Even with chuunibyou, let's learn together!

Page 188

The woman in front of him must not be a formal member of the temple. She must be the daughter of some monk before he became a nun. And the abbot must still be the same as he imagined, a mean and cold-faced old man with a face full of wrinkles.

My temple visit will definitely be just as I imagined.

Hayakawa quickly followed Tsukiyo out of the room, a renewed sense of hope in his heart.

That hope quickly turned into despair.

Because the abbess of the temple... is also a woman.

Hayakawa: "..."

Chapter 283 Buddha Statues

Are you kidding me?! You bastard!!

Why are so many women coming to this sacred Buddhist sanctuary?

Hayakawa looked at the pink-haired older sister in front of him, dressed in a priestess's robes, with a voluptuous figure and a broad chest, and felt a little like flipping the table in front of him.

They're both women, so who am I supposed to practice the Eighteen Bronze Men with all night? How am I supposed to strip naked and sit quietly under the waterfall?

At this moment, Aoba Yuzuki, dressed in a kimono-like robe, with long purple hair and a somewhat familiar face, walked in through the door carrying a tea tray. With a gentle expression, she poured a cup of hot tea for herself and the abbot in front of her.

Hayakawa: "..."

A third woman appeared.

When Hayakawa saw these three people appear in succession, even someone as slow-witted as him lost his last glimmer of hope, leaving him only with incomprehension.

Why is this happening...? I entered a temple but could only see women. Could it be that I was in a car accident while I was in the car and have now arrived in a matriarchal world, or have I transmigrated into a supernatural world where all the monks have turned into women?

Hmm... I should still be in the mortal world, after all, the pain in my heart still lingers.

However… since even the abbot is a woman, my cultivation plan must be doomed.

Thinking of this, Hayakawa's eyes gradually became empty, filled with despair for his bleak life and regret for his unfortunate fate, and finally turned into a sense of detachment as if he had left the world's suffering.

The suffering of the mortal world is better left behind...

Why bother with Buddhism? Hayakawa will go straight to the point and send me to meet Buddha right now.

"Hi~"

The person opposite, who had been sitting upright and quietly drinking hot tea with the dignified posture of abbot, couldn't help but gasp when she saw this scene. Looking at Hayakawa's expression, she clicked her tongue in surprise.

This expression, untouched by worldly affairs and detached from the mundane, like that of a Buddha, seems to have reached a state of transcendence beyond worldly concerns.

This kid is terrifying! He has actually reached the state of "enlightenment," which I haven't achieved even after cultivating Buddhism for so many years. I still can't let go of the mundane thing like drinking, yet he has reached it at such a young age.

This child is born with Buddha-nature, we must not... let him leave the temple.

XiXi glanced at Hayakawa with a hint of regret and shook her head slightly.

If Hayakawa had been born into an ordinary family, I might have actually persuaded him to stay. Perhaps he could have become a renowned monk, and I could have gained some fame as the one who guided him. But he was born into an extremely unusual family, so even if I wanted to keep him here, I wouldn't have the ability.

Let's try to find a way to persuade them to donate some incense and support the temple.

Looking at the boy in front of her, Xixi thought to herself, and gave up her beautiful dream of "the peach and plum trees do not speak, yet a path is formed beneath them".

Although Buddhism is good, it is as unattainable as the sun in the sky. Just getting close will burn you to ashes. As an ordinary monk, and in this Mikazuki-ji Temple, I feel even more attached to the children I have watched grow up.

"Hello, child, my name is Xixi, and I am the abbot of this temple."

"Welcome to Mikazuki-ji Temple."

Having made up her mind, Xixi gently put down the steaming frosted teacup in her hand, sat up straight with a calm tone, displaying the dignity that a temple abbot should have, and wanted to intimidate Hayakawa with her aura.

"Nice to meet you, Abbot..."

Although Hayakawa was somewhat disappointed, he still bowed respectfully upon hearing Xixi's words. In his view, temple abbots were all practitioners with firm wills and untainted by worldly affairs. Since childhood, he had always demanded of himself the standards of an ascetic monk, so in his eyes, monks always had a sacred and longed-for care, and were a respectable status.

Seeing Hayakawa's attitude, Xixi was somewhat satisfied, but still nodded reservedly. Her smooth short hair beside her face moved slightly, and she smiled softly: "You must be Hayakawa."

"Do you know him?"

Hayakawa was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "This should be the first time we've met, right?"

“I know your mother.”

Xixi said with a mysterious expression, "When your mother was young, she practiced at Mikazuki Temple for a period of time. At that time, I was not the abbot of this temple. I was just a little nun practicing under the previous abbot. Your mother had a very good relationship with the abbot at that time, and they often studied Buddhism together in the hall at night."

Hayakawa suddenly realized that he had forgotten that his mother used to practice at a temple, which was why he had come here specifically for that reason.

I completely forgot about that.

Speaking of... nuns...

Looking at the three girls in front of him, whom he admired so much, Hayakawa finally found the answer to a question that had been troubling him.

Thinking about it carefully, it's quite normal... If my mother were to practice Buddhism, she would definitely be in a nunnery. I didn't even realize this obvious fact.

Ugh.

Hayakawa sighed inwardly. Perhaps it was because he had always been indifferent to his parents' affairs that he hadn't noticed this obvious thing, but he realized once again that his mind wasn't working properly.

With a brain like that... no wonder he can't beat others.

"..."

As Hayakawa thought about leaving the two men by the side of Furuhashi and escaping into the temple, a faint pain welled up in his heart again.

He suppressed the tearing pain in his heart, took a deep breath, and whispered to the abbess in front of him, "Then you are my elder..."

"You're too kind, elder. Back then, I was just a follower of your mother, so I was only half a generation older than her."

XiXi waved her hand and chuckled, "But your master did tell me in advance that you would be coming in winter. Why are you here now? That's way ahead of schedule."

Seeing the inquiring look on his face, Hayakawa's heart skipped a beat.

He... ran away from someone else.

"Traveling to Hokkaido on my own..."

Hayakawa remained silent for a long time before pursing her lips and saying, "I suddenly felt like coming here."

"That's fine too, it'll be good to come and take a look beforehand."

Xi Xi remained unsuspecting, outwardly calm but inwardly harboring resentment.

Her sudden arrival gave her no time to prepare. If this wealthy patron were to see the shabby state of Mikazukiji Temple, he might be scared away.

If he had come at the normal time, he could have at least moved and hidden that Buddha statue. Now that he's suddenly here, he can only cover the statue with a cloth while the Buddha is sleeping.

Hopefully, we won't be discovered.

Xixi clasped her hands together and prayed devoutly to Buddha.

Hopefully, when we visit the temple later, Hayakawa will just treat the Buddha statues as unwanted junk and not pay any attention to them.

It should be fine, since the cloth covering the Buddha is very tattered, looking like a rag in a storeroom, and not attracting any attention at all.

Chapter 284 The Cultivator's Words

"Let me introduce you."

Thinking of this, Xixi turned to the side and pointed to Aoba Yuzuki next to her: "This is Aoba Yuzuki, the daughter of the previous abbot. She is currently training at Mikazuki Temple. She is a year older than you and is currently a second-year high school student on vacation at home."

"Azure Leaves and Tsuki..."

Hayakawa paused for a moment upon hearing the familiar name, then looked at Yuzuki carefully before realizing, "You're not that..."

"You only just recognized me?"

Aoba Yuzuki's expression was somewhat subtle as she said, "Hello, Hayakawa-kun."

Having just met her yesterday, and almost not recognizing her today, Aoba Yuzuki felt a bit conflicted.

"What? You two know each other?"

Xi Xi asked in confusion.

"Yes, Sister Xixi, do you remember when I visited the temple near Yangti Mountain the day before yesterday? When I came back yesterday morning,"

Aoba Yuzuki nodded and explained, "I met him at the foot of Mount Yotei."

"You even went to Sheep's Hoof Mountain?"

XiXi smiled at Hayakawa: "That place is indeed a nice tourist spot, but locals don't go there because it's too crowded."

There were indeed a lot of people.

Hayakawa's expression darkened as he thought of Mount Yotei.

After what happened yesterday, that mountain will probably become a kind of psychological trauma for him.

"Yuzuki is an excellent practitioner, the daughter of the former abbot, and the de facto owner of Mikazuki-ji Temple,"

Xixi said with some pride, "Logically, she should be the abbot of the temple, but she is still too young, so I will temporarily take over the position of abbot and also serve as her teacher on her path of cultivation."

"You flatter me."

Upon hearing this, Aoba Yuzuki blushed slightly and quickly waved her hand shyly, saying, "I still have a lot to learn and practice, and I'm far from being a qualified abbot."

After speaking, she bowed, showing humility.

"So that's how it is,"

Upon hearing this, Hayakawa bowed slightly to Aoba Yuzuki, looking at her calmly: "Yuzuki-nee..."

Although Hayakawa hadn't decided whether to train at this temple, from any perspective, Aoba Yuzuki was her senior and a pioneer on the path of training. Hayakawa was willing to address such a person as "senpai..."

However, this is also because she is a year older than him. If she were in the same grade as Furuhashi and the others, they would instantly become competitors, which would be a completely different situation.

"Ah, hello."

When Aoba Yuzuki heard Hayakawa address her, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly responded. However, she had a strange feeling in her heart, especially when she saw Hayakawa's pale face and gloomy expression, which made her feel even more uneasy.

"Who told you to call me 'Sister Yuzuki' so familiarly?!"

A disgruntled voice came from the side, sounding somewhat abrupt in the quiet room.

Hayakawa looked to the side and saw the girl who had just called him out of the room. She was now blushing with embarrassment and indignation, looking at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Ahem, this is Aoba Tsukiyo, the second daughter of the temple, and also Yuzuki's biological younger sister."

Before Hayakawa could ask a question, Xixi quickly coughed lightly and winked at Tsukiyo: "I'm in a temple now, but I'm not a monk."

Upon hearing that Tsukiyo was not a practitioner, Hayakawa's expression returned to its usual cold and expressionless demeanor, and he calmly nodded to Tsukiyo: "Hello."

After saying that, he turned his gaze back to Xixi and Jieyue, appearing uninterested in the others.

"what?"

Seeing his expression, Yueye was so angry that her eyebrows shot up. He had just hugged her like a lovesick fool when he saw her at the temple gate, and now he was pretending to be a noble gentleman. Who was he trying to fool?

"I'm talking about you..."

Aoba Tsukiyo was naturally straightforward and outspoken. Seeing that Hayakawa was ignoring her, she couldn't help but jump out and questioned, "What were you doing at the door just now...?"

"Well!"

With lightning speed, Xixi covered Yueye's mouth, silencing her before she could say anything. While dragging her away, she smiled awkwardly at Hayakawa, "I'm sorry, Hayakawa, Yueye is a bit shy. I'm taking her out for some moral education. You can look around the temple as you like."

After saying that, she nodded to Yuzuki and said, "Yuzuki, you take Hayakawa around the temple and have a look around. Don't go to the Buddhist hall in the back yet, it's not time for that."

After giving a reminder, Xixi forcibly dragged Yueye out of the room.

"Be honest with me!"

"Uh huh..."

After the two left, only Hayakawa and Yuzuki remained in the room. They sat facing each other, the purple-haired girl looking embarrassed, while Hayakawa remained expressionless.

"My little sister has caused us so much trouble,"

After a brief silence, Aoba Yuzuki bowed slightly forward with both hands and apologized softly, "Please don't mind, guest."

Although she didn't think Tsukiyo had done anything wrong, the head priest had already given them the task of leaving Hayakawa behind, so even if she was against her will, Yuzuki could only apologize.

"fine."

Hayakawa shook his head calmly and said, "However, even in a pure Buddhist place, there are children with such a silly... straightforward personality. Normally, if someone grows up in a place like this, their personality should be more calm and composed."

These were his true feelings. In his view, if a person has the ability to cultivate but chooses not to, then that person's life is a failure. And Cang Ye Yueye, who has lived in a temple since childhood, and whose older sister and elders are all cultivators, actually refuses to cultivate with them. Moreover, his personality is also terrible. This person's level of thinking is simply outrageously low.