CHAPTER 427: CHAPTER 395: EXPERIENCING WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE BLIND

Knowing that her niece is being well taken care of at Kangding Bo Mansion, with good food and drink, Wen Wan relaxes.

For now, not being able to acknowledge each other doesn’t matter. At the very least, she knows the girl is not in danger, and that’s enough.

...

On the day Song Wei is on leave, it drizzles from the sky.

The couple originally planned to visit Fahua Temple today, but Wen Wan waited for a long time without seeing the rain stop. She decides to give up and looks at the man sitting across the table, saying, "Perhaps we should cancel and go another day, on your next day off."

Song Wei glances outside the window, "With fewer pilgrims on rainy days, we might have a better chance of meeting Master Xu Yun."

Hearing this, Wen Wan realizes he’s determined to go and stops trying to dissuade him. She turns to the inner room to change clothes.

Unexpectedly, in the stifling summer heat, a gentle drizzle brings a hint of coolness in the wind, brushing against one’s face with a refreshing feeling.

Wen Wan comes out after changing, finding the man standing under the eaves, slowly opening an oiled paper umbrella. The handle is a bamboo green jade-like color, which complements the distinct joints of his hand.

For a moment, Wen Wan is dazed and steps forward.

Song Wei tilts the umbrella over to cover both of their heads.

Stepping through the thin layer of water on the ground, as they walk out the main gate, Song Wei suddenly asks, "Has everything been arranged for Jinbao?"

Wen Wan nods, "I heard Father went to the bird market and got some interesting bird, Jinbao is fascinated by it at Rong’an Hall and didn’t even notice when I was leaving."

As she speaks, Wen Wan jokingly scolds, "That little heartless creature, calls me mother when he needs me, but even a bird is better when he doesn’t."

Listening to his little wife’s complaints, Song Wei chuckles softly and reminds her to watch her step.

At the carriage, Song Wei continues holding the umbrella, shielding Wen Wan as she boards first. He then slowly folds the umbrella and hangs it on a hook outside before lifting the curtain to enter.

Afterwards, the carriage starts moving gradually, heading towards the West City Gate.

Outside, rain mist has risen, and with the curtain tightly closed, the light in the carriage is not very good.

Thinking of today’s trip’s purpose, Wen Wan’s earlier light and joyful mood suddenly tightens.

The man’s warm hand stretches over and interlocks his fingers with hers.

The patter of rain makes the carriage interior very quiet, allowing Wen Wan to clearly feel warm currents flowing where their fingers touch.

Silent, yet soothing.

——

The carriage arrives at the foot of Mile Mountain after more than an hour.

Song Wei gets off first, opens the umbrella, and waits for Wen Wan to come out. Seeing her unsteady step, he quickly reaches out to support her.

Afterwards, he tells Uncle Lin to find a place at a nearby pavilion to take shelter from the rain instead of waiting at the mountain foot.

By now, the rain has lessened considerably compared to when they left home. The path up the mountain is laid with bluestone steps by predecessors, and it’s not too hard to walk.

Wen Wan has been here before and is already familiar with it.

The two walk side by side, their steps nearly in sync, occasionally encountering descending tourists.

As Song Wei had mentioned, fewer pilgrims come in bad weather, and they haven’t seen many people on the way up from the mountain foot.

Standing outside the main gate, Wen Wan looks up at the solemn and majestic words "Fahua Temple" and takes a deep breath.

Song Wei’s gentle gaze turns to her, "Are you ready?"

Wen Wan nods, steps forward a few paces, then reconsiders and steps back again.

Song Wei remains in place, without any intention to tease her, simply saying, "If you’re afraid, we can rest outside a bit longer."

Suppressing the discomfort in her heart, Wen Wan closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then says to Song Wei, "Alright, let’s go in."

Song Wei softly laughs, "Really alright?"

Wen Wan replies, "Let’s go while I still have some courage left; otherwise, I might really not dare in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Song Wei changes the umbrella to his left hand and gently holds her wrist with his right hand, "Close your eyes."

"..." Wen Wan understands his intention, and without making a sound, obediently hands over her hand, gently closing her eyes, seeing nothing but darkness.

Moments later, she hears the man’s voice, "Step up, walk forward."

Following his instructions, Wen Wan sets her feet in motion. Although initially a bit inexplicably fearful, after taking a few more steps, she no longer hesitates, completely relaxing and entrusting herself to him.

A thought suddenly pops into her head: as a blind person, if one is willing to place their hand in someone’s care, it signifies complete trust in that person.

At this moment, her attitude towards her husband is of complete trust.

Song Wei guides her with extreme precision, pointing out where there’s a small puddle, a threshold, or a pebble, patiently helping her avoid them.

As pilgrims passed by, they assumed Wen Wan was truly blind and cast sympathetic glances toward her.

Meanwhile, the tender scene of a man holding an umbrella in one hand and gently leading his blind wife forward in the other hand stirred the hearts of onlookers.

To truly experience what it felt like to be blind, Wen Wan resisted the urge to open her eyes several times. The fragrance of fresh grass after the rain filled her nose, and she heard birds chirping in the mountains and a distant stream flowing.

Wen Wan curled her lips and asked Song Wei, "Is it just the two of us on such a big path?"

Song Wei said, "If you’re curious, just open your eyes and take a look."

"No," Wen Wan smiled, "I’ve decided to truly be blind until I see Master Xu Yun."

After speaking, she paused, "So, Mr. Song, please be patient and accommodating to this blind woman. As a blind person, I can only rely on you."

Listening to his little wife’s nonsensical words, Song Wei just smiled silently, maintaining the same pace while holding her hand.

When they reached the outside of the prayer hall, Song Wei saw a little monk sweeping and politely asked, "Little master, where can we meet Master Xu Yun?"

The little monk shook his head, "You’re quite unfortunate, the master is in seclusion."

The last time they came, Su Yaoqi had said Master Xu Yun was in seclusion. And after all this time, he’s still in seclusion?

Wen Wan felt the little monk’s attitude was somewhat dismissive and said to Song Wei, "Let’s go directly to the Zen Temple on the east side to find Su Yaoqi. He is Master Xu Yun’s disciple and knows the master’s whereabouts best."

Song Wei hesitated no longer.

He turned around, seeing the rain had completely stopped, closed the umbrella, gently shook off the water droplets, and then extended his hand again to hold Wen Wan.

After asking for directions to the East Garden, the couple slowly made their way there.

Su Yaoqi, returning from the back mountain, saw from afar a tall man supporting a woman who appeared blind, needing guidance with every step, walking with extreme caution.

When they got closer, Su Yaoqi suddenly realized that the two were indeed Song Wei and his wife.

His brow furrowed deeply as he approached, "Wan...Amitabha Buddha, the female benefactor just visited this temple a few days ago, is there something urgent today?"

While speaking, he kept his eyes on Wen Wan’s closed lids, thinking she might never see again, felt a bone-deep pain.

Having found the person they were looking for, Wen Wan stopped pretending and slowly opened her eyes.

Su Yaoqi’s face showed astonishment, "You..."

With a curl of her lips, Wen Wan said, "My eyes are a bit uncomfortable. The doctor advised me not to strain them, so my husband helped me walk for a while."

The shock came quickly and left just as fast, Su Yaoqi’s heart still pounding, unable to calm down immediately.

Wen Wan said, "I came today because I want to personally meet Master Xu Yun. Is he in the temple?"

"He is," Su Yaoqi replied truthfully, "Master has just come out of seclusion."

"Then please trouble little master Shikong to lead the way for us,"

Su Yaoqi nodded and invited them to follow.

Ordinary pilgrims wouldn’t have the chance to meet Master Xu Yun. Today, these two were familiar to him, so it wouldn’t be difficult with his introduction.

——

A quarter of an hour later, Su Yaoqi led the two to Master Xu Yun’s Zen Temple.

Wen Wan stood under the bodhi tree, watching Song Wei step forward to knock on the door, slightly pursing her lips.

Seeing her nervousness, Su Yaoqi said, "Master Xu Yun is highly respected, gentle in nature, you need not be afraid."

Concerned about "revealing the secrets of heaven and inviting divine retribution", how could Wen Wan not be scared? She lowered her head, stepping on bodhi leaves, fingers tightly interlocked as if trying to contain certain emotions.

Su Yaoqi looked at her profile, momentarily dazed.

Song Wei knocked a few times, and the door opened from inside.

The door was opened by a little monk in a gray robe, who chanted Amitabha and asked Song Wei, "Who is it you seek?"

Song Wei said, "I’m here to see Master Xu Yun."

The little monk turned back and said inside, "Master, a benefactor wishes to see you."

Inside, there was a brief silence, then a deep, aged voice said, "Please, let the two benefactors enter."

Wen Wan heard Master Xu Yun speak and was slightly startled. She hadn’t uttered a word, and Master Xu Yun hadn’t come out, so how did he know there were two outside?

Without much time to think, Song Wei already approached her, "Wanwan, let’s go in."

Wen Wan unclasped her fingers and followed Song Wei step by step toward the meditation room.

As they were about to step over the threshold, Song Wei whispered to her, "Don’t be afraid, I’ll always be here."

Hearing this, Wen Wan looked up at him, "If the master really sees something wrong with me later, will you still want me?"