Gu turned her head and saw Guan Zhongbo striding in, his face beaming with excitement.
"Haha, I've thought of a way! Xi Tian should be saved this time!" Guan Zhongbo walked straight to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and gulped it down.
Gu asked in surprise, "Brother Guan, where have you been?"
Although she knew he was busy with her daughter's affairs, was Doctor Guan a bit too dedicated? It was as if if anything happened to Xi Tian, old Guan wouldn't be able to rest easy either.
"Mother, what else could Doctor Guan be doing? Of course, he's looking for sister's soul!" Yun Erman said with a smile before Guan Zhongbo could answer.
Guan Zhongbo wiped his mouth and nodded. "I went to the mountains this time. I heard there lives a reclusive eminent monk there. Oh, that monk's power and cultivation are extraordinary! If we could invite him to help Xi Tian, there might still be hope..."
Gu: "???"
A reclusive eminent monk? Were there such powerful monks in this area?
"It's a pity I didn't get to see him..." Guan Zhongbo sighed and poured another glass of water. "I heard that old monk wanders the world, traveling everywhere. It's harder for ordinary people to meet him than to ascend to heaven!"
It was tough on old Guan this time. At his age, he had to inquire about the whereabouts of an old monk in the mountains, and he was gone for several days.
Gu looked at Guan Zhongbo's tattered robes and sighed softly. "What is destined will be, what is not destined cannot be forced. Brother Guan, I don't know how to thank you enough for helping my daughter like this!"
After speaking, Gu instructed Yun Erman, "Erman, quickly go and prepare some bathwater for your Uncle Guan, along with good wine and food, and heat up the kang thoroughly." Although it was summer, people of Guan Zhongbo's age couldn't sleep on a cold kang, for fear of getting rheumatism.
"Alright!" Yun Erman responded and turned to leave.
Guan Zhongbo stopped him, "No need, no need. I need to say a few words to Xi Tian."
"He and Young Master Xiao are in the back garden. Erman, go call your sister back!" Gu said with a smile.
Just then, three little buns crossed the threshold, entering noisily. Little Jie Kong walked between Little Xi Tian and Xiao Jinheng, afraid that the thick-skinned one might hold onto Sweet Baby's hand.
Guan Zhongbo chuckled heartily, "Xi Tian, come with me, it's urgent!"
Little Xi Tian: "???" What was so urgent that she still wanted to eat a big fried dough twist?
After Little Xi Tian was led away, only Gu, Yun Erman, Little Jie Kong, and Xiao Jinheng remained in the room. Little Jie Kong glanced at Xiao Jinheng, "Xi Tian is gone, why are you still standing here?"
"I should be the one asking you that..." Xiao Jinheng's little face was cold.
Little Jie Kong snorted, looked at the fried dough twists on the table, and licked his lips. "Auntie, can I eat them?" His master had told him to observe the precepts when outside, never to feast on meat and fish, or Buddha would bring down divine punishment. These fried dough twists were made with white flour, they were sweet and delicious, and not greasy at all, so Little Jie Kong could eat as many as he wanted.
Gu chuckled and patted Jie Kong's little head. "Eat up, there's plenty for all of you!"
"Wow, thank you, Auntie..." Little Jie Kong picked up a fried dough twist and took a big bite. "Mmm, it's so delicious, fragrant, just like gnawing on a chicken leg!"
Gu listened, stepped forward, and looked closely. Seeing something inside the fried dough twist, she picked it up and smelled it. She was shocked by what she smelled. The fried dough twist indeed had chicken meat inside. No wonder the little monk tasted like gnawing on a chicken leg.
Gu twitched her lips and looked at Jie Kong helplessly. "Jie, Jie Kong, don't eat anymore for now!" If he continued eating, Buddha might really get angry.
Little Jie Kong blinked slightly and tilted his little head. "What's wrong, Auntie? These fried dough twists are fresh, fragrant, crispy, and very tasty. Why don't you try them too..."
Gu shook her head and said with difficulty, "Jie Kong, the fried dough twists you're eating, they were made with chicken breast meat!" In other words, the little monk had broken his precepts.
As soon as she said this, the room fell silent, and the air seemed to freeze. Little Jie Kong looked up at Gu, then down at the fried dough twist in his hand, and suddenly burst into tears.
"Ahhh! Woohoo, I've broken my precepts, I've broken my precepts! Master, your disciple is sorry to you, your disciple can no longer be a monk, woohoo..." The little monk's crying was piercing, and even Xiao Jinfeng and Jin Huaihua next door could hear it.
"Woohoo, Buddha, Bodhisattva Guanyin, this humble monk, this humble monk has failed the Buddhist faith and has no face to face the Buddhas. This humble monk is leaving..." Little Jie Kong said, stuffed the remaining half of the fried dough twist into his bosom, and then ran out with his short legs.
Yun Erman, quick-eyed, grabbed him. "Hey, little monk, where are you going?" It was getting hot outside, and the little monk was wearing too many clothes. If he were exposed to the sun, he'd surely suffer heatstroke.
"Ahhh! Let go of me, I'm going to find my master to confess!" The little monk cried while flailing his limbs.
Xiao Jinheng stood aside, pursing his lips and smiling. "Jie Kong, I see your worldly desires are not extinguished, and you are lazy and greedy. You should become a layman as soon as possible. You have no affinity with the monastery, so why be forced to convert?"
Little Jie Kong: "......" You brat, is that what you call speaking? If his master hadn't saved him back then, he would have been fed to the wolves long ago. Therefore, his master was his living parent. If his master told him to become a monk and practice Buddhism, he would practice Buddhism. If his master told him to go down the mountain, he would go down the mountain. As for worldly desires not being extinguished, that was all fleeting.
"None of your business, woohoo..." The little monk continued to flail his limbs. Damn it, being laughed at by that Xiao brat, how could he compete with this kid in the future?
Gu sighed and called Niu Caixia over, instructing her, "Go take Little Jie Kong back to rest. Give him a basin of cool water to wash his face." It was really pitiful for this child to run around alone in the Tuofeng Mountain. When her little daughter first brought him back, Gu almost didn't believe it. How could such a young child survive in the forest filled with wild beasts?
Little Jie Kong cried until he was sleepy and was carried to the guest room by Niu Caixia to take a nap. Seeing that his mother was busy, Yun Erman quietly ran out of the main hall and dragged Siman, who had just returned from fishing, to the back garden.