Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 11: Putuo Temple (1)

Chapter 11: Putuo Temple (1)

The next day.

Before even the hour of Mao, Xia Heng and the other three had already washed, dressed, and made themselves presentable, and were standing at the gate waiting to set out.

Zhao Die and Zhao Siyan had finally lost the battle against the cold wind and changed into little satin-padded jackets. Their makeup was exquisite, and the two of them were chatting animatedly about something, as energetic as roosters that had just finished crowing at dawn.

Qiulin stood to one side, her whole body straight as a little pine tree.

Xia Heng leaned lightly against the carriage meant for the servants, her eyes half-lidded. While marveling at how full of energy everyone was, she openly slacked off.

Yesterday, she had heard from Chuqing that Putuo Temple was the largest temple within a hundred li and also the one with the most flourishing incense offerings.

Even the road up the mountain had been repaired by worshippers until it was flat and spacious.

As cannon fodder who had transmigrated into a book, Xia Heng always felt a little uneasy. But the original novel she had read did not include this part, so she simply chose to lie flat and accept her fate.

As the saying went, nothing in the world was difficult-as long as you were willing to give up.

Before long, Cang Chuli came out, with Deputy General Zhang and Chuqing attending him from behind.

Today, Cang Chuli was dressed in white casual clothes with a fox-fur cloak draped over his shoulders. It made his lips look red and his teeth white, giving him rather the air of a charming young scholar.

The two Zhao sisters stared until their eyes practically went straight.

He did not linger in front of the carriage. Stepping onto the footstool, he strode into the carriage at the very front.

From a distance came a single command.

“Set out.”

Cang Chuli’s personal guards immediately mounted their fine horses. Seeing Chuqing get into the carriage ahead, Xia Heng felt a little regretful.

She then hurried after Qiulin and climbed into their carriage.

Putuo Temple was located on Mount Putuo, an hour’s carriage ride from the capital. They did not stop once along the way, and the four people in Xia Heng’s carriage maintained a tacit silence.

At first, Xia Heng was forcing herself not to fall asleep. Half an hour later, she was forcing herself not to throw up.

When they arrived at Putuo Temple, everyone got out of the carriages.

Xia Heng braced a hand against the carriage compartment and slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

The Zhao sisters’ faces were both a little greenish-white, and their steps had grown much more unsteady. Even Qiulin was staring at the trees in the distance, adjusting her breathing.

Xia Heng thought to herself that ancient carriages really were not that easy to ride in. They could not compare to modern transportation at all.

After getting down and making a brief adjustment, the group followed the young novice monk leading the way into the temple.

Putuo Temple truly deserved its reputation as the number one temple in the capital.

Incense smoke curled through the air inside the temple. There were numerous halls, and the monks moved about in orderly fashion.

Perhaps because they had been informed in advance, Xia Heng did not encounter any other pilgrims along the way.

After everyone paid respects to the Bodhisattva in the temple’s main hall, Cang Chuli left with a monk whose earlobes were extremely thick. The rest of them were arranged to stay in the monks’ quarters.

The young novice monk leading Xia Heng and the others brought them to their rooms, bowed, and left.

The Zhao sisters shared one room, leaving Xia Heng and Qiulin assigned to the same room, where they stared at each other with wide eyes.

The two of them really had not spoken much before. Their only recent interaction had been getting punished together yesterday.

Perhaps the atmosphere was simply too awkward. Xia Heng looked left, then right, and then scratched her cheek.

After a long while, Qiulin said softly, “Actually, I wanted to ask this morning. What is that?”

As she spoke, she raised a hand and pointed at Xia Heng’s chest.

Then she watched as Xia Heng pulled a paper bundle out from the front of her clothes. After unwrapping it layer by layer…

It turned out to be a soft, fluffy white steamed bun.

“Want some?” Xia Heng asked sincerely.

After seeing enough outrageous stunts, Qiulin’s heart remained perfectly calm. She even felt that, yes, this was exactly what Xia Heng would do.

She merely shook her head.

“No need.”

After thinking for a moment, she could not help adding, “The temple provides vegetarian meals. There will be one meal in the afternoon. Once everything is arranged, they will call us to eat.”

Hearing this, Xia Heng nodded and smiled.

“So that’s how it is. Okay! I was just afraid of going hungry. I’ve been getting hungry easily lately.”

In truth, Xia Heng’s sixth sense had flared up the night before, and she kept feeling uneasy.

So during the night, she had practically packed all her useful belongings into her storage space.

Before leaving in the morning, she had even gone to the public kitchen and grabbed two steamed buns to stuff into her clothes. She had already eaten one.

This other one she had saved, just in case!

Xia Heng had just wrapped the steamed bun back up and tucked it inside the front of her clothes again when a knock came from outside the door.

Knock, knock, knock. “Benefactors.”

When the young monk at the door saw that the person opening it was a female guest, he did not enter. Standing at the doorway, he asked, “Which of you is Benefactor Qiulin? Benefactor Cang has instructed this poor monk to bring you over.”

Hearing the commotion, the Zhao sisters next door also opened their door.
Qiulin nodded to Xia Heng, then followed the young monk away.

Zhao Die still looked utterly unconvinced. She rolled her eyes at Qiulin’s retreating back, then turned and saw Xia Heng.

“Look at her. She’s the general’s favorite, going in and out with him every day. She’s nothing like us!”

Beside her, Zhao Siyan tugged at her sister’s sleeve.

“Sister, let’s go back.”

“Why are you pulling me? You’re even worse than she is! I told you to follow me. What’s so good about that Washing Workshop?

“If we sisters had worked together, would someone else have been able to steal our job from under us?”

Zhao Die glared at Zhao Siyan in exasperation, hating that she could not make her sister live up to her expectations. But there was nothing she could do, so she could only scold her all the way back to their room.

After Xia Heng slid the door bolt into place, she kicked off her shoes, scraping them loose with her feet, and climbed onto the meditation bed.

The weather today was perfect for sleeping. She had no idea how those women still had so much energy. She had been sleepy since morning.

Especially after sitting in a carriage that had nearly shaken her into vomiting that morning, all she wanted now was to catch up on sleep.

Wrapping herself tightly in the quilt, Xia Heng drifted off in no time.

==========

Putuo Temple, Main Hall

“Benefactor Cang, will you be lighting eternal lamps today?” asked the monk with drooping ears.

“Yes. Five.”

Cang Chuli’s voice was low. He accepted the paper the monk handed him and wrote down the names and birth details of five people.

After giving it back to the monk, he knelt on the prayer cushion at his feet.

Before him, lamps burned bright in every direction. Among them were his family, his brothers, and his subordinates.

Today, five more had been added.

Everyone said there was no battle the Zhenbei Army could not win.

But how many people knew that those victories had been bought with the lives of so many hot-blooded young men?

The arrow wound in his right shoulder began to throb faintly again. He should have made it in time to save that teenage boy…

The face of the Buddha statue beside him was dim and indistinct.

“Has everything been arranged?”

The voice from behind the statue carried a bloodthirsty killing intent utterly out of place in this hall of compassion.

Cang Chuli showed no surprise at all. He only replied, “Of course.”

“Then we can slowly draw in the net. They won’t let any opportunity slip by.”

The voice gradually receded into the distance. Cang Chuli slowly lifted his head, his eyes stained crimson…

By the time Xia Heng woke from her sleep, the sky had already gone dark. Everything around her was silent, without the slightest sound.

She smoothed out the hair she had accidentally slept into a mess, then rubbed her growling stomach.

Maybe what Qiulin had said was not necessarily accurate. It was already so late, and no one had come to call her for dinner.

Or had someone called, but she had not woken up?

Thinking of how deeply she tended to sleep, Xia Heng felt a little guilty.

She glanced at the neatly folded bedding beside her. Qiulin had not returned either.

Xia Heng got out of bed, lit the oil lamp, and prepared to go out and take a look herself.

The room next door was also pitch-black and silent. The sisters, Zhao Die and Zhao Siyan, were not there.

Xia Heng knocked on the door, but no one answered from inside. A faint smell of rust hung in the air, and the ominous feeling in her heart grew stronger.

She walked out of Quiet Garden, where the pilgrims stayed. After only a few steps, she saw a corpse dressed in black lying beside the road in the grass.

Xia Heng raised the oil lamp and looked farther ahead.

There were more bodies scattered haphazardly everywhere. Hearing the sound of blades clashing not far away, Xia Heng hurriedly blew out the lamp in her hand, crouched low, and hid in the grass.

The sounds of fighting drew closer and closer. Not good. They were coming this way. Xia Heng bent at the waist and felt her way through the grass toward another path.

Halfway there, Xia Heng touched something soft.

It was a person!

She forced back the scream that had nearly reached her lips.

The other party seemed just as startled when she grabbed him. Both of them fell backward onto their bottoms.

Half the moon slipped out from behind the clouds. By the moonlight, Xia Heng saw that the person in front of her was a Little Baldie of about five or six years old. He was wearing a monk’s robe and sitting on the ground, his round forehead shining in the moonlight. He gazed at her with tear-filled eyes, yet bit his lip hard and made no sound.

The sounds of fighting behind them were getting closer. Xia Heng quickly scrambled up and pulled Little Baldie to his feet as well.

Holding his hand, she raised her right hand and made a gesture for silence.

Then, taking advantage of the moonlight to check the direction, the two of them used the surrounding plants as cover and ran forward once more.