Chapter 217: 225. Xie Lingjiang: Sit Down, Ru Shixiong (Added a chapter!)

225. Xie Lingjiang: Sit Down, Ru Shixiong (Added a chapter!)

Early morning, the sky was just brightening.

The area near the morning dining hall of Donglin Temple began to heat up, with monks and lay Buddhists doing morning lessons filling their stomachs.

It was just that except for the morning dining hall, most of the palaces and courtyards in the temple were dimly lit, with shadows lingering.

The Compassion and Tian Jiyang Institute was like this, most people had not yet woken up.

They didn't even know that in front of the withered well in the backyard, a red-dressed figure appeared, dusty from the journey.

"The well rope has traces of being newly used..."

At the well opening, Xie Lingjiang caught her breath, bent down to examine it, and the fatigue was swept away instantly.

Without a word, she flipped into the well and jumped into the underground palace.

Xie Lingjiang landed lightly, her tiptoes touching first, landing on the lotus pedestal.

"Ru Shixiong!"

She called out and looked around.

But after scanning the underground palace named "Pure Land."

The words were swallowed back.

Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath, ignoring the gaunt monk walking over from the darkness.

Her figure swept like the wind, quickly touring the entire underground palace twice, and finally returned to the lotus pedestal.

"Not here..." Xie Lingjiang murmured.

The brilliance in the depths of her eyes gradually dimmed.

In the underground palace, there was only a strange gaunt monk who seemed to be sleeping.

"Wait, what is this?"

Xie Lingjiang's peripheral vision suddenly swept to something, and she lowered her head to look.

On the half-meter-high lotus pedestal beside her, a grey monk's robe lay quietly, empty.

Xie Lingjiang reached out slowly, picked up the monk's robe, and lowered her head to sniff slightly.

"It is the Ru Shixiong, no mistake... He also likes to tuck his hands in his sleeves; the daily wrinkles on this sleeve are often carried on his clothes.

"He... he wore this monk's robe and sat on this lotus pedestal? Where... where is the person? Where did he go... Where did the Ru Shixiong go..."

Her eyes brightened suddenly, then dimmed suddenly, and she sat down on the stone pedestal, her two hands tightly clutching the clothes the Ru Shixiong had left on the stone pedestal.

Just at this moment, on the ground at Xie Lingjiang's feet, a "clatter" sound rang out, several times in succession, as if it were the combined sound of some marbles falling and rebounding.

She bent down blankly, picked up the bead, and lowered her head to examine it closely.

This was a round bead, crystal clear, faintly emitting a hint of moonlight.

It looked like a night-luminescent pearl.

She didn't know if it had fallen from the lotus pedestal or slipped from the monk's robe in Xie Lingjiang's hand.

"This is... the night-luminescent pearl the Ru Shixiong gave me. This item is precious; how could it be left here? The Ru Shixiong is not a careless person who loses things on weekdays."

Xie Lingjiang stared at the monk's robe and the night-luminescent pearl left on the lotus pedestal, and whispered slowly:

"Why were only the clothes and the night-luminescent pearl left behind...

"Younger Sister Li said before that he was coming to the underground palace to ascend to the Pure Land, ascend to the Pure Land?

"How... how could he ascend? There is no Pure Land in this world; he hasn't even cultivated yet. It must be fake, how could it be..."

Xie Lingjiang's words gradually stalled.

She looked up at the beam of sky light falling from the well opening above her head.

It happened to shine on Xie Lingjiang, whose face was gradually revealing an expression of disbelief.

It also landed on the place where Ouyang Rong had sat last night.

The underground palace was dim, with only this beam of light, as if it had fallen on the chosen person.

Her long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly, and her vermilion lips were somewhat pale:

"Is there really a Pure Land... Could it be that there is really a hidden story about Master Zhong Ma becoming a Buddha in the flesh?

"Is the Ru Shixiong also ascending in the flesh? Is there really a Pure Land in this world that a man like him would cherish expectations for..."

At this time, Xiuzhen walked out of the darkness, his face full of sorrow:

"Amitabha, female benefactor, this place is the Lotus Pure Land, above is the Avici Hell! You hurry over, don't stand there..."

Xie Lingjiang turned her head suddenly, interrupting the gaunt monk's words and asking:

"Where is my Ru Shixiong? Have you been here all the time... Have you seen my Ru Shixiong?"

Xiuzhen's face was puzzled:

"Female benefactor, who is the Ru Shixiong? Did he also ascend to this Pure Land?"

Xie Lingjiang's tone trembled, and she raised the grey monk's robe in her hand to indicate:

"He wore this monk's robe not long ago, and might have sat here; this bead is also his;

"He is eight feet tall, with a faint scar above his right forehead that has not yet healed, his cheeks are thin, his heroic spirit is handsome, and also, he treats people gently, like a spring breeze, occasionally loves to toss and turn, making people unexpected..."

Xie Lingjiang spoke very fast, trying hard to describe it.

Xiuzhen realized, hands together:

"Is the female benefactor talking about the benefactor who had purple light surging from his eyes last night? The little monk remembers that this monk's robe was what he was wearing at the time."

"Purple light surging from his eyes... where, where did he go?" Xie Lingjiang asked blankly.

Xiuzhen nodded: "So the female benefactor is looking for him, why didn't you say so earlier? Female benefactor, please follow the little monk, he is here!"

Xiuzhen brought Xie Lingjiang to the mural of "Prince Sattva Sacrificing Himself to Feed the Tiger" on the east side of the underground palace.

He looked happy, his finger pointing at the compassionate Buddha in the mural who sacrificed himself to feed the tiger and became a Buddha on the spot: "Female benefactor, look, he is inside."

Xie Lingjiang opened her mouth slightly.

Xiuzhen pointed his index finger continuously at the other three murals, laughing and saying:

"Female benefactor, later he still has to go here, here, and here! If you stay in the Pure Land, you can observe with the little monk."

"He went into the mural? Is there really a Pure Land... Is the Ru Shixiong a reincarnated banished immortal from mythology? No wonder he is so different, just descending to the world to accumulate merit, and ascending to perfection..."

Xie Lingjiang looked around at the underground palace buildings on all four sides blankly.

Her hands, clutching the monk's robe and the night-luminescent pearl, slowly hung down to both sides of her body.

For a time, she was a bit lost.

The underground palace fell into silence.

She didn't know how much time had passed.

"Eh, female benefactor, why are you leaving? Don't, don't go above, above is the Avici Hell, female benefactor hurry down, stay in the Lotus Pure Land with the little monk..."

Xie Lingjiang did not remember how she left the withered well underground palace.

Nor did she remember how she got rid of the monks from the Compassion and Tian Jiyang Institute who came up to ask, and walked out of the Compassion and Tian Jiyang Institute.

Xie Lingjiang lowered her head and stared at the grey monk's robe and the night-luminescent pearl in her hand.

Walking slowly along the temple corridor she did not recognize, on both sides were towering blue-tiled yellow walls.

She walked through Buddhist halls and scripture towers blankly.

Originally, the eye-catching red dress seemed to dim.

It seemed that after a day and night of fatigue and tossing, she was dampened by the morning dew, dyeing this lively bright red into some kind of deep grey color.

Even so, her red dress was still the most vibrant and beautiful scenery in the temple of green lamps and ancient Buddhas.

It was just that this scenery was a bit wilted, like a red rose withering on a cloudy day.

At this moment, the sky was completely bright, early morning.

Xie Lingjiang walked as if sleepwalking, passing by a Buddhist tower and a scripture copying hall, and gradually stopped in front of a yellow wall.

She smelled the scent of hot porridge and steamed buns.

Xie Lingjiang's face was dazed; she regained some of her senses, and after the fact, raised her hand to touch her abdomen.

She turned her head to examine it; behind the wall should be the morning dining hall in the temple.

Faintly, there were noisy sounds and the fragrance of food coming.

Xie Lingjiang stood silently for a while, bypassed the yellow wall, and walked into the morning dining hall.

Finding a corner quite familiarly, she sat down with a calm and withered face to wait for the meal.

She was quite familiar with this morning dining hall.

She remembered that when Xie Lingjiang had used morning breakfast in this hall with her father, senior brother, and Aunt Zhen,

She remembered that Aunt Zhen almost gave her a jade bracelet of the senior brother's mother; if she could have...

It was a pity there were no "ifs."

Some people, some things, missed seem to be forever.

"Like these stars are not last night's, for whom do I stand in the wind and dew until midnight."

Xie Lingjiang mocked herself in a low voice.

The porridge and rice from the back kitchen had not yet been presented; she suddenly reached out, dragged a small pottery jar on the table in front of her, opened the lid, and picked up a small piece of pickled radish into her mouth.

Picked one piece, two pieces, three pieces...

For a time, in the spacious morning dining hall filled with monks and guests, in a corner of the hall, the red-dressed woman burying her head in eating pickled radish had her shoulders uncontrollably twitching slightly, but no crying sound came out.

She held the chopsticks, continuously picking radish pieces into her mouth.

With such fierce eating, the small pottery jar was of course not enough to eat later; Xie Lingjiang did not raise her head, reached out and grabbed the vegetable jar from the empty table next to her.

Fortunately, Xie Lingjiang was sitting in a corner of the hall, and this strange scene of eating pickled radish was not considered conspicuous.

"... Eh, the Master specially instructed us not to make it public... The scripture copying hall hasn't opened for the past two days, declining guests... The brothers guarding the hall are so scared they dare not go... This strange sound from the Buddha statue is simply too terrifying, eh, our temple hasn't done anything immoral recently... We haven't done it before either!"

The morning dining hall was still quite lively, and not far away, a childish sigh belonging to a little novice monk came faintly:

"The Master said, you judge cases like a god, and you happen to be in the temple, so let the little monk bring you over to help take a look. How is it, any clues after you inspected the scripture copying hall just now?

"Here, this is the list of visitors who entered and exited the scripture copying hall in the past month that you just ordered...

"Hmm, eat slowly, the little monk will go get you another jar of pickled radish. I'm not bragging to you, the hot rice porridge with pickled radish in our morning dining hall is simply unique in Longcheng, and there are lay Buddhists from under the mountain who come from thousands of miles away specifically to eat it..."

Just at this moment, not far away, another magnetic, slightly hoarse, as if having a sore throat, young man's voice rang out.

"Strange sound from the Buddha statue, this shows that someone is calling for injustice, the Buddha is manifesting. Speaking of which, is your Donglin Temple secretly a black temple? In the dark of the night, quietly doing some dirty things unknown to others?"

"Magistrate, we are wronged! We are law-abiding..."

"Alright, don't call injustice to me, this matter is not under my current jurisdiction, just helping to take a look because you invited me to eat morning breakfast.

"A very simple line of thought, since the Buddha statue has a strange sound, then there is a problem with the Buddha statue in the hall. Check the Buddha statue, don't scare yourself... I will finally point you to a clear path.

"Don't be afraid of reputation damage, secrecy, and concealment. Go write a case file, go down the mountain immediately, and send the strange sound process of the scripture copying hall, as well as this record of visitors entering and exiting the scripture copying hall, and all other clues to the Longcheng County Government, hand them over to Constable Yan, and ask them to come and investigate.

"But remember, you are not allowed to mention my name in front of them."

Xie Lingjiang raised her head blankly, pricked up her ears, and heard this familiar young man's voice stop at this time, as if chewing and swallowing pickled radish, paused for a moment, and continued to come with a slight sigh to himself:

"Eh, I just came up to eat one last morning breakfast, hmm, and pickled radish, to fill my stomach before leaving... Why are there so many troublesome things in your temple? I really owe you."

The little novice monk asked curiously: "One last meal? Where is the Magistrate going? Are you never coming to our temple again?"

"You don't need to ask about the affairs of adults. Alright, Xiufa, you go do your work, and bring my words just now to Master Venerable Shan Dao.

"Go, don't worry about me, I want to eat this meal quietly."

"Oh oh, okay Magistrate, the little monk won't disturb you."

In the corner, Xie Lingjiang suddenly stood up, took a deep breath in place, then turned around, and walked silently toward the two-person table not far away.

Only to see that in front of the table, two people were sitting face to face, exactly the two people whose conversation had just come.

One was a little novice monk with a shiny bald head, his seat facing Xie Lingjiang.

And another, a young man wearing civilian black robes and a low-brimmed felt hat.

This low-key attire was not very conspicuous when placed in the morning breakfast hall.

Xie Lingjiang gripped the knife hilt with her right hand and walked behind the young man who was bowing his head and hunching his back to eat rice without a word.

At this moment, in front of the table, the little novice monk named "Xiufa" nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

He stood up, preparing to leave.

But the next second, Xiufa's face was stunned, and he stopped in place.

"Magistrate... Magistrate."

The little novice monk's pupils reflected a red-dressed figure, pressing over like a mountain, and the red shadow in his pupils grew larger and larger.

"What are you doing? Why haven't you left yet, why are you standing there blankly."

The young man in the felt hat pouted and raised his head speechlessly.

But the next instant, the felt hat on his head was gone.

Exposing a pair of handsome eyebrows, and a nose tip that was slightly red below.

"No, you..."

Ouyang Rong immediately pulled down his face, turned his head unhappily, and looked behind him.

But he collided violently with a pair of round willow eyes that were red-rimmed.

And his felt hat was being held up by a clean, white hand.

Xie Lingjiang stood tall, her face cold and eyes cold.

Ouyang Rong leaned back tactically, his hands supporting the bench he was sitting on.

The two looked at each other silently.

Xiuzhen opened his mouth, his eyeballs turning between the two; don't look at him being young, his ability to observe words and colors was not bad.

Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, he laughed twice:

"Eh, it's Miss Xie, good morning, Miss Xie... that, Magistrate, the little monk still has to go down the mountain to report the case, leaving first."

The bald little novice monk greased the soles of his feet and slipped away.

"You..."

Ouyang Rong's expression changed.

"You wait, don't run so fast, I suddenly know how to investigate this case, wait for me..."

He looked unhappy, hurriedly stood up, and ran to chase Xiufa.

Unfortunately, the next instant, a certain felt hat returned to his head.

On the felt hat, there was an extra clean hand that faintly revealed blue veins.

Ouyang Rong was pressed in place by Xie Lingjiang.

He maintained a bending, half-standing starting running posture, but at this moment, he was unable to move as if he had been cast with a immobilization spell.

Only a pair of rolling eyeballs turned slightly.

Only to see the tall red-dressed junior sister in front of him, one hand pressing on the felt hat on his head, one hand tightly gripping the familiar skirt knife worn at her waist.

In this scene, Ouyang Rong somewhat doubted whether the junior sister would use a backhand shadow grip to draw the knife in the next second, the knife light flashing, making him, the senior brother, lose his dog head and completely vent her hatred.

Ouyang Rong discovered that the small crown pinning up her green silk on her head was somewhat crooked, her hair temples were slightly messy, and her eye sockets were also red-rimmed.

Her eyebrows were pitifully curled into two crescent moons, looking somewhat haggard.

There was still a bit of pickled radish red oil on the corners of her lips that had not been wiped clean, but it made her vermilion lips, which were not smeared with rouge, look increasingly red and tender.

As if sensing his gaze, the junior sister turned her face away, as if sniffing her nose.

She puffed up her pink cheeks and nodded slowly:

"Sit down, Ru Shixiong."

Ouyang Rong:...

or2 Sorry, good brothers, late, a 4,000-word big chapter presented. Reporting the reason for being late, finished coding all night until eight o'clock in the morning, eyelids started fighting, didn't dare to break the chapter and send it, so lay on the bed and squinted for a while, slept until three o'clock in the afternoon, got up and coded until now... ===== CHAPTER 218 =====