"Isn't it convenient for the female Bodhisattva to speak?"
Master Shandao stepped out of the way and asked curiously.
The embroiderer silently walked to the table where the marriage papers were signed, picked up the brush prepared on the table, and wrote on a piece of red paper:
"Master, is he the abbot of Donglin Temple?"
Master Shandao was stunned and realized something. He couldn't help but take a closer look at the mute female donor, and clasped his hands together:
"It's Lao Na. If it's inconvenient for the female Bodhisattva to speak, you can write it down in detail..."
Before Master Shandao Che Zhuluan could finish speaking, the embroiderer had already lowered her eyes and started writing:
"Master, do you still remember the Lotus Pagoda?"
"What lotus pagoda?" Master Shandao's first reaction was to ask with a startled look on his face.
The embroiderer's eyes did not move, silently observing the confused look on the old monk's face.
The latter frowned and looked at the embroiderer, and then looked at the dark night sky outside the hall.
"Lotus Pagoda? The well-preserved pagoda and pagoda in the temple. I have never heard of this name..."
Under Xiu Niang's gaze, Master Shandao suddenly paused in his words and turned around with a dazed look on his face:
"Is the lotus pagoda that the female Bodhisattva is talking about the one before this dynasty, during the Da Sui period? There was a pagoda at that time, called the Lotus Pagoda, because the pagoda was nine stories high and shaped like a lotus..."
Master Shandao reflected in his thoughts:
"But this all happened during the reign of Da Sui in the previous dynasty. I remember that this pagoda seemed to have been built before Da Sui unified the north and south. The southern royal family funded the construction of this temple. I heard that the construction of this pagoda cost a lot of money. It is so majestic that it even
It is known as the first pagoda in Jiangnan.
"It's a pity that the lotus pagoda collapsed due to accidental flooding during the Great Sui period. The female Bodhisattva mentioned the lotus pagoda in reference to this pagoda. Unexpectedly, the female Bodhisattva still remembered this pagoda at such a young age. But has she seen it in any single copy of the Buddhist scriptures? What a pity.
It’s gone now.”
Master Shandao frowned and sighed:
"Well, the female Bodhisattva asked me if I remembered it. I was not born yet at that time, so naturally I had never seen this pagoda. How could I remember it? I only heard about it from my master.
"And later, Lao Na's master built a Merit Pagoda on the site of the Lotus Pagoda, but it still accidentally leaked water, but this is a story for later, so I won't mention it.
"The female Bodhisattva wants to find the Lotus Pagoda? But she heard about it somewhere and wants to pay homage to it. Unfortunately, there is only one ruin left. It is over the Beitian Almshouse in the back mountain. The female Bodhisattva can only go and visit the remaining underground palace now.
Already."
Master Shandao gave thoughtful advice.
Except when writing, the embroiderer's eyes never left the face of the old monk in black.
His face covered with age spots was full of sincerity and kindness, he spoke without pause, and his expression did not seem to be fake.
The embroiderer lowered her eyes and held the pen with her bare hands:
"Beitian Almshouse? Underground Palace?"
Master Shandao shook his head and said regretfully: "The female Bodhisattva is really here to see the ancient pagoda? It would be a pity if she came from afar."
The incense and pagodas of Donglin Temple are famous in Jiangnan Province, and even spread as far as the north. Every day, pilgrims from all walks of life come to the mountain to visit the temple, and their wishes or reasons are also all kinds of strange.
Therefore, Master Shandao is not too surprised that young female pilgrims like to visit pagodas.
The old monk smiled and said:
"That's right, there is still an underground palace called the Pure Land Palace. Although the lotus pagoda collapsed, we were lucky. The underground palace was buried under the tower. Except for some smoke that polluted the murals, the fire did not burn into the underground palace. It was a lucky escape.
.
"Later, when the new director rebuilt the merit tower at the original site, it was just a simple decoration and not many changes were made. Later, the merit tower also suffered from water damage for the second time. It was 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. Early tomorrow morning, I will let my disciple take you to have a look.
"The Pure Land Palace is located at the Beitian Almshouse in the back hill of this temple. It is also a scene of our Donglin Temple. However, you have to use some ropes to get down. Female Bodhisattva, please rest assured that your hair will be arranged by then.
"In addition, if you stay overnight, the female Bodhisattva only needs to donate ten pieces of incense and fire money. Meaning..."
As if he had consciously grasped the purpose of the pilgrim's visit, the man from Donglin Temple made endless arrangements.
But at this moment, he paused for a moment, and saw that the face of the rather strange mute 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 take another look, reorganize his words, and said sideways:
"Does the female Bodhisattva have any concerns or dissatisfaction? Well, I am not adding any jealousy to this. This Pure Land Palace in our temple is indeed impressive. It was built together with the first pagoda in Jiangnan. It has a long history, and it was also the original Nanguohuang Temple.
It's a royal standard to fund and help people build it. The female Bodhisattva only needs to donate some incense money and she can..."
The embroiderer seemed to have come back to her senses, her eyes moved from the Buddha statue behind Master Shandao to the white-bearded old monk's face, and after taking a look, she quietly lowered her eyes and wrote on the red paper:
"The Lotus Pagoda collapsed. Apart from the underground palace, nothing else was left."
Master Shandao was interrupted and frowned slightly:
"Everything left behind was burned away. Only the underground palace and the physical Buddha of Lao Na's master-uncle were left."
The embroiderer wrote: "Uncle Master, Buddha in the flesh?"
Master Shandao nodded and mentioned this as smoothly as the tour guide Ouyang Rong had seen in his previous life reciting:
"I forgot to mention that this Pure Land Palace is also the place where Master Zhongma, the great uncle of the old monk, ascended. That year, under the auspices of the old master, the underground palace under the ruins of the Lotus Pagoda was reopened in Kaifeng. Master Zhongma, who had been missing from the temple for many years, was in
Sitting cross-legged and passing away in the middle of the Underground Palace, the flesh body is now fully visible, still lifelike, and it seems that it has quietly ascended to the Pure Land..."
Master Shandao talked with great eloquence, just like when he told Ouyang Rong this secret at the hospital bed in Sanhui Yuan two months ago, without changing his lines. It seemed that he talked to the pilgrims a lot.
Moreover, when he talked about the physical Buddha of his great uncle, his voice was low and his tone was rather mysterious.
The embroiderer was silent for a while, her hand holding the pen tightened, "Where is the physical body of my great uncle?"
Master Shandao sighed:
"It has been cremated by Master Lao Na. This is also a Buddhist tradition. Finally, a few relics were obtained, and they were all placed in a golden lotus lamp and returned to the Pure Land Palace for safekeeping... Do you want to worship the female Bodhisattva?"
The embroiderer gently put down her brush and turned to look at the majestic golden Buddha in the main hall without saying a word.
Master Shandao's eyes were curious, he clasped his palms together, followed the embroiderer's line of sight, looked towards the golden Buddha behind him, and said at the same time:
"Amitabha, are there any other female Bodhisattvas..."
The old monk turned around and halfway through his words, the hem of his black monk's robe suddenly floated.
There was a sudden breeze in the hall.
Immediately, there was a "ding" sound.
Something heavy fell to the ground from a high place.
The old monk was startled and jumped to the side subconsciously regardless of his image.
His heartbeat quickened as he looked at the fallen and deformed copper treasure at his feet, and then he looked up blankly at the top of his head.
As the main hall of Donglin Temple, this main hall is luxuriously decorated. The high places in the hall are covered with hanging canopies, treasures, beads, flags, and colorful decorations.
Among them is a bronze product called Baoduo, which is about the size of a human head, shaped like a bell, and heavy in weight. It was originally hanging in the middle of the hall between the hanging beaded flags.
Master Shandao found that the place where he had just been standing was directly under a Baoduo.
I don’t know at the moment whether it was driven by the wind and caused the hanger to hang unstable.
Bao Duo fell down.
Almost hit someone.
If this heavy thing were to hit it, a bloody disaster would be inevitable.
"It's so dangerous, it's so dangerous. I wonder how I could fall down. I'm scared to death!"
Master Shandao clapped his chest, his face looking shocked.
"Female Bodhisattva, are you okay... Hey, where is the person?"
Master Shandao looked suspicious and looked around at the empty hall.
But soon, his face turned from surprise to joy, 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 white-bearded old monk's eyes, it seems that they have been forgotten long ago.
"This female Bodhisattva is a bit strange. She comes and goes silently in the middle of the night, but she is a destined person who worships Buddha devoutly. She must have great blessings. Oh, if I had known, I would have helped her calculate her marriage just now..."
Master Shandao nodded solemnly and said to himself, then turned around and called the novice monk on duty to tidy up the hall.
As for the copper treasure that was lying quietly on the ground, it seemed that it was just good luck that it didn't hit the old monk's bare head even though it fell vertically.
…
The wind is strong tonight, and the dark clouds in the sky are moving slowly, sometimes covering the bright moon.
At midnight, the bright moon quietly hid behind the dark clouds.
On the mountain behind Donglin Temple, in Beitian Almshouse, next to a dry well.
The light was obscured by the bright moon and became darker.
Narrator There was a rustling sound in the bamboo forest.
Not far away, the main building of the almshouse was extremely quiet.
A gust of wind passed by.
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 out of nowhere.
The delicate and mute woman sighed slightly.
Except for Master Shandao, the host of this temple, she took a tour of the entire temple, and even went to the top of Shanfeng Liexiu to use a certain secret qi-gazing technique.
But in the end, she didn't see any Qi practitioners.
not a single one.
Neither is the somewhat nagging abbot of Donglin Temple, Xiu Niang has also tested it.
At the critical moment when the copper duo fell, if she had spiritual energy cultivation, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, it would be difficult for her energy to remain intact and escape her spiritual perception, which was different from ordinary spiritual practitioners.
So this can only show that... this Donglin Temple, located near Yunmengze and famous in Jiangnan Province, is indeed just an ordinary ancient temple.
In other words, it is an ordinary ancient temple now.
Bathed in the moonlight falling from the well above her head, the embroiderer tilted her head, her face looking a little dazed.
This is completely different from the situation of Donglin Temple recorded by Shimen.
This ancient Lianzong temple passed down from the Eastern Jin Dynasty is not ordinary. It once had a very special inheritance.
It is related to the legendary tripod sword.
It may even involve a mythical dead line. Yes, it is a dead line. Compared with the nine mythological paths, the path that cannot be taken is naturally a dead line.
Therefore, during the unification of the north and the south a hundred years ago, under the leadership of the southern royal family, the embroiderer's master's sect, Donglin Temple, and the group of craftsmen who had lived on the west bank of Butterfly Creek for generations, had a
Have a sincere cooperation.
The embroiderer also learned about it from the senior sister’s letter.
It turns out that back then, the three parties gathered at the lotus pagoda built with the financial support of the Southern Kingdom's royal family, and made a covenant that was rarely known in the world.
Known as the Alliance of Lotus Towers.
He also made a blood oath of the Great Dao, and the descendants of the three parties' Qi Practitioners should remember to fulfill the contract from generation to generation and must not violate it, otherwise the family will be destroyed.
Xiu Niang didn't know the specific content of the covenant. Maybe the senior sister who was acting as the presiding officer of the sect knew about it, but she didn't tell her in detail in the letter.
However, Xiu Niang vaguely thought of some possible truths.
This was something she vaguely guessed based on the secrets she knew so far.
Moreover, Xiu Niang has no doubt that if this secret news spreads out to the sect, it will definitely cause an earthquake in the Tiannan Jianghu and shake the status of the sect.
Because a certain cauldron that was once regarded as a treasure by Tiannan Jianghu and was kept in Xiu Niang's master's sect to suppress Tiannan's destiny has long been forgotten.
This matter is only known to her and a few senior sisters...
At this moment, I seem to be thinking about the recent unusual and erratic water rise in Yunmengze and the rumors in the world.
The mute girl raised her head and bathed in the moonlight and took a deep breath.
At present, the senior sister privately ordered her to come to Longcheng County to investigate Donglin Temple and investigate whether there are any disciples of Donglin Temple who know about the Lotus Pagoda Alliance, which may be related to the cauldron left behind by the master.
Two things are connected.
Xiu Niang was very suspicious that the Lotus Pagoda Alliance formed by the three qigong practitioners located in the Southern Kingdom at that time, and her master, who was supposed to remain neutral in the world, might have delivered this cauldron.
Because of the Lotus Pagoda Alliance, there are Qi practitioners who are craftsmen of the Taoism participating in it.
And what do those weird craftsmen who make Dao Veins do?
Forged tripod sword.
As for the final outcome of the Lotus Tower Alliance?
Need I say more?
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 Sui who was obsessed with sword-making.
Donglin Temple, which originally had a unique mythology, has also declined in the past hundred years to a mediocre temple that only makes a living by tricking female pilgrims into offering incense.
Only Xiu Niang's sect is still there, and it has endured all the way without knowing how much it has cost. It still stands tenaciously at the top of Tiannan Jianghu, still far away from the hidden sects at the top of several other Jianghu, without losing its edge.
But regarding the agreement of the Lotus Pagoda Alliance, the whereabouts of the cauldron that was suspected to have been forged into a sword, and the withering of a certain mythical inheritance in Donglin Temple...
These were accompanied by the changes in political power between the north and the south in the past hundred years and the unification of the north and south of the Daqian Empire, and were buried in the thick dust of history.
The embroiderer didn't know what the master's generation thought, and actually handed over the cauldron that was the foundation of the sect for a weird lotus pagoda alliance.
Although there does seem to be an uncle in the sect of that generation who was born as a royal princess of the Southern Kingdom, the sect's decisions will never be influenced by the selfish interests of this sect.
The embroiderer didn't understand it, but she followed it. This was also the ancestral precept of the master's family. Women who are novices should be of the same mind and have the same virtues, and they will become friends with each other.
The embroiderer turned around and silently looked around. The lotus pagoda that was the first pagoda in the south of the Yangtze River was now the only abandoned underground palace left.
Except for a crazy monk taking a nap not far away, it was empty.
Regarding the fruitless result of her night visit to Donglin Temple, Xiu Niang responded normally and was not too worried about going back to do business.
Because according to the temperament of her senior sister, since she left the matter to the junior sisters and did not come in person, apart from the fact that this matter needs to be kept low-key and cannot be made public, it seems that the senior sister also has no idea whether anything can be found out through the investigation. Keep too much hope.
The embroiderer looked at the murals on all sides of the underground palace, and nodded gently while walking.
That's right, it has been forgotten for so many years, and the master should have searched all the places that should be found. Now, letting Xiu Niang revisit her old place is more like a regular inspection.
And just like the result of her inquiry to the abbot of Donglin Temple just now, apart from their disciples, who else remembers the Lotus Pagoda Alliance that they swore to back then?
The embroiderer was walking in the underground palace, and when she was distracted, a solemn voice came from not far away:
"Amitabha, female donor, this place is the Lotus Pure Land, and above it is the Infinite Hell!"
Perhaps seeing the embroiderer's silent arrival, Monk Xiuzhen, whom Ouyang Rong respectfully called "Master Ignorance", got up from the ground.
The monk looked solemn, pointing one finger to the ground and the other to the sky.
The mute girl didn't turn her head, she smiled slightly, nodded slightly, said "ah" and said hello.