Chapter 391: with translation of chapter title

I looked at Liu Junyan with some helplessness; how did this person suddenly become so unsettled?

Liu Junyan had Li Qingying put everything away, then privately explained to me that he hadn't spread the news of my pregnancy everywhere; he only said the pawnshop had recently suffered successive disasters, many injured, and needed these items to treat and nurse the wounded.

Fine, at least he still has some sense of propriety.

Fang ChuanZong came in person mainly to talk with me about the main hall of the divine temple.

He said, "I've examined it carefully; the temple depicted in that drawing has similar ones, but I'm certain none of them is that one. Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, could you describe in detail the scene inside the main hall of the divine temple again?"

At the time I only gave it a rough glance, so I could only outline the general layout; trying to pin down exactly how many Buddha statues are enshrined inside and what each statue's name corresponds to is beyond what a strong person could do.

I told Fang ChuanZong everything I could recall and describe, down to the smallest detail.

After listening, Fang ChuanZong narrowed his eyes and thought for a long time, but in the end he still couldn't match it to any temple in China.

I ventured to ask, "Could it be not within China's borders?"

"Impossible," Fang ChuanZong said firmly. "Every country has its own faith; this divine temple's main hall is clearly a heritage of Chinese culture. Such an existence with strong religious characteristics can only receive sufficient support and worship in its native land."

That reasoning is indeed sound, and everyone fell silent.

After a while, Fang ChuanZong muttered to himself, "There must be some detail we missed. If we can't determine the temple's location, could we instead speculate further on the exact identity of Tianlan, or his faith?"

At that point, Fang ChuanZong's finger tapped the central lotus Buddha pedestal, the huge object covered in bright yellow silk: "What's covered underneath should be the main deity of Tianlan's faith—who could it be?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the Mahavairocana Buddha." Liu Junyan mused, "On the six-petaled lotus pedestal, the four cardinal directions house the Four Direction Buddhas, and those Four Direction Buddhas guard the Mahavairocana Buddha."

Fang ChuanZong's eyes lit up: "Exactly, how did I overlook this? The Mahavairocana Buddha is the core of the other four direction Buddhas, and together they can be called the Five Direction Buddhas. So what's covered by that cloth should be the Mahavairocana Buddha—but why cover it, and why make it so tall?"

Indeed, whatever is covered by the cloth is at least twenty-something meters tall; even if one wanted to show it as especially lofty and solemn, two or three meters would suffice.

Watching them gesture there, I suddenly thought of something: "Right, I seem to have noticed something off, though I'm not sure if I'm overthinking it. At the time I saw that the dozens of Buddha statues on the inner walls of the divine temple's main hall were all colored, but it seemed the Four Direction Buddhas weren't…"

Saying that, I furrowed my brows, still uncertain: "It also seems not completely lacking color; rather, part of it is grayish-white."

Back then I was too nervous, all my focus was on Tianlan, so I only gave the surroundings a rough glance.

I hadn't expected that my remark would open Fang ChuanZong's train of thought again: "Could it be that everything they've done outside is merely to build this temple? The colored parts have already gained sentience, while the gray-white parts have not."

"According to your deduction," I said, "that would mean the Mahavairocana Buddha statue covered by the cloth is probably still just an embryo?"

Fang ChuanZong nodded: "Or perhaps they must wait until every Buddha statue in the main hall has gained sentience before they can give the Mahavairocana Buddha statue awakened sentience—or maybe they still haven't found a suitable candidate…"

Even though we were merely speculating, I and Fang ChuanZong both unconsciously glanced at Liu Junyan.

Meanwhile, Liu Junyan lowered his eyes, unknown what he was thinking.

Fang ChuanZong made some more marks on the picture I had newly drawn, then rolled it up and said, "Well, I'll be heading back now. I'll continue investigating along our line of reasoning. The matter of Jiǔyàn qū expanding into the territory of Wufu Town will soon have official demarcation documents issued; if you have any new discoveries, be sure to contact me right away."

I agreed to everything, didn't keep him, and saw him off.

Turning back, I asked Liu Junyan, "Āyàn, have you found anything?"

Liu Junyan nodded: "Following our earlier line of thought, we can deduce many threads, but my thoughts are too tangled; for now I can't grasp the focus. Xiao Jiu, I need to sort it out."

"Having ideas and a direction is good," I said. "Also don't push yourself too hard. No matter what, what they're doing inherently goes against the Dao; they've failed for many years, and now they've repeatedly suffered our blows—perhaps Heaven is using our hands to settle accounts, and they won't be able to stir up big waves anytime soon."

Liu Junyan wholeheartedly agreed with my view.

Li Qingying began busily helping me pack, worried I might go hungry, she stuffed many bottles and jars into the suitcase.

I smiled helplessly: "No need to bring those; a single inhalation of incense can sustain me for several days. The incense at Dafa Wang Temple is thriving, and Song Mountain is outstanding and spiritually potent—that's also why I want to return to Song Mountain with Liu Junyan. Don't worry about me."

Li Qingying thought about it, then took those bottles and jars out again, leaving only two small vials of pills as backup.

After the townspeople moved away, as soon as night fell, Wufu Town became so quiet it was somewhat unsettling.

We still have to guard the pawnshop every night, but lately no customers have come; Li Qingying folded many gold ingots and took most of them to the riverbank to burn.

She said the innocent infants who died unjustly on the opposite hill are too many and pitiful; children like shiny gold things, so burning a bit more gives them something to play with.

She has always been this kind.

I didn't join her in folding; a sheet of paper lay on the counter, and I have been striving to recall everything inside the divine temple's main hall, reconstructing it as best I can.

This time I'm not just drawing the outline.

Thus two days passed, Wufu Town was utterly calm, with no sign of anyone about to undergo a tribulation.

Until Hui Moqiong returned from Jiǔyàn qū to fetch something.

Now the Wufu Town side is left to Huang Fan to guard, while Hui Moqiong monitors the construction progress in Jiǔyàn qū, only returning once every few days.

Li Qingying happened to mention to him Bai Shulan's tribulation, saying the Bai Family Clinic's doors have been shut these two days, suggesting it's imminent.

But Hui Moqiong replied, "Her tribulation site isn't in Wufu Town."

"Ah?" Li Qingying asked, "If not in Wufu Town, where then?"

Hui Moqiong scratched his head and said, "Probably on Song Mountain, since she used to stay in seclusion there year after year."

Um…

For a moment, I was truly speechless.

In order to wait for Bai Shulan's hundred-year tribulation, I specifically had Liu Junyan wait a few more days before heading to Song Mountain.

As it turns out, Bai Shulan very likely returned already.

I asked Hui Moqiong, "Do you know which area her tribulation site is in?"

Song Mountain is so vast; without a precise location, we might end up doing the splits later.

Hui Moqiong said, "We used to have three training spots together; I haven't been back in many years and don't know if she's changed over these years, but I'll first pinpoint those three locations for you."

To be safe, I still think I should make a trip to the Bai Family Clinic to see if Bai Jingmo is there and ask him.

I knocked on the door for a good while.

Just as I thought Bai Jingmo had also gone off to Song Mountain with them, the door creaked open.

A wave of bloody smell rushed over…