Chapter 325: Cargo (14/15, Autumn Subscription)

The second room, a group of little monks were chanting sutras.

The third room, monks were cooking.

The fourth room…

Fang Yue followed Bai Xiaoya through several rooms in a row, but didn't find anyone.

She couldn't help feeling a bit frustrated.

She called her father several times, but no one picked up.

Just when Bai Xiaoya was wondering if she'd remembered the temple's name wrong, a young man dressed fashionably with a head of white hair walked into the temple room, humming a thump-thump-thump-beat tune.

"Senior Brother Bai, coming this early?"

"Senior Brother Bai, did you catch any fish today?"

"Senior Brother Bai, Senior Brother Bai, the abbot wants to discuss Buddhist teachings with you again."

While Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya stood dumbfounded, the other monks chatted with this Senior Brother Bai naturally and familiarly.

"W-wait, didn't you say not a single monk here has hair?" Fang Yue hurriedly asked.

"That's right, our Jiangyun Temple really doesn't have any monks with hair."

"Then he…"

"He… oh! The two donors have misunderstood. Senior Brother Bai isn't a monk of our temple. He works outside and often comes here to hang out after work."

Senior Brother Bai now also noticed Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya.

"Who are those two? Here to find me?"

"Probably… they were looking for a monk with hair."

"I'm not a monk, hehe!"

Senior Brother Bai adjusted his white hair and said with a grin.

But the next moment, his expression suddenly changed.

"The jade pendant on your chest… come with me!"

Saying that, he was about to grab Bai Xiaoya's hand, but Fang Yue intercepted his groping paw first.

"State your business, we'll just follow you."

"Hmph!"

Senior Brother Bai glanced at Fang Yue, looked him up and down, and snorted.

"Come on, both of you!"

Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya exchanged a glance, both understanding they must have found the right person.

They followed behind Senior Brother Bai and quickly arrived at the bamboo grove behind Jiangyun Temple.

Once there, the entrance was guarded by monks.

But upon seeing Senior Brother Bai, they let them straight through.

With Senior Brother Bai leading the way, Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya naturally passed through without obstruction.

The three of them quickly went deep into the bamboo grove, arriving at an uninhabited place.

Croak! Croak! Croak!

The sound of frogs and insects became the main melody.

"Right here. Tell me, where did you get that jade pendant?"

The one Senior Brother Bai was looking at was Bai Xiaoya.

"My father gave it to me. He told me to find a young man with white hair — that should be you, right?"

"…It's me."

Fang Yue noticed that when Senior Brother Bai was replying, his eyes kept sizing up Bai Xiaoya — not that lecherous kind of sizing up, but as if looking at a piece of merchandise, examining her with an appraising gaze.

"Can you tell me what this jade pendant is? Why does finding you with this jade mean you can help our family solve our trouble?" Bai Xiaoya probed.

"Uh, this is just an agate jade pendant. Back then your father did me a favor, so I used this jade pendant as a token and gave it to him. I said if there's trouble in the future, he could use the jade pendant as a token to ask me to step in and help once."

Fang Yue's brow furrowed slightly: "Ask you to step in and help? Are you that capable? Do you understand economics?"

Senior Brother Bai smiled mysteriously: "Helping a person is sometimes very simple — you don't need to know any economics."

"Then how do you plan to help?"

"Very simple. Give me the jade, then I'll step in. That's it."

That's it?

Fang Yue stared at him suspiciously, but Bai Xiaoya hesitated for a moment, then still took off the jade pendant.

"Hey!"

Fang Yue hurried to stop her, but Bai Xiaoya said directly: "Don't try to persuade me, I trust my father! Whatever father says, I'll do it all. He would absolutely never harm me!"

This… this this this.

Fine, even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. Since Bai Su'e sent her Bai Xiaoya to find this Senior Brother Bai, there probably shouldn't be a problem.

"Right, right, right, that's it, give me the jade pendant!"

Taking the jade pendant Bai Xiaoya handed over, Senior Brother Bai immediately revealed a look of wild joy.

"Got it! Hahaha! Finally in my hands!"

He kept touching and kissing this soul-storing jade pendant, giving Fang Yue a chill.

"This Senior Brother Bai, since the jade pendant is given to you, please quickly step in and help my father resolve his predicament."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Saying that, Senior Brother Bai opened his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Bai Su'e? The goods have arrived! That's right, that's right, I'll give you another hundred years of prosperity. Remember to keep finding the next batch of goods — here on my end, the supply can't be cut off."

"Prosperous… for a hundred years?"

Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya were both a little dumbfounded hearing this.

"You, you just now, called my father?"

Bai Xiaoya's voice took on a trembling, unsteady tone.

Because she had made many calls before, none of which got through to her father, yet the person before her had gotten through with a single call.

"What else? Also, your father has already sold you to me. From today on, you follow me."

"What?!"

"Impossible!"

Fang Yue and Bai Xiaoya's voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Fang Yue's face darkened: "Hey, there's still human trafficking these days? You probably don't know what my sandbag-sized fist is for!"

"Sandbag-sized fist? I'm scared of you, sure? If you've got the guts, come at me!"

Bai Shixiong pursed his lips, toying with the Soul-Communing Jade Pendant in his hand.

And Bai Xiaoya, lost and dazed, muttered to herself: "Impossible… it can't be… it's not like this… you're lying, right! How could my father sell me!"

"What? You don't believe it? Fine, let me make another call for you."

He dialed, spoke briefly after the call connected, then directly handed the phone to Bai Xiaoya.

"Father?"

Bai Xiaoya said cautiously. The other end of the line was a long stretch of silence. Just as Bai Xiaoya was wondering if the call had been hung up…

"…It's me."

A familiar voice rang out from the other end of the line.

Bai Xiaoya's head buzzed, as if struck by lightning. She instinctively stepped back, and Fang Yue hurriedly steadied her.

"No… impossible… how could it be you… no… you wouldn't sell me, you wouldn't…"

"Xiaoya, the Bai Family is about to be destroyed. I had no choice. Only by sacrificing you can I exchange it for the Bai Family's safety. For your younger brother and sister, you've been wronged. Bai Shixiong will be quick—it's the old rule, you won't feel a thing in a moment. In the next life, you'll still be a member of the Bai Family. I'll definitely give you the best!"

How could this be… how could this be!!

Bai Xiaoya felt the voice on the other end of the line grow blurry.

Her mind began to grow hazy.

Those beautiful memories, as if filtered through a thick lens of love-starved delusion, were nothing but impatience and perfunctory gestures…

Everything, it seemed, had only been her own wishful thinking.

An illegitimate daughter is, after all, an illegitimate daughter. No matter how much authority or favoritism was given, in the end it was all for the final betrayal!

Bai Xiaoya felt her sky had collapsed.

"Bai Xiaoya, don't worry. With me here, he won't touch so much as a single hair on you."

A voice rang out by her ear.

(End of Chapter)