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Chapter 21 - Shui Shang Temple was on fire
Chapter 21 - Shui Shang Temple was on fire
Chapter 21 Shui Shang Temple was on fire
Duan Xiaolou went back to the Taoist Temple. He heard He Danggui was in the Medicine Room to put the medicines in order, so he leaped on the roof and jumped in front of the Medicine Room within seconds.
“I’m sorry about the mess here, otherwise you wouldn’t have to clean here.” Duan Xiaolou said apologetically, “I know some herbal medicines. Let me help you.”
He Danggui shook her head, “Childe Duan, you don’t have to apologize. I should thank you instead. If you hadn’t messed here, I couldn’t have had the chance to come here easily to take the medicine. And what’s the result about the previous incident?”
Duan Xiaolou looked at her softly, “As you expected, the two vicious women took my money from you but took the nuns to the brothel simultaneously. I called a few yamen runners to sue for their ‘seek for two buyers with only one goods’ crime. Then, they searched them and found the 50 liang silver I told them before. Therefore, they sent them to prison.”
Although human trafficking wasn’t forbidden in the dynasty, human traders would be strictly punished if they sought for two buyers with only one goods to ensure the buyers’ right. Male human traders would be banished for penal servitude, while female ones would be descended to be slaves. Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu got what they deserved.
He Danggui asked, “What about Zhen Gong and other nuns? Zhen Zhu cares about them very much.”
Duan Xiaolou’s handsome face became light red, “I’ll… figure out a method to settle them down. Please tell Master Zhen Zhu, they could live better in the days to come.”
He was hesitated to tell her the truth. After he dealt with Biddy Cheng’s matter, the 7 Taoist nuns woke up and pulled his sleeves to cry. He promised them out of sympathy to bring them home as maids. He counted all the people he was about to bring to his home in capital. That would be 10 people in total if he counted Miss Xue, Miss Lian and her mother who were saved by him in Yangzhou City. He couldn’t imagine his mother’s expression when he got home…
He Danggui was silent for an instant and then smiled, “Thank you then.”
They rearranged the medicines till the night. He Danggui brought 2 packs of herbal medicines. And Duan Xiaolou saw her off politely to the East Wing-room. He was about to say something to her, but didn’t know where to start. He was confused that she smiled happily to him in the morning, but now she suddenly turned cold and aloof as if they just met each other for the first time.
As Duan Xiaolou was thinking about this, a Taoist nun ran toward them with fear.
Zhen Jing felt a pain in her chest for running too fast, so she covered her stomach, “Bad news. I was asked to clean Zhen Gong and others’ rooms in the daytime. But I found the East Wing-room was in a mess when I came back just now.”
He Danggui frowned, “Did we lose anything?”
Zhen Jing shook her head, “I checked. Nothing was lost. We have nothing to lose, so I guess that thief just searched the place and left.”
He Danggui suddenly remembered that she forgot to bring her gold lock.
In the previous life, she became the lowest worker in her second month in the Taoist Temple because Luo’s Family refused to pick her up.
She had to do the most tiring and dirty job everyday including cleaning chamber pots and toilets, so she hid the gold lock under her bed. She was so afraid of smudging or damaging her gold lock that was given by her mother.
Every night before bed, she lied on the ground to make sure the gold lock was safe and said her safety to it as well. Until one night, she put out her hand but didn’t find the gold lock anymore. She burst into tears at that time. Huai Dong, the administrator of the backyard, complained she was too noisy, then she was tied up and hung on the beam all night.
Every child, who grew up with his mother, could get different gifts at every birthday and festival. But He Danggui only had a gold lock when she was one month old. She took it all the time for 10 years and cherished it more than her life. At that night, she couldn’t stop crying. Her tears flowed through her eyes, her long hair, and then dropped on the ground. Who on earth took her gold lock away? Gave it back to her! She was willing to exchange with anything!
When she was reborn in this life, the gold lock was still in her hand, just like it had never left her.
After regaining the gold lock, He Danggui cherished it extremely and stitched it in the embroidered pocket of her clothes so that she could carry it all the time. However, she changed new clothes and skirt which Duan Xiaolou sent to her this morning. She was supposed to borrow a pair of scissors from Zhen Jing to take down the embroidered pocket from that old clothes. But then she just trailed Zhen Zhu to go down the mountain, and forgot to take her gold lock!
Duan Xiaolou had never seen her like this. It never occurred to him that she would be panic, helpless and weak like now. Even when Gao Jue wanted to kill her last night, she didn’t have this expression, like the end of the world was coming.
“Sister He, don’t worry. Whatever you lost, even if I had to break the Taoist Temple down, I’ll find it for you!” Duan Xiaolou put his arms around her and comforted her with a gentle voice, “Let’s see what happened, maybe it’s still there.” Then they hugged each other and jumped through the air. After several ups and downs, they disappeared.
Zhen Jing opened her mouth wide and looked at the place of their disappearing for a while. Then she ran back crookedly with her hand on her belly of a pain.
When they arrived, He Danggui rushed into the room immediately and grabbed the light green skirt on the ground, then started checking.
It was gone indeed.
He Danggui sat on the ground vacantly, as if it was the same as her previous life. In the morning, she still held the gold lock in her hand, and felt the patterns on it with her fingers; in the evening, she lost it forever. She lost the gift of her first month, which was made specially by the craftsman her mother invited.
Was her mother all right? Normally she should have already received her letter, but why didn’t she write back yet?
In the previous life, He Danggui extremely desired to come back to the time before her mother was cheated. She wanted to chase away all those sharpies, villains and duplicitous ones to give her mother and her a comfortable life. But now she really had achieved it. Travelled back to 18 years ago in the present life, she thought she got enough time to stop the tragedies since nothing had happened yet. But why did she still lose her gold lock?
Was the fate irreversible? No matter how she struggled, would she have to experience and suffer the same path that she had walked in her previous life again?
Looking at her pale face, Duan Xiaolou was so anxious. He constantly patted her arm and asked, “Tell me what exactly you lost? Just tell me! As long as you say the name of that thing, I’ll tie all the people of Shui Shang Temple and get it back for you!”
He Danggui came to herself because of his patting... Got the gold lock back?
Right! If she could find the gold lock, the so-called “predestined destiny” and “destined by fate” would be broken, and she could also live a different life! She was full of wishes. Things in life were unpredictable, while human effect was the decisive factor! There was nothing in the world that could not be changed. Since she had reborn, she wanted to change all and refused to accept the arrangement of fate!
Thinking of this, He Danggui looked at Duan Xiaolou and felt grateful, “Thank you, I was so emotional that I lost my mind just now. I wouldn’t be sober if you didn’t wake me up!”
Duan Xiaolou looked at her painfully and said gently, “Don’t be sad. Even if I have to go through water and fire, I’ll find it for you. If you want, I will always...” He was interrupted because Zhen Jing was out of breath and lurched into the room.
He Danggui looked down and grabbed a piece of charcoal. She said to herself, “Go through water and fire. Fire...”
???
Rub-a-dub– “Fire Caution Under the Dry Weather and Flammable Things!”
Rub-a-dub– “Fire Caution Under the Dry Weather and Flammable Things! Fire Caution!”
Shui Shang Temple was different from ordinary families. There were many places in need of fire. The three halls dedicated to the immortals were regularly served with candles lightened and censers burned. At night, the meditation rooms were always ablaze with lights, and the Taoist nuns who were unfamiliar with the scriptures would be punished to copy scriptures many times. Because once someone recited wrong scriptures during the performance of chanting or the Taoist rites, it would be embarrassed in front of the pilgrims and affect Shui Shang Temple’s reputation.
Every night, the kitchen would extinguish the fire and lock up, but there was a temporary cooking bench in the aisle behind the kitchen. In general, women liked to eat snacks, so were the Taoist nuns. This humble cooking bench was built by them secretly, and whoever was hungry could bake a sweet potato or pancake and cook a bowl of noodles for herself.
There were many places in the Taoist Temple using fire at night, and it was especially dangerous in the dry autumn. Therefore, Tai Shan paid special attention to fire prevention. 4 groups of people were arranged to take turns to patrol at night, and they carefully guarded the use status of fire everywhere.
“Help! Help! It’s on fire! — The kitchen is on fire!”
A sharp female’s voice suddenly sounded in the silent night, and everyone in the temple was awakened within a few minutes. The nuns were sleeping deeply, then each of them draped a robe and rushed out of the room while holding a washbasin. When they came out, they saw the thick smoke billowing from the back alley of the kitchen, and was burning with “crack”, spreading to 4 or 5 surrounding utility rooms gradually.
Tai Shan scolded with her messy gray hair, “Idiots! What are you doing? Fight the fire! Fight the fire NOW!”
The Taoist nuns didn’t dare to delay. Someone with water in their washbasin ran directly to the fire, while others who had no water looked for a water tank to get water. But many people hadn’t completely awakened. They were stepping on other’s shoes and hitting someone’s washbasin. The scene was messy. Seeing this, Tai Shan scolded angrily.
After a while, the fire was getting bigger and bigger. Tai Shan gritted her teeth and raised the horsetail whisk to pound on the nuns who were hesitating. The copper handle, which weighed more than 4.6 jin, hurt a lot of people at once, and scared everyone to run to the fire hurriedly. They even threw away the washbasins.
After running to the alley behind the kitchen, facing the conflagration, about 80 Taoist nuns had only 4 pots of water, which couldn’t even put off a ray of flame. Then, everyone looked at each other, and they were helpless to fight against the fire.
At this moment, 4 people appeared in the sky like immortals, waving their arms at the big fire below. A moment later, the fire was put off nearly half.
The Taoist nuns were stunned to see the scene. Tai Shan just ran to the entrance of lane, and scolded in gasps, “Damn it! Why don’t you hurry to put out the fire? Silly pigs... I’d rather raise some real pigs!”
Some Taoist nuns hurriedly broke the front door of the kitchen, finding utensils and scooping water from the water tank to put out the fire.
But most Taoist nuns still stared blankly at the sky, looking at the figures.
Their faces became clear because of the light of the fire. They were Duan Xiaolou, Liao Zhiyuan, Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue. They formed a special formation above the fire and took turns according to a certain order, waving their hands to the bottom out of a blast of amazing palm energies. Unlike normal natural winds that could only make bigger fire, their palm energies could put out the fire!
In this way, strong energies blew above, and cool water was poured below. Soon the fire became a small fire, a small fire became a flame, a flame became black smoke, and the black smoke became scorched earth.
After the fire was extinguished, the four dropped from the sky. Tai Shan pushed the crowd away and trotted to greet them. Then she kowtowed several times and kept saying thanks.
The four looked at each other. Then Gao Jue asked seriously, “How did the fire happen?”
Lu Jiangbei crossed his arms in front of his chest and walked around the cooking bench, which had already burned into black charcoal. He said, “It seems that someone forgot to put off the fire after night snacks.”
Liao Zhiyuan nodded, “Yes, you see, there is a burnt sweet potato.”
Duan Xiaolou was furious, “How ridiculous! You were aware that multiple imperial court officials were staying here. But you still used the fire so causally! If any imperial guard was hurt by fire, your whole Taoist Temple would not be enough to bear the responsibility!”
Lu Jiangbei looked at Tai Shan who kneeled on the ground, and hummed coldly, “You are the master in charge, and the fire was set because of your dereliction of duty! If you can’t find the culprit, I will take your life as a warning to others!”