Knife splashing

Chapter 519 Guangde Temple

The yamen runners in Suining County seemed to be going crazy.

This was originally a day that was no different from any other.

They yawned as they ate, reported for duty, and attended class. They watched the county magistrate handle a few trivial cases, and then discussed whose house to gather at in the evening.

As the year draws to a close, there are only a few things to do.

There are more petty thieves who break into houses and set up traps to cheat people. After all, thieves also want to have a good life.

There are also those who cannot get over the New Year and take risks.

These matters depend on the attitude of the county magistrate.

If the county magistrate feels that the recent atmosphere in the county is bad and thieves are everywhere, they will directly find the leader of the Rong family in the county, give him a beating, and ask him to tell his disciples to be honest.

If a thief comes from outside and refuses to pay homage to the leader and show respect, he will be betrayed and handed over to the yamen runners to receive the reward.

This is the way for officials to survive.

They have taken deep roots in the local area and are well aware of any movements. Even if the people curse them and the officials despise them, if they want to govern an area, they still have to go through them.

But today, something strange happened.

Just after noon, some people came running to report that there was a fight at the oil press, and that people's arms were being broken like firewood for fun.

When the county magistrate heard this, he was frightened.

He didn't know where those people came from, he only knew that they held tokens that he couldn't afford to offend, so he asked his most capable subordinates to arrange accommodation for them.

If something goes wrong, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get through the New Year.

Immediately, he ordered all the yamen runners to go out.

Unexpectedly, before he even left the house, news came from Lingquan Temple that a demon had caused trouble early in the morning and many people had died, causing panic in the city.

Therefore, the entire yamen was in chaos.

Wei Feng, the chief constable of the county government, was considered an efficient official. He immediately asked the county magistrate to seek help from the nearby garrisons, and the bailiffs rushed to the city gate to stabilize the situation.

As for the oil press, he would take people to take a look first.

There are certainly reasons for doing so.

First of all, Suining County is the foundation. If there is any big trouble, no one will have a good time this year, from the county magistrate to them.

Secondly, by going to the oil press, he could express his importance, so as not to offend anyone, and at least he could show his attitude.

Therefore, most of the county government's forces ran to the city gate, and only the head of the police, Wei Feng, came to the oil press with one of his men.

As soon as he got outside, he was so angry that his head was exploding.

It turned out to be a few city foxes and rats. They had people blocking the door of the oil press while taking the opportunity to plunder the yard.

Poor people from the Prince of Shu's Mansion, their limbs were broken and they were unable to resist at all. They were afraid of losing face and dared not reveal their identities, so they could only make threats verbally.

But how could these local hooligans understand this?
Seeing that they were stubborn, he slapped them again. They were all bruised and swollen. They gritted their teeth and kept silent.

"Go away!"

Captain Wei Feng was so angry that his scalp was numb. He and his men rushed forward, holding their scabbards, and beat up these hooligans.

After chasing the man away, he laughed dryly, pretending to be clueless while also showing concern, and asked, "Everyone, you..."

But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"Don't ask anything!"

"Find someone to treat our injuries and send us away from Suining..."

"Also, don't let those people go!"

Speak in a domineering and rude manner.

It's a eunuch!
Captain Wei Feng felt his scalp tingling and nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, where is the murderer? We will..."

"It's none of your business, so keep your mouth shut!"

"this…"

"We fought on our own, okay?"

These people from the Shu Palace were acting covertly to begin with, and now that they have made a big fool of themselves, how dare they make a big deal out of it?

They were afraid that if they pushed Li Yan into a corner, he would resort to killing.

I am even more afraid of punishment from the Prince of Shu's Palace.

So, you can only swallow your anger.

"Okay, hurry up, go get the doctor!"

Seeing that the victim did not file a complaint, Captain Wei Feng naturally did not bother to make any more trouble and ordered his men to go and call for help.

After finishing the oil press, he hurried to the city gate.

Here, the situation is under control.

The yamen runners and soldiers from the garrison kept the people who came to watch the fun out, and several coachmen were being interrogated.

I saw several large carriages parked outside the city gate.

Some of the flatbed trucks at the back were piled with dead bodies wrapped in straw mats, with a strong smell of blood, while others were filled with terrified injured people.

The one in the front had a snake head on it, which was as big as half a house, with palm-sized scales and a deathly gray color. Its two snake eyes were all burst, leaving only huge holes.

The unique fishy smell of snakes is everywhere.

Captain Wei Feng felt a chill on his back and quickly went forward to ask the coachmen. Only then did he know what had happened:
To welcome the Buddha's birthday, Lingquan Temple gathered a large number of workers, and pilgrims from all over the country were stationed outside the temple.

This morning, a giant snake suddenly broke out of the ground and went crazy, hurting people everywhere. Fortunately, Buddhist masters gathered and killed it, but they also suffered heavy losses.

Outside Lingquan Temple, there was chaos.

These were workers from Suining County, funded by businessmen to transport the wounded and bodies back so that they could be buried as soon as possible.

As for the snakehead, someone suggested sending it to the county government as evidence. After all, so many people died and there had to be an explanation.

"What an idiot's decision!"

After hearing this, Captain Wei Feng almost exploded with anger.

How can we deal with such a thing so recklessly? We must first control the situation, stabilize people's hearts, and then decide what to do.

Doing so would only add to the chaos.

"He is the son of the governor..."

The subordinates hurriedly reminded him in a low voice.

Captain Wei Feng froze, trying to suppress his anger. He shouted to the people around him, "Everyone has seen it. The evildoer has been killed. The masters of Guangde Temple will definitely perform a ritual to help the deceased to rest in peace. Everyone, disperse."

"And you, first send the body to the morgue, check it and record it, and notify the victim's family to come and identify the body..."

"You guys, go around the city and tell those people that if anyone dares to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble or spread rumors to confuse the public, I will not forgive them..."

Captain Wei Feng was quite experienced. He issued one order after another to stabilize the situation and calm people's hearts as quickly as possible.

Li Yan and others were also in the crowd.

They had just walked a short distance after beating up the people from the Prince of Shu's mansion when they heard about this and ran to the city gate to watch the fun.

Looking at the huge snake head, several people looked at each other in surprise.

"Brother Yan, is this the one?"

Sharifei asked in a low voice.

Li Yan nodded, looking towards Lingquan Temple thoughtfully.

At that time, the Dragon Girl told her in a dream that there was a huge water python lurking in the underwater Dragon Girl Palace.

When Li Yan and his team arrived, there was no water python inside. They thought it was just some kind of sign and did not really exist.

Unexpectedly, he ended up at Lingquan Temple.

Could it be that there are escaped demons from the Dragon Worshiping Cult lurking inside?
Also, the people from the Shu Palace originally planned to lead them to Lingquan Temple. Is there any connection between them?

Seeing the officers start to drive people away, Li Yan also gave a wink and quickly left with a few people.

"Brother Yan, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

After returning to the old house, Sharifei immediately asked.

He has been practicing since he gained his magical powers. The feeling of growing stronger in both martial arts and spirit is simply addictive, but unfortunately, he has been busy since he came to Suining.

Li Yan naturally knew what he meant. He thought for a moment and said, "It's not appropriate to go to Guangde Temple with too many people tomorrow. I can go alone. You can stay at home and rest."

"Be careful and beware of the Shu Palace coming to take revenge."

After the instructions, everyone went about their own business.

Like Sharifei, they also want to take advantage of this peaceful time to rest and recuperate.

Lu San and Wang Daoxuan mainly practiced magic.

Unlike Li Yan, they were very careful every time they practiced, fearing that they would make mistakes in concentration and cause their soul to be injured and need to recuperate, so their speed was much slower.

The main focus is still on practicing magic.

This is the normal speed of a cultivator.

Building a three-story building is the limit of what ordinary people can achieve. The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes.

For example, Yu Longzi, the master of the Wudang Five Dragon Palace, has extraordinary talent and has been practicing in the mountains for many years. Now he is nearly fifty years old, but he is only at the fifth level.

Wang Daoxuan and Lu San were able to reach the third floor so quickly because they had traveled with Li Yan and had each obtained opportunities.

It is extremely difficult to go further.

As for Wu Ba, under the guidance of Li Yan, he began to learn some basic martial arts skills.

This is a rough gem, with awakened supernatural powers. The control over the body is almost like the instinct of a wild beast, coupled with an amazing physique. Once he practices human martial arts, no one knows what will happen.

Li Yan considered himself not to be a good master, so he only taught some basic skills. The first boxing skills had to be handed over to Wu Qu, the Baji genius from Cangzhou.

Just like that, night came unknowingly.

It seemed that the plan was disrupted, as no one from either the Dragon Worshiping Sect or the Prince of Shu's Palace came to cause trouble for them, not even anyone was sent to monitor them.

At night, Luo Jun'an, who had gone to see someone off, came back. He chatted about some news from Lingquan Temple and left in a hurry.

This time he came not just to run errands for Li Yan.

The gathering at Wangjiang Tower solved some hidden dangers and allowed Li Yan to formally come into contact with the martial arts world of Shu.

The Luo family should also take this opportunity to win over allies.

They are already standing on the opposite side of the Shu Palace.

At least when facing a counterattack, you should have the power to protect yourself.

Just as Zou Shaohai said, although Shu seems calm, there are actually undercurrents, from the court to the underworld.

Shu is a land of abundance with a closed geographical environment.

“The world was not in chaos before Shu was in chaos; the world was in order before Shu was in order.” This statement is not nonsense.

Now, all the forces in Shu, big and small, are watching these two people.

One was the King of Shu who was ordered to reflect at home.

The other is the emperor in the capital.

What happens to these two brothers will directly determine whether there will be chaos in Shu.

But Li Yan knew that it depended on two other people:
Erlang Zhenjun, and the reincarnation of Jiangshen Dajun.

What he still doesn't understand is how Lord Jiangshen will become a calamity for Lord Erlang.

What kind of opportunities can they gain from it...

…………

dong dong dong!
At dawn the next day, someone knocked on the door.

The Luo family servant opened the door, and outside was a disciple of the Divine Fist Society. He bowed respectfully and said, "I am here to invite Young Master Li on the orders of the president."

Li Yan was already prepared.

The Luo family is engaged in the Shu brocade business, so they naturally have many silk and satin shops and ready-made clothing stores, and they had prepared new clothes for everyone.

Wearing a black military robe with dark gold cloud pattern embroidered on it, Li Yan looked both capable and gorgeous.

"Where's Senior Zou?"

"Waiting for you at the dock."

Li Yan followed him to the dock, and sure enough, Zou Shaohai was already waiting on a boat. He was just an ordinary man in white clothes, and he didn't bring many disciples with him.

Guangde Temple was just on the other side of the Fu River. The two men crossed the river by boat, and after getting ashore, they rode on horseback to the foot of Wolong Mountain.

Before going up the mountain, Li Yan had already sensed something extraordinary.

The mountain roads along the way are lushly forested and quiet. Occasionally, ancient stone pagodas stand beside the road, and pilgrims and monks frequently come and go.

"Guangde Temple has a very special status."

Zou Shaohai whispered, "This is a royal Zen temple. During the Xuan Dynasty alone, the imperial court has conferred titles and awards on it more than a dozen times. There is even an imperial edict arch in the temple..."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Logically speaking, this is also a holy place for Buddhism. How could the Dragon Worshiping Cult grow stronger here and create monsters to cause trouble?"

"There is another hidden story behind this matter."

Zou Shaohai looked around and whispered, "I heard some news yesterday. There was a problem in the temple. Several monks who were staying there disappeared inexplicably."

"The day before yesterday, several high monks from the Vinaya sect came to investigate the matter secretly. They accidentally discovered that an old monk in the temple was behaving strangely."

"They teamed up to capture people, but they didn't expect that the old monk had great skills. He killed several people in succession and also lured out the snake demon hiding in the river to cause chaos."

"Old monk... who are you?"

"I'm not sure. He attracted the snake demon to cause trouble, and he took the opportunity to escape and disappeared. Maybe he is the Dragon Worshiper you mentioned."

As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived outside Guangde Temple.

But this temple is built against the mountain, with a towering mountain gate and magnificent momentum.

Zou Shaohai had obviously already greeted them. A monk who was waiting outside the mountain gate came forward and put his hands together and asked, "President Zou, Young Master Li?"

"Exactly."

"The abbot has been waiting for a long time. Please come in, two donors."

With someone leading the way, everything will be smooth.

Li Yan could feel that his supernatural powers were suppressed as soon as he entered the temple. The ancient temple was eerie and the smell of incense was strong, which gave him a vague feeling of oppression.

As you enter the temple, you will see towering ancient trees and shady green trees.

They walked along the central axis of the temple, passing by the Hengha Hall, the Imperial Edict Arch, the Stele Pavilion, the Heavenly King Hall and other halls in turn.

Soon, they arrived outside the Main Hall.

This hall has double eaves, nine ridges, and soaring wings, which makes it look majestic.

It seems that the main hall has just been renovated to welcome the Buddha's birthday. The Buddha statue is majestic and has been re-gilded. Amid the curling incense, the golden light is shining brightly.

Arriving at this place, Li Yan naturally did not dare to communicate with the gods at will.

Inside the main hall, there were already several old monks sitting under the Buddha statue, each of them looking extraordinary and solemn.

"Master, the two donors have arrived."

After the monk in charge of reception invited them in, he immediately left.

The old monk in the lead had a calm look in his eyes and his white eyebrows drooped down his chest. When he saw Zou Shaohai, a smile appeared on his face, "President Zou, I haven't seen you for a long time."

"I met the Zen Master."

Watching the two people talking, Li Yan knew that this person was Master Zhitong, the abbot of Guangde Temple and also the leader of Buddhism in the southwest.

It seems that Guangde Temple also attaches great importance to this matter.

If it was a private relationship, they would definitely be arranged in a quiet room, have tea and ask questions, but holding the main hall means that the matter concerns the entire temple.

After some pleasantries, Zou Shaohai introduced Li Yan and gave a brief account of the Dragon Worshiping Sect.

Unexpectedly, the old monks were not surprised when they heard it.

Li Yan immediately understood, "Have the masters known this?"

The leading Zen Master Zhitong sighed.
"To be honest, the leader of the Bailong Sect is none other than my uncle..."

(End of this chapter)