Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1504 - 723: Brother Cheng’s Charisma, Strange Encounter in the Sea Queen Temple (Part 3)
Previously on Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups...
The statue’s face is that of a kind and benevolent woman, with a wide skirt sculpted into cascading waves by the craftsman, as if she were stepping out of the ocean’s tides.
A few tourists nearby had just bought incense and candles, and were kneeling in devout prayer with their eyes closed.
Lin Chuqiao walked to the wooden table for drawing lots on the west side of the main hall, pulled out several large-denomination bills, and stuffed them into the merit box, then accepted the most expensive top-grade incense from the white-bearded temple priest.
She was educated as an elite from a young age and although she enjoyed studying religious customs, she never believed in the protection of ghosts and gods.
But after experiencing the life-and-death crisis on Yong’an Island with the Noah Organization’s blockade and witnessing Fang Cheng descending like a heavenly deity amidst a hail of bullets and saving her from death, her proud heart became completely submerged.
Perhaps, it was destiny, a bond ordained by fate.
She turned her head, her gaze penetrating through the swirling incense smoke, resting on the man leaning at the hall entrance.
Gently biting her red lips, she couldn’t help but feel a longing to rely on the divine to bridge a connection for a good marriage.
Thinking of this, Lin Chuqiao withdrew her gaze and walked in flat leather shoes to the presence of the deity’s altar.
She looked up at the stately figure of the Sea Queen.
Then she slowly knelt at the main prayer mat, holding the burning long incense in her clasped hands, raised above her forehead, closed her eyes, and silently recited the words of prayer in her heart.
Zhou Xiumei held Wen Xin’s hand and followed Lin Chuqiao to buy six sticks of ordinary incense from the temple priestess.
After lighting them, she handed three sticks to the little girl.
She did not vie for the front main prayer mat but instead joined her knees together at an empty prayer mat on the side, and respectfully bowed her head.
Her wish was simple, silently repeating in her heart, only hoping her family would be free of disaster and illness, longing for Fang Cheng to always return safely each time he left.
If only these simple, happy days could last longer and she could often be by Fang Cheng’s side, she would be content.
Wen Xin, kneeling beside her, followed suit.
The little girl tightly clutched the three thin sticks of incense in her hand, kneeling on the mat with eyes closed, mouth slightly moving, earnestly reporting to the Immortal.
Among these wishes, she most likely did not forget her earlier desire to eat chicken legs every day.
Outside the hall, Fang Cheng stood with his arms crossed, back leaning against the red lacquered pillar.
Watching two women with starkly different personalities and backgrounds simultaneously bowing their heads in prayer at the incense-filled hall.
His deep eyes flickered with a subtle light, revealing a hint of helplessness amidst his calm expression.
"Brother Cheng."
Pan Wendi didn’t know when he had wandered over, nudging Fang Cheng’s arm with his elbow, his mouth not idle:
"Wanna bet? I dare to bet a case of ’82 Lafite from my wine cellar on the fact that what they’re praying for must have something to do with you, one hundred percent."
Fang Cheng shot an eye at this friend who was full of nonsense and lightly kicked his calf with his right foot:
"Do not gossip in this sacred place."
"Ouch!"
Pan Wendi sprang back, chuckling.
He bent over to brush the dust off his pants, indifferent to Fang Cheng’s violent action.
After standing up, he raised his eyebrows and continued with the demeanor of a playboy:
"I’m looking out for you, Brother Cheng. If you find it difficult to manage both of them at the same time, you can always consult me, the love expert."
Fang Cheng shook his head, uninterested in engaging with this chatterbox, and was about to turn his head to check on the three women inside the hall when his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure approaching them.
It was a middle-aged female temple priest dressed in a dark blue coarse cloth robe.
She was originally holding a cloth, cleaning the dust off the merit box.
But for some reason, she stopped, staring intently at Fang Cheng outside the door.
The female temple priest discarded the cloth and slowly walked forward, her steps somewhat tentative.
She didn’t blink, her gaze firmly locked on Fang Cheng’s face, her expression fluctuating, with an unspeakable peculiarity.
Fang Cheng slightly raised his brows, meeting her gaze with surprise.
Pan Wendi also noticed the commotion, turned to look, and couldn’t help but laugh.
He lowered his voice in jest:
"Alright Brother Cheng, your charm is truly phenomenal; young and old alike, even the clergy can’t resist you."
Fang Cheng ignored Pan Wendi’s joke, his back leaving the pillar as he stood up straighter.
The female temple priest stopped two steps away from Fang Cheng.
Her lips quivered a bit, slowly raising her right hand, pointing at Fang Cheng’s nose.
Her finger just hovered in mid-air, silent for several seconds.
Finally, she swallowed hard, her voice slightly trembling and hesitant:
"You’re... Fang Cheng?"