Chapter 100 The old calamities of Tanjing Temple have vanished like clouds; old memories have fallen into the mountains. ...
Tanjing Temple, a golden temple reaching into the clouds, with wisps of incense smoke swirling around it.
A young girl, dressed in a blue robe, stood before the statue of the Three Pure Ones, observing it closely with eyes full of curiosity.
Suddenly, a clear, melodious female voice came from behind: "Young lady, may we move to the side of the hall for a moment? The temple needs to perform the Three Pure Ones' Precious Proclamation, which may disturb your view."
Su Jinxiu turned around and saw a female Taoist priest dressed in a moon-white robe, with her hair tied in a lotus bun and her eyebrows and eyes gentle and kind.
Upon hearing this, she quickly retreated to a vermilion pillar beside the hall and stood quietly, listening as the female Taoist priest Qingxuan, holding a jade tablet, recited: "In the past, when Laozi left Hangu Pass to the west, the gatekeeper Yin Xi observed the purple aura coming from the east and thus requested Laozi to write five thousand words. Laozi was moved by his sincerity and transmitted the scriptures at Hangu Pass for three days. After receiving the scriptures, Yin Xi resigned his official post and went into seclusion, eventually attaining the Great Dao..."
After the scriptures were recited, Qingxuan put away the jade tablet, nodded to Su Jinxiu, and the two walked out of the temple side by side.
Upon reaching the moon gate, Qingxuan suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on her lips, and said gently, "Young lady, you are still so young, how did you end up with a mute condition?"
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu simply smiled faintly, pointed to her heart, and gently shook her head.
"I was only a step late, and you've already started chatting?"
Before she finished speaking, Su Jinxiu turned around at the sound and saw Lan Shexiang slowly stepping over the blue stone steps in the temple. She quickly stepped forward to gently help her.
Qingxuan nodded and smiled, leading the two to the quiet room behind the hall, where he personally brewed them some tea.
Lan Shexiang sat down holding her child: "Originally, the four of us were traveling together, but A Zhao took on official business as soon as he arrived in Lin'an. Young Master Wen went with him to handle the matter. Because I had the child with me, the carriage ride was a bit slower, so I asked Qiaoniang to stay with you for a while longer."
She looked at Qingxuan with eyes full of affection: "Ever since you moved from Yuqing Temple in Bianliang to Lai'an, I have always wanted to visit you. Now I finally have the time to tell you about the past years."
Qingxuan gently stroked the edge of the swaddling clothes, his gaze tender: "No rush. Now that you're here, stay for a few days and we can talk slowly."
Su Jinxiu sat down with the two in the quiet room and listened to them reminisce about the past.
Last month, when the new emperor first ascended the throne, Ye Jiuzhao was appointed to govern the prefecture of Lin'an.
Wen Shiqin, having already been dismissed from his post, wished to travel to Lin'an with Su Jinxiu. He happened to meet Su Jinxiu with Lan Shexiang and their young child, so he invited her to join him. The four of them then left Bianjing together and traveled to Lin'an.
During a casual conversation while traveling through Xiang, Tu Cilan mentioned that her adoptive mother, a Daoist nun, had lived in seclusion at Yuqing Temple outside the city for several years. Two years ago, she moved to Tanjing Temple in Lin'an, a magnificent and prosperous place. This trip was a good opportunity to visit her and reminisce about the past.
With Wen Shiqin having resigned and returned home, Su Jinxiu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally began to settle down.
For a time, she would peruse the pages daily, scrutinizing the records of Wen Shiqin's misdeeds, fearing he might repeat his mistakes. Now, not a single word had been added, and the eerie glow that once lingered between the pages had quietly dissipated, making it indistinguishable from ordinary book pages. Perhaps her mission had finally been accomplished?
Now that he has left officialdom, there is no longer any risk of that hidden worry occurring.
As she pondered this, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and a very faint breath escaped from her throat, as thin as a spider's thread.
In the past few days, her voice, which had been hoarse for a long time, seemed to have improved. Although she still couldn't speak in complete sentences, she could make some faint sounds.
Lan Shexiang held her infant son tightly, looked worriedly at Su Jinxiu who was trying to speak, and then looked up at Qingxuan and said gently, "Foster Mother, all my medical skills were taught to me by you. On the way here, I took Qiaoniang's pulse. Her pulse was deep, slow and even, her internal organs were in harmony, and there was no stagnation in her blood and qi. She was clearly healthy, but I don't know why she is so reluctant to speak?"
Upon hearing this, Qingxuan put down the teapot and slowly looked at Su Jinxiu, who was sitting quietly to the side. His brows did not twitch, nor did he get up to take her pulse.
Seeing her calm expression, Lan Shexiang asked softly, "Foster Mother, you have been through so much in this world and have such keen insight. Could it be that you have already seen through the clues?"
Qingxuan remained noncommittal, instead recounting a story: "Long ago, on the shady side of Laoshan Mountain, there lived a young boy and a snow-white spirit rabbit. From childhood to adulthood, they drank the dew that fell from magnolias in the morning and ate the fallen petals of autumn chrysanthemums in the evening. They slept together among the pines and clouds, and lived together in bamboo groves, relying on each other for survival. To protect the boy, the spirit rabbit was tricked by jackals and its soul perished among the pines. The boy embraced the rabbit's body and wept bitterly, his tears flowing like blood. Afterward, he carried a three-foot-long sword and traversed the mountains and rivers, slaying all his enemies. When he had avenged his great grudge, he returned to the place where the spirit rabbit had died. He saw that the pines and the wind were still the same, but everything had changed. So he drew his sword and committed suicide, using his blood to soak the soil of the mountain, and followed the spirit rabbit away."
She spent her days studying scriptures and chanting, her tone captivating. The baby in Lan Shexiang's arms fell silent, and Su Jinxiu also lowered her eyes and focused her mind, both immersed in the old stories of the mountain spirit.
Qingxuan paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over Su Jinxiu, and slowly asked, "You two tell me, how would you judge this young man who exhausted his mind and spirit for a spirit rabbit, ultimately perishing?"
Before Lan Shexiang could speak, Su Jinxiu, seemingly oblivious, let out a single, barely audible word that echoed clearly in the quiet room: "Foolish."
When Lan Shexiang saw Su Jinxiu speak, she was so startled that she almost stood up. Qingxuan, however, raised a finger and shook it lightly, his eyes calm, signaling her to calm down. He then turned his gaze back to Su Jinxiu's face, his tone still gentle: "The Taishang Ganying Pian says that the retribution for good and evil follows like a shadow. All things in the world cannot be summarized by the word 'reincarnation' alone. Behind every obsession, there is a past cause."
Qingxuan paused for a moment, then continued, "You still think he's stupid?"
When Su Jinxiu looked up, her face still showed lingering daze, but she said decisively, "Still stupid."
"Since he is young, he is like the rising sun, with a bright future ahead of him. In the years to come, he can travel thousands of miles and meet many old friends again. Why should he risk his life on a rabbit and waste the wonderful world he has to live?"
Upon hearing this, Qingxuan only smiled faintly and remained silent.
Su Jinxiu stared at her calm eyes and brows, momentarily stunned, before realizing that she had spoken fluently and clearly just now. She quickly came to her senses and thanked her profusely.
As night deepened, Ye Jiuzhao and Wen Shiqin still hadn't returned, so Lan Shexiang led Su Jinxiu to stay temporarily at Tanjing Temple. Inside the quiet room, the candlelight flickered, reflecting the wisps of smoke from the Boshan incense burner on the table, enveloping the room in tranquility.
Holding her sleeping child in her arms, Lan Shexiang said expectantly, "Qiao Niang, it would be most fitting for you, as the godmother, to name this child."
Su Jinxiu was taken aback upon hearing this, and hurriedly raised her hand to decline: "Absolutely not, I have always been ignorant and uneducated, how dare I presume to name him, lest I dishonor the child."
Lan Shexiang smiled and gently pulled the child closer to her, insisting, "A nickname is something family members call each other when they're not in a hurry, just to show affection. There's no need for fancy words. Just do as you please."
Helpless, Su Jinxiu could only lower her head and ponder. Although several elegant words such as "Qinghe" and "Zhisui" flashed through her mind, she always felt that they lacked a bit of earthiness. After tossing and turning, she still dared not make a decision.
Finally, she looked up at the sleeping child in Lan Shexiang's arms. The small figure was curled up in the candlelight, with gentle eyes and brows. She suddenly said softly, "Since it is difficult to come up with an elegant nickname, why not ask for one with the auspicious meaning of peace and safety year after year?"
After saying that, she reached out and gently placed her hand on Lan Shexiang's palm, slowly drawing the character "稳" (wěn, meaning steady/steady): "Let's call it '稳稳' (wěn wěn, meaning steady and steady)."
Lan Shexiang repeated "steadily" softly, her smile deepening as she looked tenderly at the child in her arms: "I hope he will live a peaceful and safe life, free from disaster and worry?"
Su Jinxiu looked at the small figure and nodded gently.
As the two were smiling at each other, they suddenly heard a strange sound coming from outside the window. At first, it sounded like the howl of a wild dog in the night, but in an instant, it became a clanging sound, deep and sharp.
Su Jinxiu put down her teacup and quickly pushed open the window to look into the distance. The night wind carried the smell of burning food and rushed towards her. Looking up, she saw that bright flames were rising in front of the gate of Tanjing Temple.
Her heart sank.
I had long heard that Lin'an had been plagued by unrest lately, with bandits frequently seizing opportunities to cause trouble. Ye Jiuzhao's visit was precisely to rectify the situation here on orders. The Tanjing Temple had recently become teeming with worshippers, with mountains of incense money piling up, making it a prime target for bandits. Now that both Ye Jiuzhao and Wen Shiqin were absent, it was likely that someone had deliberately come seeking them out, either to rob them or, more likely, to target the new official's family, hoping to use them to control Ye Jiuzhao.
The more she thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed. Su Jinxiu quickly turned around and saw that Lan Shexiang had already gotten up with her child in her arms, her face slightly pale.
"We should not linger here in Hunan!"
Before she could finish speaking, just as she was about to raise her hand to close the window, a force suddenly grabbed her wrist, and the window was pushed open again.
Su Jinxiu was so shocked that her back stiffened. When she looked up, she saw Qingxuan alchemist standing outside the window, his expression calm and composed: "Miss, quickly tell Shexiang to hold the child steady and come with me."
Upon hearing this, Lan Shexiang hurriedly summoned her two personal maids. The four of them followed Qingxuan closely, stepping on the cold frost in front of the steps towards the secret passage behind the temple.
Upon reaching the entrance of the secret passage, Qingxuan suddenly turned and stopped, his gaze sweeping over the group: "This path winds its way down for about half an incense stick's time, and there will be someone to meet you at the foot of the mountain. When you came, a young master sent someone to say that he had secretly deployed guards in the mountain hollow. He did not want to disturb the temple's quiet cultivation, but also wanted to protect you in secret. Go and find them now, and you will be safe. Once you have reunited safely, if you have the strength, you can send the guards up the mountain."
Lan Shexiang hurriedly grabbed Qingxuan's sleeve: "Mother, please come with us!"
The entrance to the secret passage was a moon gate, through which the night wind blew, causing the clothes of the group to flutter.
Qingxuan gently patted her hand away, then bent down and carefully tightened the swaddling clothes of the infant in Lan Shexiang's arms, even retying the loosened ties into a tight double knot: "No need to worry, I will stay here and be fine. Those people are just coveting the temple's offerings, so just give them all to them."
“But…” Lan Shexiang wanted to persuade him again, but Qingxuan interrupted her.
"Heaven has no favorites, but always favors the virtuous. Those who have taken this ill-gotten wealth will be punished according to the law." Qingxuan raised his hand and stuffed the glass lamp into the maid's hand. "Go quickly and take my grandson to hide for a while. Once the guards come up the mountain, everything will be fine."
Once these words were spoken, there was no room for delay; every moment of hesitation would only increase the danger. Su Jinxiu and Lan Shexiang exchanged a glance and immediately led two maids deeper into the secret passage.
Su Jinxiu took a glass lamp and stepped forward to explore the path. The dim yellow light barely illuminated the stone steps in front of her, while the rest was dark as ink.
"When crossing the Xiang River, be careful on your feet as the stone steps are slippery."
"The stone steps at the corner ahead are a bit higher, so step slowly."
Every few steps she took, she would whisper a word of advice. After walking for a while, Su Jinxiu felt that the stone steps in front of her were brighter. When she realized what was happening, she turned around abruptly and saw that Tanjing Temple had been engulfed by towering flames, with red flames swirling with black smoke, turning the night sky crimson.
Lan Shexiang cried out in alarm, clutching her child and trying to rush back. Su Jinxiu reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist and her voice trembling with urgency: "Shexiang, going back now is just throwing our lives away! Calm down, let's go down the mountain and call for the guards to come back for help, that's our only way out! Let's go!"
Lan Shexiang gazed at the flames, tears falling onto the swaddling clothes, but was eventually half-supported and half-persuaded by Su Jinxiu, and staggered down the steps.
The stone steps were a mountain path, with dense, dark trees on both sides. Crows were startled by the footsteps and their cooing echoed in the night wind, making the surroundings seem even more desolate. Only the footsteps and rapid breathing of a few people could be heard echoing back and forth on the mountain path.
Su Jinxiu could only calm herself down by silently reciting the names of the guards left behind by Wen Shiqin. They were all skilled men he had selected from the army, and as long as she joined them, everything would be fine.
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, and her pace quickened involuntarily. However, she slipped on a wet, mossy patch, twisted her ankle, and felt a sharp pain surge through her.
The maid behind her quickly supported her: "Miss!"
Su Jinxiu gritted her teeth, shifted her weight to her other foot, and forced herself to stand up straight: "It's okay, it doesn't hurt. Let's keep going, don't delay."
Just as she was about to grit her teeth and straighten up, a rough laugh suddenly came from the darkness ahead.
"Search there! Be thorough! If we brothers keep pushing forward, we'll eventually catch that new official's family! Once we've got them, we won't have to worry about that guy surnamed Ye not obeying us!"
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu sensed something was wrong and immediately pulled Lan Shexiang into the dense forest to the side, with two maids following closely behind. As soon as the four of them hid behind a jagged rock about ten feet high, she urgently signaled, and the others hurriedly extinguished all the glass lamps in their hands.
In the dim light, only the moonlight shining through the gaps in the trees overhead cast shimmering, silvery light.
The footsteps on the stone steps grew closer, and seven or eight men filed in, each with a short knife at their waist, dressed in shabby clothes, looking exactly like bandits. Su Jinxiu held her breath, gripping Lan Shexiang's wrist tightly. Even Wenwen in her arms seemed to sense the danger, only occasionally letting out a very soft breath.
Just when everyone thought the group would head straight up the mountain, the tall, thin man at the back of the group suddenly stopped, his nostrils flaring, and said with suspicion, "Boss, something's not right! Why is there a woman's perfume scent in the wind?"
"Are you crazy for women, kid?" The burly leader turned around abruptly, kicked him in the back of the knee, and cursed gruffly, "I bet the smell of those brothels you went to the other day still lingers!"
The tall, thin man staggered to his feet, waving his hands frantically, "Boss, it's really not! I haven't been to that brothel for three days!" He bent down and looked around the stone steps, then his eyes lit up. He pointed to the lush grass not far away, "Look! There's a pearl flower lying on the ground!"
The tall, thin man strode over, picked up the pearl hairpin, and examined it under the moonlight. The hairpin was made of silver inlaid with fragments of jade; though not extravagant, it was clearly an ornament commonly used by young women. He then held it to his nose and sniffed it; sure enough, it carried a faint scent of perfume. He immediately held up the hairpin and exclaimed, "Now you believe me, right? There must be a woman nearby!"
The burly leader snatched the beaded flower from the headdress, examined it, and frowned. "That's enough. Don't rush up there! We haven't seen a single person along the way, they must be hiding in this area! Spread out and search, leave no trace!"
The tall, thin man's footsteps grew closer to the rocks, his long whip lashing out at the grass beside him, about to sweep across the edge of the rocks.
Just then, a slender figure suddenly darted out from behind the rock, her clothes fluttering as she headed straight down the mountain.
"That woman is carrying a child! Go after her!" The tall, thin man's eyes flashed like lightning, and he immediately shouted and gave chase. The other bandits also turned around and followed closely behind with disorderly footsteps.
It turned out that Su Jinxiu had secretly changed into Lan Shexiang's outer robe, wrapped a thick cloth around her waist as if she were a baby, and endured the excruciating pain in her ankle as she ran down the mountain with all her might.
The excruciating pain in her ankle almost made her lose her balance. Every step she took felt like walking on a knife's edge. Before she had gone far, her legs gave way and she collapsed heavily onto the wide stone steps.
She had just braced herself against the ground to get up when a large, rough hand, as rough as tree bark, suddenly grabbed her wrist. Turning around, a strong, sour smell of alcohol hit her. It was a shifty-eyed man with a lewd grin on his face: "Oh, so this member of the Ye family is such a beautiful girl!"
Several people holding torches surrounded her from behind, the firelight making Su Jinxiu's face appear deathly pale.
The burly leader pushed through the crowd, squatted down in front of her, and reached out his large, fan-like hand to pinch her chin. Su Jinxiu spat at him sharply, simultaneously shoving the swaddled baby in her arms over his head, and before he could react, she bent her knee and kicked him hard in the lower abdomen. The burly man cried out in pain, tumbling down the stone steps along with his torch. The remaining bandits were thrown into disarray, screaming and rushing to help him up.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Jinxiu staggered to her feet. She had only taken two steps down the slope when the tall, thin man grabbed her wrist tightly, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't shake him off.
Just then, with a "whoosh," an arrow pierced the air and accurately struck the man's head. Warm drops of blood splattered onto Su Jinxiu's neck, sticky and nauseating. In a panic, she jerked her hand away, and the man fell straight down on the stone steps, his eyes wide open.
Su Jinxiu looked up and saw flickering firelight on the plain below the mountain, with a group of horsemen carrying arrows galloping towards her. She felt a sense of relief and hurriedly stumbled down the slope.
But when the bandit leader died, one of the bolder ones, wanting to take credit, took advantage of his comrades' panic and quickly caught up with Su Jinxiu from behind, grabbing her hair suddenly. The sharp pain forced Su Jinxiu to lean back, but in a moment of quick thinking, she pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair and stabbed it fiercely into the man's chest.
The man cried out in pain and shoved her hard with his backhand.
Su Jinxiu, who already had a serious ankle injury and was unsteady on her feet, was pushed so hard that she fell off the steep stone steps and tumbled down the steps.
Her body tumbled down the mountain steps, with pebbles and broken grass flying past her. No matter how hard she tried to grab the grass on the cliff edge, she could only manage to grasp a few withered leaves. It was all in vain.
The dizziness of weightlessness intertwined with the piercing pain, creating a strange sense of familiarity with the scene before me.
In a daze, it seemed as if many years ago, I had been on the verge of death, pushed violently off a higher mountain peak, unable to even cry for help.
My consciousness was scattered, but the story that Qingxuan had told me by the fireside came to mind clearly.
The spirit rabbit died protecting the boy, and the boy eventually committed suicide to follow it in death.
How silly.
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