617 The Clouds Gathered Above Chaoyang City I (2/2)

”Your analogy is great. Isn't the Daughter of Yama a Tang?”

”Don't talk to me about the Daughter of Yama. I'm afraid.”

”You're not afraid, you're just being careful. Did you rent a horse carriage to leave the city?”

”We have to leave. The cloud is too weird. What if it turns into a rock and falls on us? I can't stand it.”

The snow cloud shadowed the city.

People in the city looked up every day for a long time and neck pain incidents became less and less. Many people began to pray. The streets were filled with the smell of incense. The temples collected more and more incense money. Some people were prepared to leave Chaoyang City to seek shelter with their relatives in the countryside. Businesses of those selling horse carriages bloomed.

The tense and uneasy atmosphere grew with the density of incense smoke. People began to fret and believed that the only thing that was effective was prayer. The masters in temples were naturally their best choice. In a matter of days, many ladies were hurt by such incidents.

There were countless Buddhist temples in the Yuelun Kingdom, of which the most famous were the 72 temples of Yanyu. The White Tower Temple in Chaoyang City enjoyed the undoubted recognition among the 72 temples. In the currently frightening atmosphere, the incense in the White Tower Temple burned the brightest. There were many believers who came forth to pray, and the temple was filled to the brim.

There were many believers crowding inside the White Tower Temple, and many more knelt outside. There were a dozen of believers who respectfully knelt on the stone steps outside the temple. They kept kowtowing, looking extremely pious.

Many Buddhist believers knelt at the stone steps because the abbot of the White Tower Temple had erected a statue of a baby boy who had a deep affinity with Buddha. The baby boy grew up to become the renowned Master Daoshi. That was why all believers had the notion that there were remnants of the spirit of Buddha, left behind by Master Daoshi on the stone steps and that it would bring them luck.

Ning Que shook his head as he looked at the scene. He held Sangsang's slightly cold hand and squeezed through the crowd toward the White Tower Temple. He thought of how Quni Madi had a relationship with Baoshu and gave birth to her illegitimate son Daoshi. Where else would they send him other than to the White Tower Temple? What did it have to do with the spirit of Buddha?

Sangsang wore a light colored robe and had on a thick scarf that covered half of her face. Her hair had been cut extremely short, and her bangs fell to one side. She looked very refreshing, like a naughty little boy. Even those who had met Sangsang before would not be able to recognize her, much less those who had only seen her pictures.

”Perhaps those stone steps can really bring luck.”

Sangsang's voice emerged from underneath the scarf, a little muffled, almost as if she had a blocked nose after a bout of flu.

Ning Que smiled slightly and softly said, ”Even if it brings luck, it would not fall upon us. Don't forget that I cut off Daoshi's head in front of that bun stall in Chang'an.”

Sangsang said, ”I wonder if it's because we have done too many bad things and this is retribution. If we had known we were going to study Buddhism, we wouldn't have been so disrespectful to the masters of the Buddhism Sect.”

Ning Que smiled and said, ”I was feeling awful the day before I met Daoshi because it was the first time you ran away. I was angry and stayed by the Yanming lake for an entire night, and he still provoked me. Of course he was seeking death. It's your fault.”

Sangsang said softly, ”So it is I, who should experience retribution.”

”If there really is such a thing as retribution, would I need to kill Xia Hou? He would long have been dealt with by Buddha. No matter if it was Haotian Taoism or the Buddhism Sect, they would always call those from the Academy non-believers. To them, life is empty without beliefs, respect or fear. They think that it'd be hard for us to find true peace. However, to the Academy, belief and adoration are two different things. They really should reconsider the fear part of the equation.”

Ning Que thought of the kowtowing believers outside the temple. He thought of the families beside the courtyard burning incense and praying to a tree every day. He said, ”The Yuelun Kingdom is a country with religious beliefs. But they believe in too many things, and they have too much fear of the unknown. What kind of belief is that then?”

The two had already walked deep into the main hall of the White Tower Temple as they chatted. It was crowded within the hall. Hundreds of believers knelt on futons, listening to the high monk in front preaching.

Ning Que brought Sangsang into the hall and found an empty futon. The believer who had his futon stolen was shocked to find himself standing behind a pillar when he had been carefully listening to the scripture just moments ago. However, he did not dare to make a din, afraid that the high monk would deem him not pious enough to have encountered such a situation.

Sangsang knelt on the futon and placed her palms together and vertically before her. She closed her eyes and began to listen to the scriptures and study Buddhism. Her expression was serene and pious, and her hair, which was black because it had been cut short began to rustle on her forehead.

She did not listen to the preaching of the White Tower Temple's monk but only silently recited a part of the scripture. She studied not the solemn gold Buddha in front of the hall, but the Buddha in her heart.