Apart from the pilgrims who came during festivals, when had Pure Dust Temple, hidden deep in the mountains, ever been this lively?
Chen Shi'an pushed open the half-closed temple gates, and Wen Zhixia, Lin Meng Qiu, and Li Wanyin followed him inside. A smell of dust and incense ash greeted them.
"Taoist, you've been away for so long. Don't you need to lock the doors to your home... your temple?"
"No need. Mountain beasts won't come near here, and the people who come are all pilgrims. Of course they're welcome."
"Then, could someone come and steal things...?"
"Hehe, no. No one can take anything away."
"Do many people usually come to offer incense?"
"Only during festivals, or when a family has a celebration or a funeral. There aren't many visitors on ordinary days."
"Oh..."
Perhaps because it was so quiet and secluded here, even Little Cicada unconsciously lowered her voice after entering the temple.
Li Wanyin was also looking around curiously. The stillness here somehow gave her a sense of peace and ease.
Though small, the temple had everything it needed. Its buildings were compactly and harmoniously arranged, without any elaborately landscaped gardens. With no one living here for so long, plenty of weeds had even sprouted between the stone slabs and in the corners of the walls, yet they did nothing to diminish its solemnity. It fully embodied the natural ease of Daoism's unity of heaven and man. Even the fatigue from the climb and their tangled thoughts unknowingly cleared after they entered.
Lin Meng Qiu had been here once before, so she was mostly looking at how the temple had changed over the past two months and more.
Remembering that she had left here with Chen Shi'an last time and returned with him this time, with one trip