Traveling through the Republic of China to become a special agent, the system is very easy for me

Chu Xiaoya was overjoyed.

"Okay, whoever goes back on their word is a little dog."

After she finished speaking, she chuckled, and Yuan Ye, infected by her laughter, also started to laugh.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, they soon arrived at Luohan Temple. Yuan Ye parked the car nearby. As soon as he got out, the sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear and cloudless—truly a rare and beautiful day.

For the past few days since he arrived, the sky had been overcast and foggy, and he hadn't encountered a single good day. Finally, a sunny day arrived, and with a beautiful woman as his guide, Yuan Ye was in a very good mood. The two of them quickly arrived at the mountain gate.

The mountain gate is a four-pillar, three-gate, five-story archway with overlapping eaves, tall and solemn, golden and magnificent. The entire mountain gate appears grand and extraordinary.

Above the gate hangs a vertical plaque and a horizontal plaque. The vertical plaque reads "Luohan Temple" and the horizontal plaque reads "Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land".

The three characters "Luohan Temple" are vigorous and powerful, and Yuan Ye could tell at a glance that they were written by a master. There is a couplet on the gateposts: the first line reads "The Dharma Gate is benevolent and virtuous, admired by both humans and gods," and the second line reads "The path to enlightenment is bright, and both mortals and saints travel together."

It is simple and easy to understand, but it lacks a bit of mystery. Yuan Ye thinks it might be intentional, after all, Luohan Temple is located in a bustling city with many tourists, so making it simpler is closer to the general public and more conducive to the spread of Buddhism.

The two entered the mountain gate. The temple was teeming with tourists and monks. The air was filled with the smell of incense and the sound of wooden fish drums.

Yuan Ye smiled and said:

"It seems like this place is quite popular with worshippers."

Chu Xiaoya nodded and said:

"Yes, after all, it is the number one temple in western Sichuan, and the first choice for devout men and women to burn incense and pray for blessings. Many Buddhist ceremonies to pray for the fallen soldiers of the War of Resistance against Japan are often held here."

I heard that the temple also organized a monk rescue team. Every time Japanese planes attacked and the air raid sirens sounded, while ordinary people hid in air-raid shelters, these monks would go against the tide, wearing their robes, and rush to the bombing sites amidst the smoke and ruins to rescue the wounded, bury the dead, and perform rituals for the departed, tirelessly working.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ye was filled with respect and exclaimed in admiration:

"If I don't go to hell, who will? This courage and compassion are truly invaluable. These monks have done just that."

He suddenly realized that none of those martyrs who sacrificed their lives were any different. Without the spirit of "If I don't go to hell, who will?", who would be willing to sacrifice their own life?

It is precisely this spirit that can save the country and its people from dire straits; this is great compassion!

Chu Xiaoya seemed to be affected as well; after a moment of silence, she suddenly asked:

"Brother Xiao, you are a hero of the War of Resistance against Japan. Why do you want to go back to America? Can't you stay? You are so capable, you can definitely make a lot of contributions to the war effort. Can you stay tomorrow?"

After speaking, she looked at Yuan Ye with expectant eyes, her face suddenly turning red. She so desperately wanted Brother Xiao to stay, so that they could have a chance to be together. Through their brief encounter today, she felt that he was different from others, and how pleasant it was to be with him. The charm he exuded had deeply attracted her.

Moreover, this feeling grew stronger and stronger, making her almost unable to extricate herself.

Yuan Ye understood what she meant and didn't know what to say for a moment. He couldn't tell her that he wasn't going to America, but to Shanghai, and that he had a special mission—to fight against the Japanese. Given the current situation, it was impossible for him to be with her. After thinking for a moment, he said:

“I have to go back. There are many things waiting for me to deal with. There are some things I can’t tell you, but I can tell you one thing: what I’m doing is absolutely beneficial to the country and the nation. I hope you understand.”

He didn't know if Chu Xiaoya could understand, so this was the only way he could tell her.

Chu Xiaoya seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to understand; a hint of disappointment crossed her face, and she said softly:

"will you come back?"

"I don't know, maybe I'll come back."

Yuan Ye's words were ambiguous; he didn't know what would happen in the future, so he would just have to wait and see how things developed.

He felt like a lone boat in the great tide of this era, and he wanted to try to control his own destiny, but sometimes he was not in control of his own life. Who could know?

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's hurry up and look around."

Yuan Ye smiled.

Okay, I hope you can come back.

Chu Xiaoya nodded. From the conversation just now, she vaguely sensed that Brother Xiao had some unknown secrets. How could someone who dealt with her father not have any secrets?

The two continued walking and soon arrived at the Hall of Heavenly Kings, a stone-carved open hall with an ancient style. They entered the hall between two pillars and found a stone-carved Maitreya Buddha enshrined inside.

The Maitreya Buddha is depicted with a bare chest and exposed breasts, thick eyebrows, and smiling eyes. He holds a cloth bag, is bare-bellied and barefoot, and the carving is remarkably lifelike. Yuan Ye laughed and said:

"I'm reminded of a couplet: 'A big belly can hold all things, even those that are hard to tolerate; a mouth that is always smiling can laugh at all the laughable people in the world.' It's quite fitting here."

"Yes, this is about Maitreya Buddha. It would be great if it could be carved on these two stone pillars at the entrance. It would add a lot of interest."

Chu Xiaoya also smiled.

The two passed through the Hall of Heavenly Kings and walked to a small pavilion diagonally opposite. The pavilion's nameplate read "Ming Stele Pavilion." Yuan Ye thought to himself that it must be a place that collects Ming Dynasty steles.

Inside the pavilion are two ancient steles. One is inscribed with the words "Historical Site of West Lake," and the other is the "Three Poems Stele." Yuan Ye glanced at the inscriptions and saw that the "Historical Site of West Lake" stele was erected in the third year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty, and the inscription was written by Yu Xinmin, the then prefect of Chongqing.

The "Three Poems Stele" is inscribed with three poems: "Crossing the Beach," "Night on a Boat," and "Chongqing." The inscription was written by Wu Gao, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, who once served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

Yuan Ye glanced at the characters on the two steles. They were fairly standard, but it was clear that both calligraphers had good skills. However, they were still somewhat inferior to the calligraphers who wrote the three characters "Luohan Temple" on the mountain gate.

Chu Xiaoya saw that Yuan Ye was looking very carefully and smiled:

"Brother Xiao, I think you must be very interested in calligraphy, and you must be very proficient in it."

"It's alright, so-so."

Yuan Ye casually remarked that since his calligraphy skills improved to the level of a top calligrapher, he has become very interested in anything related to calligraphy, which is why he is carefully studying these stone inscriptions.

The two then went around to the stone archway behind the east side of the Hall of Heavenly Kings. The archway was inscribed with the four characters "Ten Directions Forest". After entering the archway, there was a "Ancient Buddha Rock" with a length of more than 20 meters under the corridors on both sides, which contained more than 400 cliff carvings from the Southern Song Dynasty.

The two walked through the corridor as if passing through a long corridor of history, and then climbed the steps to arrive at the Arhat Hall. Inside the hall, there are 500 Arhat statues in two corridors, each with a different posture and lifelike appearance, which is breathtaking.

After passing the Arhat Hall, you will reach the main hall of Arhat Temple, the Mahavira Hall. The Mahavira Hall sits atop a stone Sumeru pedestal, spanning seven bays with a double-eaved hip roof and a front porch. Inside, the main wall enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha and his two eminent disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa, while the two side walls feature colorful sculptures of the Sixteen Arhats.

There were many worshippers offering incense and bowing before the Buddha. Chu Xiaoya pulled Yuan Ye along and lit an incense stick as well. Then she bowed three times and kowtowed nine times. Chu Xiaoya muttered something under her breath, and no one knew what she was saying. Only she knew.

After Yuan Ye got up, he went to the side and offered five thousand legal tender coins as incense money. The clerk saw that he was so generous and had an extraordinary demeanor, so he must be someone important. He quickly picked up the register and asked Yuan Ye to write down his name.

Yuan Ye smiled and said:

"Merit resides in the hearts of the people, so there is no need to remember names."

Then he turned and left, while Chu Xiaoya clicked her tongue and said:

"Brother Xiao, you're really rich, donating so much money all at once."

“I was very moved when I heard about the monks’ rescue team at the temple. Donating this little money is nothing, it’s what I should do, and it’s just a small token of my appreciation.”

Upon hearing Yuan Ye's words, a sense of admiration welled up in Chu Xiaoya's heart.