578 The Handprint in Autumn Rain and the Dance in Front of Temple (2/2)

Master Qishan knew what he was thinking and explained, ”Because it is the nearest temple to the Xuankong Temple.”

Ning Que thought that the Xuankong Temple was located in the depths of the Western Wilderness while the Lanke Temple was in the Southeast, and the coastline could be seen from the top of the Wa mountain. It was clearly the longest distance in the world between the two places. Why did Master call it the nearest?

Master Qishan smiled and asked, ”It was said that Buddha visited the Southeast and he sensed something when his disciples were playing chess in the mountain, so he deciden for the Lanke Temple to be built on the top of the mountain. It is because of a hidden connection between the Lanke Temple and the Xuankong Temple.”

”A hidden connection” seemed to have profound meanings behind but Ning Que still did not understand.

Master Qishan turned around and pointed at the rear hall, saying, ”It is said that many years ago, Buddha realized the foremost skill in Buddhism to travel through spaces without obstacles, so he built a simple stone pagoda there which could help monks reach the pure land of the West.”

Ning Que was shocked and he said, ”I only heard that the Tang Empire military and the West-Hill Divine Palace had some special and powerful tactical array made of talismans that could convey simple information. But never did I hear of any tactical array that could transfer people to distant places. Was it the Limitless State from legends?”

Master Qishan said, ”There is no Tianqi in Buddhism, nor is the saying of Limitless State. But it's imaginable that Buddha with so great power did such a thing.”

Ning Que recalled the day when Sangsang and he were on Buddha's chessboard and thought of the notes about Buddha that he had been carrying these days. He was then convinced so he asked, ”What about the tactical array now?”

Master Qishan smiled bitterly and said, ”No matter how powerful the Buddha was, his power had already disappeared. After thousands of years, battered by wind and rain, the simple stone pagoda had become ashes. It was said that monks built a hall on the place where the stone pagoda was, which was the rear hall of the temple. There wasn't a single trace of the Buddha.”

Ning Que felt regret after listening to his words.

In the face of time, it was only death that could last forever.

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The Lanke Temple owned the entire Wa mountain. The temple was huge even though it did not include the mountain. Its scale was so large that it took at least the time of burning a stick of incense to walk from the square in front of the temple to the rear hall.

The ancient temple consisted of three parts: the front, the middle, and the rear. In the front part, there were a majestic and solemn front door and a square as well as two magnificent Buddhist halls. About ten halls were scattered in the middle part which covered an area comparatively small. As for the rear part, it was the smallest and the most secluded, with only one hall.

The autumn rain continued. The monks in the monastery were busy preparing for the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival. The delegations of various countries were still engaged in heated discussions. Cultivators were practicing with each other. The front part of the temple was full of tension, while the shadow of the sword danced jauntily in the middle part.

The rear part was still in tranquility. During the spare time after studying Buddhism, Ning Que sometimes went for a walk to the halls in the middle part of the temple. They held a big black umbrella walking in the pattering autumn rain, listening to the sound of each hall, smiling without making any sound. Nobody noticed them as long as he did not want people to notice them.

They went to the front part of the temple, stood in the Autumn Tree Pavilion, and watched girls from the House of Red Sleeves perform their dances. It was pleasing to see those energetic and beautiful girls dancing even when they were sweating.

Watching Xiaocao directing girls with her crisp voice on stage, in the similar manner as Mistress Jian, Sangsang could not help laughing.

The dance of the House of Red Sleeves prepared for the ceremony was not as glamorous as Nichang, but it was a bit more auspicious like the daughter of the Buddhism Sect. It might be very successful.

Ning Que and Sangsang stood in the pavilion and watched them from afar, not meaning to meet with the House of Red Sleeves. He did not go to meet with the Tang Empire's delegations—Xian Zhilang, Defender General of the West expressed his desire to meet through a monk in the temple, but he really enjoyed the tranquility here and did not want to be disturbed by the secular affairs.

When Master Qishan explained the Buddha scriptures, he once said that Buddhism was a way of seeing the world, a method of learning; most importantly, an attitude towards life.

This kind of life attitude was laughed at by the Headmaster as shutting one's mouth,ridiculed by Lotus as pretending to be a turtle, and was derided by Second Brother as playing dead. But the unique silence of the Buddha was self-sustaining and had its own charm.

Now that Sangsang was recovering from her sickness and Ning Que learned quite a lot from Buddhism, he naturally lived a peaceful and calm life here. Years later, he fondly recalled this period of time in the autumn of the 16th year of Tianqi in the Lanke Temple as the most peaceful time in his whole life; he would realize that the calmness and joy were only a soothing comfort.

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The Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival was on that very day.

Tourists from all over the world had come to Wa mountain. The town located in front of Wa mountain was so bustling and the square in front of the Lanke Temple was so crowded that many shoes were stamped off, and it would be hard to hold the ceremony or perform in the square without the help of monks and sergeants maintaining order.

Countries from the Central Plains all sent delegations to watch and perform in the ceremony, and those carriages in the parade sparked waves of cheers. Among those carriages, the House of Red Sleeves from Chang'an easily won the warmest applause and cheers.

Following the parade was the ceremony where the abbot of the Lanke Temple led monks to pray for the whole world. Then a priest of the Divine Hall offered a sacrifice to Heaven and numerous believers kneeled on the ground, which was a extremely solemn scene.

Ning Que and Sangsang did not go to take part in the ceremony. They stood on a high place at the rear part of the temple and looked at the excitement at the bottom of the mountain. He could not help laughing when seeing the ceremony and said, ”Can these different things mix and match?”

After the ceremony was over, the girls of the House of Red Sleeves began to dance.

Applause and cheers from the audience in front of the temple suddenly broke through the sky.

A few high-ranking old monks in the Lanke Temple looked at the beautiful girls dancing on the stage and their eyes turned wet, possibly caused by recalling their own stories from long ago.

Ning Que looked at the temple and said, ”After decades of separation, the old temple finally sees the dance of flying flowers. It is lucky that Lotus has died so that the Lanke Temple may pass this period of time in peace.”