The speaker was a woman. Her voice wasn’t loud but sounded very gentle.

“Thank you for your hard work, two young masters. Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. The Bodhisattva sees all and will surely record your merit.

You may go first. My master will stay here for two more days. In two days, that person should wake up, and my master will reward you generously then.”

“Yes, Miss Lin. Then we’ll take our leave.”

“Wait.”

The woman stopped them.

“That person lost control in his dreams, which shows his illness is serious. Please trouble yourselves once more and ask a master in the temple who knows medicine to check his pulse. If he’s truly beyond help, I can inform my master early to prepare a simple coffin for him.”

“Yes.”

Hearing footsteps, Lu Shi hid behind a tree.

“It’s your fault—insisting on coming to claim credit. Now look—trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice. On this cold day, dragging Master Uncle from his bed, we’re bound to get scolded.”

“Who knew that maid would be so shrewd?”

“What do we do now?”

“What do you mean ‘what do we do’? Find Master Uncle. Didn’t you hear her say there’d be a generous reward?”

The two gradually walked away. Lu Shi emerged from behind the tree and exhaled a breath of white frost.

He thought to himself that the Tang family weren’t fools. No need for him to worry unnecessarily. He’d remember the life-saving grace in his heart and part ways here.

Just as he turned around, someone else spoke in the garden.

This time it was a voice still carrying some childishness.

“Lin Bi, I was right, wasn’t I?”

“How did Miss know?”

“This is the west garden, where female family members reside. Late at night, not only should monks avoid it, even ordinary men should. That’s the first reason.”

“What’s the second?”

“Father’s pain of losing his wife hasn’t been half a year. Yet that abbot insisted on dragging him to play chess. The chess was false—wanting some benefit was true. When the beam above is crooked, the ones below are slanted. That’s the second reason.”

“Miss, is there a third?”

“Of course there is. When we arrived, that person had collapsed in the snow. How long had he been unconscious?”

“Don’t know.”

“If he’d just fainted, it was his good fortune we happened upon him. But if he’d been collapsed at the temple gate for a long time… Hmph, it shows that ‘compassion and mercy’ are just words they chant.”

After a moment of silence, that childish voice suddenly laughed.

“Later, I’ll write something to reward them handsomely.”

“What does Miss want to write?”

“Hmm… I’ll write: ‘Buddha’s mouth, Buddha’s heart.'”

“Miss, are you trying to deliberately anger them to death?”

“Better they die of anger than we die of anger.”

The maid called Lin Bi giggled. “Someone come.”

“Miss Lin?”

“Go tell the master that Miss is crying from missing her mother. I can’t console her—only the master can.”

“Yes, this one will go immediately.”

“It’s over, Lin Bi. You’ve learned my bad habits.”

“Then… should I change back?”

“Change what? I like you being a bit bad. This is called walking the path of bad people so bad people have no path to walk. Eh? How can I say such things? Tsk tsk… I’m really too clever.”

“Miss, who praises themselves?”

“If Mother were here, she would praise me. Now that she’s gone, I have to fill in the praise she would have given me…”

In that instant.

The world became extremely quiet—no sound at all.

Lu Shi felt himself floating on a small boat, surrounded on all sides by water. He was alone, unable to see the path forward or any way back.

How could there be people like this in the world—not only loved by their father but also by their mother?

A jealousy and hatred from deep within surged up.

Why? he asked.

Why do some people live in heaven while others live in the underworld?

Lu Shi suddenly didn’t want to leave. Since it was the Tang family who’d saved him, and the Tang family hadn’t driven him away, why should he go?

He returned to that meditation room and lay down stiffly.

Soon, the “Master Uncle” the young monks mentioned arrived, checked his pulse, administered needles, then left cursing and muttering after blowing out the lamp.

In the darkness, Lu Shi opened his eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of grievance.

This grievance hadn’t appeared when he was hung from the beam.

It hadn’t appeared when at such a young age he carried stones.

It hadn’t appeared when his mother beat him with a mallet.

It appeared at this moment, in this place, after hearing that tender voice say “Mother would praise me.”

Mother. Would. Praise. Me.

Twenty-two-year-old Lu Shi couldn’t help but shed tears.

…

When he woke again, it was two days later.

A young monk sat by the bed with his legs crossed. Seeing him wake, the young monk breathed a long sigh of relief. “You’ve finally woken up.”

Lu Shi looked at him without speaking.

“Lord Tang has a message for me to pass to you. If you want to find work, you can go to the capital—the Tang family is short a stable hand.

If you want to study, the Tang family has a back courtyard that provides lodging for scholars. There’s still an empty room.”

The young monk stood up and pointed at a piece of paper on the table.

“The address is here. Pack up quickly and leave. Starting tomorrow, this meditation room has guests coming and can’t keep you.”

Seeing Lu Shi still not speaking, the young monk turned and left. Upon reaching the courtyard, he sneered coldly at those waiting outside:

“Did you hear? Saved his life, watched over him for days—not even a word of thanks. Complete ingrate.”

“Could he be mute?”

“Ai, in the end it was fetching water with a bamboo basket—a complete waste. What rotten luck. Ptui!”

Hearing this, Lu Shi’s lips curved slightly.

That young miss indeed hadn’t given a single tael of silver—she really could pull it off.

He dressed properly, folded the paper and casually tucked it into his chest. After going outside to wash up with well water, he shamelessly went to the meditation room to get some food.

After eating, he ran to the Great Buddha Hall and, when no one was watching, took some offerings that could fill his stomach, then headed straight for the capital.

He walked for a day and a night, finally standing beneath the towering walls of the capital.

At that moment, he felt no joy whatsoever.

Two years—like a lonely wandering ghost, he’d been traveling. The time was too long. He’d grown numb. He even thought to himself that these walls, compared to Jinling Prefecture’s, were nothing special.

After entering the city gate, Lu Shi found a shop facing the street and asked the shopkeeper about Lord Tang.

He had already decided to work at the Tang family stables first, save some silver, then take the imperial examinations.

Through this inquiry, Lu Shi learned that the Lord Tang who had saved him was actually the current Crown Prince’s teacher, the great scholar Tang Qiling.

No wonder even the abbot of Jing’an Temple fawned over him.

But so what?

Lu Shi sneered inwardly.

There were too many people in this world seeking fame and recognition. The Lu family master also appeared proper in public, but behind the scenes, wasn’t he like a dog mounting heaven and earth?

Lu Shi found the Tang residence, stated his purpose, and quickly secured a position tending horses.

He had a supervisor named San Pang (Third Fatty).

San Pang was an old bachelor, without wife or children. He had no particular flaws except he liked to drink a few cups. When drunk, he’d sleep soundly, snoring so loudly it could shake the roof tiles off.

Lu Shi shared a room with him.

When San Pang snored, he’d pull out the book from under his pillow and begin reviewing his studies.