Chapter 365

"This person is called White Blind."

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Battalion Commander Wu Wu Dehai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, "He was originally a Duan-Gong (shaman) in Xiangyang City, fond of cheating and swindling, with a notorious reputation. Later, he made a fortune and became a wealthy merchant."

"After he became successful, he still didn't do any good deeds, helping river pirates on the Yangtze River to fence stolen goods and secretly harming people to practice evil arts."

"A few months ago, Young Hero Li, when you broke the Ghost Sect in Dangyang County, you found a list, and this person was on it. We cooperated with the Law Enforcement Hall to arrest him, but unfortunately, he had already disappeared without a trace. I didn't expect him to appear here again..."

So that's how it is.

After listening, Li Yan suddenly understood.

No wonder this person was so familiar with him.

The Tongtian San Niang in the Earth Immortal Cave was originally the leader of the Ghost Sect in Ezhou. After they killed her, they obtained a list, which recorded the names of many wealthy merchants and officials, causing the Ghost Sect to suffer heavy losses.

He estimated that this Ghost Sect was incompatible with him. From the moment he entered Ezhou, they had met time and time again. From Zigui to Near Wuchang, their layouts had all been destroyed by him, to the point of attracting Zhao Zhao Changsheng's attention.

Therefore, he was assassinated when he entered the city.

Thinking of this, Li Yan did not care.

Although he and Zhao Zhao Changsheng had never met, from the moment he was born in this life, there had already been karmic grudges, and they definitely had to be settled.

He had exposed the other party's roots, causing the imperial court to do everything in its power to deal with them, so it was no surprise that Zhao Zhao Changsheng was hiding in the dark and issuing a bounty for him.

Not only the Ghost Sect, he estimated that forces like the Heavenly Saint Sect, as well as some scum in the martial world, would all be eyeing him covetously from now on.

Outside the ruined temple, miserable screams and groans continued.

Most of the people from the Commandant's Office used ordinary muskets, and their power was limited, so there were more injuries than deaths among the Heavenly Saint Sect disciples outside.

This was a great contribution!

From the mouths of these people, they could definitely obtain quite a bit of information about the Heavenly Saint Sect. By following the vine to find the melon, they might be able to catch more rebels.

Not to mention those members of the Commandant's Office, even Battalion Commander Wu Wu Dehai was so excited that his face turned slightly red, "Young Hero Li, how do you think these people should be handled?"

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Take them out first and interrogate them on the spot. There are still inside agents in Xiangyang City, and they don't just have this one stronghold. After finding the information, take action immediately."

"Young Hero Li's words make sense!"

Wu Wu Dehai also nodded in agreement.

Li Yan looked around and said in a deep voice, "Interrogate them further away. This place has problems; I fear it is related to the source of the plague. Let me find the reason first."

"Fine."

Wu Wu Dehai did not ask more and ordered people to carry all the wounded and dead bodies to a distance, conducting interrogations in batches.

For these experts in torture, not only could they empty out the other party's background, but they could also infer more information from the details based on each person's confession...

After everyone left, the temple became quiet again.

"There is indeed a problem here."

Lu San, who was on the side, said with a solemn expression, "There are no snakes, insects, rats, or ants, and the small animals outside will instinctively avoid it."

"Hmm."

Li Yan looked at the main hall of the ruined temple and said thoughtfully, "The old ghost just said that even if one found this place, one wouldn't be able to discover it. He should be referring to something inside..."

Saying this, he strode toward the main hall.

While walking, he said, "According to what Wu Wu Dehai said, this temple was originally named 'Zhaode Temple', built by the Prince of Xiang in the previous dynasty to commemorate his mother. The regulations should be about the same as they are now."

"I have seen this kind of temple. The front hall usually enshrines the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the middle hall enshrines the Buddha or Robed Guanyin, and the back hall enshrines Maitreya. The front hall has already been destroyed; inside, it should be Robed Guanyin..."

While speaking, the two had already walked into the main hall.

Sure enough, in the dilapidated main hall stood a towering Robed Guanyin statue, surrounded by dust, and on the ground were charred wood and carbonized human heads.

Like the Buddha statues in the temple, there were many kinds of Robed Guanyin statues, and they represented different meanings.

For example, the one holding a clean bottle and willow branch is called the Willow Robed Guanyin, also known as the Holy Robed Guanyin, symbolizing favorable weather and a good harvest. Common people often enshrine this Robed Guanyin when building temples...

There is the Scripture-Holding Robed Guanyin, also known as the Sravaka Robed Guanyin. The image is mostly the Bodhisattva sitting on a rock, holding a scripture in the right hand and placing the left hand on the knee, symbolizing concern for the world and the fulfillment of wishes, enshrined in thatched cottages or on rocks...

There is also the White-Robed Robed Guanyin. Legend has it that during the wars in the Central Plains, Robed Guanyin appeared in a white-robed treasure image on the Ghost Festival to deliver the souls of the dead, so the White-Robed Robed Guanyin represents rebirth in the Western Pure Land...

The one before his eyes was the White-Robed Robed Guanyin.

But the statue had already been damaged, the colored sculpture was mottled, revealing the mud core, and even the head had fallen off and rolled to the side, let alone having any smell of incense.

Seeing this, Li Yan frowned instantly.

This temple was very strange. The dead monks had turned into Yin spirits and were chanting, refusing to leave. Even small things like door panels, door frames, and stone carvings had turned into Wool Gods, and there was also the smell of incense.

It must be related to something.

In the main hall, besides this dilapidated Robed Guanyin statue, he really could not see anything else.

He took out his compass to check, and the needle was extremely chaotic...

He used his sense of smell divine ability, but could not smell a trace of strange odor...

He let Mouse Da and Mouse Er investigate, but they just felt that this place was terrifying...

Li Yan pondered for a moment and suddenly remembered that when he had just entered the temple, the Wool Gods and ghost monks were noisy, but now it was unusually quiet, and he could not smell a trace of odor.

"Quick, help me fetch a basin of water."

Li Yan greeted, took an oil lamp down from the altar table, and after Lu San fetched the water, he lit the oil lamp, held the Gou-Die (official document), formed a spell seal, and took a step forward.

This was a method of communicating with the divine, developed by Liu Gang and the others.

Whoosh~

In an instant, the scene around them changed drastically.

The originally dilapidated main hall was now even more eerie, covered with dense moss, but it had no vitality, looking more like it was rotting and moldy.

A rustling sound came from above.

Li Yan looked up abruptly.

He saw that the caisson ceiling and beams at the top were all covered with layers of small shrines, inside which were densely packed carvings of gods, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas, as if they were standing in the Western Pure Land, looking down at the sentient beings below...

Seeming to notice his gaze, the rustling noise disappeared instantly, and those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also became stiff and did not move at all.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and withdrew his divine communication technique.

When he opened his eyes again, the beams and caisson ceiling had returned to normal. Where were there any shrines or Buddhas? They looked ordinary and were covered in dust.

"Let's go, there's nothing here."

Li Yan shouted on purpose and signaled to Lu San with his eyes.

Lu San understood immediately and followed him to leave quickly.

Only after they had left the area around the ruined temple did insects and ants appear again. Lu San then asked, "What did you discover?"

"Heavenly spiritual treasure!"

Li Yan shook his head, "I heard Zhao the Donkey say that some powerful heavenly spiritual treasures would be occupied by some spirit monsters or Wool Gods, turning them into things similar to blessed lands. I didn't expect to see one here." In fact, what Zhao the Donkey had told him was even more bizarre.

These heavenly spiritual treasures were all extraordinary artifacts. After being occupied by spirit monsters, sometimes they would hook people's souls into them, as if it were a dream, and in the dream, it would be like touring the Immortal Realm or the Pure Land.

Some strange tales often mention people getting lost in the deep mountains or dreaming in the middle of the night and accidentally entering the residence of an immortal; that is what this kind of thing refers to.

The most famous one is the Northern Immortal Hall.

Some old ancestors like the Fox, Yellow, White, and Willow families have cultivation that can be called Earth Immortals. They don't need to possess bodies to speak; they will directly summon disciples into the Immortal Hall to issue orders or impart cultivation methods...

At this time, Wu Wu Dehai also came over.

It wasn't just him; Battalion Commander Zhou of the Xiangyang Garrison had also brought two hundred cavalrymen to completely surround this place.

Hearing what Li Yan said, both of them were enlightened.

Wu Wu Dehai said hurriedly, "Young Hero Li, those people have already confessed. They don't know who the inside agent in Xiangyang City is, but they do know about the arrangements in other places."

"In several nearby villages, they have already sent evil cultivators to take advantage of the plague to bewitch people's hearts, overthrow the Earth God temples, and prepare to secretly incite riots..."

!.

"In the mountains of Nanzhang County, there was originally an ancient military fortress built during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Because Lord Captain Guan had once stationed there and was famous for reading the Spring and Autumn Annals at night, it was called the Spring and Autumn Stronghold. After it was abandoned, it was occupied by Miao and Man mountain folk."

"According to these people, the mountain folk in that place have already been bewitched by the Ghost Sect, and a large number of elite troops have been stationed there..."

Battalion Commander Zhou also nodded solemnly, "I roughly know what they want to do."

"Further west from Nanzhang County is Baokang County, adjacent to the Inside Shennongjia forest, where imperial troops are stationed, blocking the Heavenly Saint Sect troops in the mountains."

"Baokang County has the Ju River, which can lead to Dangyang and enter the Yangtze River. Nanzhang County has the Man River, which can lead directly to the Han River and is connected to Jingmen."

"Now that the Heavenly Saint Sect rebel army is being suppressed by the imperial court in the mountains and forests of Jing and Chu, if these two places fall, they can directly invade the Han River and the Yangtze River. They can not only cut off the grain supplies of the imperial army but also take advantage of the situation to go down, enter Jingmen and Unlike Yichang directly, and join forces with the Tusi rebel army..."

Wu Wu Dehai also nodded, "We have already sent people to report this matter upward, but the key is still to eliminate the epidemic."

"If the epidemic in Xiangyang spreads, even if the imperial court sends troops to station and support, they will fall into trouble."

"This source is afraid that it has some connection with the things inside. Young Hero Li, what should we do?"

"Simple!"

Li Yan looked at the ruined temple and said coldly, "Send people to the nearby mountains to cut peach branches, and tomorrow during the day, burn this place to the ground!"

Whoosh~

Just as he finished speaking, Yin wind suddenly blew in the temple, and white mist rose, making the entire ruins look even more blurred and eerie.

"Be on guard!"

Battalion Commander Zhou gave an angry shout, and the cavalrymen he brought raised their muskets one after another, and some even picked up fire-caltrops.

However, with the whistling of the Yin wind, the warhorses around seemed to be startled, neighing incessantly and becoming restless.

Seeing this, Lu San formed a spell seal and also made neighing sounds with his mouth to soothe those warhorses.

Battalion Commander Zhou was furious and suddenly took out a token from his bosom, shouting angrily, "The imperial army is here! How dare you ghosts and monsters cause trouble? Do you want your souls to fly away and scatter!"

Seeing this, Li Yan was speechless.

Do these things really listen to the imperial court's orders?

But something that surprised him happened.

Although the Yin mist in the ruins was still dense, the Yin wind was clearly smaller, and those warhorses were no longer startled.

Seeing Li Yan's surprised look, Battalion Commander Zhou whispered, "This is a secret military method. All over the Divine Land, there are many such things entrenched. If they are smart, they know the majesty of the imperial court and are afraid of attracting the Mystic Sect's soldiers and horses to suppress them..."

Just as he was speaking, figures suddenly appeared in the thick fog. Some were monks with their hands pressed together, and some were in the image of Arhats and Bodhisattvas, shadowy and very blurred.

Seeing this, Li Yan was amused, "Yo, do you really think this place has become the Western Pure Land?"

Saying this, he had already taken out the Gou-Die from his bosom, preparing to summon the Netherworld soldiers and horses to wipe them all out in one go.

Just at this moment, an old sigh came to his ears, "We do not wish to provoke trouble; why must the superior official be so aggressive?"

Li Yan looked around and saw that the others' expressions had not changed, so he understood immediately. This voice was the language of ghosts and gods, and they could not hear it.

Thinking of this, he spoke directly, saying coldly, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about? If you don't wish to provoke trouble, why did you send people into the city to harm others?"

His sudden speaking made Battalion Commander Zhou and Wu Wu Dehai confused.

The two of them wanted to ask, but were stopped by Lu San, who signaled them not to speak.

In the thick fog, the old voice entered Li Yan's ears, "There is another hidden story to this matter; I hope the superior official will listen to my explanation."

"I was originally a thousand-year-old nanmu tree in Shu. After being cut down, I was transported to Xiangyang and became the main beam of Zhaode Temple, bathed in the fragrance of Buddhist teachings and incense day and night, and realized the method of the Pure Land."

"During the war years, the temple was destroyed by the flames of war. I used a secret method to protect the residual souls of the monks in the temple from the harm of the Golden Tent Wolf Country's shamans. Because many Mystic Sect practitioners died at that time, Wool Gods also bred in the temple..."

"In those years, Ancestor Master Sanfeng passed by this place and made an agreement with me: as long as I restrained these residual souls and Wool Gods and did not harm the surrounding mountain folk, I could cultivate in peace and wait for the temple to be rebuilt after a hundred years."

Li Yan snorted coldly, "Since there was an agreement, why break the oath?"

The old voice replied, "At that time, to show my sincerity, I spat out my heartwood, which was carved into a soul tablet by Ancestor Master Sanfeng and placed under the City God Temple in Xiangyang, to be supervised by the City God."

"But more than ten years ago, a scholar surnamed Lu suddenly came with the soul tablet and wanted me to take orders from him. I did not dare to disobey, so I secretly sent people to the City God Temple, but they were intercepted and killed halfway..."

"More than ten years ago, a scholar surnamed Lu?"

A flash of inspiration crossed Li Yan's mind, "Do you know the Nanmu King?"

According to the Alligator Master, there was a Nanmu King in the Han River near Xiangyang City, who was very fierce, scaring the common people into secretly building a Nan-Jun Temple to worship it.

More than ten years ago, it was a scholar surnamed Lu who subdued this demon.

The old voice replied, "The Nanmu King is already dead, but someone used evil methods on it. After it died, its resentment soared to the sky, and its body was divided and hidden all over Xiangyang. It is the source of this plague."

"There is also some in the temple. Those people put it inside my body and used sacrificial methods to catalyze it, spreading it into the nearby water sources. This thing can be restrained by vinegar..."

Whoosh~

While speaking, a violent wind suddenly blew.

A piece of wood rolled and flew out from the ruined temple, landing in front of everyone with a thud.

Everyone looked down and saw that it was indeed a piece of golden nanmu, but it had turned into sunken wood, and it was covered with moss like mold spots.

"Everyone stay away!"

Li Yan hurriedly greeted everyone to retreat, and then had the garrison soldiers fetch vinegar-soaked cloth they carried with them, covering it tightly.

After doing this, Li Yan turned his head to look at the ruins again and said coldly, "You handed over this thing; aren't you afraid those people will destroy the soul tablet?"

The old voice sighed and replied, "The Pure Land I cultivated is ultimately fake. This is a calamity. If the calamity cannot be escaped, I can only accept my fate."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Since you have the heart, do you dare to gamble?"

Second update in the afternoon

(End of chapter)