The Hand of Confession – Chapter 322

Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China

He Bo Temple

Sincerity of the heart brings a divine response.¹

The trio walked forward in the direction Golden Retriever had pointed out. Sisi forcibly linked arms with Golden Retriever and walked in front, while Shen Maomao followed behind them like an unwanted piece of baggage, happy for the peace and quiet. She looked left and right, admiring the scenery and culture, which were completely different from the modern era.

On both sides of the street were rows of businesses: clothing stores, general stores, barbershops, pharmacies, restaurants… they had everything. The sparrow may be small, but it has all its vital organs².

Below the storefronts on both sides, there was a narrow path, wide enough for a few people, for pedestrians to walk on. People came and went on the path, all in a hurry. The young women wore qipaos³ and Western-style dresses, while the men wore either long gowns⁴ or suits. Without exception, all had short hair. It was a perfect blend of Chinese and Western styles, giving one a sense of temporal dislocation.

After walking for a while, perhaps feeling it was a bit awkward to just walk without talking, and since the mute Golden Retriever couldn’t satisfy her need for conversation, Sisi took the initiative to turn around. Pretending she had just noticed Shen Maomao had fallen behind, she called out, “Rabbit-meimei, why have you fallen so far behind? Come walk with us!” As she spoke, she waved her free hand, gesturing for her to come and take her arm.

“Ah…” Shen Maomao quickened her pace by two steps to stand on Sisi’s left, sandwiching her between herself and Golden Retriever. “I was thinking about last night’s events and didn’t realize,” she said.

Sisi naturally retracted her hand and said, “The doorbell in the middle of the night?”

Shen Maomao nodded. “Yes. I saw a person… ah, or maybe not necessarily a person. He was holding a white oil-paper umbrella and wearing red clothes.”

Sisi said, “You’re so brave, you actually dared to peek at the door.”

Shen Maomao gave a helpless smile. “I was afraid I’d miss some information, so I forced myself to look despite being scared.”

Sisi asked, “Do you think that person came in or went out?”

Recalling the sewage on the first floor, Shen Maomao answered, “It’s more likely they came in.”

Sisi also said, “Speaking of which, I kept feeling like there was someone in the house during the latter half of the night. Could it have been that person?”

Shen Maomao kindly reminded her, “Tonight, you can check the curtains, the wardrobe, and so on. You might find a surprise.”

Sisi: “…Are you serious?”

Shen Maomao raised her eyebrows. “Why would I lie to you?”

Sisi’s expression gradually grew grim; it seemed she was already recalling what felt off about last night.

Shen Maomao added, “But they don’t seem to mean us any harm, just observing something in the dark… Perhaps they’re choosing a wife for He Bo?”

Sisi’s face instantly turned even uglier. “I can’t swim.”

Shen Maomao: “Look on the bright side. Maybe He Bo won’t even take a fancy to you.”

Sisi: “…”

Although that was a good thing, why did it sound so infuriating?

Perhaps struck by Shen Maomao’s words, Sisi stopped talking for the rest of the journey, choosing to be a silent lamb.

The trio followed the river forward. The path grew narrower and narrower until they finally reached a large lake, where the path disappeared completely.

Sisi, having recovered from the earlier blow, asked Golden Retriever, “How come there’s no more path? What should we do now?”

Golden Retriever looked at the map again, pointed at several wavy lines on it, and nodded, confirming that the route he had pointed out was absolutely correct. Then he pointed to the boats nearby and made a series of gestures with the map.

Sisi said, “Are you saying we should take a boat? Sorry, I don’t really understand sign language.”

Golden Retriever nodded, then waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about it.

Fortunately, there were many boats moored on the lake specifically for carrying passengers. The group spent some money to hire a small boat and swayed as they rowed toward the center of the lake.

This time, the boatman was also an old man. He asked as he rowed, “You three students, what are you going across the river for?”

“We want to go to He Bo Temple to pay our respects to Lord He Bo.” Sisi took the opportunity to ask for directions. “Old sir, do you know how to get there after we cross the river?”

The boatman laughed heartily. “How could I not know? I was wondering what you were crossing the river for! So it’s to worship Lord He Bo. You should have said so earlier! He Bo Temple is right on the shore. I’ll take you there directly.”

Sisi said with pleasant surprise, “That’s wonderful! Thank you so much.”

The boatman said, “No need to thank me, children. When you pray to the Lord He Bo, you must be sincere. That is the only way your wishes might come true. As the saying goes, sincerity brings a divine response.”

Shen Maomao curiously interjected, “Can you wish for anything?”

The boatman lowered his head and smiled, his lips curling as if chanting a magic spell. “Of course. You can wish for anything.”

…

He Bo Temple was indeed on the lake’s edge. The boatman dropped them off, waved his hand to refuse their tip, reminded them once more to be sincere, and then rowed away.

The group watched his departing figure, then turned to examine He Bo Temple behind them.

He Bo Temple was built on the water, connected to the riverbank by a wooden bridge over two meters high. At the start of the bridge was a small pavilion. Four stone dragons stood at its four corners, and four bronze bells hung from the eaves, currently swaying in the wind and emitting a crisp, pleasant sound.

But other than that, they didn’t see anyone else on the path. In fact, from the moment they stepped into the small pavilion, the small boats coming and going on the lake had also vanished.

The sounds of birds and insects gradually faded, and the surroundings became eerily quiet, leaving only the sound of the swaying bells.

“Ding-ling—”

“Ding-ling—”

One after another, the sound unsettled the heart.

Sisi tightened her grip on the oil-paper umbrella and said to the other two, “I’ll scout ahead. You two stick close to me.” With that, she cautiously stepped onto the wooden bridge, proactively choosing the most dangerous job.

Shen Maomao gave her a surprised look and obediently followed behind her with Golden Retriever.

The wooden bridge sagged slightly under the weight of the three people, but it was resilient enough not to break. Instead, it pushed back with an upward force, bouncing them up and down.

Shen Maomao didn’t have motion sickness, so she wasn’t too worried. Golden Retriever could also swim, his expression as calm as hers. Only Sisi’s face was as white as a sheet. She stood trembling on the wooden plank, not daring to move, shaking like a sieve.

Shen Maomao patted her on the back and urged, “Let’s go, hurry up?”

Golden Retriever also poked his head out from behind, looking over curiously.

Sisi’s whole body shuddered, and she shrieked, “Don’t! Don’t touch me!” Then her voice softened. “Don’t you two move yet! Let’s go slowly… I’m a little afraid of heights…”

The fact that such a decisive and commanding older-sister type⁵ was afraid of heights made for a rather cute contrast⁶.

Her act of voluntarily taking the lead just now had earned her quite a few points with Shen Maomao. Seeing her so scared now, Shen Maomao couldn’t bear to just watch from behind. So, she grabbed her arm from behind, squeezed past her into the empty space at her side, and stepped forward, causing the wooden plank to sink again and frightening another scream out of Sisi.

Before she could finish her scream, a strong force pulled on her wrist. She was forced to stumble forward, the rest of her scream caught in her throat. In the blink of an eye, she was on the solid ground in front of He Bo Temple, sweating profusely.

Shen Maomao let go of her hand and said, “If you’re scared, you should walk faster. That way, you can shorten the duration of your fear.”

Sisi wiped away her sweat and said weakly, “That was too intense. I can’t take it. Let me catch my breath before we go in.”

Thinking that some unexpected situation might occur once they went inside, Shen Maomao also squatted down in front of He Bo Temple and looked up at the main entrance of the building.

He Bo Temple wasn’t large. In front of the main entrance were two large, bright red pillars, and behind them was a vermilion gate. Its roof was similar to the pavilion at the entrance—covered with glazed tiles on top, with colorful paintings underneath, and four dragons and four small bells at the four corners.

Her gaze fixed on the bells. Then she reached her hand into the air, felt it carefully, and said in a low voice, “There’s no wind…”

There was no wind, yet the bells were still swaying.

Sisi looked up at the bells, pursed her lips, and her brow furrowed into the character for “chuan”⁷. “I’m rested. Should we go in?”

Shen Maomao: “Let’s go… Oh, right. Don’t forget what the boatman said. It’s best to be sincere.”

Sisi nodded, walked to the entrance first, reached out her hand toward the large doors, and gently pushed them open.

The doors were lighter than she had imagined, and also colder than she had imagined.

A long “creak” sounded as the door was pushed open a crack, revealing a patch of darkness inside.

Sisi applied more force and pushed both doors wide open.

Warm yellow light met the trio’s eyes, the glow coming from burning white candles on the ground on both sides.

The interior space of He Bo Temple was as small as they had imagined, but even more spartan than they had pictured.

There were no windows, only three walls. The oxygen content in the air was very low, yet for some reason, the candles had not gone out.

At the far end of the room was a tall statue of a deity. In front of the statue was an incense burner with three sticks of incense in it, though it was unclear who had placed them there. Aside from that, there were no other furnishings, not even a temple keeper⁸.

The statue was dressed in a long robe. Its face was unclear because it was too tall, but the overall impression was one of an indescribable sanctity, making one instinctively want to kneel and submit before it.

From the moment the doors opened, Shen Maomao’s eyelids and temples had been twitching violently, screaming danger at her. But no matter how her brain sounded the alarm, her body seemed to disobey her, frozen to the spot.

This wasn’t due to a supernatural event, but because her body was too terrified to make a rash move.

Sisi took a step forward, walking directly into the temple and approaching the statue step by step.

The hem of her skirt stirred the nearby air, and the candles flickered gently but stubbornly refused to go out.

Sisi walked all the way to the incense burner, knelt piously on the floor, and kowtowed⁹ three times. Then she closed her eyes, motionless as she knelt there, lost in thought.

Golden Retriever looked on, completely bewildered, and couldn’t help but poke Shen Maomao’s back.

Shen Maomao held onto the door and gave him a warning look, reminding him not to act rashly, then continued to stare intently at Sisi.

Time passed, second by second. After about two minutes, Sisi suddenly moved again. She stood up straight, and without turning her head, she walked backward to the spot where she had first entered. Then, her whole body trembled once, and she spoke again, “Should we go? Want to go in and have a look together?”

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