Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 89 The Destruction of the Ten Kings Temple
The academy's deputy leader was Professor Mao, the Grand Historian of the Department of History.

This is the big shot used to keep things in check.

A member of a prestigious family, elderly, and with a high reputation, he uses his pen to record the affairs of the world, possessing numerous advantages.

Everyone who sees this has to speak in a low voice.

Professor Shi originally wanted to take over the position, but everyone thought he was a bit too unreliable and rejected the idea.

They were afraid that if the public saw that the teachers of Chongqi Academy looked like this, it would cause some misunderstandings. The atmosphere of this era was a mix of unrestrained and conservative, and the academy's style was more conservative.

The third person is Instructor Xu.

This position is more practical, requiring the person to be responsible for the selection and assessment of students, as well as the specific time arrangements.

The literary gathering did not involve Zhu Erdan being sent up to clash with the other two major academies' powerful attacks on the same day, with students from other academies cheering from below.

That would be better than a martial arts tournament.

Scholars have their own way of doing things; this is an open cultural exchange event that lasts for half a month.

The three colleges were just the final act; before that, all the colleges and students could compete in scholarship or exchange academic ideas by West Lake.

The Jintian Academy also set up a special venue for competitions in musical instruments, calligraphy, poetry, and other arts.

Only by giving everyone the opportunity to make a name for themselves can so many academies join in this grand undertaking.

Only when people's hearts are aligned can the cultural heritage and fortune of Jiangnan converge.

At this moment, some students who arrived early are doing some preliminary work by West Lake or in Qiantang County.

Xu Xuan's workload was not too heavy; the academy's disciples all came on later, so there was not much for them to prepare.

At night, a drop of water fell from the sky and landed in front of me, turning into an invitation.

See you at West Lake tomorrow.

The signature is Bai Suzhen.

Xu Xuan was a little confused by the sudden invitation, as they hadn't seemed to have any contact recently.

Could it be that Xiaoqing's theft of the Heart Sutra has been exposed, and the victim is now coming after me?

Haha, that's impossible.

Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out. Xiaoqing's language and performance art always managed to trick a clever teacher.

Ultimately, however, I decided to accept the invitation.

One reason is that I believe in Teacher Bai's character; I don't think he would suppress a high-ranking Buddhist monk like myself for this.

Secondly, I don't have a cool way of replying to refuse, and the butterfly's appearance is not something I can show off for the time being.

No leave is required during the preparation of the literary gathering; participants can leave the mountain at any time.

The next day, Xu Xuan quickly packed his gear and set off.

We still go in a straight line; this method saves the most time.

Stepping out of the mountain gate and into the forest, with a gentle touch, one rises with the wind and roams freely among the mountains and rivers.

Traveling on the wind is incredibly fast, and while traversing mountains and fields is exhilarating, it's also the easiest way to run into trouble.

I thought my last trip to Yanguan was a blessing from the ancestors, but it turned out to be just a delayed outbreak.

This time was no exception.

As we approached West Lake, we saw a caravan of people who looked more like bandits than craftsmen traveling through the mountains.

The oxcart, carrying bricks and stone slabs and some dilapidated plaques, headed towards the outskirts.

There was nothing wrong with it at first, but when I saw the black bricks, gray ancient tiles, and broken red pillars, they looked somewhat familiar.

So I walked over.

"Old man, where did you get these bricks, stones, and timber?"

Although the leader had graying temples, his face was full of fierce flesh, and his single eye gleamed with a menacing light.

The moment they saw the person approaching, they put their hands behind their backs, and the disheveled people behind them did the same.

However, no one acted rashly. After all, anyone would be a little nervous if they saw a handsome scholar suddenly run out of the woods.

"Old man, I'm not a bad person, I'm just asking."

The leader sneered inwardly, "Would good people come over to us brothers?"

Whether you are a mountain spirit or a wandering evil spirit, you will not get away with this today.

One gesture, clang clang clang.
More than a dozen weapons were drawn, with the leader wielding a large, thick-backed, golden cleaver.

"Young man, I am the One-Eyed Golden Saber of Mount Dalong. You've run into bad luck by interfering in this matter today. I'll punish you today!"

After a while.

"Grandpa, I'm blind in one eye and didn't recognize you as a great hero and valiant man."

One-Eyed Golden Knife knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately, while his brothers lay sprawled out behind him.

The thick-backed broadsword in his hand was cleaved into three pieces right before his eyes.

The third brother's classic cleaver move completely terrified the bandit leader.

Xu Xuan listened to the one-eyed leader's self-narration while checking the items in the car.

This guy is actually quite famous.

The bandits of Dalong Mountain have always been a dumping ground for all sorts of troubles.

Last time, in order to cover up Li Gongzi's case, Song Youde planned to send people to surround and wipe out these bandits, but Xu Xuan interrupted that encirclement and annihilation.

Every action has its own destiny, and this time I've fallen into Xu's hands again.

"Tell me where these things came from."

It turns out that a few days ago, someone asked an intermediary to slip them some money and negotiated a deal.

Mountain bandits can't succeed by robbing alone; their main means of survival are protection money, tolls, private ambushes, and even boosting the government's performance record.

This time, the business was a bit strange; they had the bandits demolish the Ten Kings Temple outside the city.

Ordinary craftsmen would naturally not dare to do it, and even the bandits weren't that bold; they only agreed to do it after paying them twice more.

Before I even received the final payment after finishing the job, I was beaten up halfway through the process.

As expected, the act of demolishing the temple will be punished.

Ten Kings Temple.
Xu Xuan was a little annoyed.

Outside of Sichuan, there are few temples dedicated to the Ten Kings of Hell. Usually, the King of Hell's Hall is set up in the local City God Temple, and there is usually little incense burning there.

There are only people around when a ritual is performed to deliver the souls of the dead.

We pray that the Kings of Hell in each palace will release the souls of the deceased so that they may be saved and ascend to heaven as soon as possible.

So when someone mentions Xu Xuan of the Ten Kings Temple, everyone knows where it is.

"What about those idols?"

"That bastard told us to burn the statue, but how could we dare? So we sank it in a puddle." Xu Xuan nodded, then knocked each of them unconscious with a single palm strike.

Cultivators are not allowed to directly harm ordinary people with their magical powers, so they can only teach them a lesson with the physical strength they have gained after entering the path.

They tied these men to the oxcart and wrote their names on wooden boards as a marker.

"Old Niu, Old Niu, take your good brothers and head north along the road. Yes, just to the entrance of Qiantang County."

"Go."

The driverless oxen caravan then set off with a group of bandits.

Magistrate Song and Zhao Hu are truly lucky to have met me. They're just sitting at home, and merit comes to them like a mountain.

"Do one good deed every day, Amitabha."

Then we continued on to West Lake.

He won't go into that puddle.

A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, especially regarding the issue of the Ten Kings Temple; hopefully, it is not what he thinks.

The more I walked, the more frustrated I became, and a shadow fell over my heart.

I only felt a little relieved after leaving Wushan, after all, seeing a shimmering expanse of water always soothes some things.

"It's really lively, it feels a bit like a later era."

West Lake was formed relatively recently.

It was only during the Qin Dynasty that the sandbars expanded over time, eventually connecting Wushan and Baoshishan to form an alluvial plain, thus separating the bay from the Qiantang River and creating an inland lake.

Of course, artificial water conservancy projects such as the construction of seawalls also played a significant role.

That's how West Lake came to be.

Therefore, theoretically, this area also falls under the jurisdiction of Qiantang and belongs to Wu County.

Jintian Academy was established here, and through centuries of educating the poor, it rose to become one of the three great academies in Jiangnan.

Besides academies, the construction of Buddhist temples was also a reason for the rise of West Lake.

Zhiguo Temple, Zhaoxian Temple, Longjing Temple, Faxi Temple, Jingci Temple, and Lingyin Temple on Feilai Peak were built around this inner lake.

As is well known, the Buddhist philosophy is quite worldly and aligns with the wishes of the ruling class. Therefore, they often undertake large-scale construction projects, building temples and pagodas, and granting land for expansion. As a result, the temples gradually take shape and the temples become increasingly popular.

The large influx of people has transformed this place into a bustling hub.

When Xu Xuan arrived, he discovered that some scholars who had arrived earlier had already begun their path to fame.

Some people were loudly exchanging compliments under the watchful eyes of tourists, while others were performing performance art.

In this era, unrestrained people are not criticized, and there are many legends about wild people. Showing one's chest and breasts is a minor matter, but it is really an eyesore.

"Perhaps I should suggest that everyone maintain normal attire and appropriate behavior during the conference."

Fortunately, as I went further in, I found that there were relatively more normal people in the public area.

Composing poems is fine, even if the level isn't very high. But with external comparisons, it feels like a genuinely acceptable style.

In reality, these people are all here to seize the initiative.

Everyone knows that the later you arrive, the more powerful you become, so those who arrive early have a first-mover advantage.

Many passersby and tourists, as well as a group of young women, were dazzled by the sight.

When the scholars saw Xu Xuan approaching, they frowned and looked at him with hostility.

With a face like jade, eyes like bright stars, a dignified figure, and a handsome appearance, he wore a dark blue long robe of superior quality, with delicate cloud patterns embroidered on the lapel, and a double-layered openwork jade belt around his waist, exuding elegance and luxury, with a restrained charm.

He also wore the yellow sash that signified his status as an educational official after being officially registered.

His temperament possesses a sharpness rarely seen in ordinary scholars, as well as a subtle air of otherworldly refinement.

hiss~~
Not only is he handsome, but he also dresses in a flashy way.

The young women and wives stared in disbelief.

Countless scholars could only inwardly complain about why this person had arrived so early. He seemed to be a person of considerable status, so why didn't he even leave them any space?

Xu Xuan had no time to pay attention to what these people were thinking, because he only realized a problem when he arrived at West Lake.

The message sent via water droplet did not leave a specific location, and West Lake is so large, how can it be found?

Could it be that fate has brought us together from afar, and we must seek him out from the high places of West Lake?
Moreover, with so many flamboyant scholars here, it would probably cause a commotion if Teacher Bai, with his appearance, came in.

Even a Buddhist monk with a heart of steel like himself could hardly resist that appearance that represented beauty itself.

Xu Xuan stood out like a crane among chickens, unintentionally causing a devastating blow to those around him.

"Brother Jiang, this man looks quite ordinary and certainly doesn't have much ability. You'll have a better chance of winning first place in this literary competition."

To the students around you: You're such a suck-up, you're really not afraid of being struck by lightning.

Is this a level?

Brother Jiang looked at Xu Xuan's appearance and his face turned ugly. He was shocked and furious. It was him!

Living environment influences one's temperament; proper upbringing influences one's physical condition.

It was this person who stole my opportunity, which is why I have this momentum today.

"Humph!"

“I happen to know this person; he is just a vain opportunist.”

After saying that, he walked over with overwhelming resentment, and his classmates, wanting to see some excitement, followed him.

"Instructor Xu, it's been a long time. It's fate that we meet again. If you have time, why don't we go up on stage and have a friendly exchange? Let me see what level Chongqi's instructor is at."

"Who are you?"

These words were like a sharp sword piercing Brother Jiang's heart. Feeling the strange looks from those around him, he truly wanted to die.

He stopped pretending altogether and gave a stiff self-introduction with a blank expression.

"Ah! Your memory is certainly vivid. I am Jiang Ziwei of the Jiang family of Yixing. Do you remember me?"

"Oh, I remember now, you're Jiang Ziwei, the one who got rejected by the academy."

It goes without saying that they were eliminated by the academy.

Jiang Ziwei's forehead veins were bulging; this was outrageous!

He raised his hand and pointed his halberd at the wicked man.

"Xu Xuan! You must have used some tricks that day. If you have the guts, come up on stage and fight me today. Poetry and classics are up to you."

It's clear this guy has really lost his mind; he's even forgotten his nickname, "Iron Palm Town of Qiantang."

But his incessant chatter is really annoying.

Xu Xuan was already somewhat worried about the Ten Kings Temple matter, and this fellow was adding fuel to the fire.

They're not even my students, yet they keep nagging like that. They're really asking for trouble.

(End of this chapter)