India.
This is an amazing country.
This can be regarded as the country with the strongest religious atmosphere in the world. Because they advocate spiritual liberation so much, there are still hundreds of religions
Buddhism, one of the three major religions in the world, originated here.
From the 6th century BC to the 5th century BC, Sakyamuni founded Buddhism in ancient India. Since then, Buddhism has spread widely throughout Asia and around the world, having had a significant impact on the social, political and cultural life of many countries.
Nalanda Temple is the former holy place of Buddhism.
It was once the highest institution and academic center of Buddhism in ancient India. It once attracted thousands of scholars from all over the world to study. Xuanzang, the eminent monk of the Tang Dynasty in China, was one of them.
Unfortunately, in the 12th century, Nalanda Temple was destroyed due to invasion by Islamists.
Today, only an abandoned ruin remains.
At this moment, due to the incident related to Master Xuanzang, the investigation team dispatched by the Xunzhou Bureau is in the city near the ruins of Nalanda Temple, conducting investigation, research and analysis according to the requirements of their superiors.
In an ordinary small room, various documents and electronic equipment are everywhere.
Three members of the investigation team were lying next to various documents and frowning, while the other members had their own tasks and were not here.
"This complicated history really gives me a headache. Even if it is uploaded to the headquarters simultaneously and a bunch of experts are called in to help, it is still not easy."
Huang Meilin said and couldn't help but stretch.
The orange-red sunlight highlighted her graceful body curves.
Sitting at the desk next to the window for a whole day made her feel extremely tired.
Looking through the window at the setting sun that was already setting outside, Huang Meilin curled his lips, and the whole day passed like this.
"Hey, let's go out for dinner together?"
Huang Meilin asked his colleague who was lying on the ground beside him comparing two paper documents.
Although most of the food here in India is really hard for her to compliment, she doesn't care about it when she's really hungry.
A long day's work left her feeling empty.
"We have sent the field team to buy groceries. They should be back soon. We should continue to complete the task at hand."
The man lying on the ground pushed up his glasses and declined Huang Meilin.
He almost collapsed from Indian food last night, and no one wanted him to eat food cooked by anyone other than the field team today.
Hearing this, Huang Meilin was about to ask other colleagues.
But she found that her colleague who was studying pictures of cultural relics unearthed from Nalanda Temple at another table waved at her without raising his head.
Obviously, this also means a polite refusal.
"Hey, when will the task at hand end?"
"When will the field team come back?"
Seeing this, Huang Meilin wailed and lay helplessly on the chair.
They are an investigation team sent to India by the Day Search Bureau. Their specific task is to investigate a series of suspicious historical records centered on Nalanda Temple.
Because Master Xuanzang was confirmed to have extraordinary powers, their investigation team was sent here to investigate the Nalanda Temple, which was very important in Master Xuanzang's life. By the way, they tried to cooperate with the diplomatic team to bring the statues enshrined here. The relics of Xuanzang's body were begged for.
But this task is really too difficult.
The history of India is really too confusing and unclear. The entire Indian subcontinent was once home to hundreds of ethnic groups, and later experienced the rule of various feudal dynasties and colonial empires.
India has never had a unified territory in its history. Its history is basically a history of competition between foreign invaders.
They do not have a unified culture, and there is no clear historical inheritance.
It can even be said that the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" written by Master Xuanzang has become the main basis and material for India to organize its own history.
Therefore, the historical investigation here simply makes the investigation team feel numb. The record of a hammer in the east and a stick in the west makes it difficult to start.
Fortunately, because of its special status, Nalanda Temple has a large amount of cultural relics and research materials from scholars from various countries.
Combining these viewpoints analyzed from cultural relics with fragmentary historical records, it is possible to carry out investigation and analysis work.
But even so, this job is indeed a bit torturous.
"Xiao Huang, your task is already easy."
"Among those traveling with you, whether they are the diplomats responsible for negotiating to retrieve the relics of Xuanzang's body or the archaeologists who applied to participate in the excavation at the Nalanda Temple site, they are no easier than you."
"Today's young people... If I were stronger, I wouldn't have to ask this little guy to join the investigation team."
Such a voice suddenly came from the computer on Huang Meilin's desk.
She followed the sound.
What I saw on the computer screen was a large conference room with many gray-haired old men looking down at something.
Obviously, this is a team of experts arranged by the Xunxun Bureau in China.
In addition to studying historical records and cultural relics related to Xuanzang, these experts will also simultaneously help the investigation team in India conduct investigation and analysis work.
Among them was an old man with all white hair, who was leaning in front of the screen, showing a serious look and criticizing Huang Meilin who was far away in India: "Work hard first, and if you are really hungry, you can't eat the compressed dry food you brought here. "
Huang Meilin looked at the big face on the computer screen and pouted helplessly: "I understand, teacher, let's continue working."
This is a leading figure in the study of Indian history and Buddhist history in China.
She didn't dare to disobey her teacher in the slightest.
As soon as she finished speaking, she continued to look at the copy of the paper document in her hand honestly.
[1890, Nalanda Temple ruins, southwest corner, area 3, the 21st excavation and follow-up investigation and research. 】
[During the excavation of the No. 3 building complex in the southwest corner of Nalanda Temple, it can be found that it covers the largest area and is the most majestic. It is undoubtedly the most important core building in the ruins of this temple complex...]
[The relevant cultural relics I participated in the excavation are: standing statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (gilt bronze), standing statue of Sakyamuni (alloy bronze), seated statue of Great Sun Tathagata (inlaid with silver)...]
[The facial features of this batch of statues are clear, the eyeballs are slightly bulging, the bridge of the nose is straight, the lips are tightly closed, the lower lip is slightly thick, and the corners of the mouth reveal a mysterious smile, which is a typical South Asian appearance. Its production spanned approximately 700 years from the 5th to the 11th centuries. Its style can be roughly divided into three periods: germination, maturity and decline...]
This is a conclusion reached by a British scholar in 1890 after personally participating in the excavation of the Nalanda Temple ruins and based on a series of murals and texts in unearthed cultural relics, combined with some fragmentary Indian history.
Because the scholar later died young and did not make any breakthrough discoveries about the translation of pictorial characters, this report was not widely included.
This document, which can be said to be out of print, was found in the corner of the room where the Indian Archaeological Department stores information related to Nalanda Temple.
This kind of information that cannot be found online is one of the reasons why they came to India to investigate in person.
The first half of the article describes the process of the British scholar's participation in archaeological excavations, while the second half focuses on the meaning of the symbols, words, and images found in various statues and murals.
After briefly browsing these texts, Huang Meilin can confirm that there are no problems with the professionalism in them, and the various arguments citing scriptures seem to have basically no problems.
According to the analysis of this British scholar, the meanings of most words, symbols, and images are basically full of religious connotations, and the translations are generally scriptures from various ancient Buddhist scriptures.
This is basically the same as most studies conducted at the Nalanda temple site, nothing special.
However, some of the words, symbols, and images were difficult for the British scholar to understand.
On the surfaces of several cultural relics, he found a decoration that often appeared, which was an unknown rectangular parallelepiped. This rectangular parallelepiped was engraved with a pattern similar to a sun pattern.
The British scholar found such decoration in only a few unearthed artifacts.
According to his conjecture and research, the cuboid that appeared several times was a box, but he was completely confused about the sun pattern on the box.
He searched for a long time among the many cultural relics unearthed in Nalanda Temple, but did not find a similar box.
Later, too few box decorations with sun patterns appeared, and all of them oxidized and lost their patterns soon after being unearthed.
And he couldn't think of any special explanation for these patterns.
Therefore, the scholar did not conduct in-depth research on this pattern in the end, and this inconspicuous discovery was ignored.
But for Huang Meilin, the records in this document are undoubtedly a major discovery.
It was so big that she couldn't help but breathe quickly.
Carefully observing the hand-painted cultural relic patterns at the back of the document, Huang Meilin swallowed subconsciously.
Such a pattern...
Such a sun pattern!
That’s right! This is the sign of eternal day!
The British scholar who lived more than a hundred years ago didn't know what this pattern meant, but as a member of the Day Search Bureau, she knew it all too well.
The box has the Everlasting Day logo on it.
Then that box should have been left by Yong Zhou in Nalanda Temple. The existence of this box was recorded by some people in a few mural paintings, and then discovered by the British scholar.
This is undoubtedly an important discovery.
In addition to the jade tablets found in the axe-cut valley in Shu, this is the second time in history that the Xunzhou Bureau has actually discovered traces of Yongzhou.
This also proves that their direction of investigating Xuanzang, investigating Chaofan, and investigating Yongzhou is not wrong.
This Nalanda Temple did have some connection with Yongzhou.
So for now, the investigation into Nalanda Temple will continue.
At the same time, looking for a box with the Everlasting Day logo should also be included in the planning schedule.
Thinking of this, Huang Meilin excitedly reported this discovery to his colleagues and the expert team across the computer screen.
Everyone attaches great importance to this discovery.
Director Zhang Shouguan, who rushed over in a hurry, even appeared on the other side of the computer screen.
According to the director's instructions, all members of their investigation team in India must always pay attention to the news about the box with the eternal day mark.
At the same time, the Sunhunting Bureau will also mobilize its forces to begin investigating various cultural relics around the world, especially those related to China and India.
If that box has disappeared in the passage of history, or has been recycled by Yongji, then let's not mention it.
If that box becomes a cultural relic and is passed down, then the Day Search Bureau must find it.
Naturally, the Xunzhou Bureau was determined to obtain this rare item that could be clearly related to Yongzhou.
This is not only to further understand Yong Zhou through the box, but also to be able to reach a higher level of power through the box.
Zhang Shouquan still remembers it clearly.
On Mui Ne Island, the Extraordinary Research Alliance had a supernatural person with bottomless strength just because they picked up a hammer left by Yong Zhou.
Zhang Shouquan is lying if he says he is not jealous.
Although the family already has a clear system of extraordinary cultivation that can be practiced, no one has too much for high-end combat power.
Maybe after finding that box, they can also have a higher level of extraordinary power.
………………………………
At this time, at the entrance of Nalanda Memorial Hall, a member of the investigation team of the Day Search Bureau was discussing something with the security guard at the entrance.
He was a member of the field team. He wanted to enter the Nalanda Memorial Hall as he had done a few days ago and continue to study various ancient cultural relics unearthed from Nalanda Temple, but he was suddenly told that the museum was temporarily closed today.
Even the door was cordoned off.
Soon, the negotiator returned the same way and came to the car to join his colleagues in the field team.
"Those security guards are not professionals, so I roughly know what is going on here."
"The Xuanzang body relics enshrined here suddenly disappeared out of thin air more than ten minutes ago. They have reported it to their superiors."
"Because there were no witnesses or surveillance, they didn't do much. They were just waiting for the higher-ups to send someone over."
The man who had just returned to the car quickly reported what he knew.
This made the field team leader sitting in the co-pilot frown and say, "The relic suddenly disappeared?!"
"Then the diplomatic team and us are in trouble!"
As soon as the diplomatic team arrived in India, they rushed straight to the Indian Parliament Building and discussed with President Draupadi Murmu every day the issue of returning the body relics to China.
During the current process of negotiating terms, the body relics suddenly disappeared.
It is impossible not to doubt them.
The relics of Xuanzang's body were presented to India in order to express the friendship between the two countries, and they are of great significance.
Moreover, in this country where Buddhism is prosperous, Xuanzang's body relics also have an unusual status.
At this moment, they suddenly became the first suspects in the disappearance of Xuanzang's body and relics.
Even if India won't do much due to China's strength, looking at India's rogue behavior in directly harvesting foreign-funded enterprises in the past, their investigation team members will at least be placed under house arrest.
"Immediately drive back to ensure that before the news of Xuanzang's missing body and relics is leaked, the comrades responsible for researching the documents are protected from being harmed by the fanatical believers among the Indian citizens."
The leader of the field team said this with a sharp look on his face.
No matter what, just prepare for the worst.
(End of chapter)
