Chapter 345 Do your best, and Heaven will surely grant your wish.
But then she thought, since the abbot of the temple had returned the earrings, he must have told Yuwen Ye the whole story. It wasn't surprising that he knew about Shan Tong'er.
So she stopped thinking about it and lowered her head to wash her face.
After washing up, Yuwen Ye stood up and said, "Let's go."
The two left their room and headed towards the dining hall.
Most temples enshrine the same gods and Buddhas, but the layout of the halls and even the abbots will differ. For example, the Banyan Temple, which they used to visit often, was a place frequented by many high-ranking officials and nobles because it was near Luoyang. Therefore, it was built to be magnificent and grand, and even the dining hall was built to be larger than that of other temples, capable of accommodating dozens or even hundreds of people to eat at the same time.
But the temple in front of us was small and sparsely populated, and the dining hall was very crowded, with only four tables set up for the monks who were practicing there.
Fortunately, it was already late when they arrived, and the monks had already eaten their vegetarian meal, so it wasn't crowded. As soon as they entered, they saw Shen Wuzheng sitting at a wooden table by the window, and Tu She'er placed the vegetarian meal she had brought in front of him.
Shang Ruyi walked over: "Brother."
Shen Wuzheng looked up at her and said with a smile, "You're up."
Shang Ruyi nodded, and Yuwen Ye also bowed to Shen Wuzheng and called him "Big Brother". Shen Wuzheng only glanced at him, then looked at Shang Ruyi, and calmly nodded.
Then they sat down and began their fast.
Shang Ruyi ate half a bowl of porridge, then glanced around and noticed that there seemed to be fewer people they had brought. She asked, "Where are Mu Xian and the others?"
Yuwen Ye said, "I've arranged for them to take turns guarding the area below Wanggang Village."
Shang Ruyi asked, "Are we waiting for Xiao Yuansui?"
Yuwen Ye raised his head and exchanged a glance with Shen Wuzheng sitting opposite him. Shen Wuzheng said, "Based on the distance and the pace of the people Wang Quyi sent, as long as Xiao Yuansui receives the news and sets off immediately, he should be able to reach Wanggang Village in a day and a night."
Shang Ruyi's spirits lifted: "So, he'll arrive this evening?"
She became a little nervous as she spoke.
Even now, she still thinks it's a pipe dream for them to take down Wanggang Village with just their group. After all, they haven't figured out the true identities of the leaders in Wanggang Village yet, and they're not dealing with ordinary rebel leaders or some incompetent officials in the court.
It was Xiao Yuansui!
Last time at Xingluocang, even with Yuwen Ye's almost flawless plan, he still couldn't completely capture this person.
Therefore, she dared not let her guard down this time.
If Xiao Yuansui is to arrive at Wanggang Village by dusk today, shouldn't they be preparing?
At this moment, Yuwen Ye said from the side, "What elder brother said is true. If Xiao Yuansui sets off immediately upon receiving the news, he will arrive by dusk today."
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him, then pondered his words for a moment, and came to her senses: "But, he should make some preparations, right?"
Yuwen Ye nodded: "This person is not an incompetent fool."
"..."
“After the last battle of Xingluocang, although he retreated to Wanggangzhai, he must have become estranged from Wang Quyi. That’s why he didn’t bring Wang Quyi with him when he joined forces with Liang Shide to attack Luoyang this time. Given this situation, how could he not be wary when Wang Quyi suddenly summoned him back to Wanggangzhai at this time?”
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "In other words, he probably anticipated that Wang Quyi would take action against him. In that case, he would definitely make full preparations before setting off, and might even bring back a large group of people."
"..."
"If that's the case, doesn't that confirm what you all thought before?"
A treasure hidden in a suspected tomb of Zuo Gong aroused suspicion between the two sides.
As long as Wang Quyi and Xiao Yuansui start fighting, the people in Wanggang Village will kill each other. Even if they are not completely wiped out, their strength will be greatly reduced, which is exactly what they want.
Shen Wuzheng said, "But this is what we want."
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him again.
Shen Wuzheng said, "Whether Xiao Yuansui will agree with what we think is unknown."
"..."
"In fact, this time, just from Wang Quyi killing Li Wenyang, we can see that people's hearts are unpredictable. I could guess Wang Quyi's greed, but I didn't expect him to be that greedy. As for Xiao Yuansui—he was already very smart, and after these years of experience and tempering, he is probably even smarter and more skillful than before."
"..."
"Therefore, it is really hard to say how he will deal with Wang Quyi's summons back this time."
They can only stir up waves, but in those waves, where will all the rootless duckweed drift? Perhaps it will be battered by the waves, but it is also possible that wind, rain, and all sorts of other inexplicable factors will influence it.
That's why people say, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."
At this moment, Yuwen Ye said calmly, "Do your best, and Heaven will surely grant your request."
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him, only to see Yuwen Ye calmly say, "Since the situation at Wanggang Village is complicated, we cannot take this place by simply letting them kill each other."
"oh……"
Shen Wuzheng also looked at him, and when their eyes met, a sharp light seemed to flash in both of their eyes.
Just then, a hunched figure entered the dining hall. It was none other than the abbot of the temple. The old monk was very old and walked with a trembling gait. He looked around the dining hall, seemingly looking for someone, but he couldn't find them and just sighed.
Then, he turned around and walked out.
Upon seeing him, Shang Ruyi realized something and hurriedly got up to rush over. But as soon as she stood up, Yuwen Ye grabbed her wrist: "What are you doing?"
Seeing the two of them holding hands, Shen Wuzheng, sitting opposite them, had a slight glint in his eyes.
Shang Ruyi was also somewhat flustered, but she couldn't say much, so she could only force herself to say, "I... I have something to say to the abbot. You all eat first."
After saying that, she gently wiped his hand off her wrist, then turned and walked out.
"Abbot".
Upon hearing this, the old monk turned around and, seeing her approaching, quickly put his hands together in a gesture of respect: "What are your instructions, benefactor?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Abbot, about yesterday—"
The old monk opened his cloudy gray eyes and looked at Shang Ruyi's ears. He immediately realized something and said, "Female benefactor, this unworthy disciple has not cultivated enough and has been greedy for money. Please forgive me."
Shang Ruyi quickly said, "Abbot, please don't say that. This is something I gave to your disciple myself. These are difficult times, and we were the ones who disturbed your temple. This is just a small token of our appreciation."
The phrase "the world is tough" seemed to perfectly capture the old monk's feelings.
He sighed and said, "Yes, but the more difficult the times are, the more peaceful people should be. Otherwise, the more greedy people become, the more chaotic the world will be."
"..."
"Moreover, although it is almsgiving, the mind of this wicked disciple is impure."
"..."
“If it weren’t for the Second Young Master, he would have gone astray.”
Shang Ruyi listened and felt that the old monk was being a bit too serious, but upon further reflection, she realized that preventing problems before they arise was precisely the practice of a monk.
but--
If not the second young master?
The way he said that made it sound like Yuwen Ye had done something first, even though he was the one who brought the things back to them.
Just then, Yuwen Ye's voice came from behind: "What are you talking about?"
Looking back, he saw that it was him and Shen Wuzheng walking over together. Upon seeing them, the old monk immediately bowed to them and said, "It is this old monk who has disturbed your meal."
Shen Wuzheng smiled and waved his hand, "We've just finished eating. By the way, I just saw the abbot come in looking for someone. Who are you looking for?"
The old monk smiled bitterly and said, "I'm looking for Xiao Tushan. He stole food, and I scolded him a couple of times last night. This morning, he's nowhere to be seen again."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi asked with some concern, "Where would he go?"
The old monk shook his head and said, "I don't know. Although this child has been a monk for quite some time, he's still wild at heart. Since coming to our humble temple, all my efforts to discipline him have been in vain. He runs off every few days, and we can't even find a trace of him. Just when we all think he's gone somewhere else, he comes running back on his own. It's really—"
As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed.
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Does the abbot mean that Shantong'er didn't become a monk in this temple?"
The old monk said, "No. This child wandered to our humble temple a few days ago because of the war. I took pity on him, seeing that he was pitiful and had no one to rely on, so I took him in as my disciple and let him practice there under my name. But he, alas—"
Even Shang Ruyi was somewhat surprised by this.
She thought the experiences she had heard about Shan Tong'er last night were already difficult enough, but she never imagined that he had also gone through war and wandering. This child was so young, yet he had endured so much suffering. It was truly pitiful.
Just as she was feeling a mix of emotions, both sentimental and worried, Yuwen Ye, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, "Abbot, do you know where this boy Shantong was ordained and practiced before coming here?"
Shang Ruyi turned her head and glanced at him.
The abbot shook his head.
He sighed and said, "Although this child is usually very talkative and eats a lot, he rarely talks about becoming a monk."
"..."
"To be honest, even if we had taken him as a disciple, he would have spent more time outside than in the temple."
"..."
“I’m not worried about anything else, but I’m afraid he won’t have enough to eat. He might steal food outside. People outside aren’t like the people in the temple. They just punish him by making him copy scriptures and scolding him a couple of times. I’m afraid he’ll get beaten…”
Yuwen Ye said, "Does the abbot mean that although he often sneaks out and spends more time outside than in the temple, there has never been any news of him being beaten for stealing food outside?"
The abbot thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes."
"oh……"
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. After a moment, he smiled and said, "In that case, the abbot need not worry too much."
"..."
"I suppose he has his own place to go."
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