The group walked for a short while before arriving at the temple gates.
However, this temple appeared to have been abandoned long ago.
The gates were leaning every which way, dilapidated and falling apart.
When they pushed the doors open to look inside...
The scene within was even more desolate. The long corridors were silent, and the Buddha statues were broken and decaying. The courtyard was overgrown with moss and weeds, devoid of any human presence, save for a swarm of fireflies dancing in the air.
Seeing such a sight, Chaoyan felt a bit disappointed and said, "I didn't expect... such a temple to be abandoned. What a shame..."
However, despite her disappointment, Chaoyan was already accustomed to such things.
On this journey, she had seen countless ruined temples.
Thus, she only offered a brief sigh of lament.
Even though no one lived here, staying for a night wouldn't be a problem...
It just wouldn't be very comfortable.
Su Qing wasn't surprised by the surroundings, but she was considering whether or not to go looking for the people following behind them.
Chaoyan bowed toward the crooked statues of Arhats and Bodhisattvas, saying, "Bodhisattvas, please excuse the intrusion. We have come from the Eastern Land of Great Tang and are passing through your precious land. We seek lodging for the night; please forgive us."
Just as Chaoyan finished speaking, a human voice drifted from not far away.
The voice asked, "Are you... monks from the Eastern Land of Great Tang?"
This sudden voice gave Chaoyan a fright.
However, she was someone who had weathered some storms and was not some fragile noble from the imperial court.
After the brief shock, she quickly regained her composure.
Looking toward the direction of the voice, she asked, "May I ask who you are?"
A Daoist, hearing Chaoyan's response, walked over quickly and bowed to the group, saying:
"I am a Daoist who tends to the incense in this temple. I just heard you mention that you are monks from the Eastern Land of Great Tang, so I came out to welcome you."
Chaoyan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said, "I see... I didn't expect that in a place so ruined, there would still be someone tending to the incense."
"The little master is joking. The outside and the inside are different," the Daoist said, shaking his head. "Please, follow me! The inner part is the true appearance of this temple."
Chaoyan hesitated at these words and turned to look at Su Qing.
Su Qing felt a bit helpless; this girl still lacked her own initiative.
She nodded and said, "Then we shall trouble you."
The Daoist nodded quickly and led Su Qing and the others toward the back.
He guided them through several gates, heading straight for the innermost section.
After passing through the final gate...
The view suddenly opened up.
It was completely different from the outside.
While the exterior was ruined and desolate, the scene here consisted of blue bricks, green tiles, and white jade steps.
Such an unusual contrast was truly surprising.
Looking at the splendor within and thinking of the ruin outside, Chaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Why is there such a gap between the inside and the outside?"
The Daoist smiled and replied, "The little master might not know, but there are many demons and bandits in these mountains. During the day, they rob along the mountain paths, and when night falls, they hide in this temple."
"Those bandits push over the Buddha statues to use as cushions and burn the plants for firewood. We monks in the temple are weak; we can't out-argue or out-fight those robbers, so we stopped reasoning with them. We simply gave the ruined front rooms to them to live in!"
"Later, we gathered donations from benefactors and built a new section behind the temple. We keep the pure and the muddy separate, so we don't bother each other."
Through the Daoist's explanation, Chaoyan finally understood what was going on.
She nodded and said, "So that's how it is. Those bandits are truly detestable! If I get the chance, I will certainly turn them over to the authorities."
Speaking of bandits, Chaoyan suddenly remembered Bai Cha's words.
She couldn't help but ask, "By the way, female benefactor, do you think those bandits could be the same ones who harmed you?"
Bai Cha was still thinking about how to escape when she was suddenly asked this, and she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
She had just made up a random lie; she didn't expect this girl to take it so seriously.
She shook her head and said, "I wouldn't know about that."
"I see... regardless, those guys better not let me catch them, or I'll definitely give them a taste of their own medicine."
"Little master, please stay calm. Those bandits are numerous and powerful. You are just a few women; how could you be their match? Those people are beyond even the government's control," the Daoist said.
Chaoyan was about to argue back when Su Qing patted her shoulder.
Seeing this, Chaoyan pursed her lips and didn't say anything more.
The group continued walking.
Before long, they arrived before a mountain gate.
On that gate, five large characters were written in a flamboyant style:
Zhenhai Zen Forest Temple!
Su Qing looked up, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
She followed the others through the gate.
As soon as they entered, they saw a monk walking toward them.
This monk was dressed differently from the others.
Rather than a typical monk, he looked more like a lama.
The old lama, seeing that they were women, breathed a small sigh of relief and asked, "Where have you little masters come from?"
Seeing it was an old monk, Chaoyan answered respectfully, "Amitabha. We have come from the Eastern Land of Great Tang, heading to the Great Thunder Monastery in the Kingdom of Tianzhu to obtain scriptures. Furthermore, among us, only I am a nun; the others are just friends and family traveling with me."
Hearing this, the old lama gave her a strange look.
He felt that Chaoyan and the others looked too pampered and well-groomed, not at all like people who had endured hardships and dangers.
But he only took one look and didn't press further, simply saying:
"I see... so you've come from the East? That place is tens of thousands of miles from here. You've worked hard."
The old lama didn't care if they were frauds or if they had truly traveled those tens of thousands of miles.
They were just a few women...
They wouldn't harm the monks in the temple.
Since they had come, there was no harm in letting them stay for a night.
Chaoyan nodded and said, "I wouldn't call it hard work. Although we encountered many wolves, tigers, and leopards along the way, our lives were never in danger."
"Then that is the little master's good fortune," the old lama said. "Since you are here, stay for the night! It's almost time for the vegetarian meal. Please, come in!"
Chaoyan thanked him and followed the old lama inside.
Su Qing hadn't said much throughout this, merely observing Bai Cha, curious about what the creature planned to do next.
The group walked in silence through three more gates.
Yudie led the horse away to hitch it, while Chaoyan and the others went to the dining hall to break their fast.
The temple's vegetarian meal was nothing special, mostly common vegetables.
It wasn't particularly delicious, but it was filling.
Chaoyan was used to such food, so she had nothing to say.
Bai Cha, however, seemed to dislike it.
But no one commented on it, assuming she was just a high-born lady who didn't care for the bland food of a temple.
After the meal.
Su Qing glanced at Bai Cha.
A smile played on her lips.
She then asked, "Abbot, do you have a place for bathing here?"
The old lama nodded and said, "We do have a place for bathing, but there is only one large public bathhouse. It might be inconvenient for the ladies. However, we can have some hot water heated and sent to your guest rooms!"
Seeing this, Su Qing nodded and said, "Then we shall trouble you."
The old lama shook his head. "It is no trouble... please wait a moment, female benefactor. Once I have ordered the water to be heated, it will be sent over."
Su Qing nodded and didn't say anything more to the old lama.
Instead, she said to Bai Cha, "You've gotten quite dirty. I'll help you wash up in a bit."
Hearing this, alarm bells immediately rang in Bai Cha's head. She shook her head quickly and said, "No, there's no need. I can do it myself."
"But in your state, can you manage?"
"It's just washing my body; of course I can."
"Is that so? Since you can manage, then do it yourself. I'll just watch from the side to make sure you don't faint in the tub," Su Qing said with a faint smile.
Seeing this, although Bai Cha was incredibly frustrated, she couldn't refuse further.
She could only grit her teeth and agree.
She was beyond annoyed.
She couldn't understand what Su Qing was thinking or what her intentions were...
"Could this person have taken a fancy to me? But I'm a woman too?" Bai Cha gritted her teeth and guessed. "Could she have realized I'm a rat spirit and wants to wash me clean before eating me?"
The more Bai Cha thought, the more panicked she became, and the more she wanted to flee.
"But I can't rush. I absolutely cannot rush." Although she was extremely anxious, Bai Cha told herself not to be too hasty.
She knew that if she showed too large a flaw all at once, she might face her end immediately.
She had to stay calm.
At the very least, she couldn't let the other party see too many openings.
Only by not revealing more flaws could she hope to escape.
However, what Bai Cha didn't know...
Was that Su Qing never had any intention of eating her.
She just wanted to toy with her a bit more.
After all, such opportunities were rare!
It wasn't often she met someone who cooperated so well.
Seeing the white-haired rat spirit agree, Su Qing couldn't help but let a smile curl her lips.
See, this person really knew how to play along.
Chaoyan, seeing Su Qing so concerned for that woman, felt a bit uneasy for a moment.
But she didn't say anything...
After all, she was currently self-reflecting.
Reflecting on why she always wanted to keep her godmother to herself.
As a monastic, how could she be so selfish?
Thinking this, she let out a long breath and calmed down significantly.
Time passed slowly.
Su Qing led Bai Cha to the guest room.
After a while, the temple monks arrived at the door carrying several buckets of hot water.
"Benefactor, the abbot ordered us to bring the hot water... do you need us to carry it inside for you?" a young lama said, reciting Amitabha.
They were monks, after all, and since this area was currently housing women, they couldn't just enter as they pleased.
Su Qing shook her head and said, "No need. I'll carry it in myself."
The young lamas didn't say much more. They nodded, set the water down, and reminded her that the water was heavy before leaving.
Su Qing didn't care; such weight was a trivial matter to her.
Carrying the buckets, Su Qing filled the bathtub more than halfway.
She reached out to test the temperature, felt it was about right, and said, "Get in."
Bai Cha didn't dare to refuse. She nodded, shed her clothes, and sat in the tub.
However, she was quite uncomfortable.
Especially with Su Qing staring at her; it was exceptionally unsettling.
Her discomfort wasn't because she was embarrassed about being seen naked—they were both women, so what was there to be embarrassed about?
She was uncomfortable because she felt like Su Qing's gaze was like a snake staring at its prey.
It made her heart race with fear.
"Um, Sister, could you please stop staring at me?" Bai Cha finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.
Su Qing propped up her chin and said with a smile, "Ah, if I don't stare at you and you run away, what would I do?"
Hearing this, Bai Cha froze for a moment and quickly said, "Where could I possibly run? I've been starving for so many days; my body is still weak."
Su Qing smiled and shook her head, dropping the act. She couldn't keep playing with the other party forever; they had to head toward the Western Heaven after setting out tomorrow!
She didn't want to bring an extra person along on the road.
She said chuckling, "Stop pretending, little mouse. Your demonic aura is too obvious. I knew the moment I smelled it."
Hearing this, Bai Cha's brow furrowed. She thought to herself, As I suspected.
This person had long ago discovered she was a demon.
The reason she hadn't acted directly was purely to toy with her.
However, since the other party had stopped acting, she didn't bother continuing either.
She leaped out of the bathtub, performed a hand seal, and changed into a set of white robes. "Hmph, since you've stopped the act, I won't accompany you anymore!"
With that, she didn't plan on fighting Su Qing and immediately tried to flee outside.
She knew in her heart that she definitely couldn't win...
So she never even considered a direct confrontation with Su Qing.
Mid-escape, she even threw out one of her shoes, transforming it into her likeness to flee in another direction.
Seeing her run so fast, the corners of Su Qing's mouth curled. She muttered to herself, "She certainly runs fast... but why run so fast? I wasn't planning on killing you."
Seeing her disappear into the distance, Su Qing didn't bother to chase.
She stretched her limbs, looked at the moonlight outside the window, and lamented, "The moon is truly beautiful," before closing the doors and windows to rest.
"It's a pity I have important things to do, otherwise I'd really like to play with that white-haired rat a bit more." Su Qing rubbed her chin, thinking, Wait, oh no. Have I been corrupted by Chang'e?
Su Qing didn't want to think about it too much and fell asleep shortly after.
The next morning.
After Su Qing woke up and washed, she met up with Chaoyan.
However, seeing that someone was missing from Su Qing's side, Chaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Godmother, where is that woman from yesterday?"
Su Qing smiled and said, "That woman was a demon in disguise. I chased her away last night."
Chaoyan: "·v·?"
Rate on N.U.
