Chapter 163 A Trip to Fuling Temple

"It's changed after so many years..."

Lan Xu looked at the renovated gate in front of her, which was much wider and taller than she remembered. The courtyard wall was also made of blue bricks instead of the original bamboo fence. There were also stone slabs in front of the gate, which were clean and tidy. I guess there would be no more muddy water to dirty shoes on rainy days.

"I'm old, I don't know if they still remember me..." Lan Xu felt a little homesick in her heart, and she hesitated and stood outside the gate of Fuling Temple, muttering to herself.

"Mom, you are only in your thirties, you are still young!"

Jiang Ning said, and pulled Lan Xu into the open gate.

Behind the door was a courtyard with a lush bodhi tree. Opposite the gate was the main Buddhist temple, where a Buddha statue was enshrined. The temple was filled with the sound of Buddhist chants, which was solemn and dignified.

The area around the main Buddhist temple should be where the nuns lived. The rooms were neatly arranged in a circle, and rows of vegetable fields could be vaguely seen behind the houses.

All of this was different from the dilapidated Fuling Temple in Lanxu's memory. She stood there blankly, feeling a huge sense of bewilderment for a moment.

"Amitabha~"

A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind them. The two turned around and saw an old nun in blue-gray Buddhist robes standing not far away. She stood facing them with her hands clasped together. Her brows and eyes were peaceful and her face was calm. A half-person-high broom was leaning on her. It was obvious that she had discovered the mother and daughter when she was sweeping the floor.

"Master Puxuan!"

Lanxu looked at the person and suddenly choked up. Then she didn't care about Jiang Ning anymore. She ran over and knelt down at Puxuan's feet with a "thump": "Disciple Mingzhen, meet the master!"

"Mingzhen?" Puxuan was extremely surprised. He quickly helped the person up. After a careful look, he recognized the face: "It's really Mingzhen!"

"Master, it's me, it's me..."

Lanxu nodded while crying, and shouted to Jiang Ning: "Ling'er, come here quickly!"

Jiang Ning walked to the two of them as she said. Lanxu pushed her in front of Puxuan: "Master, this is Ling'er, do you remember? You delivered Ling'er yourself."

"Ling'er?" Pu Xuan looked at Jiang Ning standing upright, his eyes like ancient wells sparkling with tears: "Little Ling'er has grown up! How great, how great...you and your mother have also recognized each other, how great, how great..."

Jiang Ning didn't know how to address the old man in front of her, and could only stand there stupidly for a while, with a well-behaved smile on her face.

"Mingzhen, let's go to the Zen room, let's talk about the past, there are many people here, they have always missed you and your mother..."

Pu Xuan said, put the broom against the wall, and then took Lan Xu in one hand and Jiang Ning in the other hand, and walked to the back of the main hall.

The two hurried forward to help, and met a few young nuns on the way. Seeing the three of them supporting each other, they didn't ask too many questions, nor did they look at them too much. They put their hands together and called Pu Xuan "Master Pu Xuan", and then walked away.

"After you left, Prime Minister Nangong's father sent people to renovate our Fuling Temple, saying that he was thanking us for taking care of his granddaughter..."

Jiang Ning and Lan Xu were very surprised.

Especially Jiang Ning, she could not imagine that her grandfather, whom she had never met, had done such a thing for them.

Pu Xuan patted Lan Xu's hand again and said, "In the past ten years, many new faces have come to Fuling Temple. Now there are nearly forty people in the temple, much more than when you were there." Lan

Xu smiled, thinking of the past, with deep nostalgia in her eyes: "When I came, there were only thirteen people here. Are they all okay now?"

Pu Xuan's face froze, and his eyes flashed: "Birth, aging, sickness and death, life is impermanent. There are only seven nuns left in that batch, including me."

Lan Xu's smile disappeared for the most part, and her expression was dazed.

The Zen room was behind the main hall. Pu Xuan walked over and called a nun casually: "Ming Xin, go and call Pu Jing, Pu Kong, Pu Hui, Hong Min, Hong Zhi, and Ming Chen to the Zen room."

After the nun named "Ming Xin" left, Pu Xuan looked at Lan Xu and comforted her: "Ming Zhen, you know, before you came, the youngest person in Fu Ling Temple was Ming Chen, and she was already in her thirties. We are old bones, and after seventeen years, half of us are still alive. It is already the blessing of the Buddha."

Lan Xu nodded with red eyes, and then listened to Pu Xuan continue: "We personally sent those people off, and they died of old age. You don't have to be sad."

"Yes, Master, I will teach you." Lan Xu replied.

Soon, those people Ming Xin called came to the Zen room one by one.

Several people recognized Lanxu at first sight. When they learned that Jiang Ning was the little girl, a bunch of people gathered around again, calling her "Xiao Ling'er".

"Amitabha, our Xiao Ling'er is back! Buddha bless you, Buddha bless you!"

"Xiao Ling'er and Xiao Mingzhen are reunited..."

"Xiao Ling'er has grown up and is so pretty, it's great!"

...

Jiang Ning was surrounded by this group of elderly nuns. Her hands were held in turn, and one or two came up to touch her face. Everyone looked at her with the same eyes as Lanxu, and their eyes and words were full of undisguised love for her.

Wrapped in such strong love, Jiang Ning felt her eyes sore for the first time in her life. She was just sending Lanxu here, who knew that this place would have such a deep connection with her.

Lan Xu couldn't control her tears and couldn't stop crying.

In a way, Fu Ling Temple was no different from her home. These people were her and Jiang Ning's family.

"Xiao Mingzhen, why are you crying? It's such a good day!"

Pu Hui was the oldest, already 80 years old this year. In her eyes, Lan Xu and Jiang Ning were just children.

"I, I am so happy..." Lan Xu sobbed and answered intermittently: "I am just, I am just so happy to see you... I thought I would never see you again in this life..."

"Ah~ silly child", Pu Hui raised his hand and knocked on Lan Xu's head, then stretched out his arms and hugged her: "Didn't the Buddha say? Cause and effect cycle, life is death, death is life. All dharmas are born from causes and conditions, and all dharmas are destroyed by causes and conditions..."

The old man's words with Zen rang in his ears, and Lan Xu's heart settled down a little bit, and her tears finally stopped.

It was almost noon, and Pu Xuan suggested that the two of them have a meal in the nunnery, and Jiang Ning and Lan Xu naturally agreed.

These nuns all knew what happened to the mother and daughter in the past. This time, the two returned to Fuling Temple together. No matter what the reason was or when they left, it was not important to people of their age.

Therefore, when Jiang Ning wanted to leave after lunch and Lan Xu wanted to stay, no one was curious and did not try to persuade them to stay. They just kept shouting, "Xiao Ling'er, go down the mountain by yourself and be careful."

It was a blessing to be able to see each other.

Jiang Ning walked down the mountain step by step, unable to explain what she felt in her heart.

In this place that was almost isolated from the world, there were so many people who loved her and wished her the best, and she didn't know how to respond to these sincere feelings.