TDLC Chapter 37

Terms used in TDLC Chapter 37

Hou’ye (侯爷) – Marquis.
benhou (本侯) – a self-address used by a Marquis.
min’nü (民女) – commoner girl.
guniang (姑娘) – young lady.
gonggong (公公) – an old and/or high-ranking eunuch.
Daren (大人) – title of respect towards superiors.
xiaguan (下官) – a self-address that an official uses before his superior.
Shizi (世子) – heir apparent of an aristrocratic family.
gongzi (公子) – a noble’s son.
laonu (老奴) – old slave.
shifu (师父) – a term of respect for a Buddhist monk, or refers to one’s teacher.

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Fu gonggong leaned on the low couch in the tearoom, somewhat drowsy. When he eventually woke up, he realised that it was already dusk, so he rose to his feet to look for Bó Ruò Yōu. Just as he reached the door, he could hear the sound of pages flipping inside. Fu gonggong grinned, quietening his footsteps as he walked in, but when Bó Ruò Yōu heard the footsteps and turned around, she appeared frightened.

Fu gonggong was surprised, “What’s the matter?”

Exhaling audibly, Bó Ruò Yōu smiled sourly and said: “For some unknown reason, min’nü is rather prone to becoming flustered today, and keeps getting the sense that someone was spying on min’nü outside the window just now.”

Fu gonggong’s brows furrowed as he strode towards the window to look outside. It was rather breezy today, the window was open wide, but when he poked his body out to look left and right, he did not catch sight of a single human figure.

Bó Ruò Yōu said: “Gonggong can be at ease, min’nü looked outside prior to this. There’s no one, min’nü was being overly tense.”

Fu gonggong sighed, “You’re always thinking about the case throughout the day, of course your nerves are stretched taut.” After saying that, he looked at the book in her hands, “You’ve been looking for so long, did you find anything?”

Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, “There are a lot of records concerning the Śarīra, but all of them are very much the same apart from minor differences.”

Fu gonggong said smilingly, “That’s not surprising. The Buddhist scriptures and records that are allowed inside a Buddhist temple cannot possess any bizarre or strange notions.”

“However, min’nü discovered a few scriptures that record the secret religious treasures.” Bó Ruò Yōu raised the Buddhist scripture in her hands, “This records the Ashoka Pagoda that we saw in the underground palace today…”

Fu gonggong gazed at the sky colour outside, “The hour is getting late, perhaps [we] should go back first and rest?”

Bó Ruò Yōu hesitated for a moment, “Min’nü would like to flip around and see if there’s any book that writes about the Five-Fold Treasure Chest.”

Fu gonggong, however, allowed no explanations as he extracted the Buddhist scripture from Bó Ruò Yōu’s grasp. “There’s no need to rush right now. It’s currently time to partake in dinner.”

Helpless, Bó Ruò Yōu could only put down the Buddhist scripture and follow Fu gonggong outside the Library Pavilion. Just as they stepped out of the Library Pavilion, a monk wearing a grey cassock flitted past the moon gate in the distance. Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyebrows scrunched, “Stand still—”

That figure did not stop, so Bó Ruò Yōu lifted her skirt corners to give chase. By the time she sprinted past the moon gate, she saw that it was empty outside, and not a single human figure could be seen. Fu gonggong caught up to her, “Who was it?”

Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, “His front profile wasn’t within view, though he was a monk wearing a temple cassock, and his height wasn’t short. If he was just passing by, he definitely would have stopped after hearing min’nü shout, but he seemed even more anxious after min’nü shouted.”

Fu gonggong’s complexion sank slightly as he recalled how Bó Ruò Yōu had mentioned that someone seemed to be spying on her from outside the window. Fu gonggong did not dare to be careless, “Let’s go, let’s return to the meditation hall first.”

Bó Ruò Yōu nodded, following Fu gonggong back to the meditation hall.

Inside the meditation hall, Huò Wēi Lóu and Míng Guī Lán was sitting inside the principal room and conversing about something, while Huò Qīng Hóng was dancing around with a polearm outside because he was bored out of his mind. Upon seeing Fu gonggong and Bó Ruò Yōu return with heavy expressions, he was slightly baffled, “What’s wrong with the both of you?”

Fu gonggong shook his head, entering the principal room directly, “Hou’ye—”

Huò Wēi Lóu and Míng Guī Lán stopped speaking in lieu of raising their eyes to look over. Fu gonggong stated: “There seems to be someone spying on Yōu Yōu within the temple.”

“Spying on her?” Huò Wēi Lóu stood up and walked out of the room, and then saw Bó Ruò Yōu waiting outside. “What happened?”

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Bó Ruò Yōu bowed and said: “Not long after min’nü went to the Library Pavilion, she sensed that there seemed to be someone outside the window, but when min’nü went over to look, there was no one outside the window, and just as [we] were coming out, a human figure flashed past the moon gate. Min’nü called for him to stop, but he disappeared even faster, as though he had been staying outside the entire time but did not want to risk discovery.”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s brows wrinkled, whereas Míng Guī Lán’s wheelchair had also rolled over to the door, “Did [you] clearly see who the person was?”

Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, “No. Only saw a back figure.” Her pupils dilated as she pondered, before she said: “It doesn’t really resemble the three shifu Liǎo Fán, Liǎo Jué, and Liǎo Huì, of whom [we] met today…”

Huò Wēi Lóu said in a low voice: “From now onwards, you’re not allowed to move around the temple alone. Everyone knows that you can examine corpses, and if the murderer is afraid of the consequences, one fears that he will harm you. If you want to go anywhere, report it to benhou.”

Bó Ruò Yōu nodded and responded in the positive.

The daylight was already dim, and by the time they were done with dinner, the night curtain had already descended. More than half past hai shi (10PM), Lù Kē returned from making inquiries at the foot of the mountain. Upon stepping through the door, Lù Kē announced, “Hou’ye, there has been a major discovery!”

Míng Guī Lán and Huò Qīng Hóng were present, and Huò Wēi Lóu told Fu gonggong to call over Bó Ruò Yōu and Lín Huái. After they had all gathered, Lù Kē stated: “There are seven households of farmers staying at the bottom of the back mountain, and five of those households had done clay mixing miscellaneous work when the Buddha statues were being sculpted that year. According to their accounts, they weren’t allowed to have a hand in the Buddha sculpting and could only help with some hard labour. Moreover, those two Buddha statues were both crafted by a hired artisan by the surname of Zuǒ, who is said to be a professional sculptor, and he has even made a set of Arhat statues.

“They weren’t aware of any irregularities during the statue sculpting that year, because their homes were at the bottom of the back mountain, they would all start work at sunrise and rest at sundown, going home once the sky darkened. After the Buddha statues were fully crafted, the workshop was torn down and all of them received their due wages. After a few months, the temple wanted to plant white birch trees, but that period happened to be the busy farming season, so only two households, that totalled up to seven to eight people scaled the mountain to plant trees.”

Having spoken to this point, Lù Kē’s expression roused, “It was also within these two households that this subordinate found Great Master Jìng Kōng’s Buddhist beads!”

He waved his hand, and then an embroidered emissary opened a wrapping cloth. Once the wrapping cloth was unfurled, several dozens of sandalwood prayer beads appeared, with each bead having a Buddhist hymn carved on top, no different from one found among the skeletal remains.

Huò Wēi Lóu inspected it, “They picked it up when they were planting the trees?”

Lù Kē said quickly, “Yes. A few months had passed by then, and the land remained neglected after the workshop was demolished, and since the temple wanted to plant trees, it naturally meant that the grass needed to be shovelled and the soil loosened. The two households stayed nearby and had a decent relationship. Back when they dug out the Buddhist beads, they guessed that it must have come from the temple but had fallen outside. Hence, they stashed away the Buddhist beads, even treating it as some kind of religious treasure. After they brought it home, they either gave it to the younger generation to hang on their bodies to ward off evil or placed it with their ancestral memorial tablets to worship it. Surprisingly enough, they were not exposed at all for all these years.”

Bó Ruò Yōu stepped forward to count the Buddhist beads, “The numbers don’t match, some of them should still be buried in the soil.”

Lù Kē said, “That is true. They overturned the soil in the vicinity and managed to find a few more beads, but because they didn’t dare to alert the temple personnel, they didn’t dare to brazenly look for them. If those people reported this matter to the temple that year, it’s highly likely that the matter of Great Master Jìng Kōng being murdered would have been exposed early on.”

Huò Wēi Lóu continued to ask, “Did they say where they picked it up from?”

“It was on the east side of the workshop’s latrine, not far from the place [we] visited in the day. Half a year had passed by then, and the latrine was also removed by using soil to fill it up, before directly planting the trees on top.” After Lù Kē was done answering, he added, “Hou’ye, that being said, the place where Great Master Jìng Kōng was murdered is basically confirmed, except, how did the murderer lure Great Master Jìng Kōng to that side?”

Huò Wēi Lóu was puzzling over it, “The case of the Śarīra’s disappearance was still being investigated then, it’s probably related to that case.”

In response, Bó Ruò Yōu said: “The culprit that murdered Great Master Jìng Kōng used cruel methods, and in the murder of Féng daren, the murderer was quite the martial arts practitioner as well. Although Féng daren is getting on with his years, and his stature can’t be considered as tall, he’s still a man when all is said and done. Moreover, there were a large number of bruises on Féng daren’s body, is it possible that the murderer from that year and the current murderer, is the same person?”

Huò Wēi Lóu narrowed his eyes, “According to what benhou knows, Yuè Míng Quán has superb arm strength, Wú Yú has some skill as well, and it is only the Court of Imperial Sacrifice’s Secretary Wáng Qīng Fǔ who is ordinary in skill. These people were also in the temple at the time of Great Master Jìng Kōng’s disappearance, if any other person is being added to the list of suspects, Jìng Míng can’t be ruled out either.”

Huò Wēi Lóu glanced at Lín Huái, “When Jìng Míng made a request to the imperial court for the position of Temple Head, whose hands did it pass through?”

Lín Huái replied: “It’s hard to obtain the precise information, but the Buddhist temples belonging to the Imperial Family has always been overseen by the Ministry of Rites and Court of Imperial Sacrifices together. The Grand Śarīra Ceremony was also arranged and taken charge of by the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.”

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of the norms of etiquette and the laws of the imperial civil service examination, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was responsible for Imperial Household’s ancestral shrines and sacrificial offerings. When Famen Temple handed up the folded booklet to the Capital, both sides must have known about it. Of course, based on the circumstances back then, Jìng Míng certainly was the best candidate for Temple Head.

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Huò Wēi Lóu sank into deep contemplation briefly. Since there was no substantial evidence, it was not necessary to question its validity over much. He had only arrived at Famen Temple for a day, and gained a lot from it. Therefore, there was no need to be anxious for success, so he told everyone to rest up before continuing the investigation the next day.

Lín Huái and Bó Ruò Yōu withdrew, then Huò Wēi Lóu looked at Huò Qīng Hóng and said: “Both of you should go and rest as well.”

Huò Qīng Hóng complied, pushing Míng Guī Lán outside. Both of them had arrived late, so there were no longer any rooms for them to stay in this meditation hall, and they could only stay in another hall. Huò Qīng Hóng stood in the middle of the hall, looking at the room that Bó Ruò Yōu was staying in before he looked at Huò Wēi Lóu who was sending them to the door, unable to shake off the strangeness of the entire affair, “Never thought that there would be a day where there’s a lady inside Older Brother’s courtyard.”

Míng Guī Lán could not help but laugh as Huò Wēi Lóu frowned helplessly before turning around to head back to his room.

“That’s enough Shizi, let’s leave. It’s not like you’re unaware of Hou’ye’s temper.”

Huò Qīng Hóng mumbled, “And therein lies the question: in this world, what kind of lady can make my Older Brother’s heart move. My Older Brother isn’t getting younger anymore. Lín Zhāo is already engaged, His Second Highness was supposed to have his grand wedding…”

Míng Guī Lán was split between laughter and tears, “You’re actually worried for Hou’ye, it would already be small mercies if you didn’t make Hou’ye worry about you.”

Huò Qīng Hóng was very disgruntled by his statement, grumbling and arguing with Míng Guī Lán as they left the meditation hall.

When Huò Wēi Lóu woke up on the morning of the next day, he noticed that the embroidered emissaries were missing by two. Fu gonggong came over and said: “Hou’ye, Yōu Yōu went to the Library Pavilion again early in the morning. Laonu wasn’t assured, so he told two embroidered emissaries to follow her.”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s brows raised as he looked at the sky outside, which had just seen its first rays of light. Hence, he asked hesitantly, “Has she partaken in breakfast?”

Fu gonggong smiled, “She has, please be at ease.”

Huò Wēi Lóu proceeded to partake in his breakfast as well before he brought the embroidered emissaries to the morgue courtyard. Not long after, Yuè Míng Quán and the other two arrived in succession, then Huò Wēi Lóu started asking about the event that year once more. Since it had been ten years, the trio could not remember a lot of details, but their accounts were serious and principled, and even Huò Wēi Lóu could not find any mistakes or omissions in the moment.

    ……

In front of the Library Pavilion, Lín Zhāo had just stepped through the door with two monks when he realised that someone had arrived earlier than him. Since he saw the embroidered emissaries guarding the door outside, Lín Zhāo assumed that Huò Wēi Lóu was present, but when he entered the door, he only saw a beautiful figure standing under the bookshelf.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, Bó Ruò Yōu turned her body as well, and seeing that it was Lín Zhāo, she quickly bowed with womanly obeisance.

Lín Zhāo came forward, “Why is Guniang still looking at these? Haven’t found it yet?”

“It has been found, but [I am] currently looking through the records of secret religious treasures and ceremonial implements. If one may be so bold to ask Gongzi, where are the ancient records for these two categories located?”

Once Bó Ruò Yōu issued the question, Lín Zhāo thought about it before bringing Bó Ruò Yōu to the back, “Follow me.”

The pair walked past two bookshelves, then Lín Zhāo pointed at one of the bookshelves and said: “Most of the record-type books are here, ranging from secret religious treasures, Buddhist norms of etiquette to imparted knowledge and religious doctrine; all of them are here.”

Hundreds of ancient books and records filled the bookshelf to the brim. Although it was only a tip of the iceberg that made up the Library Pavilion, it was still too many for one person. Lín Zhāo glanced at Bó Ruò Yōu, “One fears that guniang won’t be able to look through all of them.”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s lip corners curved slightly, “It’s fine.”

Seeing that Bó Ruò Yōu was rather persistent, and aware that he was not familiar with her, it was not polite for Lín Zhāo to say more either. Thus, he pivoted on his heels and went to another section of the Library Pavilion to catalogue the Buddhist scriptures, while Bó Ruò Yōu moved over a stand, standing on top before she started browsing through them.

    ……

Given that Huò Wēi Lóu had been questioning about the matters of that year repeatedly, Yuè Míng Quán could not help but ask: “Does Hou’ye doubt xiaguan and the other two?”

Huò Wēi Lóu did not hide it at all, “When Jìng Kōng died, the three of you were at the temple, and at the time of Féng Lún’s death, all three of you were at the temple as well, there is no other alternative but to be apprehensive. Since the three of you handled the bulk of the arrangements for the Grand Ceremony that year, benhou inquiring with more rigour, would also serve to help the three of you wash away any suspicion.”

Yuè Míng Quán had a sour expression as he said, “It is to be expected that Hou’ye conducts the official business in a just and impartial manner, but xiaguan certainly hasn’t harmed anyone. There has been hearsay that the place of Jìng Kōng’s murder had been found, were there any clues discovered there?”

Yuè Míng Quán was a coarse person, and it was natural that he was the most impatient. Huò Wēi Lóu said: “It’s been ten years; the forest has gone through great changes, and the sandalwood has probably decayed, there’s no point in continuing the search.”

Realising that the three were also dejected from the questioning, Huò Wēi Lóu waved his hand, “You can withdraw first. If there are any other doubts, you will be called over again.”

Once Yuè Míng Quán heard what was said, he bowed and asked to withdraw. Following closely, Wáng Qīng Fǔ and Wú Yú stepped out, with Wú Yú sighing as he said: “Hai, this matter is difficult to deal with. The weather is great today, Wáng-xiong, perhaps we should go to the pagoda at the mountain peak to take in the view, it would be a good stress reliever too.”

Wú Yú and Wáng Qīng Fǔ were on friendly terms, so it was natural for them to make such arrangements, and they only realised that they had neglected Yuè Míng Quán after they were done conversing. Thus, he added, “Would General Yuè like to come along?”

Yuè Míng Quán glanced at the sky above, “I won’t be going.”

Wú Yú was not surprised. As the three left the courtyard together, Fu gonggong absorbed the scene into his retinas before he chuckled slightly. Stepping through the door, he noted that Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes were grave, and subsequently said: “Hou’ye should relax a little as well. Learn from the three Daren on how to handle the business like it isn’t business, why wear [yourself] down like this?”

Huò Wēi Lóu raised his hand to pinch the space between his brows, gaze sweeping towards him as he asked: “Where is Hong’er?”

Fu gonggong laughed and shook his head, “He’s still sleeping, though Míng gongzi did wake up early in the morning, seeking out the monks within the temple to ask for two books that write about Buddhist remedies to read.”

Once he heard the word ‘books’, Huò Wēi Lóu asked: “Bó Ruò Yōu is still at the Library Pavilion?”

Fu gonggong nodded, which caused the bottom of Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes to darken slightly. Suddenly, he stood up and walked outwards. Fu gonggong chased up to him in a hurry as Huò Wēi Lóu directly headed out of the courtyard once he stepped out of the door. Fu gonggong tracked the direction he was walking in, wasn’t he going towards the Library Pavilion!

“Hou’ye is going to see Yōu Yōu?”

Huò Wēi Lóu declined to comment, but that was equivalent to silent admittance.

When the pair reached the periphery of the Library Pavilion, the two embroidered emissaries immediately stepped forward to bow before stating: “Bó guniang is still inside and she hasn’t stepped out once. Lín gongzi was also present early on, but he just left.”

Huò Wēi Lóu nodded and entered the door.

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The scent of books brushed across his face once he stepped through the doors. Huò Wēi Lóu glanced left and right but he did not see Bó Ruò Yōu, and it took a bit of focus before he heard the noise coming from the depths of the Library Pavilion, then he lifted his foot and sauntered inwards. His footsteps were light to begin with; it was neither obvious nor abrupt inside the quiet Library Pavilion as his figure flashed past the rows of bookshelves. It was only when Huò Wēi Lóu reached the end that he saw Bó Ruò Yōu.

The wooden ladder was leaning against the bookshelf. Even though Bó Ruò Yōu was already standing on the highest rung, she was still incapable of reaching the uppermost row of ancient books and records despite stretching her hand, and it was even to the extent where she was standing on her tiptoes on the wooden rung. Huò Wēi Lóu’s brows creased, “You should—”

You should care not to fall down.

Huò Wēi Lóu initially tried to remind her, but Bó Ruò Yōu’s mental state had been tightly strung for the past two days. The abruptness of his voice immediately made her jump in fright, and he only saw her person tremble, causing her to suddenly miss her step, and in the next instant, she proceeded to fall down!

Frightened, Bó Ruò Yōu gasped softly, her body facing upwards as she was tumbling down, and the wooden ladder was also knocked down by her foot. As the clattering noise sounded out, an arm suddenly rose up to seize her, and in the next instant, she landed in a thick and broad embrace.

Huò Wēi Lóu carried her in his arms horizontally and he pivoted on his heels, keeping his back to the bookshelf to stabilise his body.

Bó Ruò Yōu raised her head, unable to come back to herself as she stared at Huò Wēi Lóu. But it was also at this moment where the falling wooden ladder knocked into the bookshelf, causing the two books which Bó Ruò Yōu had yet to put back to drop down. Huò Wēi Lóu couldn’t see it because his back was facing the bookshelf, but Bó Ruò Yōu could see it clearly. Subconsciously, she raised her arms to hug Huò Wēi Lóu, using one hand to protect Huò Wēi Lóu’s back while the other protected the top of his head. From afar, their postures were very sentimental.

Bó Ruò Yōu’s head was buried in the side of his neck, and she only felt the books collide with the back of her hand before it landed on the ground. All the Buddhist ancient books and records were two to three thumbs thick, and it could not be considered as light on impact, and her brows twitched from the pain. When she raised her eyes, she saw Huò Wēi Lóu gazing at her with dark and gloomy eyes.

Bó Ruò Yōu was still palpitating with fear and her breaths were coming out quick. Upon seeing Huò Wēi Lóu’s congealing and unfathomable expression, she trembled and faltered as she retracted her hands, while also moving further away by two parts. Just as she was going to ask Huò Wēi Lóu to put her down, two voices rang out in an untimely manner.

“Both of you…”

“This…”

Bó Ruò Yōu looked over with wide eyes. Unbeknownst to her, Fu gonggong and Huò Qīng Hóng were standing around the corner except she didn’t know when! Her expression changed and she immediately put up a struggle. Huò Wēi Lóu naturally saw the pair as well, but there were no great waves or shock on his countenance as he calmly and unhurriedly let Bó Ruò Yōu down.

Bó Ruò Yōu took a step back and stood properly, folding her hands in front. Like she was offering an explanation, her eyes became half-lidded as she stated: “Many thanks to Hou’ye for his mutual assistance.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine what happened with the wooden ladder on the ground and the mess of books, but Fu gonggong and Huò Qīng Hóng inexplicably felt that something was slightly off. Meanwhile, Huò Wēi Lóu was looking at hands in front of Bó Ruò Yōu. Her skin was as exquisite as porcelain, though there were calluses on her palms, there wasn’t a single blemish on the back of her hand, hence, the red swell that was the size of a peach appeared particularly shocking to the eye.

It had been hit by the books when she was protecting him just now.

Huò Wēi Lóu found it inconceivable. Bó Ruò Yōu had been frightened just now, and yet she had the mind to protect him. The book might be heavy, but did it even matter if it fell on his body?

Since when did he, Marquis Wuzhao, require a woman’s protection?

Fu gonggong stepped forward to prop up the wooden ladder, “How did this happen, is Yōu Yōu alright?”

Bó Ruò Yōu subconsciously curled her stinging hand inside her sleeve, “It’s fine.”

Huò Wēi Lóu saw it again. He threw a sidelong glance at Bó Ruò Yōu, not speaking at the moment, while Huò Qīng Hóng picked up a book from the floor, “What a thick book. Heard that you’ve been looking through them since yesterday, what are you searching for?”

Bó Ruò Yōu replied, “Searching for records concerning the secret treasures within the temple.”

Huò Qīng Hóng scanned the cold and cheerless Library Pavilion, especially their current location that was further back, which seemed more sinister in atmosphere, “You’re really too persevering. If it was me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to stay here for more than a pillar of incense (30 minutes).”

Bó Ruò Yōu did not know how to respond, so she could only say honestly: “Min’nü is stupid, and she can’t think of any other method.”

Huò Qīng Hóng continued, “You’re so hardworking, but will there be any rewards at the end?”

Bó Ruò Yōu paused, “Min’nü only wants to handle her current duties appropriately.”

Huò Wēi Lóu gave her a deep look, “Were there any discoveries?”

It was only then that Bó Ruò Yōu raised her head, her brows furrowing as she answered, “Tentatively, there aren’t any clues related to the case, but there are some oddities. The secret treasures that are being enshrined within the temple’s underground palace are all sacred objects of Buddhism. While the likes of the pagoda and spiritual covering veil have records, it is only the Five-Fold Treasure Chest which enshrines the Śarīra that can’t be found. Hou’ye should still remember that within the back room of the underground palace, there’s one Three-Fold Treasure Chest, which min’nü has just tracked down, and within that Three-Fold Treasure Chest, it enshrines the Śarīra of a senior monk from the previous dynasty who had achieved nirvana after death, and there are a total of three pearls. The first secret treasure we saw was the stupa-shaped iron chest, the second being the obsidian coffin, and the third being a jade coffin with a curved lid, all of which min’nü have found records for. All these objects have comprehensive records; its origin, structure, and composition have been written down in great detail, and yet there are no records for the most valuable Five-Fold Treasure Chest.

“If the Five-Fold Treasure Chest also has a record, min’nü suspects that there must be the structure of the square-shaped lock on the copper coffer and its key design, but min’nü has yet to find it despite searching high and low, and only the uppermost row of books remains unread.”

Bó Ruò Yōu stared at the uppermost row of religious texts, hope lining the bottom of her eyes. Huò Wēi Lóu set the wooden ladder upright before climbing up to the first rung and stretching his hand to retrieve the last row of Buddhist scriptures. Bó Ruò Yōu accepted it at the bottom, and she only needed to skim through it to know if there was anything she wanted in those Buddhist scriptures. However, after flipping through a dozen books, she did not manage to reap anything.

With a bitter expression, Bó Ruò Yōu said, “Could it be that the ancient book record was destroyed by the temple because of its value? Or was it placed elsewhere?”

Huò Wēi Lóu took the scriptures from her hands, putting it back on the bookshelf as he said: “The Library Pavilion has always been an important place for Buddhism, and the possibility of putting it elsewhere isn’t high. Or… it had been taken away by someone deliberately. The Śarīra was stolen, there weren’t any signs of damage on the copper coffer; it’s quite plausible that the thief used a key to open it. Since the key design for the copper coffer might have been recorded in the Buddhist scripture, then the person who wanted to steal the Śarīra would naturally start with an inconspicuous-looking Buddhist scripture.”

After placing back the scriptures, Huò Wēi Lóu told Fu gonggong, “Go and find Jìng Míng.”

Fu gonggong turned around and left, with Huò Qīng Hóng tagging along because he did not like this place. Bó Ruò Yōu was originally planning to walk out after Huò Wēi Lóu, but he did not move at all.

In the next second, Huò Wēi Lóu turned around and moved two steps closer to her, “Stretch [your] hand out for benhou to see—”

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