have placed such a Buddha statue in the very center of your home.”
"In fact, even you yourself don't know what kind of face the gods and Buddhas in your mind should look like."
Yu Naixin pointed her out hand upwards and behind her: "The size of this Buddha statue is exactly the same as the base of Mr. Stone in the main hall. You used that as a reference when you were making it, right?"
"You can only find this one reference point."
These are all traceable clues, but Yu Naixin connected them in a way that is hard for ordinary people to imagine.
Thus, a seemingly obscure but entirely true conclusion is reached.
“Now the entire venue for the ‘Xiawei Temple’ program has been basically unlocked and opened,” Yu Naixin said calmly. “Only this Buddha statue stands out out of place in such a blurry form in such a prominent position on your home turf.”
"Since this is nothing but a blank space that no one can know, then I can write whatever I want about it!"
Yu Naixin extended her hand to the butter sculpture monk again: "Since you have no gods or Buddhas in your heart, then I will become your gods and Buddhas."
She repeated her invitation: "Butter flower monk, would you be willing to—take refuge in me?"
The butter sculpture monk: "...!!!"
The butter-flower monk's eyes widened, his pupils contracted sharply, and he was speechless.
A beautiful young girl stood gracefully before the towering, faceless Buddha statue, gazing at him earnestly with the gentlest and most radiant smile, her sincerity and enthusiasm revealing her desire to fill the long-corrupted and empty void of faith in his heart.
It took the butter-flower monk a long time to finally manage to find his voice: "This humble monk..."
His voice trembled uncontrollably, but his tone was absolutely resolute: "I am willing!"
Why wouldn't I want to?
In his mind, Yu Naixin was the only god or Buddha.
In an instant, golden light rose from the ground of the entire lotus pond, and the dazzling golden light enveloped Yu Naixin and the butter flower monk.
Holy crap!! It really worked?!
[Oh my eyes! The whole live stream screen is so flickering, I can't see anything!]
[Aaaaaah! Has she really become a god in every sense of the word?!]
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Author's Note: The promised extra chapters might not be possible all at once. I'll try to update more over the next few days to finish the story as soon as possible, so Naixin can deliver gifts to the Butter Flower Monk and Mr. Stone~
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