My Wife Is The Leader Of A Demonic Cult

Chapter 395: Chapter 295: Breaking Through the Shackles to Become a Great Grandmaster

On Jiangnan Dao, outside of Yu State City.

On the official road leading to Mao Mountain, a woman dressed in black rode swiftly on a white steed. She wore a treasure sword at her waist, its scabbard antique and elegant, with a black and red gem embedded on the hilt, indicating she was a person from the martial world of Jianghu.

While most martial arts masters had flocked to Yujing City, this woman did the opposite, riding instead towards the south.

Examining her face, she appeared to be in her early twenties, with an oval face and strikingly beautiful features.

Perched above her horse was a small black dog, Little Black.

This was none other than Tan Yun, who had slipped away from the Lv Sect.

“Father-in-law, Sect Hierarch…”

Upon learning of An Jing’s death and Zhao Qingmei’s disappearance, she was utterly devastated, her mind a blank, longing only to return to that most cherished place in her memories.

As she rode, tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks, her grief flooding out uncontrollably like a breached dam.

That heart-wrenching, breath-stealing pain kept assaulting her until her tears had dried, leaving her mind numb.

The feeling was similar to when her mother had passed away, and now she was experiencing it once again.

“Hngh!”

Suddenly, Tan Yun pulled hard on the reins and looked ahead. It was a nunnery, Jizhao Nunnery, which did not practice burning incense but instead was filled with flowers and plants used to worship Buddha.

The temple gate was small, the pathway narrow, allowing a full view of the courtyard in one glance.

Seeing Jizhao Nunnery, Tan Yun was submerged in memories. An Jing had once told her that if she continued to overeat and avoid chores, he would send her to Jizhao Nunnery, boasting that the vegetarian meals here were delicious.

An Jing had also mentioned that Jizhao Nunnery was a secluded nunnery, not well-known outside, mostly just to the people from nearby Yu State City.

This temple, perfectly blending Zen and beauty, derived its name from “Sense and then communicate, serene reflection mirrors all.”

The temple was originally constructed during the Zhou Dynasty, destroyed in the war that annihilated Buddhism across the Nine Kingdoms, and was later rebuilt under the stewardship of Zhao Ji, the Prince of Great Yan, who also inscribed the name Jizhao Nunnery on the temple gate.

In front of the temple, there were many flower beds but due to the arrival of autumn and winter, the flowers had not bloomed, featuring only dried leaves.

Among the many ways of offering to Buddha in Buddhism, offering flowers ranks first among the six kinds of offerings.

“Why are you so beautiful in this life? Because of flowers offered before the Buddha in a past life.”

To offer flowers is like offering one’s heart, maintaining purity amidst chaos, living in the mundane world, nourishing one’s nature and heart as pure and fragrant as flowers, untouched.

Tan Yun dismounted, and Little Black also jumped down with a grumble, then shook its body.

While the nunnery was usually quiet, it was now crowded with people, all with sad expressions, mostly there to pray for safety in these tumultuous times.

Surrounded by shady pines, the temple atmosphere was tranquil, imbued with a fresh and elegant air. Tan Yun stepped over the threshold, with various flowers and plants on both sides, devoid of the usual incense smell of temples.

Tan Yun’s steps slowed ever more.

Leaving behind all physical appearances is “Chan (Zen)”; maintaining inner peace and concentration is “Ding (Samadhi).”

And here, the quiet, simplicity, and peace gradually soaked into her mind and body.

“Benefactor, have you also come here to burn incense and pray?”

Just then, a melodious and gentle voice sounded beside Tan Yun’s ear.

Tan Yun turned and looked, seeing a plainly dressed nun. Her features were delicate, her eyes seemingly capable of speaking.

The person looked very familiar, and Tan Yun felt as if she had seen her somewhere before. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Are you Miss Cao!?”

Cao Ling’er, the lady before her, was indeed the daughter of the head of the Cao Family, one of the four major families of Jiangnan Dao.

The beautiful nun bowed her head slightly and said, “Benefactor, there is no Miss Cao here, only Qing Shuang.”

“Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable.”

Tan Yun paused and then sighed deeply.

She remembered that Cao Ling’er had been married to Mu Jie of the Mu Family, yet now she had become a nun here.

She also remembered that Cao Ling’er had seemed to have a fondness for her father-in-law.

Qing Shuang brought her palms together in front of her chest and said, “Benefactor, it seems you have troubles in your heart.”

Tan Yun said mournfully, “Father-in-law is dead.”

“Amitabha Buddha.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang’s eyes closed tightly, her heart trembling momentarily, “All conditioned phenomena are subject to cause and effect; they arise when conditions are met, and wane when they dissipate. Nothing more than this.”

Tan Yun said, “I can’t let go.”

Qing Shuang replied, “There is nothing to hold on to or let go of.”

Tan Yun asked, “Have you let go? I want to know how you let go.”

Qing Shuang thought for a moment and said, “Just stop thinking and asking.”

Tan Yun said, “You are avoiding it, how can one not think?”

Qing Shuang was silent for a while, then said, “I just came to understand it in an instant, was relieved, and in the next moment, I could not understand it again, caught in this endless cycle every day.”

Neither of them spoke anymore, for when emotions reach such depth, how can one speak of letting go?

Are emotions pure?

What is always pure is not emotions but the person.

And what is always faithful is not love but the person.

So it is the person who doesn’t let go, not the love.

“Ah!”

Tan Yun let out a long sigh, now feeling the sensation of troublesome worries, “How do you find staying here?”

Qing Shuang slowly said, “Accompanied by flowers and plants, facing the turmoil of the world, I can still smile lightly. My heart is at ease, so my body is at ease.”

Tan Yun shook her head and said, “I don’t understand.”

The words of Qing Shuang left her feeling as if she were in clouds and mist, as if she understood yet at the same time, did not.