The King of the North and the White Snake
Leifeng Pagoda was first built in 977 AD by Qian Chu, who surrendered the territory to the Song Dynasty.
Qian Chu's original name Qian Hongchu, but he changed it to Qian Chu to avoid using the same character as Zhao Hongyin, the father of Emperor Taizu of Song.
Qian Chu was the last king of the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He served as a subordinate during the prosperous Later Han Dynasty and the prosperous Later Zhou Dynasty. When Zhao Kuangyin suddenly emerged, Qian Chu naturally remained a subordinate.
The last ruler of the Southern Tang once sought help from Qian Chu, saying that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Qian Chu thought about it and thought, "That won't do. I am Zhao Kuangyin's subordinate." So he did not hesitate to join Zhao Kuangyin in destroying the Southern Tang.
Qian Chu later went to see Zhao Kuangyin. When he returned, he brought back a bundle given to him by Zhao Kuangyin, which was full of memorials from Zhao Kuangyin requesting that Qian Chu be kept in the Capital. Qian Chu, being such a clever man, naturally understood Zhao Kuangyin's meaning: Look, so many people want to get rid of you, but I'm letting you go back.
Qian Chu understood the deeper meaning: so many people wanted to get rid of him, and Zhao Kuangyin Qian Chu him go this time, but who knows when he might soften his stance and change his mind, and then Qian Chu would be finished.
So Qian Chu went back and "surrendered his territory to the Song Dynasty".
Qian Chu's surrender was not criticized, which is different from the surrender of other surrender factions at other times... It was a good thing for ordinary people and also for Qian Chu's family.
If Qian Chu hadn't surrendered... the Qian family of Wuyue might have been wiped out. Do you know how big the impact would be if the Qian family of Wuyue were gone? You must know Qian Xuesen Qian Sanqiang, right? They were descendants of Qian Chu.
Some might say that even if there are no national guardians with the surname Qian, there will always be Liu Xuesen or Liu Sanqiang... You're probably thinking too highly of yourself. India, with its billions of people, only has non-violence and old-fashioned wisdom.
Who could have imagined that Qian Chu's surrender of his territory to the Song Dynasty would influence the fate of the nation a thousand years later?
That's getting way off track. Leifeng Pagoda was built by Qian Chu the year before he surrendered the territory to the Song Dynasty. It was originally built for his wife. The Northern Song posthumously honored Qian Chu's wife, Lady Sun, as an imperial concubine, which was an extremely high honor. This was what the ancients sought. After the pagoda was completed, it was called the Imperial Concubine Pagoda. However, it was later renamed Leifeng Pagoda by word of mouth among the people, who have an infinite ability to spread information.
Leifeng Pagoda was burned down by those damned Japanese pirates during the Ming Dynasty, leaving only a brick frame. Later, bored people dug it up for various reasons, believing that the bricks could ward off evil spirits, until it finally collapsed.
"On the Collapse of Leifeng Pagoda" is a well-known text that needs to be memorized.
The current Leifeng Pagoda, built more than a decade ago after the Leifeng Pagoda collapsed, may lack the vicissitudes of time and the original antique charm, but it is still an architectural masterpiece.
Most importantly, the Leifeng Pagoda is so sturdy now that it's unlikely to be destroyed by ordinary earthquakes, typhoons, or war... Digging up its bricks is simply a pipe dream.
Even after the Leifeng Pagoda was newly built, some people still tried to dig up bricks, but they were caught, educated, and then released... There are always fools out there, and you can't just kill them, there's not much else you can do.
An Nuan and Liu Chang'an were both incredulous when they saw the news.
The two watched the news carefully. The news did not give a specific reason for the collapse of Leifeng Pagoda, but only showed photos and videos of the scene.
"Someone must have taken advantage of the chaos to pick up bricks," Liu Chang'an said knowingly.
"Should we still go to commemorate Xu Jiuzhou?" An Nuan felt a bad omen. The first thing she was supposed to do after having a relationship with Liu Chang'an was to go to Leifeng Pagoda, but the pagoda suddenly collapsed!
"Sure, I want to go see it now." Liu Chang'an was quite interested because after looking at the pictures and videos of the scene, it was clear that it wasn't a construction problem, but rather a collapse caused by some external force.
"No! We're not going anywhere today. If I don't go, you're not allowed to go either." An Nuan hugged Liu Chang'an's arm again, thinking sweetly about the time she hugged him in the kitchen without wearing a bra, and how shy she was back then.
It's truly amazing... When I first met Liu Chang'an, I could never have imagined things would turn out this way.
Life is unpredictable; let's talk about the collapse of Leifeng Pagoda and the evolution of young girls.
"Okay, okay, we'll go again tomorrow. Sweetie, open your mouth and eat this butter cake."
"I don't have any dipping sauce yet. I want hazelnut spread, and a little bit of foie gras too."
Liu Chang'an and An Nuan stopped paying attention to the collapse of Leifeng Pagoda.
One hour before Leifeng Pagoda collapsed.
The snow falling over Lin'an stumbled and tugged at each other in the air, tiny snow crystals gradually forming large snowflakes.
As if God were fluffing cotton, clumps of cotton were plucked down and covered every scenic spot in the city.
The tiles on Leifeng Pagoda are made of brass, but have been fired to achieve a bronze color. They are fixed together with rivets, giving them the feel of traditional blue tiles, but unlike traditional blue tiles, they are not prone to slipping and falling over time, which would affect their appearance and could potentially injure tourists.
The tower body uses a large amount of brass, and the high attention from modern construction projects and all sectors of society makes this new tower, which is tasked with recreating the beautiful scenery of "Thunder Peak at Sunset", extremely sturdy.
From November to March of the following year, visitors are prohibited from entering the Leifeng Pagoda scenic area at 5:30 PM.
At that moment, a woman carrying an oil-paper umbrella and an enormous toolbox appeared in front of Leifeng Pagoda.
The Leifeng Pagoda illuminates layer upon layer of scenic spots under the night sky. Thick snow falls on the copper tiles, reflecting the snow color and making the entire pagoda appear as if a heavenly pagoda has descended to earth, shining with a sacred Lux.
"The collapse of Leifeng Pagoda more than ninety years ago must have made you sense something, right?"
"At that time, many people criticized and condemned the collapse of Leifeng Pagoda, blaming it on the foolish people who came to dig for bricks."
"They were certainly one of the reasons the tower collapsed."
"But the main reason is that you woke up, turned over, and felt something, right?"
Why didn't you truly wake up that time? Did you fall back into a deep sleep?
"This is really something to look forward to!"
"I am Avrora Volibear, the Queen of the North, reigning supreme in the North Pole, and I have come to greet you."
After the woman finished speaking, she stood quietly in front of Leifeng Pagoda.
Snow covered her oil-paper umbrella, and her expression was very calm. Perhaps only by staring intently into her eyes could one see a fervent expectation deep within them.
Ten minutes later, the woman who identified herself as Avrora Volibear finally took a step and walked up the steps to the base of the tower.
The tightly closed yet sturdy door could not stop Avrora's steps; with a gentle push, it was forcibly opened.
Instead of climbing the tower, she continued to open one ancient-style door after another until she reached the bottom of the tower, where there was an exhibition hall with pictures of the story of Xu Xian and the White Snake, the original foundation, and the excavated underground palace.
Avrora's gaze swept with interest over the picture books and stories displayed on the walls, before settling on the original foundation and underground palace.
In the center of the original foundation is a hexagonal recess, in which is a square underground palace, fifty centimeters in length and width, and no more than one meter in depth.
The original foundation was surrounded by glass. Avrora put down her oil-paper umbrella, picked up her enormous toolbox in one hand, and placed the other hand on the solid glass.
Her palms went from being pressed against the glass to arching her five fingers in support, until fine lines appeared below her fingertips. Then, as her body leaned slightly forward, the sturdy glass finally succumbed to the brute force unleashed by this prehistoric beast and shattered instantly.
Without any alarms, the surrounding surveillance cameras seemed to have lost their soul and focus, serving no deterrent or warning purpose whatsoever.
Avrora, carrying her toolbox, walked to the ruins of the former Leifeng Pagoda and gazed at the small underground palace.
Beneath the first underground palace lies an even deeper and larger one... After the first underground palace was discovered, more detailed archaeological research was conducted, revealing the lower level. It was initially assumed to be the tomb of a Wuyue king or an important member of the royal family. However, the archaeological team was not entirely confident that opening the second underground palace would not damage the tomb and its burial objects. Some even speculated that the underground palace was connected to a waterway, and that a mistake during the excavation could cause water from West Lake to flood in and destroy the entire underground palace.
So the underground palace was protected and not excavated, and the relevant information was sealed away... Aurora only saw these sealed documents by chance.
Aurora believed that the underground palace was not a tomb, but rather that what slept there was... a snake.
A White Snake.
Avrora looked at the shallow first level of the underground palace, where she had once discovered the sutra scroll of the "Sarvatathāgata-hṛdaya-guhya-dhātu-raṇī-mudrā-dhāraṇī-sūtra," gilded bronze Buddha statues, and other treasures.
These things are no longer here, of course. Aurora opened her toolbox, inside which was a container filled with red liquid.
Judging by its capacity, it seems capable of filling the entire underground palace.
Avrora did indeed intend to do so; she opened the container and poured all the bright red liquid into the dungeon.
The stench of blood filled the air; it was all fresh blood.
Avrora watched as the blood gradually settled in the dungeon, with only a few bubbles floating on its surface.
She stretched out her finger, which had a bleeding hole, and her blood dripped drop by drop into the already blood-filled underground palace.
She pressed her hand to her heart, and the rate at which blood dripped increased.
The blood mixed with Avrora's components was gradually absorbed by the soil surrounding the underground palace, and the height of the blood decreased layer by layer.
When all the blood had disappeared, Aurora pinched her fingertip, and the hole where the blood had dripped vanished instantly, her face turning pale.
Even she found it difficult to bear losing so much blood at once.
She didn't pay any attention, gently brushing aside her bangs and the strands of hair behind her ears. This gesture made her feel incredibly feminine, and she liked it very much.
The blood in the underground palace had completely disappeared; even the blood residue in the soil was gone, as if Aurora had never poured 250 liters of blood into it.
Avrora silently gazed upon the underground palace.
In the next instant, blood energy surged into the sky, and Leifeng Pagoda shook.
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If you don't understand this chapter, you can wait for the explanation in this chapter. There will always be a powerful person who will explain who Avrora is. Double monthly votes have started, please give me a monthly vote.