Probing Three Flowers Temple

An hour later, the rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out, raising clouds of dust along the winding mountain road.

A cavalry unit galloped in, led by a woman wearing a light blue cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). She had beautiful, delicate eyebrows, relatively flat without prominent arches, giving her a very gentle appearance.

Her features are naturally top-notch: clear and bright eyes, full but not thick lips, and a straight and delicate nose.

Leizhou is a plateau region with strong ultraviolet radiation, so her skin is darker than that of most women, but this does not detract from her beauty; rather, her healthy complexion is even more appealing.

The only slight flaw was that this beautiful woman, who looked ecstatic, had a slightly high hairline.

"Li Lang!"

Before the person even arrived, their calls could already be heard from afar.

On horseback, Wenren Qianrou, the eldest daughter of the Leizhou Chamber of Commerce, abandoned the guards behind her, leaped off the horse, swept across more than ten feet, and threw herself into Li Lingsu's arms.

He tightly embraced the waist of the Heavenly Sect's Holy Son, choking back tears as he said:

"My dear Li, it's been half a year since we parted, and Rou'er misses you terribly."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Lingsu felt somewhat embarrassed, thinking to herself, "This damn charm of mine."

Seeing this scene, Xu Qi'an couldn't help but recall a classic scene from a novel he read in his previous life: the male and female protagonists had been separated for a long time, and the male protagonist suddenly appeared to give them a surprise, and the female protagonist threw herself into his arms without hesitation.

Note: This must be a woman of high status or whose beauty has astonished the Party.

Then the people around were shocked, secretly amazed by the male lead's identity. The female lead "unintentionally" helped the male lead show off a lot.

I never expected to witness this scene today.

Li Lingsu gently stroked Wenren Qianrou's back, her voice tender:

"Dear sister, I miss you too. For the past six months, you've been everywhere – eating, sleeping, bathing, even when I'm meditating and seeking enlightenment, you're still the image that comes to mind."

Wenren Qianrou listened with tears welling up in her eyes, her emotions a mixture of being moved, infatuated, and adoring.

She looked Li Lingsu up and down as if no one else was there, and said:

"Those two sisters surnamed Dongfang didn't manage to win you over?"

Li Lingsu shook her head. "I've been on the run the whole time, and I haven't let them get what they want. I was almost in their clutches a while ago, but I managed to escape in the end."

Wenren Qianrou retorted angrily, "Serves you right! Who told you to attract so many suitors?"

Li Lingsu looked distressed and sighed, "I only made a mistake that all men make, until I met you, and then I knew what the right thing to do was."

Wenren Qianrou was a clever and capable woman who helped her father manage the business association very well.

But in the face of love, she lost her mind; she was just an ordinary girl.

Hearing these cheesy pickup lines makes one feel lightheaded.

How did Li Lang escape?

"This is all thanks to Senior Xu." The Heavenly Sect Sage immediately introduced Xu Qi'an and Mu Nanzhi to Wenren Qianrou:

"Rou'er, they are my benefactors, and also my friends."

Wenren Qianrou walked gracefully to the two of them, curtsied, and said softly:

"Many thanks to my two benefactors for saving Li Lang. I will never forget their kindness."

Is this the self-cultivation of a scumbag? Xu Qi'an smiled slightly, "It was nothing, not worth mentioning."

At the same time, Xu Qi'an concluded that he did not know this young lady from the Leizhou Chamber of Commerce. The reason he felt familiar with her was simply because her name gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

He quickly stopped dwelling on the details, after all, everyone has had the illusion that "I've been here before" or "I've done something similar."

Xu Qi'an secretly transmitted his voice, asking, "How powerful is the Leizhou Chamber of Commerce in Leizhou?"

Li Lingsu responded:

"You can tell from their name that they are one of the wealthiest in the world, and they have several fourth-rank experts. Actually, if Sister Rong and Sister Qing hadn't been so persistent, I would have gone back to Leizhou with Rou'er."

"Because they're based in Leizhou, even Sister Rong and Sister Qing have to be somewhat wary of them. Of course, in a direct confrontation, their fighting strength would still overwhelm the Leizhou Chamber of Commerce."

None of that matters. Xu Qi'an asked telepathically, "Have you slept with this girl?"

"Well, when feelings run deep, everything happens naturally. But don't worry, senior, Rou'er is different from the Dongfang sisters. She's not so extreme; she's well-educated and reasonable."

Li Lingsu hurriedly explained via telepathy.

Stop talking nonsense, I'm already prepared to give up on you! Xu Qi'an said expressionlessly.

Unaware of the private conversation between the two, Wenren Qianrou smiled and said, "I wonder if you two benefactors would be willing to return to the city with me and give me the opportunity to entertain you?"

"You speak quite eloquently." Mu Nanzhi raised her chin and gave a haughty "Mmm."

The group immediately mounted their horses and headed towards Leizhou City, which was twenty miles away.

The main hall of the Wenren Mansion.

"My father went to the northern border to do business, transporting a batch of grain, porcelain, cloth, and other goods to exchange with the demon barbarians for warhorses and cattle."

Wenren Qianrou ordered tea and Leizhou specialty fruits to be served.

Because of the large temperature difference between day and night, the fruits in Leizhou are sweeter than those in other places.

This pleased the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess greatly, and she ate a few more bites of honeydew melon.

Xu Qi'an said while eating, "The profit margin must be considerable."

Wenren Qianrou smiled and nodded, "Normally, we wouldn't dare to do business with the demons and barbarians. Compared to those barbarians and Demon Race, the barbarians of the Southern Frontier are actually more trustworthy."

"This depends entirely on the Gu Clan, especially the Heavenly Gu Clan. The Heavenly Gu Clan has never lacked wise men and has enough prestige. They believe that the Southern Frontier should trade with the Great Feng, and other tribes will not dare to disrupt it."

"Of course, there are also many barbarian tribes in the Southern Frontier who are old-fashioned and uncultured, who eat raw meat and drink blood, who use human sacrifices, and who even kill their fathers to inherit their property."

Father and son killing each other? I think you're implying something about me. Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Wenren Qianrou continued, "The war in the north has been going on for so long, and the demons and barbarians are currently short of supplies. Because of the alliance, they dare not plunder within the territory of Great Feng anymore, which is the best opportunity for us."

Xu Qi'an commented, "It's a good thing that merchants pursue profit."

Wenren Qianrou's eyes lit up. "Don't you think merchants are lowly, benefactor?"

"You probably haven't experienced the era where money talks." Xu Qi'an maintained his persona, saying, "In history books, most prosperous eras stemmed from economic rise."

Wenren Qianrou clapped her hands and said, "My benefactor is indeed a wise man, whose vision is not bound by worldly conventions."

With this casual conversation as a warm-up, Xu Qi'an got down to business. "Does Miss Wenren know about the Sanhua Temple in Leizhou?"

Wenren Qianrou nodded.

"Has anything unusual happened at Sanhua Temple lately?"

Wenren Qianrou pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "There's nothing unusual, but in nine days, the Floating Pagoda will open."

Xu Qi'an laughed and said, "You also know that the Floating Pagoda has recently opened?"

Wenren Qianrou was taken aback for a moment, then smiled faintly:

"It is said that the pagoda was once used by Buddhist School to enshrine relics and the golden statues of eminent monks after their passing, reflecting a deep Buddhist faith. It opens once every sixty years, and those with the right affinity who enter can obtain treasures."

"Is Buddhist School really that kind?" Xu Qi'an pondered. "And their purpose?"

Wenren Qianrou answered every question. "Legend has it that anyone who obtains treasures from the pagoda eventually converts to Buddhist School. By the way, recently, some people did say that the pagoda was shining brightly with golden light and emitting dragon roars. Sanhua Temple explained that this was because the pagoda had achieved perfect merit, which is why such phenomena occurred."

"I understand. It opens once every sixty years; its true purpose is to guide those with affinity within Buddhist School." "Ha, perfect merit? When did the dragon energy of the Great Feng become your Buddhist School's 'perfect merit'? It's obvious you want to monopolize the dragon energy." After deep thought, Xu Qi'an asked:

Where is Sanhua Temple? How close is it to Leizhou City?

"Hurry up and we'll arrive tomorrow."

Xu Qi'an nodded slowly and looked at the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect: "I want to go and gather some intelligence first."

Xu Qian's visit to Leizhou was indeed for the Pagoda; his motives were far from pure. Li Lingsu was not surprised at all by this.

When Xu Qian mentioned heading west, Li Lingsu had already guessed the details.

"You will come with me, while my wife will stay at the Wenren residence," Xu Qi'an added.

". good."

The Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect glanced at Wenren Qianrou and said in a deep voice, "No problem, it's my duty."

Today, my kidney essence has been preserved.

Wenren Qianrou was indeed a well-educated and reasonable person. She wasn't angry at all; instead, she said considerately:

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Li."

A moment later, he came out carrying a black wooden box, opened the lid, and inside lay an elongated musket.

"The monks of Sanhua Temple are used to being arrogant. Now that your cultivation is sealed, take this with you; they'll feel more at ease. This musket is a magical Law Artifact my father bought at great expense. Anyone below the Spirit Refining Realm will surely die."

As for the Spirit Refining Realm, once you lock onto your opponent, the martial artist's premonition of danger will detect it in advance.

That day, the two changed their clothes and used Secret Method of the Thieves' Sect to alter their appearance. Riding fast horses, they followed the map and arrived at Qingning City at dawn the next day.

Sanhua Temple is located on the outskirts of Qingning City, in a place called Jinguang Mountain.

The temple was extremely large, with as many as two thousand monks practicing there.

For the monks of Sanhua Temple, although they were in the Great Feng, it was no different from being in the Western Regions.

Leizhou itself was frequented by many people from the Western Regions, and Sanhua Temple was only a three-day walk from the Western Regions border.

With my father backing me up, what's there to fear from the imperial court?

Suppress Buddhism? Would the Leizhou government dare to suppress Buddhism right under the noses of the Buddhist School?

That's why there are temples of such a large scale.

Approaching Jin Guang Mountain, one can see magnificent golden halls nestled among withered branches and fallen leaves. In addition, there are clusters of buildings, which are the residences of monks.

The two tied their horses to the archway of Sanhua Temple, not worried about them being stolen, and climbed the steps.

Just as they were about to enter the inner courtyard of Sanhua Temple, they suddenly heard arguing and cursing coming from above.

Immediately afterwards, several muffled thuds were heard, accompanied by the sound of bursting air, and several figures tumbled down the steps above.

These men were dressed in tight-fitting clothes, some carrying knives and others wielding swords; apart from their weapons, they had no other valuables on them.

A member of the underworld, specifically a low-level member.

"Gentlemen, are you alright?"

Xu Qi'an stepped forward to help him up.

Those martial arts figures, feeling humiliated, waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "It's alright, it's alright."

"Brothers, what is this?"

Just as Xu Qi'an asked the question, a young monk carrying a broom rushed out from the steps above. He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with deep-set eyes and a high nose, showing obvious characteristics of a Western Region person.

He wore a blue monk's robe and shoes, and his head was bald. Although he had shaved off his worries, his heart still seemed to remain in the mortal world.

He looked down disdainfully at the group of martial arts figures and sneered:

"You bunch of ugly bastards think you can get your luck into the Pagoda? You can't even beat a lowly sweeping monk like me. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror? Bah!"

Several martial arts practitioners blushed and said, "Sanhua Temple said that anyone with the right destiny can come in and try. Wasn't it the same in previous years?"

The young monk held his head high, looking down with disdain, and sneered incessantly:

"This year is different. This year, the Pagoda will not accept those with affinity. Get out of here now, or the Buddha will beat you so badly your own mothers won't recognize you."

"You toads who dream of eating swan meat, people of the Central Plains! Sanhua Temple is our Sanhua Temple of the Western Regions. Its Buddhist teachings are profound. How could you, such crude and vulgar warriors of the Great Feng, possibly comprehend them?"

A man with a dislocated arm shouted angrily, "Leizhou is our Great Feng territory!"

The young monk raised his broom and cursed, "What the Buddha says goes! If you're not Qi Ingestion, come up here and have another go. This time, I'll beat you until you're kneeling and begging for mercy."

The young monk wasn't very skilled in cultivation, but he was quick-witted and had a knack for cursing.

These martial arts figures were old enough to be the young monk's fathers, but they were helpless in the face of the humiliation inflicted by a mere youth.

I'm so angry!

Of the countless Buddhist School disciples, only a few possess true wisdom; the vast majority of Western Region Buddhist School disciples are arrogant and self-important. Xu Qi'an couldn't help but recall the Western Region delegation during the Buddhist School magical contest.

The delegation consisted of highly qualified Buddhist School disciples, yet when Jingsi and Jingchen challenged the capital and sat on the arena to challenge the heroes of the capital, they did not hesitate at all.

And all of this was at the behest of the Arhat Du'e.

The Buddhist School in the Western Regions, from top to bottom, held themselves in high esteem, monopolizing the West and considering themselves the leader of the Nine Provinces.

The difference is that highly accomplished monks do not display such pride, while less accomplished monks jump around and make a ruckus.

With an ordinary-looking face, Li Lingsu frowned and said, "Little monk, in the martial world, being too arrogant will easily get you killed."

At his age, the young monk was most sensitive to threats. Leaning on his broom, he sneered:

"The Buddha's head is right here. Come on, try and chop it off if you dare."

"Having traveled the world for many years, I admire children with backbone like you the most."

Li Lingsu pulled out an elongated musket from under her robe, aimed it at the little monk, and said expressionlessly:

"Come on, repeat what you just said."