The Buddhist Hall

Qiancao looked at Wuming, who had pushed the bowl of noodles toward him. Although she tried her best to shift her gaze away, the constant swallowing of her saliva betrayed her.

"You eat it; I'm already full," Qiancao said, pushing the bowl back.

"I... I told you to eat it, so eat! I... I'm not hungry!" Wuming refused firmly. Lately, she had only one thought in her mind: to give all the good things to Qiancao.

Seeing the two of them pushing the bowl back and forth, Shiri, who was sitting to the side, placed her own half-eaten bowl of ramen in front of Qiancao and said, as if instructing a child:

"Qiancao, you eat this bowl."

Then, she pushed Wuming's ramen back in front of her:

"Wuming, you continue eating your own bowl."

Qiancao put on an innocent tone and asked, "Sister Shiri, aren't you hungry?" He still remembered that the four of them were posing as siblings, so he had called her "sister" quite often along the way.

Shiri, being called sister, suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body.

After a month of living together, Qiancao didn't feel like a child of ten-something years old to her; he felt more like a twenty-year-old adult man, even older than herself.

Being called sister by him now made her feel extremely awkward, but she couldn't lash out in front of strangers, so she could only pretend to be a caring older sister and said:

"You are growing, so you need more nutrition. It doesn't matter if I eat a little less."

As the group exchanged these polite gestures, Uncle Ichiraku brought over four new bowls of ramen and set them on their table:

"Here you go, guests! The fresh ramen is here. If it's not enough, just let me know!"

Keisuke had been watching the others' little game with amusement, but seeing Ichiraku arrive, he quickly said, "Didn't we agree on one bowl each? Please don't break the rules for us!"

Before Uncle Ichiraku could speak, the other diners chimed in one after another:

"It's fine, young man. In our Xiaogu City, there's no such thing as letting guests go hungry!"

"The free ramen is one bowl per person for us drifters, but you young folks paid for your meal. Doesn't that mean you can eat as much as you want?"

The friendly demeanor of the surrounding guests made Keisuke feel like vomiting in disgust, but he kept his expression neutral. He put on a moved look, took the ramen, and finished it in a few bites.

The other three were genuinely touched by the friendly locals and soon began to mingle with them.

Qiancao didn't know if Shiri had ever actually been to the seaside, but in her version of events, the story of the four siblings living by the ocean was described so vividly that it opened the eyes of these locals who lived in a mountain city.

This reminded him of a famous saying: "The more beautiful a woman is, the better she is at lying."

They chatted until late into the night, and a few of the men even performed some local folk songs.

Although the local people had been devastated by the war, the positive optimism contained within them moved Qiancao deeply, and the smile on his face became much more sincere.

Watching Qiancao's smile, Wuming thought to herself, Qiancao... likes... peace...

As the night grew late, Uncle Ichiraku prepared to pack up his stall. Keisuke quickly stepped forward to help. After everything was packed away, Uncle Ichiraku asked:

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

Keisuke smiled bitterly and said, "With the world in such chaos, I don't know where we should stay."

Uncle Ichiraku said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity my house was destroyed too, otherwise you could have stayed at my place for the night."

After saying this, he couldn't help but sigh. Off the clock, Uncle Ichiraku was no longer the optimistic and passionate ramen chef; he looked rather exhausted.

"The carpenters in Xiaogu City were all taken away by the Takeda daimyo's army. I don't know how they are doing now."

Keisuke comforted him, "No matter which daimyo it is, they should treat such skilled craftsmen well. You don't need to worry about their safety."

At this moment, a diner who hadn't left yet said, "I do know of a place. If you don't mind that it's a bit dilapidated, you could manage to stay there for a few days."

Hearing this, Keisuke quickly asked, "How could we mind? We would be satisfied just to have a roof to keep the wind and rain off."

The diner continued, "Head north from here until you reach the outskirts; there is a temple called Gushan Temple."

"There used to be seven or eight monks there, but when the Imagawa family's army attacked, those monks all ran off somewhere."

"It's empty now, so you can go and make do there."

Keisuke thanked him with a feigned look of joy, and the helpful diner waved his hand:

"Times are chaotic everywhere. We ordinary people should help each other out. Don't give this small favor a second thought."

Uncle Ichiraku said with relief, "As long as you have a place to stay, I can rest easy." With that, he shouldered his packed carrying pole and walked away with his kitchenware.

Uncle Ichiraku was currently living at his apprentice's house, and it was unclear when the Ichiraku Ramen shop would ever be rebuilt.

After bidding farewell to everyone, the Uchiha quartet searched for a while before finally finding the temple the diner had mentioned near a mountain spring.

Although the temple had only been abandoned for a month, it was filled with an air of desolation and decay. The plaque bearing the three characters for "Gushan Temple" lay fallen beside the main gate, covered in dirt and spiderwebs.

They carefully pushed open the gate. A cold, eerie wind blew through the dark night, and the interior was so dim and gloomy that they couldn't see a thing.

Shiri took out a fire starter and lit it. By the faint light of the flame, they were finally able to see the layout of the temple.

The temple consisted of three buildings. The Buddha hall to the north seemed to swallow all light like a black hole, while the monks' dormitory to the west had collapsed, with beds and tables buried in the ruins.

Of the two rooms to the east, one was a storage room and the other a kitchen; anything of value had long since been looted by refugees.

The small rooms to the east couldn't accommodate four people, so they had no choice but to go into the Buddha hall.

Fortunately, the oil in the eternal lamps within the hall hadn't been taken. Shiri used the fire starter to light the lamps in the corners one by one, and the entire hall revealed its full appearance under the glow.

The hall enshrined a statue of Acala, holding a sword in his left hand and a rope in his right. The entire face of the statue was shattered, adding to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

Keisuke inspected the area to ensure there was nothing unusual in the hall before saying to the three of them, "You all rest here. I don't like being disturbed when I sleep."

The excuse was rather flimsy, but Shiri didn't press the matter. She had things to discuss with Qiancao and Wuming, so she let Keisuke leave the hall.