No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 183 The Alliance of the Lotus Pagoda
The night wind howled outside the hall.

The treasures in the hall are solemn.

"Is it not convenient for the female Bodhisattva to speak?"

Master Shandao stepped aside and asked curiously.

The embroidered lady silently walked to the table where the marriage lottery was signed, picked up the writing brush prepared on the table, and wrote on a piece of red paper:

"Is Master the host of Donglin Temple?"

Master Shandao was stunned for a moment, realizing something, he couldn't help but look at the dumb female benefactor twice, and twirled the beads together:
"It's the old monk. If it's inconvenient for the female Bodhisattva to speak, you can write it down in detail..."

Before Master Shandao Che Jilu had finished speaking, Xiu Niang had already lowered her eyes and wrote:

"Master, do you still remember the Lian Pagoda?"

"What lotus tower?" Master Shandao's first reaction was to ask back with a startled face.

Xiu Niang's eyes did not move, silently observing the bewildered look on the old monk's face.

The latter frowned and looked at Xiu Niang, and then at the dark night sky outside the hall.

"Lotus pagoda? The well-preserved pagoda and stupa in the temple, I have never heard of this name..."

Under Xiuniang's gaze, Master Shandao's words suddenly stopped, and he turned his head with a dazed expression:
"Is the lotus pagoda mentioned by the female Bodhisattva the one in the Dasui period before this dynasty? At that time, there was a stupa called the lotus pagoda, because the pagoda was nine stories high and shaped like a lotus..."

Master Shandao meditated:
"But this all happened during the Da Sui period of the previous dynasty. I remember that this pagoda seemed to be built before the Da Sui unification of the north and the south. Known as the first pagoda in the south of the Yangtze River.

"It's a pity that the lotus pagoda collapsed due to accidental flooding during the Da Sui years. The female Bodhisattva said that the lotus pagoda was referring to this pagoda. I didn't expect the female Bodhisattva to remember this pagoda at such a young age. But in which Buddhist scriptures did I see it? What a pity. Not anymore."

Master Shandao frowned and sighed:

"Hey, the female Bodhisattva asked me if I remembered it. I was not even born at that time, so I certainly hadn't seen this pagoda. How could I remember it? I only knew about it after hearing about it from my master.

"And later, the master of the old man built a merit pagoda on the site of the lotus pagoda, but it still accidentally leaked water, but these are things for later, so don't mention them.

"The female Bodhisattva wants to find the lotus pagoda? But where have I heard of it? I want to pay my respects. Unfortunately, there is only one ruin left, which is on the side of Beitian Jiyangyuan in the back mountain. Now the female Bodhisattva can only visit the remaining underground palace. gone."

Master Shandao thoughtfully suggested.

Except for writing, Xiu Niang never left the face of the old monk in black.

The face covered with age spots is full of sincerity and kindness, there is no pause in the words, and the expression does not seem to be fake.

The embroiderer lowered her eyes, pinching a pen with plain hands:
"The Beitian Jiyangyuan? The underground palace?"

Master Shandao shook his head and said regretfully, "The female Bodhisattva really came to pay homage to the ancient pagoda? It would be a pity if she came from afar."

The incense and pagodas of Donglin Temple are well-known in the south of the Yangtze River, and even spread to the north. Every day, all kinds of pilgrims from afar go up to the mountain to visit the temple, and their wishes or reasons are also strange.

Therefore, Master Shandao was not too surprised by the young female pilgrims who liked to observe the stupa.

The old monk smiled and said:
"That's right, there is still an underground palace left, called the Pure Earth Palace. Although the lotus pagoda collapsed, luckily, the underground palace was buried under the tower. Except for some smoke polluting the murals, the fire did not burn into the underground palace, so we survived. .

"Later, when the previous director rebuilt the Gongde Pagoda at the original site, it was just a simple decoration, and did not make too many changes. Later, the Gongde Pagoda leaked water for the second time, which is a blessing in misfortune."

Master Shandao sighed with emotion, turned his face and stroked his beard, and said kindly:

"It's getting late, if the female bodhisattva is really curious about this temple, which was once the first pagoda in the south of the Yangtze River, you can stay overnight in the small temple, and tomorrow morning, the old monk will let his apprentice show off his hair and take you to have a look.

"The Pure Land Palace is located at the Beitian Jiyangyuan on the mountain behind the temple, and it is also a scene of our Donglin Temple, but we have to use some ropes to go down. Female Bodhisattva, please rest assured that Xiufa will arrange these.

"In addition, if you stay overnight, the female Bodhisattva only needs to donate ten incense sticks, which means..."

As if consciously grasping the intention of the pilgrims, the eloquent dragon of Donglin Temple made arrangements.

But at this moment, he paused in his words, and saw that the face of this rather strange dumb female pilgrim in front of him was still surprisingly calm, but her eyes were slightly blank, as if she was distracted.

Master Shandao couldn't help but glance more, reorganized his words, and knocked sideways:
"What worries or dissatisfaction does the female Bodhisattva have? It's not that I am adding oil and vinegar. The Pure Land Palace in our temple is really good. It was built together with the first Buddhist pagoda in the south of the Yangtze River. It has a long history, and it was also the original Nanguohuang Temple Contribute money and people to complete the cultivation, according to the royal family, the female Bodhisattva only needs to donate some incense money, and she can..."

Xiu Niang seemed to regain her senses, her gaze shifted from the Buddha statue behind Master Shandao to the face of the white-bearded old monk, and after a glance, she quietly lowered her eyes and wrote on the red paper:
"The lotus pagoda collapsed, apart from the underground palace, what else was left behind?"

Master Shandao's words were interrupted, and he frowned slightly:

"Whatever was left, everything was burned away, only the underground palace and the body Buddha of my uncle's teacher and uncle remained."

Xiu Niang wrote: "Uncle Master, Buddha in the flesh?"

Master Shandao nodded, and when he mentioned this, it was as smooth as a tour guide Ouyang Rong had seen recite in his previous life:
"I forgot to mention that this Pure Land Palace is also the place where the old monk's uncle, Master Zhongma, ascended. That year, under the auspices of the old monk, the underground palace under the ruins of the lotus pagoda was reopened in Kaifeng. Master Zhongma, who had been missing for many years in this temple, was Sitting cross-legged in the center of the Yuanji underground palace, the body is completely slender, still lifelike, and has quietly ascended to the Pure Land..."

Master Shandao talked eloquently, the same as when he explained this secret to Ouyang Rong on the sickbed of Sanhuiyuan two months ago, without changing his lines, it seems that he talked a lot with the pilgrims.

And when he talked about the body Buddha of the master uncle, his voice was lowered, with a rather mysterious tone.

Xiu Niang was silent for a while, and the hand holding the pen tightened, "Where is the body of Grand Master Shishuzu?"

Master Shandao sighed:

"It has been cremated by the old monk master. This is also a Buddhist tradition. In the end, I got a few relics, put them all in a golden lotus lamp, and put them back in the Pure Land Palace for safekeeping... Does the female Bodhisattva want to worship one or two?"

Xiu Niang gently put down the brush, turned her head to look at the majestic golden Buddha in the main hall, and said nothing.

Master Shandao's eyes were curious, he twirled the beads together, followed Xiuniang's sight, looked at the golden Buddha behind him, and said at the same time:
"Amitabha, is there any other female Bodhisattva..."

Turning his head, halfway through the old monk's words, the hem of his black monk robe suddenly floated.

It was a breeze in the hall.

Immediately, there was a "jingle".

A heavy object fell from a high place.

The old monk was startled, and subconsciously jumped aside regardless of his image.

He looked at the fallen and deformed copper Baoduo at his feet with a quick heartbeat, and then looked up at the top of his head in a daze.

As the main hall of Donglin Temple, this main hall is luxuriously decorated. The high places in the hall are covered with hanging ceilings, treasuredor beaded streamers, and colorful decorations.

Among them is a copper product called Baoduo, the size of a human head, shaped like a bell, and heavy in weight. It was originally hung between the hanging bead streamers in the midair of the hall.

Master Shandao found that the place where he had just stood was directly below a Baoduo.

At the moment, I don't know if it was driven by the wind and caused the announcement to be unstable.

Baoduo fell down.

Almost hit someone.

If this heavy object falls, a bloody disaster is inevitable.

"It's so dangerous, so dangerous, it's strange how it fell, it scared the old monk to death!"

Master Shandao patted his chest, his face still in shock.

"Female Bodhisattva, are you okay... Hey, where are you?"

Master Shandao looked suspicious, looking left and right at the empty hall.

But soon, his face turned from surprise to joy, and he walked quickly to the table, shouted "Amitabha", bent down and put the newly appeared three taels of silver quietly placed on the table into his sleeves, his movements were neat and skillful.

As for the previous doubts, looking at the smile in the eyes of the white-bearded old monk, it seems that he has long since forgotten them.

"This female Bodhisattva is a bit strange. She comes and goes silently in the middle of the night, but she is a predestined person who is pious and worships the Buddha. She must have great blessings. Hey, if I knew it, I would help her calculate the marriage just now..."

Master Shandao nodded solemnly and talked to himself, then turned around and called the novice monk on duty to tidy up the hall.

As for some kind of copper Baoduo lying quietly on the ground, why it fell vertically but didn't hit the old monk's bald head seems to be just luck.

……

The wind is strong tonight, and the dark clouds in the sky move slowly, sometimes covering the bright moon.

In the third watch, the bright moon quietly hid behind the black clouds.

In the back mountain of Donglin Temple, in Beitian Jiyangyuan, next to a dry well.

The light dimmed as the moon covered it.

Narrator There is a rustling sound from the bamboo forest.

The main building in the nursing home not far away was extremely silent.

A gust of wind passed.

The bright moon peeked out from behind the clouds.

Under the dry well, next to the lotus pedestal in the center of the underground palace, a slender figure appeared at some unknown time.

The delicate and dumb woman sighed slightly.

Except for Master Shandao, who is the abbot of this temple, she roughly walked around the whole temple, and even ran to the top of the mountain where the mountain wind is hunting, and used a certain secret qi-watching technique in conjunction with it.

But in the end, she didn't see any Qi practitioners.

not a single one.

Neither was the nagging host of Donglin Temple, and Xiu Niang had also tested it.

At the critical moment when the copper bell fell just now, if she had spiritual energy, no matter how much she hid it, it would be very difficult for her energy to be without waves, and escape her spiritual perception which was different from that of ordinary Qi practitioners.

So this can only show that... this Donglin Temple, which is close to Yunmengze and famously broadcasted on Jiangnan Road, is indeed just an ordinary ancient temple.

In other words, it is an ordinary ancient temple at present.

Bathed in the moonlight falling from the mouth of the well above her head, Xiu Niang tilted her head, with a dazed expression on her small face.

This is completely different from the situation in Donglin Temple that Shimen recorded.

This ancient temple of Lianzong, which was handed down from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is not ordinary, and had a very special inheritance.

It is related to the legendary tripod sword.

It may even involve a mythical vein, yes, it is a vein. Compared with the nine mythical veins, the path that does not work is naturally the vein.

Therefore, when the North and the South were united a hundred years ago, under the leadership of the southern royal family, the Shimen where Xiuniang was located, Donglin Temple, and the group of craftsmen who lived on the west bank of Butterfly Creek for generations had a close relationship. Had a sincere cooperation.

Xiuniang also learned about it from the letter from the elder sister.

It turned out that back then, the three forces had gathered at the lotus pagoda built with the support of the southern royal family, and made a covenant that was rarely known in the southern world.

Known as the League of Lotus Pagodas.

And made a great blood oath, the descendants of the Qi practitioners in the three parties should remember to fulfill the contract from generation to generation, and must not violate it, otherwise the family will be ruined.

Xiu Niang is not very clear about the specific content of the covenant, maybe the elder sister who is currently acting as the head of the sect knows, but she didn't tell her in detail in the letter.

But Xiu Niang vaguely thought of some possible truths.

This is also what she vaguely guessed based on a certain secret inside the door that she knows so far.

Moreover, Xiu Niang has no doubt that if this secret news gets out of the Shimen, it will definitely cause an earthquake in the south of the Yangtze River and shake the status of the Shimen.

Because a certain tripod that was once regarded as the most precious treasure in Tiannan Rivers and Lakes and was kept in the sect where Xiuniang lived to suppress the luck of Tiannan Land has long been lost.

This matter is only limited to her and a few senior sisters who know about it...

At this moment, he seemed to think of the recent erratic flooding in Yunmengze and the rumors in the rivers and lakes.

The dumb girl who raised her head to bathe in the moonlight took a deep breath.

Right now, Elder Sister privately ordered her to come to Longcheng County to investigate Donglin Temple, to investigate whether there are any disciples of Donglin Temple who knew about the Lotus Pagoda Alliance, perhaps it was related to the cauldron left behind by the master.

Two things are connected.

Xiuniang was very suspicious that the lotus pagoda alliance formed by the three qi practitioners located in the southern territory back then, and what was delivered by her sect, who was supposed to remain neutral in the world, was probably this tripod.

Because of the lotus pagoda alliance, there are qi practitioners who have crafted Dao veins to participate.

And what do those weird craftsmen who make Dao veins do?
Cast tripod sword.

As for the final outcome of the Alliance of Lotus Pagodas?

Needless to say.

The royal family of the Southern Kingdom, which lived in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River, had long been destroyed.

The craftsmen on the west bank of Butterfly Creek were also slaughtered by the mad emperor who was obsessed with making swords.

The Donglin Temple, which originally had a mythical vein, has also fallen into a mediocre monastery in the past hundred years, which only lives on the incense of female pilgrims.

Only the sect where Xiu Niang is in is still there, and I don’t know how much it has cost me all the way. It still stands tenaciously at the top of the Tiannan River and Lake, and is still far away from the hidden world sects at the top of the other rivers and lakes, without losing its edge.

But about the promise of the lotus pagoda alliance, the whereabouts of the cauldron that was suspected to have been forged into a sword, and a certain myth that the Donglin Temple withered...

These were buried in the thick dust of history, accompanied by the change of regimes between the North and the South in the past century and the unification of the North and the South by the Dagan Empire.

Xiuniang didn't know what the masters of the ancestor's generation thought about it, but for a strange lotus pagoda alliance, they handed over the cauldron that established the foundation of the sect.

Although there seems to be a master uncle who was born as a princess of the southern royal family in that generation of master sect, the decision-making of the master sect will never be influenced by the self-interest of this inner sect.

Xiu Niang didn't understand, but obeyed, this is also the ancestral precept of the teacher, the beginner girl, with one heart and one mind, and mutual friendship.

Xiu Niang turned around and looked around silently. The lotus pagoda that was the number one pagoda in the south of the Yangtze River back then is now only the abandoned underground palace.

Except for a crazy monk who dozed off not far away, there was nothing there.

Xiu Niang usually responded to the fact that the night visit to Donglin Temple found nothing, and she was not too worried that it would be difficult to go back to do business.

Because according to her senior sister's temperament, since she entrusted the matter to the junior sisters and did not come in person, except that this matter needs to be kept low-key and not publicized, it seems that the senior sister seems to have no idea about whether the investigation can find anything. Keep too much hope.

Xiu Niang observed the murals on all sides of the underground palace, and nodded slightly while walking.

It's true, it has been left behind for so many years, and the teacher should have searched all the places that need to be found. Right now, it is more like a regular inspection for Xiuniang to revisit her old place.

And just like she just asked about the result of the host of Donglin Temple, now, besides their teachers, who else remembers the alliance of the lotus pagoda that they swore back then?

Xiu Niang wandered through the underground palace, and when she was distracted, a solemn voice came from not far away:
"Amitabha, female patron, this place is the pure land of lotus flowers, and above is the endless hell!"

Perhaps seeing Xiu Niang's silent approach, Monk Xiuzhen, whom Ouyang Rong respectfully called "Master I Don't Know", got up from the ground.

The monk looked solemn, pointing to the ground with one hand and the sky with the other.

The dumb girl didn't turn her head, just smiled, nodded slightly, and said hello with a soft "ah".

(End of this chapter)