Knife splashing

Chapter 282 Ezhou Chamber of Commerce
"Shanhai Lingying Sutra?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and others frowned.

They had never even heard of this name.

Tian Wei opened the scroll and read it carefully one by one, frowning and looking very strenuous, "Nüluo... Chibao... Xinyiche... Youhuangxi..."

As he read on, his eyes suddenly lit up. "This opening is somewhat similar to the Mountain Ghost in Chuci, but it is different and more complicated! It should be a lost shamanic poem from the Chu State."

"This item is priceless. If it gets out, the entire Jingchu Confucian community will be in an uproar..."

"Of course you can't spread it randomly!"

Sharifei quickly put away the bamboo slips and shook his head, saying, "This is someone else's lineage of Dharma inheritance, how can it be passed around casually?"

"this…"

Although Tian Wei was itching to do it, he also knew what was right and wrong, so he shook his head helplessly and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Since this is related to the Dharma lineage, I will keep it a secret and will not let anyone else know."

He said this, but he meant it sincerely.

The disaster that the Tian family encountered this time was indeed terrible, and the people in front of them were really capable. If they were dissatisfied and attacked again, the Tian family would not be able to withstand it.

Lu San said in a deep voice: "Is there anyone who can recognize all of this 'Zhiying Li'?"

"That's natural."

Tian Wei nodded and said, "My master, Master Lin, has spent his entire life studying inscriptions on bronze and stone, and Zhiying Li is also a focus, but it is complex and difficult to decipher, so few people can learn it."

"Before the Dragon Boat Festival, my master will come to Wuchang with a Feng Shui master. I will introduce him to you then."

"Alright."

Li Yan nodded seriously and said, "Brother Tian will be needed when the time comes."

To be honest, he became more and more curious about Master Lin.

The other party was well versed in the customs and history of Chu. He not only understood "Zhiyingli", but also knew "Siminghui".

Perhaps the mystery of the Chu Divine Power can be solved from his mouth.

…………

Wow…

The rubble slid and the torches blazed.

Li Yan and Tian Wei walked down the alley carefully.

It was already the next morning. Wang Daoxuan, along with Mr. Tian and a group of servants, repaired the Tian family's ancestral tomb and broke the last bit of the evil spell.

Including the rituals for warding off disasters and praying for blessings, it would take at least a whole day.

Li Yan was entrusted by them to investigate the Chu tomb found by these tomb robbers to prevent any trouble.

Furthermore, the scale of the tomb robbery also determined how the Tian family dealt with it.

If it is the royal tomb of the Chu State, then the matter will become a big deal. If Tian Yuanwai's brothers do not want to be sentenced to exile, they can only flee far away.

The laws against tomb robbing have always been strict by the imperial courts of all dynasties.

If it is an imperial tomb, even Mr. Tian cannot protect it.

The two of them looked around in the light of the fire and saw that the tomb was not very big. The surrounding murals had long been weathered and difficult to distinguish. The wooden coffin was also rotten and had a big hole in it.

All the funerary objects inside were taken out.

After seeing this, Tian Wei was slightly relieved. "The rules of the Chu State's tomb system are strict. This should be the tomb of a small noble family. There is no big problem."

Li Yan asked: "They are all tomb robbers, is there any difference?"

"Young Master Li doesn't know."

Tian Wei shook his head and said, "There are countless tombs in Ezhou. From the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the present, there are tombs in any place with good feng shui."

"I traveled around Ezhou with my master. Villagers in many places would find ancient pottery from the Shang and Zhou dynasties when digging in the ground. They used it to build walls and pig pens. They didn't take it seriously at all. Digging up gold and silver was considered a windfall."

"The imperial court has no control over this matter, so it only pays attention to the tomb of the King of Chu and the tombs of those famous ministers."

"This is also a peaceful and prosperous time. If it were a chaotic time, bandits and rebels would come in droves to dig graves."

"For example, on Guishan Mountain, there are the tombs of Lu Su and Ni Heng. They were dug up during the turmoil at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Now they are just cenotaphs rebuilt by later generations."

"And the tomb of Zhong Ziqi was completely destroyed. Only some strange things happened there, but no one dared to touch it."

"Oh?"

Li Yan became interested, "Where is it?"

Tian Wei replied: "During the confrontation between the North and the South in the previous dynasty, the Golden Horde secretly dug up the tomb of the King of Chu, which resulted in the spread of corpse poison and a major epidemic in the army, causing countless deaths and injuries. The Daxing Dynasty also took advantage of the opportunity to seize Ezhou..."

"During the chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Chu army was so crazy that they dared to dig up the Yuwang Temple in the hope of finding clues to the legendary Nine Cauldrons. As a result, the generals in the army had nightmares every night and died of fright..."

"There is also the Overlord Well near Wuchang. It was dug out of the ground by the Overlord of Chu when he was defeated. It is said that there is a Dragon King in the well. The water level remains unchanged regardless of drought or flood, and the incense is very strong..."

"Anyway, there are many taboos around these places. Apart from the strict supervision of the imperial court, no one dares to touch them easily."

After hearing what he said, Li Yan immediately understood.

These places are probably the same as the imperial tombs in Guanzhong. Who knows what is hidden inside, and it would be troublesome if they were dug out.

As they were talking, the two had already returned to the Tian family's ancestral tomb.

The work here is in full swing. The craftsmen have put the tomb bricks back in place, and the remains of the ancestors of the Tian family have also been collected and buried again in the best coffins.

After a busy day, it was already afternoon.

Wang Daoxuan set up an altar to ward off disasters and pray for blessings, while the Tian family laid out offerings, knelt down to worship their ancestors, and prayed for the peace of their ancestors' souls.

We were busy all night before the matter was finally completed.

Because he was still holding a group of tomb robbers, Mr. Tian was worried about something happening, so he took his team on the road the next day and returned to Hanyang City.

There were more people in the team, and the villagers did not ask much questions, but they could not hide it from the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall who were in charge of surveillance.

Therefore, before reaching the north gate of the city, he saw several great monks waiting on the roadside. The leader was a tall man, and it was Chengjue.

"Amitabha."

The monk was still direct in his words. He glanced at the tomb robbers and asked in a deep voice, "Did anything happen on the way?"

With Lu San patrolling as the eagle, Li Yan had naturally discovered that people from the Law Enforcement Hall were following them. He did not try to hide it and directly informed them of the news about the Miao people and the kiln workers.

“Miao kiln worker?”

After hearing this, Chengjue's expression remained unchanged, but there was some disappointment in his eyes.

Li Yan was thoughtful, "It seems that the master already knew it?"

Cheng Jue was silent for a moment, "I have already guessed this matter, please do not spread it, so as not to alert the enemy."

Seeing this, Mr. Tian knew what was going on. A trace of anger rose in his eyes. "It seems that you have used my family as bait. I have donated a lot of money to Baotong Temple. You are going too far!"

"Please calm down, Mr. Tian."

Cheng Jue clasped his hands together and said solemnly, "Those Miao people are just fools who are being used by others. The mastermind behind this is hiding in the dark and has great ambitions."

"Why did they target Mr. Tian's family? This is the key. If we don't find out who is behind this, this matter will not end."

Tian Yuanwai was furious, but he also knew that the monk was right, so he could only snort coldly: "I don't need to tell you, but I hope you can do your duty and find the real murderer as soon as possible."

"That's natural."

Chengjue was not angry at all and left quickly with his men.

Watching the monks leave, Tian Yuanwai sighed helplessly, "Young Master Li, it looks like I'll have to trouble you for a while."

"I really can't figure out what those monsters are interested in from my Tian family."

Li Yan nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Tian." In fact, he was becoming more and more puzzled.

The cultivation level of this monk Chengjue is amazing. The Zen Buddhism here can make the Zhenwu Palace abandon the important docks in the three towns. You can imagine its strength.

But seeing how cautious these monks are...

I’m afraid it’s a big deal!
…………

The next morning, Li Yan got up early.

Although Mr. Tian was tired from the journey, he changed into new clothes and took Tian Wei with him.

They are about to set off for Wuchang.

Firstly, he wanted to go to the Chamber of Commerce to sign up Li Yan for the competition and also to inquire about the Xuanmen craftsmen.

Secondly, Mr. Tian wanted to meet his second brother to talk things out.

The third was to go to Wuchang Academy with Tian Wei to find out when his master, Master Lin, would arrive.

Wang Daoxuan and others still had land, houses and families to protect, so only Li Yan followed.

Hanyang City and Wuchang City are separated by only a river.

As soon as everyone arrived at the dock, they saw firecrackers popping in front of a business door. A tall Chinese toon tree collapsed with a loud bang. Dozens of men with their heads covered picked up the Chinese toon tree and ran away, with the shop owner behind them also smiling happily.

The scene before my eyes was indeed somewhat strange.

Seeing Li Yan's curiosity, Tian Wei beside him smiled and explained: "Don't be surprised, young man Li, this is stealing dragon boat wood."

"Dragon boats are long and narrow, so we must use the best wood, which must be strong and light. Here we use Chinese toon trees, which are the best and most suitable for making them."

"In the past, there was a custom that if you liked a Chinese toon tree from someone's house, you would steal it at night and then set off firecrackers to announce the good news. The owner would not blame you. It was just a formality, and nowadays it is also done in broad daylight."

"This old Chinese toon tree in front of the store is very old and can be called a treasure. I am willing to give it away this time. I don't know whose face it is..."

"So that's it." Li Yan suddenly realized.

Looking around, people were selling wormwood sachets, five-colored ropes, and realgar wine to ward off the five poisons. There were also Taoists selling peach charms along the street.

These Taoists were all ordinary people wandering around the world. The peach charms they sold were naturally of no use, but people still bought them one after another.

The Dragon Boat Festival in Ezhou is indeed more lively than that in Guanzhong.

Not only that, there were obviously a lot more people from the underworld on the dock than usual, but they were obviously all underworld artists. There was also an opera troupe that came by boat and unloaded their opera boxes one by one.

Tian Wei saw this and hesitated. He said, "Young Master Li, in previous years during the Dragon Boat Festival, the wealthy families in the city would invite a troupe to set up a stage at their doorstep to perform, which was considered a competition."

"If my Tian family doesn't do as I say, people will inevitably gossip about us..."

"Don't make things complicated!"

Tian Yuanwai beside him said in a deep voice: "Didn't you see that Baotong Zen Temple is so cautious? If we call in the opera troupe, there will be too many people and it will be difficult to avoid trouble."

Li Yan also nodded and said, "Mr. Tian is right. We must not be careless until the Law Enforcement Hall finds the mastermind behind this."

Tian Wei smiled awkwardly and didn't mention the matter again.

The group crossed the river by boat and soon arrived at Wuchang Prefecture. Before they approached the dock, they could see the towering Yellow Crane Tower in the distance.

Its flying eaves and brackets, which are stacked one upon another, and the rising water vapor around it, provide a broad view and are naturally magnificent.

Unlike Hanyang City, Wuchang Prefecture has many government offices and the Wuchang Palace which occupies half of the city. Therefore, there are many officials and people in luxurious clothes on the dock.

The streets in this ancient city are relatively neat and orderly.

Like Hanyang City, the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival is already very strong. Even at some street corners, tall stages have been set up, and many naughty children are laughing and running around inside.

The Ezhou Chamber of Commerce is located in the west of the city. After crossing two wide streets, a two-story house appears in front of you.

Unlike the secretive Jiangsu and Zhejiang Guild Hall in Yunyang Prefecture, the gate of the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce is lined with luxurious shops that not only sell local specialties, but also several shops specializing in goods obtained from maritime trade.

There were many guests coming and going, all of them dressed elegantly.

Li Yan even saw a shop that specialized in selling Western clocks and music boxes, and the goods on display were all gorgeous in style.

Tian Yuanwai saw this and whispered, "Those are goods shipped back from Portugal. They can earn ten times the profit, but they are rare. Rich families buy them to decorate their houses."

"If you are interested, Young Master Li, I will take you to pick out a few pocket watches later. These are specially made and are great for telling time."

Li Yan smiled and said, "Okay, let's go shopping later."

Just then, there was a sudden commotion on the street.

I saw a foreigner with a red head and blue eyes running for his life. He was wearing servant's clothes, holding a sharp knife, and his body was covered with blood.

Behind him, a dozen men with angry faces were chasing him.

Seeing this, pedestrians on the street all dodged.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, looked at a piece of broken tile on the ground, rubbed and kicked it with his feet, and the tile flew out with a whoosh.

He has already entered the realm of Hua Jin, and the tiles are like hidden weapons.

Bang!
The foreigner's knee was hit immediately and he fell to the ground, then was tied up tightly by the man who chased him.

The men in charge saw Li Yan's extraordinary skills, and when they saw Mr. Tian, ​​they were stunned and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "Thank you Mr. Tian for your help."

Tian Yuanwai frowned slightly, "What's going on?"

The man replied, "This man is a red-haired pirate captured by the fleet. Because he can speak Chinese, our master took him in and asked him to teach them the Chinese language."

"Who knew that this man was dishonest, secretly stealing, and molesting the maids. Fearing punishment, he wounded people with a sharp knife and escaped."

"Spare...spare my life!"

The captured foreigner immediately begged for mercy.

Mr. Tian snorted coldly, "I have long said that these red-headed foreigners have no sense of etiquette and shame, and we must be careful and vigilant. How dare you accept them as servants?"

"Mr. Tian is right."

The man smiled awkwardly and hurried away dragging the foreigner.

Mr. Tian shook his head slightly, without saying much, and led everyone into the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce was very lively.

There were merchants traveling from all over the place chatting with each other, managers and servants of the Chamber of Commerce rushing back and forth, and some people even quarreling loudly.

When Mr. Tian saw this, he quickly pulled over a steward and asked, "Why is it so lively today? What happened?"

The steward replied with a happy face: "Reporting to Mr. Tian, ​​there is news from the sea that the fleet has brought back a batch of gems from Southeast Asia. The news has spread and many merchants have come here after hearing the news."

"Oh?"

Mr. Tian seemed to be used to it and his expression remained unchanged.

But Li Yan found it interesting.

The situation in China in this world has been completely different since the Southern Song Dynasty, and up to now, it has completely deviated from the historical trajectory of the previous life.

Mr. Tian didn't bother to pay attention to these people. He took Li Yan through the corridor and came to a pavilion.

This is where the Chamber of Commerce members hold meetings.

As soon as he entered, Li Yan realized something was wrong.

There were quite a few people sitting inside, with different shapes and appearances, both men and women, all of them had extraordinary auras, and they were all experts in the martial arts world.

Zhang Xiaoshan from Wudang was also among them.

Besides him, there were two other people who didn't smell any scent...

(End of this chapter)