Knife splashing

Chapter 365: The Old Ghost in the Temple
"This man is called Bai Xiazi."

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Qianhu Wu Degui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a towel. "He was originally a dungeon in Xiangyang City. He liked to cheat and deceive people. He had a bad reputation. Later, he made a fortune and became a wealthy businessman."

"After becoming rich, he still did not do good things. He helped the Yangtze River pirates sell stolen goods and secretly harmed people to practice evil methods."

"A few months ago, Young Master Li, you broke into the Ghost Cult of Dangyang County and found a list of names that included this person. We cooperated with the Law Enforcement Hall to capture him, but unfortunately he has disappeared without a trace. I didn't expect him to appear here again..."

It turned out to be the case.

After hearing this, Li Yan suddenly understood.

No wonder this person is so familiar with him.

Tongtian Sanniang in the Earth Immortal Cave was originally the leader of the Ezhou Ghost Cult. After being killed by them, they obtained a list with the names of many wealthy businessmen and officials on it, causing the Ghost Cult to suffer heavy losses.

This ghost cult probably had a bad rapport with him. Since entering Ezhou, they had encountered it several times. From Zigui to Wuchang, their plans had been destroyed by him, which attracted Zhao Changsheng's attention.

Therefore, he was assassinated when he entered the city.

After realizing this, Li Yan didn't care.

Although he and Zhao Changsheng had never met before, they had a karmic feud since they were born in this life, which must be settled.

He revealed the other party's background, which led to the court's all-out efforts to deal with him. It was not surprising that Zhao Changsheng hid in the dark and issued a wanted order for him.

Not only the Ghost Cult, but also forces like the Tiansheng Cult and some scums in the Green Forest Road will be eyeing him covetously in the future.

Outside the dilapidated temple, screams and groans were heard continuously.

Most of the people in the Duwei Division still used ordinary muskets with limited power, so there were more casualties than deaths among the Tiansheng believers outside.

This is a great achievement!
We can definitely get a lot of information about the Tiansheng Sect from these people. By following the clues, we may be able to catch more rebels.

Not to mention the members of the Duwei Division, even the captain Wu Degui was so excited that his face flushed slightly, "Young Master Li, what do you think we should do with these people?"

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Take him out and interrogate him on the spot first. There are spies in Xiangyang City, and they have more than one base. Once we find the intelligence, we will take action immediately."

"Young Master Li, what you said makes sense!"

Wu Degui also nodded in agreement.

Li Yan looked around and said in a deep voice: "You should interrogate from a distance. There is something wrong with this place. I am afraid it is related to the source of the plague. Let me find the cause first."

"Row."

Wu Degui did not ask any more questions and ordered his men to carry all the injured and dead bodies away and interrogate them in batches.

For these torture masters, not only can they get the inside scoop on the other party, but they can also infer more intelligence from the details based on each person's confession...

After everyone left, the temple became quiet again.

“There is a real problem here.”

Lu San, who was standing by, said solemnly, "Without snakes, insects, rats or ants, the small animals outside will instinctively avoid them."

"Ah."

Li Yan looked at the dilapidated temple hall and said thoughtfully: "Just now the old ghost said that he couldn't find it even if he found this place. He must be talking about something inside..."

Having said that, he strode towards the main hall.

As he walked, he spoke: "According to Wu Degui, this temple was originally named 'Zhaode Temple' and was built by the previous king Daxingxiang in memory of his mother. The regulations should be similar to the current ones."

"I have seen this kind of temple. The front hall usually enshrines Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the middle hall enshrines Buddha or Guanyin, and the back hall enshrines Maitreya. The front hall has been destroyed, and Guanyin should be enshrined inside..."

As they were talking, the two of them had already walked into the hall.

Sure enough, in the dilapidated hall, stood a towering statue of Guanyin, surrounded by dust, burnt charcoal and carbonized human heads on the ground.

Like the Buddha statues in temples, there are also many kinds of Guanyin statues, representing different meanings.

If the willow holding a pure bottle is called Yangliu Guanyin, also known as Sheng Guanyin, it means good weather and good harvest. When the common people build temples, they often worship this Guanyin...

There is the Sutra-holding Guanyin, also known as the Voice-hearing Guanyin. Most of the images are of Bodhisattvas sitting on rocks, holding a sutra in their right hand and resting their left hand on their knees, implying that they care about the world and that their wishes will come true. They are enshrined in thatched cottages or on rocks...

There is also the White-robed Guanyin. According to legend, during the chaos in the Central Plains, Guanyin appeared in white clothes on the Ghost Festival to save the souls of the dead. Therefore, the White-robed Guanyin represents rebirth in the Western Paradise...

The one in front of you is the White-robed Guanyin.

But the statue has been damaged, the colorful sculpture is mottled and the clay is exposed, even the head has fallen off and rolled to the side, not to mention any smell of incense.

When Li Yan saw it, he frowned immediately.

This temple is very strange. The dead monks have turned into ghosts chanting sutras and are unwilling to leave. Even the door panels, door frames, stone carvings and other small items have turned into hairy gods. There is also a smell of incense.

It must be related to something.

In the main hall, apart from this dilapidated statue of Guanyin, there is really nothing else to see.

I took out the compass and checked it. The needle was extremely disordered...

Using my sense of smell, I can't smell a single odor...

Let Rat Rat and Rat Two explore, they just think this place is scary...

Li Yan pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered that when he first entered the temple, the Mao gods and monk ghosts were noisy, but now it was unusually quiet and there was not a trace of smell.

"Quick, help me get a basin of water."

Li Yan greeted and took down an oil lamp from the altar. After Lu San fetched water, he lit the oil lamp, held the hook, made some hand gestures, and took a step forward.

This is a method of communicating with the gods, which was discovered by Liu Gang and others.

Call ~
In an instant, the surrounding scene changed drastically.

The originally dilapidated hall now looked even more eerie, covered with dense moss, but lifeless, and looked more like it was rotten and moldy.

A rustling sound came from above.

Li Yan suddenly looked up and looked.

The caisson and beams on the top are all small shrines stacked up one after another, with dense carvings of gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as if they were standing in the Western Paradise, looking down at the living beings below...

As if noticing his gaze, the rustling noise disappeared instantly, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also became stiff and motionless.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and retracted his secret technique.

When he opened his eyes again, the beam caisson had returned to normal. There was no shrine or Buddha statue anymore. It looked ordinary and covered with dust.

"Let's go, there's nothing here."

Li Yan shouted deliberately and signaled to Lu San with his eyes.

Lu San understood instantly and left quickly with him.

After leaving the outer area of ​​the ruined temple, insects and ants appeared around it again. Lu San then asked, "What did you find?"

"Heavenly treasures!"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "I heard from Zhao Luzi that some powerful treasures from heaven and earth would be occupied by some monsters and gods and turned into something like a paradise. I didn't expect to see one here." In fact, what Zhao Luzi told him was even more bizarre.

Each of these heavenly and earthly treasures is extraordinary. After being possessed by monsters, they sometimes lure human souls in, as if it were a dream, in which one seems to be visiting the paradise of fairyland.

In some books of strange stories, there are often mentions of people getting lost in the mountains, or dreaming in the middle of the night and mistakenly entering the residence of gods. This is what they are talking about.

The most famous one is the Beijiang Xiantang.

Some fox, yellow, white and willow ancestors, whose cultivation is comparable to that of earthly immortals, do not need to possess a body to speak, but will directly recruit disciples to enter the immortal hall, issue orders or teach methods...

At this time, Wu Dehai also came over.

It was not only him who came. Captain Zhou of the Xiangyang Guard also came with two hundred cavalrymen and completely surrounded the place.

After hearing what Li Yan said, both of them were amazed.

Wu Dehai said quickly: "Young Master Li, those people have confessed. They don't know who the traitor is in Xiangyang City, but they know the arrangements in other places."

"They have sent evil cultivators to several nearby villages to take advantage of the plague to deceive people and overthrow the land temple, preparing to secretly start a riot..."

"There was originally an ancient military fort in the mountains of Nanzhang County, which was built during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It was famous because Guandi once stayed there and read the Spring and Autumn Annals at night. It was called Chunqiu Fort. After it was abandoned, it was occupied by the Miao and Man mountain people."

"According to these people, the mountain people in that place have been bewitched by the ghost cult, and a large number of elite soldiers have been stationed there..."

Captain Zhou also nodded with a serious expression and said, "I roughly know what they want to do."

"Further west of Nanzhang County is Baokang County, adjacent to the Shennongjia Mountains and forests. There are imperial court troops stationed there, blocking the Tiansheng Sect's troops in the mountains."

"Baokang County has the Ju River, which leads to Dangyang and into the Yangtze River. Nanzhang County has the Man River, which leads directly to the Han River and is connected to Jingmen."

"The Tiansheng Rebellion is currently being suppressed by the imperial court in the mountains and forests of Jingchu. If these two places are lost, they can directly invade the Han River and the Yangtze River, cutting off the imperial army's food and fodder, and also take advantage of the situation to go straight to Jingmen and Yichang to join forces with the Tusi rebels..."

Wu Dehai also nodded and said: "We have sent people to report this matter, but the key is to eliminate the epidemic."

"If the epidemic in Xiangyang spreads, the imperial court will be in trouble even if it sends troops to station and support."

"I'm afraid this source is related to the stuff inside. Young Master Li, what should we do?"

"Simple!"

Li Yan glanced at the ruined temple and said coldly, "Send people to the nearby mountains to cut peach branches, and burn this place down tomorrow during the day!"

Call ~
Just as he finished speaking, a strong cold wind blew in the temple, and white mist rose up, making the entire ruins blurry and strange again.

"alert!"

Captain Zhou shouted angrily, and the cavalrymen he brought raised their muskets, and some even picked up fire caltrops.

However, as the wind howled, the surrounding war horses seemed to be frightened, neighing and becoming restless.

Seeing this, Lu San pinched his fingers and made horse sounds to calm the war horses.

Captain Zhou was furious. He suddenly pulled out a token from his bosom and shouted angrily, "The imperial army is here. How dare you evil spirits disturb us? Do you want to be killed?"

After seeing this, Li Yan was speechless.

Will these things obey the orders of the court?

But something happened to his surprise.

Although the fog was still thick in the ruins, the wind was obviously weaker and the war horses were no longer frightened.

Seeing Li Yan's surprised look, Captain Zhou whispered: "This is a secret method of the army. There are many such things in various parts of Shenzhou. If you encounter a smart one, you will know the majesty of the court and fear that it will attract the Xuanmen soldiers to strangle you..."

As he was speaking, figures suddenly appeared in the thick fog. Some of them looked like monks with their hands clasped together, while others looked like arhats and bodhisattvas. Their shadows were vague and blurry.

Li Yan was amused when he saw this, "Oh, do you really think this place is the paradise of the west?"

As he said this, he took out the warrant from his bosom, ready to summon the soldiers from the underworld to capture all these things in one swoop.

At this moment, an old man sighed in my ear, "We don't want to cause trouble, so why should the superiors be so aggressive?"

Li Yan looked around and saw that other people's expressions remained unchanged. He immediately understood that the voice was the voice of ghosts and gods, which they could not hear.

Thinking of this, he spoke directly and said in a cold voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't want to cause trouble, why would you send people to the city to harm others?"

He spoke suddenly, leaving Captain Zhou and Wu Degui confused.

The two were about to ask, but were stopped by Lu San, who signaled them not to speak.

In the thick fog, an old voice reached Li Yan's ears, "There is another hidden story behind this matter. Please listen to my explanation, sir."

"I was originally a thousand-year-old nanmu tree from Shu. After being cut down, I was transported to Xiangyang and became the main beam of Zhaode Temple. Day and night, I was influenced by the incense of Buddhism and realized the Dharma of Pure Land bliss."

"During the war, the temple was destroyed. I used my secret method to protect the remaining souls of the monks in the temple from being harmed by the shamans of the Golden Horde Wolf Country. Many Taoist monks died at that time, and the temple was also infested with hairy gods..."

"When Immortal Sanfeng passed by this place, he made an agreement with me. As long as I restrain these residual spirits and gods and do not harm the surrounding mountain people, I can practice in peace and wait for the temple to be rebuilt a hundred years later."

Li Yan snorted coldly: "Since we have an agreement, why do we have to break the oath?"

The old voice replied, "To show my sincerity, I spit out the wooden heart, which was carved into a soul tablet by Patriarch Sanfeng and placed under the Xiangyang City God Temple, under the supervision of the City God."

"But more than a decade ago, a scholar named Lu suddenly came to me with a soul tablet and asked me to obey him. I dared not disobey him, so I secretly sent people to the City God Temple, but they were killed on the way..."

"More than a decade ago, a scholar named Lu?"

An idea suddenly occurred to Li Yan, "Do you know King Nanmu?"

According to Master Tuo, there was a Nanmu King in the Han River near Xiangyang City. He was very ferocious and scared the people so much that they secretly built a Nanjun Temple to worship him.

More than ten years ago, it was a scholar named Lu who subdued this monster.

The old voice replied, "The Nanmu King is dead, but someone used evil magic on him. After his death, he was filled with resentment. His body was cut into pieces and hidden in various places in Xiangyang. This is the source of this plague."

"There are some in the temple too. Those people put them in my body and used sacrifices to catalyze them, spreading them to nearby water sources. Vinegar can control this..."

Call ~
As they were talking, there was a sudden strong sound of wind.

A piece of wood rolled out of the ruined temple and landed in front of everyone with a thud.

When everyone looked down, they saw that it was indeed a piece of golden nanmu wood, but it had turned into sunken wood and was covered with moss that looked like mold spots.

"Stay away, everyone!"

Li Yan quickly asked everyone to step back, and then asked the soldiers of the garrison to fetch the vinegar cloth they carried with them and cover it tightly.

After doing all this, Li Yan turned his head and looked at the ruins again, and said coldly: "If you hand over this thing, aren't you afraid that those people will destroy the soul tablet?"

The old voice sighed and replied, "The bliss I cultivated is ultimately false. This time is a calamity. If I cannot escape it, I can only accept my fate."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Since you are willing, do you dare to give it a try?"

　The second update will be sent in the afternoon

　　
　
(End of this chapter)