Jing'an Temple wasn't very large. And Tan Linyuan should have cleaned it himself half a year ago, so overall it was still relatively tidy.
Apart from some fallen leaves and dust, it took Nan Yu some effort to clean it up.
She spent the whole time cleaning until it was almost evening.
Nan Yu stood in the courtyard, wiped the sweat from her forehead, glanced at the sun about to set behind the mountain, and let out a long sigh of relief.
The afterglow of the setting sun happened to sprinkle on the courtyard she had just cleaned, looking like a thin layer of broken gold was spread over it.
Nan Yu felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Sure enough, labor is the most glorious.
She stretched her arms and took a look at the man who had been sitting upright in the Buddhist hall for a long time.
A few strands of the afterglow shone into the Buddhist hall, covering his thin and straight back.
This scene should have been that of a pure and aloof Buddhist disciple.
But Nan Yu felt an inexplicable sourness in her heart. All she could see was his loneliness.
She remembered what he had said before.
For God knows how many evenings, he had knelt in front of the Buddha in this very posture.
Did his heart truly find redemption in those countless prayers?
She waited until the man got up and turned to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, Nan Yu's body swayed slightly.
He was like a sacred Buddha stepping out of a painting.
It was a kind of loneliness that was completely different from the mortal world, devoid of the earthly charm that people should have.
If she reached out, she seemed unable to grasp his form.
He seemed as illusory as if floating in the air.
He walked up to Nan Yu step by step, looking down at her with calm eyes and a calm voice, "Are you hungry?"
...
Nan Yu instinctively shook her head, but her stomach betrayed her with a couple of growls.
Nan Yu: ...
She secretly peeked at him through her lashes and quickly came up with an excuse, "The birds in the mountains are really noisy."
Tan Linyuan frowned slightly and then slowly relaxed it. "It's about the time for the birds to return to their nests."
"Could it be that the nests of these mountain birds are built in Miss Nan's stomach?"
Nan Yu: ...
She pretended not to hear and looked up at the sun, squinting her eyes. "The sunset is really beautiful today."
Tan Linyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Trying to hold back his laughter, he walked past her and out of the temple. When Nan Yu asked where he was going behind his back, all she got was the word "Wait".
After about ten minutes, Tan Linyuan came back with a lunch box in his hand.
Nan Yu guessed that he must have gone back to the car.
Jing'an Temple was located in a very remote place. The car couldn't drive in at all. One had to walk a stretch of mountain path.
Nan Yu thought it was a bit absurd that those high-ranking officials and noblemen who were usually pampered would walk on the rough and narrow mountain path just to meet Master Wenjing.
Although it seemed absurd, it was also very real.
After all, the truth that one must endure hardships to achieve happiness seemed to be self-taught by everyone.
Tan Linyuan took Nan Yu into the meditation room on one side of the Buddhist hall and placed the lunch box on the table.
Although there was a kitchen in Jing'an Temple, since no one had lived there for a long time, all open flames had long been removed.
It was impossible to heat up the food. Fortunately, what Tan Linyuan brought were all cold dishes, which could be eaten directly without heating.
Coupled with the fact that Nan Yu had worked hard all afternoon and was already extremely hungry, she didn't care about being picky at all.
She put her hands together, said "Thank you", and then picked up the chopsticks and started eating.
She was really hungry. Although she was trying to maintain table manners, her eating speed was indeed a bit fast.
Tan Linyuan just stared at her and hardly moved his chopsticks the whole time.
After her stomach was filled, Nan Yu felt a bit better. "Is this the room where you used to rest?"
Tan Linyuan nodded but didn't explain much. "Are you full?"
"Almost." Nan Yu lied.
Since Tan Linyuan hadn't eaten much, she didn't feel quite right about always reaching for the chopsticks. She was only about half full.
Tan Linyuan was sitting opposite her, looking as elegant as frost on cold jade. He took out a bag of pastries from the lunch box.
Nan Yu took a look and wasn't quite sure. "For me?"
Tan Linyuan looked at her like she was an idiot. "I don't like sweet food."
"... Oh." Nan Yu couldn't figure out Tan Linyuan's mood today. She could only reach out and take a piece from the bag.
"Chestnut cake?" Nan Yu was stunned for a moment. Under his calm gaze, she put it into her mouth.
The moment she took the first bite, Nan Yu's expression instantly turned into one of surprise. "It's so delicious!"
Nan Yu wasn't satisfied with just one piece. She took out another one and said while eating, "I ate a really delicious chestnut cake when I was a kid. But later I bought from many different stores, and the taste never seemed quite the same."
Her eyes sparkled. "Where did you buy this? I'll go to this store to buy some in the future."
Tan Linyuan glanced at her and said in a calm tone, "Are you full now? If you are, I'll take you somewhere."
Nan Yu immediately put down the bag. After hesitating for a second, she said, "Can I take this with me later?"
There were still several pieces left in it.
Tan Linyuan didn't say yes or no. "It's up to you."
Nan Yu smiled.
She knew that meant he had agreed.
Tan Linyuan got up, and Nan Yu happily followed him right away.
Behind Jing'an Temple, there was a very small and low mountain.
While the sunset hadn't completely disappeared yet, the two of them walked along the mountain path to the top of the low mountain.
From afar, Nan Yu saw a pitch-black cave. When she got closer, she found that it was indeed a door.
To be precise, it was a stone door.
Nan Yu walked over, looked at the airtight stone door, and couldn't help but ask, "What is this? Is it someone's tomb?"
"Do you think this is tomb raiding?" Tan Linyuan gave her a speechless look. "This is Master Wenjing's meditation room."
After getting the answer, Nan Yu was a bit surprised.
Meditation rooms were usually in the form of meditation chambers or temples. She had never heard of one being specifically carved out of a mountain cave before.
"Master Wenjing meditated and practiced here. I was in charge of guarding the door and delivering food." His introduction was very brief.
Nan Yu was curious, so she proposed, "Can we go in and take a look now?"
After all, no one could resist their curiosity in front of such a mysterious stone cave.
However, Tan Linyuan didn't satisfy her curiosity. "No."
"Why not? Is it inconvenient for outsiders to visit?" Nan Yu asked in confusion.
It made sense. The rules of Buddhism had always been strict. The more orthodox a Buddhist disciple was, the more he had to follow the rules.
Tan Linyuan shook his head and said in a gentle voice, "It's not that we can't. It's that we shouldn't."
"To open this stone door, we need a key." Tan Linyuan pointed to the square depression on the stone door. "This is a stone door mechanism designed by Master Wenjing himself. It needs to be opened with a special stone key."
"Where's the key?" Nan Yu asked.
"I'm not sure." Tan Linyuan's voice was calm. "When he passed away, he didn't tell me where the key was placed."
Nan Yu felt a bit regretful. "So without the key, we can't open it?"
Tan Linyuan replied, "We can also use explosives to blast it open by force. But the risk is too high. We can't consider this option unless it's absolutely necessary."
The power of the explosion couldn't be controlled. If there was a slight mistake, it might cause the stone cave to collapse.
By then, everything inside would be buried. With so many huge rocks piled up together, there was a possibility that they would never see the light of day again.
If there were any fragile treasures inside, it would be even more irreparable.
So Nan Yu made a reasonable speculation. "Is it because there are precious things inside?"