At that time, Sister Sun walked in and said respectfully, “Madam, Jing Qing wants to see you.”
An Chengxi zoomed in on Ye Chen’s photo, carefully studying her son’s face, and smiled, saying, “Let Jing Qing come in.”
“Yes, madam.”
Sister Sun turned and went out. Soon, she brought Jing Qing in.
Jing Qing came before An Chengxi, bowed deeply, and said, “Madam, Jing Qing is preparing to return to the country. I came to say goodbye and see if you have any last instructions for me.”
An Chengxi put down her phone and smiled, saying, “Nothing to instruct. You have worked hard this time.”
“Amitabha.” Jing Qing put his hands together and said respectfully, “Madam, you are too kind. Serving you is Jing Qing’s blessing.”
Towards An Chengxi, Jing Qing was not flattering but genuinely respectful.
Before, he was devoted to Buddhism and believed all beings were equal under the Buddha. But after An Chengxi enlightened him and he achieved enlightenment, he realised that Buddha and Dao were both under Heaven’s Will, and beings were not equal because each person’s distance to Heaven’s Will was different.
Take himself as an example: after enlightenment, his lifespan would be decades or even centuries longer than ordinary people. Was that equality? Of course not.
An Chengxi herself had not achieved enlightenment and might be farther from Heaven’s Will than Jing Qing after his enlightenment. But in Jing Qing’s view, his chance to get closer to Heaven’s Will was all thanks to An Chengxi’s support from behind, so he should treat her with utmost respect and gratitude.
An Chengxi looked at Ye Chen’s photo for a while longer before reluctantly putting down the phone. She first replied to Lin Wan’er: “Thank you, senior.”
Then she said to Jing Qing, “You have been in Japan for a while and delayed many things back home. Now that everything here is handled, go back and take care of your affairs.”
Jing Qing nodded slightly and said, “I plan to head to Tokyo shortly and take the earliest flight back.”
An Chengxi smiled and said, “Good, arrange it according to your time. If you decide to leave soon, I will have someone send you there.”
At the same time, in the top courtyard of Purple Mountain Villa.
Lin Wan’er smiled as she looked at Ye Chen and Xiao Xiao, and asked softly, “Young master, you said on the phone that you had a new discovery. What exactly is it?”
Ye Chen held Xiao Xiao and said to Lin Wan’er, “I met Nai Nai Zi today. While chatting with her, I noticed a detail we overlooked before. Back then at Qixia Temple, she was enlightened by a monk named Jing Qing, which allowed her to achieve enlightenment smoothly. I wonder, what kind of person would risk exposing themselves to enlighten a stranger?”
Lin Wan’er’s heart skipped a beat.
Ye Chen had noticed Monk Jing Qing. Was not that like catching a corner of An Chengxi’s cover?
So, she asked Ye Chen, “Young master, do you think this Monk Jing Qing’s identity is suspicious?”
“Yes.” Ye Chen nodded firmly.
But Lin Wan’er said, “This kind of thing, I cannot say for sure. For cultivators, their secrets are important, but sometimes they feel passing on the tradition is necessary. Just like my grandfather, who was in seclusion in the Ten Thousand Mountains back then, still took my father and Wu Feiyan as disciples.”
As she said this, Lin Wan’er felt like vomiting inside because she now knew Meng Changsheng’s vile nature. But to avoid making Ye Chen too suspicious, she had to force herself to use him as an example.
But Ye Chen said, “Just for passing on the tradition, it might be normal. But Nai Nai Zi going to Qixia Temple was not by chance; it was deliberate.”
With that, he told her about how the woman in the lift had deliberately guided Nai Nai Zi, including how that woman had now disappeared.
Lin Wan’er listened, her brows furrowing tightly.
She knew that once Ye Chen traced back from who enlightened Nai Nai Zi, the matter would inevitably be exposed.
Plus, with that woman having left Jinling, it only deepened Ye Chen’s suspicions.
But she also knew An Chengxi could do nothing about it, because Ye Chen had his ways. Not to mention a young woman, even someone like Monk Jing Qing, who had cultivation but not much, probably could not hold secrets in front of him. Once Ye Chen found that woman, everything would come out.
At this point, she did not dare try to guide Ye Chen’s judgement anymore. She was a smart woman and felt that once Ye Chen started noticing and analysing these anomalies around him, he would think dialectically and seek truth from facts. If she kept trying to steer his direction, he would definitely notice something off about her.
So, Lin Wan’er immediately said firmly, “I think the young master’s analysis makes a lot of sense. If Nai Nai Zi was deliberately guided to Qixia Temple, and then Monk Jing Qing stepped in pretending it was a chance encounter to enlighten her, that proves they are definitely in it together. It might be an important breakthrough!”
“Right!” Getting Lin Wan’er’s affirmation boosted Ye Chen’s confidence, and he had no suspicion about her earlier guiding words.
He said seriously, “Finding that woman now will probably be very difficult, but finding Monk Jing Qing should not be too hard. As a well-known figure in the Buddhist world, his whereabouts should be easy to track. Nai Nai Zi said he was in Japan recently handling the aftermath for Abbot Kongyin of Kinkaku-ji, so he should be back in the country soon!”
