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墨書 Inktalez
Kairuot and Li Girl flew westward, and after half a day, they landed on the dunes of Mingsha Mountain, that old place. They turned to the eastern foothills of the mountain and saw from a distance that the north-south cliff, about 1600 meters long, was filled with caves. They knew they had returned to the Dunhuang Mogao Caves.
The two walked to the entrance of one of the caves at the Mogao Caves and happened to meet the monk who had received them last time. Both hosts were very happy, and the monk clasped his hands together in reverence and said, "I did not know that the two immortals had arrived; I apologize for not welcoming you properly!"
Seeing the monk's courteous demeanor, Li Girl couldn't help but say, "We are all familiar now; why bother with so many formalities? We came here to stay for one night and will leave tomorrow morning."
The monk asked, "If the two Great Immortals wish to stay, we would be most welcome! We have a room specially prepared for you. Unfortunately, there is only one room in the upper temple, which was prepared for the original Immortal Mistress. I wonder which of you will stay in that room?"
Li Girl smiled and replied, "We will both stay in that upper room."
The monk thought to himself, "Can immortals really share a room?" He hesitated for a moment and added, "Actually, there are other rooms in the upper temple that are quite good as well; the Great Immortal can also stay there."
Li Girl immediately retorted, "Oh come on, we said we would stay in one room; can't we as a couple be together?"
The monk quickly apologized, "I did not know that the two Great Immortals are immortal partners; please forgive my offense."
Thus, the two immortals were taken to a room in the upper temple. It was said that this room was originally occupied by an Officiate but was later renovated specifically for receiving Belden. The room was simply furnished with an antique-style large bed, several redwood chairs, and matching tea tables. The most striking feature was a meticulous colored painting of Belden Flying to the Sky hanging on the wall. This painting almost occupied one-fifth of the room and faced the door so that it could be seen immediately upon entering.
Xiao Li looked at the painting of Belle flying and asked the monk, "Which artist painted this? The depiction of Belle is so lifelike; I want to find this artist to paint one for me too."
The monk replied, "Unfortunately, you came too late. The portrait of Immortal Mistress was not painted by an artist; he was our former Officiate who has now gone to Songshan Shaolin. To express his gratitude for Immortal Mistress teaching him the Zā A Heart Method, he specially painted this for her."
Kairuot felt something strange about this internal skill's name: "Zā A Heart Method? Do you know it?"
The monk answered, "I know a little; I just started learning."
Kairuot said, "Could you demonstrate a section for me?"
"Sure!" The monk found an empty space in the room, sat cross-legged, and began practicing his Zā A Heart Method.
Li Girl shouted after watching: "What kind of Zā A Heart Method is this... It's clearly just the first form of Bel Heart Method."
The monk insisted on his terminology: "If I remember correctly, it's called 'The Miscellaneous Heart Sutra.'"
"This might be a translation issue," Kairuot said to the monk. "What it's called doesn't matter as long as the technique is useful. You've learned well; keep up the good work."
The monk sincerely replied, "Great Immortal, you flatter me. I would like to take you as my master and seek your guidance in the future."
Kairuot humbly responded, "In the future, we can exchange insights with each other."
"Thank you, Great Immortal. I will take my leave now. If you need anything, please feel free to call me." The monk exited the room and closed the door behind him.
-
After the monk left, Xiaoli quickly opened her Wristband, and a beam of light projected onto a wall, revealing a map of Earth.
Li Girl said, "From the markings on the map, we are currently at the coordinates: 40°02'52.30" N latitude and 94°48'59.80" E longitude, while the Egyptian Pyramid is located at: 29°58'43.41" N latitude and 31°08'5.06" E longitude."
As she spoke, she activated her positioning device and entered the pyramid's coordinates. The device immediately indicated their direction and distance. "Oh no, we are quite far from the pyramids in Egypt—almost ten thousand miles away. It looks like we'll have to get up early tomorrow."
"Where did you get this map of Earth?" Kairuot asked.
"Guess," Xiaoli teased.
"No need to ask; it was Belden who gave it to you. That positioning device was also a gift from her," Kairuot replied.
"You’re clever. Given such a long distance, traveling all in one day would consume too much energy. We are here for a trip, so there's no need to rush; it’s best to split the journey over two days. Where should we rest next? What do you think?" Li Girl asked.
Kairuot carefully examined the map on the wall and pointed to a location, saying, "We will rest in Lhasa of Tubo Kingdom."
-
Following the direction indicated by the positioning device, they flew through the air for several hours and soon arrived above the Roof of the World. They quickly spotted Lhasa's most famous building, Potala Palace.
Looking down from above at Potala Palace, the structure was majestic and imposing, built along the mountain's contours up to its peak. The golden-tiled roof gleamed brightly under the sunlight, making it incredibly eye-catching.
They chose not to land in front of the Potala Palace, but instead opted for a quieter spot outside Luo Xie City, not far from the palace. Most of the mountains surrounding Luo Xie City were bare rock with sparse vegetation, and they finally found a place with a dozen poplar trees to land, only to encounter someone in the woods. In the forest was a young man around seventeen or eighteen years old, not very tall but strong, with a round face and a somewhat foolish demeanor. He was wandering in the woods when he saw someone descending from the sky and thought he had encountered a deity. He hurriedly approached and prostrated himself on the ground in worship, mumbling in Tibetan.
Kairuot saw that this person was wearing a large-collared Tibetan robe, a flat-topped hat, and had a small knife and other ornaments at his waist. Kneeling on the ground with his arms outstretched and holding prayer beads, he was fervently bowing his head. Not knowing Tibetan, Kairuot tried to speak in Chinese: "What is your name?"
Unexpectedly, this person was a Han from Chang'an. Upon hearing Kairuot's question, he quickly replied, "My name is Li An."
"Get up," Xiao Li said when she saw him still kneeling. "Don't stay on your knees; we have more questions for you."
After the young man stood up, it was clear that he did not look like a local. Although he was dressed in Tibetan clothing, his skin was relatively fair, resembling someone from Central Plains who had just arrived in Tibet.
"You're not Tibetan, are you?" Kairuot asked.
Li An replied, "I am from Chang'an and have just arrived here not long ago."
"Do you speak Tibetan?"
"I do!" Li An explained. "My parents have been doing business in Luo Xie City for many years. Every spring during this season, we come here to stay for a few months before returning to Chang'an before the heavy snow blocks the mountains."
"Perfect! You can be our guide," Xiao Li said happily. "We want to explore Luo Xie City."
Li An nodded in agreement. With Li An as their guide, they quickly found an inn run by Han people to stay at in Luo Xie City and happily discovered delicious food and fun activities in the city while replenishing their supplies of water and food needed for their journey to the Egyptian Pyramid.
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