In the morning of early autumn in Suzhou, birds were chirping and insects were chirping, the breeze was blowing, and the treetops were swaying. A carriage and horses stopped at the gate of Puming Temple. A man jumped out of the carriage and pretended to be a man. It was Hou Feng.
"Langjun, please wait in the car, Langjun Liang and the others haven't arrived yet."
"Okay, no rush." Chen Fan responded calmly.
After a while, another carriage arrived, and the three people who got out of the carriage were Liang Xiu, his bodyguard, and Lu Xian.
At this time, Chen Fan had already got off the carriage and greeted him.
"Let's go in and visit Master Xia Tan." The five of them walked towards Puming Temple. There are already some believers in the temple burning incense and worshiping Buddha. Naturally, Chen Fan and others are not here to burn incense.
Several people walked to Zhike Monk, and Liang Xiu took the initiative to talk to him: "This young master, does he know where Master Tan is?"
"Master Tan is explaining the scriptures in the sutra recital room. I wonder why the donor wants to see the master?"
"We are from the Sheriff's Mansion. We have something important to ask of the master. Could you please help me, young master?"
"Okay, please invite some donors to come with me."
This was Chen Fan's first visit to Puming Temple. In Chen Fan's view, who was accustomed to the grandeur of modern temples, the construction of Puming Temple was extremely ordinary. Not to mention compared with modern temples, even compared with Zhenwu Temple, it was two grades behind. .
This Puming Temple looks simple on the outside, but in fact it has a rigorous structure inside. The key point is not the infrastructure that pilgrims see such as the mountain gate, the Main Hall, the Guanyin Hall, and the Zen Room. In addition to the monks who are responsible for logistical life) and other responsibilities, there are also Sutra Hall, Martial Arts Hall, and Luohan Hall. These three halls of Wen, Wu, and Dharma focus on cultivating the monks’ abilities. If something happens, they can be organized into a team that cannot be underestimated. A fighting team to behold.
After a while, several people followed Zhike Monk and arrived at the sutra recital room, a yellow brick building about nine meters wide. The sound of reciting could be heard from inside the sutra room, and they decided to wait at the door.
"Little Master, where is that place over there?" Chen Fan asked, pointing to a courtyard.
Zhike Monk looked in the direction of Chen Fan's finger and saw a monk practicing his sword inside. The sword was bright and full of murderous aura, "Oh, that's the martial arts hall, where the monks practice martial arts."
Unexpectedly, Puming Temple has a martial arts hall and is specially equipped with warrior monks. It seems that this place cannot be underestimated with simple furnishings. Chen Fan thought to himself, and at the same time he was also curious about what kind of martial arts the monks practiced.
"Hou Feng, do you know what kind of martial arts that monk is practicing? How does it compare to you?"
"I don't know about this, but judging from his sword skills, he should have mastered the sword skills, and he is much stronger than the villain."
"Daogang? This monk looks like he is in his prime. Doesn't it take decades to cultivate Daogang?"
"This is not necessarily true. It is said that some geniuses can master it within a few years of practice. Watching the master strike out with his sword, the surrounding energy surges. This is the situation where the sword's power is revealed."
"Brother Liang, I wonder if there is anyone in your family who can beat this person?" Driven by curiosity, Chen Fan asked Liang Xiu.
"Awu, do you know this?"
"Hui Langjun, we certainly have one in our house. Master Guan should be able to defeat this person."
Well, I didn’t expect Puming Temple and his party to know two martial arts masters before they met Master Tan. I wonder how Master Huang compares with them? Chen Fan automatically ignored Xiao Qing. In Chen Fan's opinion, Xiao Qing's martial arts might be good, but he was still in the fitness stage, and there was still a long way to go before he could compete with others.
"Liang Xiu, do you practice martial arts?"
"It's impossible to cultivate internal strength by only practicing some external skills."
"Why?"
"To cultivate internal strength, you need to sense the qi and blood in the body, use food and elixirs to enhance the qi and blood, and refine it to produce internal strength, which can easily harm the body. When I was a child, I had a poor physical constitution, so it was difficult to achieve great results after practicing. It is better to practice external skills and exercise muscles. On the contrary, the effect is worse than practicing internal strength."
"Then the monk in front of me is rare. Either he has extraordinary qualifications, or he has acquired some genius treasure. In any case, the opportunity to practice martial arts is rare." Chen Fan still knows a little about Gang Qi, which refers specifically to powerful ones. The strong energy will only appear when the inner strength is cultivated to a certain level, and I feel a little envious in my heart.
"Yes, but our Confucianism and chess skills are no worse than theirs." Liang Xiu was not very envious, but said proudly.
Chen Fan thought about it. In this society, the status of literati is not bad. There is an old Chinese saying, "Knowledge is power." Most of the time, knowledge is needed to solve problems.
While they were chatting, the door of the sutra performance room opened, the sermon had ended, and monks came out one after another. It's a pity that they don't know Tan Jingtai. Fortunately, the Zhike monk from before has been accompanying him. Liang Xiu said: "Please, young master, call Master Tan for us, and tell him that someone from the county governor's house is coming to visit."
"Okay, some donors will be later." The monk Zhike performed a Buddhist salute and entered the sutra recitation room. After a while, he led a tall and tall monk out. He had silkworm eyebrows and red phoenix eyes, about forty years old. On the left and right, they walk steadily and wear loose yellow monk robes.
"Several donors, the poor monk Tan Jingtai, I wonder what they want from the poor monk?" The great monk strode forward and asked.
"Master Tan, Liang Xiu, my uncle is the current governor of Gusu County. This is Dean Lu, the dean of the chess academy of Songxiang Academy. This is Chen Fasheng, a disciple of Dean Lu. Here today, there is someone Things look for each other.”
"Donor, please speak."
"I heard that the master has "Lan Ke Pu". I wonder if you can lend it to us for a look?" Liang Xiu said straight to the point.
"Oh, I don't know where the donors got the news from. This rumor is wrong. The poor monk has not obtained "Lan Ke Pu"."
Liang Xiu was slightly startled and looked towards Chen Fan.
Chen Fan smiled faintly and said: "Master misunderstood. We did not say that the master had obtained the "Lan Ke Pu", but that the master knew the "Lan Ke Pu", so we would like to ask the master to give us a manuscript."
"The benefactor reflected so keenly that the poor monk can indeed write down the "Lan Ke Pu". It is not difficult for the poor monk to write it down silently, but he has to ask several donors to pick it up in a few days. The poor monk has something important to do these days. I really have no time to be distracted.”
Liang Xiu was filled with hatred as he listened, what a cunning bald donkey, he actually played word games! He immediately said: "Master, this "Lan Ke Pu" has only been circulated among the high sects of the Northern Wei Dynasty. I wonder where did the master learn this chess manual?"
"Master, do you know the "Grass and Trees Manual"? We are willing to take out the "Grass and Trees Manual" to communicate with the master." Chen Fan continued from the side. In Chen Fan's view, chess records can be used for communication. Even if Zhenwu Guan's "Northern Zhenwu Xuanjing" is shown to others, it is not a big deal. Many people have read the Tao Te Ching, can they become Lao Tzu? Reading involves learning, thinking, and understanding. Chess records are precious. Is it more precious than the Tao Te Ching? If one can become a Go master through a chess game, then this person must be a genius among geniuses. Such a person, even Chen Fan, who has "Chengying", cannot do it.
"This chess record was also learned by the poor monk from the Buddhist elders. It's not that the poor monk didn't want to show it, it's just that the poor monk couldn't write it down silently for a while.
"This is easy to handle. I once learned some "Lan Ke Pu" from a friend. However, due to time constraints, he only had time to explain the first forty moves. Why don't I write it out first to help the master recall it? Then the master said, I will write it, which will definitely save a lot of time." Chen Fan actually knew more than sixty moves. The reason why he said it was more than forty moves was to verify the chess records taught by Master Tan and Yajun's Is it the same.
"Okay, some donors will come with me." Master Tan saw that these few people would not give up until they got the chess records. Maybe they were afraid of trouble, maybe they felt that there was no need to be self-conscious, so he finally half-agreed.
Master Tan did not lead Chen Fan and others far away, but directly led a few people into the sutra performance room. There was no one in the sutra performance room at this time, and they all dispersed.
"Several donors please take a seat."
"Thank you, Master."
"Here are pens, ink, and paper, please benefactor." Master Tan said to Chen Fan.
"Okay, I have paper." Chen Fan took out a piece of rice paper with a seventeen-way chessboard drawn on it. This was prepared in advance for the convenience of copying later, but he didn't expect it to come in handy now.
For the first forty steps, Chen Fan didn't need Master Tan's guidance. He moved his pen as fast as he could and said while writing: "Master, if there is anything wrong with what I wrote in this chess record, please correct me. This circle represents the white stone. The triangle represents the sunspot, and the number in the middle represents the step. If there is anything wrong, please let me know." After a while, these forty hands were drawn.
"Yes, there are no mistakes or omissions." Master Tan nodded beside him, "The next move is here,..." Master Tan continued, talking about more than two hundred moves, and the first sixty or so moves were exactly the same as what Chen Fan knew. Come to think of it, this "Lan Ke Pu" is not a treasure book. As a senior monk of Puming Temple, Master Tan either didn't say it, and there was no need to lie when he said it. Fortunately, time was short, and Master Tan didn't explain why, he just talked about it. There, in a very short time, Chen Fan finished writing.
"Okay, this is the entire gameplay of "Lan Ke Pu". You can go back and figure it out for yourself." After saying that, Master Tan stood up to see off the guests.
Chen Fan and others did not intend to stay longer. As for the "Grass and Trees Book", Master Tan never mentioned it. As an eminent monk of the Liang Kingdom, it would not be troublesome to obtain the "Caomu Book". He should have read it. There was no need for everyone to put their hot faces on each other's cold buttocks. Others made it clear that they didn't want it and had no reason to insist on giving it, so everyone left immediately.
Generally speaking, getting the chess records went very smoothly this time. It only took less than an hour in the morning and it was done. After leaving the temple, Chen Fan immediately said: "I will make a copy of this chess record when I get it back and send it to everyone."
"The hard work has paid off." Dean Lu was polite and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Thank you. There is a restaurant nearby. It tastes good. Let's go have lunch. I think Fa Laisheng came to Suzhou not long ago, so I probably haven't been there, so I just want to try it."
"Okay, I came to Suzhou and haven't done much shopping yet, so I just wanted to go take a look." Naturally, Chen Fan would not refuse and immediately agreed.
