Chapter 380

Sunlight streamed through the latticed windows of the meditation hall, scattering golden fragments across the floor.

Isabella Langley sat upright on the meditation cushion, her skirt fanning out like lotus petals. Her fingers absently traced the smooth surface of the new jade bracelet around her wrist, its warmth carrying a faint scent of sandalwood.

"Isabella, please have some tea."

Abbot Xingyun slid a celadon teacup toward her. Wisps of steam curled upward, softening the kind lines of his aged face. Isabella noticed his calloused hands trembling slightly—clear evidence of the sleepless night he'd spent crafting the bracelet.

"About that herbal prescription yesterday—"

The teacup clinked against the wooden table. Isabella's lashes fluttered as ripples disturbed the tea's surface. She distinctly remembered tending to Sebastian Valdemar at the winery yesterday. When had she visited the temple?

Yet the abbot was already lost in reminiscence. "In sixty years of practicing medicine, I've never seen such an exquisite formula. Three qian of bupleurum root, scutellaria..." His milky eyes brightened as he recited the ingredients with reverence. "Thirty-seven villagers suffering from high fever—all recovered after taking it."

Bamboo leaves rustled outside the window.

Isabella stared at her reflection in the tea, suddenly recalling Evelyn Roland's pale complexion this morning. Her white-clad sister was probably keeping vigil at Sebastian's bedside right now.

"This bracelet..."

"Carved from our temple's treasured mutton-fat jade." The abbot stroked his beard with a smile. "Such skilled hands and compassionate heart deserve this blessing."

Commotion erupted from the front courtyard.

Turning, Isabella saw her parents surrounded through the rice-paper window. Business tycoons vied for the Rolands' attention, and even her usually stern father wore an uncharacteristic smile.

"But I..."

"No need for modesty." The abbot lowered his voice. "I saw that young lady with the silver bracelet this morning too."

Isabella's pupils constricted.

The jade bracelet suddenly burned against her skin. She remembered the drenched figure on the mountain path at dawn—frail as mist about to dissolve.

The scent of vegetarian dishes drifted from the dining hall.

The abbot stood to open the wooden window, revealing mist-shrouded mountain peaks in the distance. "Some connections," he said meaningfully, "appear accidental but were fated all along."

Footsteps approached the meditation hall.

Sophia Roland's voice carried through: "Isabella? Is the master keeping you for lunch?"

Isabella's grip tightened around the teacup.

The prescription. The bracelet. The villagers. Fragments swirled in her mind. Suddenly she understood—this ordinary morning was unraveling an extraordinary secret.