Jiang Wen looked through the holes in the clay body of the statue and saw that the people gathered in this nunnery were all the most ordinary villagers. Some of them had the weather of being greedy for a long time, some of them were pampered and fat, and some of them had mean faces. Calculating, but more often than not, they are wearing ordinary short brown coarse clothes. They may just walk back and forth in the streets in a daze every day, passing by strangers.
But tonight, in this secret gathering that no one knew about, they all showed their most pious and solemn feelings about the afterlife, afterlife, heaven, liberation and other concepts, passionately expressing their beliefs that may have been hidden for generations.
For ordinary people, a few years of turmoil can change a lot of things. Whether it is dreams, persistence, longings, or pursuits, they will all be shattered in the face of cold reality.
But in the Tang Dynasty lane system, which is like a living fossil in the city of Fuzhou, they are able to interact with each other and retain the ties that maintain specific groups of people.
Therefore, the hundreds of years of war, chaos, fire, and epidemics from the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the present not only did not exterminate them, but instead made their beliefs purer through mutual support and help.
Jiang Wen shuddered.
If this hard-to-understand faith loses its guidance and embodies the ever-increasing public grievances in the city, I don’t know what kind of terrifying monster it will catalyze, and it will lead this weathered city to a precarious direction. .
But what can they believe?
After all, during the changes of the dynasty for several generations, the only thing that remains unchanged is the humble house covering their heads with tiles, and the meaning of "purity, light, power, and wisdom" that will eventually bring about the transformation of the world through word of mouth.
Jiang Wen listened carefully to some of their teachings and found that Mingjiao still showed strong vitality during the long period of time when the scriptures and classics were scattered and unknown. It happened to be that the "Three Worlds" theory of Manichaeism was nested in the meeting place. It is consistent with the theory of the three worlds that incorporates the concept of Maitreya.
The "initial boundary", "middle boundary" and "posterior boundary" of the Three Worlds theory are exactly attached to the ancient Buddha of Qingyang Lantern (past), Sakyamuni Buddha of Hongyang (present day), and Maitreya Buddha of Baiyang (future). The ultimate goal of the universe, the world of light claimed by Mingjiao, is interpreted as the arrival of the Tushita Palace where Maitreya Buddha lives. It is also the fall of the fourth heaven among the six heavens of desire in Buddhist teachings, which will soon bring about the final light and bliss.
This theory has been a long-standing belief of the White Lotus Sect, and is also one of the methods for integrating the two schools of Buddhism and Taoism.
In the era when Jiang Wen traveled through time, archaeological work on documents has discovered that Manichaeism advocated the Taoist theory of "Laozi came out of seclusion and transformed into a barbarian", and actively proposed the theory that Laozi came out of seclusion and transformed into Mani.
Qing Yang - Red Yang - Bai Yang.
In this way, Taoism's Qingyang came out of seclusion and became a Hu, his own Mingzun once again used the Red Yang to enter the world, and Baiyang Buddhism's future Buddha Maitreya was finally redeemed. After a self-consistent upgrade of the theories of the three religions, it seemed that the sects were in contact with each other. The barbaric sectarian feud seems particularly petty.
According to Jiang Wen's words, the world view has been established, and the battle setting has great advantages!
Moreover, in this way, they just used the Mingjiao teachings as a link to bridge the conflicts between Buddhism and Taoism in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, win over a large number of middle-class believers, and finally gave birth to this metaphysical secret religion in the religious field - their ideas are also very Simple, as long as the explanation can make me believe it and bring me benefits, it doesn’t seem to be a very important thing whether the true god is the "Infinite Old Mother", the "Vacuum Ancient Buddha" or the "Longhua Amitabha"...
But there are pros and cons to this approach.
The advantage is that the Mingjiao, which lasted through the Song, Mongolia, and Yuan dynasties, can be preserved to this day with difficulty. The disadvantage is that the Mingjiao, as a declining sect, cannot withstand the continuous erosion and evolution of the other three sects.
Regarding the Ziyang Confucianism that was not mentioned in the Theory of Three Worlds and Three Worlds, Jiang Wen was completely confused about their purpose of getting involved.
Zhu Xi Guangda's Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism originally came into being to resist the threat of Buddhism and Taoism to Confucianism. In the end, it spread in the Han region with a vitality even more terrifying than the previous two.
In this regard, Jiang Wen also remembered an extremely "coincidental" detail in history.
Zheng Xingzhi, the No. 1 scholar who once lived in Jipi Lane, was a disciple of Zhu Xi. As a political advisor (equivalent to a deputy prime minister), he strongly advocated that Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism be lifted from the ban and become an official school in the world, making Fuzhou the center of Neo-Confucianism at that time.
The reason why Our Lady of the Red Lotus cherishes her own classic theories so much is that she needs to find and restore some core concepts that are different from other schools and re-support the vitality of Mingjiao.
"The poisonous miasma is about to dissipate. Protector Huang has not appeared yet. Everyone, please go back quickly and be careful not to stay too long."
The Holy Mother of Red Lotus spoke, and the remnants of the Ming Cult in the door also became silent and dispersed from the side door with extremely high consciousness, just like they had been taught countless times since childhood.
But this time, not long after leaving the house, a low and suppressed exclamation came from the alley.
"Holy Mother Bodhisattva! The Geng family soldiers outside the alley have disappeared. Dozens of civilian men have appeared and are tightly guarding the streets and alleys. There are eyes and ears at the intersections and alleys!"
Xiangzhong slowly returned to the nunnery, with a look of fear and uneasiness on their faces, "Could it be Protector Huang who told our news to..."
"Don't talk much."
The indistinguishable voice of the Red Lotus Virgin was surrounding him, but Jiang Wen still couldn't see the other party's true appearance. "The other party just blocked the entrance of the alley and didn't break in, which means they don't know the exact location yet. You lead people through the secret passage. Leave and leave two people to deal with possible arrests!"
Only then did the Mingjiao Xiangzong calm down: "Then Holy Mother Bodhisattva, what should you do?"
The voice of the Red Lotus Virgin was full of contempt.
"Goddess Liuding is still here, and they can't even hope to see a trace of me. If it weren't for the secrets in Jipi Alley, they wouldn't be able to stop me if I fight my way out tonight!"
After saying that, the red gauze fluttered out and her energy firmly sealed the doors and windows of the nunnery, instantly showing her extremely high level of martial arts cultivation.
Seeing that no other news could be heard in the room, Jiang Wen also relied on Qinggong to jump back into the robbery cave and sneak in the other direction.
The owner of Eryouzhai is probably the Protector Huang they call him. He alone controls the secret passage of the ancient tomb and controls the corpse poison miasma in the tomb to protect the gathering. He is also an independent party.
But this is also consistent with the clear hierarchical characteristics of secret societies.
The people who came here tonight must all be members of the Ming Cult who have directly contacted him. By contacting the lower levels and running a single line, it can prevent the government from buying away traitors and catch them all at once. Once there is a problem, it can also be judged based on the personnel and organizational relationships. The location of the mole.
Jiang Wen admired this. If Southern Shaolin was a little defensive like this, it would not be completely defenseless, and it would not wait for the Shaolin Temple to be burned to ashes before starting to reorganize lay disciples in Guangdong and implement this advanced concept.
The logic soon came to an end. As the narrow path became increasingly narrow, Jiang Wen also guessed that the two sides must be close to the foundations of other houses.
The corridor ahead suddenly changed lanes, and the main road was heavily filled with soil. The color of the soil dug up by the new road was still very fresh, and there were still traces of plowing on both sides. It was probably because they were afraid that the locals would cut it off and dig it out when building houses and roads. It is authentic, so the owner of Eryouzhai built a new road as a precaution.
When he pushed open the hidden stone door, he found himself emerging from a snow cave in a rockery of a mansion.
The so-called snow caves are mainly made of glutinous rice, brown sugar, lime and other prepared materials. They are either built according to the walls between halls or courtyards, or, like now, they are built in rockeries for people to pass through. They can not only cool down and cool down, but also provide shelter. Fire avoids disaster.
This compound is silent, the water in the pond has stopped moving, and the maple tree leaning between the house is leaning out. Many wild birds are building nests in it to attract the phoenixes. The sparse branches outside the window are sifted to the ground, and the shadow of the moon is vaguely reflected in the empty house. Looking up from the hall, you can see the double-story wooden building that faces east and west.
Jiang Wen noticed the hurried footsteps across the wall, so he turned over and jumped onto the roof. He rolled around on the eaves of the roof several times to make sure there was no one around, and then he patted the dust off his body and fell to the ground.
Lanterns were swaying on both sides, and there were figures in the distance. Jiang Wen raised his eyes and saw a towering archway first. A small and exquisite seven-story pagoda was built on the archway, and the writings on the stone plaque also showed the details. The location - Tower Lane.
"I entered from Jipi Lane and should have passed through the Gongxiang Nunnery, but the fork in the road ended at Tower Lane. This road is surprisingly mysterious, and it would be very difficult for ordinary people to find the path."
Figures kept appearing in the distance, and the sound of weapons clashing became clearer.
Walking alone on a deserted street in the middle of the night, you feel as isolated as the lice on Teacher Saitama's head, and you must find a place to hide.
At this time, Jiang Wen didn't know that the people coming were from the Fuwei Escort Bureau. He just thought that the Geng family sent people to the city overnight to search for him. His own appearance will always bring about bad variables, so he judged the direction of the figures, turned around and got into the palace alley again, and walked further into the alley.
The method is also very simple. The structure of the lane is divided into north, south and east. The opponent can outflank the enemy from the north and south central axis, and break the siege along the east and west direction, just in time to avoid their pursuit.
At the end of the ancient alley, the lights are dim, and the houses are gradually dilapidated and desolate, with overgrown weeds. The impact of war and chaos in the late Ming Dynasty on the outer city was that many people hid in remote mountains and remote areas. Fujian is an indisputable place for military strategists of all ages. As long as it hides along the rugged Wuyi Mountains, it can block many disturbances.
At the end of this road, there is a wide and majestic moat, which cuts off the extension of the alleys along the north-south direction. Beyond that, there are vast fields and villages scattered among the rolling hills of lush trees and bamboos.
The bright moon is shining high and the old city is dense. The breathing of Fuzhou City sleeping in the night becomes slow and steady, as if all the turmoil and fear in the day have rested together, and as if there is something creeping lurking in the dark night. .
Different from the majestic, majestic and cold Wuyi Mountains, Jiang Wen was in this familiar yet unfamiliar city, and the lights and neon lights in his memory appeared in his eyes - it was obviously a different cityscape, a different place. Times, but have the same coldness and the same incompatibility.
Among the abandoned houses, Jiang Wen discovered an ancient building with battlements. The gray and blue bricks were dilapidated and exposed, and there was a window in the tower that was several meters high. As the strange smell slowly drifted away, Jiang Wen's gloomy mood became tense again.
"It's actually a tower to save people."
After circling the tower, Jiang Wen turned around with a look of dismay on his face.
When he turned around to find his way, he was surprised to find that the dimly lit Ta Alley behind him had disappeared, replaced by a dark, gloomy and old alley.
There were suddenly no residential buildings on both sides of this alley. They were all towering gray stone walls. The pale color was as cold and traceless as the faded photos, swallowing up the remaining warmth of the surrounding night. Two strings of excessively bright red lanterns reflected a dazzling and limited red light, which reminded him of the tragic feast of the God of the Gods on Manting Peak...
He didn't turn his head, but at this moment, the sound of soft footsteps sounded in his ears. It seemed that there were many invisible people moving forward on tiptoes. The soles of their shoes slowly rubbed against the ground, and there were continuous footsteps coming from his side. Walking past, I walked numbly into this dark alley.
Jiang Wen secretly thought that if there really was an alley leading to the underworld in the world, then it must be as cruel and ruthless as before.
As the strong wind suddenly surged out, carrying pieces of scattered rice paper flying past him, Jiang Wen picked up the pieces of paper in the wind and saw some extremely clumsy printing on them with thick black ink. pattern.
Using the dim light of the ancient alley to identify carefully, Jiang Wen discovered that there were countless ghostly shadows and blood stains on the piece of paper, twisting and turning to form two creepy handwriting...
Netherworld!
