So, she muttered shyly: “Ye Chen will be here in a bit. If Otosan wants to know if he will forgive you, you can ask him yourself.”
Ito Xiong Yan laughed heartily: “People of the Ito family never ask for returns first. No matter when, we always give first.”
…
In the evening, Ye Chen followed the location Nanako sent and drove to River Moon.
This place was on the eastern slope of Purple Mountain, not far from Purple Mountain Villa where Lin Wan’er lived.
It was also Ye Chen’s first time coming to this villa area. After arriving, he discovered that the building density here was even lower than Tomson Riviera.
Moreover, it was a pure villa district, unlike Tomson Riviera, which, to meet the floor area ratio, also included high-rise apartments.
All the villas in River Moon were designed as Chinese-style courtyards. To ensure the classical charm of the ground level, the entire community used separate paths for people and vehicles.
No cars were allowed on the surface. All vehicles had to go from the underground garage to their own villa’s basement.
Nanako was always thoughtful, so she waited specially at the community entrance for Ye Chen. Once Ye Chen arrived, she got into his car and guided him to drive into the garage.
When Ye Chen was driving into the garage, Nanako hesitated several times before finally asking him: “Has Ye Chen been well these past few days?”
Ye Chen shook his head: “I have been in seclusion all along, but because I could not calm my mind, there was no effect.”
Nanako sighed: “It must be because you miss Lady Xiao too much, right?”
Ye Chen did not avoid it. He nodded gently and said: “I have been thinking about where she might be, how her life is going, and so on. I also hope Chief Li will find clues soon, so I could not settle down to cultivate.”
With that, he asked Nanako: “What have you been busy with lately?”
Nanako said: “A few days ago, I went back to Japan.”
“Oh?” Ye Chen asked curiously: “Why did you suddenly go back to Japan?”
Nanako asked him: “Does Ye Chen remember the amulet Nanako once gave you?”
“I remember.” Ye Chen nodded and said: “It seems you got it in Japan?”
“Yes.” Nanako nodded and said: “It was sought at Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.”
Ye Chen asked her: “You did not go to seek another amulet, did you?”
“No.” Nanako said somewhat sadly: “This time I went back because Abbot Kuon of Kinkaku-ji passed away. I had received his guidance before, so I went back to pay my respects.”
Ye Chen had always been an atheist and did not believe in any religion, so he had no knowledge of Abbot Kuon. Hearing that Nanako went back to pay respects to a high Buddhist monk, he did not think it was anything special. He just said casually: “You travelled thousands of miles to pay respects. This abbot must have been remarkable.”
Nanako nodded: “Abbot Kuon was the most respected monk in all of Japan. When he passed away, he had lived a full one hundred and twenty-five years.”
Ye Chen asked her: “Such a long life? Was he a cultivator?”
Nanako shook her head and said: “No, he was obsessed with Buddhism all his life. He spent his entire life studying Buddhist scriptures and doctrines.”
Ye Chen was somewhat surprised. For an ordinary person to live to over one hundred and twenty was truly rare.
However, rare did not mean impossible, so he did not take it too much to heart. He asked Nanako again: “For a national treasure-level monk like this to pass away, was the funeral very grand?”
“Not really.” Nanako said: “The abbot’s funeral was not public. It was held only within Kinkaku-ji, and the attendees were all monks. I did not even qualify to attend his funeral.”
With that, Nanako suddenly thought of something and said: “Oh right, Ye Chen, the one who presided over Abbot Kuon’s funeral was Master Keisei, who enlightened me and helped me in my cultivation.”
