Another old friend was embarking on a long journey.
A faint sense of melancholy settled over Xu Lei.
After all, in this ancient world, there were no airplanes or high-speed trains. Once someone left on a long journey, you never knew if you would see them again in your lifetime.
In a world like this, the goodbyes said before a long journey were often truly laden with unspoken emotions.
「Three days later.」
Zhao Xiaocha came to see Xu Lei.
The Zhao Xiaocha of today had long since shed her girlish air, blossoming into a voluptuous and alluring young woman.
Years of living a comfortable life had kept her looking quite beautiful.
But a few wrinkles had indeed appeared at the corners of her eyes.
Over the years, Zhao Xiaocha's family business had done well.
This was mainly due to the patronage of Liang Fangying's family.
Of course, their business was not as large as Liang Fangying's.
But the size of the business didn't matter, as long as they had enough money to get by.
All in all, she was living a good life.
"Little Divine Monk, I'm leaving," she said, her first words to him.
"Amitabha Buddha," Xu Lei intoned.
"My daughter married into a family in the Prefecture City and just gave birth to a big, healthy boy. I have to go and help look after them," Zhao Xiaocha said. "My son-in-law's family is a scholarly Noble Family, a very good match. I might not come back after this trip, because my husband says he wants to expand our business to the Prefecture City as well."
"How wonderful," Xu Lei said.
"I'll be setting off in half a month," Zhao Xiaocha added.
"Amitabha Buddha. Benefactress, please come with this humble monk," Xu Lei said.
He led Zhao Xiaocha into the Almsgiving Room.
"Little Divine Monk, you... why did you bring me here?" Zhao Xiaocha asked, her cheeks flushing.
"You are about to embark on a long journey, Benefactress. This humble monk will bestow a blessing upon you," Xu Lei said with a perfectly straight face.
"How will you do that?" Zhao Xiaocha asked.
"The same way as always," Xu Lei replied.
"Amitabha Buddha." Zhao Xiaocha's ears turned beet red. She bit her lip, nodded, then climbed onto the bed herself and lay on her stomach. "Little Divine Monk, please proceed."
As she spoke, she wiggled her hips like a cat. "Now that I'm leaving on a long journey, I won't be able to come to the temple to offer my body for pleasure anymore. So for our farewell, how about you bless me with another child?"
"Amitabha Buddha." Xu Lei nodded. "Benefactress, you have an affinity with the Buddha. This humble monk will naturally do my best."
For years, Zhao Xiaocha had come to the temple every few days to worship.
After all, her husband was naturally impotent.
In the first few years of this arrangement, Zhao Xiaocha had borne two more of Xu Lei's children.
But eventually, she grew tired of childbirth.
She no longer wished to have any more children.
She came only to seek the pleasure of offering her body.
She would visit every few days.
Thinking of her situation at home, Xu Lei didn't have the heart to refuse her.
As for her family, they had no objections.
They knew it was impossible to expect a beautiful young woman like her to remain celibate.
It was better than letting her fool around with other men and causing all sorts of trouble.
It was far better to let her come to the temple to "worship."
Besides, any additional children simply added to their family line.
「Half a month later.」
Zhao Xiaocha didn't know if she was pregnant.
And neither did Xu Lei.
After all, Xu Lei's own descendants were now constantly having children of their own.
The display on the Ten Thousand Lives Book would now scroll by itself from time to time.
Xu Lei could no longer tell which new entries were the direct result of his own "blessings."
But it didn't matter. The Xu Lei of today no longer had such a strong craving for more children.
He had only done it this time because Zhao Xiaocha herself had asked.
What was most important was creating a beautiful final memory together.
"Little Divine Monk, I'm leaving now."
On the day of her departure, Zhao Xiaocha said, "If I find out I'm with child after I reach the Prefecture City, I'll write to you. If not, then I won't.
Oh, and my father passed away half a month ago. Before he died, he told me to thank you.
He said that ever since you exorcised that Evil Clothing all those years ago, his fortunes turned for the better, and his life improved day by day.
He was so grateful for your help back then."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei asked, "Half a month ago? Then why didn't you mention it when you came to see this humble monk?"
Xu Lei felt a pang of shame.
'To think that I stole Zhao Tieniu's clothes back then and just spouted some nonsense about exorcising the Evil Clothing... I can't believe he remembered it gratefully until the day he died.'
Of course, Xu Lei had indeed secretly looked after Zhao Xiaocha's family over the years.
After all, she had borne him several children.
If she ever had a problem, Xu Lei naturally couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Because I didn't want to make you sad,"
Zhao Xiaocha said. "I wanted us to have one last beautiful memory. I decided to save the sad news for our final parting."
「Another half month passed.」
Xu Lei received a letter from Zhao Xiaocha, sent from the Prefecture City.
In it, she said that she was, indeed, pregnant with another child.
Though her husband was somewhat astonished, he still gladly accepted the child's impending arrival.
After all, Zhao Xiaocha had given him a lifetime of respectability, allowing him to preserve his dignity in the eyes of the world.
In return, he had given her all the tolerance and gentleness he was capable of.
「Just one day later.」
Xu Lei received three young visitors from the Capital City.
One girl and two boys, all around fourteen or fifteen years of age.
The girl was pretty and elegant, while the handsome boys were twins.
"Greetings, Divine Monk Wu Tan."
The girl spoke first. "We are here at Longyuan Temple to fulfill a vow, in accordance with our mother's final wish."
"Our mother specifically instructed us to fulfill this vow to you, Divine Monk."
One of the boys added, "She said that when our father was governing this region, he received your guidance."
"Our mother was Yu Fengying."
The other boy said, "And our father is Wang Linfu."
A tremor ran through Xu Lei, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
「A few hours later.」
The three siblings paid their respects and meditated in the temple, shared a vegetarian meal, and then departed down the mountain.
Watching their retreating figures, Xu Lei was overcome with emotion.
Yu Fengying was dead.
The reforms enacted by Wang Linfu, who had now risen to the rank of Chancellor, had provoked a backlash from those with vested interests.
During one such assassination attempt,
Wang Linfu had survived.
But only because Yu Fengying had thrown herself in front of an arrow meant for him.
Before she died, Yu Fengying had left her three children with a final wish: to go to Longyuan Temple and fulfill a vow to Divine Monk Wu Tan.
Her children had asked if there was any message they should deliver, but she had said no.
She knew that the moment her children stood before the wise Divine Monk, he would immediately understand everything she wanted to say.
'Some things can be said without ever speaking a word.'
A pang of grief struck Xu Lei.
'Although Wang Linfu's path to his current position was ultimately determined by his own character and ambition, even without the Anshi Strategy I offered back then to delay the Da Yu Dynasty's collapse, he still would have become the Saint's spearhead for reform.
Still, I was indirectly involved, no matter how one looks at it.
I never expected it would ultimately lead to Yu Fengying's death.'
He thought of Yu Fengying.
More than a decade had passed.
Xu Lei couldn't remember everything about her anymore.
He only remembered their first meeting, when she moved among the laborers, her face hidden by a veil.
Then, he recalled several scenes of her in the Almsgiving Room, completely bare.
And finally, he remembered the sight of her leaving, three months pregnant, as she said her goodbyes.
He couldn't recall anything else.
'She must have been carrying the twin boys in her womb back then.
This woman... for her husband, she left her home and followed him wherever his duties took him.
For her husband, she came to the temple seeking children, willingly accepting the Divine Monk's "blessing" and bearing three children in succession.
And in the end, again for her husband, she willingly died under an enemy's arrow.
Even though Yu Fengying and I were so passionately entwined in the Almsgiving Room, right now, I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy toward Wang Linfu.
Perhaps, in the end, the one she truly loved most was always Wang Linfu.
Or perhaps she was a woman who had simply fallen in love with two men at the same time.'
Just as Xu Lei was lost in his complex thoughts about Yu Fengying,
"Martial Uncle, the Host... he's about to pass into nirvana!" a disciple reported, rushing in.
Startled, Xu Lei hurried over at once.
"Junior Brother Wu Tan, bringing you back to Longyuan Temple was the best decision I ever made in my life."
Qi De, looking far older than he had years ago, said, "After I'm gone, you will be the Host of Longyuan Temple!"
With those words, he breathed his last.