Chapter 939 - 905: Lightning Strike

The weather is very hot today, but the air conditioning in the car is strong enough. Ye Qingya listens to music while gazing at the vibrant green outside the car window, her mood becoming more relaxed. She decides not to get married and finds quietly enjoying the world alone quite nice.

Xu Chunliang knocked on the car window, waking Ye Qingya from her deep thoughts. She opened the center console.

Xu Chunliang opened the driver’s door, gesturing for Ye Qingya to sit in the passenger seat. Since there’s a mountain road ahead, he doesn’t trust Ye Qingya’s driving skills.

Ye Qingya obediently moved to the passenger seat and took the chilled Yangzhi Ganlu handed to her by Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang said, "Bought it downstairs at the hotel, give it a try."

Ye Qingya smiled and nodded, noticing the time was just eight o’clock.

Ye Qingya’s mood indeed remained unaffected. In fact, whenever she is with Xu Chunliang, her mood is always light and joyful, probably because of Xu Chunliang’s infectious energy. Whenever she sees Xu Chunliang smile, she feels her heart flutter along.

Upon hitting the mountain road, they discovered the car isn’t the best at turning. Ye Qingya glanced at the cliff beside them, feeling a bit scared, "Luckily, it’s you driving. You drive well. I wouldn’t dare to."

Xu Chunliang said, "As long as you drive slowly, it’s fine. Driving skills really just come with practice."

Ye Qingya replied, "You’re an old hand at this."

Xu Chunliang coughed and said, "Sis, which aspect do you mean?"

Ye Qingya suddenly realized, blushing, she playfully slapped his arm, knowing Xu Chunliang was flirting with her. But instead of getting angry, she felt a sweet delight inside. No man dares to joke with her like this; even Qiao Rulong never made such jokes. Despite their marriage, their relationship could be described as respectful and courteous.

Ye Qingya doesn’t have many friends, but Xu Chunliang is one of them. With him, she can speak freely without worrying, Ye Qingya likes genuine, unpretentious people, who are hard to encounter nowadays.

Xu Chunliang parked the car, and before getting out, Ye Qingya applied some sunscreen, asking if Xu Chunliang wanted some.

Xu Chunliang shook his head; he isn’t accustomed to using that sticky stuff.

After getting out of the car, they looked up at the sky; the sun was still blazing fiercely.

Next, Ye Qingya handed him a hat to wear.

This time Xu Chunliang didn’t refuse, he put on the hat and took Ye Qingya’s camera bag, as they started climbing the path towards Du Yun Temple.

Entering the forest, it became much cooler, with birds chirping constantly from the trees.

Ye Qingya paused occasionally to take photographs.

Xu Chunliang felt Ye Qingya’s current state was impressively good; it seems everyone has their suitable lifestyle.

A small squirrel dashed into view as Ye Qingya aimed her camera and pressed the shutter.

Suddenly, Xu Chunliang’s instincts kicked in, he looked up, seeing an eagle descending from the sky, diving towards the squirrel. Xu Chunliang didn’t intervene, knowing this world is naturally a survival of the fittest.

Ye Qingya noticed and exclaimed in surprise.

Then, a sharp whistle echoed through the woods, and a rock hit the eagle’s body, sending feathers flying; the eagle felt pain and abandoned its hunt, flapping its wings and retreating to the sky.

Xu Chunliang looked in the direction the rock came from, seeing the Mute Monk with a bucket walking out from within.

The Mute Monk showed a thrilled expression seeing them and gestured a warm welcome.

Xu Chunliang thought to himself that the mute monk didn’t have a slingshot, likely using Divine Power to flick the rock. To hit the eagle so accurately from such a distance, this skill is truly impressive.

After some time away from Du Yun Temple, they discovered the temple had been fully renovated, funded by Mo Han, while Pu Jian found a construction team to work on it, despite the inconvenient high mountain and far road, anything can be achieved if money is willing to be spent. Most building materials were manually carried up by laborers.

The floors inside Du Yun Temple were freshly paved with bluestone, and when Xu Chunliang and Ye Qingya arrived, the floors were covered with scripture books as Monk Tonghui was airing them.

Monk Tonghui doesn’t use phones or other communication tools, so Xu Chunliang couldn’t contact him before arriving. Although missing out on the convenience of communication, it often led to pleasant surprises.

Xu Chunliang explained his purpose, and Monk Tonghui naturally welcomed them, personally leading Ye Qingya to the stone cave to observe and share calligraphy insights with her.

Xu Chunliang handed the tea leaves he brought to the Mute Monk for safekeeping, while using this time to wander around and inspect the temple’s renovation; overall, he was quite satisfied as Pu Jian hadn’t dared to cut corners with Mo Han’s money.

The Mute Monk specially took Xu Chunliang to see the newly dug release pond. Inside the pond were koi fish and a few turtles. Don’t underestimate this clear pool; it greatly enriched the temple’s liveliness.

At this moment, a cloud floated overhead, the Mute Monk looked up at the sky, remembered something, then turned around to gather the sunning scriptures.

Xu Chunliang knew he was worried about the rain and quickly went over to help.

Monk Tonghui and Ye Qingya also joined them. The four worked together to return the scriptures to the sutra library. As soon as they were done, a torrential downpour came unexpectedly.

Ye Qingya looked up at the thunderous sky and said, "I checked the weather report, and it didn’t mention any rain."

Xu Chunliang said, "You dare to trust today’s weather reports."

Monk Tonghui smiled and said, "It’s not that the weather report is inaccurate, but the weather on this mountain is unpredictable. Don’t worry, this rain won’t last long; it comes quickly and goes quickly, and soon the sun will shine again."

Xu Chunliang watched as the sky grew darker with thickening clouds, realizing that the rain might not stop for a while.

Tonghui told the mute to prepare a vegetarian meal, but Xu Chunliang said they needn’t trouble themselves and that two bowls of plain noodles would be fine.

According to their original plan, they were supposed to leave at three in the afternoon, but the rain didn’t stop as Tonghui had said—if anything, it only got heavier by three o’clock.

Ye Qingya knew Xu Chunliang had a dinner to attend tonight and apologized, "I’m sorry for holding you up."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Sister Qingya, no need to be polite with me. Such unexpected things can’t be avoided by anyone, and tonight’s just a dinner—it’s not that important."

The sound of chanting came from the main hall, which was the daily unchanging practice of Monk Tonghui.

Ye Qingya said, "I truly admire the master. Without firm belief, it’s hard to sustain such a monotonous life."

Xu Chunliang looked at the koi swimming in the pond nearby and said, "If you are not a fish, how can you know the happiness of fish? Everyone has the right to choose the life they want; perhaps the master finds joy in it?"

Ye Qingya couldn’t help but think of herself—what Xu Chunliang said wasn’t wrong, she was no different.

At that moment, a serpent-like flash of lightning cut through the cloud-laden sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap that startled Ye Qingya, causing her to instinctively grip Xu Chunliang’s arm.

Xu Chunliang comforted her, "It’s okay, don’t be afraid." At the same time, a rumbling noise came from the backyard, sounding very much like a building collapse.

The mute heard it too and ran out into the rain toward the backyard.

Not long after, he hurriedly ran to the main hall, with Monk Tonghui emerging alongside him.

Xu Chunliang saw his panicked gesture and guessed that something big had happened; otherwise, he wouldn’t have disturbed the prayer-focused Tonghui.

Xu Chunliang and Ye Qingya also went over to see if they could help.

When they arrived, they found that a pagoda in the backyard had been struck by lightning and collapsed. This pagoda was where the previous abbot’s remains were interred.

Usually, after monks die, their ashes or remains are placed in an underground palace, with a pagoda constructed above to symbolize merit. The height, size, and number of levels of the pagoda mainly reflect a monk’s knowledge of Buddhism, reputation, and merit in life.

This old abbot’s pagoda was very simple, carved from mountain rocks by Tonghui and the mute years ago.

The pagoda was struck directly by lightning, leaving the scene in disarray. The mute knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing. To him, this was a bad omen; how could his master, who lived a life of compassion and care, suffer such misfortune?

Xu Chunliang approached the pagoda to inspect it. The underground palace should be intact; it was the ground-level structure that was damaged. Inside the pagoda, there was originally a companion burial urn, which was also shattered due to the stone tower’s collapse. It contained the objects frequently used by the abbot during his lifetime, sealed away before his death.

Monk Tonghui’s voice came from behind Xu Chunliang, "Please, benefactors, go and rest. We’ll handle this."

Xu Chunliang and Ye Qingya exchanged a glance, understanding that this might be a sensitive matter for them, and their attempt to help was actually disrespectful.

Ye Qingya apologized, "Master, we were too abrupt."

Monk Tonghui said, "It was just an accident."

Xu Chunliang took a step back and said, "Master, we won’t disturb you further; we’ll take our leave." By this time, the rain had clearly lessened, so staying there wasn’t convenient for them, and they quickly seized the opportunity to leave.

Tonghui said softly, "No need to see us out." He bent down to clean up the mess; the urn was something his master left him before his passing, saying it contained some things about him that might help him recover old memories. If he wanted to know, he just needed to open the urn, but if he preferred not to remember, he should have it buried with him.

Years ago, Tonghui had struggled with the decision and finally decided to place the urn within the stone tower, so the secret would always remain with his master. But he never expected this accident would bring the urn back to light. Because of its breakage, its contents were scattered in front of him.

Tonghui picked up a pen and a watch, both items he had used before. Forcing himself not to think about it too much, he placed these items in a cloth bag, silently vowing in his heart to return them to the tower once it was rebuilt, leaving them unchanged. He was just an ordinary monk at Du Yun Temple.

His attention was suddenly caught by something in the red mud—a photograph made unclear by the mud. Tonghui’s heart pounded as he cast his gaze upon the rain-drenched sky, reciting Buddhist scriptures. After some internal struggle, he eventually picked up the muddied photograph. The rain washed the red mud off it, revealing a family of three—the man and woman both attractive, embracing a lovely little girl in the middle.

An intense burst of lightning ripped through the gloomy sky once more, followed by a thunderclap that shook the heavens, directly over Tonghui’s head. His body trembled slightly as memories long sealed away quietly awakened.