Chapter 519: Guangde Temple

The yamen runners of Suining County felt as if they were going insane.

Originally, this was a day no different from any other.

They would yawn while eating, check in for duty, attend court, watch the magistrate handle a few mundane cases, and then discuss whose house to gather at for a small party that evening.

With the end of the year approaching, there was actually only so much to do.

It was nothing more than a few petty thieves climbing walls and jumping over roofs, or swindlers setting up traps to cheat people; after all, thieves also wanted to have a prosperous New Year.

Then there were those who couldn't make it through the end of the year and would take desperate risks.

These matters depended entirely on the magistrate's attitude.

If the magistrate felt the local atmosphere had been poor lately with thieves running rampant, they would go directly to the leader of the Rong Sect in the county, give them a beating, and tell them to order their disciples and grand-disciples to behave themselves.

If it were outside petty thieves who didn't pay their respects or offer tribute, they would be sold out directly and handed over to the yamen runners to claim a reward.

This was the way of survival for the yamen staff.

They had already taken deep root in the local area; they knew every movement like the back of their hands. Even if the commoners cursed them and officials looked down on them, anyone wanting to govern the region still had to go through them.

But today, something was strangely wrong.

Just past noon, commoners came running to report that people were fighting over at the oil press, and with a *crack-crack*, they were snapping people's arms like firewood for fun.

When the magistrate heard this, his heart skipped a beat.

He didn't know the background of those people, only that they held a token he couldn't afford to offend, so he had his most capable subordinate arrange lodging for them.

If something happened here, he feared he wouldn't even make it through the New Year.

Immediately, he ordered all yamen runners to mobilize.

Who would have thought that before they even left, news came from Lingquan Temple that there was a monster causing trouble early in the morning, many people had died, and the city was in a state of panic.

Because of this, the entire yamen was in chaos.

The yamen head constable, Wei Feng, was a capable officer; he immediately requested the magistrate to seek reinforcements from the nearby garrison, while the yamen runners rushed to the city gates to stabilize the situation.

As for the oil press workshop, he would first take some people to go and have a look.

Doing this naturally had its considerations.

Firstly, Suining County was the foundation; if any major disaster occurred, from the magistrate down to them, no one would have a good New Year.

Secondly, by going to the oil press himself, he could show he took it seriously, avoiding offending anyone—at the very least, it was a gesture.

Therefore, most of the yamen's strength ran to the city gates, and only head constable Wei Feng and one subordinate arrived at the oil press.

Just as he arrived outside the door, his head felt like it was about to explode with rage.

It was a few local hoodlums, having people block the door of the oil press while taking the opportunity to loot the courtyard.

It was a pity for these people from the Prince of Shu's Mansion; their hands and feet had been broken, making it impossible for them to resist. Fearing the loss of face and not daring to reveal their identities, they could only resort to verbal threats.

But how would these local ruffians understand such things?

Seeing them being stubborn, they slapped them repeatedly until their faces were bruised and swollen, gritting their teeth and refusing to speak.

"Get lost!"

Head constable Wei Feng felt his scalp tingle with rage; he and his subordinate rushed up, wielding their scabbards, and gave these ruffians a chaotic beating.

After driving the people away, he gave a dry laugh, needing to pretend he knew nothing while also showing concern, and asked, "Gentlemen, you all..."

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"Don't ask anything!"

"Find someone to treat our wounds, and send us away from Suining..."

"Also, don't let those people from just now get away!"

The tone was bossy and completely unceremonious.

It was a eunuch!

Head constable Wei Feng felt his scalp tingle again and hurriedly nodded, "Yes, yes, and the culprits? We will immediately..."

"It's none of your business, keep your mouths shut!"

"This..."

"We beat ourselves, is that alright!"

These people from the Prince of Shu's Mansion were acting in secret to begin with, and now that they had suffered such a disgrace, how could they dare to blow the matter out of proportion?

They were afraid that if they pushed Li Yan too far, he would kill them.

They were even more afraid of the punishment from the Prince of Shu's Mansion.

Therefore, they could only swallow their broken teeth along with the blood.

"Alright, alright, hurry, go invite a physician!"

Seeing the victims not pressing charges, head constable Wei Feng naturally couldn't be bothered to make more trouble and ordered his subordinate to go call for someone.

After handling the oil press, he hurried toward the city gates.

Here, the situation had already been brought under control.

The yamen runners and the soldiers who had arrived from the garrison blocked the curious commoners, and several carriage drivers were being interrogated.

Just outside the city gate, several large carriages were parked.

On the flatbed carts behind, some were piled high with corpses wrapped in straw mats, the stench of blood pungent, while others carried terrified and injured survivors.

And on the lead carriage, a snake head was placed, fully half the size of a house; the palm-sized scales were a deathly gray, and both snake eyes had burst, leaving only massive hollows.

The fishy stench unique to snakes permeated the air.

Head constable Wei Feng felt a chill down his back and hurriedly stepped forward to question the carriage drivers, only then learning the process:

To welcome the Buddha's birthday, Lingquan Temple had gathered a large number of workers, and pilgrims and believers from all over were camped outside the temple.

This morning, a giant snake suddenly burst from the ground, going mad and injuring people everywhere; fortunately, Buddhist experts gathered and suppressed it, but the losses were heavy.

Outside Lingquan Temple, it was already in utter chaos.

These were all workers from Suining County, and merchants had funded the transport of the wounded and the corpses back so they could be buried as soon as possible.

As for the snake head, someone had suggested sending it to the yamen as evidence; after all, with so many people dead, there had to be an explanation.

"Which idiot made that decision!"

After hearing this, head constable Wei Feng was nearly enraged.

How could such a thing be handled so recklessly? They had to control the situation first, stabilize the public heart, and then decide how to proceed.

Doing this was simply adding chaos to chaos.

"It was the young master from the Provincial Administration Commissioner's family..."

His subordinate hurriedly reminded him in a low voice.

Head constable Wei Feng's body stiffened; he forcibly suppressed his anger and shouted to the surrounding commoners, "All you commoners have seen it, the monster has already been executed. The masters of Guangde Temple will surely perform rituals to transcend the deceased. Everyone disperse."

"And you lot, first send the corpses to the mortuary, record them after inspection, and notify the victims' families to come identify the bodies..."

"You few, go around the city and tell that bunch of people, whoever dares to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble or spread rumors, I will not spare them..."

Head constable Wei Feng still had experience; with one order after another, he stabilized the situation and pacified the public heart as quickly as possible.

Among the crowd, Li Yan and his group were also present.

They had just finished beating the people from the Prince of Shu's Mansion and hadn't walked far when they heard about this, so they also ran to the city gate to watch the excitement.

Looking at that giant snake head, the group looked at each other in dismay.

"Brother Li Yan, is it this one?"

Sha Lifei asked in a low voice.

Li Yan nodded, lost in thought, and looked toward Lingquan Temple.

At that time, the Dragon Lady had sent a dream; inside the Dragon Lady Temple under the water, there was also a giant water python coiled up.

When Li Yan and his group arrived, there was no water python inside, and they had thought it was just some kind of omen and didn't truly exist.

Who would have thought it had run to Lingquan Temple.

Could it be that some escaped demon from the Dragon-Worshiping Sect was lurking inside?

Also, the plan of the people from the Prince of Shu's Mansion was originally to lure them to Lingquan Temple; was there a connection between these things...

Seeing the officials starting to drive people away, Li Yan gave a wink, and led the group to leave quickly.

"Brother Li Yan, what are the arrangements for tomorrow?"

After returning to the old residence, Sha Lifei hurriedly asked.

Ever since he obtained his supernatural ability, he had been practicing constantly. That feeling of martial arts and spirit strengthening simultaneously was simply addictive, but unfortunately, ever since arriving in Suining, everything had been busy.

Li Yan naturally knew his intention and, after pondering for a moment, said, "It is not suitable for many people to go to Guangde Temple tomorrow; I alone will suffice. You all stay at home and rest."

"Be careful and stay safe; watch out for the Prince of Shu's Mansion coming to take revenge."

After giving instructions, everyone went about their own business.

Just like Sha Lifei, they also wanted to take advantage of this peaceful time to rest and reorganize.

Lu San and Wang Daoxuan mainly practiced sorcery.

Unlike Li Yan, they were cautious every time they practiced, fearing that a mistake in storing their spirit would lead to soul injury, so their speed was much slower.

Their main energy was still spent on practicing sorcery.

This was the speed of a normal cultivator.

Building a three-story tower was already the limit a normal person could reach; the further up one went, the more difficult it became.

【In one look...】

Like the master of the Five Dragon Palace on Mount Wudang, Yulongzi, who had extraordinary talent and practiced on the mountain year-round, was now nearly fifty years old and had only reached the fifth floor.

Wang Daoxuan and Lu San had followed Li Yan on his travels and each obtained opportunities, which was why they had reached the third floor so quickly.

Wanting to go further was difficult upon difficulty.

As for Wu Ba, under Li Yan's guidance, he began to learn some basic martial arts techniques.

This was an unpolished gem; having awakened his body's supernatural ability, his control over his body was almost like a beast's instinct, and coupled with his astonishing physique, once he practiced human martial arts, no one knew what would happen.

Li Yan didn't consider himself a good master, so he only taught some basic techniques; he would still have to leave the actual boxing to the Eight Extremities genius from Cangzhou, Wu Qu.

Just like that, night fell without them realizing it.

It seemed their plan had been disrupted; neither the Dragon-Worshiping Sect nor the Prince of Shu's Mansion came to trouble them, and they didn't even send anyone to monitor them.

At night, Luo Jun'an, who had gone to send people off, returned, chatted about some news from Lingquan Temple, and then hurried away again.

His coming this time wasn't just to run errands by Li Yan's side.

The gathering at Wangjiang Tower had resolved some hidden dangers, which could be considered as Li Yan officially coming into contact with the martial world of Shu.

And the Luo family also wanted to take this opportunity to win over allies from various sides.

They were already standing on the opposite side of the Prince of Shu's Mansion.

At the very least, when facing a counterattack, they needed the power to protect themselves.

Just as Zou Shaohai had said, Shu seemed calm, but in reality, undercurrents were surging; from the imperial court to the martial world, it was all the same.

Shu, the Land of Abundance, had a closed geographical environment.

"The world is not in chaos, but Shu is in chaos first; the world is governed, but Shu is not yet governed"—this saying was not spoken blindly.

Nowadays, the various forces in Shu were all watching two people.

One was the Prince of Shu, who had been ordered to reflect at home.

The other was the Emperor in the capital.

What these two brothers would turn into would directly determine whether Shu would fall into great chaos.

But Li Yan knew that it also depended on two other people:

The Erlang Zhenjun and the reincarnation of the Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun.

What he still didn't understand was in what way the Jiang Shen Jiangshen Dajun would become a calamity for the Erlang Zhenjun.

And what kind of opportunity they could plot within it...

…………

*Dong dong dong! *

The next day, just as the sky brightened, someone was knocking on the door outside.

The Luo family servant opened the door, and standing outside was a disciple of the Divine Fist Society, who respectfully bowed and said, "By the order of the President, I have come to invite Li Li Shaoxia Yan."

Li Yan had already made preparations.

The Luo family business was Shu brocade; they naturally had many silk shops and clothing stores, and had long since prepared new clothes for everyone.

A black military robe with dark gold cloud patterns embroidered on it, worn on Li Yan, looked both capable and magnificent.

"Where is Senior Zou?"

"Waiting for you at the pier."

Li Yan followed him to the pier; sure enough, Zou Shaohai was already waiting on a boat, dressed in simple white, and hadn't brought too many disciples.

Guangde Temple was on the opposite bank of the Fu River; the two took a boat across the river, and after going ashore, they traveled on horseback to the foot of Wolong Mountain.

Before even going up the mountain, Li Yan had already sensed something extraordinary.

Along the mountain path, the trees were lush, the atmosphere quiet and leisurely, and occasionally ancient stone pagodas stood by the roadside, with pilgrims and monks coming and going frequently.

"The status of Guangde Temple is not ordinary."

Zou Shaohai said in a low voice on the side, "This is an Imperial Zen Temple; in the Great Xuan Dynasty alone, it has been bestowed and rewarded by the imperial court more than a dozen times, and there is even an Imperial Edict Archway inside the temple..."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Logically speaking, it is also a holy land of Fomen; how could it allow the Dragon-Worshiping Sect to grow strong here and even cause monsters to wreak havoc?"

"There are hidden reasons for this matter."

Zou Shaohai looked around and said in a low voice, "I heard some news yesterday. Problems had already arisen in the temple, and several guest monks had disappeared for no apparent reason."

"The day before yesterday, several high monks from the Vinaya Sect came to investigate this matter, and by mistake, discovered that an old monk in the temple was acting strangely."

"They joined forces to catch him, but didn't expect that old monk to have profound sorcery; he killed several people in succession and even lured out a snake demon hiding in the river to cause chaos."

"That old monk... what is his background?"

"Unclear; the other party lured the snake demon to cause chaos, and took the opportunity to escape, disappearing without a trace. Perhaps, he is the Dragon-Worshiping Sect leader you spoke of."

While speaking, the two had already arrived outside Guangde Temple.

Seeing this temple built against the mountain, the mountain gate was towering and the momentum magnificent.

Zou Shaohai had obviously already sent word; a guest-receiving monk had long been waiting outside the mountain gate, and seeing them, he stepped forward, put his palms together, and said, "Are you President Zou and Li Li Shaoxia Yan?"

"Exactly."

"The Temple Master has been waiting for a long time; please, two benefactors."

Having someone to lead the way was smooth.

Li Yan could feel that just as he stepped into the temple, his supernatural ability was suppressed; the ancient halls were deep and dark, the scent of incense was thick, and vaguely, he felt a sense of oppression.

Stepping into the temple, the ancient trees were even more towering, and the green trees provided shade.

They walked along the central axis of the temple, passing in order through the Heng-Ha Hall, the Imperial Edict Archway, the Stele Pavilion, the Heavenly King Hall, and other halls.

Not long after, they arrived outside the Mahavira Hall.

Seeing this hall with its double eaves and nine ridges, the wings flying, the momentum was majestic.

It seemed that to welcome the Buddha's birthday, the hall had just been renovated; the Buddha statues were towering, the gold bodies had been replenished, and amidst the swirling incense, the golden light was scorching.

Arriving at this place, Li Yan naturally didn't dare to communicate with the spirits at will.

Inside the hall, several old monks were already sitting under the Buddha statues, each with an extraordinary aura and solemn appearance.

"Temple Master, the two benefactors have arrived."

After the guest-welcoming monk invited them in, he immediately withdrew.

The leading old monk had peaceful eyes, white eyebrows hanging to his chest, and seeing Zou Shaohai, a smile appeared on his face, "President Zou, long time no see."

"Greetings, Zen Master."

Looking at the two conversing, Li Yan knew that this was the Temple Master of Guangde Temple, Zen Master Abbot Zhi Tong, who was also the leader of Fomen in the Southwest.

It seemed that Guangde Temple also took this matter very seriously.

If it were a private friendship, they would certainly have arranged them in a quiet room to drink tea and inquire, but in the Mahavira Hall, it showed that it already concerned the entire temple.

After some polite exchanges, Zou Shaohai introduced Li Yan and gave a rough account of the Dragon-Worshiping Sect.

Who would have thought that when the old monks heard this, they were not surprised.

Li Yan suddenly understood, "The several masters already knew?"

The leading Zen Master Abbot Zhi Tong sighed,

"To tell you the truth, that Dragon-Worshiping Sect leader is my martial uncle..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 520 =====