The group entered Yinhua Mountain and climbed up along a stone path. The stone path is winding and steep in some sections. Pilgrims and tourists entering the mountain can be seen from time to time along the way. The scenery on both sides of the trail is beautiful. From time to time, you can see temples and nunneries hidden in the mountains and forests. The sound of banging wooden fish and chanting sutras can be faintly heard...
They climbed for more than half an hour and finally reached the top of a mountain. The terrain here is open, and there is a magnificent temple with its back against a cliff. The plaque on the door of the temple reads: "Longxing Temple" in three golden characters.
Master Hong took a breath and said: "King Chu, this is Yuntai. This Longxing Temple is the largest temple on Yinhua Mountain..."
In front of Longxing Temple, there is a large open space, with three huge bronze incense burners placed in the middle, filled with burning incense candles. On the entire cloud platform, Buddhist chants and Sanskrit sounds were heard, and smoke filled the air. At the gate of the temple, pilgrims and tourists come and go from time to time.
"Let's go in and have a look." Li Zhiyun said and led the way towards the temple gate. Everyone crossed the temple gate and entered the Buddhist hall. The Buddhist hall is very large, with a huge statue of Sakyamuni on the front, and numerous shrines on both sides. The Buddha statues in the shrines have different expressions, some have kind faces, some have angry eyes, some have teeth and claws...
Li Zhiyun didn't know what gods these were, but he just walked past them with interest. Master Hong followed behind him and said: "The abbot of Longxing Temple is called Shi Ji, and his common name is Gao Tansheng. In fact, he is also the general manager of Buddhist affairs on Yinhua Mountain..."
Li Zhiyun turned to look at Director Hong and said, "Can I invite you to meet me?"
"I'm afraid others can't, but of course King Chu can."
Just as he was talking, a monk happened to pass by. Master Hong called to him, clasped his hands and said, "Master Fukong, where is the abbot?"
"Returning to the donor, the abbot is worshiping Buddha in the backyard."
"Please tell the abbot that a distinguished guest wants to see him." After speaking, he pointed at Li Zhiyun with his hand.
Everyone in the world judges people by their appearance, and the monk is no exception. The monk glanced at Li Zhiyun, nodded, turned and walked away.
Li Zhiyun and the others were waiting in the Buddhist temple. After about a cup of tea, Fu Kong led a monk out from behind the statue of Sakyamuni. When Li Zhiyun saw the man, his first impression was that he might be a monk. I saw that he was about forty years old, with a round head and a big face, of medium height, a thick and strong build, twisting a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, and wearing a red and yellow cassock. The style was seven strips of clothing, sewn from seven strips of cloth, with patchwork strips of Two long and one short, this kind of cassock is worn by monks daily when chanting sutras, meditating and worshiping Buddha.
At this moment, there was still a distance of four to five feet between the two sides. Fukong pointed at Li Zhiyun and said, "Master, he is the one who wants to see you." Gao Tansheng Dingqing looked at the young man, who had a slender figure, a face like a dough ball, and a heroic spirit between his sparse brows. Not only was he well-dressed, but he was also followed by several powerful and fierce guards, so he was not an ordinary person.
In order to maintain his composure, Gao Tansheng walked up to him and clasped his hands together: "Amitabha, where did the donor come from? Where is he going?"
Li Zhiyun clasped his hands together: "Master, you are polite. I came from where I came from and I am going to where I am going."
"Amitabha. We are all in the same Buddhist association, and we are all destined to be together. Presumably the donor is also a believer in Buddhism and has no concerns about worldly affairs."
"What Master said is absolutely true. The body is like a Bodhi tree, and the mind is like a mirror. It should be brushed diligently at all times to avoid dust."
"Good, good," Gao Tansheng smiled slightly, "Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the first place, so where can it cause dust?"
Li Zhiyun was stunned, thinking that he was reciting a verse written by Shenxiu more than a hundred years later, and this guy could answer it correctly. Could it be that he was Hui Neng who traveled through time? Or does he have his own wisdom? He didn't know much for a moment, so he could only say: "Master, please don't forget today's verse, and don't disturb this quiet place of Buddhism."
"The donor is overly worried. The poor monk should carefully follow the teachings of the Buddha, devote himself to practice, and promote the Dharma..."
After walking out of the Buddhist hall, Zhang Zheng approached Li Zhiyun and whispered: "King Chu, what you said just now was hidden. Are you suspicious of Gao Tansheng?" Li Zhiyun whispered: "Those three cases It's all related to the temple on the mountain. Of course I have doubts about the monks in the temple. But suspicion is suspicion, and if there is no evidence, everything is in vain." Zhang Zheng nodded after hearing this.
After the group left Longxing Temple, they climbed more than a dozen steps along the stone path and reached the highest point of the mountain. The view here is wide, and we can see the stone path under our feet extending along the mountain to the bottom of the valley, and then spiraling up to the opposite peak.
Master Hong pointed to the mountain opposite and said: "That is the Tiantai, the highest peak of Yinhua Mountain. After the Tiantai, there is the back mountain, and there are some temples in the back mountain."
Seeing Aunt Ying's face flushed and panting, Li Zhiyun asked with a smile: "Aunt Ying, are you still going to the rooftop?" Aunt Ying said, "I'll go if you go." Li Zhiyun saw a fork in the stone path ahead, a fork in the road. At the end of the road was a temple, so he pointed with his hand and said: "Forget it, we won't go to the rooftop. Let's go over there and have a look." Everyone walked forward along the branch road, and after a while, they came to the front of the temple. I saw a plaque on the door saying: Lotus Temple. It turns out that this is a nunnery.
There are fewer pilgrims and tourists here and it seems very quiet. Li Zhiyun stepped into the temple gate and saw that the temple was dimly lit. There was a Buddhist niche directly opposite the gate. There was an unknown Buddha statue in the niche. Dozens of ever-burning lamps are burning on the wooden table in front of the Buddhist niche.
He walked around the temple and found a merit box on the south wall, with a wooden table next to it. There were many souvenirs piled on the wooden table, presumably for those who made donations to take at will. Among them was a wooden carving that was exactly the same as the one in Zhou Shen's pocket. Obviously, Zhou Shen's wood carvings were obtained here.
At this time, a female nun came out from behind the Buddhist niche and added oil to the ever-burning lamp. Master Hong walked over and called out: "Master Jingyi." The nun put down the oil pot in her hand, turned around, clasped her hands together, bowed her head slightly and said, "Donor Hong."
Li Zhiyun looked sideways, and saw that this nun was wearing dark gray sea blue and a monk's hat. She looked about twenty years old, with fair skin, a melon face, smoky eyebrows, and apricot-like eyes with a twinkle in her eyes. Enchanting atmosphere. Master Hong put his hands together and said: "Master Jingyi, I was in a hurry up the mountain this time and forgot to bring the sesame oil money. I will definitely make up for it next time. I hope you will take care of the two ever-burning lamps I enshrine."
"Donor Hong, the nun knows this." After the nun said this, she turned around and continued to add fuel...
After walking out of the Lotus Temple, Li Zhiyun smiled and said, "Master Hong, you are quite familiar with the monks and nuns on this mountain."
"To be honest with the King of Chu, the villain is a local and has lived in Xia County for generations. Many of the temples on Yinhua Mountain are over a hundred years old, and many monks and nuns have been monks since childhood and have come here to practice. The villain often goes up the mountain to worship Buddha and offer incense. The monks in the temple will inevitably go down the mountain to buy some goods. They have more contact with each other, and they will naturally become familiar with each other." Master Hong explained in detail, as if he was afraid that Li Zhiyun might misunderstand.
Li Zhiyun just said it casually, without any other meaning, so he put aside the topic and said: "Master Hong, since you are a local, I would like to ask you, is there any connection between Yinhua Mountain and Yinlihua?"
"Back to the King of Chu, I have done some research. Yin Lihua's birthplace is only a hundred miles away from here. This mountain was originally called Boyao Mountain. It was only renamed Yinhua Mountain during the Yongping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty. I think there should be a connection. .”
At this time, Scarface interjected: "Who is Yin Lihua?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "A beautiful and virtuous woman. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty once said before he became the emperor, 'When you are an official, you must be the ruler of Jinwu, and when you marry His wife wants to marry Yin Lihua. When he became the emperor, he married Yin Lihua as the queen." After a pause, he turned to ask Aunt Ying: "How are you? Do you feel tired from climbing the mountain today?" Aunt Ying shook her head and said: " Not tired." Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "You're not tired, I still feel a little tired, okay, let's go down the mountain..."
There are only a thousand soldiers in the barracks in Xia County. Li Zhiyun and Yu Wenxin spent half a day inspecting the barracks and warehouses. But he doesn't want to leave yet. Those cases haven't been settled yet, and he doesn't feel comfortable leaving. Although he is not a local official and the investigation of the case is not his responsibility, now that he has met him, he can't be indifferent, right? Moreover, this is wartime after all, and any unstable factors may be exploited by hostile forces. He planned to stay in Xia County for a few more days to see if he could find some clues to solve the case. He told Yu Wenxin and several of his followers what he thought, and they all agreed.
In the evening, Li Zhiyun called Yu Wenxin, Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu to his guest room and drank tea with them while talking about the case. Yu Wenxin was a military attaché of the third rank, Zhang Zheng was a fourth rank military officer, and Cai Hu was a military attaché of the fifth rank. The three of them are not very old. The eldest Yu Wenxin is only 28 years old, and the youngest Cai Hu is only 20 years old. To have become high-ranking officials at such a young age shows that they are all young talents. Li Zhiyun believed that with their help, he would be able to get to the bottom of those cases.
"King Chu, do you have any clues about Zhou Shen's murder?" Zhang Zheng asked.
"Not yet. However, Zhou Shen is a county government official. He was killed, and everyone in the county government is suspected. Therefore, if we find any clues here, don't tell the county government for the time being."
Yu Wenxin said: "The case of Zhou Shen's murder is complicated and confusing, and nothing can be found out yet. It's better to start with the two missing cases. I think there should be some connection between these cases."
"What General Yuwen said is absolutely true," Li Zhiyun turned to Cai Hu and said, "You set out tomorrow to go to several counties downstream of the Lingzhang River and ask the county officials whether two bodies have been found since the 18th of the twelfth lunar month last year. Female corpse. Logically speaking, if an unknown female corpse floats on the river, the government should have recorded it." Cai Hu nodded and said yes.
Then, he said to Zhang Zheng: "Go to Wang Xingben tomorrow and get back the files on the disappearance of Mrs. Xu and the scholar's wife and read them..."
The next day, Zhang Zheng went to the county government office to get the file back. Li Zhiyun sat in front of the desk and read it carefully. He discovered that the witnesses of the two disappearances turned out to be the same person, a man named Niu Da who lived in Daqi Village outside the city.
The two missing women and the maid were all seen by the same man after they came down the mountain after entering incense. Li Zhiyun felt a little strange. He thought for a moment and said to Zhang Zheng: "Go and tell Wang Xingben and ask him to accompany us to Daqi Village to find Niu Da in the afternoon."
