Abbot invitation?
In the dining hall, the early autumn sunshine shines on the brown thick wooden table.
Yu Yu and Ye Hongling turned their heads at the same time and looked at Ji Pingan in surprise, only to see a calm expression on the latter's face.
It was as if this had been expected.
"How did you know Master Yihong wanted to see you?"
The female warrior almost spat out this question, but she swallowed it hard.
Ji Ping'an, on the other hand, did not give any explanation at all. He stood up and followed Zhike Monk away, disappearing behind the bamboo forest outside the hall.
It wasn't until the person left that Yu Yu licked his lips calmly, rolled the white flower rice porridge at the corner of his mouth into his mouth with his small tongue, and looked like he was not surprised:
"Oh, don't pay attention to him. This person always likes to play tricks, and all star officials are like this. He looks like he has no plans left."
Is that so... Ye Hongling is not sure.
She has only worked with Ji Pingan a few times. The last time she went to Xishan Residence, Ji Pingan had a conversation with Qi Nian, a strong swordsman, which already amazed her.
Unexpectedly, as the contact deepened, the fog on the other party not only did not dissipate, but it became increasingly difficult for her to see clearly.
Generate strong curiosity.
Ye Hongling suddenly said:
"Your Highness, can you tell me about Ji Sichen's time in the capital?"
…
…
"Si Chen, please come in. The abbot is waiting for you in the Zen room."
In another courtyard, Zhike Monk stopped and pointed to the Zen room ahead.
He immediately backed away knowingly.
When Ji Ping'an opened the door, he saw the elegant Master Yihong, who was in his fifties and wearing white monk's robes, sitting cross-legged and meditating.
A pot of tea is boiling on the low table in front of him, and two teacups are being filled carefully.
Ji Ping'an walked lightly, looked at the array, and praised:
“Good tea.”
Master Yihong pushed a lamp forward, raised his head and looked at it with brown eyes:
"Si Chen has never drank, how can he praise it?"
Ji Ping'an walked over, sat down cross-legged, and said:
"The leaves of the horse chestnut tree are the best tea leaves in the world, better than the tributes from the Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but few people know about it."
Master Yihong was slightly surprised and said with emotion:
"It seems that Si Chen has tasted it in all the gods. No wonder he can recognize it by the aroma of tea."
No... to be precise, your Buddha made it for me when I went to the Southern Tang Dynasty... Ji Ping'an thought and acquiesced.
I picked up the tea cup and took a sip regardless of the boiling heat. It was full of fragrance and refreshing.
Master Yihong didn't speak, and just drank tea slowly. Both parties in the meditation room were quiet and didn't speak.
After a long time, Master Yihong finally spoke helplessly:
"Si Chen went to the Buddhist temple to investigate the case yesterday, but found nothing. What are your preparations for today?"
Ji Ping'an smiled and asked:
"Is this why the abbot called me here?"
Master Yihong said:
"Since our Zen monastery is involved in the case and involves many pilgrims, we should cooperate with the investigation to repay the reputation of this important place of Buddhism."
Ji Ping'an said "Oh", suddenly put down the tea cup, and sighed:
"But it looks like the abbot may be disappointed."
Master Yihong looked at him: "Si Chendan said it's okay. Or is this the reason why the three of them sneaked into my Buddhist pagoda last night?"
He said these words calmly, but abruptly. If Ye Hongling and Yu Yu were present, their expressions would change drastically and they would have a stress reaction.
But Ji Ping'an didn't care and nodded happily:
"yes."
Just admitted it...Master Yihong was also stunned for a moment, but hesitated to speak, thinking, shouldn't I be justified?
Ji Ping'an stared at him:
"Even if the abbot doesn't say anything, I still want to ask. Last night, I witnessed the flower-picking monk escaping into the tower. How can I explain it?"
Then, with a few words, he said that there was going to be a bad person who wanted to taint Mrs. Pei, but he had already been alert and stopped him and other things one by one without hiding anything.
Master Yihong didn't expect that this star official would be so open-minded, and he was stunned. But when he heard what happened clearly, his expression became visibly serious:
"Really?"
Ji Ping'an said slowly:
"Or do you think it's necessary for us to lie about this kind of thing?"
After a pause, he stared at the white-clothed mage in front of him:
"So, I need the Zen Academy to give an explanation. Who has the ability to pass through the barrier and enter the tower? Under the Thunder Sound Tower, where does the portal lead to? Why was it built? What is its function?"
Mainly anti-customer!
Master Yihong was silent for a while, finally sighed softly and replied:
"That's all. If it comes to Ye Hongling, the poor monk really doesn't believe it. After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty has done a lot of frame-ups."
Emperor Yuan Qing: Don’t cue!
The monk in white continued:
"But since it was Ji Sichen who testified, this matter is indeed beyond the expectations of the poor monk. Although the Leiyin Pagoda is not a very important place, in the monastery, there are not many people who are qualified to enter it, except for the monks who do daily cleaning. , they are all at the level of Zhike Monk.
This matter can be investigated later to see who left the bedroom last night... But the poor monk still firmly believes that there may be something fishy about this matter, and it is definitely not the work of the monks in our temple. "
He added:
"As for the door in the well, it's not a secret. It's just an escape passage."
Ji Ping'an was curious: "Escape passage?"
Master Yihong nodded:
"In the past, the two tribes of humans and demons fought against each other. The strong demon tribe flooded the Qiantang. The monks in the Zen monastery were killed and injured countless times. Even the Glazed Bodhisattva was in trouble. Later, when the temple was rebuilt, the monks at that time took this into consideration and arranged Dharma in the well to prevent the situation from getting worse. One end of the formation is connected to the temple, and the other end is in a small temple higher up the mountain.
There will be some food stored in the small temple. Once the monks in the temple are in trouble, they can use it to escape...
However, hundreds of years have passed and the conflict between the two clans has long since ended, so this passage has hardly been used. As for the small temple on the mountain, it is only used to store some ice cubes and other items in winter and use them in summer. It is not difficult to pass, as long as you practice the authentic Buddhist root method. "
Ji Ping'an nodded lightly, not surprised by this.
People born in peaceful times may find this arrangement a bit ridiculous.
But you must know that at that time, no one knew how the situation would change in the future.
So don't talk about Zenyuan, but ordinary people with some wealth are accustomed to digging tunnels in their yards.
"So, the abbot also said that this person is indeed a member of the Buddhist sect." Ji Ping'an said.
Master Yihong was silent and said:
"Those who practice Buddhism are not necessarily Buddhist disciples."
This is a tough talk... However, it is not completely unreasonable. For example, those monks who were begging for help were expelled from Buddhism.
And if it is a "reborn person", the situation is even more complicated.
Who knows, which era and what kind of "historical figure" was reborn.
And with the ability of those reborn, it is entirely possible to sneak into the temple through this "survival channel" in reverse, or even use some Buddhist secrets to bypass authority and enter the "enchantment".
Combined with the previous reasoning, either the thief is indeed hiding in the monastery... but this possibility is not high.
On the one hand, there are too many people in the temple and the Buddhist sect is fully aware of the existence of the "Stars Return" incident.
I will definitely pay special attention to some suspicious people.
On the other hand, it was the time to "commit the crime"... If it was true as the theory goes, the women were violated when they left the monastery and returned.
It would be inconvenient for this person to hide in the Zen courtyard.
Which monk can bear the burden of running out of the temple every day, injecting Buddhist essence, and then running back... without being discovered for a long time?
Therefore, there is a high probability that he is hiding outside the Zen courtyard.
But it's not far away. You can lock the "prey" through magic, observation, etc. and take action.
As for sneaking into the Zen monastery, it was probably because he learned about Li Xiangjun's arrival and felt itchy.
After all, Mrs. Pei is always protected by family experts, so it may not be feasible if she takes action on the way back.
On the contrary, in the monastery, Pei's guards will not be too close and their defenses will be lax, but there will be "opportunities".
…
Ji Ping'an tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said:
"I wonder where the small temple is on the opposite side of the portal?"
Master Yihong was also extremely intelligent. At this moment, he also understood Ji Ping'an's thoughts. He stood up and said:
"The poor monk can just take Si Chen there himself."
Ji Ping'an stood up with a smile: "That's very good."
After the agreement was completed, the two people quickly walked out of the Zen room and ordered the monk to find the other two women in the dining hall.
Not long after, Ye Hongling and Yu Yu hurried over, and everyone returned to the Leiyin Pagoda again.
Yu Yu looked indifferent and looked like he didn't deserve a beating.
Ye Hongling, on the other hand, seemed a little embarrassed. The moral level of the female martial artist was extremely high, and she still felt a little guilty about sneaking into his sect's stronghold.
"Everyone, please follow me." Master Yihong said, leading the three people to the well, and immediately took out three strings of Buddhist beads and handed them to them:
"Wearing this item can also pass through for a short period of time."
After saying that, he took the lead and stepped into the portal.
The person disappeared in an instant.
Ye Hongling held the beads, inspected them, and said cautiously:
"I'll follow over and have a look."
With that said, the female warrior held a knife in one hand and disappeared through the door.
Seeing this, Yu Yucai and Ji Ping'an stepped in.
Light and shadow change.
When the surrounding scenery became clear again, Ji Pingan found himself in a patio.
Surrounded by vigilant and curious drama girls, female warriors scanning the surroundings with knives, and white-clothed mage with a stern expression.
The courtyard is old and quiet, surrounded by courtyard-like buildings, houses made of blue-black bricks and stones, which have been in disrepair for many years, and the appearance of a temple can be vaguely seen.
Outside the building, there were green pines and cypresses. Yu Yu jumped up to the ridge of the roof, looked over, and said:
"We are halfway up the mountain, and the Zen Temple is down there."
Ye Hongling released her consciousness and shook her head towards Ji Ping'an:
"There are no enemies."
Master Yihong said:
"This is the other end of the portal. I may not have been here for a long time."
As he said that, he led the three of them to walk in the building, and sure enough they found that there was no one around, most of the doors were locked, and it was empty inside.
However, when everyone stepped into the second courtyard, they all looked at one of the well-preserved houses. They saw that the door was open, the iron lock was broken, and it was thrown on the ground.
"There's something wrong here!"
Ye Hongling was shocked and stepped into it first, saying:
"There are traces of life!"
Everyone filed in, this was a bedroom.
Although the furnishings are extremely shabby, compared to others, there are more daily necessities stored in the temple, such as water basins, bedding and so on.
"Not long ago, someone lived here."
Ye Hongling said, "If there is no accident, it is the person from last night. Everything is explained."
A reborn person who was suspected of being a Buddhist came to the Zen monastery. Following his past memories, he found this small temple to live in, and occasionally sneaked into the temple through the teleportation circle to "hunt for beauty"...
And this behavior is most likely to restore cultivation.
Methods such as taking yin and replenishing yang are never uncommon.
Moreover, this place is also well chosen. On the one hand, there is an endless stream of women to choose from, making it almost a good place to sit back and wait.
Moreover, most of these women were young and married. Even if they noticed something was wrong afterwards, in this era, they would not be able to tell others about it in a big way.
In addition, there is a Zen monastery standing in the way, so even if someone is suspicious, it can be attributed to the sincerity of seeking Buddha. And even if it attracts a court investigation, there is a Buddhist school standing in the way, making the government restrained.
"Damn it! Let the other party escape! After so long, it's impossible to chase him." Yu Yu was furious.
However, Ji Ping'an remained calm and without hesitation, he immediately started astrology. A vortex appeared in his pupils, and then an illusory astrolabe rotated.
In the small temple, the light began to flow backwards and returned to last night.
He "saw" with his own eyes that the formation flickered in the temple courtyard, and a vague figure came out, ran into the house with brisk footsteps, and began to clear away the traces.
Then he took a small baggage on his back, left the place, jumped up to the roof, identified the direction below, fled in the opposite direction to the monastery, turned into blue smoke, and disappeared into the forest.
And when he escaped, the direction he targeted was the site of the ancient Qiantang City, now the "Qiantang County" city!
boom--
The picture shattered, Ji Ping'an ended the horoscope and broke away from the spell state.
"How is it?" Yu Yu stared at him and asked anxiously.
Ye Hongling and Master Yihong also looked over.
Ji Ping'an thought for a while and said:
"If there is no accident, he should have fled to Qiantang County."
Yunlin Zen Monastery is located on the outskirts of Qiantang County, not far away. The county is densely populated, so it is undoubtedly a good place to hide yourself.
Qiantang County... Hearing this, Ye Hongling wanted to go down the mountain immediately and go to arrest him.
Master Yihong sighed:
"How to find a drop of water that merges into the sea? This may be difficult."
Yu Yu curled his lips and contradicted Bald Donkey:
"How do you know you can't find it if you don't do it? Moreover, do you Buddhists want to stay out of the matter? You have to bear a heavy responsibility for this matter, do you understand?"
Master Yihong was speechless.
Ji Ping'an ignored the quarrel and went straight to a pottery basin in the corner of the house.
Among them, there was a piece of paper burned to ashes. These were the "traces" that the "obscene monk" burned and cleaned up with a candle last night.
"Why does a person who lives alone and hides in the mountains have writings that need to be eliminated? Is it because they contain content that would expose him?" Ji Ping'an thought.
"What's wrong?" Ye Hongling came over and asked.
When he learned about the situation, his expression became serious, and he frowned and said:
"But it's been burned to such a degree that it's almost impossible to restore it. Hey, why are there still traces of charcoal?"
The female warrior squatted down, stretched out her well-jointed hands, and picked up a few unburned, thoroughly carbonized bamboo-like wood-like parts from a pile of ashes:
"Some of it's like some kind of framework."
Yu Yu came over, looked down, and frowned, seeming to find it difficult.
Although there are techniques in the Taoist arts that can restore things that have been burned, they are of a very high level. Most Taoists who sit in the well cannot master them, and she has not yet mastered them.
But after staring for a while, the girl's little nose wrinkled, and she felt that something was wrong, so she simply raised her green-white finger and touched her eyes.
brush--
The girl's eyes flashed with golden light, and she opened the Taoist Heavenly Eye.
Immediately, she sighed easily and said, "There is something left."
Then, with everyone watching, she raised her little hand and grabbed a handful of ashes. Suddenly, the ashes in the pottery basin suddenly flashed red, as if they were blown charcoal fire.
Then, she pulled out a translucent "lantern" that was about to collapse.
Yes, lantern!
A classic square red paper lantern!
"What is this?" Ye Hongling, as a vulgar martial artist, has never seen this.
"It's a spirit." Master Yihong said, with a wise light in his brown eyes:
"After some spiritual objects are destroyed, the spirit of the object will remain for a certain period of time... which is almost completely different from the spirit of the magical weapon. It is a more natural spirituality, similar to the legendary mountains and rivers. Spirits, or lonely ghosts and the like.”
As he said that, the old monk gave Yu Yu a meaningful look: "I didn't expect that he is still a Taoist genius."
Yu Yu's waistcoat was scratched and he kept a straight face and said nothing.
Ye Hongling smoothed things over and said:
"So, not long ago, the murderer burned a spiritual lantern? Why was this? Also, how was this lantern born?"
She was confused about this.
He looked at Ji Ping'an out of habit, and then froze. He saw the young star officer squatting down at some point and quietly staring at the slowly rotating red lantern in the sky, his eyes focused.
It was as if I saw something on the red paper of the lantern.
As he watched, an extremely blurry, almost indistinguishable outline of a "human face" appeared on a certain side of the lantern's shadow.
Unfortunately, the next second, this remaining "spirit" could no longer maintain its strength, shattered into pieces, and disappeared into a wisp of smoke.
Ye Hongling was startled and looked at Yu Yu: "Why is it gone?"
Yu Yu pouted and said:
"This has almost dissipated. I forced it to materialize for a moment, which is already amazing."
Master Yihong looked at Ji Pingan:
"Did Si Chen see something?"
Ji Ping'an was silent for a moment, pinched his eyebrows, then raised his head and smiled:
"It's nothing, I just feel...a little familiar."
Well, what he didn't say was that he thought of an old friend.
I also knew the identity of the owner of this lantern... But why did that old friend get involved with the monk? Could it be said that she is also in Qiantang County?
Ji Ping'an's mind was filled with confusion and he was a little distracted.
It wasn't until he was woken up by Yu Yu that he came back to his senses and heard the saint's cry:
"What does it look familiar to? Do you know this thing? Have you read it in a book?"
Ji Ping'an said "Thank you" and borrowed the donkey from the slope:
"I saw it in a book."
Immediately, he faced everyone's gaze and slowly said a name:
"Have you ever heard of Mrs. Wei?"
…
…
Qiantang County.
In the early morning, the early autumn sunshine illuminates the entire ancient city.
In a certain street, a figure wearing a cloak and carrying a bag hurriedly walked, and finally came to the door of a mansion, stepped on the steps, and knocked on the door.
Not long after, the door was opened a crack, and a man who looked like a housekeeper looked over coldly:
"Who are you looking for?"
The cloaked man smiled and said, "The young monk asks to see Mrs. Wei."
…
Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of chapter)
