July twenty-third.
Today is not an auspicious day in Japan, it is just the final day of this year’s Obon Dharma Festival.
However, a fire broke out suddenly and completely destroyed the Putian South Shaolin Temple, which hosted this ceremony.
This year's Dharma Conference seems to have come to an end, and it seems that it will never end.
Shaolin south of Jiulian Mountain.
Jiulian Mountain, so named because it is surrounded by nine mountains that resemble blooming lotus flowers, is not very high, but it can be said to occupy a vast area.
In addition, the mountain range has become gentler and there are no towering peaks. The junction between the peaks and ridges is relatively smooth, making it especially suitable for building houses and buildings.
Therefore, after thousands of years of ups and downs, the ancient temple has been repaired and expanded again and again. The area of the temple alone is comparable to half of the city of Suzhou.
In the temple, from the abbot to the disciples, there are thousands of resident monks.
It was the Bon Festival, and more than 900 people were admitted to the temple, including foreign guests and temporary residents.
It is almost impossible to imagine that such a huge place, home to nearly two thousand people, was burned down overnight.
What's more, not to mention 80% of the two thousand people, at least half are people with martial arts skills. Even if they are in a deep sleep state, when the fire approaches, they should always be alert and wake up, either to put out the fire or to escape, and resolutely It shouldn't be completely engulfed by a mere fire.
But it just happened.
The fire burned for a whole night and a day, and it was not until nightfall yesterday that the fire was extinguished by a heavy rain caused by the fire.
All the forces that came from all over Zhongzhou stopped moving more than ten miles away from Jiulian Mountain.
Because they discovered that Jiulian Mountain at the far end had been burned to ashes, and the three villages near Jiulian Mountain were actually ten rooms and ten empty!
Except for the livestock kept by the villagers, there was no sign of an old man or a child.
In every household, traces of recent life such as burned firewood, food on the table, and beds being opened can be seen more or less. In some houses, tables and chairs were damaged and utensils fell to the ground. In some houses, there are still traces of firewood left on the ground and in the corners of the walls. of faint blood.
Everything seems to indicate that these villagers were abducted the day after the Southern Shaolin fire.
As for where to turn, the heavy rain may have washed away people's footprints, but we did not see a large number of people moving on the way, and there were no signs of murder or burial near the village. It is not difficult to infer that the villagers were probably killed. We turned up Jiulian Mountain.
The "advance team" that some forces arrived in advance failed to send out relevant information and even disappeared so far, which also shows that the fire in Southern Shaolin is not only extremely strange, but also extraordinary.
Many questions linger in people's minds.
Which force has the courage and means to destroy such a huge temple?
Are the three Shaolin gold seals that have been rumored so much before one of the reasons for the popularity of Southern Shaolin?
After Southern Shaolin was burned down, does the Shaolin Golden Seal still exist, or has it been stolen?
Will the "ghost" group that disappeared for more than a day also be involved?
Before the fire, did something else happen in Southern Shaolin?
How likely are the thousands of monks from the Southern and Northern Shaolin Temples and more than 200 temples in Zhongzhou to survive?
What does the Southern Shaolin fire have to do with the villagers in nearby villages?
Which force kidnapped them all? What is the purpose? etc……
It was a clear day, but the entire Putian County was shrouded in dark and thick clouds.
The night in Zhongzhou Jianghu seems to have arrived quietly.
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A mountain has four seasons, and the sky is different ten miles away.
Zhongzhou is so big that people in the north and the south often have very different conversations after dinner.
While the Southern Shaolin Fire was still spreading in Fujian, the great prosperity of Walakoko Pass had already made most of the people in Zhongzhou north of Suzhou panic.
As a result, the news that the imperial court temporarily lifted the military restriction order in Fujian and issued a call to heroes and heroes from all walks of life to go to Putian to kill the Wala bandits became insignificant.
Where there is war, there will be results.
Twenty years ago, after Zhongzhou successfully resisted the foreign barbarians, it entered into peace agreements with the invaders.
At that time, the land in Zhongzhou was devastated and in ruins waiting to be renovated. The imperial court only sought back the lost land and appropriate compensation from foreign countries, but did not open its mouth again.
Even the beggars on the roadside would not believe that the fifty-year peace agreement of non-aggression and non-interference could be implemented smoothly.
But for Zhongzhou, which has a solid foundation, it will basically be able to recover in less than thirty years. Anyone who attacks will probably lose everything.
Even though the temple disputes in Zhongzhou have continued in the past twenty years, which may not be better than the chaotic quagmire of twenty years ago, with only a lot more internal friction, it is undeniable that the overall national strength of Zhongzhou is still growing.
Not to mention how far the imperial military power has developed, the living conditions of the rivers and lakes and the people are strong evidence.
Ordinary people have generally gotten rid of the dire straits of life. Life is not easy, but survival is not difficult.
If it weren't for the imperial court's overt and covert suppression of all Jianghu forces in recent years, otherwise the Gangs and Sects system would have become increasingly healthy and perfect, and gradually integrated into people's lives. Although it would be difficult to compare with what it was 20 or 30 years ago, it could undoubtedly be called one. A scene of prosperous times.
Therefore, anyone with a little foresight can almost predict that sooner or later, the peace agreements will be unilaterally torn up again in advance.
After all, dealing with a powerful neighbor requires caution, trepidation, and even compromise.
But if you can kill this neighbor before it becomes stronger, or inflict heavy damage on it, and at the same time seize resources to strengthen yourself, even if it only delays the opponent's time to become stronger to a certain extent, and can bring some benefits to yourself, then It's worth taking the risk.
But not many people could have foreseen that this day would come so early.
Not many people want this day to come so early.
Fortunately, the current imperial court is not mediocre, and the war has been controlled within the territory of Daxing.
Whether the Oara Army has enough strength to move south remains to be seen.
In short, compared to the many alleys and alleys in northern Zhongzhou that are filled with worries about family and national affairs, in Putian County, Fujian, in a restaurant and hotel filled with families, the things on people's lips are all the same as the following three. Something is involved.
The first to bear the brunt was the Southern Shaolin fire.
Followed closely by the Shaolin Golden Seal which is closely related to it.
The last one actually has something to do with Wala.
It turns out that the "bamboo pole monster" that caused headaches to the government, changed people's minds, and caused heavy casualties to the Evil Execution Alliance was none other than the No. 1 Warrior of Oara, Tu Wanfang, who massacred all directions in Zhongzhou twenty years ago!
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Three quarters of a hour.
Meng Chaoge, Shi Zhonghuo, Dong Qing, and Ji Zhe left the inn where they stayed and headed towards Jiulian Mountain again.
They had arrived near Jiulian Mountain yesterday, and after exploring three deserted villages one by one, they finally stopped as part of a group of more than a hundred people in front of Jiulian Mountain.
There was no news from the three five-person teams from Tingyu Pavilion who arrived earlier than them.
Out of caution, the four of them did not go out to be the first ones, but followed the trend back to Hanjiang Town.
While trying to find out more information, they discussed whether to join forces with other gangs to go to Jiulian Mountain to find out.
There is a tea soup restaurant in Hanjiang Town that was originally an underground secret agent of the Daoyi Alliance. This time, it has also become a transit point for Tingyuge's secret contacts.
They learned about Jiang Yichen when they first entered the museum.
Thanks to the Shaolin Golden Seal, the business of the teahouse was booming. Despite this, the waiter still conveyed the information to the four of them through the coded signal when serving the food.
The tea and soup house took it upon themselves to serve them the five most delicious and filling dishes of the season to show that Jiang Yichen was not seriously ill at the moment.
The white-cut sausage, which is fat but not greasy, full of flavor, has a mellow taste and does not taste the smell of pig intestines at all, is a famous snack in Putian and is also used to imply that Jiang Yichen has suffered many minor injuries.
A plate of unshelled peanuts hinted that Jiang Yichen would not be able to show up for the time being.
Then there was a plate of sliced bitter bamboo shoots, which meant that Jiang Yichen was in a situation where the master of bitterness was haunting him.
The top and bottom jointly interpreted that Jiang Yichen was being targeted by his enemies. To avoid accidents, he could only act in the dark.
The enemy that Jiang Yichen can avoid must be the top master in the world.
As for who Jiang Yichen had provoked, Meng Chaoge and others had no way of knowing.
The stir-fried cabbage heart naturally reassures Meng Chaoge and others, so everyone no longer worries too much about it.
The last platter, which includes clams, nine-section shrimps, razor clams, crabs, oysters and other top ten Putian seafood, illustrates the mixed fish and dragons in this newly formed murky water, so proceed with caution.
Obviously, Jiang Yichen, who was forced to leave the team and go alone to avoid being chased by his enemies, not only came to Putian County in advance, but also discovered some weird things about the current situation of Jiulian Mountain in the process.
To untie the bell, one needs to tie the bell. Now that they have come to Putian, they cannot avoid the problem of Southern Shaolin.
Then, we can only go directly to the mountain to find the answer.
