Chapter 3447

Xiao Churan did not tell Ye Chen about her plan to go to Qixia Temple, nor did she tell her parents.

She felt that praying for her family's blessings was something to be done quietly, without the need for loud publicity.

The next morning, Ma Lan and Xiao Changkun had not yet gotten up, so she drove out and headed to Qixia Temple.

The weather in the twelfth lunar month was cold, with short days and long nights; when she went out, the sky had just begun to lighten slightly.

At this time, some devout worshippers were already waiting at the entrance of Qixia Temple; as the year-end approached, people came daily to snatch the first incense stick, but they did not know that the renowned Master Jingqing had returned to Qixia Temple again today.

Master Jingqing was now in the rear side room behind the Mahavira Hall; the room was cool and quiet, so he sat cross-legged on his bed, silently reciting sutras while circulating the spiritual energy within his body, which made him feel warm like spring despite wearing only a thin monk's robe.

Today the Mahavira Hall was closed; the monks of Qixia Temple began setting up roadblocks from the courtyard in front of the Mahavira Hall and hung up signs indicating the hall was closed for the day.

Afterwards, all the monks retreated outside the courtyard and stood guard in silence.

Tang Sihai and Sister Sun walked along the dew-covered blue stone path to the courtyard outside the Mahavira Hall and said to the monks: "Remember to take down these signs before the two female devotees come in later, and put them back up after they enter."

"Understood, devotee!"

These monks respectfully nodded, pressed their palms together, and bowed slightly.

They were all the closest disciples of Master Jingqing; although they did not know Sister Sun's identity, they knew their master always treated her with great respect, so they showed her even greater respect.

Sister Sun and Tang Sihai entered the Mahavira Hall together, and Master Jingqing sensed their arrival and had already come out to greet them early.

"Master Jingqing."

Seeing him come out, Sister Sun smiled and greeted him.

Master Jingqing likewise returned the smile, pressing his palms together: "Greetings, Sister Sun, Mr. Tang."

Tang Sihai quickly pressed his palms together and made a slight bow, saying: "Greetings, Master Jingqing."

Master Jingqing laughed and said: "Mr. Tang, there's no need to call me 'Master' in your presence; before you, I am the junior."

Although Master Jingqing had strong Buddhist affinity and high insight, he felt immense gratitude toward An Chengxi, believing he had followed An Chengxi relatively late, so naturally he considered himself junior before Tang Sihai.

Sister Sun also said to Tang Sihai: "I have always regarded Master Jingqing as my own child; you, too, need not be overly formal, Mr. Tang."

Tang Sihai nodded lightly.

Sister Sun then said to Master Jingqing: "Master Jingqing, Miss Xiao has already set out for Qixia Temple; I have asked Tang Sihai to wait in the rear hall, and when the time is right, you will bring up the topic and tell Miss Xiao that someone wishes to see her, but be careful not to frighten her."

Master Jingqing nodded, his palms still pressed together, and smiled: "Sister Sun, rest assured, I will be careful."

Sister Sun felt a little nervous and sighed: "Ah, I haven't felt this anxious in a long time; you two must pay attention to your attitude and wording, for this matter has two possible outcomes: one, Miss Xiao accepts our suggestion and quietly leaves the young master; two, she leaves this door and immediately calls the young master to verify. If it is the former, our three-person mission this time will be successfully completed; if the latter, it will be a complete failure, and the young master will surely use every means to find us and demand an explanation."

After a pause, Sister Sun added: "Furthermore, we three cannot withstand the young master's divine powers; our thoughts and knowledge will likely be known to him. Second, we must not reveal any information about the Lady. Therefore, if we fail this time, we can only leave China and go to the hiding place arranged by the Lady overseas; before the Lady meets the young master in person, we must not set foot on Chinese soil again. Do you understand?"

The two nodded firmly without hesitation.

Tang Sihai had already become accustomed to all this.

Last time, after sneaking out of the Ye family, he immediately took a ship to Tahiti, living on an almost isolated island, fearing that Ye Chen would find his whereabouts; then Ye Chen would only need to use a bit of spiritual energy to make him reveal all secrets.

Although Master Jingqing had just learned of this possibility for the first time, he still spoke with a firm expression: "Sister Sun, rest assured; although I have taken refuge in Buddhism, the Lady's command is above all; if we fail, I will vanish from the human world and never again use the dharma name Jingqing in this life."

Sister Sun nodded with relief and said solemnly: "We three have all received the grace of Mr. and Lady; these years of following the Lady, we also deeply know the hardships she faced in dealing with the Poqing Hui. Fortunately, the young master already possesses the true dragon's body, so eradicating the Poqing Hui is no longer out of reach. Although the young master long ago broke free from the dragon's trap in the shallow shoal, he still cannot let go of this shallow discussion. Whether we can break his final shackles and fetters depends on us!"

After saying this, she looked at Tang Sihai and added: "It mainly depends on you now, Tang Sihai!"

Tang Sihai's expression tightened, his eyes filled with hot tears as he choked: "Sister Sun, rest assured; I am willing to smash my head to death before Miss Xiao, to die with resolve, to die in pursuit, and I will surely make her agree!"

Sister Sun scolded: "What kind of ridiculous idea is this?! The Lady instructed us to persuade with emotion and move with reason, not to threaten or lure, not to morally blackmail; otherwise, when the Lady faces the young master in the future, she will also be able to ask her conscience without guilt!"

Tang Sihai nodded heavily: "Alright, Sister Sun, it was my oversight, I was too rash..."

Sister Sun shook her head helplessly with a smile and reminded him: "Today's burden largely rests on your shoulders; you only need to convince Miss Xiao with facts and sincerity, and I believe, given her character, she should act from the bigger picture."

……

Just past seven o'clock, Xiao Churan had already parked her car in the parking lot outside Qixia Temple.

Sun Mengmeng had already arrived early.

She recognized Xiao Churan's car, ran over to greet it, and waved, shouting: "General Manager Xiao!"

Xiao Churan parked the car, got out, and asked her: "When did you arrive? I was just about to send you a WeChat message."

"Just arrived a moment ago." Sun Mengmeng laughed and replied: "General Manager Xiao, we need to hurry, as many people have already gone in."

Xiao Churan curiously asked: "It's not even a holiday; why are there so many people coming to Qixia Temple this early in the morning?"

Sun Mengmeng laughed and said: "Of course, the incense at Qixia Temple has always been strong; if it were a holiday, many people would queue all night just to enter early for incense."

Xiao Churan nodded and said: "What are our arrangements? Master Jingqing is so famous; seeing him should also require queuing, right?"

Sun Mengmeng mysteriously said: "Master Jingqing has a special trait: everything depends on fate; Qixia Temple is so vast that no one knows where Master Jingqing is, but if there is affinity, someone will guide us."

"Ah?" Xiao Churan asked in surprise: "Is it that mysterious? If we don't see him, wouldn't we have come for nothing?"

Sun Mengmeng laughed: "So we need to see whether we actually have this Buddhist affinity; if the affinity arises, the Buddha will bless us."

After saying that, she enthusiastically linked arms with Xiao Churan, smiled, and said: "Let's go, General Manager Xiao; I feel you are beautiful and kind-hearted, your Buddhist affinity is surely excellent, and today I will bask in your glory!"

Xiao Churan helplessly laughed: "I also wanted to bask in your glory, but alright, let's go; who knows, maybe we both have Buddhist affinity!"