Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 485 - 257 Lobbyist_2

Chapter 485: Chapter 257 Lobbyist_2

An hour and a half later, Qian Yixiu was almost too tired to move but finally reached the mid-mountain Daci Temple.

Abbot Hongyuan of Daci Temple had been waiting outside the door. Prince Consort Pan exchanged pleasantries with Master Hongyuan for a bit before entering the temple, where several people entered the main hall to offer incense for the Elder Princess.

After offering incense to her grandmother the Elder Princess, Qian Yixiu also offered incense on behalf of Cheng Yue. Silently she thought to herself, although she was not the original host, she would use all her power to make her little mother live a happier and more joyful life...

Afterward, Prince Consort Pan donated a thousand taels of silver as incense money to the monastery, and Qian Yeejin, representing the Qian family, donated another five hundred taels of silver as incense money.

Abbot Hongyuan personally accompanied them to Master Beikong’s Zen monastery. The group crossed the Small Stone Bridge and from a distance could see the Little Monk waiting at the courtyard gate.

The Little Monk was no longer chubby and looked clear-eyed and handsome, soft and refined. Were he not wearing monk’s robes, and instead donned a hat, he would be the very image of a graceful and handsome young gentleman.

Qian Yixiu thought back to several years prior, when the plump Little Monk sat on the big stone in her family’s courtyard pretending to be profound, and suddenly felt a sense of sentiment as if watching a younger brother mature.

Qian Yixiu had always felt that there was something special about the Little Monk, something that the domineering teenagers like Qian Yeejin and Uncle Liang did not possess, not even the genteel Zhang Yang or Song Huaijin. That was tranquility, which might be an innate temperament or perhaps nurtured by the Old Fairy.

Seeing them, the Little Monk waved and began to smile, deepening the two dimples on his face.

He first greeted Prince Consort Pan with joined hands and a bow, saying with a smile, "Master Pan." Then, he greeted Qian Yeejin and Brother Jie, and finally, with a beaming smile, he said to Qian Yixiu, "Sister, is auntie well? Did she bring anything for me?"

Prince Consort Pan chuckled to himself, thinking it wasn’t wrong for him to call Yixiu ’sister,’ but calling Yueyue ’auntie’ made the relations sound more distant than they were.

His elder brother in the faith, Abbot Hongyuan, scolded with a smile, "Little Brother, what are you saying, how can you ask Little Benefactor for things?"

Qian Yeejin joked, "It’s good that Little Master Hongji is a monk; if he were a secular person, I would have to be cautious. He’s much closer to my mother and my two sisters than to me and my brother." However, there was nothing he could do to be careful; Young Master Liang had set his sights on his sister now, and he was powerless to stop it.

His words made everyone laugh, and the Little Monk, with his face reddened and head shining, was at a loss for words, as he seemed to indeed have his preferences.

Qian Yixiu took a small bundle from her person with a smile, which contained a set of autumn clothes Cheng Yue had made for the Little Monk.

The group entered the Zen monastery, where many pots of chrysanthemums vied for beauty. Master Beikong was tending to the flowers, head bowed. Upon seeing them, he stood up, brushed the dirt from his hands, and with joined palms said, "Amitabha, please rest inside for the benefactors."

Everyone bowed to him in return, and Abbot Hongyuan led them to Master Beikong’s Zen chamber.

Qian Yixiu did not enter to rest. She saw Master Beikong go to the stream to wash his hands, and followed him. Facing away from the direction of the Zen chamber, she took out the fruit and asked, "Master, do you recognize this fruit?"

The Old Monk was startled when he saw the fruit, and quickly took it in his hands to examine carefully, pondering for a moment before smiling. "Me thinks this fruit must have been given to you by that Naughty Monkey," he said, seeing Qian Yixiu’s nod of confirmation. "Old me does know what this fruit is, but you’ll have to exchange one with old me."

This Half Old Immortal, never at a loss.

Qian Yixiu considered that she had five of these fruits, and giving one to him would leave her with four. That was still better than having five precious treasures without knowing what to do with them.

She had to say, "All right, if you tell me, this one is yours."

The Old Monk’s laugh spread wide, and after chuckling for a while, he said, "This fruit is called the Red Demon Fruit, and it is the first time old me has seen one. Old me has only heard about it from my master; it grows under the dense vegetation of deep mountains, blooming once every fifty years and bearing fruit only once. Even for an Immortal, finding and picking it depends on fate..."

Hearing its rarity, Qian Yixiu was certain it was a valuable treasure, eager to learn of its uses, but the Old Stick suddenly closed his mouth, admiring the small fruit once more.

After his admiration, he continued, "This Red Demon Fruit is similar to Ginseng, yet differs from it. Ginseng can prolong life but not save it, whereas this red fruit can save a life but not prolong it."

Qian Yixiu said, "I understand the saying ’Ginseng can prolong but not save lives.’ Ginseng is a tonic, beneficial when consumed over a long time for extending life and improving health, but it doesn’t cure diseases. But the Red Demon Fruit ’can save lives but not prolong them’—this I don’t quite understand."