Dali Temple Conspiracy Records

Chapter 159 Visitor in the Mountain
Nanwutai is located at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains and is a branch of the middle section of Zhongnan Mountain.There are five platforms of Qingliang, Manjusri, Sheshen, Lingying, and Guanyin on the mountain. There are many peaks and steep mountains, and the scenery is very magnificent.

But Li Quan didn't come to visit the mountains and scenery.He rode up the mountain, rushed to Shengshou Temple, and directly identified himself to the abbot Liao Fan, explaining the purpose of his visit.

After Liao Fan finished listening, he said in a calm voice: "The poor monk has indeed heard what Mr. Li said, but the woman was rescued by a kind person at the foot of the mountain, and she did not go up the mountain to enter the temple, so the poor monk I'm afraid the monk won't be able to help Master Li."

Li Quan said: "I want to ask the abbot, during that time, were there any visitors in the temple, and did any unusual things happen?"

Liao Fan called a middle-aged monk, "Master Li manages the affairs of the temple wisely, you can ask him." He turned to Zhizhi, "Five years ago, a woman fell into a ravine near the foot of the mountain, do you remember?"

The wise monk nodded, "I remember."

"Before and after the incident, were there any visitors in the temple? Is there anything unusual?"

Zhizhi thought about it carefully before seriously answering: "There are pilgrims, and they are recorded in the merit book. Most of them are regular visitors of the temple, and we are very familiar with them."

Li Quan asked, "Are there any people staying overnight in the monastery?"

Wisely shook his head.

"Then master, did you hear that there were other wounded people from other places nearby?"

The reason why Li Quan asked this question was because the fake Zhu Qian who went to Chang'an also had many fractures and traumas on her body, and she said that she fell down a ravine.These townships are sparsely populated, and the several villages often communicate with each other, so they are very sensitive to the appearance of outsiders.If the fake Zhu Qian was also the injured at that time, as long as she went to find the doctor, the news should spread.

Zhizhi thought about it again, and finally said with certainty: "No, no one in the nearby villages has treated other wounded people. But thanks to the reminder from the adults, the little monk recalled those days, and there were indeed some strange things in the temple."

"what?"

"One is the lack of food in the kitchen. Mingguang and Mingde, the two juniors who are in charge of cooking, have told the monk. They are still very puzzled. They thought it was a mouse stealing food, but there is no rat droppings in the kitchen. Rat nest, after setting traps and strengthening inspections, no trace of small animals was found."

"Secondly, from the backyard to near the kitchen, there were blood drops, incoherent and very small. It was discovered by Ming Qi, who was cleaning the courtyard."

The abbot called Ming Qi to inquire again.

Ming Qi was a little confused for a moment, not knowing why he suddenly mentioned five years ago.But he still answered truthfully: "It was intermittently for a few days, there were a few drops of blood on the ground from the courtyard wall to the kitchen. Because the little monk sweeps the floor every day, it is certain that the blood has appeared several times, but the further you go to the back, the more blood. Not much. Judging from the bloodstains, it should have come in over the wall."

Zhizhi said: "From what your lord said now, it seems that someone sneaked in to heal his wounds. Since the monks were not disturbed, they must have some kung fu."

Li Quan asked Ming Qi to take him to the backyard to have a look.Of course, five years have passed since the incident, and it is impossible to leave any marks on this earth.

"Aside from food, is there anything else missing? Such as medicine, clothing and so on."

Zhizhi replied: "No. The standing medicines in the temple are used to treat daily diseases such as fever and diarrhea, and there are no wound medicines. As for the clothes, each monk keeps his own clothes, but the temple will ask and check regularly. The clothes were not stolen at the time. Oh, but a few cloth towels were lost to dry. Because occasionally animals would snatch them away, we didn’t think much about it at the time.”

Li Quan asked again and again, and after confirming that he had no more information, he thanked the abbot and left.After descending the mountain, he continued westward along the mountain road.

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, it got dark early, and soon, one person and one horse disappeared in the shadow of dead branches and mountains.

(End of this chapter)