Chapter 346: Could it be that this is the murderer’s purpose?
The battle ended quickly.
In front of the main hall of Shaolin Temple, there were more corpses again.
Cheng Wuzhong beheaded the last thief with one blow, rolled his eyes, and said to Xu Sanlang and Yuan Dalang: "Gather the corpses, identify them, and collect them together."
Hundreds of knights acted one after another, leaving seventeen or eight shocking blood stains on the ground. They all gathered in the center of the square and placed them together with the corpse of Shaolin Sanzang.
Seeing this scene, the monks' expressions changed again and their lips trembled: "Death is a big deal... Death is a big deal... How can they ruin their reputation after death like this?"
Huiyi, Huizang and Zhenfa were originally victims, but now their bodies are placed with these thieves. What happened?
An Shengan secretly cheered, and raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "They are all Shaolin monks. They were fellow disciples just now, but now they no longer recognize each other?"
The monks wanted to cry but had no tears.
Only one person came out and came to Li Yan, who had been silent all this time. He bowed and said, "I hope Li Jiyi can show his kindness. I, Shaolin Dingming, am very grateful!"
Li Yan looked at Zhijian and raised his hand: "Get up, I don't like to kneel down."
Zhijian kowtowed to the ground and did not get up.
Li Yan stared at him: "Do you know that once the identities of these thieves are confirmed, the evidence will be conclusive that Shaolin Temple is harboring thieves?"
Zhijian gritted his teeth and said, "The young monk knows."
Li Yan continued: "Then you should know that with the ultimatum in hand, it's not too late to transfer to the temple now..."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of many monks suddenly became subtle.
Once San Gang died, and the scandal of harboring bandits was discovered, so many corpses were piled in front of the temple, and most of the sign of Shaolin Temple was destroyed. People with flexible minds will naturally want to find another way out.
But Zhijian showed resistance, shook his head and said: "The young monk has been in the temple since he learned the truth, and the young monk is not going anywhere!"
Li Yan nodded: "The evil and the righteous have been eliminated, and the bodhicitta is intact. Shaolin Temple's mistakes today can also be regarded as disasters on the road of spiritual practice. If you can be firm and unswerving, it will also be a trial."
Zhijian was also extremely hesitant. Hearing this, his spirits perked up and he expressed gratitude: "Thank you Li Jiyi for your guidance!"
Li Yan looked around and selected the monk with the most flexible eyes among the monks who had just moved: "Come here!"
A monk with a prosperous face came out, and he was also very happy: "I am a poor monk who is wise and willing to serve Li Jiyi!"
Li Yan said: "Take me to Sangang's house and find any letters and diaries left behind..."
After that, he said to Anshengan and Cheng Wuzhong: "Strictly investigate the remaining monks. Regardless of whether there are ultimatums or not, don't rule out the possibility of committing adultery, but don't want to involve them wantonly."
The two of them accepted the order: "Yes!"
Li Yan took Zhijian and Zhixing to the backyard. The first stop was Zhenfa's yard.
The house where the abbot Huiyi lives is of the highest quality in the temple, but the courtyard where the old monk Zhenfa lives is very poor and has the feeling of Buddhist ascetic cultivation.
There was a pool of blood on the ground, which was where the body was found. Li Yan asked: "What should you pay attention to when you found the body last night?"
Zhijian looked sad: "When the young monk saw his great uncle being brutally killed, he was so upset that he didn't pay attention..."
Zhixing said: "Li Jiyi, the posture in which my uncle died was different from that of the abbot and Huizang. He fell to the ground with his eyes still staring. His expression was very ferocious, showing that he did not dare.
A look of confidence.”
Li Yan said: "Are you sure? You can't talk nonsense!"
Zhixing hurriedly said: "That's what the young monk saw. It was only later that Junior Brother Zhijian wrapped the body of my uncle in the front yard and closed his eyes, and his ferocious expression disappeared."
Zhijian held an objection: "According to what the young monk saw, my uncle's expression was not surprised or stunned. It was just normal pain, but his eyes were indeed open. It was the young monk who helped him close his eyes..."
Li Yan nodded slightly: "Besides falling to the ground and his expression before death seemed to be in shock, is there anything else?"
After trying hard to remember, the two monks shook their heads and said, "No more."
Li Yan started to walk around and found that there were many scriptures in the house, neatly placed on the shelves.
He stepped forward and touched it, and then took out a few volumes to check. He found that there was not much dust and there were traces of frequent reading. He nodded slightly: "It seems that Master Zhenfa often reads the scriptures."
Zhijian hurriedly said: "My uncle practiced Zen and practiced hard. He has a vast collection of Buddhist scriptures and has always been respected by everyone in the temple."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhixing slapped him in the face: "Let Li Jiyi know that these Buddhist scriptures may not have been read by my uncle. I heard that my uncle had a shady disciple in his early years and often came to the courtyard to read Buddhist scriptures. It was probably that uncle.
Disciples read it."
Zhijian said displeasedly: "Senior brother, that is a rumor in the temple and is not true. How can you say it with such certainty?"
Zhixing didn't want to stay any longer anyway, so he stopped being polite and sneered: "Isn't that true? A few months ago, someone heard another person talking in the courtyard of my uncle. Master Huizang went to ask about it, but he was scolded by his uncle.
His tone was unprecedentedly stern, and he never dared to approach him again. Is this all falsehood?"
Zhijian shook his head: "It is indeed true, but my uncle has always been a pure cultivator. You also know what uncle Huizang is. He just wants everyone in the temple to be under his control. My uncle's reprimand is completely justified. It's your mouth."
But I feel guilty!"
Zhixing sneered: "You have been valued by my uncle since you were a child, so you naturally tend to speak for him. Anyway, in our opinion, you have a guilty conscience. Later, you can't hear anyone else talking in the courtyard. What is this if you don't have a guilty conscience?"
Li Yan listened with interest on the side, until the two of them were about to quarrel, he stopped him and said: "Okay, apart from hearsay, do you have your own evidence for what you two said?"
After Zhi Jian and Zhi Xing glared at each other, they had to admit: "There is no evidence." "No."
"Then it can't be taken as accurate, it can only be taken as a clue..."
Li Yan said: "Zhijian, you must be valued by Master Zhenfa. This is true. As far as you know, has his martial arts been forgotten?"
Zhijian thought for a moment and said, "I haven't left him behind. Although my uncle is old, he is still energetic and still carries water to practice his martial arts."
Zhixing said: "That's right. Grandpa Shi's spirit is quite strong. He carries water to practice, and goes up and down as if walking on flat ground... But that was twenty years ago. Now, every time he goes up and down the mountain, everyone in the temple is on tenterhooks.
Very, but I couldn’t persuade him..."
Zhijian's face softened when he heard the front part, but when he heard the back part, he glared at him again.
Li Yan felt that the combination of white clouds and black soil was good, and he had a better understanding of the vibration method: "At eighty years old, if you can carry a bucket for a trip, that's not bad."
The practice of carrying water involves holding a bucket with both hands and going up and down the mountain. You must keep your body balanced, your arms in line, and the water surface must not move.
This tempering method can be used from young novices to old age. Of course, it must be done according to one's ability.
If Zhenfa can really practice carrying a bucket at the age of eighty, even if he can't get up and down, it will be as if he were walking on flat ground, which would be extraordinary.
Li Yan asked again: "Your master's uncle's martial arts has never been neglected. What about Hui Yi and Wei Na Huizang?"
Zhijian said: "I don't know how profound the presiding master's cultivation is, but Master Huizang's strength method has been abandoned. This is something he has admitted personally."
Zhixing hurriedly said: "Li Jiyi, the host had an illness the year before last. He lay on the bed for several months. After recovering from the illness, he became obviously much older. Although my Shaolin Dharma Jin is not as long-lived as Guangming Jin, it is not as long as Guangming Jin.
There is no danger of illness. If you cultivate deeply, you won't be so sick..."
Li Yan nodded slightly: "Once you are entangled in worldly affairs, no matter how good your martial arts is, it will inevitably decline. In this case, among the three cardinal principles, Master Zhenfa is the stronger one."
It was really embarrassing that the senior officials in the temple were not as good as an eighty-year-old man. Zhijian fell silent, and Zhixing became more determined to move to the temple.
Li Yan didn't think anything of it. This was actually very common sense. On the contrary, it was strange that Shaolin masters were the best at fighting. The real masters should be among the monks of Zhizi generation who were in their prime: "You practice Dharma Jin intensively in your temple.
Who is the most powerful martial artist?"
Zhijian said: "This is Junior Brother Zhigang. He rarely loses in competitions with his peers. Even if several senior brothers compete together, he can still cope with it, which is praised by his great uncle."
Li Yan looked at Zhixing, who rolled his eyes, but still nodded without any hesitation.
Wen Wu is first and Wu Wu is second. Since both of them agree, that one is basically the strongest in contemporary Shaolin. Li Yan said: "I will let him come to see me later. You should tidy up the room first and see if there are any
Evidence such as correspondence and daily diaries.”
The two monks took the order, and while searching, they kept looking at each other, monitoring each other.
Under such circumstances, after searching carefully for half an hour, there was indeed no diary or letter. Li Yan looked at several large shelves of Buddhist scriptures and said: "Look at these Buddhist scriptures, they are all evidence."
"yes!"
After the preliminary investigation was completed, the three people rushed to the next scene.
Huizang's residence was much more spacious and enjoyable, and there were even calligraphy and paintings on the walls. If you didn't know better, anyone would think that a scholar lived in this house, not an arrogant monk.
While Li Yan admired the calligraphy and paintings, he also asked the two of them to read letters and diaries.
There was no letter, but a box of diaries was dug out from a hidden corner by Zhixing, who shouted like a treasure: "Li Jiyi, come and take a look, these are all diaries!"
Li Yan walked over and took a look, and couldn't help but be startled.
Good guy, the daily records are stacked one after another, and the stack on the desk is taller than a person.
This Huizang has no intention of practicing martial arts, but he can find time to write in his diary every day. At first glance, he is not a serious person.
Regardless of whether it was serious or not, he started reading from the latest one. At first he read it carefully, but soon he started reading ten lines at a time.
Because what was recorded above, except for a small amount of Buddhist practice, is basically how to tame the monks in the temple, how to expand their power, and even override the abbot Huiyi and the signature stick monk Zhenfa.
Being able to write these inner words in the diary, it can be seen that Huizang not only does not know how to hide, but also has become more and more arrogant due to the years of holding power in the temple. He is arrogant and arrogant on the surface to the other two senior officials in the temple
Reverence, in fact, had already turned against him. He wanted to be the host, or even the abbot.
"Seal these diaries, they are all evidence."
"yes!"
The last room is where the host Hui Yi is. Yesterday, Li Yan checked the body a little inside. Huizang and Zhenfa saw the body and quickly covered it. This time they could finally search it properly.
And here, what was found was a large number of letters.
The person with whom I have the most contacts is an old acquaintance, the Gong heir of the Gong family in Luoyang.
When Li Yan asked, he found out that after he arrived yesterday, Hui Yi held a meeting and then actually wrote to Luoyang to seek help from Gong Siye, hoping to find out why the Shaolin Temple was targeted.
This news is so obscure that grass has begun to grow on Gong Siye's grave. They, who are also located in Henan Prefecture, are not aware of the drastic changes that have taken place in the Gong family, and they still go to this man for help...
However, Hui Yi actually had a lot of correspondence. Li Yan briefly browsed through it and even saw his contacts with foreigners.
There is no content in the letter about collaborating with the enemy. Basically, the letter is about asking the monks from the Shaolin Temple to open a forum and give lectures to expand their influence.
Such as Silla and Tubo.
Silla, a country with a strict bone system and was divided into three, six, and nine classes at birth, believed very strongly in Buddhism. Later, if civilians wanted to come to the Tang Dynasty to study, they had to become a monk first and pass the inspection before they could arrive in the Tang Dynasty safely.
Shaolin was popular in the martial arts in the Tang Dynasty, and it was not ranked in the real study of Buddhism. However, if such a monk entered Silla, he would be regarded as a treasure, and other foreign races were no exception. Hui Yi was very relevant.
The idea of Buddhist exchanges between Tubo and Tibet coincides with Kumarajiva, the king of the Ming Dynasty who came to the Tang Dynasty to discuss Dharma.
"Needless to say, this person's Buddhist teachings are quite qualified to be the abbot of a temple."
After Li Yan made his evaluation, he felt a little headache looking at the pile of letters.
Of these three deceased persons, one left behind a large number of scriptures, one left a large number of diaries, and the third left a large number of letters.
It takes a lot of effort to sort out each item, but clues may be hidden in them and have to be checked.
Li Yan left the house and ordered the internal guards to start work.
Busy figures came in and out one after another, time flew by, and soon the sun set.
I have long been used to the calming feeling, and seeing that the work has just begun: "Rokuro, are you going to stay up late again today?"
Li Yan smiled and was just about to answer when suddenly his brows moved and he sorted out the entire case:
"Could it be that...this is the murderer's purpose?"