"There have been constant incidents in Fuzhou City recently. All the Taoist priests are here today. I would like to ask you all to review the details together."
Geng Jingzhong made a full gesture of bowing down and toasted everyone in the audience with a glass of wine before sighing and speaking slowly and slightly worriedly.
"My father moved to Fuzhou City at the beginning of the year. He originally followed the imperial court's order to prevent the Zheng clan's pirates from causing trouble and killing Li Shu, and to restore peace to central Fujian. But in the past few months, weird things and monsters have occurred frequently in Fuzhou City. , has almost reached the level of heaven, but it seems that our Jingnan Palace has lost its moral character..."
It was getting late at this time, and the last traces of the setting sun on the West Lake outside the door were sadly swallowed up. The water and sky were all dark blue. The wickers hanging along the lake suddenly waved and entangled due to the strong cold wind, as if they were rhythmic. Different dancers perform casually on the stage.
The stars in the sky have not yet brightened up, and the tourists who have not dispersed have already lit up water lanterns. The stars are floating on the West Lake, as if they can float to the deepest part of the starry sky with the waves of the lake.
Chang Qingzi is a tall and thin Taoist. With his hands folded in his sleeves, it can be seen that he has broad shoulders and a broad back, and his arms are slender. He really looks like a good hand with swords and fists. It's a pity that the reserved look on his face doesn't give people a good look.
"Your Majesty, you're welcome. I heard about the ancient temple at the bottom of the lake before I came here."
Qingcheng is a famous Taoist mountain. As the head of the Qingcheng Sect, Taoist Hui Lv is naturally a high Taoist, and he returned to his own work in an instant.
"On the way, I heard that the ancient temple in the lake was shining brightly at night. I couldn't see it, but there was a strange sound like roaring. I am afraid that this is caused by the souls of the dead in the water. There may be an epidemic in the near future. The three of me, master and disciple, should set up a water ceremony together. All day and night, I prayed for blessings, so that I could avoid disaster."
In the past, there were many terrible things like miasma and plague in Fujian. It has been believed since ancient times that plagues are controlled by ghosts and gods. Plague ghosts are ghosts that spread plague. Once discovered, they must be dispersed as soon as possible.
Geng Jingzhong nodded: "Then Taoist priest Lao will set up a memorial ceremony at the lake. That ancient temple is very weird. I will send troops to protect it to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Then he sighed again, "In order to appease people's hearts, the palace also sent fishermen into the water to investigate, but the ancient temple is clearly in front of us, but they can't find it, let alone what is causing trouble inside."
Lin Zhennan heard clearly and immediately guessed Geng Jingzhong's intention.
"Your Majesty, I have something curious. The bottom of the water is only a few feet deep. Why don't you send someone to drop an anchor, hook it to the eaves of the corridor pillars, and then follow the cable across?"
Lin Zhennan proposed a very practical plan, and Jiang Wen also agreed with it.
How deep can an artificial lake dug by the Jin Dynasty be? Wouldn't it be enough to dismantle the temple?
"The navy thought so too, but after fishing for several days, they only pulled up weeds and strange rocks from the bottom of the lake, not even an ancient tile."
Geng Jingzhong waved his hands in low spirits and said, "Think about it, no matter how much people Yan Gao, the governor of Taikang County in Jin Dynasty, used, how could he carve out a huge lake with a radius of more than ten miles? How could he attract so much lake water without flooding the city?"
Geng Jingzhong's words were a little erratic, as if he was waiting for something.
"People in Fuzhou city say that this West Lake was originally a depression outside the city. It was originally a sea eye that was cut out and the waves rose up. This ancient temple seems to be close at hand, but in fact it has already Sinking into the eye of the sea at the bottom of the West Lake..."
As young Geng Jingzhong finished speaking, several people present also fell silent, feeling a little surprised and a little in reverie.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door, and many people made a sound of astonishing admiration. It seemed that someone wanted to get close to the lake, but was blocked.
Geng Jingzhong took the lead to rush out of the tent, passed the best position guarded by the guards, and came to the lake to have a panoramic view.
Others also walked out one after another, and they all saw the center of the West Lake outside Fuzhou City, which was emitting a faint fluorescent light. The dense chaos was like the aura of the Hongmeng when the world first opened, as if it contained all the obscure creations, and was opening as the Eye of the Sea. , revealing a hint of maddening mystery.
Geng Jingzhong's eyes were full of intoxication, and he murmured to himself: "The flood spring is extremely deep, why is it flowing... The eastward flow does not overflow, who knows the reason..."
Jiang Wen also saw this scene.
The center of the lake in the distance is actually hazy and I can't see it clearly, but I can probably tell it's a temple.
But it was this obscure and distant light that made all reality blurred, and the illusions in his mind penetrated the air. His image showed a temple covered with moss and water plants, with extremely solemn decoration and carvings. The curling cigarettes in the hall have long been extinguished, and the furnace is filled with lake bottom mud.
The golden Buddha in the ancient temple has its eyes lowered and its eyebrows lowered, and its stone throne suppresses the eyes of the sea that are hidden deep inside. And every night when people are quiet, if you put your ears against the cracks in the stone wall of the throne, you will hear the sound of the waves of the sea under the Buddha statue...
Chang Qingzi came up with his apprentice at the end, looked at the crazy tourists and soldiers by the lake, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, be careful, this may be a trick of the lake spirit to confuse people, it is better to have a water ceremony as soon as possible!"
Geng Jingzhong was a little annoyed when his thoughts were interrupted by the voice, but he tolerated it well.
Jiang Wen had always been wary of this Chang Qingzi, fearing that he would be unfavorable to Lin Zhennan due to some destined fate.
But now it seems that this man is more upright than clever. He obviously did not understand, or did not bother to understand that Geng Jingzhong said that he was worried about the people was just a polite way of saying that what he really wanted was what was in the middle of the lake.
"The prince seems to be quite fond of this West Lake? Why don't you step forward to take a closer look?"
Jiang Wen was more evil, and urged Geng Jingzhong to go along the bridge to the middle of the lake to have a look, so that he could avoid any plot to kill someone with a borrowed knife and use them to explore the way.
But at this test, Geng Jingzhong sighed: "Jiaxuan layman also visited this place. There is a poem saying: 'Ten miles of crystal pavilions, the road is clear and the night is clear.' It's not just me, King Yanjun of Fujian loves this place the most. The lake was built in the west of the city, and the Crystal Palace was often built across the lake."
Then a true message emerged.
"I don't know if the thing sunk in the middle of the lake is the Crystal Palace built by the King of Fujian back then?"
Jiang Wen remained silent, a little curious in his heart. Why did Geng Jingzhong so firmly believe that the ancient temple at the bottom of the lake was related to the Fujian Kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms? This lake has obviously existed since the Jin Dynasty. Are there no suspicions from other dynasties?
But Jiang Wen also recalled a piece of content in Huixianguan's collection.
According to the Records of the Three Mountains of Chunxi, when Zhao Ruyu was in charge of Fujian in the Southern Song Dynasty, he wrote a letter in no time to request dredging of the old West Lake outside Fuzhou City, and he hurriedly launched the campaign without waiting for the imperial court's approval.
At that time, everyone suspected that this matter cost more and benefited less, but Xin Qiji used the song "Congratulations to the Bridegroom: Traveling to the West Lake in the Rain in the Three Mountains" written by Geng Jingzhong to express cautious objections to the discussion at that time about the dredging of the West Lake.
The cold night was still long, and after standing for a long time, the tourists slowly dispersed. Geng Jingzhong reluctantly walked back to the big tent, ordered his men to warm the rice wine again, and started the banquet.
Seeing Geng Jingzhong's inexplicable depression, Lin Zhennan took the initiative to ask for help and said: "It is not appropriate to waste military power on the West Lake matter for too long. If the prince is at ease, our Fuwei Escort Bureau can take full charge of this place, and it will be well guarded!"
"Mr. Lin's eagerness for justice is really admirable! However, this ancient West Lake temple is just a scabies, and the weird things in Jipi Lane are the real trouble."
Geng Jingzhong's brows gradually softened, and he picked up a glass of warm wine and handed it to Lin Zhennan.
"Now, I, Prince Jingnan, have sent troops to guard the entrance of the alley. For seven consecutive days and nights, I heard the sound of repentance day and night in the alley, but no one came out. This matter requires you to share your worries..."
Chang Qingzi frowned: "Is there such a thing? Was the alley being poisoned by thieves with weapons, or was there a treacherous group of people gathering to cause chaos?"
Geng Jingzhong and Lin Zhennan looked at each other with embarrassed expressions, which was very difficult for the four Taoist priests who were kept in the dark to understand.
"This matter... starts from the time when the owner of Eryouzhai Bookstore in Jipi Lane bought a Buddha statue in She County for five thousand yuan, with his belly disemboweled and blood flowing all over the ground..."
