Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 212 Su Xiaoxiao's Obsession
Su Xiaoxiao briefly told the story of her and Ruan Yu. The beautiful first half can be summarized by the four lines of poetry she wrote:

I ride in a painted carriage, and my lover rides a green horse. Where can we find our true love? Under the pines and cypresses of Xiling.

After the two of them had been under the moonlight and made vows to each other for several months, Ruan Yu suddenly received a letter from the capital saying that his father was ill. He hurriedly said goodbye to Su Xiaoxiao and returned to Jiankang.

Before leaving, the two were reluctant to part. Ruan Yu promised to write to her as soon as he arrived in Beijing, and also said that he would bring her to Beijing for a reunion as soon as his father recovered.

However, he disappeared without a trace after many years. Su Xiaoxiao asked someone to go to Beijing to inquire about him, but there was no news, only that he was still alive.

This incident became Su Xiaoxiao's biggest concern, causing her to lose her appetite and become extremely worried. As a result, she died of illness a year later.

Even after death, she still couldn't let it go, so she had to come to Beijing to get things clear.

"I just want to know the answer." Then I heard Su Xiaoxiao sighing, "After arriving in Beijing, I went to the neighborhood where the Ruan family of Chenliu lived and asked around. I learned that his family had fallen into decline during the change of dynasties. The clan members only knew that he became a monk 20 years ago and became a monk in Jianyuan Temple, but they didn't even know his Buddhist name."

"Don't worry, sister. I can help you check this. The monk's family background, secular name, and age are all written on the certificate of ordination. You can find it from the secretary." Faxiu patted his chest and said, "You guys eat slowly. I'll go find the person right away."

After saying that, he ran out in a hurry and no one could stop him.

~~
Everyone waited in the Shuiyue Pavilion until the banquet was cleared away and three cups of tea were served. Only then did the little monk come back dejectedly.

"What's wrong? Didn't you find the person?" asked Chen Baxian, a quick-witted man.

"Found it." The little monk sat down and said, "I went to ask the secretary, and he didn't even need to check the certificate of ordination. He told me directly that it was our head abbot, Master Xingren."

"He has been a monk for more than 20 years, and he is from a top noble family. It is normal for him to be the abbot." Chen Baxian nodded and looked at the little monk and said, "Are you afraid of giving you trouble, so you dare not speak?"

"Don't look down on me!" The little monk seemed to be insulted and said with his neck erect: "Why shouldn't I dare? I went straight to him and asked him if he still remembered someone named Su Xiaoxiao?"

"What's the result?" everyone asked.

"In the end, I was blasted out..." The little monk lowered his head and said depressedly: "The head abbot has great magical powers, and I can't beat him. What can I do?"

"Forget it, don't worry about it." Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly comforted the little monk, "Sister is already very grateful to you."

"In fact, his attitude is very telling." Chen Baxian said coldly, "He doesn't even dare to mention Miss Su's name. It's obvious that he has something to hide!"

"That makes sense." Yang Zhong also nodded and said, "Having great magical powers means he has not lost his memory, so he can only be unable to face Miss Su."

"Guess what?" Ren Yuan suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'll call him out and let him explain himself!"

"Third brother, don't do anything rash." Yang Zhong tried to dissuade him, "Jianyuan Temple is a branch of Tongtai Temple. If you cause trouble, even General Chen can't protect you."

"Yes, third brother, Xingren is a man of great supernatural powers, and you can't go to the toilet in Beijing, so you are no match for him." Chen Baxian also advised.

"Yuan, don't go." Su Xiaoxiao naturally didn't want him to cause trouble. "Sister already has the answer in her mind."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to pick a fight with him." Ren Yuan shook his head and said, "Even if he is some powerful dean, he should always be reasonable."

Then he said to Su Xiaoxiao: "I must help my sister vent her anger!"

After saying that, he walked away without looking back.

"Wait for me, I'll lead the way." The little monk chased Ren Yuan out.

"Alas, the price has been paid." Yang Zhong sighed. "Yeah, too reckless, his temperament has changed drastically." Chen Baxian agreed, and the two of them quickly got up and followed.

“……” A Yao originally wanted to say that A Yuan was like this when he was in his hometown, but she held back.

She and Su Xiaoxiao could not enter the temple, so they could only wait outside the temple gate.

~~
Although Jianyuan Temple is a branch of Tongtai Temple, it also covers hundreds of acres and has more than 30 halls, pavilions, platforms and houses, with thousands of monks. It is a proper large temple.

Faxiu led Ren Yuan through the front hall, which was crowded with pilgrims, and came to the backyard, which was filled with houses.

"That's the courtyard where the abbot lives." The little monk pointed to a small courtyard surrounded by holly in front.

"Don't follow me." Ren Yuan asked him to stop and said, "It will be hard to talk if there are too many people around."

"Okay, I'll wait outside." The little monk nodded obediently.

Ren Yuan pushed open the half-closed courtyard door and walked in, shouting, "Xingren, get the fuck out here!"

"..." The little monk outside almost fell to the ground, thinking that with such anger, it would be strange if they didn't fight.

"Who are you? How dare you make noise in the quiet place of Buddhism?" A majestic voice sounded, and the monk Xingren with white hair and beard appeared in the corridor.

The abbot is the title of the monk who leads all the monks. He is the supervisor of a temple and is responsible for assisting the abbot in managing the affairs of the temple. He is the second-in-command of Jianyuan Temple.

So as soon as they heard the noise, the monks rushed over immediately. If they hadn't seen the official uniform that Ren Yuan was wearing, they would have kicked him out directly.

Ren Yuan looked at the old monk in front of him and saw that although he was already in his sixties, he was still handsome and had a very good appearance. He imagined that when he was in his prime decades ago, he would have charmed thousands of girls.

Thinking about the Taoist priest's old appearance, it's no wonder that he has been a spare tire all his life.

"I am the younger brother of Qiantang Su Xiaoxiao. Today I'm here to ask you to come out and meet me on behalf of my sister." Ren Yuan said to the old monk in a deep voice.

"I have already entered the Buddhist monastery, and Donor Su has long passed away. Monks and laymen are different, and humans and ghosts have different paths. It would be harmful and useless to meet again." Xingren frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Donor, please go back. Please also tell Donor Su to let go of his obsession and reincarnate as soon as possible."

"How can she let go of her obsession without seeing you?!" Ren Yuan suddenly raised his voice, angry, "How dare you ask her to let go of her obsession! If you had written a letter decades ago and explained everything clearly, how could she still have obsessions, and how could she have died so early?"

"After several decades, if he turns into a ghost and comes to Beijing to look for you, even if you are heartless, you should go out and meet him!"

"My earthly ties have been severed, and the golden sea has dried up." Xingren remained unmoved and said, "What does Ruan Yu's bad fate have to do with the current Xingren?"

"Okay, this is what you said. How I scold Ruan Yu has nothing to do with you, right?" Ren Yuan sneered.

"It's up to you." The old monk still looked as if he had nothing to do with it. He waved his hand and said, "Send me out!"

Faxiu's heart was in his throat, fearing that Ren Yuan would explode on the spot, but he did not expect that he would obediently follow a few monks out.

I thought, hey, isn’t this similar to me?
Unexpectedly, not long after Ren Yuan went out, he heard loud shouting outside.

"Ruan Yu cheated on her and then abandoned her. The woman came to her house and accused him of being cold-blooded and heartless!"

(End of this chapter)