The Caili Mountain Temple was best known for their bronze bells. They resounded with a intensely clear sounded that brought peace of mind to all those who heard it. There were legends that the sick would become healed, the downtrodden brought up, all just from the sound of the bronze bells.
The monks of the temple prided themselves of the clarity of the sound that the bronze bells produced, treating the bells as their favorite children.
It was a well deserved pride. The villagers at the foot of the Caili Mountains would start their day by the sound of the bells, and the nobles of the capital city on the other side of the mountain would travel through the rough mountain trails to hear the bronze bells. Even those from other nations would travel miles to merely hear the bells.
However, this morning, the sound of the bronze bells did not resound into the village.
"What is happening?" the head asked, a furrow growing between his eyebrows.
"Could it be that the bells..." a villager's eyes widened in disbelief. "... cracked?"
"That couldn't be! They were made by an Armament Master themselves."
More and more rumors started circulating, and eventually the head sent a messenger up into the mountain to ask the monks about the delay in the ringing of the bells.
Unfortunately for the messenger, the road to the temple was a rough and increasingly steep one. By the time he reached the main gates of the temple, he was covered in dirt and sweat, looking worse than a beggar.
Usually, he cursed the roads. Every single time he ran up to the temple, he would trip at least ten times and turn all dirty and bloody. It was almost a rite for every trip. Thankfully, there was a nearby stream just out of sight from the temple where he washed off all the dirt and blood to look somewhat close to presentable.
Today, however, was not the usual. Without the bells, his obsessive routine for his work caused his brain to become muddled in a series of error messages. So, once he reached the temple, he did not head to the stream, but rather grabbed onto the leg of the nearest monk.
"Venerable One..." the messenger croaked out, red veins popping out of his eyes as he spoke. "... Why haven't the bells-"
"GAH!" the monk looked down at the messenger. The intense visuals of the haggard pale man grabbing onto his leg rattled his brain and he cried out, "there's a dying man here!"
The messenger, before he could relay his message, was carried into a room to be examined by a doctor.
The moment the doctor laid his eyes on the messenger muddled and confused, he sighed. "This man is most definitely not dying."
"Are you sure?" the monks peered down worriedly at the messenger. They had tied him down in case he hurt himself and looked quite ridiculous.
"Yes there is nothing wrong with his health. Now if I may leave..." the doctor hurried out.
The monks hurriedly untied the messenger and expressed their condolences. Just then, the head monk walked in.
"Sir," Ma Liaowen smiled warmly at the messenger. "You are the messenger from the Caili village, are you not?"
"Yes, I am," the messenger dumbly replied.
"Was there a message from the village head?"
The messenger looked up him blankly. "The bells haven't rung yet?" he asked in a five-year-old's sorrowful tone.
"Ah!" Liaowen sent some monks to ring the bells.
Dong~ dong~ dong~
The moment the bell rung, the messenger appeared to have retrieved his brain. His eyes lit up as he explained how he should now be on his way.
The monks however, insisted that he rest before heading back down to the village.
With his returning forethought, the workaholic messenger sought to bring back an explanation to the village head. So, he asked, quite innocently, "what was the reason for the delay in ringing the bells?"
Ma Liaowen was silent as he considered the question.
"It was the need to fulfill the duty of saving people's lives before all else," he gave an ambiguous answer before hurriedly leaving.
The messenger watched the head monk retreat with gullible eyes. "Hmm, so they need to save a dying person..."
As he muttered to himself, he heard two voices just outside of his room discussing the happenings of this morning.
"I truly thought the messenger was dying when I saw him!" One monk exclaimed.
"Two dying people ending up at our gates this morning..." another monk said as he shook his head.
(Two?) The messenger quirked up his eyebrows as he stuffed his face with bread.
"Technically, it's just one. The second one was a mere misunderstanding."
"Such a young girl, what trouble had she run into?"
"It appeared that she had traveled through the backwoods from the capital city rather than the slightly less dangerous roads that had been paved."
"And that white jade amulet she held, the most Venerable One recognized it, didn't he?"
"Indeed, he did."
The messenger frowned. (A dying young girl found at the Caili Temple? What an unusual situation.)
After living for years as the neighbor of the treacherous capital city of Xinghe Kingdom, they had decided to stay away from all troublesome matters. Today's matter should be erased from all records.