On the stone bridge not far from Red House, a flash of white light traversed, and Jin Naluo’s figure erged. Turning his head towards Red House, he muttered, "Why have I suddenly appeared here?"
He raised his hand to cover his chest, muttering, "This sensation is annoyance, it is rage! But why do I feel such ire?"
Jin Naluo imdiately sat down cross-legged on the stone bridge, his gaze deep and unfocused on Red House. His heart, undisturbed for millions of years, was filled with peculiar emotions—more disturbing than Buddhist Law.
...
Elsewhere, Qiu Ji stumbled and rushed back to Dahua Temple, arriving before the Great Elder to collapse, spewing out a mouthful of blood and falling to the ground, gasping for air.
The Great Elder slightly opened his eyes, calmly looking down at Qiu Ji.
Struggling to his feet, Qiu Ji kneeled on the ground, saying, "Great Elder, Jin Naluo is protecting A Xiu. I am no match for him."
The Great Elder chuckled and said, "It seems sothing interesting has happened between Jin Naluo and A Xiu."
After spitting out a mouthful of stagnant blood, Qiu Ji suddenly felt much better and urgently said, "Great Elder, what should we do now? The three-month deadline is fast approaching."
"Is Jin Naluo that formidable?"
Qiu Ji hesitated then nodded, saying, "Anyone sent by Small Mahayana Buddhism to propagate the faith must be very strong indeed."
The Great Elder smiled and said, "Whether he be an Immortal or Buddha, since he has descended to our realm to spread the teaching, he must abide by Human Dao, and in Human Dao, the royal authority reigns supre. Go and inform King Bige to accuse him of privately propagating faith and causing disturbance to the state, and have Jin Naluo arrested."
Struggling to his feet, Qiu Ji responded, "Yes!", clutching his chest as he walked outside.
The Great Elder murmured, "A Xiu, you’d better not disappoint ."
Soon the Yun Brahman troops were deployed to arrest Jin Naluo, who was imprisoned without offering any resistance from start to finish.
In recent days, Jin Naluo had perford many good deeds within Yun Brahman, and coupled with the rumors of his affair with A Xiu, his na had already spread across Yun Brahman. His sudden arrest thus sparked much discussion among the citizens.
Qiu Ji returned to the temple and joyously said upon seeing the Great Elder, "Great Elder, as wise as you said, Jin Naluo has been captured without resistance."
The Great Elder smiled and said, "A very wise choice indeed."
Fire glead in Qiu Ji’s eyes as he said, "Great Elder, I’ll go to Red House now to have A Xiu continue receiving guests."
"There’s no need to go, A Xiu will co here on her own."
After Jin Naluo’s arrest, A Xiu was also very anxious and inquired about his whereabouts everywhere. All the powers-that-be from her past also expressed their inability to help.
In the end, A Xiu arrived before Dahua Temple, looked up at the temple and strode in.
Inside the main hall, A Xiu saw the Great Elder and paid her respects with a bow, saying, "A Xiu pays her respects to the Great Elder!"
The Great Elder imdiately stood up, stepping forward to hold A Xiu’s hands, and chuckled, "Ah, there’s no need for such formalities between us."
A Xiu imdiately stepped back two paces, breaking free from the Great Elder’s hands, maintaining distance between them.
The Great Elder rubbed his hands, stood up straight, and with a beaming smile said, "A Xiu, what brings you here this ti? Could it be that you’ve missed ?"
"I heard the King has arrested Jin Naluo. I implore the Great Elder to speak on behalf of Jin Naluo and let him go."
The Great Elder’s smile faded, and he shook his head slightly, saying, "Jin Naluo has been caught propagating the faith privately within Yun Brahman, violating the national law."
A Xiu said anxiously, "Great Elder, Jin Naluo hasn’t been spreading the faith, he was simply helping so people in need."
The Great Elder shook his head slightly, "A Xiu, if His Majesty says he has been propagating the faith, then he has been propagating."
"Isn’t His Majesty at your behest?"
The Great Elder said with a smile, "But why should I help him?"
A Xiu looked at the Great Elder, opened her mouth but was at a loss for words.
The Great Elder took two steps forward, extended a hand with three fingers, and grabbed A Xiu’s delicate little hand, chuckling, "Unless you want to repay ."
A Xiu’s body trembled, resisting the urge to pull away her hand, and asked in a deep voice, "Great Elder, what kind of repaynt do you want?"
The Great Elder laughingly replied, "I want you to return to your forr self."
A Xiu felt dizzy, stumbled a couple of steps, and despair and sorrow rose in her heart. After finally escaping from the darkness and embracing the light, did she now have to return to the darkness? Could she truly not escape this fate?
Uncontrollably, A Xiu thought of the little monk who had brought endless light to her life, and tears stread from her eyes. With trembling lips, she whispered, "Okay!"
The Great Elder burst into laughter, "Very well, then co!" His eyes shining, he reached out to embrace A Xiu.
A Xiu imdiately stepped back, and a dark red dagger appeared in her hand, positioned in front of her chest.
The Great Elder ca to an abrupt stop, his tone serious as he said, "A Xiu, what are you doing?"
A Xiu firmly stated, "I want to see Jin Naluo safe."
The Great Elder paused for a mont, then chuckled, "Fine, I will send soone to fetch you in three days."
"Okay!" A Xiu gripped the dagger tightly and turned to walk outside.
...
Two days later, a group of soldiers, holding chains, led Jin Naluo out from the dungeon. They unlocked the chains and struck Jin Naluo with the shaft of their spears, shouting, "Get out!"
Jin Naluo staggered a couple of steps and walked out with his hands in prayer, a smile on his lips, I have won.
...
At dusk on the stone bridge outside the Red House, Jin Naluo sat as usual, quietly reciting the Scripture.
A Xiu walked slowly in the moonlight, bent down, and draped a moon-white robe over Jin Naluo, softly saying, "Little Monk, it’s cool at night."
Jin Naluo opened his eyes and smiled, "I am aware of the cold and warmth!"
A Xiu stood up straight, smiling slightly and said, "Little Monk, I want to thank you! Thank you for showing the world of light, you truly liberated !"
Jin Naluo also revealed a radiant smile.
"By the way, Little Monk, guess what I have brought for you?" A Xiu pulled a red egg from her bosom and presented it before Jin Naluo.
Jin Naluo reached out to take the red egg.
"Little Monk, I am getting married!"
Crack~ The red egg fell from Jin Naluo’s hand, breaking on the stone bridge, and Jin Naluo’s gaze beca fixed.
As if not seeing this, A Xiu, with a face full of happiness, said, "He is also a monk, and he is kind to , he will stand up for , he is willing to wash clothes and cook for , and he tells stories. Actually, he doesn’t realize that he has no talent for storytelling at all, and is rather naive and silly."
Jin Naluo looked up at A Xiu’s happy face, feeling an indescribable emotion welling up inside him, like pain mixed with bitterness, and he murmured, "Perhaps this is good too!"
"Little Monk, what do you think is good?" A Xiu curiously asked.
Jin Naluo smiled faintly and said, "I ant that you can find happiness and a future, that is very good!"
A Xiu laughed joyfully, "I think it’s great too!"
She patted Jin Naluo’s shoulder, laughing as she said, "Little Monk, you don’t need to worry about , I will definitely be very happy marrying him."
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