Chapter 003: Rain Bell (Part 3)
Ni Qinglan disappeared after the winter test.
The letter was sent to Ni Qinglan by a candidate from Yanzhou who was on good terms with Ni Qinglan. In the letter, he revealed that Ni Qinglan left the inn on the night after the winter exam. The friend thought that he had performed poorly in the exam and was depressed, so he wrote a letter to comfort him according to the hometown address that Ni Qinglan had mentioned to him in the past, and agreed to meet in Yunjing the following year.
Judging from the statement of this Yanzhou candidate, Ni Qinglan indeed failed the winter examination. But when his friend sent him the letter, why didn't Ni Qinglan return home?
At first, Cen could still comfort herself, thinking that perhaps her son was delayed on the road and would be back in a few days. However, a month or two passed and not only did Ni Qinglan not return, he also did not send a single word back home.
Mrs. Cen's health had been poor to begin with, and she had been bedridden recently. She ate little, slept even less, and looked much thinner than before.
She did not allow Ni Su to feel her pulse or ask about her condition. The old doctor who usually came to see Cen was also tight-lipped, so Ni Su had to secretly take Xingzhu to look through the medicine residue, and when they did, they were seen.
"Get up, I won't punish you."
Cen leaned back on the soft pillow and examined the girl kneeling in front of her couch. "But don't think you didn't do anything wrong. You just helped me to block Ni Zong and his family from coming in and polluting my eyes and ears. This can be considered as your punishment."
"Mother……"
Ni Su looked up. Cen was so thin that her eye sockets were sunken. She felt more and more uncomfortable as she looked at her.
"I asked the monks at the Dazhong Temple to consecrate the amulet, but I've been ill lately and forgot to do so. Please go get it back for me."
Cen's weak voice revealed a sense of majesty that could not be refused.
At this moment, Ni Su was not willing to go to Dazhong Temple, but since Cen had spoken, she had no room to refuse. She had to leave the house and call the old housekeeper to take charge of household affairs, especially to be on guard against Ni Zong bringing people over to cause trouble again.
Dazhong Temple is a famous temple from the previous dynasties. The large bronze bell in the temple is engraved with many poems and essays by famous figures from previous dynasties. It is located on a quiet and secluded mountain, quietly surrounded by mountain flowers and grass for many years.
Therefore, Dazhong Temple is often visited by scholars and literati, who leave many excellent masterpieces in the temple, making the temple prosperous and long-lasting.
Ni Su has been feeling uneasy lately. As she sat in the carriage all the way, her mind was full of thoughts about her brother's disappearance and her mother's illness. The carriage suddenly shook violently and the horse outside neighed. Xingzhu didn't think anything else and called out "girl", while subconsciously holding Ni Su in her arms.
There was a "bang" sound, and Ni Su looked up and saw that Xingzhu's forehead had hit the car wall, leaving a red bruise that quickly swelled up.
"Xingzhu, are you okay?"
The carriage stopped moving, and Ni Su held Xingzhu's shoulders.
Xingzhu felt pain and dizziness, and she felt even more dizzy when she shook her head, "It's okay, girl..."
A rough hand opened the curtain, and a ray of sunlight fell on Ni Su's face. The old driver was covered in mud and said to her, "Miss, our wheel is broken. It rained yesterday and now it is stuck in the mud. I'm afraid it can't move forward. But don't worry, I can fix it in an hour or so."
"Okay," Ni Su nodded. This was not her first time coming to Dazhong Temple. Seeing the stone steps ahead, she turned back and said to Xingzhu, "You are dizzy now, it's not good. I will go up by myself, you can rest in the car for a while."
"I will accompany the young lady."
Xingzhu's fingers touched the red and swollen bump on his forehead and he let out a hissing sound.
"When we get back home, I'll get you some medicine to apply."
Ni Su patted her shoulder lightly, lifted her skirt with one hand, and stepped on the horse stool placed by the old coachman. Fortunately, the wet mud was only in the puddle under the right wheel of the carriage. The mountain road had been dry enough by the sun, so it was not too muddy when she stepped on it.
Dazhong Temple was halfway up the mountain. Ni Su walked up the stone steps, a thin layer of sweat already forming on his back. He knocked on the temple door and talked to the young monk for a few words before being invited into the temple to get the amulet.
After worshiping the Buddha in the main hall and drinking a bowl of tea, the sound of the temple bell began to echo, distant and long. It turned out that it was time for the monks in the mountain temple to do their homework. They became busy and Ni Su did not stay any longer.
After leaving the temple gate, there is a cypress forest at the foot of the hundred-step stone steps. The cypress forest is dense, with thick branches and leaves, blocking out the skylight. A cluster of fire in the forest is eye-catching.
She remembered that when she came here, there was no oil lamp lit in the gilded lotus pagoda in the forest. Inside the high walls, the sound of monks chanting scriptures was long, and the flames in the cypress forest were scorching.
Ni Su saw from afar an old monk coming out from behind the Lotus Pagoda, holding a large black wooden box. He staggered a few steps and slipped in the wet mud.
He fell hard and couldn't get up for a while. Ni Su lifted her skirt and hurried over to help him up, "Master?"
It turned out to be the old monk who had just taken the amulet from the temple to Ni Su. His beard was white and curled for some reason, which made him look quite funny. He was grinning and did not have the demeanor of an old monk. When he saw the girl Mei Ziqing's skirt was dirty in the mud, he cried out, "Ah, my lady, how could I dirty your clothes?"
"It's okay." Ni Su shook her head and helped him up. She saw that the box he had just held in his arms had its buckle opened due to his fall, and some animal fur edges came out of the gap, moving in the wind.
The old monk caught her eye and rubbed his buttocks while saying, "Oh, it rained a few days ago and washed away the area behind the Lotus Pagoda. I was looking at how to repair it when I found this box in the mud. I wonder which pilgrim was preparing to burn winter clothes for his deceased loved ones."
The cypress forest in Dazhong Temple was originally a place for the common people to burn winter clothes and paper money for their deceased relatives during the New Year.
Before Ni Su could reply, the old monk heard the faint sound of chanting coming from the temple on the upper mountain. He looked embarrassed and said, "The temple has already started its practice."
He turned around and clasped his hands together towards Ni Su, "Lady donor, I have read the petition in the box. The deceased was a poor man who died young. It is fifteen years late to burn the winter clothes. I wanted to burn them for him, but I am afraid that I will have to finish my work in the temple after dusk today. I wonder if you are willing to burn them for me?"
The old monk spoke earnestly.
"I……"
Just as Ni Su opened her mouth, the old monk stuffed something in his hand into hers, then covered his buttocks and limped up the stone steps outside the woods, "Female donor, I'm in a hurry to do my homework in the temple, so I'll leave this matter to you!"
He was very different from any monk Ni Su had seen before. He had a white beard and looked old, but he was neither steady, nor vicissitudes of life, nor solemn.
Ni Su lowered her eyes and looked at the wooden carved bead of an animal head in her hand. The beast's head was ferocious and every detail was clearly visible, but she couldn't tell what kind of ferocious beast it was, and she felt strange for no reason.
"My beast beads are much more useful than the two peace and blessings you have on you, the donor."
When the old monk's voice sounded, Ni Su raised his head and looked back. The light and shadow in the cypress forest were dim and gray. The branches and leaves at the end were trembling, but his back was not visible.
Just as the old monk said, there was only a cloak with a fur collar and a letter dampened by moisture in the wooden box. The ink on the letter was mostly soaked, and one could only vaguely make out that the year written on it was indeed fifteen years ago.
After accepting the wooden beads from the old monk, Ni Su had to borrow the fire from the oil lamp in the Lotus Pagoda to light the thick black cloak in a copper basin placed aside.
The flames devoured the crane embroidery outlined in silver thread on the cloak. Under the flames, Ni Su could make out two words: "Zi, Ling..."
Those are the words embroidered on the cuffs of the cloak.
Almost at the moment she finished speaking, a copper bell rang softly on the colorful rope tied to two cypress trees behind the Lotus Pagoda, which was used to warn others not to approach the collapsed area.
It was May in the human world, but the wind blowing in her face seemed to have come from a severe winter, stinging Ni Su's cheeks and causing pain. Dust was rising in the basin, and she reached out to block it.
The eternal lamp in the gilded lotus tower went out completely, and the bronze bells rang again and again.
The wind howled and became increasingly fierce. Ni Su almost lost her balance when she stood up and it became even harder for her to see. A cold fog suddenly rose in the forest and the wind weakened a little. The sky became darker and bluer, and a faint sound rang in her ears.
Drops of cold air fell into her thin summer shirt. Ni Su's eyes became sore. She realized it belatedly, put down her arms that were blocking her front, and raised her eyes.
If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, who would have believed that in the afternoon in the mountain temple in midsummer May, the sky was as black as ink and the snow was like threads.
Snowflakes fell on Ni Su's jet-black hair. Her face was frozen pale, the tip of her nose was slightly red, and she stared in disbelief at the snow in front of her.
The chill in the bones climbed up along the spine. Ni Su instinctively wanted to leave here quickly, but the fog was so thick that it enveloped the dark blue cypress forest. Even the sound of chanting in the mountain temple could not be heard.
The sky suddenly became dark. Ni Su was frightened and bumped into a cypress tree, getting a scratch on the tip of her nose. She could not move without light, and she called out to the monks in the mountain temple but no one responded for a long time.
Uneasy, she groped her way forward.
Mountain wind, cold snow, and thick fog intertwined.
The rustling sound of fine grass underfoot is close.
A warm yellow flame spread over the edge of her skirt from behind, and Ni Su lowered her eyes.
The snow was heavier, falling like goose feathers.
Ni Su stared at the motionless fire on the ground and turned around.
The mist has dissipated a lot, and snowflakes dotted the cypress branches.
The spreading warm light gathered on a solitary lamp not far away. A tall figure stood under the shadow of the branches. Almost at the moment when Ni Su turned around, he moved again.
She watched him approaching. In this world, he held the only source of light in his hands. The warm light illuminated the dark cloak on his body.
The collar was pitch black with fur, and the sleeves were embroidered with patterns that shone with a cold silver glow.
He has a pale and thin face, black and shiny hair, thick and long eyelashes, and comes barefoot. The wind does not move his clothes, and the snow does not fall on his shoulders.
He was approaching, with a cool, snowy feel.
Under the light of the lantern, he stood still and carefully examined Ni Su's face, which was pale from the cold.
Ni Su's pupils shrank slightly, snowflakes hit her cheeks, and the cold wind caused a strong tinnitus. She could vaguely distinguish his clear, calm voice:
"Who are you?"
