Chapter 365 Old Ghost in the temple
"This person's name is Blind Bai."
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Qianhu Wu DeGui wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief, "He was originally one of Xiangyang City's Spirit Medium. He was fond of cheating and abducting, and had a bad reputation. Later, he made a fortune and became a wealthy businessman."
"After becoming prosperous, he still did not do good things. He helped Yangtze River bandits sell stolen goods, and secretly harmed people to practice evil practices."
"A few months ago, Young Hero Li, you guys broke into the Dangyang County ghost sect and found a list, including this person. We cooperated with the Enforcement Hall to capture him, but unfortunately he disappeared without a trace. Unexpectedly, he appeared here again..."
So that's it.
Li Yan After listening, I suddenly realized.
No wonder this person is so familiar with him.
Tongtian San Niang among Earth Immortal Cave was originally the leader of the Ezhou Ghost Sect. After being killed by them, they obtained a list containing the names of many wealthy businessmen and officials. As a result, the Ghost Sect suffered heavy losses.
This ghost sect probably doesn't get along with him Eight Characters. Since entering Ezhou, he has met him repeatedly, from Zigui to Wuchang, and his layout has been destroyed by him, which has attracted Zhao Changsheng's attention.
Therefore, he was assassinated when he entered the city.
After thinking about this, Li Yan didn't care.
Although he and Zhao Changsheng have never met, they have had a causal grudge since they were born in this life, and they must be settled.
He revealed the opponent's background, causing the court to use all its strength to deal with it. It is not surprising that Zhao Changsheng hid in secret and issued a wanted order against him.
Not only the ghost sect, but also forces like Heavenly Saint Sect and some scum on Greenwood Path will probably be eyeing him in the future.
Outside the ruined temple, screams and moans continued.
Commandery Commandant Office Most people use ordinary muskets with limited power, so the Heavenly Saint Sect Disciple outside will cause more injuries than death.
This is a great achievement!
From these people, we can definitely get a lot of information about the Heavenly Saint Sect. If we follow the clues, we might be able to catch more traitors.
Not to mention those Commandery Commandant Office members, even Qianhu Wu DeGui, his face turned red with excitement, "Young Hero Li, what do you think we should do with these people?"
Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Pull him out first and interrogate him on the spot. There are also internal agents among Xiangyang City. They are not limited to this stronghold. They will take action immediately after finding the information."
"Young Hero Li makes sense!"
Wu DeGui also nodded in agreement.
Li Yan looked around and said in a deep voice, "Stay away and interrogate. There is a problem in this place. I'm afraid it is related to the source of the plague. I will tell you later when I find out the reason."
"Okay."
Wu DeGui didn't ask too many questions, and ordered people to carry all the injured and dead bodies to a distance and interrogate them in batches.
For torture experts like them, they can not only dig out the opponent's background, but also deduce more information from the details based on each person's confession...
After everyone left, the temple became quiet again.
"There is something really wrong here."
Lu San on the side said with a solemn expression, "There are no snakes, insects, rats, or ants, and the small animals outside will instinctively avoid it."
"Hmm."
Li Yan looked at the dilapidated temple hall and said thoughtfully, "Just now Old Ghost said that he couldn't find this place even if he found it. He should be talking about something inside..."
With that said, he strode towards the main hall.
As he walked, he said, "According to what Wu DeGui said, the original name of this temple was 'Zhao De Temple', which was built by Former Dynasty Da Xing Xiang King in memory of his mother. The regulations should be similar to now."
"I have seen this kind of temple. The front hall is usually Attendant Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the middle hall is Attendant Buddha or Guanyin, and the back hall is for Maitreya. The front hall has been destroyed, and the inside should be for Guanyin..."
While they were talking, the two of them walked into the main hall.
Sure enough, in the dilapidated hall, there stood a towering statue of Guanyin, surrounded by dust and dust. There were burnt charcoal and carbonized human heads on the ground.
Like the Buddha statues in temples, there are many kinds of Guanyin statues, and they represent different meanings.
Like a willow holding a pure vase, it is called Yangliu Guanyin, also known as Holy Guanyin, which means good weather and abundant harvests. When people build temples, they often worship this Guanyin...
There is Sutra-Holding Guanyin, also known as Sravaka Guanyin. The image is mostly a Bodhisattva sitting on a rock, with his right hand holding a scroll and his left hand on his knee, which means that he cares about the world and makes all his wishes come true. Attendant is sitting in a thatched cottage or on a rock...
There is also White-Robed Guanyin. It is said that in Central Plains, during the war, Guanyin appeared in white clothes and appeared on the Ghost Festival to save the souls of the dead. Therefore, White-Robed Guanyin represents the bliss of the West after rebirth...
The one in front of me is White-Robed Guanyin.
But the statue has been damaged, the colorful sculpture is mottled and the clay body is exposed. Even the head has fallen off and rolled to the side, not to mention that there is no smell of incense.
Li Yan frowned immediately after seeing it.
This temple is very strange. The dead monk turned into Yin Soul and chanted sutras and refused to leave. Even the stone carvings on the door panels and frame have turned into hairy gods and smell of incense.
It must be related to something.
In the main hall, apart from this dilapidated Guanyin statue, there is really nothing else to see.
I took out the compass and looked at it. The pointer was extremely disordered...
After applying Olfactory Mystical Power, there is no smell...
Let Rat One Rat Two explore, they just think this place is scary...
Li Yan thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that when they first entered the temple, God Mao and the monks and ghosts were noisy, but now it was extremely quiet and there was no smell.
"Quick, help me get a basin of water."
Li Yan said hello, then took an oil lamp from the altar table. After Lu San fetched water, he lit the oil lamp, held the gou ultimatum, pinched Mystical Gestures, and took a step forward.
This is a method of communicating with the gods, which was researched by Liu Gang and others.
Phew~
In an instant, the surrounding scene changed drastically.
The originally dilapidated hall was even more weird now, covered with dense moss, but it had no life and looked more like decay and mold.
A rustling sound came from above.
Li Yan suddenly raised his head and looked around.
I saw that the caissons and beams on the top were all layered with small shrines, which were densely packed with carvings of gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as if they were standing on the Western Paradise of Paradise, looking down at all living beings below...
As if noticing his sight, the rustling noises disappeared instantly, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also became stiff and motionless.
Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and retracted the mysterious method.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw that the beam caisson had returned to normal. There was no shrine to the Buddha. It looked ordinary and covered with dust.
"Let's go, there's nothing here."
Li Yan shouted deliberately and looked at Lu San.
Lu San understood instantly and followed him away quickly.
After leaving the outer area of the ruined temple, insects and ants appeared around again. Lu San then asked, "What did you find?"
"Heavenly Spiritual Treasure!"
Li Yan shook his head and said, "I heard Zhao the Donkey say that some powerful Heavenly Spiritual Treasure will be taken over by some monsters and hairy gods and turned into something similar to Blessed Grotto-Heavens. I didn't expect to see one here."
In fact, what Zhao the Donkey told him was even more bizarre.
These Heavenly Spiritual Treasure are all of extraordinary quality. After being occupied by spirits, they sometimes attract people's souls and enter them, as if they were in a dream. In their dreams, they are like visiting the paradise of paradise.
In some Strange Tales books, it is often mentioned that people get lost in the mountains, or dream about it in the middle of the night, and accidentally enter the mansion of a fairy. This is what they mean.
The most famous one is Northern Frontier Immortal Hall.
Some fox-yellow and white willows Old Ancestor, whose cultivation can be called earthly immortals, do not need to be possessed to speak, they will directly recruit disciples into the immortal hall, give orders or teach methods...
At this time, Wu Dehai also came over.
He was not the only one who came, Chiliarch Zhou from the Xiangyang Guards Station also came with two hundred cavalry to completely surround the place.
Hearing what Li Yan said, both of them were eye-opening.
Wu Dehai said quickly, "Young Hero Li, those people have already been recruited. They don't know who Xiangyang City is, but they know the layout of other places."
"They have sent evil cultivators to several nearby villages, taking advantage of the plague to confuse people's minds, overthrow Land God Temple, and prepare to secretly start a riot..."
"In Nanzhang County Mountain, there was originally an ancient Military Fortress, which was built during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Lord Guan once stationed there and read the Spring and Autumn Period at night. It is famous for being called Spring and Autumn Stronghold. After it was abandoned, it was occupied by the Miaoman mountain people."
"According to these people, the mountain people in that place have been bewitched by the ghost religion, and a large number of elite soldiers have been stationed..."
Chiliarch Zhou also looked solemn and nodded. "I probably know what they want to do."
"Nanzhang County Further to the west is Baokang County, which is adjacent to the Shennongjia mountain forest. There are imperial soldiers and horses stationed there, blocking the Heavenly Saint Sect soldiers and horses in the mountains."
"Baokang County has Jushui, which can lead to Dangyang and the Yangtze River. Nanzhang County has Man River, which can directly lead to Hanshui and is connected to Jingmen."
"Now the Heavenly Saint Sect rebels are 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. They can not only cut off the food and fodder of the imperial army, but also take advantage of the trend and go straight to Jingmen Yichang to join the chieftain 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 spreads in Xiangyang, even if the imperial court sends troops to station and support, it will be in trouble."
"I'm afraid this source is related to the stuff inside, Young Hero Li, what should we do?"
"Easy!"
Li Yan glanced at the ruined temple and said coldly, "Send people to cut peach branches on the nearby mountains, and burn the place clean tomorrow daytime!"
Phew~
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden Yin Wind roar in the temple, and white mist rose, making the entire ruins once again become confusing and strange.
"Be alert!"
Chiliarch Zhou shouted angrily, and the cavalry he brought raised their muskets one after another, and some even picked up Fire Caltrop.
However, as Yin Wind roared, the surrounding war horses seemed to be frightened, neighing and restless.
When Lu San saw this, he pinched Mystical Gestures and also made a horse sound from his mouth to comfort the horses.
Chiliarch Zhou was furious, suddenly took out a token from his arms, and shouted angrily, "The imperial troops are here, how dare you Demons and Monsters disturb you, you are going to lose your soul!"
Li Yan was speechless after seeing it.
Do these things still obey the orders of the court?
But something happened that surprised him.
Although the mist is still thick among the ruins, Yin Wind is obviously smaller, and the war horses are no longer frightened.
Seeing Li Yan's surprised look, Chiliarch Zhou whispered, "This is a secret method in the military. Divine Land There are many such things entrenched in various places. If you encounter someone who is smarter, you will know the majesty of the imperial court, and you are afraid of attracting Daoist soldiers and horses to strangle..."
Just as he was talking, figures suddenly appeared in the thick fog. Some were monks with their hands clasped together, and some looked like Arhat Bodhisattvas. They were very vague and shadowy.
Li Yan was happy when he saw this, "Hey, do you really think this has become the place of Western Paradise?"
With that said, he took out the Goujiu from his arms and prepared to summon the soldiers and horses of the Yin Division to catch all these things in one fell swoop.
Just then, an old sigh came to my ears, "We don't want to cause trouble, so why should we be aggressive?"
Li Yan looked around and saw that the expressions of the others did not change. He immediately understood that the voice was the language of ghosts and gods, and they could not hear it.
Thinking of this, he spoke directly and said coldly, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't want to cause trouble, why would you send people to the city to harm people?"
He suddenly spoke, leaving Chiliarch Zhou and Wu DeGui confused.
The two were about to ask, but were stopped by Lu San, who signaled not to speak.
In the thick fog, an old voice came to Li Yan's ears, "There is another hidden story in this matter. Please listen to my explanation."
"I was originally a thousand-year-old nanmu in Sichuan. After it was cut down and transported to Xiangyang, it became the main beam of Zhao De Temple. I was influenced by the incense of Buddhism day and night and understood the method of pure land bliss."
"In the war that year, the temple was destroyed by the war. I used my secret method to protect the remaining souls of the monks in the temple from Golden Horde Wolf Country shamans. Because many Daoist monks died at that time, the temple was also infested with hairy gods..."
"Sanfeng Zhenren passed by this place back then and made an agreement with me. As long as these remnant souls and hairy gods are restrained and do not harm the surrounding mountain people, they can practice with peace of mind and wait for the temple to be rebuilt a hundred years later."
Li Yan snorted coldly, "Since we have an agreement, why should we break the oath?"
The old voice replied, "To show my sincerity, I spit out the wooden heart, carved it from Sanfeng Ancestor into Soul Tablet, and placed it under City God Temple in Xiangyang, under the supervision of City God."
"But more than ten years ago, a scholar named Lu suddenly came with Soul Tablet and asked me to obey his orders. I didn't dare not to obey, so I secretly sent someone to City God Temple, but was intercepted and killed on the way..."
"More than ten years ago, there was a scholar named Lu?"
Li Yan Spiritual Light flashed in his mind, "Do you know Camphorwood Great King?"
According to Giant Turtle Master, there was a Camphorwood Great King in the Han River near Xiangyang City. It was so vicious that it scared the people to build Lord Nan Temple Attendant secretly.
More than ten years ago, it was a scholar named Lu who conquered this demon.
The old voice replied, "That Camphorwood Great King is dead, but someone used evil methods. After his death, he was full of resentment. His body was divided and hidden in various places in Xiangyang. This is the source of this plague."
"It is also found in temples. Those people put it in my body, catalyzed it with sacrificial rituals, and spread it into nearby water sources. This substance can be restrained by vinegar..."
Phew~
While talking, suddenly there was a loud noise.
A piece of wood rolled, flew out of the ruined temple, and landed in front of everyone with a clatter.
Everyone lowered their heads and saw that it was a piece of Golden Phoebe Wood, but it had turned into Dark Wood, and it was covered with moss that looked like mold.
"Stay away, everyone!"
Li Yan quickly told everyone to step back, and then asked the guardsmen to get the vinegar cloth they carried with them and cover it tightly.
After doing this, Li Yan turned to look at the ruins again and said coldly, "Aren't you afraid that those people will destroy Soul Tablet if you hand over this thing?"
The old voice sighed and replied, "The bliss I cultivate is ultimately false. This time is a disaster. If the disaster is inevitable, I can only accept my fate."
Li Yan thought for a moment, "Since you are determined, do you dare to give it a try?"
The second update will be posted in the afternoon