The sun blazed overhead.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering across the mountain forest like pillars of light and creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.
To be in its midst was to feel a sense of peace and tranquility.
Even the turmoil in one's heart seemed to fade away unknowingly.
A Monk, clad in a Kasaya with prayer beads hung around his neck, pressed his palms together. He smiled and bowed to Zhu Ju.
"Amitabha Buddha!"
"Donor Zhu, I've long heard of your reputation."
"You are…" His path blocked, Zhu Ju had no choice but to stop and size up the newcomer:
"Yuanye?"
Yuanye, the Abbot of Bamboo Mountain Temple!
"That is I," Yuanye said with a faint smile and a nod, his demeanor as warm and friendly as a neighborhood elder.
"General Wan requests your presence."
"Not interested," Zhu Ju said, shaking his head.
"Is that so?" Yuanye glanced past Zhu Ju's shoulder.
