The monk's shout instantly caused quite a commotion.

The martial monks in the backyard, who were queuing up to use the water dipper to drink from the water tank, were stunned upon hearing the shout. They exchanged glances and then, without prior agreement, sprinted towards the depths of the backyard.

Once it was confirmed that the old abbot had indeed passed away, everyone present clasped their hands together, bowed towards the abbot, and said, "Amitabha!"

At the same time, Xiao Feng and others, who had reached the entrance of the temple, heard a clanging sound behind them.

"Clang clang clang clang clang..."

This sound was reminiscent of the days when schools didn't have electric bells; they used a small hammer to strike an iron lump hanging under a tree to signal class start and end times.

As the sound rang, the two monks stationed at the temple doors, who were waiting for the pilgrims to leave to lock the gates, exchanged looks and then dashed into the temple.

Moreover, the other monks in the front yard did the same; even if they weren't running, they walked hurriedly, all heading towards the backyard.

"Xiao Feng, why do they seem so anxious?" the little girl asked in puzzlement.

Xiao Feng thought to himself, you ask me, who should I ask? But seeing the little girl's innocent and adorable manner, he truly couldn't bear to snap at her. He glanced at the sky and replied, "Maybe it's time for dinner now."

Yet, though he said this, Xiao Feng had a vague feeling that something had gone wrong in the temple.

Of course, no matter how much he guessed, he probably wouldn't have imagined that the abbot, who was chatting and laughing with him just half an hour ago, had gone to the Pure Land in such a short time.

...

In the depths of the backyard, the monks gathered around a stone table in silence, the atmosphere heavy with sadness.

But after all, they were monks; though deeply grieved, they did not cry as laypeople might. Only two young monks, who looked a little over ten years old, couldn't help but sob softly.

Amidst the grief, someone found a letter left by the abbot on the table. After passing it around, everyone's expression became extremely surprised.

One of the two young monks looked up, curious, and asked, "Brother, what did the abbot write?"

The monk beside him shook his head, didn't give an answer, and put the letter away.

By now, the sky had completely darkened.

A sudden evening breeze shook the treetops, and dry leaves fell on everyone, as if the abbot was saying his final goodbye to the monks.

...

On the way back to the courtyard, the little girl received a phone call from Zhen Jinghan. After hanging up, she said to everyone, "Jinghan says dinner is ready, and she's waiting for us to come back and eat."

Xiao Feng walked to the little girl's side and asked, "Did you really ask the old abbot about the matter of relationships?"

"Of course I did, Xiao Feng, you know I'm always true to my word."

"What did the abbot say to you?"

"Uh... I can't tell you."

"You're not going to tell me? Fine, I won't tell you if I have something either."

"Oh come on, everyone deserves a bit of personal privacy. I'm old enough to have some little secrets of my own."

Not getting anything from the little girl, Xiao Feng turned to ask Lu Yao.

Though Lu Yao didn't outright refuse like the little girl, she was evasive and wouldn't disclose what the abbot told her.

Xiao Feng was speechless. It seemed he could only personally ask the abbot this question.

But little did he know that even if he went back to the temple now, it was destined that he wouldn't get an answer from the abbot.

Suddenly, Xiao Feng noticed Su Yuzhuo, who was walking quietly behind them, seemingly deep in thought.

"What question did you ask the old abbot?" Xiao Feng went over and asked.

Fujiwara Keiaki, being quite perceptive, quietly moved away, giving Miss Su and Xiao Feng a chance to talk alone.

Su Yuzhuo shook her head. "Nothing much, I just went in because everyone else was going, just for formality's sake."

Xiao Feng teased, "Let me guess—you didn't ask about relationships, did you?"

"No, what I asked about was the future," Su Yuzhuo gave a vague answer.

"The future?" Xiao Feng was slightly taken aback and didn't pursue the question for fear that she might want to persist with him.

Nonetheless, for some reason, Xiao Feng had a feeling that the answer wasn't what he had guessed.

But since Su Yuzhuo clearly wasn't going to explain, he didn't want to ask further. As long as she didn't cling to him, let it be.

Who knows what Su Yuzhuo would think if she knew his real thoughts?

When the group returned to the courtyard, it was already half past six in the evening.

Zhen Jinghan was holding a soup bowl in one hand and a soup spoon in the other, trying to persuade Zhao Guo'an to drink some soup, while Zhao Guo'an was frowning and refusing as if the soup was poisoned.

Seeing this scene, a classic dialogue suddenly popped into Xiao Feng's head.

"Brother, you should just drink it."

"Wait until my brother Wu Song returns..."

At this thought, Xiao Feng chuckled and looked at Zhao Guo'an, saying, "Are you waiting for your brother Wu Song to return?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then their eyes showed realization as they understood the joke Xiao Feng was making.

Zhao Guo'an obviously realized what Xiao Feng was insinuating and rolled his eyes, saying, "Boring!"

"Just as well, I knew you were bored, so I brought you a surprise," Xiao Feng immediately replied.

Zhao Guo'an was startled and immediately felt uneasy.

Sure enough, Xiao Feng clapped his hands and called towards the door, "Come in."

Two familiar figures walked in.

"Why are you here?" Zhao Guo'an asked blankly.

"You don't seem very welcoming?" Qi Xiaoman said, crossing her arms and pretending to be dissatisfied.

"No, it's not that I'm not welcoming; I mean, how did you find this place?"

"It's fate. We went to the temple today to burn incense and happened to run into each other. We heard you drank too much last night, so we came along," Xiao Yalan explained with a smile.

Zhen Jinghan's hand holding the soup spoon twitched as she looked at Zhao Guo'an and asked, "You know each other?"

Zhao Guo'an nodded.

"And the reason you were drunk last night was because of..." When she reached this point, Zhen Jinghan laughed self-deprecatingly and didn't continue.

"Shihan, the food is on the kitchen table; I covered it with bowls. If there's nothing else, I'm going to leave now." Zhen Jinghan forced a smile.

Zhao Guo'an felt a pang of panic; if she left like this, could he have a restful night?

He hurriedly tried to stop her: "It's not what you think, let me explain, I... ah!"

In his panic, he fell off the bed, his face hitting the ground while his feet were still hanging on the bed, landing with a hard thud.

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