Mo Linyuan became busy after his confession, which made Ye Mu relieved. She believed that Mo Linyuan had confessed to her in the spur of the moment. Even though she rejected his confession, he probably wouldn’t force her to do anything. After all, he was the emperor. After he dealt with the enemies, he will have the time to interact with other women and realize that he wasn’t truly in love with her.
Even so, Ye Mu still hid from Mo Linyuan. During this time, Mo Linyuan and Prime Minister Wen seemed to have gotten closer. It was time for Ye Mu to go to Tianshou Temple again. This time, she sent a messenger to inform Mo Linyuan about her departure and secretly left without Wen Feng.
“Your Majesty, Miss Ye has gone to Tianshou Temple.”
The messenger immediately reported that Ye Mu had left the palace. Mo Linyuan nodded at the news, but he narrowed his eyes suddenly.
Except for the time where Ye Mu had murdered five hundred assassins in cold blood, Ye Mu had never lost control, so Mo Linyuan wasn’t too worried about her. But right now, he couldn’t stop thinking about why Ye Mu was so against marrying someone. Was there something that he didn’t know about? Ye Mu had always concealed her pain so that he wouldn’t worry about her, and the Silent Master listened to Ye Mu’s words right now, so he wouldn’t tell him if something was wrong. It seemed like he needed to continue looking for famous doctors to cure her.
Ye Mu ran to Tianshou Temple. When she arrived, she realized that today happened to be the annual Dharma Convention of Tianshou Temple. She held her breath and ascended the mountain quietly.
Tianshou Temple was particularly lively today. Many people were kneeling three times and praying at the foot of the mountain. Tianshou Temple has twelve halls and eleven of the twelve halls are opened today. There were many people praying inside each temple. Although they all wore different clothes, they were all sincerely reciting the same scripture.
Ye Mu originally thought that it would be very noisy and annoying since everyone was reciting the scripture, but she was surprised to find that the noise was not unpleasant. Whether they were poor or rich, everyone was sitting on top of a praying mat as they recited the scripture together. It was a harmonious scene.
Their dedicated and sincere attitude, and the dignified and solemn bodhisattvas status made Ye Mu realize how fascinating and charming religion was to the people.
Faith was a strong bonding force no matter the era.
Ye Mu stood by the entrance to the temple. She was entranced by their sincere chanting when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Why are you here?”
Ye Mu turned around and saw that the Silent Master was wearing a golden Kasaya while standing behind her.
T/N: Kasaya is a robe that Buddhist monks wear.
She was afraid to disturb the people chanting the scripture in the temple halls, so she pulled the Silent Master to a quieter place. She looked him up and down and clicked her tongue, “Fortunately there aren’t many young ladies here today, otherwise, you would’ve seduced their hearts away!”
The Silent Master frowned slightly at her and said, “Stop spouting nonsense.”
He led Ye Mu to one of the unoccupied rooms in the Buddhist temple.
Ye Mu stuck out her tongue and followed behind him. The sunlight fell on his golden Kasaya, shrouding his body in a golden halo. The Kasaya was bestowed by the Emperor to him, and it suited him perfectly.
He was smiling with his clear eyes and the corners of his mouth were slightly curved upward. He was holding a bracelet made from ink-black Buddha beads and behind him was a lush green forest. They walked up steps made from jade.
Ye Mu seriously said, “I believe that a person starts practicing Buddhism from birth. It’s not the same kind of practice like chanting and reciting the Buddha scriptures every day, but it’s still a form of practice. A person’s emotions and desires are also endowed by heaven. The problems and distresses we encounter each day is a test given by heaven. I don’t believe chanting and reciting scripture in one place is considered practicing Buddhism. Why don’t people look around and appreciate the great scenery? The beautiful lush mountains and the crystal-clear rivers? Why won’t they appreciate the mysterious beauties of the world?”
She folded a finger and said, “Look, if you marry a wife, then you have successfully practiced your desire for love. If you gained wealth, then you have successfully practiced your desire for money. You need to practice all your desires and experience the world. This way, you won’t have any regrets when you depart from the world.”
The Silent Mast looked past her. Tianshou Temple was built on top of the mountain, so he was able to see the roof at the eleventh hall and the world below the mountain by standing on the stairs.
He finally spoke after a long stretch of silence, “The moment I entered the temple, I had left the mundane world. I only cultivate my heart, mind, and character now.”
Ye Mu didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she could feel the deep sense of helplessness from his tone when he said it.
Then, as if something had suddenly dawned on her, Ye Mu’s eyes brightened!
“That’s right! You don’t have to do anything for today’s Dharma Convention, right?”
The Silent Master nodded. Today was the day the believers will practice Buddhism by themselves. They needed to read the scripture in the temple for an entire day. Their living areas had already been arranged, so he didn’t have anything to do.
Ye Mu smiled slightly, “Since that is the case, then I will take you along to play today!”
“Play?”
“Yep!” Ye Mu rolled up her sleeves, “You need to experience both cultivating inside the temple and cultivating in the secular world. You should give yourself a vacation today by “cultivating” in the secular world!”
The Silent Master knew that he should refuse, but when Ye Mu started dragging him down the mountain, his resistance suddenly disappeared. Did he really hope that he can walk in the secular world again one day?
Ye Mu put a hood over his head and then made him change into commoner’s clothing. She was also dressed like a commoner. The two of them secretly went through the back door and descended the mountain together.
While they were descending, the Silent Master began questioning Ye Mu, “What if a disciple needs me? What if there is a problem with one of the Buddhist worshippers? What if…”
Ye Mu dragged him with force, interrupting his words.
“Relax. I promise that the twelve halls of Tianshou Temple will not collapse in one day!”
The Silent Master pursed his lips and fell silent; however, he still felt very uneasy. He kept turning around to look at Tianshou Temple until it disappeared completely from his view.
But soon, he didn’t have the leisure to think about the temple anymore, because Ye Mu urged him to get on a horse!
“What is this for?”
Heaven knew that this was the Silent Master’s first time riding a horse. The monks preach mercy and compassion, so how can they slave animals?
Ye Mu ignored him. This was the horse she rode when she sneaked out today. She sat in front and smiled evilly, “If you don’t hold tightly onto me, then don’t blame me if you accidentally fall off!”
She kicked the horse with her legs and shouted, “Go!”
“Huh! Wait a moment!”
The Silent Master was unable to continue talking, instead, he tightly clung onto Ye Mu’s clothes to prevent himself from falling off.
In the past, he had always walked when he descended the mountain. Each time he descended the mountain, he was either practicing Dana or giving free medical treatments to the poor. This was his first time descending the mountain to go out to play.
The horse they were riding seemed to love bullying the Silent Master too. When it noticed how nervously the Silent Master was holding onto it, it started running faster and faster.
The horse was obviously overexcited as it jumped and raced across the road. The Silent Master’s straw hat had fallen off and he wanted to go back and pick it up. However, Ye Mu did not agree. After all, she believed that it was such a pity to cover up such a beautiful face. As for his bald head, she will look for a piece of cloth to cover it up with later.
After a while, they stopped by a village.
She had no choice but to stop because the Silent Master threatened her that if they didn’t head back to pick up the straw hat, then he would jump off the horse. He didn’t want to go out wearing such clothes without wearing a straw hat. Ye Mu was helpless. After they stopped in a small village, she secretly led him to the courtyard where the people had hung their clothes to dry.
“What are you doing?” The Silent Master looked at her with a righteous expression on his face.
“Hush!” Ye Mu told him to quiet down, and then she stole a piece of cloth with lightning speed and ran out! The cloth was probably going to be used to making a piece of clothing for a child since it was a small piece of cloth. When the Silent Master saw that Ye Mu had stolen something, he quickly urged her to put it back.
Ye Mu refused! She took the blue cloth and wrapped it around his head, “This way, no one will know that you’re bald!”
“That’s absurd!” The Silent Master pulled the cloth quickly off his head and said, “If you won’t return it, then I will!”
He walked back towards the courtyard, but he was dragged back by Ye Mu. Although Ye Mu could not use her inner strength, her physical strength was much greater than that of a monk. When the Silent Master saw that he was about to be dragged away by Ye Mu, he quickly started shouting, “Is anyone there? Someone stole…”
Before he could finish talking, Ye Mu covered his mouth with her hand. She used some force and dragged him away quickly! When the family heard the commotion outside, they came out and saw that a piece of cloth was missing. They quickly chased after the thief!
After Ye Mu snatched the cloth, she dragged the Silent Master to run along with her. The Silent Master originally wanted her to stop and return the cloth, but when he saw the aggressive married woman chasing after them, he realized that if she caught them, then their reputations would be lost. He didn’t mind losing his own reputation, but Ye Mu will also lose her reputation/
Ye Mu noticed that the Silent Master had stopped resisting. The two ran two miles before they reached the horse. .They climbed on the horse and ran away.
While they were on horseback, the Silent Master had scolded her several times. He said disapprovingly, “You should not have stolen something!”
Although it was just a small piece of cloth, it was still the property of an ordinary farmer.
Ye Mu gasped for breath as she said, “Who was the one that said that he won’t head to the town without a straw hat? How can I find a straw hat in this barren mountain? I had no choice but to steal this!”
The Silent Master shook his head firmly after he heard her explanation, “I will not use something that is stolen. We should turn around and return it.”
Ye Mu stopped the horse and turned to look at him, “We will return the cloth later. If that’s not enough, then we can leave some compensation for them later. Will that be alright?”
She pulled out the piece of cloth and tied it around the Silent Master’s head. A handsome person will look good in anything. The blue linen and the white and blue clothing he was wearing matched nicely together. They were in the woods right now. The sunlight peeked through the leaves and fell on the Silent Master. He was not wearing his Kasaya, but he still gave off a pure and holy feeling.
The Silent Master looked at her with a complicated expression on his face.
He should refuse, but the smile beneath Ye Mu’s eyes made him fall silent. He guiltily thought I must return it later.
“It looks pretty good.” After she finished tying it around his head, Ye Mu nodded her head with satisfaction at her work.
The Silent Master continued to remind her, “We must return this to them later.”
Ye Mu couldn’t help but rolled her eyes at his words. She grabbed his hand that was about to touch his head and asked jokingly, “Can you stop acting like a monk for one day?”
The Silent Master fell silent for a moment while Ye Mu continued talking.
“As long as you stop being a monk for a day, you can become an ordinary person. When you become an ordinary person, it will be natural for you to make a mistake.”
After a long silence, he finally lowered his head and said, “I’ll just take it.”
He’ll try to forget that this thing on his head was stolen!
Ye Mu was satisfied and took him all the way to town.
The weather was pleasant, it was a good day to go to the market, they tied their horses in the stable, and happened to be hungry, and went to a restaurant by the way.
At that time, the menu plates were all hanging on the wall. Generally, there were not many dishes in a small restaurant, and they were changed every few days. Ye Mu asked, “what do you want to eat?”
He was about to speak, but Ye Mu stopped him. “Come on, you mustn’t order vegetarian food. Don’t forget, you’re not a monk today.”
But he can’t eat meat either!
He began to look at her with his eyes wide open. Ye Mu was amused by his expression. She ordered a vegetarian dish, a meat dish, a bowl of soup, and then a pot of wine.
“Eat some. If you don’t eat meat, how can your body bear it?”
Ye Mu said with a smile, just as the wine she ordered was served first, she poured a glass for herself and another for the Silent Master.
The Silent Master’s scalp was numb, after years of fasting, he had long treated these things like it was poison. Ye Mu persuaded him to drink a few times until the expression on her small face sank.
“Master, every bad experience is also an experience. If you never experience how being contaminated feels like, then how will you learn to shy away from it in the future?”
She placed the cup in front of him. “If you drink, then I’ll spare you from eating meat later, I promise!”
The Silent Master’s heart was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle. If he eats meat, then it was equivalent to destroying a living thing, but wine is made from grain.
So, he subconsciously picked the wine.
Ye Mu’s eyes flashed, and an evil grin spread across her face. “Come and have a drink. This will be the start of your new life!”
Ye Mu’s words touched him. He gritted his teeth and drank the wine in a gulp, but as soon as the wine got into his throat, he almost spat it out and kept pouring water to press down the spiciness.
At this time, Ye Mu was holding a wine glass and looked at him with a smile, “Is it good?”
She chose the wine with the highest concentration of alcohol. It was specially ordered to deal with foolish monks.
The Silent Master was speechless. At this time, his jade-like face and eyes were turning a little red, his sharp eyebrows were extremely enchanting. His rabbit-like eyes gave off a kind of unutterable amorous feeling. Not only Ye Mu was stunned by his appearance, but the person on the next table was also stunned.
The man at the next table stared at The Silent Master for a long time. The Silent Master was tall and beautiful. He even looked better than a woman, so it was natural that the Silent Master had caught the other man’s attention!
This was especially true after the Silent Master had become drunk, giving him a defenseless appearance. His eyes revealed his purity and innocence, he simply looked too alluring!
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down until finally, he couldn’t resist himself from coming over. He was dressed in a luxurious attire with two thugs standing behind him. It was obvious that his status was extraordinary. The man was still staring at the Silent Master without blinking.
“May I sit here?”
Before Ye Mu could even speak, the Silent Master said quickly, “Suit yourself.”
Ye Mu raised her eyebrows and didn’t speak. The large man looked lustfully at the Silent Master and said, “I am the eldest son of the Zhou family. I have just returned from an errand outside. May I ask this brother what your surname is and where you are currently living?”
The Silent Master put down his chopsticks and was prepared to tell him the truth, but he was suddenly stopped by Ye Mu.
“We’re just ordinary people, so why are you asking this?”
Zhou Xu turned his attention to the little girl who looked only about ten years old, and his eyes brightened even more. “Are you two brothers and sisters?”
“What do you want to do?”
Ye Mu opened her mouth first to inquire about their intentions. She was only eleven years old, so she had not matured yet. Although she could not compare to the Silent Master’s innocent yet alluring face, Ye Mu looked smart and adorable. It was obvious that she was a budding beauty.
Zhou Xu didn’t say much. As soon as he waved his hand, someone behind him stepped forward and put a pouch full of silver on the table.
He used a kind tone and said, “Looking at your plain clothes and the simple food you ordered, I presume that your family situation is not great. Why don’t the two of you sell yourselves to me? With my status, I will definitely ensure that you will live a good life.”
Ye Mu looked at the Silent Master. The Silent Master assumed that the man had misunderstood them and since they looked like people that weren’t easy to trifle with, he apologized and said, “Thank you for your offer, but we have no intention of selling ourselves. Goodbye.”
He pulled Ye Mu along, preparing to leave.
“You want to leave?”
The two of them were stopped by the servants of the Zhou Family. The Silent Master frowned and looked at Zhou Xu’s back. He asked, “What do you mean by this, Young Master Zhou?”
Zhou Xu chuckled and turned around. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Nothing. No one had ever refused my offer in my life. Little brother, are you sure you want to reject my offer?”
The Silent Master pushed Ye Mu behind him to protect her. He was certain now that this was not a misunderstanding and that Zhou Xu was a bad person!
“What do you want to do?”
Zhou Xu’s smile deepened when he saw that the Silent Master was acting nervously. The people around them saw that Zhou Xu and his underlings were not people that they should provoke, so they all left quickly. They dared not stay and watch the show. The owner recognized Zhou Xu’s identity, so he didn’t dare to report the crime. He could only pray for their safety.”
“It seems like the two of you rarely go out, hm?”
Zhou Xu laughed when he saw how tense the Silent Master’s body was.
“It seems like I am right. If you had gone out often with your appearance, then I wouldn’t even have the chance to meet you.”
The Silent Master was more and more confused as he listened to him. What did this have to do with his appearance?
Zhou Xu stood up and approached the Silent Master one step at a time. He was tall and strong, and he was half a head taller than the Silent Master. There was also a ruthless kind of energy around him, “Look at your face, it really looked more delicate and softer than a woman’s! Your eyes are beautiful. They look even more alluring when you’re angry. I wonder how much more alluring your eyes will look in bed.”
The Silent Master was confused by his words. He took Ye Mu along as he backed away. He didn’t understand why the man was looking at him like how a flirty nobleman would look at a pretty young lady. He was a man!
The poor and innocent young monk didn’t know that some people had unique hobbies. They liked to eat both men and women!
He lowered his voice and whispered to Ye Mu, “This man is very strange. You should run while I try and stop him!”
Ye Mu looked at him pitifully, “You fool! He wants you, so why are you telling me to run?!”
Zhou Xu calmly laughed, “You won’t be able to run away. Come! Bring them back to my estate. I’ve never played with a brother and sister together before!”
The two people did not look like they were children of a rich and powerful family. Since they have no power or money, how will they be able to fight against him?
When the two thugs heard his order, they forced Ye Mu and the Silent Master into a corner. The expression on their face was very relaxed. They’re both practitioners of martial arts, one or two enemies will not pose a threat to them, not to mention a small child and a beautiful weak man.
The Silent Master retreated slowly as he warned them seriously, “Don’t come any closer, you are not my opponent!”
“Brother, did you hear that? This pretty boy said that we’re not his opponents!”
His brother laughed darkly, “It seems like this pretty boy only knows how to show off. Do you believe that I can kill you with just one finger?!”