394 What Happened Back Then (1)
Unfortunately, they were destined to disappoint the abbot. These fish in the free-range pool lived a life of being fed every day. Not only were they fat, but they were also useless. They were not alert at all.
When they saw the food, they pounced on it. Soon, there was movement below.
In less than 15 minutes, Xuanyuan Ce’s fish basket was filled with lively fish.
Xuanyuan Ce ignored the fish that jumped out of the fish basket and let them jump on the ground.
The abbot’s eyelids twitched as he watched. He pressed his palms together and chanted, “Amitabha. Donor Xuanyuan should know when to stop.”
“I don’t understand,” Xuanyuan Ce said coldly.
He did not even look up. He picked up the fishing rod and took off the stupid fish from the hook. He casually threw it into the fish basket, replaced it with a new bait, and continued fishing. “I only know that if you don’t say it now, you really won’t be able to keep the fish in your pool.”
With that, he handed the fishing rod to Chu Feng and gestured for him to continue fishing. He stood up and picked up the fish from the ground.
Firewood had already been piled up beside him. Xuanyuan Ce took out his dagger and pretended to kill the fish.
“Amitabha.” The abbot sighed and compromised. “What do you want to know?”
The abbot regretted it very much now. A while ago, his right eyelid twitched. He knew that nothing good would happen. If he had known that this fellow was coming, he would have gone out to hide.
Xuanyuan Ce’s dagger was already pressed against the stupid fish’s stomach. Hearing this, he paused and looked up at the abbot. “She’s been here, right?”
The abbot sighed and walked forward to save the fish in his hand. He threw it into the replay pool and looked in the direction of the fish. “Yes.”
Xuanyuan Ce’s heart tightened. He opened and closed his mouth for a long time before he found his voice. “When?”
It had been 17 years. This was the first time he had heard news about her from someone else.
The abbot glanced at him and said irresponsibly, “I forgot.”
Xuanyuan Ce sneered. “Chu Feng, kill the fish.”
The abbot was furious. He exhaled and said, “It’s too hot here. I’m a little dizzy from the sun. I might remember it after resting elsewhere.”
“You can run away, but these fish can’t.” Xuanyuan Ce threatened and instructed, “Put the fish back.”
Chu Feng poured the fish back into the pool and muttered, “Fish, you’ve learned from your mistakes. Be more careful next time. Treat this time ashore as a trip to broaden your horizons.”
Seeing that the two of them had walked away, he quickly shut up and followed.
Not far from the pond was a pavilion for people to rest. Bamboo was planted around the pavilion, and the bamboo forest formed a natural barrier that blocked outsiders from peeping.
Chu Feng followed him in. Xuanyuan Ce waved his hand. “Go find a shady place.”
In other words, he wanted him to wait somewhere else.
Chu Feng was silent. He flew up and jumped onto a big tree.
The wind rustled the leaves. He nodded in satisfaction. It was cooler here!
Only then did Xuanyuan Ce look at the abbot. “Do you remember?”
The abbot coughed lightly. “Seventeen years ago.”
Without waiting for Xuanyuan Ce to ask, he continued, “She left after staying for more than half a year. I never saw her again.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything in your reply when I sent you a letter back then?” Xuanyuan Ce suddenly stood up and looked at the abbot. His entire body was covered in frost, like a cold sword.
The first person she got to know in this world was Xuanyuan Ce, and the second was this old bald man in front of him.
The two of them were the only people she trusted.
It was precisely because he knew this that he immediately sent a letter to this person after she disappeared. However, this person’s reply to him contained nothing useful.
In fact, every year in the future, he would write to this person and ask her if she had come, but he would reply that she had not.
Including the letter from the beginning of the year, he had received a total of seventeen letters with the word “no”.
Now, this abbot was telling him that she had lived here for more than half a year.
Xuanyuan Ce closed his eyes and sneered. “Don’t you often say that your family doesn’t lie?”
If he didn’t believe in the abbot, he wouldn’t have believed his words so easily.
The abbot looked at Xuanyuan Ce, who was on the verge of exploding, as if he was looking at a fool. He sighed and said, “What I meant was that I couldn’t do anything about it.”
“That woman is my savior. If she doesn’t allow me to say it, I naturally won’t say it. I have no choice.”
The abbot was just short of saying directly, “You’re the one who’s stupid and can’t understand. Are you blaming me?”
Xuanyuan Ce choked. “Why didn’t you say that you made something out of nothing?”
The abbot looked at him strangely. “Aren’t they all the same word?”
Xuanyuan Ce was speechless.
“Don’t forget that I was the one who found the medicine when she saved you, so she’s not your only benefactor.”
“That’s why I hinted to you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have replied to you.”
The abbot said it matter-of-factly. Xuanyuan Ce was so angry that he almost stomped his feet. If the abbot did not reply, he would have felt that something was wrong and personally made a trip to Great Xia, but this person replied.
And the reply simply contained the word, “no.”
The abbot could tell what he was thinking. He looked elsewhere guiltily and said generously, “After so many years, I didn’t expect to break my promise to my benefactor in the end.”
“Forget it, forget it. I already have one foot in the coffin. If you want to know anything else, ask.”
In any case, his benefactor did not tell him where she went. He would not know even if Xuanyuan Ce asked.
He had a plan, but he did not expect Xuanyuan Ce to ask something else.
“When you saw her, was she pregnant?” Xuanyuan Ce’s voice trembled.
He only found out about her pregnancy from a doctor by accident later.
Now that she thought about it, the reason why she stayed here for so long back then was probably to recuperate.
The abbot was shocked. His thoughts could not help but fly back to 17 years ago.
That April, it rained heavily. There were relatively fewer incense offerings at Hidden Spirit Temple, so they closed the temple early.
One night, a woman covered in injuries suddenly collapsed outside his meditation room.
After recognizing her, he quickly wanted to call someone to look for a doctor, but that person grabbed his robe tightly. “Don’t… don’t let anyone know that I’m here. Protect the child in my stomach.”
Chu Feng leaned against the tree trunk in boredom and closed his eyes to rest. A bug flew around his face. He reached out to wave it away a few times, but he couldn’t. He opened his eyes in frustration, wanting to catch that hateful bug.
As soon as he opened his eyes, his mouth instantly widened. He didn’t react until the bug flew into his mouth.
After spitting twice, he looked in the direction of the pond in disbelief again.
The fire he had piled up there to scare the abbot had already been lit. There was a long string of fish on the fire.
A petite figure was squatting by the pool, killing fish and removing their scales. Beside her sat a big tiger.
Chu Feng felt that his eyes must be playing tricks on him. Otherwise, who else would be so bold as to catch fish in the Hidden Spirit Temple’s pond?
No, that person was even bolder than his lord. His lord had just caught a fish and had yet to kill it.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The fire was still there, along with the fish on it, and the fish-killer.
He was sure that he was not seeing things!
