Techniques and Dao

Chapter 135 Nighttime Hiding at the Buddhist Temple
Because Saint Pingning has a system of supervising magical arts, all magical arts used here are recorded. Therefore, the two of them cannot use their cloud-riding technique, but fortunately, as Hua Sheng said, Daqian Temple is not too far away.

Mieying was injured and exhausted from the journey, so Hua Sheng couldn't help but say, "Xiao Qi, you're injured, I'll carry you on my back!"

Mieying was a little embarrassed: "This young lady doesn't want to..."

"Just like your fourth sister said, stop talking nonsense! What time is it? Hurry up and get up!" Hua Sheng said, squatting down in the snow.

Seeing that it was indeed a critical moment, Mieying stopped refusing. Just as she climbed onto Huasheng's back, she was suddenly poked by something in her arms.

It turns out to be the Ruihua Treasure Mirror used for communication!
Mieying quickly pulled out the magic mirror and said, "By the way! Do you still have the Ruihua Magic Mirror with you? Let's throw it away. If we're being hunted, the Holy Court has a way to find us through the Ruihua Magic Mirror!"

Hua Sheng touched his bosom and found the Ruihua Treasure Mirror on him. He and Mieying buried it in the snow.

Then, Hua Sheng carried Mie Ying on his back and walked quickly through the woods, carefully observing the sky for any unusual signs to make sure he wasn't discovered.

After walking for a while, Hua Sheng noticed that Mie Ying was standing behind him without saying a word, and worried that she might faint from excessive bleeding.

He could only carefully discern the path ahead while softly asking, "Mieying, this mountain road is a bit bumpy. Does your wound still hurt?"

"It's alright...you can go ahead." Mieying said softly.

Seeing that Mieying was alright, Hua Sheng felt relieved.

Mieying rested her chin on Huasheng's shoulder and asked softly, "Huasheng, do you think I'm suitable to be the female lead?"

"Huh?" Hua Sheng was taken aback. "What do you mean? What female lead did you say?"

Mieying didn't answer the question, but simply said, "No matter where you are, you have to fight for the protagonist's position yourself, right?"

Hua Sheng slowed his pace slightly and said, "That's true, but it's not like a play or a movie. Why talk about a leading lady? In your life, you are the main character!"

"But what I want to be is the leading lady in someone else's life."

Hua Sheng, sensing the hidden meaning in Mie Ying's words, said, "You've just been injured, so don't overthink things."

Mieying didn't stop, leaning on Huasheng's shoulder and slowly saying, "Living is a long journey. Everyone encounters different characters at different stages. Besides yourself, the other main character in your life may also change, right? Even the heroine in his story may not be the one who appears at the beginning. Many stories in the world are like this."

Hua Sheng lowered his head, pondering as he asked, "Is the female lead you mentioned very important to you...?"

"It's not a matter of importance..." Mieying's voice was a little soft, as if he was a little tired.

Hua Sheng asked, "What's the problem?"

Mie Ying replied in a daze, "Because I knew from the beginning that this seat belonged to me, that's why I wanted to take it back."

"This……"

"I hesitated before, but now I've decided..." As he said this, Mieying rested his head on Huasheng's shoulder and fell asleep.

Hua Sheng didn't wake her up, but simply carried her on his back and continued walking forward.

He understood what Mieying meant, since not all female protagonists appear on screen immediately. He just didn't understand why she would suddenly say such things.

But these words suddenly gave Hua Sheng confidence. In the deserted forest, he rallied his spirits and continued climbing up the mountain.

After walking uphill for a while, Hua Sheng returned to the gate of Daqian Temple, which he had left earlier that morning.

Mieying woke up again, and Hua Sheng put her down and knocked on the mountain gate.

Perhaps it was too late, because no one answered the door.

So, Hua Sheng knocked on the mountain gate again.

After a while, footsteps were heard coming from inside.

Hua Sheng gestured for Mie Ying to step back, saying, "The gate of this Daqian Zen Temple is quite mysterious! You should step back a bit, it might be a revolving door or a sliding door, you don't want to get caught."

With a creak, the mountain gate opened a crack in the middle.

Mie Ying glanced at it, tilted his head, and said, "Isn't it just a pair of ordinary wooden doors?"

Hua Sheng saw that it was indeed an ordinary wooden door, and an old monk's head was peeking out from the crack in the door.

"What brings you here so late at night, benefactor?"

Upon seeing that the old monk was the same one who had greeted him earlier, Hua Sheng excitedly exclaimed, "Master, it's me! I'm Hua Sheng!"

The monk in charge of receiving guests also recognized Hua Sheng and asked in surprise, "Benefactor, how come you've returned in less than a day?"

"It's a long story! I have urgent business with Master Ruokong! Master, please inform him for me!"

"Please come in, benefactor! Oh, and there's also a female benefactor!"

Upon hearing this, Mieying hurriedly said to Huasheng, "Look, look, he's calling me the female lead!"

Hua Sheng quickly corrected him, "You're still half asleep. The high monk called you 'female benefactor,' not 'female master'! Why do you keep thinking about this?"

Then Mieying stuck out her tongue.

The monk in charge of receiving guests quickly opened the door. Seeing that Mieying was injured, he hurriedly said, "Please be careful, gentlemen, the road is slippery. Please follow me to the guest hall to rest. I will inform the abbot immediately!" The two entered the temple, and Huasheng immediately noticed the Thousand-Year Incense Burner in the center of the temple. The huge incense burner emitted a faint orange light, illuminating the surrounding corridors and the white snow on the ground.

The old monk, who was in charge of the reception, led the way with a lantern, while Hua Sheng followed behind, helping Mie Ying along the corridor.

Although she had only been away for less than a day, so much had happened. Now, when Hanamori looked at this familiar temple again, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

The three entered the guest hall, where the monk who was in charge of receiving guests brought out some crushed herbs and clean bandages, saying, "These herbs are grown in the temple. Every year, during the three days when the temple gates are open, a lot of them are sent out to treat people's illnesses. These herbs are very effective in treating external injuries when applied to wounds. You can use them with confidence, female benefactor."

After saying this, the guest monk left.

Hua Sheng looked at the herbs and asked Mie Ying, "I'll apply the medicine for you, but I might need to loosen the clothes on your shoulders a bit, is that alright?"

Mieying nodded and said, "That's fine. But you can't take advantage of someone's vulnerability and peek through the seam of their clothes!"

Hua Sheng's face flushed instantly: "What do you take me for?!"

Mieying chuckled, "So you think you're a man!"

Hua Sheng blushed and flipped open the thin coat on Mie Ying's shoulder, only to find that the wound was indeed quite serious. Fortunately, it had not hit any vital organs.

He used a damp towel prepared by the guest monk to wipe away the bloodstains on Mieying's shoulder and carefully applied crushed herbs.

When the herbs touched the wound, Mieying groaned.

"Does it hurt?" Hua Sheng asked with some concern.

Mie Ying took a deep breath and replied, "I'm fine!"

Hua Sheng quickly bandaged up the herbs. As he pulled his thin coat back up, he caught a glimpse of the bright red Hun Tian Ling wrapped around Mie Ying's chest. He suppressed his racing heart and immediately looked away.

Just as his hand left Mieying's shoulder, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Immediately afterward, there was a knock on the door, and Hua Sheng quickly replied, "Come in!"

"Birds roost on trees by the pond, a monk knocks on the moonlit gate. This humble monk knew you, benefactor, were reluctant to leave!"

Master Ruokong, dressed in a brocade robe, walked in with a smile.

Seeing Master Ruokong's familiar smiling face, Hua Sheng's panic from being chased earlier subsided considerably.

Master Ruokong truly lived up to his reputation as Tang Sanzang's disciple; upon meeting him, he immediately instilled in the other party a sense of trust and reliability.

Hua Sheng clasped his hands together with a hint of helplessness and said, "Abbot Ruokong! If there were truly no other way, how could this junior Hua Sheng dare to disturb you so late at night?"

"It's alright, it's alright. Working overtime all night is all the rage these days, and this humble monk has to keep up with the trend occasionally!" Master Ruokong said with a smile. "Look at the weather today, it's truly a rare sight. Why don't you two stay and enjoy the scenery for a few days?"

Hua Sheng quickly waved his hand and said, "Master, you are too kind! If we are not careful, we will have to stay for another hundred days! To be honest, we have urgent business tonight and we will have to leave after sitting for a while."

Master Ruokong looked on with some regret and asked, "Why are you two in such a hurry? What brings you here?"

Hua Sheng then recounted to Master Ruokong his experiences of chasing Lü Dongbin in Panxian Cave and being called a demon.

After Hua Sheng finished speaking, Mie Ying added, "Hua Sheng is not some kind of monster!"

Master Ruokong said, "Of course he shouldn't be a demon. Even if he was originally one, after a hundred days of practice in this humble Daqian Zen Temple, he would have long been converted into a Buddha by this humble monk."

Hua Sheng said, "But both Lü Dongbin and Lan Caihe of the Eight Immortals think so, and I have no way to defend myself."

Master Ruokong said, “This humble monk understands. But since it was Lü Dongbin who personally said he wanted to arrest you, if the two benefactors do not stay at Daqian Temple, I'm afraid there will be no place for them in the entire Immortal Realm. The Holy Peace Immortal Realm may seem like a vast area of ​​tens of thousands of miles, but even if you use a small immortal technique, the Holy Court will immediately track you down.”

"Besides, I don't even know if I am..."

Master Ruokong said meaningfully, "You don't need to be so fixated on it. It's good to kill all the demons in the world, but if one side holds absolute power, who can guarantee that the gods won't do the same thing in the long run?"

Hua Sheng listened in silence.

Mieying said, "Abbot, we want to find an older brother I know to help us, but the snow is too heavy and we can't tell which way to go. Please help us find the way, Master."

Where is this female benefactor's friend?

Mieying blurted out, "He lives at Butterfly Spirit Manor!"

Master Ruokong repeated those four words, pondered for a long while, and said, "Butterfly Spirit Manor is quite famous in this area, and it is indeed not far from here. However, it would take at least two hours to walk there. If you don't use your magic and just walk through the snow to Butterfly Spirit Manor, the female benefactor's injuries will likely worsen..."

He pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, I will arrange for the young monk Buxu to lead the way for you. Buxu is quick-witted and acts with discretion, and Huasheng is also familiar with him."

Hua Sheng immediately thought of the adorable little novice monk and hurriedly said, "I feel really bad for troubling you so late, little one."

Master Ruokong smiled and said, "He's very energetic. Don't you know that the biggest headache for every parent is that their child doesn't like to sleep at night?"

No sooner had Master Ruokong finished speaking than Hua Sheng, before he could even laugh out loud at his joke, came a rapid knocking at the guest hall door. Before Master Ruokong could speak, the guest monk pushed open the door and said in a panic, "Abbot! Something terrible has happened!"

Master Ruokong asked calmly, "Calm down! What's the matter that you're so flustered?"

The monk in charge of receiving guests turned pale and anxiously replied, "Something terrible has happened! Lü Dongbin is outside the mountain gate with a young man, saying he wants to come in and arrest someone!"

(End of this chapter)