Knife splashing

Chapter 95 Yaowang Temple at the Foot of Zhongnan Mountain

Left Councillor Lu Kang!
To be more precise, we should add the word "before".

This guy is Zhou Pan’s backer.

Li Yan even suggested to Zhang Shitong that they kill the old man.

This man can be described as a huge corrupt official in Guanzhong. There are more than one money-making ruthless person like Zhou Pan, and he was almost deceived by his hypocritical appearance.

Seeing the strange looks on their faces, Lu Kang thought they were shocked by his identity, so he shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it. I have resigned and returned to my hometown. I am no longer a left councilor."

"Oh, excuse me."

Li Yan and the other two took a look and turned back to the house.

Seeing the three people's reactions, Lu Kang was obviously surprised.

The middle-aged guard Feng Ping whispered, "Master, these are rough men from the underworld. They don't know etiquette. You don't need to pay attention to them."

Lu Kang looked at the sky and nodded, "It looks like the rain will stop early. Let's set off now and rest at the Zhongnanshan official post. It's a good opportunity to take my wife and daughter to the mountain to worship."

"Yes, sir."

The guard Feng Ping bowed respectfully, then made some arrangements, and soon he led the team out of the deserted house.

"Pfft!"

After they left, Sharifei couldn't help but sneer, "This old guy, he looks like a human but he's still pretending even after he stepped down, it's disgusting!"

Wang Daoxuan also laughed in silence and shook his head, saying, "I looked at his face. His forehead is full, his base is thick, and his eyes are clear and bright. He looks like a wealthy and kind person. I didn't expect him to be such a traitor who looks loyal."

"You really can't judge a person by his appearance..."

They wanted to deal with Zhou Pan, so Lu Kang naturally collected some information.

This left-handed councilor was born in a poor family and spent half his life in officialdom. He was notoriously cruel and greedy. In a short period of time, he made the Lu family a famous family in Shangluo.

The key point is that the opponent is slippery and ruthless. He has participated in many things, but he can retreat easily and shake off the mud on his body. Otherwise, how could he make the powerful Li family worried.

If it weren't for his bad luck, he would probably have become the governor of Shanzhou.

Sharifei rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "This old man has been an official for many years and has accumulated a lot of wealth. He has also offended the new governor, so he can be called a big fat sheep."

"If we kill him, we can not only get money, but also gain a reputation of being a righteous man. The powerful people in the outlaw world will probably flock to us."

"We better stay away from them to avoid getting covered in blood!"

Li Yan also smiled and said, "That makes sense. With Lord Lu as our target, we can safely pass Niubeiliang and head to Fengyang earlier."

"Let's wait two hours before leaving."

With a plan, everyone is naturally less anxious.

We waited until the Si hour when the sky cleared up completely before we set off.

After going downhill and turning a few bends, the road becomes difficult.

This Qin-Chu Ancient Road is very old. In some places, the bluestone on the ground has long been broken and mixed with mud. It is bumpy after rain, and it is uphill all the way, so horses often slip.

At this time, several porters showed their abilities.

They carried hemp ropes on their shoulders and stood on both sides of the carriage, cooperating with each other, pushing the cart while changing their steps. It seemed that you were on the left and I was on the right, but the heavy coffin was always stable.

Even when passing through potholes, it is still stable.

"Good work!"

When Li Yan saw this, he couldn't help but cheer.

Wang Daoxuan smiled and said, "That's right. As the saying goes, there are ten kinds of funerals, eight of which are of great value."

"The porter-carrier profession is the strongest in the capital. I heard that they practiced lifting the emperor's pole. They had 72 people working together to lift a dulong wood of the same weight. A bowl of water was placed on top. They had to practice to the point where no matter how many ditches and bumps there were, the water wouldn't spill!"

"That place is called Jixiangso."

The leader of the porters, Yue Ba'e, smiled and said, "Their skills are much better than ours. They have several positions: the leader, the flag bearer, the flag bearer, the tail, and the servant. Not only are they very skilled, but they also have many people from the mysterious sect."

As he spoke, he whispered mysteriously, "I've heard a rumor that more than ten years ago, there was a severe drought in the north, the Yellow River stopped flowing, and at the same time, a dragon turned over, shaking out a stone dragon coffin, and strange phenomena appeared in the sky, and many people died."

"It was the people from the Jixiang Institute who cooperated with the Taixuan Orthodox Sect and performed rituals to carry the stone dragon coffin into Wangwu Mountain to suppress it, and only then did they settle down..."

Wang Daoxuan was also full of curiosity. "I have vaguely heard about it, but few people know about it, and they all keep silent. Could it be that Master Yue knows the inside story?"

Yue Ba'e smiled bitterly and said, "I am just an ordinary person. Although I know some taboos in the industry, when I really encounter something, I can only stare blankly. How can I know such secrets?"

"The founder of our industry worships the God of Poverty. After all, we are from the lowest class. If there is no other way, who would be willing to do this? Just enough to make a living."

Seeing this, Wang Daoxuan quickly changed the subject, looked at the mountains in the distance, and said with a smile: "Since I have nothing to do, I will tell you a story to relieve my boredom."

"The old man, Medicine King, has been living in seclusion in Mount Zhongnan for many years. One night, an old man came to ask for help, claiming to be an old dragon in the Kunming Lake in Chang'an. Because the weather has been dry recently and there has been no rain for several months, a foreign monk performed a ritual by the lake to pray for rain, which attracted the people to burn incense and kneel down in worship."

"However, this foreign monk actually has evil intentions. He wants to take advantage of the people's resentment to kill the dragon and take its brain to make medicine. The King of Medicine said that it is not difficult to save you, but in the Dragon Palace at the bottom of Kunming Lake, there are 3,000 immortal medicine prescriptions. If you borrow them and take a look, I will help you get rid of this disaster."

"The old dragon was in a dilemma, saying that this recipe came from heaven, and the Emperor of Heaven had strictly ordered that it should not be spread without permission. But the King of Medicine insisted, and the old dragon had to agree in order to save his life. A moment later, the water level of Kunming Lake surged, and the monk died of anger."

"This is the Thousand Gold Prescription, which saved countless lives."

Sharifei shouted, "I've heard of him. He's the Medicine King Fulong."

Li Yan was thoughtful, "I heard this story when I was a child, but now it seems a bit strange."

"Everyone in the world is like Ye Gong who loves dragons. If there is a dragon in Kunming Lake, I'm afraid all the Taoists in the world will be in an uproar. And the method used by that foreign monk seems to be hiding treasures, but it's just under the name of praying for rain."

"Also a possibility."

Wang Daoxuan smiled and said, "In the past, Chang'an was glorious and glorious, and many Taoist masters gathered here. There were even sorcerers from the Western Regions and Southeast Asia. Perhaps there was another hidden secret, but it is not something we can know."

"I'm talking about this for another reason. When we pass by Mount Zhongnan, although we can't go up the mountain to burn incense and visit the masters, there is a Medicine King Temple at the foot of the mountain. It's very popular, and we can go there to burn three incense sticks when the time comes."

Li Yan nodded and said, "The Medicine King has immeasurable merits, so naturally we have to go and pay our respects to him."

The driver, Old Mengtou, had also jumped off the shaft and was leading the horse himself, using his experience to avoid the slippery and dangerous slopes. Hearing this, he was silent for a moment, "Old man, I don't know what disease my grandson has, he has been stupid since birth. I will also go to burn some incense."

It was like this when climbing a mountain. With a goal in mind, we walked with more energy. Just after 3 p.m., we arrived at the foot of Mount Zhongnan.

I saw continuous mountains, shrouded in clouds and fog, and the forest was quiet and deep. Several mountain paths meandered into the mountains, but were blocked by the dense forest and white fog.

When we arrived here, there were obviously a lot more people.

Firstly, there were many incense-burning groups, and only a part of them came from Guanzhong. Many others came from other states from thousands of miles away.

The journey is long and everyone is exhausted, but this is just the starting point. It will take some effort to enter the mountains, so we choose to rest at the foot of the mountain first and regain our energy before going into the mountain to worship.

Secondly, all the ancient roads in Qinling are important roads connecting the north and the south, and there are supporting facilities such as passes, post stations, shops, and stores along the way.

In a place like this, there is a Zhongnan Posthouse, and there are several inns and teahouses around it, and even a shop specializing in selling incense and candles, so naturally there are a lot of people.

Li Yan's feelings were even deeper.

He looked at the Zhongnan Mountains, his eyes full of shock.

He had been here in his previous life, but with supernatural powers, it was a completely different scene.

Wang Daoxuan once told him that all famous mountains and rivers, paradise on earth, and blessed places are connected to the earth veins below and the sun, moon, and stars above, which allow the innate qi to gather and form a "situation."

Mount Zhongnan is not included in the list of blessed places because it is not a single mountain, but a mountain range in the middle section of the Qinling Mountains. Mount Taibai, one of the main peaks, is the "Xuan De Cave Heaven" and Mount Cuihua is the "Xicheng Taixuan Jizhen Cave Heaven".

In other words, he has not yet reached the core area.

But even so, he could smell a clear and powerful aura, which was a little sober, yet majestic and vast, like a giant standing between heaven and earth, and a sense of oppression came over him.

Wang Daoxuan laughed when he saw this and said, "You'll get used to it after a while. The Qinling Mountains are a large dragon vein, and there are many similar areas."

"You have the ability of nose, so you can feel it deeply. I don't have such good fortune. It was only with the help of the altar that I could experience the taste of it."

"The cultivation of Xuanmen is not just for the sake of magic and supernatural powers. Just seeing this vast world is enough to make the trip to the human world worthwhile..."

"The Taoist priest is right."

Li Yan came back to his senses, sighed, and looked forward to the paradise even more.

It was obvious that their team, which was sending off the deceased, was not welcome anywhere. Not to mention the inns, even the teahouses did not want them to get close.

Everyone was very understanding and parked the carriage far away in the woods beside the road. They agreed to guard it in groups, go to the Medicine King Temple to worship, and then continue on their way.

Anyway, looking at the situation, they can only sleep in the countryside except for dilapidated temples and deserted houses along the way. As long as it doesn't rain, they can travel day or night.

"Brother Yan, look!"

Sharifei suddenly pointed to the right.

That is the area where the imperial post station is located.

Post stations can be said to be one of the most important facilities of the imperial court, and they come in various sizes.

A large post station usually includes a posthouse, a post office, a postmaster's house, a military officer's office, a horse temple, a stable, a warehouse, a prison cell, and postman's quarters. There are walls built around the outside, and together with the people living nearby, it can be called a small city.

Zhongnan Posthouse was only a small posthouse due to its limited space, but it had all the necessary facilities. Through the courtyard wall, one could hear the neighing of war horses in the stable next to it.

At the entrance of the post station, the postmaster, with a respectful look on his face, saw off a group of people. They were Lu Kang's family and their guards.

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I miscalculated. If I had known they were going to go up the mountain, why would I have waited for two hours?"

At this point, they didn't think any more and followed Wang Daoxuan away.

“They are going into the mountains.”

Wang Daoxuan saw the road chosen by Lu Kang and others, shook his head and said, "It will take at least two days to go up the mountain. It seems that this Lord Lu is not in a hurry at all."

"Let's go, this is the road leading to the Medicine King Temple."

Just as he said, the Yaowang Temple is not far away. It is just around a bend along the mountain road. It is built in a valley, covers a large area and has a quiet environment.

At this time, there were already quite a few pilgrims, coming and going, all with solemn expressions.

There was a young man who was probably burning incense for his relatives. He kowtowed with tears in his eyes and kept muttering, "Medicine King, my mother has been ill and bedridden for a long time. She is getting thinner day by day. Please bless her to get better soon..."

There are many people who burn incense like him.

As if affected by this atmosphere, the rickshaw driver, Old Mengtou, had red eyes. He burned incense and kowtowed respectfully with a pious look on his face.

Seeing this situation, Li Yan also felt emotional.

To be honest, he didn't know how useful burning incense was. Those who could gather divine energy in the secular world were all earth gods. They could protect an area from being disturbed by evil spirits and were already gods of fortune.

Birth, aging, sickness and death are all the laws of heaven and earth. If you say that burning incense can cure a patient, even the real gods would be too busy to handle it, and the laws of nature would be out of order.

Perhaps all we can do is comfort people's hearts.

No matter what, Medicine King has infinite merits and saved countless lives. Even if we are commemorating him, we should bow to him sincerely.

Thinking of this, Li Yan took the three incense sticks, lit them, and respectfully inserted them into the incense burner. Then he looked at the statue of Medicine King, with white eyebrows and kind face, holding a cane and gourd, looking down at the mortal world, as if with a trace of pity.

Good craftsmanship...

Statues like this are all cast by Taoist craftsmen, and then someone is asked to decorate and consecrate them. They are then enshrined in temples for worship. Over time, they absorb the power of incense and gather divine energy.

If the statue is not well made, the incense will naturally not be much better.

Li Yan secretly praised in his heart and prepared to kowtow.

He could already smell the strong aroma of incense coming from the statue. With so many people offering sacrifices to it, it must have naturally already gathered its divine power.

But at this moment, the mark on his left hand suddenly became hot.

Li Yan's eyes blurred and he began to hallucinate again:

The light around became dim, and the original wooden altar quickly decayed and turned into dust and smoke, revealing an old and dilapidated stone platform.

On the stone platform, there was an old man sitting upright. His attire was exactly the same as that of the Medicine King. The only difference was his face.

Yellow hair with black spots, fangs, wide mouth, white forehead and drooping eyes.

There is a capital "King" on the forehead!
(End of this chapter)