Commander's Destiny

Chapter 99 The Treasure of the Town Temple
"Shopkeeper, do you know what the treasure of the town temple is?" Yao Jingli couldn't help asking curiously after hearing this.

"If you are interested, you can go to the Lumen Mountain and ask the monks in the temple. Maybe there are older monks who have seen it with their own eyes." After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he went to entertain other guests .

Jiang Qianfeng's appetite was whetted by the shopkeeper, and he suggested to Bai Wuyan: "Master Bai, anyway, this Lumen Mountain is on our way to Xiangyang City, why don't we take a look first?"

After hearing this, Bai Wuyan replied: "Alright, that's exactly what I mean."

So the group made up their minds and set off for Lumen Mountain early the next morning.

This Lumen Mountain is a faintly black mountain with blue sky inlaid and surrounded by emerald greens. Looking from a distance, it looks pure and beautiful.

According to legend, Duke Pang De, who lived in seclusion in the mountains during the Three Kingdoms period, often invited his nephews Pang Tong, Mr. Fengchu, Mr. Sima Hui, Mr. Shuijing, Mr. Zhuge Liang, Mr. Wolong, Xu Shu, Cui Zhouping and others to come here to discuss major affairs in the world and discuss strategies for governing the country.

When Bai Wuyan and the others came to the foot of the mountain, they saw a huge stone-carved archway. On the top of the archway, there were three big characters "Lumen Mountain" written in the middle, and two stone deer carved from white granite sat on both sides of the archway.

A group of people entered the mountain gate and walked up the slope for about two hours before they saw an ancient temple.

After thousands of years of wind and frost, Lumen Temple still stands quietly in this mountain, but in the interlacing of blue and gray tile roofs and vermilion lacquered walls at the temple gate, the two white deer squatting on the stone pier in front of the gate seem to have Reading all the vicissitudes and changes in the world, revealing the exhaustion after years of carving.

The two white deer looked at the little monk in front of him who had been sweeping the floor at the gate of the temple since early this morning, but he never saw a person who came to burn incense and pay respects to the Buddha. At that time, he suddenly waited for four young people, two men and two women.

This little monk is not very old, only in his early ten years old, and he is not as tall as the big broom in front of him.

Seeing someone coming, he put down the big broom in his hand, stopped sweeping the floor, and asked Bai Wuyan and his party who had already walked in front of the temple gate: "I don't know how many benefactors have come to our temple. What are you doing?"

Bai Wuyan stepped forward and replied politely: "Little master, we would like to ask the eminent monks and great virtues of your monastery about something. I wonder if little master can inform you?"

"You are not here to offer incense and worship the Buddha, so I think the benefactors should come back." The little monk curled his head, then picked up the big broom on the ground again, lowered his head and continued to sweep the floor, as if he didn't want to pay attention Everyone's meaning.

"You little monk, how can you do this? Even if we don't pay homage to the Buddha, can't we go to your temple?" Di Lingxiu became angry when he saw the little monk's attitude of seeing off guests. where to come.

Regardless of whether it is a Chinese temple or a foreign church, she has been to all of them, and she has never been rejected like this, and has been so useless.

It's all at the gate of the temple, how can there be any reason to ask people to come back?

Seeing Zhai Lingxiu's manner of speaking, the little monk thought that he might have encountered a difficult female benefactor today, so he had no choice but to explain: "This female benefactor, you don't know something. Well, they are usually in secluded cultivation, and they are almost deaf to worldly affairs. So it is useless for you to ask them, and it is impossible to find out anything."

Before Bai Wuyan could react, Jiang Qianfeng said first: "No way, don't they even know the treasure of the temple in their own temple?"

"What, you mean the treasure of the temple? So what you want to inquire about is the treasure of the temple in our temple."

The little monk just glanced at Yao Jingli while speaking, and then looked her up and down. Suddenly, he focused his eyes on the soul flute on Yao Jingli's waist, and then he changed his previous attitude and became attentive: " If that’s the case, then fine! You have the right to wait here for a while, and let me go and report to the abbot.”

After a while, the little monk came back.

As soon as he saw the crowd, he clasped his hands together and said with a joyful expression: "Amitabha, everyone, the abbot of this temple welcomes you."

Bai Wuyan and the others thanked the young monk, and under his leadership, they passed through the main hall, and after many twists and turns, they came to a very simple thatched meditation room.

"Xiangzhu, invite them to come in and sit down."

"Yes, Abbot." The little monk called Xiangzhu gently opened the door of the meditation room, guiding Bai Wuyan and others to enter and take their seats.

After everyone sat down, they saw an old monk with white eyebrows and beard, wearing a red cassock, holding a string of ebony beads, sitting on the couch in the room.

Seeing that everyone came in and sat down, the old monk didn't move, but slowly opened his eyes and asked slowly: "All the benefactors came from afar, but do you have plans for my Lumen Temple?"

When Bai Wuyan heard this, he quickly explained: "No, no, the abbot may have misunderstood. We inquired about the treasure of the town temple in your temple, just want to know whether the treasure is related to Guan Yu."

Hearing Bai Wuyan's explanation, the old abbot seemed to let go of his guard. He changed the subject and asked suddenly, "Oh? Then, all the benefactors, do you know what the so-called treasure of the temple is?"

Bai Wuyan replied respectfully: "I don't know, that's why I came to ask the abbot for advice."

"The so-called treasures of town temples are actually not treasures at all, but a set of ancient books "Chunqiu Zuoshi Biography" that Guan Gong once read. This set of books has been handed down in many places, and there is nothing unusual about the content. As early as more than ten years ago, this set of ancient books has been lost by this temple."

The old abbot was unhurried and very skillful, and told everyone about the treasures of the town temple.

It seemed that what he said had been said to people many times.

"It was more than ten years ago. Before Xiangzhu was picked up or adopted by me, one night, suddenly there was a strong wind in the temple, and after a burst of lightning and thunder, all the monks on duty that night were all together. Passed out strangely. When everyone woke up the next day, the "Chunqiu Zuoshi Biography" in the temple disappeared."

After the old abbot finished speaking, he added another sentence, "It is not a valuable thing at all. It is just right if it is gone, and no one will think about it anymore."

"Are there no other clues as to who targeted that set of ancient books and how they were stolen?" From the story told by the old abbot, Yao Jingli couldn't guess what happened at that time. .

The little monk Xiangzhu has been paying attention to Yao Jingli since he was outside the temple gate just now, and now he is also the first to answer Yao Jingli's question: "No, the entire Xiangyang City has never heard of the relevant The clues of the set of ancient books. But I heard from Master that the set of ancient books is made of bamboo slips, so it is very conspicuous. The whole set of books has dozens of volumes, and it takes up almost half of the room."

"Xiangzhu, don't talk too much when I talk to the benefactors," the abbot sternly reprimanded
The little monk turned around again and said to the crowd, "All benefactors, since you have learned everything you want to know from this old man, why don't you go down the mountain early after you have eaten the vegetarian meal? It’s not easy to leave, our temple is small and cannot accommodate you for lodging.”

As soon as the abbot said this, everyone present heard that he was trying to drive everyone away.

Bai Wuyan pondered over and over in his mind, always feeling that something was wrong.

Diao Chan clearly said that Guan Yu's soul was trapped near Xiangyang City. If the treasure of the temple in Lumen Temple is not the soul object that binds Guan Yu's soul, then where is his soul trapped?

Bai Wuyan pondered for a long time, but there was still no result. At the moment when he turned to leave, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind, and he immediately realized: This old abbot probably has a problem.

So Bai Wuyan did not choose to leave in the end, but asked again: "Sorry, Abbot, I have one last question, can you answer it?"

(End of this chapter)