Chapter 392

Li Qingying accompanied me, and the two of us were choked by that bloody smell, stepping back two steps while covering our mouths and coughing softly.

The person who opened the door, embarrassed and timid, also stepped back two steps, repeatedly saying sorry.

Upon hearing that voice, I and Li Qingying stopped coughing, staring in disbelief at the man before us, wrapped from head to toe like a zongzi.

He wore a black sports outfit with a large hood that covered most of his gaunt face, and besides a black mask on his face, he also wore black gloves on his hands.

From head to toe, only a pair of eyes were exposed.

Wrapped up like this in midsummer, aren't you hot?

And that strong bloody smell just now was emanating from him.

Li Qingying tentatively asked, "Bai... Bai Jingmo?"

"Hmm." Bai Jingmo turned sideways to let us in, saying, "Sorry, did I scare you? Don't worry, it's not contagious."

While speaking, he led us to the living room, intending to pour us tea, but he extended his hand and then retracted it.

"We're not thirsty," I quickly said, "You... what happened to you?"

Bai Jingmo gave a bitter laugh, lifted his hood, and removed his mask.

The moment his face was revealed, I and Li Qingying both sucked in a breath of cold air.

Bai Jingmo's entire face was rotted.

The skin was ulcerated, flesh turned outward, some places even had pus, looking gruesome and disgusting.

This made me involuntarily think of Bai Xian'er and the little monster.

They were like that initially.

Bai Jingmo had already put his mask back on and secured the hood on his head.

Li Qingying used to dislike Bai Jingmo, but now she couldn't help worrying: "You... are you okay? How are you? How did you end up like this?"

"My whole body is ulcerated." Bai Jingmo was much calmer than us: "This is retribution, also atonement for the sins I previously committed; it's not that it won't be repaid, the time just hasn't come."

From now on, I will experience this horrible state twice each year until I have atoned for my sins; if not for the merit accumulated by my immortal clan, I would already be a corpse, and now this situation is already a blessing from heaven.

Although the Bai family was once controlled by Bai Xian'er and the old matriarch, and Bai Jingmo was forced to harm people, harming people is harming people, and the debt of lives he caused should be repaid by him.

As he said, if Bai Shulan had not bestowed merit to protect him, he would not even have this chance to atone.

He must not only thank Bai Shulan, but also thank his own miraculous medical skill.

Bai Shulan is about to undergo tribulation; whether she can succeed this time remains unknown.

Everyone in the Bai Immortal Hall still points at Bai Jingmo.

For a moment, we all felt sorrowful.

Bai Jingmo asked, "What brings you here?"

I replied, "I want to ask you about Bai Shulan's tribulation point."

"Xiao Jiu, don't ask; if she wanted to say something, she would have told you herself at the pawnshop." Bai Jingmo said, "She said this tribulation can only be relied on by herself."

I felt somewhat uneasy, yet inexplicably happy for Bai Shulan.

Her being able to think this way shows her mindset has changed, becoming braver and more enlightened.

After returning to the pawnshop, I went to find Liu Junyan and told him; after lunch that day we drove away from Wufu Town straight to Songshan Great Dharma King Temple.

Along the way Liu Junyan drove, driving rather slowly; I slept and woke in the passenger seat, ate, then slept again, and it wasn't until late at night that we arrived at the Great Dharma King Temple.

The Empty Silence Abbott knew we were coming, had the novice monk wait at the temple gate, and led us to the stone house in the valley; the stone house was spotless, with a few vegetarian dishes on the table, still steaming.

The novice monk saw us off, urging us to rest well; after morning lessons the next day, the Empty Silence Abbott would meet us in the meditation hall.

On the summer night, Songshan was full of vitality; from the rear window of the stone house one could see a vast open valley and a sky full of stars, beautiful as a painting.

Such a scene had also once appeared in Liu Xingyi's painting scroll.

I leaned on the windowsill to look, and Liu Junyan stood beside me, watching together.

I pointed at the stars and said to Liu Junyan, "Ah Yan, look, the sky here is so clear, every star is twinkling; last time we came, the timing was off, we didn't see so many stars."

Liu Junyan also sighed, "I've come here several times, but this is the first time I've seen so many stars."

Starry sky, stone house, valley, him and me, and my belly still holds a tiny embryo.

At this moment, the whole universe and my state of mind are utterly peaceful.

I even had the illusion of 'tranquil times,' my heart soft all over.

"Ah Yan, if I give birth to a girl this time, her nickname will be Shan Shan; if a boy, his nickname will be Xingchen—would that be all right?"

Liu Junyan gently stroked my white hair and said, "Good."

Shan Shan... Xingchen... whoever comes first, you must grow strong and sturdy.

May you be born safe and sound, and grow up happy and joyful.

The night passed without a word.

The next day after morning lessons, the Empty Silence Abbott was indeed waiting for us in the meditation hall.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Empty Silence Abbott had the novice monk lead me to the main hall to offer incense, as he had something to discuss privately with Liu Junyan.

I came prepared; besides offering incense at the tower, I donated a large sum of incense-oil money to the Great Dharma King Temple, lit a Buddha lamp there, and prayed for the blessing of my unborn child.

Having done those, the novice monk suggested I could wander around freely; this season Songshan isn't hot at all, and many visitors come to the Great Dharma King Temple to offer incense.

I told him to go attend to his business, and I went for a walk myself.

As a result, Liu Junyan did not leave the meditation hall the entire afternoon.

As night fell, I alone returned to the stone house, boredly leaning on the rear window to keep watching the stars, recalling all that I had experienced in this valley before.

While gazing, I suddenly thought of something, scrambled up, gathered all of Liu Xingyi's paintings, and spread them out on the bed in chronological order.

We had appreciated those paintings before.

Back then we only thought them beautiful, admired Liu Xingyi's superb brushwork, but overlooked certain details; now looking again, I discovered these paintings share a common trait—each painting contains only a single star.

That star is hidden within the picture, not large, its light obscured by other more striking elements in the scene.

It was so inconspicuous.

But when I took one of the paintings and stood at the rear window, I precisely found in the sky the star that corresponded to the star in the painting, then followed that star to locate the matching spot in the canyon—and I froze.

What that star corresponded to was exactly the spot where I had first seen that tower in the canyon!

No…… it couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

I quickly took out another painting, found the star corresponding to it in the picture, and confirmed the matching position in the canyon……