Chapter 467: Not a merchant—Luo'er is a bandit!

"It's on fire!"

"Where is it just rolling thick smoke?"

"Clearly, it's on fire!"

Moreover, before they even got close, they saw the firelight leap out from the courtyard with a sudden 'teng', and to their astonishment it kept growing larger.

If we don't put out the fire soon, it'll start spreading in patches!

Jiechen slapped his thigh: "My Bodhisattva! It's over, it's over!"

Jiechen shouted loudly: "Quick, it's a flood! Fight the fire, fight the fire—"

Li Qingluo snorted coldly and, together with Que'er and the others, sat on the wall to watch the commotion.

The easternmost wing room caught fire—naturally, it was her doing.

There's no need to do something as self‑harming as attracting lightning; Sha Yi just needs to make a trip himself.

And afterward, not a trace will be left.

Aren't they reluctant to vacate these wing rooms for them to live in?

Since they're sitting unused, we might as well burn them all—let's see how they'll explain themselves to those "nobles" tomorrow!

If they can't live there, then nobody else should either.

In an instant, the entire Ningyuan Temple fell into utter chaos.

The monks rushed with buckets of water to the east wing rooms, running at full speed.

Li Qingluo jumped down, clapped her hands, and said, "Let's go, let's go watch the excitement."

When she led a group of people to stand outside the two small courtyards of the south wing rooms to look out, those monks were hurrying past them in a panic.

Li Qingluo feigned surprise: "Oh dear, what's happened?"

"Why is everyone in such a hurry?"

Que'er deliberately shouted: "Miss, you don't even know? The finest east wing room is on fire!"

"Just now I personally saw a bolt of lightning strike down, and then smoke began to rise from over there."

Zhui Yu clicked her tongue: "Tsk. Really strange—this is a temple, after all; how could there be heavenly punishment?"

"Shouldn't such karmic retribution—'good deeds rewarded, evil punished'—only happen in places of extreme wickedness?"

Li Qingluo covered her mouth: "Oh, no more nonsense!"

"There must be some misunderstanding here."

After all, a fire started by lightning and thunder is just a natural disaster.

This is a temple blessed by the gods and Buddhas, not some man‑eating inn.

Moreover, I've heard that the fame of Ningyuan Temple is great and resounding; even the nobles of South Peace, who spare no effort in their carriages, will travel here for days just to burn incense and pray sincerely.

"And how could heavenly punishment possibly fall on such a blessed land?"

The passing monks, hearing their words, felt something was off no matter how they listened.

Really, this isn't just yin‑yang weirdness, is it?

After they reacted, the faces of the monks up front, led by Jiechen, turned green.

"You!"

"If you have nothing to do, why not just pitch in and help fight the fire?"

"Spewing nonsense here violates the precept against anger and the prohibition against harsh speech—who knows how much karmic debt you're accruing!"

"The poor monk sees that this lady has plenty of servants; why not earn some merit, which will also bring blessings to your descendants?"

"Why don't you hurry over?"

Jiechen is a martial monk.

After a torrent of angry, finger‑pointing orders, he hurled the wooden bucket over as well.

His whole aura radiated anger without needing to threaten.

However, only after Zhui Yu and Sha Yi gave a slight shake, stood before Li Qingluo with killing intent, did he finally become alert.

These two…

Before Jiechen could react, Jiechi and Jiekong came running.

"Quick!"

"Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and go fight the fire!"

"Tomorrow the Second Princess and her entourage will come; if they see the wing rooms they're used to living in burned like this, we won't be able to get away with it!"

"Quick—"

Jiechen turned back and glared fiercely at Li Qingluo and the others: "If you don't help, you'll all be kicked out of Ningyuan Temple right away!"

Li Qingluo stretched out a big yawn.

"This kind of good thing isn't impossible, either."

"But first you have to return the one‑thousand‑tael silver notes we donated."

Now even Jiekong, who came to shout, refuses to cooperate.

He jumped up and shouted: "Have you no shame? You want to take back the silver donated to the Bodhisattva, thick‑skinned as you are, and you're not afraid of being struck by heavenly thunder?"

Li Qingluo snorted: "Face? Wasn't it you who threw yours away first?"

"How can you even bring it up about us first?"

"Look at these heavens—who exactly are they striking, and who are they splitting?"

Li Qingluo had just finished speaking when another "boom" rang out.

Heavenly thunder rolled once more from the horizon.

The faces of Jiechen and the others instantly turned grim and strange.

Li Qingluo again said abruptly: "Right, the silver coins donated in the merit box need not be spat out. After all, that is the sincere offering of a female devotee to the Bodhisattva."

Jiechi quickly pressed his palms together: "Amitabha, lady donor. Jiechen and Jiekong are merely a bit anxious, which is why they spoke a few offensive words to the lady donor."

Those silver notes, we have already enshrined them before the Buddha Hall, and we have also chanted sutras for the lady donor's merit to the Buddha.

If the lady donor truly wants to take back those thousand taels… it's not impossible, but if there is any backlash in the future, please certainly don't blame it on our Ningyuan Temple.

Li Qingluo: "Stop putting on a holy act here. You're just a bunch of greedy fake monks—do you really know any sutras at all?"

Don't defile true monastics and the holy Buddhist land.

Jiechen clenched his fists and stepped forward: "You——"

Jiechi hurriedly grabbed him tightly.

Lady donor, monastics do not lie. However you wish to humiliate us poor monks, we will not blame you.

After all, you are merely a mortal flesh body and do not understand true karmic retribution.

But your frivolous words today will surely——

Li Qingluo swiftly drew the Azure Fall Sword and pointed it at Jiechi: "What will it be? Stop trying to intimidate people here. Are you going to return it or not?"

Without waiting for Jiechen's response, Zhui Yu and Sha Yi, and even Sha Zi and the guards who were standing by watching the fun, instantly drew the hidden soft swords from their persons.

In an instant, the group of monks who had originally gone to put out the fire were all surrounded in the middle.

Jiechen and the others only then realized, these people are hardly merchants at all?

They are basically bandits and robbers!

Even Jiechen didn't dare to act rashly for a moment.

Jiechi trembled and hurriedly hid behind Jiechen: "You, you… what do you intend to do?"

This is a Buddhist holy place!

Moreover, didn't you hear? Tomorrow the Second Princess and her family will come to Ningyuan Temple to pay respects to the Buddha; if you dare to act today, I see none of you getting out alive!

Li Qingluo, however, suddenly gave a faint smile: "Is that so? Then let's first have a look—when your Ningyuan Temple is burned to ashes, how will that princess still pay her respects?"

How about we, these lowly merchants, help you achieve liberation first?

The fire in the east wing has already spread to the third courtyard.

If we continue to linger here, it's likely that all the wing rooms will indeed be burned down today.

Just then, Sha wu dragged a monk forward and shoved him hard to the ground.

Miss, there's a young novice monk who, even at this late hour, still needs to leave the temple gate to go down the mountain to fetch reinforcements.

I merely asked him a couple of questions, and he threatened me with Magistrate Wu; I'm really scared.

That tone doesn't really sound like someone who's genuinely afraid.

What else don't Jiechen and the others understand?

This bunch of ruffians fears nothing at all.