"Hmm, you rest well and don’t worry about me; we should be able to go down the mountain tomorrow," Shen Yi said.
Ye Wanwan nodded, and the two reluctantly ended the video call.
After hanging up, Shen Yi glanced at the gloomy sky still pouring rain, and in the front yard, the busy little monk who had been bustling around since their arrival was still at it.
Shen Yi shifted his gaze, carefully surveying the entire temple.
The temple was already very old, and no one came to offer incense on ordinary days; even when cleaned up thoroughly, it still seemed dilapidated.
But this temple had stood here for so long and still existed; it must be able to withstand the storms, and it was at least safer here than outside.
However, these things were not what Shen Yi was focusing on; he looked again in the direction the old monk had left.
It was only later that he realized when the monk first called out to him, he addressed him as "Mr. Shen". How did he know his surname was Shen?
Was it because the monk heard Assistant Chen call him "President Shen", so he knew his surname and addressed him as "Mr. Shen"?
These could be ignored, but what did the old monk mean by his wistful remark?
What does "It seems Mr. Shen has got his wish" mean? What wish did he make? And even if he had made a wish, how would the old monk know about it?
Shen Yi did not believe in gods or Buddha; he was certain this was his first time at this temple, and it was the first time he had seen this old monk.
So what did his words mean?
Was it a case of mistaken identity?
The sky had completely darkened, and there was no electricity in the temple, not a single light. The little monk seemed to have gathered all the candles in the temple, which barely allowed them to see clearly.
Shen Yi was still wearing his wet clothes because there were limited clean clothes in the temple, which had been given to the two children and the woman.
Perhaps out of concern that they might catch cold, the little monk started a fire with firewood in a vacant room, inviting everyone to sit together around it.
Shen Yi and Assistant Chen sat in a corner, somewhat secluded. Shen Yi observed everyone unobtrusively, finally resting his gaze on the little monk.
With doubts in his heart, he couldn’t stop thinking about it; Shen Yi wanted to find the old monk to ask for clarification, but after so long, he had not seen the old monk again.
Food in the temple was also limited, and both Shen Yi and Assistant Chen only had some white porridge to eat.
Everyone was praying that it would stop raining, so they could descend the mountain the next day.
Shen Yi sat in a corner, messaging Ye Wanwan a few times on WeChat during the night, but considering the phone’s battery life, he did not keep messaging.
As time passed, the chatty people quieted down, and the only sound was the rain outside.
Shen Yi’s head felt heavy; he knew he was probably running a fever, but with limited resources at the moment, even if he had a fever, Shen Yi had to bear with it.
Sitting in the corner, he felt so tired that he gradually lost strength and couldn’t care too much about anything else; he just leaned against the wall behind him.
As his mind grew increasingly heavy, Shen Yi closed his eyes and fell into a groggy sleep.
Shen Yi kept walking and walking until he finally saw light ahead. He instinctively walked toward that place.
When he got closer, Shen Yi realized he had arrived inside a temple.