It all started with this morning’s news.
Luo Binhan didn’t usually watch the TV news. He only turned on the television for movies or on-demand shows, but that was before. For the past three months, he’d been feeling rather listless, so he hadn’t watched much TV at all.
But this morning, he was getting ready for a flight. His mother, a lawyer, and his half-sister were currently living abroad. Once again, his mother needed him to keep an eye on his troublesome sister, so he was up extra early. While groggily frying an egg, he casually switched on the TV, letting the news program drone on in the background.
"...Last night, a multi-person robbery occurred at a jewelry store in the city’s Hu Yang District. After police arrived swiftly on the scene, the criminals took two hostages at knifepoint: a female employee and a male customer. During the standoff, several of the criminals were unexpectedly stabbed in the main blood vessels of their legs by crystal ornaments in the shop. They have been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment..."
"...The religious and cultural exchange event being held will begin today... The vice-chairman delivered a unique and lively speech on the history of our city’s religious and cultural architecture..."
"...This is footage captured by a citizen yesterday. As you can see, a clear meteor streaked across the sky in broad daylight. Experts have currently proposed three possible hypotheses for this phenomenon..."
Luo Binhan yawned, took his fried egg into the living room to eat, then grabbed his luggage and left. After getting into a taxi, he remembered he should give his old friend Zhou Yu a call, so he fished his phone out of his pocket.
For Luo Binhan, few people could compare in importance to Zhou Yu. Their friendship began in elementary school, and they were classmates all the way through high school. Even now, the two maintained a very close relationship. Every time he went abroad, he would be sure to report in with his good friend.
The phone rang for a few seconds before it was answered. Unlike the慵懒 Luo Binhan, Zhou Yu had long maintained the habit of waking up early.
"Hey, Zhou Yu. What are you up to?" Luo Binhan asked listlessly.
Zhou Yu grunted on the other end and replied concisely, "Reading."
He said he was reading, but Luo Binhan knew he meant he was preparing his thesis. A year ago, Zhou Yu’s childhood sweetheart had suddenly disappeared. His search for her forced him to drop out of school, and he was even hospitalized multiple times due to the stress. It was only three months ago that the devastated Zhou Yu had managed to pull himself together. Now, he was using his father’s connections to find a new advisor and resume his studies.
Luo Binhan explained over the phone that he had to go abroad again for a few days, maybe even up to half a month, and asked his friend to help look after the parrot he kept at home. Zhou Yu agreed as usual.
The conversation should have ended there, but Luo Binhan was still a bit bored and wanted to chat a bit more. So he said, "Did you see this morning’s news? There was a jewelry store robbery near your place."
Zhou Yu grunted in affirmation.
"They even took hostages... Got some nerve, huh?"
Zhou Yu grunted again.
His friend’s response wasn’t very enthusiastic, but Luo Binhan hadn’t lost interest. He had an inexplicable, almost instinctual passion for this kind of dangerous affair.
He rubbed his freshly shaven chin and mused, "Don’t you think it’s weird? Several of the robbers got stabbed in the thigh by shattered crystal jewelry. I could understand getting stabbed in the foot, but how do you get stabbed in the thigh? Do they all like to slam their legs into broken things?"
"A coincidence, probably," Zhou Yu answered from the other end of the line.
"Hey, how can you be so calm... By the way, what were you doing last night? Did you hear the sirens?"
"Yeah. I was at the store last night, picking out your birthday present."
Luo Binhan was reminded. His birthday was next month, but it wasn’t much to look forward to. His birthdays had been dull ever since his parents divorced. He was a little curious about what Zhou Yu was planning to get him, but Zhou Yu had always been tight-lipped.
Just as he was considering how to pry the information out of the guy, the taxi turned onto an old street. Luo Binhan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately forgot all about his birthday present, hastily saying a few more words before hanging up.
Ciji Cathedral, located at the end of the old street, was said to be a century old. While its origins were not exactly glorious, there was no denying the building was beautiful. It had tall, steep spires and extravagant, magnificent rose windows—though the latter were actually installed when the building was renovated in the last decade, attracting many tourists to take photos.
At this moment, the front of the cathedral was piled high with fresh bouquets of roses, and two large clusters of rainbow-colored balloons were tied to the main entrance. Most striking of all was a five-meter-long red banner that read: "Warmly Welcome the Mages of Qinglian Temple for an Exchange." Beneath that banner, in front of the cathedral, stood a line of monks in gray robes.
Luo Binhan was captivated by the surreal scene. Even the taxi driver was mesmerized. He subconsciously slowed down, trying to get a few more seconds to take in the Mysterious picture.
"Driver, what do you think a monk and a nun could possibly have to talk about?" Luo Binhan asked, his eyes glued to the scene.
The taxi driver, a man of some insight, wiped his hand on the steering wheel and said confidently, "That depends on their bosses’ attitudes."
"So, can Buddha and God get along?"
"I think it depends. We’re all under the same red flag here; who can do without the other? Best to just be honest and make do."
Luo Binhan was suddenly struck by the depth of the driver’s words, and a sense of respect washed over him. He asked earnestly, "Are you a Buddhist?"
The driver chuckled. "I follow the Dao."
Realization dawned on Luo Binhan. He said repeatedly, "My apologies, my apologies. May the Buddha grant you boundless fortune."
"That’s ’May good fortune be boundless,’ and if you want a Buddha’s hand, go buy the fruit yourself. Hey, kid, you religious?"
"I am. I’m a Pastafarian."
"A what now?"
"Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. It says the world was created by a true god. And that god looks like a bowl of noodles. To foreigners, it’s spaghetti. To us, it could be Yangchun noodles, noodles with soybean paste, a big bowl of wide noodles..."
The driver was baffled. With the AC blasting, he said, "Are you hungry or something? I’ve got a bag of egg rolls here... Whoa, how come there’s a kid with those monks?"
He stared out the window in surprise. Luo Binhan followed his gaze and saw a boy emerge from the line of gray-robed monks. The boy’s clothes were also strange—a semi-ancient red robe, but his short hair was sticking up messily.
When he caught a glimpse of that familiar back, Luo Binhan nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Driver, stop the car!"
The taxi driver pulled over, bewildered. Luo Binhan paid as quickly as he could, then rushed out, dragging his suitcase behind him.
He ran to the cathedral entrance. The boy in red was already gone. The queuing monks stared at him quizzically, their bright, shiny heads stirring up some very bad memories for Luo Binhan.
"H-he’s probably not in there, right?"
Luo Binhan swallowed hard and scanned the faces of the monks one by one. Thankfully, there was no one he recognized.
Just then, the cathedral doors opened. Nuns in black habits filed out in an orderly line, inviting the monks inside. Luo Binhan’s eyes lit up again—he noticed that the nuns in the front row were exceptionally beautiful. The black robes concealed their bodies completely, but their faces were still so stunning it was impossible to look away.
The monks went inside. Then, a beautiful nun approached Luo Binhan and said, "Would you like to come in, sir?"
Luo Binhan was taken aback. "Is that... appropriate?"
The nun looked at him gently. Her eyes were especially beautiful, as clear as crystal.
"The Lord does not refuse any lost soul."
Luo Binhan, a believer in the Big Bowl of Wide Noodles, wanted to sternly refuse the Lord, but the Lord’s nun was simply too beautiful. His head felt dizzy, his vision filled with nothing but those eyes, as clear as a tranquil lake.
"Please, follow me."
He followed the nun. They didn’t enter the chapel at all, but instead went to a small side hall. Luo Binhan had no thoughts about how strange this was; his mind was filled with nothing but the nun’s soft whispers.
"Please sit here."
Luo Binhan sat down in the armchair. It was the only chair in the entire side hall, and for some reason, it came with a mismatched set of rusty handcuffs and leg-irons. The nun, gentle and considerate, fastened them on him, making sure they were tight.
’Something feels wrong. Why would a leather chair come with iron shackles?’
The nun clasped her hands before her chest and walked gracefully toward him. She gave a light smile, and Luo Binhan’s head suddenly cleared.
He looked at his shackled hands and feet and began to scream his lungs out. When the nun started to take off her clothes, he howled even more desperately.
"Let’s talk this out! Don’t use your beauty as a weapon—"
The nun shed the heavy, dark outer fabric. The body beneath was curvy and alluring, sparking the imagination. But her jade-like skin was also covered by something else—a strange kind of tight-fitting garment made of thin iron chains, leather, and metal plates. It was light armor that protected only the vitals.
She reached a hand behind her back. Luo Binhan thought her waist was so slender it could be encircled by a single hand. Her wonderful body was wrapped tightly in the bodysuit, yet she somehow produced a device resembling a taser. She pressed it against Luo Binhan’s throat with a CLICK and asked, "Where is the Hunting Dog?"