When the carriage door slid open, Qu Zan saw Zhulin.
Her complexion was rosy, much better than the deathly pallor she had worn when she was on the verge of death.
It seemed she had recuperated well at Corpse Camel Temple.
"I'll be returning to my temple tomorrow. I thought I ought to say goodbye to you before I left," Zhulin said with a warm smile.
"Lama Zhulin!" Qu Zan pressed his palms together and bowed to her.
Zhulin smiled. "Little lama, congratulations on becoming a Geshe. So young, with a future beyond measure."
"Will your journey back be safe?" Qu Zan asked with concern.
"Your temple will send experts to escort me. Besides, I've already handed the [Buddha's Sarira] over to your temple. There shouldn't be much trouble-" Zhulin said calmly.
"-Once I return, I'll send someone to deliver that wondrous object that allows you to enter the depths of the mind. Of course, I still owe you quite a lot of gold."
Hearing about that wondrous object filled Qu Zan with delight. If he had it and resolved the obstacle mara in his mind, it would be an enormous boon to his cultivation.
"Thank you, Jomo!" Qu Zan said with a bow.
After seeing Zhulin off, Qu Zan returned to his courtyard to rest. The next day, he arrived at the Warrior Monk Academy early.
The Warrior Monk Academy was not in the temple's inner core. It stood on the lower northeastern side, right against the tall stone perimeter wall.
The Warrior Monk Academy was a complex of stone-built fortress houses, without the magnificent golden roofs of the other academies. Its walls were built from rough gray stone.
Qu Zan crossed the large training courtyard before the entrance and saw monks in warrior monk robes on either side.