NHWSG chapter 89

In the city of Beihai, lights illuminated a private inn at the easternmost edge of Qianshui Town as night fell.

A delicate woman in her late twenties emerged from a room on the right side of the courtyard, walked to the door, and flipped the small wooden sign hanging outside from “Vacant” to “Occupied.”

Then, she withdrew her hand, tilted her head to look at the wooden sign for a moment, and couldn’t help but straighten it a bit.

Qianshui Town had a small population. Although it was a seaside town, most families engaged in fishing had moved closer to the breeding waters, leaving behind mostly small workshops and factories processing marine products. As evening fell, most of the town’s lights were extinguished, making it appear somewhat desolate.

After wiping her hands, the woman entered the courtyard, fetched a basin of water from an ancient well in the corner of the yard, washed her hands, straightened her collar and skirt, then entered a nested courtyard on the left.

The inn occupied a considerable area, with a sign at the entrance over a meter high. Facing the main entrance was a three-story small villa that seemed to have been converted from a residential plot. On the right side were three rows of bungalows, their windows tightly covered with curtains. These were the rooms where the woman, Lian Yin Yue, stayed.

However, apart from this, there was another nested courtyard on the left side of the courtyard, about half the size of the main courtyard. Inside stood an old house with green tiles and red bricks. At first glance, it looked like an old building from the last century, with a palm-sized bronze lock hanging on the door.

Lian Yin Yue took out a key from a cloth bag around her waist, carefully unlocked the door, and pushed it open gently.

The old house had only one room, and as soon as you entered, you could see the entire room at a glance. Lian Yin Yue casually placed the bronze lock on a small wooden table by the door, bent down to pick up a round cushion from under the table.

The room was arranged like a Buddhist hall or a family shrine, with a large altar in the center of the room holding a beautiful white jade Buddha statue.

On the altar in front of the Buddha, there was an abundance of fruits and incense, the candle flame of the eternal lamp flickered, and the incense in the incense burner burned halfway down. It was evident that someone came to tidy up frequently.

Lian Yin Yue closed the door behind her, first lit incense, then knelt on the cushion, kowtowed three times, recited a few words softly with her hands clasped together.

Her lips moved almost inaudibly, as if she were not praying for anything, but simply speaking to herself.

After a moment, she opened her eyes, took two steps forward on her knees, and picked up a somewhat old Lotus Sutra from the altar.

The sutra had some burrs on the edges, and the spine was somewhat loose, held together only by a cotton rope, indicating that it had been read countless times.

Lian Yin Yue turned over one of the pages skillfully and began to recite softly.

The incense in the incense burner wafted, and the candle flame of the eternal lamp dripped onto the copper plate extending outside the candlestick from time to time, causing the candlelight to sway and cast a long shadow of Lian Yin Yue, slightly distorted.

Lian Yin Yue sat on the cushion, reading her allotted portion for about half an hour, then put down the book and looked up at the Buddha statue on the altar.

“People in this world suffer, self-deliverance is unnecessary,” Lian Yin Yue said softly, “Unmoving and unharmed, no harm, no pain. To deliver others is effortless, but self-deliverance is incredibly difficult.”

In the warm candlelight, the white jade Buddha statue seemed to be coated with a soft light out of thin air. The Buddha’s expression was gentle, his eyes lowered, and a glimmer of light fell just below his eyes, as if an extra teardrop had appeared out of thin air.

Lian Yin Yue sighed softly and said, “You always say that all attachments are illusions. Now, let me deliver you.”

The eternal lamp in front of the altar flickered slightly, and the light quickly shifted position. Half of the Buddha’s face was hidden in the darkness, leaving only his lowered eyes, seeming to silently confront Lian Yin Yue.

Lian Yin Yue remained silent for a moment, then kowtowed again and stood up, turning to leave.

About two to three minutes later, she walked in carrying a copper basin, removed the fruits and incense burner from the altar, took out a clean cloth from her sleeve, and began to clean up carefully.

Lian Yin Yue cleaned meticulously, not only the altar but also the Buddha statue on the altar, wiping away even the slightest speck of dust.

She busied herself for about half an hour, tidying up the interior and exterior of the old house, finally replacing the offerings with fresh fruits and putting back the incense burner and eternal lamp on the table.

After completing all this, she picked up the odds and ends to take out, threw them into the basin, locked the door, and left.

Ten minutes later, lights came on in the bungalow on the right side of the small courtyard, and a shadow appeared behind the curtains, but soon disappeared.

At exactly eight o’clock in the evening, the doorbell at the inn’s entrance was pressed, and Lian Yin Yue put down the book in her hand, walked out with a small flashlight in her hand, only to find two men standing at the door.

Both of them looked young, one of them particularly youthful, resembling a high school student.

The other one had a handsome face, with eyes that curved when he smiled, giving them a slightly seductive angle.

“Is this Lianxin Inn?” the slightly older man asked.

“Yes,” Lian Yin Yue walked to the door in her coat and glanced at the two of them.

“We booked a room in advance, but we’re really sorry for being two hours late,” Hu Huanyang apologized. “Mainly because we took the wrong bus from the city, so we were delayed.”

“It’s okay,” Lian Yin Yue lowered her eyes and unlocked the latch on the courtyard door from inside, letting them in.

“The rooms are ready for both of you,” Lian Yin Yue pointed to the three-story villa directly opposite the courtyard door and said, “I see that you booked the whole building online, so it’s already cleaned up. The key is on the coffee table on the first floor – but since there are only two of you, isn’t booking the whole building a bit wasteful? There are four bedrooms in this house.”

“Thank you, we prefer a quieter stay,” Hu Huanyang smiled. “Thank you for waiting for us so late, it’s really troublesome.”

Hu Huanyang nudged Zhang Jian with his arm and whispered, “You go in first, tidy up, we have to get up early tomorrow.”

Having been on the road all day, Zhang Jian felt dizzy and nodded vaguely, then dragged their luggage into the house, leaving Hu Huanyang outside to discuss other living arrangements with Lian Yin Yue.

“There’s nothing else to pay attention to,” Lian Yin Yue said. “You can cook, just be careful not to damage anything. If you need three meals a day, let me know a day in advance.”

“Okay, then help prepare breakfast tomorrow,” Hu Huanyang said. “Thank you.”

“No trouble,” Lian Yin Yue suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, one more thing to pay attention to—”

“What?” Hu Huanyang asked.

“In Qianshui Town, there’s a rule that you should know since you’re new here,” Lian Yin Yue said. “After ten o’clock at night, remember never to go to places where you can see the sea.”

Hu Huanyang’s mind raced, “Why?”

“No reason,” Lian Yin Yue said lightly. “Because there’s a legend in Qianshui Town that the sea in that area eats people.”

………………….

At this moment, on the beach where the legend of the “man-eating sea” existed, Sheng Zhao was unknowingly holding a green feather, looking somewhat puzzled.

“…Should this be considered a divine object?” Sheng Zhao said. “Did she give this to us just like that?”

Ten minutes ago, in response to Xing Yingzhu’s sarcastic remark “who asked you to help,” Ajing, in a good mood, took out a tail feather and handed it to Sheng Zhao, along with the added bonus of “if he doesn’t want to give it to you, we won’t listen to him.” Then she disappeared, leaving behind the faint blue glow on the beach and this feather in Sheng Zhao’s hand as evidence that the conversation just now wasn’t his imagination.

“What kind of divine object is this?” Xing Yingzhu sneered and said, “If I pluck a scale from my body for you, it would have almost the same effect.”

Sheng Zhao knew what Xing Yingzhuo was about to say next, so he hurriedly preempted him, saying, “No way, plucking scales hurts a lot. It’s okay for others to do it, but not you. You don’t mind the pain, but I do.”

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

“Little guy, your words are getting sweeter and sweeter.”

Xing Yingzhu dismissed the idea of ​​having him throw away the tail feather, turned and walked towards the direction of the town, casually saying, “Let’s go, let’s go back to sleep.”

Sheng Zhao responded with an “oh” and casually pocketed the tail feather, took a few quick steps to catch up with Xing Yingzhu’s pace, and asked, “What did the blue phoenix mean by that, what does ‘Rootless Water is three inches deep and three minutes in’ mean?”

“It means waiting for the rain,” Xing Yingzhu said briefly. “When the rainwater reaches three inches deep and three minutes in, we can go to the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea.”

“By the way, didn’t you say before that just taking a look would be enough?” Sheng Zhao asked with some concern. “Why do we have to go in?”

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him, tapped his forehead with his finger, and said, “The Abyss of the Forbidden Sea is a whole sea area, but the place where the monster is sealed is only underneath the abyss. There’s no need to worry about me. If you have the time to worry about that, you might as well think about what you’ll have for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Sheng Zhao complained, “Look at what you’re saying—”

“But it’s good that you accepted her things,” Xing Yingzhu interrupted him, saying to himself, “I don’t need her, but in case I’m not around when you encounter something, you can use it to ask for a favor from her.”

“What could happen to me?” Sheng Zhao waved his hand and said, “I’m not going with you, so if there’s any danger, it’s on you.”

“Do you think the Seventh Princess is a good person?” Xing Yingzhu suddenly asked.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

How do I respond to this? Sheng Zhao thought, she’s your enemy, if I praise her, you’ll definitely be unhappy, but if I don’t… What if she overhears it?

Fortunately, Xing Yingzhu didn’t insist on hearing his answer, and continued, “I’ve told you before, she’s not a bad person, but she’s definitely not a kind-hearted, helpful person either.”

Sheng Zhao nodded.

“In that case,” Xing Yingzhu said indifferently, “have you ever thought, since she asked me to come and see the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea, why did she send her entourage to help?”