Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 342: Exploring the Ancient Temple
The children began hunting in the surrounding bushes. It didn’t matter whether they caught prey or not, it was just to get them familiar with the use of bows and arrows and to gradually adapt.

Yan Jiekuang walked around the area by himself. The surrounding area was full of lush vegetation and shrubs. Rabbits and pheasants could be seen from time to time. There were also squirrels on the trees. At this time, Xiaopang was competing with a squirrel.

At first Xiaopang knew his level and knew he couldn't hit the squirrel, but he still drew his bow and arrow and shot at the squirrel squatting on the tree. Of course he missed. But the squirrel was frightened but didn't leave. It seemed as if it was mocking Xiaopang and took a few steps towards the tree. Xiaopang thought, what does this mean, is it a stupid squirrel?
The squirrel stared at Xiao Pang, who drew his bow and arrow again, but the squirrel didn't dodge. With a "whoosh", he missed again. The squirrel squeaked twice and moved closer to Xiao Pang. Xiao Pang saw that the squirrel was laughing at him. Xiao Pang was so angry that he shouted, "Don't run if you dare."

This time, Xiao Pang aimed for a long time and shot another arrow, but still missed. The squirrel didn't even move and screamed twice, which made Xiao Pang so angry that his face turned red. He started aiming again, but before he could shoot, a small stone hit the squirrel on the back of the head. The force was just right, and the squirrel fainted and fell off the tree.

Yan Jiekuang came over and said, "If you dare to tease my son, I will catch you and make you my son's pet."

Xiaopang was happy, so he put the cat in a bag and tied the mouth. He also made a hole on the side to prevent it from suffocating.

Xiaopang said: "Thank you, Dad."

Yan Jiekuang touched Xiaopang's head and said, "Don't worry, practice slowly."

Little Fatty ran towards Shi Lei and Dapang, and Yan Jiekuang guessed that he was going there to show off.

The group rested for nearly forty minutes, and then my uncle started to prepare to go up the mountain. The group maintained their original formation and moved deeper into the mountains.

This time they did not stop and walked for more than two hours before arriving at their destination, the Immortal Valley. As the name suggests, this is said to be the place where immortals live. Yan Jiekuang looked up and saw a flowing river, green grass dotted with wild flowers, a wild fruit forest to the east and a small hill with strange rocks to the west. Further ahead they could see a higher mountain from which the river water of the Immortal Valley flowed.

The uncle found Yan Jiekuang and said, "The temple my father mentioned is on the top of that mountain, but the top of the mountain is covered with dense forests and it is easy to get lost. Can I take you there?"

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "No need, uncle, you take them hunting, I will go up by myself, you can trust my ability."

My uncle thought for a moment and said, "Okay, we'll just wait in this valley. Wild animals often come here to drink water. You can find us here when you come back."

Yan Jiekuang didn't take the hunting rifle, but took a machete and a bow and arrow, and put the gun with his second brother. Shi Lei ran over and asked, "Dad, where are you going?"

"There is a temple on the top of the mountain. I'll go look for it. You guys stay with the main force." Yan Jiekuang said as he packed his things.

Shi Lei thought for a moment and said, "I want to go too. Can you take me with you?"

When Yan Jiekuang thought that Shi Lei was also interested in old things, he nodded in agreement. Big Fatty and Little Fatty also ran over and were about to open their mouths, but Yan Jiekuang said, "You two can't do that. It's very hard to go up there. Just stay here and practice your archery. Besides, I can't take care of so many people. Be obedient."

Dapang and Xiaopang pouted and walked towards Huzi.

Yan Jiekuang looked at his watch and saw that it was almost ten o'clock, so he said hello to everyone and started walking through the Fairy Valley with Shi Lei.

It took Yan Jiekuang and Shi Lei 30 minutes to cross the Fairy Valley and go straight up the mountain. There were still short bushes in front of them. Yan Jiekuang used a machete to clear the way, and Shi Lei followed closely behind. It didn't take long before the two reached the edge of the forest.

Yan Jiekuang turned around and asked Shi Lei, "Are you tired? Do you want to take a rest?"

Shi Lei shook his head and said, "I'm not tired. Let's go early and come back early."

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Lei and plunged into the woods, but they walked very slowly. Every five meters, Yan Jiekuang tied a red rope to a tree and moved slowly up the mountain.

On the way, Yan Jiekuang actually saw a wild ginseng. Shi Lei was also surprised. He had seen pictures of ginseng in the science class. The small red fruits on it were very dazzling. Yan Jiekuang tied it with a red rope and used a wooden wedge at the other end, and then nailed the wooden wedge to the ground.

Yan Jiekuang explained: "I also heard that we need to do this, the ginseng will not run away, we will dig it again when we come back."

Shi Lei smiled and said, "Okay, Dad."

Yan Jiekuang was really lucky. After walking for nearly an hour and a half, he saw a golden roof in the woods in the distance.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "We are so lucky. Let's go and take a look."

Yan Jiekuang brought Shi Lei and slowly approached the temple. When they got there, they saw the dilapidated courtyard wall. The temple was not big, the door was gone, and the plaque had faded, but the word "Buddha" could be vaguely seen.

Yan Jiekuang guessed what kind of Buddhist temple this was. Big Buddha Temple? Golden Buddha Temple? Yan Jiekuang didn't guess anymore and walked straight in with Shi Lei. On the left and right sides were the Arhat Halls and in the middle was the Great Hall. He didn't know what the name was because the plaques were gone. Yan Jiekuang knew that the two sides were Arhat Halls because there were still some Arhat clay statues standing inside, but there were not many.

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Lei into the Arhat Hall and walked around it. There was nothing there, only a few clay statues of Arhats, but they had no color.

When Yan Jiekuang walked into the main hall, there was a sandalwood table in the middle. It was very large, three meters long and one meter wide. On the table was a gilded bronze incense burner. Although the gold had almost fallen off, there was still a part that showed the mark of the gold.

Behind the table is a huge statue of Buddha. There should be other Buddha statues on the left and right sides, but they are gone now, leaving only the white marble base.

The left side should be where the incense is displayed, but now the shelves and tables have fallen apart, and there are some scattered incense on the ground. Yan Jiekuang took a look and said, "Take a look first, and take these incense with you when you leave. They are all sandalwood, top quality."

Shi Lei nodded. Yan Jiekuang looked at the huge statue of Tathagata Buddha, put his hands together, and bowed three times and kowtowed nine times. Shi Lei followed behind and bowed in the same way.

After passing the main hall, they came to the backyard. In the middle of the backyard was the Scripture Chanting Pavilion, on the right was the Scripture Lecture Pavilion, and on the left was the Scripture Storage Pavilion. Yan Jiekuang was full of expectations for the Scripture Storage Pavilion. He took Shi Lei to open the door. As soon as they entered, they saw rows of bookshelves, and everything was empty. Yan Jiekuang did not give up, so he took Shi Lei for a walk, but in the end he found nothing.

Yan Jiekuang sighed and said, "Let's go. It seems that all the books here have been taken away." Just as Yan Jiekuang was about to step out of the house, Shi Lei shouted, "Dad, look at what's on the beam?"

Yan Jiekuang turned his head and looked in the direction that Shi Lei's arm was pointing, and saw what seemed to be an iron box on the beam. Yan Jiekuang stepped onto the windowsill and jumped onto the top of the shelf. He grabbed the wooden edge on the side and jumped directly onto the beam. He grabbed the iron box in his hand and jumped directly to the ground.

Shi Lei watched with wide eyes as the movements went by smoothly. He said, "Dad, do you know martial arts?"

Yan Jiekuang pretended to be confused and said, "Didn't I tell you? Oh, maybe I forgot."

Shi Lei looked at his nonsense father with resentment. Yan Jiekuang ignored Shi Lei and looked at the iron box in his hand. There were no locks on any of the four sides. This was a mechanism box. He didn't have time to study it now, so he just put it in his bag and waited until he got home to deal with it.

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Lei to the lecture hall opposite. As soon as they entered the house, Yan Jiekuang looked at the beams first. Shi Lei chuckled and said, "Dad, you are infected." Yan Jiekuang looked around. This room was empty. There was nothing but thick dust. Then he went to the scripture recitation hall, but there was nothing there either.

Yan Jiekuang has gotten used to it. With a mechanism box as a backup, there is nothing to regret.

Just as the two men were about to go back, Yan Jiekuang suddenly thought something was wrong. Where did the monks rest? Why was there no living area? Yan Jiekuang began to check carefully in the backyard and finally found a small door in the corner between the Scripture Chanting Pavilion and the Scripture Lecture Pavilion, near the Scripture Lecture Pavilion. The small door was intact and really hidden. No matter from which angle you looked at it from the backyard, you couldn't find it.

Yan Jiekuang and the other man pushed open the small door and walked in. Inside was a courtyard house. The house was well preserved, as if no one had ever been there since the monk left.

The two of them started from the entrance and walked through room by room. The furniture in the house was kept as it was, but apart from the furniture, there was nothing else. They looked at the room one by one, and when they saw the east room of the main house, Yan Jiekuang realized something was wrong.

The depth of the east room was inconsistent with that of the central hall. There was only one possibility for this situation, that the back wall of the east room was a laminated wall. Yan Jiekuang went to the east room and searched carefully, but could not find the door. Finally, Yan Jiekuang focused his attention on the wardrobe. Yan Jiekuang moved the wardrobe away, and found an iron door behind it, which was locked.

Shi Lei was also very surprised. He admired his father even more because he could not have thought of these things.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Get out of the way." Then he took out his machete and chopped at the lock, splitting it in one stroke. Yan Jiekuang said to himself, "This Tang Dynasty lock is not that good. It looks like it's from the Qing Dynasty."

Shi Lei seemed to understand something and asked, "Dad, you said this temple was built in the Tang Dynasty."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "Yes, it should have been built in the Tang Dynasty. These wooden structures are typical Tang Dynasty buildings, but they were renovated later."

Yan Jiekuang pushed open the door. Shi Lei wanted to go in, but Yan Jiekuang stopped him and said, "Let some air circulate."

Yan Jiekuang lit a cigarette and stood at the door with Shi Lei. After smoking a cigarette, Yan Jiekuang took out a lighter, lit a flame, and walked in with Shi Lei. The first thing that caught their eyes was a rosewood table with five rice paper boxes neatly placed on it. Yan Jiekuang opened one and took a look. It was the Diamond Sutra, a bilingual version in Sanskrit and Chinese. There was no need to look at the rest, as they were definitely scriptures.

Shi Lei also looked at it carefully. There were two high stands on both sides of the room as he walked in, with lamps on the stands. Yan Jiekuang tried to light it, and it really lit up. The room was suddenly lit up. Yan Jiekuang took a closer look and was immediately attracted by the lamps. The ebony base had exquisite gold-plated patterns, gold-plated double fish handles and table tops, and worker bee oil inside. The workmanship was extremely exquisite, something Yan Jiekuang had never seen before.

Shi Lei also looked at it. Yan Jiekuang said, "This should be called an ebony lacquered gold double fish lampstand. It's a pair. It's from the Tang Dynasty. Definitely from the Tang Dynasty."

Yan Jiekuang looked inside again. On the opposite wall was a one-meter-by-one-meter Buddhist shrine with a gilded top and four frames made of black rosewood. Inside were five gilded Buddha statues about twenty centimeters tall. It looked like a group of them, with unique shapes, exquisiteness, and magnificent beauty.

Below the shrine was a black rosewood table, with gilded lotus candlesticks on both sides and an incense burner in the middle. Yan Jiekuang thought it was gilded, but when he picked it up, he was shocked to find that the incense burner was made of pure gold.

There was a cushion on the ground, covered with a thick layer of dust, and nothing else.

Yan Jiekuang thought about it, emptied his backpack, put all the food and drinks in it at Shi Lei's place, and began to pack things into the bag, mainly those few things, but found that there was no room. Yan Jiekuang was a little scratching his head, what should he do?

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and went to look in other rooms to see if there was any container to put the things in. His hard work paid off. In a utility room, he found a large bamboo basket. Yan Jiekuang took it and put the things in it. The backpack was no longer needed and he used it as a cover to cover the things.

He tied the bamboo basket with a rope, put it on his back, and said to Shi Lei: "Let's walk, get the incense burner and sandalwood in front, and then go down the mountain." Shi Lei was also very happy, and he would pester his father to study it carefully when he got home.

The father and son went down the mountain along the same path they came. When they passed by the ginseng, they did not forget to dig out the ginseng, which looked to be more than fifty years old. They wrapped it in cloth and put it in Shi Lei's bag. Shi Lei ate while walking, and occasionally handed one to Yan Jiekuang. If he didn't eat it, he had to hold it in his hand.

It took the father and son an hour and a half to get back to the Immortal Valley, and then another twenty minutes to reach the meeting place. Yan Jiekuang looked and saw a group of people sitting on the ground, eating roasted chicken and fish. The father and son took off their bamboo baskets and backpacks and joined them. They were really hungry. The eldest uncle said, "Oh, it looks like we have a good harvest."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Not bad, how are you guys?"

Big Fatty said, "Dad, I shot a rabbit and Little Fatty caught a nest of rabbits." Yan Jiekuang praised them.

The eldest uncle also pointed to the row next to him. Yan Jiekuang took a look and was surprised to see that there were quite a lot of them. He kept shouting, "That's amazing!"

My uncle said, "We'll go back after we finish eating. It will be five or six o'clock when we get home."

Yan Jiekuang knew that everyone was a little tired, but they were all persevering. After eating the barbecue, the group started to go down the mountain according to the original formation. When they arrived at Crescent Bay, it was already 4:30. After resting for half an hour, they went straight through Erdaogou and finally arrived at Guai Ye's house at 5:30. They left a robe for Guai Ye and drove back. It was almost seven o'clock when they got home.

Grandma, grandpa and everyone else hadn't gone to bed yet and were waiting in the yard. They didn't feel relieved until they heard the sound of a car outside.

The children were all asleep in the van, so the adults carried them in one by one. The women helped to undress the children and covered them with quilts. After the adults moved the things into the house, they didn't talk much. They simply washed up and went back to the house to sleep.

(End of this chapter)