"Mr. Shanyuan, it seems that the people from the four families and the three merchants are not giving up and are still testing my mind."
Yuan Zhixin analyzed it this way.
Ye Ming smiled and said: "Actually, I think the adults are overthinking. Maybe it's Mr. Yan who is stupid himself?"
Hearing this, Yuan Zhixin said with some doubt:
"That's not true. Four businesses and three merchants can stand here for many years. Although it may be stupid, it is not like this..."
As he talked, Yuan Chixin also felt a little unconfident.
Because that Young Master Yan Gao was completely unintelligent and evil. From his words to his temperament, he was very pure. He didn't look like he was pretending at all, and there was no trace of his city government.
Yuan Zhong said with some worry:
"Sir, after all, Yan Gao's sister is the prince's favorite concubine. If we offend her this time, will it make the prince unhappy?"
Yuan Chixin shook his head and said:
"The prince and I are old friends, and I know his character fairly well.
He is good at everything, but he looks down on women, especially the women around him, who are completely disposable.
If there are benefits worth exchanging, he will never hesitate to use his own woman in exchange.
So, don't worry about this. "
After beating Yan Gao, he did not receive any retaliation, and the whole night was fine.
Early the next morning, another citizen came to report that after testing, they found that their door panels also had the ability to corrode living things.
As soon as the news came out, many people in the city panicked and took off the door panels one by one to test.
After some testing, three more defective door panels were discovered.
At this time, even the gentry and wealthy businessmen could not sit still. No matter how valuable their doors were, they took them down one after another and tested them with chickens, ducks, fish and geese.
It was found that the front door of Jia's house among the four houses also corroded living things, and problems were also found in some side doors and side doors of other houses.
For a time, the entire Pingbo Prefecture was in panic.
Every family hurriedly went to the "Mozu Empress" temple to worship.
Speaking of the "Mozu Empress", there are quite a few legends about her.
For people along the coast, this is the most worthy god to believe in.
All the city gods, Buddhas, Taoists, etc. should stand back a little.
People along the coast will habitually pray to "Mozu Empress" no matter what they do.
Moreover, as long as "Empress Mo Zu" agrees, no one can persuade her.
There was a time when the sea was very rough and a fisherman still insisted on going out to sea.
Everyone advised him not to go to sea, but he insisted because he had asked "Empress Mozu" in divination, and the divination showed that he could go.
So, this man really braved the storm and went out of the boat.
Everyone thought that this man would die if he went to sea.
Unexpectedly, not only did this guy come back alive, but he also caught a boatload of big fish and directly entered a wealthy family...
Not only that, but it was also said that a man stole something from another house and was arrested and brought before the official.
This man refuses to admit his guilt, even if he is punished severely, he will never admit it.
Just when the county magistrate was helpless, someone asked the thief to swear to "Mozu Empress" that he had not stolen anything.
When the thief heard this, he admitted on the spot that he had stolen it...
There are countless similar things in places including the coastal state capital of Longzhou.
It can be said that in the hearts of the people along the coast, "Empress Mozu" is the biggest.
As soon as this incident came out, the whole city went to the temple of "Mozu Empress" to offer incense and pray.
The "Mozu Empress" temple, which was originally very popular, was immediately overcrowded.
Fortunately, the local Miao Zhu had seen such scenes many times and was able to deal with them with ease.
No one dared to make trouble in the "Mozu Empress" temple, everyone was very cooperative, and although there were many people, it was not chaotic.
When Yuan Zhixin faced this kind of thing that obviously involved the supernatural, he was not pedantic and did not want to save face. Since there is a god, he would go and worship the god and ask.
As a magistrate beloved by everyone, Yuan Chixin took Ye Ming and others to the "Mozu Empress" temple. There was no need to queue, and there was a temple blessing to lead people into the temple.
Everyone had no objection to the prefect entering the temple.
Many people hope that the prefect can communicate with "Empress Mo Zu" to eliminate this disaster.
At this time, Yuan Chixin did not make any spectacle of high officials queuing up, and entered the temple along with the blessings.
The "Mozu Empress" temple is decorated in an antique style, very much in the architectural style of coastal areas, and is not luxurious at all.
This is also the respect everyone has for "Empress Mo Zu" because she doesn't like extravagance.
In the main hall, there is a statue of "Empress Mozu" whose face cannot be seen clearly.
Even if you can't see the face clearly, you can still feel that this must be a strange woman who loves the common people.
Yuan Chixin walked into the hall. Ye Ming and Yuan Zhong were waiting at the door but did not enter.
Yuan Zhong glanced at Ye Ming with some surprise:
"Why doesn't Mr. Shanyuan come in?"
"After all, I'm just a staff member. Although your Excellency treats me very well, I can't mess with my dignity."
Ye Ming casually found a reason.
In fact, he didn't want to stand out when he went in. After all, it was impossible for him to bow to "Empress Mozu".
We are all gods and there are no such rules.
Even when the gods saw the Emperor of Heaven, they only bowed and saluted without kneeling down.
Ye Ming casually leaned against the pillar at the door and narrowed his eyes at the statue of "Mozu Empress".
It can be seen that there are actually no gods sitting in formation here, nor is there any official office like the City God's Office.
Since "Mozu Empress" appeared very early, no accident, she should have left with the Tiangong 1,500 years ago.
What remains here today is only the "spirit" born from the fusion of the people's will and the trace of spiritual energy left by "Mozu Empress".
This "spirit" has no mind and will only give some simple feedback based on the fluctuations of people's wishes.
This is enough.
Seeing this, Ye Ming smiled slightly. If the master is not here, then there will be much more space for him to play...
Yuan Chi didn't know the righteous thoughts of a certain righteous god outside. After entering the hall, he straightened his clothes, offered incense and paid homage.
As the head of a government, he does not need to kneel down.
After bowing, he inserted the incense into the incense burner, and then asked "Empress Mo Zu" for guidance.
Ye Ming's eyes at the door moved slightly, and he could see that Yuan Chixin's strong aura of righteousness flew out from behind his words and fell into the statue of "Mozu Empress".
The statues of gods emitted light invisible to ordinary people and slowly gathered in front of them.
The brilliance spilled down and fell into the incense burner below.
The ashes were stirred and turned into a few words...
The spectators outside could only see that after the magistrate petitioned, the incense ashes moved on their own and writing appeared.
This scene made everyone exclaim. A group of people outside the door suddenly knelt down and worshiped like a roaring tsunami, shouting, "Empress Mo Zu appears."
Yuan Chixin in the main hall was also surprised that "Empress Mozu" was so effective.
As a native of Jiangnan, he had been familiar with the story of "Empress Mozu" since he was a child. When he saw "Empress Mozu" appearing, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
He immediately looked at the characters formed by the incense ashes, which were the three characters "Li Hai Guan". Three breaths after Yuanzhi looked at them, the characters disappeared and the incense ashes in the furnace returned to normal.
After receiving the prompt, Yuan Chixin saluted the statue again and exited the hall.
As soon as he came out, he was surrounded by people, asking what tips "Mozu Empress" gave.
Yuan Zhixin naturally did not want to make this matter public. It was said to be a hint from the empress, so he should not say more.
When everyone heard this, although they were a little disappointed, they also expressed their understanding.
Afterwards, the people spontaneously moved out of the way and respectfully sent Yuan Chixin and others away.
And the news about the apparition of "Empress Mo Zu" spread all of a sudden in the city.
Many people praised Yuan Zhifu as a truly good official, otherwise he would not have been recognized by "Empress Mo Zu".
After the group returned to the government office, they entered the innermost room of the government room. Yuan Zhong held the door.
Only then did Yuan Zhixin say the three words "Li Hai Guan".
"Mr. Shanyuan, do you know where this 'Lihai Temple' is?"
Ye Ming said: "I'm not a local, so how do I know? I'm afraid I need to ask the locals about this."
Yuan Zhixin heard this and called Jiang Xinlin to ask about the "Lihai Temple".
"Lihai View..."
Jiang Xinlin thought for a while and then said,
"Sir, this little guy from Lihaiguan doesn't know much.
This Taoist temple should be located within the Pingbo Mansion, but it is always very mysterious and few disciples leave the temple.
It is said that the sect is full of real immortals who know magic, but if they go out, there must be a major event to slay demons.
Moreover, the location of his sect is rarely known, so it may not be easy to find it. "
"Then do you know who knows the location of this immortal gate?"
"Even the villain doesn't know this."
After defeating Jiang Xinlin, Yuan Chixin planned to look for some old men in the city. These people had more experience and might have some clues.
Yuan Zhong said that he could just leave this matter to him.
After receiving this errand, he arranged for the government officials, policemen, etc. to look for the elderly in the city and inquire about them one by one.
It's just that a considerable number of these old people are not strict with their words, and they have repeatedly emphasized not to publicize the "Li Hai Guan" thing.
The old people also said they would keep secrets.
It turned out that these people were all open-mouthed people. As soon as the questioner left, they immediately publicized the matter everywhere.
Soon, the whole city knew that the prefect was looking for "Lihai Temple".
This made Yuan Zhong ashamed and felt that he had failed in his job.
Yuan Chixin did not blame him, but just asked him to continue to work hard.
I have to say that sometimes, everyone knows something, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
For example, this time, the people heard that the prefect was looking for the "Lihai Temple", and that it was probably related to the hint from "Mozu Empress", so they all started to look for clues.
There is strength in numbers, it is not nonsense.
In less than a day, dozens of people came to the government office to provide information.
Through the descriptions of those who had met the disciples of "Li Hai Guan", the scope was quickly narrowed down.
In the end, all the clues converged on the "Guanhai Mountain" seventy miles outside Pingbo City.
But there is something wrong with this mountain. According to the people, this mountain is shrouded in fog all year round. Everyone who enters the mountain will get lost, and finally come out inexplicably.
No one has ever been able to get through the fog and up the mountain.
Yuanzhi heard about this and thought that this mountain was called "Guanhai Mountain", so he decided to go and see it in person.
Early the next morning, we took a boat along the river and went straight to the "Guanhai Mountain".
Seen from a distance, Guanhai Mountain is adjacent to the sea and is the highest mountain nearby.
No matter what time of year, there are clouds and mist all around, making it difficult to see the mountain scenery clearly.
When Yuan Zhi saw this, he knew that what the people said must be true, and there must be an immortal gate here.
Ye Ming glanced at the back of the mountain, smiled slightly, and said nothing. He just followed Yuan Chixin to get off the boat and go to the mountain.
Entering the mountains, I was really confused by the heavy fog.
Not long after leaving, the personal guards who came with them dispersed, leaving only Ye Ming, Yuan Chixin, and Yuan Zhong together.
Seeing this, Yuan Zhixin was not afraid and continued to move forward.
Not long after, I found a cliff in front of me. There was no bottom at the bottom of the cliff. Just looking at it made me dizzy and filled my heart with fear.
There is a stone tablet standing next to the cliff, with the sentence "If you have discord in your heart, you will fall to this cliff, and your righteousness will remain in your body and the road will be smooth."
After Yuan Chixin observed the stone monument for a while, he glanced at the cliff ahead and strode forward.
Yuan Zhong was shocked when he saw this: "Master!"
However, Yuan Chixin took one step forward and landed firmly in the air, as if he were walking on flat ground, with no sign of falling.
Ye Ming also smiled and stepped forward to follow Yuan Chixin.
Yuan Zhong saw that all his masters were gone, so he didn't care about them and moved forward.
Taking one step forward, the whole person fell directly.
Just when Fang fell a little, a cloud suddenly stretched out from under Yuan Zhixin's feet, supporting Yuan Zhong and carrying him suspended in the air.
Seeing this, Ye Ming smiled and said:
"What a loyal person. Your name is quite right."
...
