vrcanaries Chapter 287 Lost
Chapter 287 Lost
The wind grew stronger, ripping off the roof and blowing open doors and windows. The dust and powder on the ground, clothes, and tables swirled and rose into the air, flying towards the sea.
The wind grew stronger with each gust, and the waves rose higher and higher, rushing in through the doors and windows and sweeping away everything on the ground. When the last big wave struck, the entire temple drifted away.
Luo An remained kneeling on the ground, unable to move, until the wind gradually stopped, the waves gradually subsided, everything disappeared, and his soul, which had been floating in mid-air, returned to its place.
Luo An immediately shivered. He stiffly and slowly examined himself. Apart from being soaked to the bone, he had no other injuries: How did this temple, and so many other things, manage to avoid him?
Luo An looked at the empty beach, then at the calm sea, and suddenly shouted, "You just left like that? Without telling me anything? What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to find you...?"
There was no response, not even a wave, as if the raging storm had been an illusion.
Overwhelmed with sorrow, Luo An said, "You adults are all like this, only caring about yourselves and neglecting your children. If you don't care about children, then don't have them. If you have them, why don't you care about them? All this talk about the great cause of the world, about national and family feuds, are just excuses, excuses for neglecting your children..."
Even though he had been treated as an adult for many years, the child who had never grown up still lived inside Luo An's heart. All the secret thoughts he had kept hidden were released in his screams at this moment.
Luo An got up and stumbled toward the beach. He had only taken two steps when he tripped over something. He lay on the beach and reached out to touch the culprit that had tripped him.
It was a dressing mirror, its surface as good as new, with a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) carved around the outermost edge. On the back of the mirror, in the very center, was a hole about half an inch in diameter, around which was carved a menacing blue dragon, with small holes running from its head to its tail.
Compared to the elaborate body of the mirror, the handle is quite simple, with a mandala flower at the very end and unfamiliar characters engraved in the middle.
It's likely that a wealthy young lady's dressing mirror was stolen, its most valuable gemstones were pried off, and it was carelessly tossed onto the beach.
Luo An looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror—his hair was wet and disheveled, his face covered in mud, looking utterly wretched. He threw the mirror away, got up, and walked away. After walking about ten paces, he inexplicably returned, picked up the mirror, and put it in his pocket.
Luo An's wanted poster was posted everywhere near Sanyuan Village, and the petty thieves who stole money went door to door asking, but there was no news for two days in a row.
For the first time in his life, Xu Sheng felt what it meant to be uneasy and inappropriate. On the third day, he couldn't sit still any longer and said to the conch shell, "Let's go."
As soon as the two reached the temple gate, they saw a large number of soldiers rushing towards them. The leader saw Xu Sheng and immediately shouted, "Traitor of Nanyue, you dare to trespass on Dongyang! Surrender at once!"
Conch had never seen anything like this before. She tugged at his sleeve nervously and asked, "Are they here to arrest you? There's no goddess here to protect us, what should we do?"
If Xu Sheng were alone, he would have laughed out loud at such a spectacle. But for now, he'd better not; he can't frighten the conch.
Xu Sheng's thoughts raced, and his actions were swift. Holding the conch shell by the waist, he soared over the heads of the soldiers, leaping across the Bodhi tree in a few bounds, leaving them far behind.
Xu Sheng didn't stop, flying all the way to the sea before putting down the conch shell: "The Goddess Temple is your home, you can find your way home, right?"
Without a second thought, the conch instinctively replied, "Are you lost? It's alright, I know this area very well, just follow me."
The conch shell looked around and circled a few times, seemingly confused. Having rarely made such a boast, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Xu Sheng, so he forced himself to walk about a mile, growing increasingly anxious and slowing down with each step.
Before Xu Sheng could ask, Conch suddenly turned around and walked in the opposite direction: "Wrong way, you're going the wrong way."
Xu Sheng traveled alone from the Goddess Temple to the market town and back, and then took the conch shell to the Sanyuan Temple. After three trips, he was able to determine the route, and the place where he would stay should be the Goddess Temple.
But the conch had lived by the sea for many years and spoke with great confidence, so Xu Sheng could only doubt himself. What was the situation now?
Hailuo returned to where Xu Sheng had settled and circled around a few more times before deciding to change direction and continue walking.
Xu Sheng said, "There's no need to go any further; the Goddess Temple is right here."
The conch shell moved its lips, but looked at him without saying a word.
"There's a beach on the left and a beach on the right, but this is the only rocky coastline, which faces the Goddess Temple." Xu Sheng bent down and picked up the red silk inkstone: "This is the inkstone I bought. It was blocked by the rocks again, which is why it wasn't washed into the sea."
Conch's voice trembled: "What do you mean?"
Xu Sheng concluded: "The Goddess Temple was washed away by the sea."
“Impossible, the goddess will protect me. The seawater will only reach the doorway, it won’t go in.” The conch shell was weak but firm: “I have lived here for many years, and the tide rises every year. I know better than you.”
But this time you weren't at the Goddess Temple, and the tide didn't hurt you.
Seeing the tears welling up in the conch's eyes, Xu Sheng, for the first time ever, swallowed the words he was about to say. He sat on a rock by the shore and bent down to pat the seawater.
With the sea so close to the Temple of the Goddess, and the temple's foundation on the beach being unstable, wouldn't it be natural for it to be washed away by the tide? However, it is indeed difficult to explain why the Temple of the Goddess has remained unscathed for so many years.
The two sat and stood, one rational and the other stubborn, and neither of them uttered a sound.
It wasn't until Yang Hua, carrying a fruit basket, broke the silence: "Young man, where did you move to? Why didn't you tell us? I've been looking for you everywhere these past few days. Oh, why are you crying?"
Conch wiped her eyes with her sleeve: "No."
Yang Hua rambled on, "You didn't move? Then where have you been these past few days? I came over that morning and saw the house was full of stuff, I thought you knew the waves would wash away the Goddess Temple, so you left in a hurry..."
This reasoning is flawless; even the conch shell cannot be denied.
Yang Hua continued, "...What are you going to do now? If it's really not possible, stay at my house? My parents love you so much. Ever since the Goddess Temple was washed away, they've been talking about you every day, saying that if they had known earlier, they should have let you come to my house sooner..."
Conch suddenly asked, "Sister Yanghua, did you see the Goddess Temple being washed away? When did that happen?"
Yang Hua shook her head: "I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I can deduce that it must have happened three days ago in the morning."
Three days ago, in the morning, not long after he and Xu Sheng left the Goddess Temple.
The conch shell asked, "How did you deduce that?"
Yang Hua recounted the story of saving Luo An in great detail, and finally said: "...When I left, the Goddess Temple was still intact. By the time I went home, discussed it with my parents, packed my things, and came back, the Goddess Temple was gone, and An Sheng was gone too."
Honestly, if my parents and brother hadn't testified, I would have thought I was dreaming. The Temple of the Goddess had been here for decades, and it just vanished like that...it's so strange..."