kvmb Chapter 285 Grandma
Chapter 285 Grandma
When Xu Sheng returned, he saw Hailuo standing alone under the Bodhi tree in front of the Sanyuan Temple, looking bewildered and helpless.
Xu Sheng called out, "Seashell."
Hearing the sound, the conch stared at it for a while, then, as if suddenly waking up, rushed over and hugged Xu Sheng, bursting into tears.
Xu Sheng steadied himself and gently patted the conch's back, momentarily at a loss for how to comfort it.
Xu Sheng realized that he could handle people like Luo An, Qin Jiu, and Nian Yao, but he was completely helpless against someone as naive as Hailuo.
The conch shell cried, "My money pouch is gone!"
Xu Sheng said, "Here."
Hailuo looked up and saw Xu Sheng holding two strings of candied hawthorns in his hand, with a money bag dangling from his fingertip, embroidered with money flowers on a light purple silk cloth—it was the one that had fallen.
Xu Sheng hung the money pouch back on his waist: "Money is just an external thing. Why are you crying over losing it? Wipe your snot and tears, it's too ugly!"
Hailuo rubbed its face against Xu Sheng's chest until it was clean before standing up straight: "Is it raining?"
Xu Sheng looked down at the filth on his chest and regretted saying so much: "We can't go back today, we'll stay at Sanyuan Temple."
When Mr. Xu donated a piece of gold to the Sanyuan Temple to add to its incense offerings, the abbot personally came out to receive him, treating him with great courtesy and consideration.
The conch shell was very impressed: "You're really amazing."
As Xu Sheng took off his coat, he said, "Lust is a steel knife that scrapes your bones, and wealth is a tiger descending the mountain. You're still young; you'll understand when you've experienced more."
Conch felt something was off: "Look, they stole the purse, then called the authorities to catch the thief, and then got the purse back?"
Xu Sheng took a Buddhist scripture from the antique shelf, sat up on the bed and flipped through it, giving a perfunctory reply: "Hmm."
Seashell sat on the edge of the bed, thinking for a long time: "You're lying."
Xu Sheng looked up from his book: "Why?"
The conch shell asserted, "Because you are lying."
Xu Sheng sat up slightly and explained, "Those who steal money at temple fairs are usually repeat offenders. These people have connections in the martial arts world and in the government, and they are very well-informed. I need them to help me find someone."
Hailuo immediately understood: "You deliberately hung the money bag on me, which led me to take out my money and attract attention. You asked them to help you find someone so that they wouldn't report you to the authorities. So you're lying."
Xu Sheng felt no remorse for lying, but the conch's eyes were too clear, so he couldn't take it for granted: "This matter is rather complicated, you don't need to know."
The conch shell seemed to be adapting to Xu Sheng's style of doing things, and said aggrievedly, "I thought you abandoned me here and didn't want me anymore."
Xu Shengshu tapped him lightly on the head: "Don't overthink it. I said that as long as I have food to eat, I won't let you have soup. I'm a man of my word, and I never go back on my promise."
Conch immediately smiled: "Is the person you're looking for the one you drew this morning? Who is he to you? How did he get lost?"
Xu Sheng said, "...He is mentally disabled. I took pity on him and took him in."
The conch shell assumed the person was similar to itself, so it sincerely praised them, saying, "You're so kind."
How can anyone talk to someone like this? Xu Sheng threw the book on the table: "Go to sleep, I'm sleepy."
Xu Sheng wasn't used to sleeping with others, but the Sanyuan Temple wasn't big and there weren't any extra guest rooms, so he had to make do with just one quilt each. He hadn't slept last night, but now that things were settled, he naturally fell asleep quickly.
Conch turned her head to look at Xu Sheng in the darkness. This was the first time Conch had left the Temple of the Goddess so far, and the first time she had shared a bed with someone. It seemed natural, but upon closer inspection, it was utterly absurd.
He didn't understand Xu Sheng at all, so why did he go with Xu Sheng? And why did he trust Xu Sheng so much!
As soon as Luo An opened his eyes, he heard a joyful voice: "Father, Mother, he's awake! He's awake..."
A girl sat on a chair in front of the bed, looking at him. She had two thick braids, a round face with fair skin and rosy cheeks, and was quite chubby and cute.
A middle-aged couple walked up behind the girl. The man was holding a pipe and said, "You're really lucky, kid. You ran into a big white fish. Otherwise, you would have been fish food by now."
Big White? Luo An's thoughts paused for a moment.
The chubby girl spread her arms and gestured: "It's a beluga whale this big. It has a very big mouth and looks scary, but it doesn't eat people and often saves people. It was the one that carried you to my boat."
Luo An said, "Thank you."
The plump girl was very enthusiastic: "If you're in trouble, you should be saved, no need to be polite. My name is Yang Hua, these are my parents, and I have a younger brother named Yang Shu, he's at school. What's your name? Where are you from? How did you fall into the sea?"
Luo An's face was filled with sorrow: "My name is An Sheng. My younger brother has gone mad. The doctor said there's a sacred mountain in the Bohai Sea, and there's a divine medicine there that can cure him. I did this to try and cure him..."
Yang Hua continued, "You're going to swim out to sea to find the immortal mountain. You're so good to your brother, but you're also really foolish. If there really is an immortal mountain in the sea, then why do we still go out to sea to fish? Wouldn't we just go to the immortal mountain every day to collect divine herbs and get rich?"
Luo An was disappointed: "Aren't there any sacred mountains in the Bohai Sea?"
Yang Hua said firmly, "No, my family has lived by the sea for generations. We have never seen any fairy mountains or encountered any immortals."
After a long pause, Luo An muttered to himself, "Then my brother is beyond saving."
Yang Hua's father said, "Young man, even if there really are immortal mountains, you need to have the destiny to see them. We ordinary mortals can't see them even if they are right in front of us."
Yang Hua Niang lowered her voice and said, "Young man, I heard from the old folks that the late emperor had a connection with the immortals. When he was young, he saw the immortal mountains and even kept a goddess in a golden house outside the palace."
Someone chimed in, "Mother, the Master said that Dongyang was a weak country at the time, and the late Emperor deliberately spread rumors to stabilize people's hearts with the goddess. This cannot be believed."
Yang Hua said proudly, "This is my younger brother, Yang Shu. He is very good at his studies, and the teacher likes him very much. He praised him as a pillar of society and said that he will pass the imperial examination to become a scholar in the future."
Yang Shu was about ten years old, and unlike Yang Hua, he was a handsome boy. He earnestly corrected his sister: "You're going to take the imperial examination. Brother, the teacher also said that when a sea dragon breathes out and floats on the surface of the water, it forms the shape of mountains, but that's just a mirage."
Luo An's heart skipped a beat: "When will the mirage appear?"
Yang Shu was stumped by the question: "...The Master didn't say that. The mirages in the sea are actually the bubbles of dragons, they are illusory and not real, just like fish blowing bubbles."
Luo An drank ginger soup and had dinner at Yang Hua's house. It started raining heavily that night, and the raindrops pounded against the doors and windows, making a pattering sound. Luo An had no choice but to stay overnight.
That night, Luo An had a dream. In the dream, he was walking aimlessly along the beach when he came across a temple with three words on the lintel: Temple of the Goddess.
Without a second thought, Luo An pushed open the door and entered. There was nothing in the temple, not even an incense table, only a kind-looking woman.
The woman seemed unsurprised to see him, and greeted him with a smile, "You've arrived."
Luo An blurted out, "Grandmother."
Luo An was stunned after he finished speaking. He had only seen his grandmother in his father's paintings. He usually had a hard time getting along with people, so how could he call her name so fluently, as if he lived with her every day and had called her name countless times?