248: Visit Cao Dai

Li Qinghe followed Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao to a corner of the living room, a look of surprise on his face.

“What does this cold girl want to tell me in secret? It sounds exciting,” Li Qinghe thought, looking at Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao with a head full of confusion.

“When Miss Lingxiang goes to Tay Ninh Province this time, there might be some danger on the way. Miss Lingxiang instructed me to pay close attention to your safety…”

“In short, you should stay close to Miss Lingxiang. Generally speaking, there won’t be any problems.”

To summarize the brief conversation between Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao and Li Qinghe, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao considered Li Qinghe a burden. While protecting Vu Linh Huong, she couldn't look after too many other people.

She hoped Li Qinghe would be more self-aware and not run around everywhere.

Looking at Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao’s serious expression, Li Qinghe almost burst out laughing.

“Girl, are you serious? He, Li Qinghe, would actually be considered a burden and a drag by someone else one day.”

Li Qinghe really wanted to roll up his sleeves and show her his well-developed biceps and triceps.

After some thought, he decided not to directly dampen her self-confidence, as she was, after all, working diligently.

Actually, what Li Qinghe most wanted to ask was whether Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao felt her feet were stuffy wearing boots in such hot weather.

“Chuntao, just take good care of A Xiang. If anything special happens, take her to a safe place first and don’t worry about me.”

Li Qinghe’s somewhat magnanimous words caused the ice on Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao’s face to thaw slightly.

She felt that this tall man in front of her was quite sensible.

She was a personal bodyguard specifically prepared by the Wu Family for Vu Linh Huong, sharing the responsibility for Vu Linh Huong’s safety in Southern Vietnam and Northern Vietnam with Nguyen Thi Mai Huong.

Initially, she didn't care about Li Qinghe. So what if he was tall? After years of training, she, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao, had 100 ways to easily take down such a man.

However, Vu Linh Huong had specifically instructed her last night when she asked her to come over that if anything happened, Li Qinghe’s safety must also be taken into consideration.

This increased her workload, but as a top female bodyguard in Vietnam, this slight increase in difficulty didn’t bother her at all.

She spoke to Li Qinghe because she hoped he would cooperate and not interfere with her work, as her primary focus was to protect Vu Linh Huong’s safety.

Li Qinghe’s words earned him a little more recognition from Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao.

Since Li Qinghe himself said so, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao felt a bit more relaxed. Taking care of one less person meant fewer things to worry about.

Soon after they reached a friendly agreement, Vu Linh Huong emerged from her room.

Today, Vu Linh Huong was dressed relatively conservatively and formally, perhaps because she was going to meet religious figures.

Wearing a fitted suit and suit trousers, and high heels, she exuded a different aura from before.

Vu Linh Huong

Li Qinghe also changed into a relatively casual suit shirt, looking very well-matched with Vu Linh Huong.

Vu Linh Huong was even happy enough to ask Hoang Dang Minh Thu to take several photos of her and Li Qinghe together.

An hour later, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao was driving a Mercedes S450 on Vietnam’s National Route 22.

Li Qinghe realized that Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao’s working environment was not harsh at all; she was either indoors or in the car. No wonder she didn't mind wearing large leather military boots in the hot weather.

Today, Hoang Dang Minh Thu did not accompany them to Tay Ninh, as she had a pile of things to deal with.

She was sent to Saigon to actually work, not specifically to serve Li Qinghe, although that was also a very important part of her job. Ultimately, there were more matters at the beauty salon.

Although Vu Linh Huong was a bit disappointing, she at least personally participated. Li Qinghe was very tolerant of this situation, as such a creature who felt like she was about to run out of breath so quickly was quite rare.

Maintaining a speed of 40-50 kilometers per hour on Vietnam’s national highways was already considered blazing fast.

Vu Linh Huong leaned on Li Qinghe’s shoulder and briefly introduced him to the situation in Tay Ninh Province.

Tay Ninh Province is an important transportation hub between Saigon and Cambodia, and also part of the Saigon metropolitan area.

It has a population of 2.95 million and an area of 8,500 square kilometers.

Originally, neither the population nor the area was that large, especially the area of Tay Ninh Province, which was only over 4,000 square kilometers.

As part of Vietnam’s latest policy of provincial mergers, it merged with the neighboring Long An Province, retaining the name Tay Ninh Province.

Its area suddenly surged to 8,500 square kilometers, and its population also increased from the original 1.2 million to 2.95 million.

Here lies Southern Vietnam’s highest mountain—Black Virgin Mountain, with an elevation of 986 meters. Because there is a Linh Son Tien Thach Pagoda on the mountain, this mountain is also known as Southern Vietnam’s First Holy Land.

This province also has a type of solid bamboo called Long Tou bamboo.

Hearing Vu Linh Huong say that handicrafts made from this Long Tou bamboo were very beautiful and very sturdy.

Many villages in Tay Ninh Province earn substantial income by making Long Tou bamboo handicrafts.

“There’s actually solid bamboo?” Li Qinghe couldn't help but interject.

Seeing Li Qinghe’s surprised expression, Vu Linh Huong buried her head in his arms and laughed, “Hahaha, I thought nothing could surprise you, but a Long Tou bamboo did it.”

After spending so much time with Li Qinghe, there truly weren't many things that could surprise him so much.

Amidst their laughter, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao drove the car to the Cao Dai Great Temple, the headquarters of Cao Dai, located five kilometers from Tay Ninh City.

This temple looked quite interesting, similar to their doctrine, which was a philosophy of appropriation.

It blended Gothic spires, mosque minarets, and traditional East Asian flying eaves and upturned corners, a complete collection of Eastern and Western architectural styles.

Cao Dai Headquarters Temple

Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao parked the car at the entrance of the temple, where a red carpet had already been laid out.

Li Qinghe got out of the car first, followed by Vu Linh Huong, with Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao cautiously following alongside.

At the temple entrance, an elder in a red robe, accompanied by a group of priests and followers in blue, yellow, and white robes, warmly welcomed Vu Linh Huong.

Li Qinghe heard Vu Linh Huong humbly say, “It is a great honor to have you, Cardinal, come to greet me.”

The Cardinal then laughed heartily and invited Vu Linh Huong into the temple.

Upon entering this eclectic temple, Li Qinghe felt that the founders of Cao Dai were truly capable individuals, as it brought together elements from both East and West.

The entire main hall was sumptuously decorated in both Eastern and Western styles, exuding an air of wealth and grandeur.

What caught Li Qinghe’s eye the most were the rows of magnificent pink coiled dragon pillars in the main hall—yes, pink, that very pink color.

Pink Coiled Dragon Pillars

Just for these coiled dragon pillars, Li Qinghe was willing to give them a thumbs up.

After entering the temple, Vu Linh Huong took Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao to discuss matters, leaving Li Qinghe to explore the temple on his own.

The Cardinal arranged for a white-robed follower to lead Li Qinghe on a tour and provide explanations.

This white-robed follower was quite talkative, starting with an introduction to the name of Cao Dai.

In a few sentences, Li Qinghe understood the origin of the name “Cao Dai,” which was derived from the 20th chapter of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching:

“The multitudes are joyous, as if feasting on the great sacrifice, as if ascending a tower in spring.”

The name was extracted from this sentence, and the follower explained that “as if ascending a tower in spring” meant “praying to the High Tower.”

Therefore, Laozi holds a very high position in Cao Dai.

In front of a shrine, there were several deities, and Li Qinghe recognized many familiar faces.