Fang Zilan's smile froze on her face. Mo Han took out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve, grabbed her wrist, and bandaged the wound for her. But she remained unmoved at all, still looking at the bright lamp next to her, as if she had lost her soul.
"Sister Lan?" Mo Han stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Fang Zilan's eyes, and she came back to her senses, "What?"
Mo Han followed her line of sight and looked over, "The ever-burning lamp next to it..."
"Amitabha." The old monk interrupted Mo Han. Before he could say anything, he heard a deep voice saying: "It doesn't matter."
Fang Zilan turned her head and met Zhuge Yu's deep gaze, "A Yu, why are you here?"
Zhuge Yu did not answer, but the old monk asked, "Master Zhuge, have you already lit the Buddhist lanterns on the pagoda?"
"Well, we have Master Lao this year too." Zhuge Yu walked to the table, took the lamp oil from the table with ease, and added lamp oil to the ever-burning lamp with "Zhuge Shan" engraved on the Buddhist amulet.
However, when he saw the ever-bright lamp next to him with "Zhuge Jun" engraved on it, Zhuge Yu's expression was dark and unclear, his eyes were complicated, and his hand couldn't help but stop.
"Master Zhuge..." As soon as the old monk started to speak, he was cut off by Zhuge Yu, "Why doesn't he remove this lamp?"
"Amitabha." The old monk said in a low voice: "Now that we have cut off our ties to the world, we have nothing to do with the world. It is just a lamp, why should Mr. Zhuge be obsessed with it?"
"This is the Ming Lantern." Zhuge Yu's voice had an imperceptible tremor, "He doesn't care, but..."
He didn't say any more. Fang Zilan on the side heard something was wrong and said cautiously: "Even if it is a dark lamp, it is just a thought. Don't you think that death is like a lamp extinguishing? If there is no more thoughts, then the person is really No more."
"Master Fang's words are very wise." The old monk praised, "I think Master Fang and I, the Buddha, have a predestined relationship."
Fang Zilan nodded slightly, "Master, that's ridiculous. I just think that a person's whole life is just a thought."
Hearing this, Zhuge Yu bit his lip, as if he had made up his mind, and slowly added oil to the ever-burning lamp with "Zhuge Jun" engraved on it.
"Master, Sister Lan, Mr. Mo, I want to stay alone for a while, can you?" Zhuge Yu's voice was very soft, revealing a sense of exhaustion that was beyond his ability. Hearing this, Fang Zilan felt panicked. She didn't say anything, and talked to the old monk. He and Mo Han walked out of the Buddhist hall.
The three of them had not gone far when the old monk said, "Master Fang, please stay."
Fang Zilan stopped and said, "Master, what do you have to say?"
"I can't talk about teaching, but I just saw Lord Fang's words and deeds, and some of the things I didn't say made me unhappy." The old monk bowed, "If there is any offense, please don't take offense, Lord Fang."
Fang Zilan smiled lightly and said frankly: "Master, it doesn't matter if you say so."
"Since Mr. Fang can say what people want to say, he should be an eclectic and free-spirited person, but now he has provided a lamp for thousands of people who have passed away." The old monk sighed softly, "Master Fang's move It’s like being in shackles and carrying a heavy burden forward, which may not last long.”
"I entered the Shura Tao. If it weren't for the blood and bones, I wouldn't be able to do it today." Fang Zilan's expression was very calm, "For me, the dead are not shackles, but the motivation to keep me going."
Mo Han opened his mouth when he heard this, but in the end he didn't say anything.
Fang Zilan cupped her fists and saluted, "Anyway, thank you for your advice, master."
"Master Fang, you don't have to be so polite." The old monk Zhuang Rong said seriously: "Everyone has his own path to choose. I hope Master Fang will be firm-minded and have no regrets or complaints." After saying this, he left.
"Let's go." Fang Zilan looked at Mo Han, who was stunned, "Sister Lan won't wait for Mr. Zhuge?"
"Who doesn't have a few private things on their mind?" Fang Zilan looked back at the brightly lit Buddhist hall, "Let Ayu be alone for a while."
"Sister Lan..." Mo Han hesitated, Fang Zilan chuckled, "Mo Han, I did hide a lot of things from you. I will tell you everything when I get back home. Then you can decide , do you want to stay in the capital?"
"Sister Lan wants to drive me away?" Mo Han's expression froze, and Fang Zilan said quietly: "It is easy to conquer a country, but it is difficult to defend a country. Under the prosperity of the capital, there are turmoils. The peace in front of you may not last long."
She said and patted Mo Han on the shoulder, "I have been in the whirlpool and cannot escape. But you are the most selfish of all my selfishness, and I must protect you no matter what. So, while I'm still alive, I have to protect you." You can only go as far as you can without getting involved.”
Mo Han smiled slightly and said, "Sister Lan hasn't told me everything yet, why should I leave?"
"Mo Han..." Fang Zilan was about to say something, but when she saw someone coming over, she had to swallow back what she had not yet said.
"I haven't seen Master Yuan today. Could it be that Master is in seclusion?" The man who spoke was dressed in rich clothes. He looked like the son of a wealthy family. The boy behind him said, "I heard that Master's old friend is here and they are talking. Very happy, naturally I can’t see you.”
"Old friend?" The man raised his eyebrows, "Is it some eminent monk? Come on, let's go take a look."
"Sir, I'm afraid it's inappropriate." The boy looked embarrassed, but the man didn't care and walked straight through the corridor towards the Zen room in the back mountain.
Seeing this, Fang Zilan's expression became a little colder, and after exchanging glances with Mo Han, she followed him calmly.
Compared with the temple in the front mountain, which is full of incense and has an endless stream of believers, the back mountain is obviously much deserted, with almost no people along the way.
Fang Zilan was a little strange. She didn't know whether it was because Master Liaoyuan didn't want to be disturbed, or because his old friend was so busy that he kicked everyone out. When she walked near the Zen room, she didn't even see a single monk.
Among the many dark Buddhist courtyards, only one small courtyard had lights on, and a tall figure could be vaguely seen in the courtyard. The man couldn't help being happy when he saw someone, but he was kicked out as soon as he walked over.
"Master and my master have something to talk about. I hope this young master will be more knowledgeable and don't disturb me." The cold voice mixed with the sound of a sword being unsheathed caused the man to leave with his servant in angrily.
Fang Zilan, who was hiding in the dark, was stunned on the spot. Her ears were very good, so she heard the words clearly. The person who just spoke was actually Xia Houzhang?
Then the master in his mouth can only be...Li Shengxuan?
Are Li Shengxuan and Master Luo Yuan old friends? The Emperor of Kyoto and the abbot of Baiye Temple sound like two completely unrelated people. How could they possibly have any intersection?
Mo Han gently tugged on Fang Zilan's sleeve and gestured: "They are leaving, should we leave?"
Fang Zilan walked out of the darkness. Mo Han was stunned for a moment, and then followed her out and stood in the light.
Xia Houzhang was not surprised to see the two of them. Fang Zilan walked up to him. Before he could speak, he heard a creak and the door of the Zen room opened.
Sure enough, Li Shengxuan appeared in front of a few people, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: "You're here."
Fang Zilan saluted, her lowered eyes darkened, "Your Majesty, did you know that I would come?"
Li Shengxuan didn't answer. Behind him, a monk wearing plain cassocks came out, "I'm a poor monk who has met Master Fang."
Fang Zilan raised her head and looked at the legendary eminent monk. After seeing his appearance clearly, her eyes suddenly widened and she said in shock: "You..."
