Chapter 121 But I am not Buddha, I am just one of the masses.

The room was completely silent and still.

Jiang Dusheng narrowed his eyes, his clear voice rising slightly, adding a hint of threat, "If you don't open the door, I'm going to barge in, okay? I know you're not asleep yet."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door in front of him creaked open unexpectedly from the inside.

Jiang Dusheng subconsciously looked up, his whole body instantly froze on the spot, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Xie Jinchen had obviously just finished showering; his long, jet-black hair was not completely dry and was draped over his shoulders.

Water droplets still clung to the ends of her hair, reflecting shimmering light under the dim lamplight of the corridor.

He wore only a snow-white silk nightgown, the belt tied very loosely, the collar wide open, revealing a large expanse of his well-defined chest.

Water droplets meandered down her collarbone, slid over her firm chest muscles, and disappeared into the deeper shadows of her clothes.

The nightgown was made of very thin material. When it was soaked with moisture, it clung to the body almost imperceptibly, vaguely outlining the slender and firm contours of the waist and abdomen.

As he opened the door, the fabric wrinkled slightly, and in the undulations, one could almost glimpse the power beneath.

Xie Jinchen saw Jiang Dusheng staring at him with wide, blank eyes, as if his soul had been captured. He raised an eyebrow and a triumphant smile flashed in his eyes.

Instead of quickly adjusting his clothes, he leaned slightly closer to her.

The cool, refreshing scent of her fresh bath, mixed with the warm, humid air, instantly enveloped her.

He lowered his voice, his breath brushing against her earlobe, tinged with a hint of languor, "Wipe it off."

He raised his hand, his fingertip lightly touching the corner of his lips, but his gaze landed meaningfully on Jiang Dusheng's face, "Drooling, it's about to drip down."

Jiang Dusheng snapped back to reality, his fingertips unconsciously touching the corner of his lips.

It felt completely dry to the touch.

She immediately realized she had been tricked, quickly withdrew her hand, straightened her back, and tried her best to put on a calm and expressionless face.

Then, Jiang Dusheng cleared his throat and, in an almost detached and calm tone, recited as if chanting a sutra: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness are also like this."

She even nodded slightly, her brows conveying a sense of enlightenment for those who have gone astray. "Young Master Xie should know that this physical form is merely a temporary shelter."

"Take off the skin, and you're nothing but two hundred and six bones; put on clothes, and you can have eighteen thousand appearances. After death, look at the bones; while alive, guess the human heart."

"To see a beautiful woman as a skeleton makes me devoid of desire; to see a skeleton as a beautiful woman makes me fearless."

"This is the essence of the contemplation of the white bones, which aims to break through attachment to external appearances, see that the five aggregates are empty, and attain great freedom."

She paused, her gaze meeting Xie Jinchen's ambiguous smile, and tried her best to maintain her precarious composure, adding:

Therefore, physical appearances are all illusions; what is there to linger over, what is there to dwell on?

After saying that, she shook her head in a pretentious manner, as if Xie Jinchen was the one who was obsessed with appearances and needed to be enlightened.

Xie Jinchen chuckled lightly, not exposing her feigned composure.

He straightened up, slowly and deliberately retied the loose straps of his nightgown to cover the glaring view, then turned and walked into the house, tossing out, "Not going to catch your ghosts anymore?"

Jiang Dusheng no longer cared about ghosts or anything like that; the chilling coldness within her body had already reached her fingertips, causing her to tremble slightly.

She instantly abandoned the carefully maintained demeanor of a high-ranking monk, nimbly slipped into the house, and slammed the door shut with a light "click," her movements fluid and graceful.

She then ran to the bedside, crawled in using both hands and feet, and instinctively grabbed Xie Jinchen's hand, who was already sitting on the edge of the bed, and held it tightly.

A warmth slowly spread through her palms, and her voice, tinged with genuine shivering, said, "It's too cold."

Xie Jinchen let her hold him, and lay down beside her, but deliberately turned to the side, only showing her the back of his head.

Jiang Dusheng couldn't stand this kind of silent stalemate. The cold air, combined with her restlessness, made her feel like she was lying on pins and needles.

She thought for a moment, then tried to break the silence with a serious topic of conversation:

"Xie Jinchen," she poked his hard back, "how am I supposed to enter the palace tomorrow? Since Zhou Wanning is a concubine in the deep palace, I need a reason to see her."

Xie Jinchen had his back to her, his voice devoid of emotion, "The news of the Zhou family's affairs has reached Changling. Zhou Wanning has been banished to the Cold Palace. I'll secretly take you in tomorrow night."

"Oh," Jiang Dusheng replied.

Just then, the Yin energy at midnight surged up completely. Even holding Xie Jinchen's hand, the warmth was like a drop in the ocean, unable to withstand the chill seeping into one's bones.

Jiang Dusheng moved a little closer to Xie Jinchen without making a sound, and could almost feel the warmth of his arm through his nightgown.

After hesitating for a long time, she looked up at his profile and said, "Xie Jinchen, I know it's presumptuous of me..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Could I hold you like I did last night while we sleep? It's so cold."

Silence spread through the quiet room, as if even the crackling of the candlelight had been swallowed up, and the air pressed down heavily.

Xie Jinchen did not turn around, but slowly opened his mouth. His voice was particularly clear in the dark night, "Jiang Dusheng, you Buddhists value compassion, saving all living beings, and giving without expecting anything in return."

His tone was calm, yet every word struck like a hammer blow: "But I am not a Buddha; I am just one of the masses."

Xie Jinchen turned around and gazed into Jiang Dusheng's eyes in the dim light. Those once cool and aloof peach blossom eyes now held a burning, intense emotion:

"Jiang Dusheng, there is no one in the world like you who only takes advantage of others and stirs up people's hearts, but never thinks about taking responsibility."

His words were like a red-hot iron, unexpectedly scalding the softest part of her heart.

Jiang Dusheng felt a sudden, violent thud in her chest, a throbbing pain that brought an unfamiliar, throbbing pain that made her gasp for breath.

She subconsciously frowned, raised her hand to her chest, and the first thought that popped into her mind was an absurd worry:

Could it be that he really has some incurable disease? This heartbeat... is too strange!

No, if I have the chance tomorrow, I must go back to the temple and have my senior brother take her pulse and see what exactly is wrong with her.

Xie Jinchen saw that after hearing his words, she not only did not respond, but also frowned, covered her chest with one hand, and looked slightly pale, as if she was in pain and confused.

She assumed it was the complete eruption of Yin energy at midnight, as she was in so much pain that she couldn't even speak.

The last bit of resolve in my heart was instantly overshadowed by worry.

He sighed silently, ultimately succumbing to defeat.

With a long arm, he pulled the stunned Jiang Dusheng into his arms, then casually pulled over a thick brocade quilt and wrapped them both up tightly.

A surge of warmth instantly enveloped us, dispelling the biting chill.

Jiang Dusheng sighed comfortably and automatically found the most comfortable position in his arms.

After a while, perhaps the warmth dispelled the discomfort, or perhaps he belatedly realized that his behavior just now was indeed somewhat wrong.