The entrance of the teahouse.
The old monk originally planned to donate some vegetarian food to the teahouse owner, but he was kicked out by the teahouse owner and his waiter. It attracted many passers-by to watch.
The old monk was standing awkwardly by the street, not knowing where to go, when Su Qiqi, Qin Chuan, and Zheng Miao appeared. They pushed aside the crowd of onlookers and walked straight to the old monk. Su Qiqi took a step forward and asked politely: "Are you Master Huikong from Qingxuan Temple?"
The old monk put his hands together in salute and said, "I am Huikong. I wonder what the three donors have to say?"
Su Qiqi hurriedly returned the courtesy and said: "Master, can you lend me a moment to speak?"
Master Huikong thought for a moment and nodded.
Su Qiqi smiled and said: "Master, please come with us to the Tianshang Restaurant for a chat."
Master Huikong nodded in agreement, then took the child and followed Su Qiqi and others to the Tianshangju Restaurant.
Returning to the window seat on the second floor, Su Qiqi called the waiter, added some vegetarian dishes and a pot of fragrant tea, and invited Master Huikong and his children to sit down and eat together.
Master Huikong thanked him and sat down with the child. Su Qiqi saw that the child was a little shy, so she gave him some food, and the child started eating. Master Huikong looked at the child's eating appearance, with some kindness in his eyes. He gently patted the child's head with his calloused palm and said, "Ning'er, eat slowly..." The child named Ning'er nodded. He nodded and continued to devour. Master Huikong stopped nagging and turned around to chat with Su Qiqi and others.
"I wonder what the three donors have to do with me?" Master Huikong picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and whispered the questions in his heart.
Su Qiqi also got straight to the point: "We are entrusted by Fang Qing, the great protector of Seven Star Castle, to go to Qingxuan Temple to get the Star Gathering Map. I don't want to meet the master here by chance, but I want to know the whereabouts of the Star Gathering Map..."
Master Huikong said oh, lowered his head and pondered for a while, then raised his eyes and asked: "How can I clear him..."
"Fang Qing died, being hit by a hidden arrow from the Ye You Alliance..." Su Qiqi said sadly.
Master Huikong's body trembled suddenly, but he held it back, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
"Unexpectedly, my old brother is gone like this... Nothing is permanent, Amitabha!" Master Huikong sighed choked, looked at Su Qiqi and others again, and said, "How do you know Fang Qing?"
Su Qiqi told everything about her encounter with Qin Chuan and Zheng Miao at the Juxing Inn and how she rescued Fang Qing from escaping from the dungeon. After hearing this, Master Huikong bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude. At the same time, he took off the baggage on his shoulders, took out a piece of worn parchment, handed it to Su Qiqi solemnly, and said: "This is the Star Juxing that Fang Qing entrusted me to keep." Take the picture."
Su Qiqi stretched out her hands, carefully took the parchment, took a quick look at it with Qin Chuan and Zheng Miao, and put it into the cloth bag she carried with her.
Afterwards, the group ate their meals in a hurry, hired a carriage and left the city, heading straight for the Qingxuan Temple.
On the rugged mountain road, two carriages rushed past one after the other.
Qin Chuan took a nap, and when he woke up, Master Huikong was holding Buddhist beads and reciting scriptures silently, while Ning'er was leaning on the master's arms, silently in a daze. Qin Chuan gently called the master's name a few times and asked: "Master Huikong, you just said that people from the Yeyou League bloodbathed the Qingxuan Temple. How did you and Ning'er escape? Why do you want to go back now? ?”
Master Huikong opened his eyes and looked at the car curtains that were rustling in the wind. He said with some lingering fear: "Ning'er and I were lecturing in the back hall. When we heard the noise in the front hall, I asked one of my disciples to go After investigating the situation, I found out that someone was committing murder... I was afraid that Ning'er was in danger, so I took him to hide in the dark room under the bed, and I escaped..."
"That's it!" Qin Chuan said as if he had some enlightenment. Then he asked curiously: "Then why do you want to go back? Wouldn't it be very dangerous if the Ye Youmeng people come back and kill us?"
Master Huikong's heart tightened, but he said helplessly: "We are leaving in a hurry, and we have left something important in the temple. We have to go back to get it... Ning'er will ask you to take care of it. I will talk to you when I get back." Let’s all meet up…”
Qin Chuan looked at the master's anxious look and couldn't help but said: "Master, can I do something for you?"
Master Huikong said with some embarrassment: "This...that's all, I'll go get it myself. The donor is not familiar with the situation in the temple, so I might have difficulty finding what I'm looking for for a while..."
Qin Chuan nodded and said with a smile: "How about I accompany you to get it, and I can also protect your safety..."
Master Huikong pondered for a moment and said: "That's fine, I'd like to trouble the donor..."
Qin Chuan cupped his fists and returned the salute, then helped the old monk get out of the carriage.
Before leaving, he walked to the carriage where Su Qiqi and Zheng Miao were riding, raised the curtains of the carriage, and explained the situation to Su Qiqi and Zheng Miao. Ask Su Qiqi and others to find a secluded place nearby to rest and wait for them to come back.
Su Qiqi and Zheng Miao nodded and told Qin Chuan to go get the things with Master Huikong. They would take good care of Ning'er and wait for Qin Chuan and Master Huikong to come back.
After Qin Chuan explained everything, he and Master Huikong walked to the Qingxuan Temple on the top of the mountain.
At this time, it was already evening. The light gradually dimmed. The outline of the Qingxuan Temple seems like a mass of thick ink melting away in the dusk. The jagged shadows of the trees beside the temple look like monsters waiting for opportunities to move, giving people a feeling of palpitations.
The old monk's steps seemed a little heavy. Qin Chuan could hear his heavy breathing.
"Master, do you have to take that thing?" Qin Chuan was also a little uneasy and couldn't help but speak.
Master Huikong nodded and said: "Without this thing, the Star Gathering Chart will not be able to play its role..."
Qin Chuan was shocked when he heard this: Good guy, you can forget such an important thing! Alas, as I get older, I tend to lose track easily...
While he was distracted, a sword light suddenly jumped out from the woods.
Fortunately, Qin Chuan reacted quickly and instinctively grabbed the old monk's arm, jumped more than a foot, then spun and jumped several feet away, avoiding the fierce attack of the sword energy. But the sleeves were opened several times by the sword energy.
so close! Qin Chuan secretly thought to himself that fortunately he had been dealing with bandits for many years and had developed superhuman reflexes, otherwise he would have lost the prize today.
As soon as he regained his composure, a dark shadow came towards him with sword energy. He pushed Master Huikong aside and faced him with his sword. The two fought for more than ten rounds, and the other party suddenly jumped to the side, trying to catch Master Huikong with his bare hands.
How could Qin Chuan let him succeed? He immediately flew forward and swung the opponent's arm away with his sword. Then he pulled Master Huikong and ran forward.
The other party also chased after him. One after another they jumped into Qingxuan Temple.
The scene in the temple was more decadent than what Qin Chuan and Su Qiqi saw last time. Master Huikong looked helplessly at the pursuers behind him, and almost hit the pillars of the Bagua Pavilion. Qin Chuan saw that he was in a state of despair, so he simply stepped forward and carried him on his shoulders. He used Qinggong to cross several courtyards, and then escaped into a Zen room pointed by Master Huikong.
The man in black who was chasing them did not follow them for a moment, and walked back and forth in front of a row of meditation rooms to watch. At this time, in the window of one of the Zen rooms, an old woman wearing a copper mask quietly took out a small bamboo tube and blew the call of death to the man in black standing in front of the Zen room.
