Chapter 654


    After connecting to the Wi-Fi, Sophia found that the signal there was extremely strong. She hurriedly


    scanned all the QR codes to donate some money so that this trip wouldn’t be a waste.


    After everyone had donated money and burned incense, the old monk led them to drink the holy water


    under the cliff.


    The so-called holy water was a stream of clear spring water that poured from the top of a cliff. It was


    crystal clear and wasn’t frozen, and each of them scooped a little bit of the water to drink. Regardless of


    whether the water was holy or not, the mountain spring water tasted pretty sweet and they drank the


    water to quench their thirst.


    N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.


    Sophia took a big gulp and tasted the sweetness of the water. Just when she was about to take a second


    scoop with the gourddle, she saw Judge running over happily wagging its tail. With a howl, it dipped its


    muzzle into the holy water and started taking big gulps of the water while also blowing bubbles into it.


    Everyone instantly didn’t want to drink the holy water anymore.


    “The holy water is spiritual. Before you all drank the water, this dog had already dipped its muzzle in


    the water and drank a lot of it,” the old monk informed them.


    Everyone started retching.


    After drinking the holy water, Sophia felt that her mouth tasted like feces. Although the holy water was a


    stream of flowing water, the water that Judge had drank had probably already flowed away.


    Next, the old monk invited them into a room to have tea by the fire. The room had a coal stove lit up.


    Judge was rubbing itself on the side of the coal stove, covering its body with soot.


    Just when Sophia and Michael sat down, the monk looked at Michael and said, “Sir, you look familiar.”


    “Maybe we were fated to meet,” Michael said.


    “Because I’ve seen your movie,” the monk added.


    Michael was speechless at that.


    After the tea was brewed, the monk poured everyone some and chatted with them casually.


    It got dark early in the mountains. After they sat around for a while, the sky outside grew dark and it


    started to snow lightly. The monk invited them to stay the night at the temple.


    At night, after having a vegan meal, the sky wasn’tpletely dark yet. Sophia led the dog outside to


    y near the temple and Michael followed her, stomping heavily on Judge’s pawprints in the snow.


    The temple was very small and was built on the mountains. There were also a few dpidated houses


    built along the mountain, and only two or three rooms for guests. The monks had to carry their provisions


    up the mountain using manualbor, so it was definitely hard to live on the mountain.


    As the snow fluttered in the wind, Sophia held a small umbre to keep them from falling onto her. The


    sky was gradually getting darker and it was bing misty, and visibility was decreasing. Sophia


    seemed to spot something dark at the top of the opposite mountain. After taking a closer look, she


    discovered that it was a pagoda.


    The pagoda had seven floors and seemed to be very run down. It had sunk into the mountain with no


    way up, and there were cliffs on top, below and around the pagoda. She couldn’t figure out how it was


    built and why they would build that pagoda in the first ce.


    It was almost impossible to repair anything in the mountains as manpower was needed to carry all the


    materials. That pagoda looked valuable, but it had been built in such an awkward location. It looked like


    there was no one living there, and there was no way up to it either.


    “Master, why is the pagoda built halfway up the mountain? And why isn’t there any road leading up to it?”


    Sophia asked the monk.


    Michael also took a look with his binocrs. There was indeed a ck pagoda, which seemed like it had


    been pushed directly into the steep mountain by something divine. It would definitely be difficult to build a


    road to it as there were no t surfaces around it.


    The monk shook his head while smiling and began to talk about the origin of the pagoda. That mountain


    was called Dragon Mountain and Dragon Temple was built on top of it, in which a respected master who


    was famous lived. The temple used to be popr and had a lot of pilgrims, who had raised funds to build


    the road up the mountain and a seven-storey pagoda. That seven-storey pagoda wasn’t there initially,


    but in the Dragon Temple.


    One day, Buddha had wandered here and found the master meditating in the temple. To test the master


    to see whether he hadpassion, Buddha hatched a n.


    A panicked little deer suddenly ran past the master. Not long after, a hunter came chasing after it but


    didn’t see the deer, so he asked the master where the deer went.


    The master pointed in the direction the deer had escaped to and the hunter chased after it, killing it with


    an arrow. Hence, the master failed Buddha’s test because he had been involved in the killing.


    When the deer died, the world shook and the road to the mountain copsed. Since the road had


    crumbled, the way to the temple was blocked, making it difficult for pilgrims to hike up the mountain. So,


    the number of pilgrims slowly decreased.


    Somehow, the seven-story pagoda moved from its original site to the opposite mountain and was


    embedded within that mountain with no way up or down. The master looked at the tower and sighed


    every day as he was no longer able to use the pagoda. He regretted his choice and passed away soon


    after.


    Since then, the whole Dragon Temple withered. The monks left, there were no pilgrims who came to visit


    and it slowly became dpidated like how it was now.


    No wonder the road up the mountain is in such bad condition and was not repaired! Sophia murmured to


    herself. She asked another question, “This ce has a great scenery and has a lot of potential. The road


    can be repaired, and you can build a suspension bridge or cable car connecting to the pagoda.”


    The monk shook his head. “Everything has a cause and an effect. You need to go with the flow and let


    everything follow its course. Since that’s how the way things are, why should you force any demands on


    them?”


    The monk soon left because of the cold, but Sophia looked at the shadowy pagoda opposite her, thinking


    about the words of the monk. Go with… the flow? Let everything follow its course. She repeated the


    words again and again, then suddenlyughed.


    There was nothing on the mountain and it was very cold. There was no convenient transportation and


    the temple’s roof leaked, but still, the monk had stayed here for more than twenty years. He really was


    enlightened. If only everyone had this mindset of going with the flow, how nice it would be. There was a


    reason for everything and it was best to let things run their course. There was no point in demanding it


    otherwise.


    Suddenly, the suffocating feeling in her chest was lifted by a lot. Just rx and let things run their


    course…


    Michael also looked at the snow and the pagoda. He unpursed his lips suddenly and he seemed to let


    out a smile. He would let things take their course… She had already borne his pain for him, and there


    was no way he would ever divorce her.


    He wanted to be with her forever and ever, and he would go through the 99 sufferings in this world with


    her. If there was any suffering, he would endure the bulk of it for her! He would ensure that she would


    never need to suffer again and live a happy life.


    Michael held Sophia’s hand, and the two shared an umbre, looking at the snow in silence. Neither of


    them said a word. The snow would asionally fall on their heads, and, without them noticing, turned


    their hair white…


    They stayed overnight in the mountains. The roof leaked, Judge’s snores filled the room and the bed was


    freezing cold, but none of them could stop Sophia from falling asleep. She slept on the bed like a log.


    That night, she slept peacefully. Even without Nichs by her side, she didn’t have a nightmare and no


    ghosts came to haunt her dreams. The sky finally had some color, and even Judge’s snoring sounded


    like the rhythm of a song.


    The next day, Sophia went to Free Life Pond to free captive animals again. The pond was connected to a


    stream which wasn’t frozen.


    They released the eels, mud fish and the smander they kept at home for game. Although Michael


    didn’t know what good releasing the animals would bring, he was fine with it as long as Sophia was


    happy.


    The smander was released too, and it fled along the stream. Judge suddenly started running along


    the stream and jumped into the water, then bit the smander with a growl.


    Sophia stopped it hurriedly. “You can’t bite it! Let go of it!”


    However, Judge didn’t let go.


    “Once the smander we raised is released, it is a wild smander!” Sophia said sternly.


    “It’s a wild smander, do you understand? It’s an animal under International ss 2 protection! If you


    eat an animal under that protection, your dad will be sentenced to jail!”