Upon leaving Chengde Mountain Villa, Xuerou specifically inquired with the staff at the exit about when that temple on the mountain was built.
"What temple are you talking about? The temples within the villa were mostly damaged around the ti of the Liberation War, but all that remained are now important national heritage sites." The staff mber recognized Xuerou, rembering that she seed to have entered the scenic area more than a week ago, and it appeared she hadn’t left during that ti.
"It’s the one in the mountainous area, the path with the sign," Xuerou wouldn’t give up until she had the full story.
"Oh, you an that deserted temple called ’South Sea’? I heard it’s provincially mandated to remain unrepaired. What were you doing there? There’s nothing interesting, and people used to get lost around there all the ti. Eventually, the patrol teams had to help people find their way back. When was that temple built?" The staff mber pondered, "Oh, I rember now, it was during the Kangxi Period. It is said to have been built brick by brick by a large monk who looked like a wild man."
Lao Kang wore open-crotch pants, so that’s what that was about.
"Over three hundred years?" Xuerou thought hard as she boarded the bus back to the hotel and finally ca up with a number.
"Perhaps, people like them, the Cultivators, usually break the boundaries of human lifespan. For instance, have you seen i Nian? She was born in the late Qing Dynasty, but she looks only about thirty years old now." After Xiao Xian finished speaking, she looked again at Xuerou’s expression.
"That must be very lonely, right?" Xuerou asked softly.
Xiao Xian didn’t speak. Cultivators are destined to be lonely.
When leaving Chengde Sumr Villa, it was shortly after noon. Thinking of a certain individual whose trip had turned into hospitalization, Zeng Xuerou and Xiao Xian didn’t dare to loiter any longer and headed straight to the First People’s Hospital in the city area.
Upon seeing Zhang Yiyi, she was sitting by the bed, joyfully teasing a neighboring bed’s aunty who had just undergone surgery.
"Yiyi, we’re back," Before coming to the hospital, Xuerou had bought a big bag of food from the supermarket, considering the "hidden dangers" that still lurked in Zhang Yiyi’s body, she chose healthy foods and so authentic local snacks, such as hazelnuts and chestnuts.
The corners of Zhang Yiyi’s mouth lifted when she saw the two of them, but half a second later, she turned around, pouted, and leaned on the hospital bed.
"Finally willing to co to see . Here I am in the hospital gnawing on veggies as bland as roots and drinking porridge that’s thinner than water, while you two have fun at the Sumr Villa, not even sparing a glance for ," Zhang Yiyi had actually been doing quite well in the hospital these last few days.
She may not be sweet-tongued, but she’s tall and has the deanor of a child, so both nurses and doctors, seeing her alone in the hospital, would sotis buy her food and toys. Her fellow patients also loved her cheerful nature.
But after all, she was in a strange city, and her only familiar friend had seemingly vanished from the world. This left Zhang Yiyi with a bitter taste in her heart.
Xuerou, thus chastised, couldn’t tell her about what had happened on the mountain and was montarily at a loss for words.
Xiao Xian was the first to co up with an idea. She rolled up her sleeve and approached Zhang Yiyi’s face, "Look, just look."
Zhang Yiyi didn’t understand what was going on or what Xiao Xian was doing.
"I’m telling you to look. We both got tanned and Xuerou’s back is even peeling. Look at the soles of my feet," Xiao Xian was about to take off her socks and then rembered that her wound had already healed.
Seeing Xiao Xian’s action, Xuerou quickly joined in, eagerly adding: "We weren’t out having fun. We’ve been detained by that big monk for the past few days, helping him plant lotus flowers and listen to his scripture recitations. Life was miserable, we did seven full days of hard labor. Xiao Xian even cut her foot and didn’t get any rest. Only this morning were we allowed to co down the mountain."
This story wasn’t far from the truth, as indeed they had spent six and a half days doing physical work. Xuerou recalled standing in the pond, feeling the icy water under her feet.
Zhang Yiyi looked at them both, and they indeed seed darker, but then it crossed her mind that it was she who caused the lotus flower to disappear, resulting in Xiao Xian and Xuerou being burdened with hard labor, while she lay in the hospital sneaking biscuits, fattening up around the waist. The anger in her heart deflated like a pierced balloon.
After calming Zhang Yiyi down, Xuerou borrowed a pot from the aunty in the next bed and went to the hospital’s hot water room to cook lotus porridge.
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