The Esoteric Buddhist Temple

Chen Siyao immediately adjusted her livestream angle. "Everyone! We've arrived at an Esoteric Buddhist Holy Land! Time for an immersive taste of Tibetan culture in the Northern Frontier!"

Chen Hao slowly pressed the brake, his gaze sweeping over the sacred mountain shrouded in clouds and mist in the distance.

After parking, the group followed a flagstone path into the holy site. Vermilion walls towered above them, golden Dharma wheels gleamed, and lamas in crimson robes walked slowly past. The sound of chanting drifted on the wind, solemn and serene.

Cai Jingwen walked beside Chen Hao, her cream-colored dress brushing the ground. Sunlight fell across her smooth profile, making her look as beautiful as a painting. She asked softly, "Mr. Chen, do you know about Esoteric Buddhism too?"

"A little," Chen Hao replied calmly without slowing his steps, his gaze constantly tracking the flow of spiritual energy around them. "The practitioners here mostly cultivate their bodies and mental power. Their methods have their merits."

Li Li pressed her palms together and bowed toward the main hall. "Whatever the case, I'll pay my respects and pray for safety. And... and for things to go smoothly for me from now on."

Yang Wanqing skipped around taking pictures, while Chen Siyao held up her phone to livestream. The chat filled with fascinated comments:

[I Am Ying Zheng: This place looks sacred. Celestial Master Chen even knows about Esoteric Buddhism?]

[East Gate Snowblower: Esoteric Buddhist techniques are fierce and powerful. My grandfather once mentioned them, but sadly, I've never had the chance to see them.]

[Travel Guide Guru: This is the most famous Esoteric Buddhist Holy Land in the Northern Frontier. They say prayers here really work!]

Holding his little sister's hand, Chen Hao stepped through the faded vermilion wooden door. Its hinges gave a faint creak, like the temple murmuring unconsciously in its sleep.

The courtyard was quiet. So quiet they could almost hear sunlight falling on the earth.

A white stupa shaped like an inverted bowl stood in the center of the courtyard. The copper crescent atop its spire caught a glint of cold light in the sun. Its whitewashed surface had weathered untold years of wind and rain, developing fine cracks like an old person's skin.

Yaoyao gazed up at it for a long while before whispering, "Brother, this tower... is chubby."

Chen Hao smiled without speaking. He sensed a faint trace of something lingering inside the stupa—not spiritual power, but something older and more elemental, like an "aspiration" left behind by countless recitations of sacred mantras.

That presence was barely perceptible. It did not resist his senses; it simply existed in silence, like a mountain, like a stone.

Beyond the tall stupa, the scripture hall's door stood ajar.

As they pushed the door open and entered, the light abruptly dimmed. The air was thick with the rich scent of butter, mingled with the medicinal fragrance of saffron and the aged aroma of sandalwood.

Deep within the hall, butter lamps formed a sea of light. Their flames trembled faintly, casting the Buddha's shadows across the murals. Those shadows seemed to come alive, swaying gently.

Yaoyao clutched his fingers tightly, her eyes round and wide.

The murals stretched from the floor to the ceiling, their pigments made from minerals and gemstones. Chen Hao could tell that the blue was crushed lapis lazuli, the red was cinnabar, and the gold was genuine gold dust.

The Buddha Mother in the painting had lowered eyelids and an extraordinarily gentle bearing, yet eight arms sprouted from her body, each holding a different ritual implement: a Vajra, a lotus, a bow and arrow, a Skull Cup... Ferocity and compassion blended strangely together, as though telling him that the wrath that subdued demons and the tenderness that saved the world were one and the same.

His little sister pointed at the mural. "Why does that bodhisattva have so many hands?"

"So she can hug lots and lots of people," Chen Hao answered offhandedly.

The butter lamps cast flickering light across his face.

Farther inside, the light grew dimmer still. Scriptures were neatly stacked on wooden shelves against the wall. They were not the usual thread-bound books, but loose pages of Palm-Leaf Scriptures wrapped in red cloth, their edges yellowed and brittle.

Chen Hao leaned down for a closer look. The letters curved and twisted like swimming tadpoles, or flickering flames. He knew they were Sanskrit, but could not read a single word.

Yet he could faintly "hear" the sound these scriptures made in their silence—the echoes left in their pages after countless hands had turned them and countless eyes had read them over a thousand years.

His little sister tugged at his sleeve. "Brother, it smells so nice here."

"Mm."

"Is there a bodhisattva here?"

Chen Hao considered for a moment, then pointed to his own chest and then to his little sister's.

Yaoyao nodded without quite understanding. Letting go of his hand, she raised both her little hands to imitate the Buddha Mother in the mural. After gesturing for a while, she counted them, lowered them again, and muttered, "I only have two hands. I can't hug lots of people."

After looking around for over half an hour, the group prepared to leave.

The car drove deep into the Kunlun Mountains, and the temperature plummeted. Outside the windows lay nothing but white snow and icebound cliffs. The air was cold enough to turn their breath into white mist.

"Brother, there's a scenic overlook up ahead. Can we stop?" Chen Siyao pointed forward. "I want to take some photos."

Chen Hao agreed, switched on the turn signal, and pulled over.

The overlook was small, with two or three cars already parked there. A few tourists were taking photos, and a newlywed couple was having their wedding pictures taken. The bride's white veil fluttered in the wind, looking especially beautiful against the blue sky and green grass.

"Wow, it's gorgeous!" Chen Siyao rushed out with her phone raised. "Everyone, let me show you a wedding photo shoot in the Northern Frontier!"

Chen Siyao grabbed Cai Jingwen's hand. "Jingwen, help us take some pictures!"

Cai Jingwen smiled and took the phone, looking for a good angle for them.

Chen Hao leaned against the car with the Wolf Cub in his arms, gazing toward the distant snowy mountains. The cub had woken up and raised its little head to look in the same direction. Its eyes seemed filled with an innate wildness and longing.

"It wants to go back to the mountains," a voice said beside him.

Chen Hao turned his head. It was Cai Jingwen. At some point, she had come over to stand beside him, also looking toward the distant snowy mountains.

"Its roots are in the mountains, but its mother entrusted it to me." Chen Hao looked down at the Wolf Cub. "I'll give it something better."

Cai Jingwen studied his profile. In the sunlight, his features stood out sharply, an indescribable stillness in his eyes and brows. He was like the mountains of the Northern Frontier, enduring wind and frost yet remaining steadfast.

"You're a very special person," she said softly.

Chen Hao smiled faintly. "Everyone is special."

"Not like you." Cai Jingwen shook her head. "What happened with Li Li's husband made me see a lot of things clearly. Most people in this world are caught up in the everyday necessities of life, worrying about houses, cars, and children, arguing and hurting one another. But you're different. You seem to... stand at another height, looking at all these things with detachment."

Chen Hao did not answer. He simply gazed into the distance.

Cai Jingwen continued, "That Wolf King entrusted her cub to you just before she died. Why did she trust you? Because she could sense that you weren't an ordinary person, that you had the ability to protect her child."

"You're very observant." Chen Hao turned to look at her.

Cai Jingwen blushed slightly and lowered her eyes. "I studied psychology, so I'm used to observing people. But you're the first person I haven't been able to read at all."

On the livestream, Chen Siyao secretly aimed the camera their way:

[Seriously Awesome: Something's happening! Celestial Master Chen is chatting with a beauty!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: Jingwen is blushing! Go for it, brother!]

[East Gate Snowblower: They're young. Romance is perfectly normal.]

[Eternity: There's something about the way she's looking at him. She's clearly interested in Chen Hao.]

[Good Fortune: Wanqing, hurry over and eavesdrop! We want the gossip!]

Yang Wanqing was just about to move closer when Chen Siyao grabbed her. "Don't disturb them."

"But the livestream viewers want to see..."

"Let them wait." Chen Siyao rolled her eyes. "My brother rarely chats with girls. Don't ruin the mood."

The livestream chat erupted in wails:

[Two Bottles of Beer: Well done, little sister! Give Celestial Master Chen a chance!]

[Why So Scared: This little sister knows what's what.]

Just then, a commotion rose in the distance. Several tourists had gathered together and seemed to be arguing about something.

"It's real! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Impossible. How could something like that happen these days?"

"If you don't believe me, look at the photo yourself!"

Curious, Chen Siyao pulled Yang Wanqing over.

In the middle of the crowd, a young man wearing a baseball cap held up his camera and said excitedly, "While I was photographing the snowy mountains, I caught a beam of golden light falling from the sky, straight into that valley over there! Look!"

He brought up the photo. Above the summit of a distant snowy mountain, there was indeed a streak of golden light, as though something were falling from the sky.

"Photoshopped, right?" someone questioned.