The mad monk giggled, then tucked the handful of soil into his robes as though it were a treasure and whispered to the girl:
"You don't understand. It's delicious!"
The girl glanced at the boy beside her, looking somewhat distressed.
The boy rubbed her head, then raised the bag of grain in his hand and said with a smile:
"You stay here and offer incense to the Bodhisattva. I'll go cook some porridge for you and the little master!"
At his words, the girl asked cautiously:
"Brother, could you put... put a few dates in the porridge?"
The boy grinned and said:
"Sure!"
The girl clapped her hands in delight:
"We finally get to eat dates today!"
At that moment, the two seemed never to have experienced the danger just now at all. Their smiles were happy and sincere.
After watching her brother head to the dining hall to cook porridge.
The girl carefully took the bundle off her back, then took out the incense and candles inside and carefully arranged them on the altar.
The mad monk had been lying beside her, grinning foolishly, but as he watched her reverently arrange the incense and candles, his eyes suddenly grew clear.
Then, supporting himself with both hands on the ground, he slowly moved beside the altar table and picked up the battered wooden fish from the floor. He tapped it softly while devoutly reciting Buddhist scriptures, his bearing solemn, like an entirely different person from before.
For a moment.
The boy cooking in the side room's dining hall.
The mad monk chanting before the altar table.
And the little girl devoutly kowtowing on the worn prayer cushion.
Together, they wove a scene of indescribable peace and tranquility within this little ruined temple.
At that moment, both Xu Taiping and Zhong