Qin Bukong thought about it and said that it is easier to understand that Xuanwu is on the side. Intuitively speaking, it should mean that Xuanwu is close to the position or that Xuanwu is next to it. It's just that I really can't guess what these "two graceful immortals" are referring to. If they are gods, then there are countless Taoist gods.
Two immortals, two immortals... Are you talking about the harmony of the two immortals? Qin Bukong said to himself. Then he quickly overturned his guess and told us that if it is the two immortals of Hehe, first of all, it has nothing to do with the "monsters" we are going to fight against. Secondly, even if it really refers to them, it should not be left in the Arhat. On the body, it should be Yue Lao.
After thinking hard for a long time, Qin Bukong still didn't have an accurate conclusion, or even a general direction for his guess. So the three of us seemed to be stuck in a dilemma. At this time, I suggested, how about we first think of a way to see if there are other writings on the base of the Arhat. If there are, then maybe it can be connected with these eight characters to form a more coherent sentence.
Songzi crawled to Arhat's side again, then reached out and patted Tong a few times, making a dull sound. Then he slapped it several times near the base. Although the sound was similar, it was obviously much weaker than before. It was no longer the rich sound, the echo was lost, and it even felt solid inside.
However, this seated Arhat has wide feet and a narrow head. Even if it is a solid bronze statue, there is no reason for it to be at the widest place. Doesn’t that mean a waste of material? Just when I was puzzled, Songzi said to me, I felt like there was something in the base, and the sound sounded like something heavy was filled in the base.
I said this is also possible. If the Arhat is purely hollow, then although its weight is heavy, it will not be so heavy that it cannot be moved away for thousands of years. Even if there is solid copper in the base, it is to make the seated statue more stable. This is to keep the roly-poly away, do you understand?
I relied on the superficial physics knowledge I learned from Meng Dongxue in the mountain village to show off in front of Songzi. Songzi ignored me, but jumped down again, then bent down and got under the desk.
Since ancient times, in order to prevent moisture and rust, the bases used to place the statues of gods and Buddhas in Buddhist halls have generally been made of softer wood instead of iron shelves. So I guess Songzi did this because he wanted to get in and see if there were other writings on the base. But he soon got out and said that there was a layer of wood between the wooden frame and the Arhat, which seemed to be used to distribute the weight. I asked him how thick the board was and could we saw it? Songzi said he couldn't tell by visual inspection, but judging from the sound of knocking and the original size of the bronze statue, it seemed to be about half an inch thick.
This means that if we want to see the base of the Bronze Body Arhat, we must find a way to get rid of the wooden board. Although we have a letter of introduction from Abbot Mibao, changing the base of the Buddha statue like this is a bit disrespectful and a bit abrupt. So the three of us decided to report it to the temple first and get their consent before taking action. Even if the other party doesn't agree, we can still visit Abbot Mibao again and ask him for help.
Hearing that we were going to remove the wooden board from the base, the old monk was very hesitant. He repeatedly emphasized to us that the Buddha statue had never been moved since it was rebuilt in 1902. If we did this, would it be possible for Arhats to Blame or something like that. Qin Bukong said to the old monk at this time, even if the blame is on us, it will be on us. If we don't check, it will be in vain. I said, old monk, look into my eyes and tell me, do I look like the person who returned without success?
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Qin Bukong was polite before, but now he started acting hooligan again. His threatening words made the old monk speechless for a long time. Probably since the old monk became a monk, he has never encountered anyone who wanted to remove the base of the Buddha statue. So he said, please just restore it to its original state after the investigation is completed. I hope you find what you are looking for. Amitabha and Buddha will not be blamed.
I have never quite understood the pedantry of monks. But after hearing that the other party agreed, I didn't bother to worry about it so much. Although I am not as prone to threatening others as Qin Bukong, Qin Bukong does use his rudeness to make these things much easier.
Carpenter's tools are readily available in the temple, which saves us the time of going out to buy them. I got under the base of the bronze statue and took a look. I found that the wooden board was placed directly on the Tian-shaped wooden frame. I reached out and knocked it. The other side of the wooden board was also directly attached to the base of the bronze statue. Yes, because when I tapped it, I found that there was no gap. After calculating the location, Songzi and I spent a lot of time using a chisel and a band saw to dig a big hole in the base board. We were very careful with our movements. Firstly, not to hurt the bronze body of the Arhat. Secondly, we had to master the balance of power during this period so as not to use too much force and cause the heavy bronze statue to break the wooden frame and crush us to death under the desk.
When the base of the bronze statue was exposed, perhaps because it was not directly exposed to the air, the base seemed to be relatively new except for the fact that some of the bronze vessels had experienced a long time. And sure enough, as Songzi and Qin Bukong expected, there are indeed eight words engraved on the base: "Beiming Shensu, standing by the river."
The so-called Beiming Shensu is actually still talking about Xuanwu. After all, in Taoist mythology, Xuanwu is different from the other three of the Four Symbols. It alone symbolizes the seven northern constellations among the twenty-eight constellations. Therefore, the Beiming Shensu here should actually refer to Xuanwu. It's just that I don't understand what it means to stand on the river. Moreover, we don’t know the order of the sixteen words found before and after this, so it is even more difficult to understand.
The arrangement and font size of these eight characters are similar to the characters we found behind the bronze statue, so there should be an inevitable connection between the two. What caught my attention was that there was a square-shaped welding port on the base that was almost the same size. Logically speaking, if this thing had existed for more than a thousand years, there would have been no welding technology at that time. Upon closer inspection, I found that when the base was sealed, it was heated to a high temperature and then hit with a hammer to seal the joints. There were even some damages on the edges.
Generally speaking, if you want to seal the base of a bronze statue, the opening should be as small as possible, so that it can appear more stable after it is laid flat. However, the sealing place in front of you is boxy and has an area of It is not small, and can accommodate an adult. He only needs to squeeze a little to get in. Could it be that the person who donated the bronze statue made a special opening when he wanted to consecrate the statue? I quickly overturned my idea, because if that was the case, there was no need to make such a big hole, as long as it could put things in. Moreover, when pine nuts hit the body of the bronze statue earlier, they made a rich and responsive sound similar to ringing a bell, which shows that there is no filling at all inside the body of the bronze statue, at least above the knees, it is just hollow. That's all.
Songzi pointed to the welded edge and asked me, look at this place, does it look a little different from other places? I looked carefully and found that there was a welding joint about half a foot long, which was obviously more protruding than the rest of the place. It was as if someone had welded this place once, but for some reason, it was welded by another person. Welded again on the welding marks.
In this case, there is only one possibility. The craftsman originally sealed the copper-bodied Arhat after making it, but the person who originally donated the copper body quietly pried open the welded bottom, then dug a larger hole, then filled it with things, and then Weld again, thus creating a trace of welding twice. If what he wants to put in can be known by others, such as filling the Arhat's internal organs, etc., then there is no need to waste time again.
So far, many of the clues we have learned point to what is contained in the base of the Arhat. First of all, it must be a heavy object. It is so heavy that one has to get in personally to put it on it, and it will not be damaged after thousands of years. of. Songzi looked at me and said, do you think this is the stone box we are looking for?
I actually suspected that this would be possible, and at present, it seems that this possibility is not small. But we can’t just say it for nothing, so we need to pry open the welding joint to see it. According to the experience of the previous three levels, if there is really a stone box we are looking for inside, then we will definitely be attacked by ghosts in the process, and it is very likely that it is the "Phantom" guarding the gate. Ghost, and if there is really a stone box inside, it actually directly proves that this bronze Arhat statue was made and donated by the senior who set up the formation.
But it is not easy to pry open the copperware. After we got out, we discussed it with Qin Bukong. Knocking and banging was naturally not advisable. After all, we are in other people's temples and we still can't be too rude. At least we shouldn't let the other party offend when we are rude. Just discover it. So I took the initiative to go out and buy welding rods and a spray gun for burning, because that was the best way I could think of. Now if I want to see what's inside, the copper-bodied Arhat naturally has to be penetrated. We can follow the welding line. Burn it through so that one, it won't damage the internal structure, and two, if we find something, we can restore it to its original state.
So Qin Bukong nodded and told me to go back quickly, and I immediately ran out of Guiyuan Temple.
