Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2436: Chapter 2437: Poor Deer

Master Puru appeared remorseful, his face almost completely burned beyond recognition, only his eyes could still be recognized.

Tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes, ”I know I shouldn’t have caused trouble for Benefactor Bai, but...”

His voice was too choked to continue, so he paused, ”This was my master’s last wish, he told me to keep it safe and never give it to the Emperor’s family. It should only be opened before every new emperor is enthroned, and we must follow its instructions. If no new emperor is enthroned, then it must not be opened.”

”You haven’t opened it yet?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

Seeing the golden pendant in her hand, Puru shook his head slightly, ”What I gave you is a key. What needs to be opened is a mechanical box, hidden in the Scripture Pavilion, but I don’t know if it’s still there.”

Bai Ruozhu frowned, with such a large fire, it might have been destroyed or damaged by the flames, and even with a key, it might not open.

”Could it be that the second prince knew this secret, so he sent people...” Bai Ruozhu paused, ”What did your master do when the emperor was enthroned back then?”

”I don’t know. I didn’t even know of its existence before, nor did I notice anything unusual. It wasn’t until my master was on his deathbed that he told me not to casually seek that mechanical box. Only after confirming the next emperor should I look for it. But before I could find the box, such a fire broke out.” Puru said, his hands trembling slightly, ”I am struggling to protect myself now, I beg you, Benefactor Bai, to keep it safe.”

Bai Ruozhu imagined various scenarios, could the hidden box contain an imperial edict, or perhaps indicate who the true emperor is? So the second prince, fearing his ascension would be thwarted, resorted to this desperate measure?

Suddenly, she thought of the emperor’s eyes and vaguely felt that this matter might be related to the merfolk.

”Alright, I’ll hold onto it for now. If I can find that box, I’ll bring it to you.” Bai Ruozhu said, then put away the golden pendant.

”Thank you. Please be careful not to be discovered by those people; I’m afraid they might take action against you.” Master Puru said worriedly.

Bai Ruozhu nodded, ”Take care and heal well, I’ll be extra cautious.”

Leaving Master Puru’s room, Bai Ruozhu went to find Jiang Yichun and relayed what Master Puru had said.

”We’ve been helping to search the fire scene’s ruins these days too but haven’t found any box.” Jiang Yichun said.

”Have any scriptures been preserved?” Bai Ruozhu, recalling how much Master Puru valued those scriptures, couldn’t help but ask.

Jiang Yichun shook his head, ”The fire was too fierce, the scriptures were the first to catch fire.”

”We can’t let the Fusang people know about this, let’s quietly look for it tonight.” If the two of them moved, they could easily hide if discovered.

”Alright.”

At night, the two changed into black nightwear, covered their faces, and stealthily went to the Scripture Pavilion.

It was a ruin here; most monks in the temple were injured, and the remaining ones were busy caring for the wounded, with no time to tidy up the chaotic Scripture Pavilion.

Bai Ruozhu gestured to Jiang Yichun, as they had planned before going out, to directly give anything suspicious to Bai Ruozhu so she could first store it in the space and examine it later.

Soon, the two began searching. Jiang Yichun handed Bai Ruozhu a half-burned piece of wood, although Bai Ruozhu thought it unlikely the box could be in the wood. Considering the severity of the fire and that the wood was only half-burned, she threw it into the space.

She found a Buddha statue, seemingly of copper gilt, which had some parts melted by the fire, and she casually threw it into the space too.

The two searched for more than an hour before quietly returning to their room.

Once back, they immediately entered the space to fiddle around, with Bai Ruozhu holding the golden pendant, or rather the key, to fit it.

But perhaps due to the severe burn, she couldn’t find the hole to insert the key.

”Could it be that the object is gone?” Jiang Yichun said.

”Perhaps it was burned, or maybe it was taken away by them beforehand.” Bai Ruozhu sighed, it seemed Master Puru was destined to be unable to answer to his master.

In the following days, Master Puru’s condition improved day by day. He also came out to prove that Bai Ruozhu and the others were with him the entire time during the fire, with absolutely no suspicion.

However, a doctor defiantly said, ”They had someone sneak into the temple beforehand; the abbot hasn’t seen him, maybe he set the fire!”

The person he referred to was Yuan Licheng. Yuan Licheng shot him a fierce look, saying, ”I am an array master, of course, I must hide to ensure everyone’s safety. If not for me, Master Puru would’ve been harmed. Where were you then?”

Yuan Licheng had been quite upset these days. The incident of him injuring his backside that night had been mocked by Tangfen and Qiu Zhi for several days, and to top it off, his nighttime yells were heard by Fo Lanying, the woman he had feelings for, who then teased him a bit, nearly breaking his heart.

Though Fo Lanying was mostly concerned about his well-being, he felt utterly embarrassed when the person he liked saw him in such a vulnerable state.

So, when someone provoked him, he snapped instantly.

”Alright, don’t argue, I can vouch for their innocence. The envoy from Danliang Country is also a benefactor of Zhaoti Temple. Please do not make random speculations.” Master Puru’s tone grew heavier towards the end, implying that anyone who casually speculated or suspected people from Danliang Country was opposing Zhaoti Temple.

Although the doctor was unconvinced, he didn’t dare say more.

Bai Ruozhu and the group couldn’t stay in the temple indefinitely; after instructing Master Puru on medication use, they bade farewell, saying they’d check in every three days.

The group then retraced their path, led once more by Sa Tian.

But as soon as they exited the small gate of the temple, they caught a whiff of roasted meat.

”The Buddhist temple forbids meat; why is someone roasting meat?” Gao Zhou frowned.

The group followed the scent and saw two guards trapping a sika deer.

”This one’s it, don’t be fooled by its small size, but its meat is very tender.” The guard spoke in Fusang Language. Although Bai Ruozhu couldn’t fully understand, the scene made it clear.

Yizi and the other young girls had played with the sika deer in the temple over the past few days and had become fond of the cute and polite creatures. But seeing the deer on the roast not far away, they exploded.

”Master, how can they eat the deer here?” Yizi shouted anxiously.

Bai Ruozhu looked at Sa Tian, ”Are the deer in the temple allowed to be slaughtered at will?”

Sa Tian looked embarrassed, ”This...”

Before he could respond, Bai Ruozhu angrily said, ”The deer in Zhaoti Temple have special significance, they are not raised for slaughter, let alone roasting meat in the temple — it’s disrespectful to the Buddha!”