Don't ask where people go

Chapter 2003 Trouble
Wei Mao's voice pulled Fang Zilan back to reality. She looked up at the person holding the glass beside her, casually took the glass, and offered a toast across the distance, "Lord Wei, thank you."

Wei Mao raised an eyebrow and said casually, "Lord Fang, the Wu clan of the Di Rong tribe is not only proficient in divination, but also skilled in using Gu magic to control people's hearts."

"Lord Wei, you say so..." Fang Zilan paused deliberately, then said meaningfully, "Do you perhaps believe what Princess Erya said?"

"Lord Fang, do you believe in fate?" Wei Mao asked instead of answering. Fang Zilan was silent for a moment, then said, "I do and I don't."

Wei Mao suddenly smiled, a strange light appearing in his usually ethereal light-colored pupils. "Someone once performed divination for me several times, and the result was always the same: I died under a hail of blades, without a peaceful end."

Fang Zilan's expression froze, but Wei Mao smiled indifferently and said, "A life of military service is nothing more than this; it cannot be known through divination. Lord Fang, don't you agree?"

In an instant, Fang Zilan felt a lump in her throat; she couldn't utter a single word of agreement, nor could she offer a rebuttal. They were all men of war, their lives spent on the battlefield; if they didn't die on the battlefield, their lives would be buried in a mound of earth.

She'd heard the phrase "died a violent death" far too many times. What did it matter whether she died from a hail of blows or not?

She had too many concerns and couldn't live for the moment like Wei Mao, so she felt particularly heavy-hearted when faced with those four words.

Wei Mao didn't press for an answer; he simply drank one cup of wine after another.

Fang Zilan stopped looking at him and instead looked at Zhuge Yu opposite her. His expression was inscrutable, and she didn't know what he was thinking.

Master Liaoyuan said quietly, "Your Majesty, the tea has gone cold. Let me get you a fresh cup."

Li Shengxuan pursed his lips and couldn't help but ask, "What about Wei Mao...?"

He didn't continue speaking, and Master Liaoyuan had already changed his teacup. "I can't remember the past."

"Ah Jun..." Li Shengxuan was about to say something when Master Liaoyuan interrupted him, "Your Majesty, this humble monk is Liaoyuan, please do not call me by the wrong name again."

Li Shengxuan clenched his fists, hidden in his sleeves. He glanced down at the clear tea surface, which reflected his hesitant face—an expression not befitting an emperor.

He took a deep breath, bid farewell, and left. Master Liaoyuan watched his retreating figure and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

How can we so easily forget the past?
Master Liaoyuan poured himself a cup of tea, and coincidentally, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the tea served today was Shan'er's favorite lotus tea.

She is gone, but they are still alive.

He remembered when Shan'er was a child, she mysteriously said she wanted to see someone, but her older brother wouldn't let her go. At that time, he was unrestrained and had no taboos, so he went with Shan'er.

That was the first time he met Wei Mao. In the dead of winter, by a lake on the outskirts of the city, the half-grown Wei Mao, with a cold face, kicked a child about his age into the lake.

No matter how the child struggled, Wei Mao would press his head down and push him back into the lake. Seeing his breathing weaken, Shan'er cried out and rushed forward to stop Wei Mao.

However, they arrived too late. The child was pulled from the water with only half a breath left and died not long after.

The matter reached the ears of the late Duke of Wei. Without a word, Wei Ang jumped into the lake, enduring the same ordeal as the child, down to the exact same time, and managed to quell the situation himself. Wei Ang's life was saved, but for the first time, he realized that someone could be so ruthless, willing to risk the lives of others, and even more so, their own.

So, like his elder brother, he forbade Shan'er from seeing Wei Mao again, but with her heart set on him, how could he stop her?
Therefore, when he heard that Wei Mao was willing to risk Shan'er's life, he was not surprised, but his heart was filled with nothing but hatred.

He didn't understand. If Wei Mao was willing to risk his own life, then why wasn't it him who died?
It wasn't until later, when he saw the distraught Wei Mao, that he learned the answer.

That was the first and only time in his life he had ever seen Wei Ang in such a disheveled state...

Thinking of this, Master Liaoyuan closed his eyes. He was destined not to be able to answer Li Shengxuan's question.

Wei Mao didn't care about his own life, but he couldn't give it to Shan'er. It was because he held on to his last breath, keeping the name Zhuge in his heart for Shan'er.

Unfortunately, no matter what he did, Shan'er could never come back.

He picked up the tea in front of him, which had long since gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp. Then he stood up, walked to the Buddhist shrine where lamps were offered, and added oil to the ever-burning lamp that bore the name "Zhuge Shan" on the Buddha statue.

"You've arrived." The old monk walked up behind Master Yuan, who turned around, bowed, and called out, "Master."

The old monk took the lamp oil from his hand and added it to the ever-burning lamp next to him, which had "Zhuge Jun" engraved on it.

“Master…” Master Liaoyuan hesitated, and the old monk said meaningfully, “Severing worldly ties is not something that can be achieved with just a Dharma name. Although you have a connection with the Buddha, if you cannot overcome the obstacles in your heart, this ever-burning lamp will be of no use.”

After he finished speaking, he hunched over and moved to sit down to the side. Master Liaoyuan sat down beside him and listened as he said, "In a few days, I will be going to travel around the world to spread Buddhism. I'm afraid we will never see each other again after this parting. Is there anything you want to say to me?"

Master Liaoyuan paused, then looked up at the ever-burning lamp engraved with "Eternal Strength of Mountains and Rivers" on the Buddha amulet. "Master, have you found a new person to offer the lamp?"

The old monk nodded. "Although his thoughts differ from those of my old friend, he is still someone I can entrust with this wish. Moreover..."

He coughed and changed the subject, "The destined owner of this lamp has been found, and I can say that I have fulfilled a long-cherished wish."

Master Liaoyuan remained silent, while the old monk smiled and said, “You don’t need to do this. When I entrusted you with the position of abbot, I said that if this action could help you see a peaceful and prosperous world and fulfill your wishes, it would be a meritorious deed.”

As he spoke, a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. "The current state of Dajing truly resembles a prosperous era. Now that my merits have been fulfilled, I will travel to all corners of the world to spread Buddhism and Taoism, so as not to fail the name of our Buddhist state religion."

The state religion? Master Liaoyuan chuckled inwardly. If not for this reason, why would he have come here?
At that time, he had only been a monk for a few years, and even with his exceptional talent, he was not qualified to be the abbot. However, for the sake of the Zhuge family, for Li Shengxuan, for Shan'er, and for many others, he became the abbot of Baiye Temple.

Because of his belief in the people's hearts, he believed it was best to manipulate fate. He became the abbot of Baiye Temple, which allowed the Zhuge family to better protect the Li family's empire.

He left home to renounce worldly ties, yet became an abbot for worldly affairs; truly, fate plays tricks on people.

Master Liaoyuan stared fixedly at the hall filled with lights, momentarily blinded, hearing only the old monk's voice mixed with a sigh—

"Liaoyuan, the sea of ​​suffering is boundless; only by saving oneself can one save others. From now on, Baiye Temple is entrusted to you."