Chapter 12 Coincidence?
Having a dream where your own name could just change like that?
Gu Qiu stood frozen, an inexplicable sense of discord slowly rising in his mind.
He suddenly remembered that when Su Jiuyue was guessing his name earlier, she seemed to have said something like:
"Gu Chun? No, that name sounds a bit silly. Should it be Gu Qiu?"
Gu Xia... Gu Qiu... Gu Chun...
It has to be... a coincidence, right?
Thinking of this, goosebumps broke out all over his body.
No, no... This is clearly just a dream, what is he scared of...
Gu Qiu generally didn't believe in such unnatural, eerie events, but now that it was actually happening to him, he could only explain the phenomenon as a coincidence.
After all, these past few days, that woman Su Jiuyue had left too deep an impression on him. Because of her words and actions, it was entirely normal to have related, extended dreams after falling asleep.
What you think about by day, you dream about by night, after all.
People generally recreate the things that left the deepest impression on them in their dreams.
With a rational explanation, Gu Qiu instantly felt much more at ease and intended to continue binge-watching... oh wait, to continue dreaming.
"This temple of yours... is it just you?"
The young girl named Su Jiuyue struggled to her feet, leaning against the old wall beside her as she surveyed the empty temple.
The prayer mats in the temple were sparse, and most of them were covered in a thin layer of dust. There were only a few sticks of incense burning in the burner, hardly looking like a place with thriving patronage.
Well, it made sense. If this temple had thriving incense, how could it possibly take her in?
"This place is sparsely populated. The nearest village is half a day's journey away, so with patronage being thin, naturally no other monks stay here."
The monk calling himself Gu Xia accidentally caught sight of a spot where her clothes were torn and a glimpse of skin was revealed, and he hurriedly chanted Buddhist scriptures in his mind while turning his face away to look at other things.
Sin, oh sin.
However, the scene presented by this so-called dream once again conflicted with Gu Qiu's memories.
This Su Jiuyue was not as alluring and teasing as the real-life Su Jiuyue; instead, she maintained a certain vigilance toward Gu Xia. Whether it was the distance of several meters she intentionally kept when talking to him, or the deliberately cold tone she used in their conversation just now, it was clear that she did not want to have too much unnecessary entanglement with Gu Xia.
Facing this exhausted woman covered in injuries, Gu Xia had always felt that the simple bandages he applied could not properly treat her wounds. Out of sympathy, and the so-called compassion of a man of the cloth, he had constantly wanted to go to the nearby town to get some powdered medicine for her wounds.
But this kind intention was quickly rejected by her.
Although neither Gu Xia nor Gu Qiu—who was watching all of this unfold—knew why she was so insistent, they didn't press the matter.
Seeing Su Jiuyue limping around the temple in circles, Gu Xia simply walked quietly into the temple courtyard and closed the courtyard gates.
Even though this place was remote and devoid of people, the fact that Su Jiuyue could suffer fairly serious injuries and collapse around this temple indicated that the local area was not exactly peaceful right now.
Besides, it was always better to be safe than sorry. At a time like this, if someone unexpectedly came by to offer incense and worship, it would be extremely troublesome.
Bringing food and water from the temple's dining hall for Su Jiuyue, Gu Xia sat back down on his prayer mat, closing his eyes to strike the wooden fish and chant Buddhist scriptures just like he always did.
Gu Qiu, watching from the sidelines, felt his mind practically fracture.
He had listened to Gu Xia chant scriptures until calluses were practically forming in his ears.
With nothing to do all day except sweep, chant, and tap the wooden fish, wouldn't this monk get bored?
Su Jiuyue's gaze fell upon the water he had brought over and those round, slightly charred-looking flatbreads. She paused, stunned, and asked:
"What is this?"
Gu Xia did not open his eyes; he merely paused the Buddhist scriptures he was chanting and replied, "Vegetable flatbread."
Vegetable flatbread?
Su Jiuyue's slender eyebrows raised slightly.
Accustomed to eating meat regularly and unable to live without it, she found these mere vegetable flatbreads exceptionally plain, and she clearly looked down on them a bit.
"Don't you have any meat here?"
After asking this question, Su Jiuyue's expression instantly turned awkward.
She had forgotten—this was a temple.
She was so hungry that she could actually blurt out such a stupid question.
Gu Xia did not answer.
He opened his eyes slightly, taking a glance. Seeing her embarrassed expression, he already knew that she had realized just how foolish her question was.
Closing his eyes once more, Gu Xia began chanting those dry and tasteless Buddhist scriptures.
Yet the corners of his mouth curved upward in a trace that was hard to detect.
It felt... like having another person in this temple... made it instantly feel a lot less lonely.
As an onlooker inside Gu Xia's body, Gu Qiu immediately noticed this shift in his state of mind.
Frowning, Su Jiuyue took a bite of the dry vegetable flatbread, took a small sip of water to chew it down, a glimmer of slight surprise flashing in her eyes, before giving a light huff: "Not bad, it's edible."
Hearing her insincere remark, the corners of Gu Xia's mouth curved upward with even more satisfaction.
Inside the temple, there remained only the sound of the wooden fish being struck, the low murmur of scripture chanting, and Su Jiuyue's quiet chewing.
Having finished the vegetable flatbread, Su Jiuyue looked at Gu Xia, who was sitting like an old monk in meditation, and her tone suddenly grew even colder:
"I... have important matters to attend to and cannot stay here any longer. I'll take my leave first."
"Benefactor, if you are leaving, wait a moment."
Gu Xia rose from his prayer mat, walked into the dining hall, and emerged with a generously portioned bag of vegetable flatbreads and a full waterskin, handing them to her.
"There are no villages ahead or behind for miles. Before you reach the next village, just make do with these to tide you over."
"Thank you for your care and hospitality. I am deeply grateful."
Su Jiuyue took the items Gu Xia offered, expressed her thanks in a lukewarm tone, and leaning on a walking stick she had picked up from somewhere, she slowly stepped out of the temple and into the courtyard.
Watching the graceful figure of the woman walking away with her cane, Gu Xia felt something was amiss. Frowning, he recalled how destitute she was without a single coin to her name, coupled with the countless large and small injuries covering her body...
In the end, his brow relaxed, and he called out toward Su Jiuyue's retreating back:
"Hey..."
Hearing his call, Su Jiuyue turned around in puzzlement and looked at him.
"What is it? Do you want me to stay? Well, that's understandable... This young lady is so attractive... It's only natural for a monk like you to be charmed... But I really can't stay any longer, otherwise I'll bring trouble to—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Gu Xia's hesitant, words-stuck-in-his-throat expression.
"Actually..."
Gu Xia scratched his bald head and pointed at the walking stick in Su Jiuyue's hand: "This cane... it was left behind by the former abbot of my temple..."
As he spoke, he walked off to the side, picked a relatively long and sturdy wooden stick from a pile of firewood, and placed it directly into Su Jiuyue's hands.
"Benefactor, you can't take that walking stick away. If your injuries are still severe... just make do with this wooden stick instead."
Su Jiuyue stared blankly at Gu Xia's deadpan expression of absolute earnestness, then looked down at the muddy, filthy piece of wood in her hands.
"You damned bald donkey! You did that entirely just to piss me off, didn't you?!"