The afternoon sun shines over the hillside, and more and more pilgrims come and go in the temples with red walls and black tiles. The peddler carrying a load of goods puts the yellow talismans he has obtained on his chest. The women with their daughters look around and point, or buy incense and candles and put them in the maid's basket. In front of the stall, the attentive waiter collects the copper coins and watches the other party leave. The girl following the woman turns around and looks at the naive waiter, covering her face and laughing.
There was a lot of noise amid the smoke of incense. In the distance, two women came up from below. The guy in front of the stall was reluctantly looking away, but he was looking at the woman in white passing by. He felt that she looked familiar. He watched the two of them walk into the temple together in confusion, then he suddenly remembered why they looked familiar. He moved away tremblingly and ran to the temple gate. There were no two women inside.
He scanned the surroundings and finally his eyes fell on the altar in the middle. When he saw the clay sculpture's face clearly, the next moment, he knelt down in front of the pilgrims coming in and out.
This caused people around to murmur.
"Isn't this guy the one who was offering incense at the door? Why is he kneeling down for no reason?"
"Oh, could it be that this young man has seen the Red God of Mercy?"
"It's possible, it's possible. I've been burning incense for people here for years, so maybe I've been touched by the spirit of the gods."
"If it really works... I have to pray quickly and try to get my daughter married off quickly. We don't have enough food at home."
"Then you might as well find a good matchmaker and praise your daughter. There will always be fools who will fall for her."
"Yeah... Do you know where to find such a matchmaker?"
"Haha... I have one at home."
…
While people were discussing outside the temple, the scene inside the temple, which ordinary people could not see, was completely different.
The green lamp was alone, and the aroma of cakes and cooked meats wafted from the altar. Nie Honglian took a few of them at random and put them on a table and chair next to it.
"Yue Rou, sit here. There's nothing good in the temple. They are all offered by pilgrims nearby. You can have a taste."
Min Yuerou put the bag and sword on the corner of the table, and when she saw the several plates of offerings on the table, she grinned somewhat unnaturally.
Who could have imagined that one day I would be invited to eat offerings from the temple.
Over there, Hong Lian also sat down. Seeing her expression, she could roughly guess what was going on. She smiled gently, took a piece of fruit and placed it in front of Yue Rou.
"No one is to blame. The real owner of this temple is right in front of you."
Min Yuerou was stunned for a moment. She had heard Lu Liangsheng talk about some things in Qixia Mountain before. Then she remembered that Hong Lian, who was enshrined in the temple, was the person in front of her. She was the Huadan who died tragically in Fushui County. Lu Liangsheng had contributed a lot to her being where she is today.
Looking at the woman opposite who was as white as a lotus, he turned his eyes away.
"He's so nice to you."
"He was very kind to everyone." Nie Honglian knew what she was thinking. She turned around on the stool and looked at the altar behind her: "I said she was a famous actress, but in the end, she was just an actor. She was only sixteen when she died..."
Thinking of the past few years, Hong Lian couldn't help but smile.
"… Then, I got to know the young master and stayed by his side all the time. Gradually, I liked watching him more and more. I liked watching him riding on that old donkey and flipping through books. I liked watching him writing under the lamplight and his high spirits when he passed the imperial examination."
In the temple, beside the altar with green lamps, gentle voices were heard. Min Yuerou sat aside and listened quietly. She was immersed in Hong Lian's story and learned a lot about Lu Liangsheng's past.
Because of his kindness in giving alms, Lujia Village was robbed by bandits. He went to the mountain stronghold alone to rescue Hong Lian. He also encountered two foxes that sucked the scholar's essence at night in the dilapidated mountain temple. When he was in Hegu County, he fought with the evil Taoist priest and almost sacrificed his own cultivation to save an unrelated person. When he knew that there was a severe drought in Heliangzhou, he risked his life to ask God to send rain for thousands of people...
Min Yuerou listened very carefully. The woman in front of her had many experiences with Lu Liangsheng, which belonged to both of them. The more she listened, the more lost she felt.
Over there, the story also stopped. Hong Lian looked at her without a smug look on her face: "I'm not saying this to show off, but I want to ask you for a favor."
"I know. I am ready to leave today."
"No, I want you to marry the young master."
The woman who was lowering her head and preparing to pick up her bag and sword suddenly raised her face with a stunned expression. She looked at Nie Honglian who blinked at her, thinking she had heard it wrong.
Across from her, Hong Lian repeated, "I hope the young master can marry you."
At this point, Hong Lian stood up from the stool, stepped lightly in her embroidered shoes, and walked to the lamp. The light illuminated her cheeks, and she said softly: "I have never had a physical body. I don't know when I will be able to rebuild my human body here. Although the young master didn't say it, the two elders may have resentment in their hearts... I..."
Hong Lian turned around, looked at Min Yuerou, bowed from a distance and said, "Miss Min, please stay here."
"Get up, get up quickly."
Min Yuerou was suddenly bowed to, and she hurriedly stood up from the stool and ran over to support him: "Even if I want to stay, Lu Liangsheng doesn't have me in his heart."
"My Lord, your heart is not made of iron. It's just that when it comes to matters between men and women, some..."
Hong Lian took her arm and leaned over, whispering in her ear, "... You're flustered and a little slow." Min Yuerou looked at the flame on the wick, a smile spread across her face, and she laughed through her tears.
"real?"
"real."
The two women supported each other and returned to the two sides of the table. When they talked about something interesting, they leaned together to talk in low voices and chuckled, but the pilgrims outside could not hear or see it.
Soon, a scholar in a blue shirt and white robe came up from the foot of the mountain. Seeing so many people gathered here, some even kneeling on the ground holding incense and praying, he walked aside with a frown and bowed to an old man next to him.
"Father, what's going on here?"
The old man was from Fushui County outside. He didn't know Lu Liangsheng very well. He glanced at the polite scholar in front of him, stroked his tuft of white beard, chuckled twice, raised his sleeves, and pointed his finger at the temple:
"I just came here too, and heard from them that the Red God of Mercy in this temple appeared. Haha... Nonsense. How can a clay statue appear? It's just a way to comfort people. I really shouldn't have come here."
The old man waved his sleeves and put them behind his back, looked at the group of pilgrims, shook his head, and walked away to admire the scenery outside the temple.
The scholar standing outside the crowd did not pay attention to the old man. He looked into the temple over the shoulders of the crowd. The statue of Hong Lian on the altar was still there, no difference.
He came here using magic to follow Min Yuerou's breath, but disappeared when he got here. As for the apparition mentioned by the pilgrims, it is not difficult to guess that it was Hong Lian who appeared and brought the departed Min Yuerou here, so people saw her appearance.
Soon, the crowd who were kneeling and burning incense gradually left. The scholar waited until the last person left, looked at the sky, stepped over the threshold and went in. The temple was empty, and wisps of green smoke were still rising from the burners of burning incense and candles.
Lu Liangsheng looked at the clay sculptures on the altar and made some incantations. He flicked his wide sleeves, sweeping out a breeze. The candles burning in the cauldron swayed, and between the flickering lights, he heard the voices of Hong Lian and Min Yuerou. He turned and faced the temple gate. The two women were sitting at a table on one side. Hong Lian pursed her lips and smiled slightly, and the latter lowered her head in embarrassment when she saw the scholar.
He lowered his voice and said to Hong Lian beside him: "Let me go out first, don't worry I won't leave."
On the side, Nie Honglian probably also had something to discuss with Lu Liangsheng, so she nodded and released the barrier. A breeze blew into the temple from the gate. Min Yuerou didn't wait for the scholar to come over, she grabbed the sword and bag on the table, snorted, her face flushed, and she ran out quickly.
Lu Liangsheng watched the woman running out with a sword and a bag, even jumping up and down from time to time. He looked at Hong Lian, who brought him tea, with some surprise and sat down next to her.
"What did you tell her?"
"A little secret between women." Hong Lian said with a smile, raising her finger between her lips. She rolled up her long sleeves and floated to the young man's side. She put her slender fingers on his shoulders and gently kneaded them.
"Actually, I also have something to say to you, sir."