"Isn’t that Lord Zhongyuan who saved the abbot? Why is she looking for Luan Xin?" a little monk asked curiously.
The monk leading the way chuckled, "It’s nothing much, Lord Bai pinched Luan Xin’s face a couple of days ago, and Luan Xin got a bit upset. Lord Bai is kind-hearted and ca to check on him."
Bai Ruozhu and Luan Xin hadn’t walked far, and they heard the conversation behind them clearly. Bai Ruozhu secretly observed Luan Xin’s expression; sure enough, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but there was no childish annoyance, instead, a calm and helpless look.
She felt a bit regretful. If she had known, she wouldn’t have explained so much to that monk. He seed like a big mouth, spreading it everywhere.
Even if she was unsure, she could tell Luan Xin didn’t like her pinching his face.
The two walked to a secluded spot in the backyard, and Bai Ruozhu looked at Luan Xin and asked, "Who exactly are you?"
Luan Xin smiled, "You’ve finally co to ask, your reaction isn’t that slow."
"The other day, you called my na directly and spoke with such familiarity. Later, I suddenly felt that this should be a manner of soone well-acquainted, and moreover, your tone and deanor don’t match your age at all."
Bai Ruozhu rembered when Xiaosi had mild autism as a child, he was very cold toward people, even sowhat hostile and repulsed, but that was just indifference, not the kind of world-weariness from seeing through everything. Yet this little monk, who looked five or six, had the gaze of an old monk; isn’t that strange?
"I’ve seen you a few tis and always wanted to find an opportunity to talk to you, but I was afraid you’d treat as a demon. Besides..." Luan Xin’s voice was tender, but the words he spoke lacked the childishness of a child.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes suddenly widened, "You’re Master Pudeng!"
Luan Xin laughed, "Now I am called Luan Xin."
"This..." Bai Ruozhu found it hard to believe, but thinking more deeply, she herself had crossed over with her soul; why couldn’t Pudeng?
"You won’t think I used a demonic thod to take over a human’s body, right?" Luan Xin had a trace of a bitter smile on his face.
Bai Ruozhu quickly waved her hand, "No, no, you know my situation, Master, how could I not understand it? Just when did this happen?"
"It’s normal for you to overthink, after all, my corpse after death already proved I wasn’t an ordinary person. But after I died, I was given a chance to live again because of the good deeds I did. King Yama asked if I had any requests, and I said I wanted to be reborn into Buddhism and hoped to truly beco a Buddha this ti." Luan Xin began to speak slowly in a low voice; his speech was unhurried, as was his habit as an elderly person.
Bai Ruozhu felt sad listening; she thought Master Pudeng’s greatest regret in life might be not achieving complete enlightennt. Even though he had a golden body and a relic, due to his identity, he hadn’t truly beco a Buddha.
But having the chance to live again, couldn’t he experience a different life?
Bai Ruozhu felt it was a pity, but she couldn’t express it. So people are born with beliefs, and she couldn’t make any judgnt.
"Actually, I ca here soon after I died. This child also had a short life; his physique was too weak. Though he’s seven, he looks only five or six; a severe illness claid his life, so I borrowed his body to continue living." Luan Xin continued, "But initially, perhaps because the soul was unstable, or due to the body’s weakness, I was in a state of semi-consciousness, vaguely rembering who I was, yet feeling I was Luan Xin. It took a long ti to sort things out."
Bai Ruozhu was filled with emotions for a mont and suddenly thought of the cave at the bottom of the valley. She wanted to ask but then heard footsteps behind her.
"Lord Bai, I heard you ca over, and there are things I’d like to discuss with you." The voice of Abbot Puru ca from behind; he sounded displeased and was limping slightly.
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly stepped forward to support him, "Master, you could have just sent soone to call if you needed . Why co yourself? You haven’t fully recovered from your injury yet."
Puru laughed, "Didn’t you say I should exercise moderately? It’s not a long way, why should I act so frail?"
He then looked at Luan Xin, "Lord Bai, do you know Luan Xin?"
"Not really, I just found this little monk quite insightful before, so I talked to him a bit." Bai Ruozhu secretly glanced at Luan Xin, thinking Master Pudeng surely wouldn’t want people to know about his rebirth, so she decided not to say much.
"My eldest at ho is not much younger than Luan Xin, so I felt a sense of familiarity seeing him." Bai Ruozhu added, but felt like she was taking advantage of Master Pudeng by saying this, so she didn’t dare to look at Luan Xin’s reaction.
Puru’s laughter grew louder, "Lord Bai indeed has a keen eye. Luan Xin truly has a destiny with Buddha; for such a young age, he’s very composed, and I often invite him in to copy scriptures."
Bai Ruozhu originally intended to ask Master Puru to take extra care of Luan Xin, but after hearing what he said, she realized it was Luan Xin’s own rit, and she better not ddle.
The rest of the conversation was interrupted, as Master Puru was waiting to discuss matters with her; she could only suppress her doubts, thinking of finding another ti to ask Luan Xin.
"Abbot, Lord Bai, I’ll take my leave first," Luan Xin sensibly took his leave.
Master Puru imdiately changed to a serious expression, lowered his voice, and said to Bai Ruozhu, "Lord Bai, I tried already; Princess Ya’an and Prince Wen De don’t have that taboo, but the Crown Prince now is over at Gangshan handling matters, and I can’t test him imdiately."
Bai Ruozhu’s eyelid twitched, "I fear he might be deliberately avoiding it."
"How could that be!" Master Puru exclaid in shock, then coughed awkwardly, trying to regain his composure.
"I don’t know how the secret of Zhaoti Temple got leaked, but there’s no wall in the world impervious to wind. I fear soone else knows apart from you that the heir of the Emperor must undergo Zhaoti Temple’s test, and that person likely can’t pass the test, aning he has that taboo, and so he wanted to destroy the Scripture Pavilion to prevent you from seeing the note inside the Copper Buddha Statue," Bai Ruozhu said.
Master Puru felt increasingly that it might be possible as he listened, and his expression grew more grim. "Then the Second Prince being poisoned..."
"I think that person didn’t want to be tested by Zhaoti Temple, and since the Emperor suddenly wanted to abdicate, he was short on ti. He could only let the Second Prince ascend as Emperor first, then secretly administered slow poison to him. Unexpectedly, your examination inadvertently triggered the poison in the Second Prince and disrupted his entire plan," Bai Ruozhu said, raising an eyebrow, "Of course, this is just my personal speculation, and there’s no evidence, but it’s the most plausible explanation."
Master Puru stood there dumbfounded, unable to speak for a while.
"Do you think the mastermind is the Crown Prince?" he heard his own voice trembling.
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