The area around Donglin Temple's Morning Dinner Hall began to heat up, filling the stomachs of monks and laypeople doing morning service.
Except for the Zaozhaiyuan, most of the other palaces and courtyards in the temple are dimly lit and there are only a few shadows of people.
This is the case in Beitian Alms Home, where most people have not yet woken up.
What's more, he didn't know that in front of the dry well in the backyard, a beautiful figure in red clothes appeared, covered with dust.
"There are signs of new use on the well rope..."
At the mouth of the well, Xie Lingjiang took a breath, bent down and took a look, and his tiredness was instantly gone.
Without saying a word, she turned over into the well and jumped into the underground palace.
Xie Lingjiang landed lightly on the ground, his tiptoes touched the ground first, and landed on the lotus pedestal.
"Big Brother!"
She called and looked around.
Wait for him to scan around the underground palace called "Pure Land".
The words were swallowed back.
Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath and ignored Monk Xiuzhen who got up and walked towards him in the darkness.
Her figure swept across like the wind, quickly walking around the entire underground palace twice, and finally returned to the lotus pedestal.
"Not here..." Xie Lingjiang murmured.
The light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
There was only a strange and haggard monk in the underground palace who seemed to be sleeping.
"Wait this is it?"
Xie Lingjiang suddenly spotted something with his peripheral vision and lowered his head to look.
On the half-meter-high lotus pedestal beside him, an empty gray monk's robe lay quietly.
Xie Lingjiang slowly stretched out his hand, picked up the monk's robe, lowered his head and slightly shrugged his nose.
"It's the senior brother, it's unmistakable... He also likes sleeves, and the daily wrinkles on these sleeves are something he often carries on his clothes.
"He...he wore this monk's robe and sat on this lotus platform? Man...man, where has he been...where has senior brother gone..."
Her eyes suddenly brightened and then dimmed, and she fell down on the stone seat, holding tightly the clothes Ouyang Rong left on the stone seat with her hands.
At this moment, there was a "thump" sound on the ground at Xie Lingjiang's feet, several times in succession, which seemed to be the combined sound of some kind of marbles falling to the ground and bouncing.
She stumbled over, picked up the beads, and looked down at them.
This is a round bead, crystal clear, faintly emitting some moonlight.
It looks like a luminous pearl.
I don't know whether it fell from the lotus pedestal or slipped from the monk's robe in Xie Lingjiang's hand.
"This is... the luminous pearl that senior brother gave me. This thing is precious, how could it be left here? Senior brother is not someone who throws away things carelessly."
Xie Lingjiang stared at the monk's robes and luminous pearls left on the lotus pedestal, and said slowly to himself:
"Why are there only clothes and night pearls left...
"Sister Li said before that he was coming to the underground palace to ascend to the Pure Land. Ascend to the Pure Land?
"How...how is it possible to ascend? There is no pure land in this world. He has not even practiced yet. It must be a fake. How is it possible..."
Xie Lingjiang's words gradually got stuck.
She looked up at the beam of skylight falling from the well above her head.
The light just shone on Xie Lingjiang, whose face gradually revealed a look of disbelief.
It also fell where Ouyang Rong sat last night.
The underground palace is dark, and there is only this beam of light, which seems to fall on the chosen person.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her red lips were a little pale:
"Is there really a Pure Land? Is there really a secret behind Master Zhongma's physical attainment of Buddhahood?
"Is the senior brother also ascending physically? Is there really a pure land in this world where a man like him would have expectations..."
At this time, Xiuzhen came out of the darkness with a sad face:
"Amitabha, female Bodhisattva, this place is the Lotus Pure Land, and above it is the Infinite Hell! Come here quickly, don't stand there..."
Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned his head, interrupted the haggard monk's words and asked:
"Where is my senior brother? Have you been here all this time...Have you seen my senior brother?"
Xiu Zhen looked confused:
"Who is the female Bodhisattva Senior Brother? Has he also ascended to this pure land?"
Xie Lingjiang's tone was trembling, and he raised the gray monk's robe in his hand to indicate:
"He wore this monk's robe not long ago and may have sat here, and this bead is also his;
"He is eight feet tall, has a faint scar on his right forehead that has not yet healed, has thin cheeks, and is handsome. In addition, he is gentle to others, like a spring breeze, and occasionally loves to torment, which is surprising..."
Xie Lingjiang spoke very quickly and tried hard to describe it.
Xiu Zhen suddenly realized, clasping her hands together:
"The female Bodhisattva is talking about the donor with purple eyes last night? The poor monk remembers that this monk's robe was the one he was wearing at that time."
"My eyes were filled with purple energy... He, where did he go?" Xie Lingjiang asked in confusion.
Xiuzhen nodded: "The female Bodhisattva originally wanted to find him. If I hadn't told you earlier, female Bodhisattva, please come with the poor monk. He is here!"
Xiuzhen brought Xie Lingjiang to the mural of "Prince Satao Sacrificing His Life to Feed a Tiger" on the east side of the underground palace.
He looked happy and pointed at the compassionate Buddha on the mural who sacrificed his life to feed tigers and became a Buddha immediately: "Female Bodhisattva, look, he is inside."
Xie Lingjiang sighed slightly.
Xiuzhen pointed her index finger at three other murals in succession and said with a smile:
"Female donor, he will go here, here, and here again in the future! If you stay in the Pure Land, you can observe it with the poor monk."
"He went to the mural? Is there really a pure land... Is the senior brother the reincarnation of the immortal in mythology? No wonder he is so different. He just descended to earth to accumulate merit and ascended to perfection..."
Xie Lingjiang stared blankly at the underground palace buildings on the left and right.
Holding the monk's robe and night-light pearl in his hands, he slowly lowered them to both sides of his body.
For a moment, I looked around a little confused.
The underground palace fell into silence.
I don’t know how much time passed.
"Hey, female Bodhisattva, how did you leave? Goodbye, don't go up there. It's the Infinite Hell up there. Female Bodhisattva, come down quickly and stay in the Lotus Pure Land with the poor monks..."
Xie Lingjiang couldn't remember how she left the Kujing Underground Palace.
I don’t even remember how I got rid of the monks from the almshouse who came to ask and walked out of the Beitian almshouse.
Xie Lingjiang lowered his head and stared at the gray monk's robe and luminous pearl in his hand.
Walking slowly along the unfamiliar corridor inside the temple, there are towering green tiles and yellow walls on both sides.
She walked blankly through the Buddhist temples and sutra pagodas.
It turned out that the bright red dress seemed dim.
It seems that after a day and night of hard work, it was wetted by the morning dew and dyed this lively bright red into a deep gray color.
Even so, her red dress is still the most colorful and beautiful scenery in the temple of Qingdeng Ancient Buddha.
It's just that this scenery is a little withered, like a withered red rose on a cloudy day.
At this moment, the sky is completely bright, and the morning is slightly bright.
Xie Lingjiang seemed to be sleepwalking along the way, passing by a Buddhist pagoda and a sutra copying hall, and gradually stopped in front of a yellow wall.
She smelled the smell of hot porridge and steamed buns.
Xie Lingjiang's face was dazed, and he regained his composure. After realizing it, he raised his hand and touched his abdomen.
She turned around and took a closer look. Behind the wall should be the breakfast hall in the temple.
There were vague sounds of noise and the smell of food.
Xie Lingjiang remained silent for a while, then walked around the yellow wall and walked into the breakfast courtyard.
He was quite familiar with the road and found a corner, and sat down with a calm face to wait for his meal.
She is quite familiar with this Zaozhaiyuan.
I still remember that Xie Lingjiang, his father, senior brother and Aunt Zhen had breakfast in this hospital.
I remember that Aunt Zhen almost gave her a jade bracelet from her elder brother and mother-in-law. If she could...
It's a pity that there is no if.
Some people and some things seem to be missed forever.
"It seems that these stars are not the same as last night. Who is the wind and dew standing at midnight for?"
Xie Lingjiang laughed at himself in a low voice.
Before the porridge and rice were served in the kitchen, she suddenly reached out and dragged a small clay pot on the table to her face, opened the lid, took a small piece of pickled radish and put it into her mouth.
Clip one piece, two pieces, three pieces...
For a moment, the broad breakfast hall was half full of monks. In a corner of the hall, the girl in red was eating pickled radishes. Her shoulders were twitching slightly uncontrollably, but no cry was heard.
She held her chopsticks and kept picking radish pieces into her mouth.
After eating so hard, the small clay pot at the back was of course not enough. Without raising his head, Xie Lingjiang reached out and grabbed the vegetable pot on the empty table next door.
Fortunately, Xie Lingjiang was sitting in the corner of the lobby, so this weird scene of eating pickled radish was not that eye-catching.
"... Well, Master specially told us not to make any noise... The Sutra Copying Hall has not opened its doors for the past two days, and we refuse to accept guests... The brothers guarding the temple are too scared to go... The strange noise from the Buddha statue is simply too scary
, Well, our temple hasn’t done anything immoral recently... we haven’t done it before either!”
The lobby of the Zaozhaiyuan was quite lively. Not far away, a childish sigh belonging to a young novice could be heard faintly:
"Master said that you are a master in solving cases, and you happen to be in the temple too. I asked the young monk to take you there to help you take a look. You just inspected the Sutra Copying Hall. How was it? Do you have any clues?
"Here, here is the list of visitors who have been in and out of the Sutra Copying Hall in the past month as you just ordered...
"Well, please eat slowly. The monk will go get you a jar of pickled radish. I'm not going to brag to you. The hot rice porridge with pickled radish in our breakfast hall is simply the best in Dragon City. There are also lay pilgrims from the mountains who travel thousands of miles away.
I came here specially to eat..."
At this moment, there was another magnetic sound not far away, like the voice of a young man with a slight throat cold.
"There are strange noises from the Buddha statue. This means that someone is complaining and the Buddha has appeared. By the way, is your Donglin Temple a dark temple in private? It's dark and the wind is high, so it secretly does things that hide filth and evil that no one else knows about?"
"The county magistrate is wronged! We abide by the law..."
"Okay, don't complain to me. I have no control over this matter. I'm just helping you out for the sake of you inviting me to breakfast."
"It's a very simple idea. Since the Buddha statue is making strange noises, there is something wrong with the Buddha statue in the temple. Check the Buddha statue. Don't scare yourself... I will finally give you a clear path.
"Don't be afraid of damage to your reputation and keep it secret. Write a report file, go down the mountain immediately, and send all the clues about the unusual noises in the Sutra Copying Hall, the records of visitors to and from the Sutra Copying Hall, etc. to the Longcheng County Government Office.
Leave it to Detective Yan and ask them to come over and investigate.
"But remember, you are not allowed to mention my name in front of them."
Xie Lingjiang raised his head in confusion, and pricked up his ears when he heard the familiar voice of a young man who stopped at this moment, as if he was chewing pickled radish, paused, and continued to sigh softly to himself:
"Well, I just came here to have a last breakfast, um, and pickled radish, to fill my stomach before I leave... Why is your temple causing so much trouble? I really owe it to you."
The young novice monk said curiously: "Have your last meal? Where is the county master going? Will he never come to our temple again?"
"Don't ask about adults' affairs. Okay, Xiufa, you can go about your business and bring what I just said to Master Shandao.
"Let's go, leave me alone, I want to finish this meal in peace."
"Oh, okay, County Master, I won't disturb you, little monk."
In the corner, Xie Lingjiang suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, turned around, and walked silently towards the dining table for two not far away.
I saw two people sitting face to face in front of the table. It was the two people who had just talked.
One is a young novice monk with a bald head and a shiny head. His seat faces Xie Lingjiang.
There was also a young man wearing civilian clothes and a low-brimmed felt hat.
This low-key appearance is not very eye-catching just in the breakfast lobby.
Xie Lingjiang held the handle of the knife with his right hand and walked behind the young man who was hunched over the table eating rice without saying a word.
At this moment, in front of the table, there seems to be a little novice named "Xiu Fa", pecking at rice and nodding in response.
Get up and prepare to leave.
But the next second, Xiufa's expression froze and she stopped in place.
"County... County Lord."
The little novice's pupils reflected a beautiful figure in red, pressing like a mountain, and the red shadow in his pupils became bigger and bigger.
"What are you doing? Why don't you leave? What are you doing here?"
The young man wearing a felt hat curled his lips and raised his head in silence.
But in the next moment, the felt hat on his head was gone.
A pair of handsome eyebrows and a slightly red nose underneath were exposed.
"No, you..."
Ouyang Rong immediately lowered his face, turned his head in displeasure, and looked behind him.
But he suddenly hit a pair of round eyes with red eyes.
And his felt hat was being picked up by a white hand.
Xie Lingjiang stood condescendingly, with a stern face and cold eyes.
Ouyang Rong leaned his upper body back tactically, holding the bench under his buttocks with his hands.
The two looked at each other silently.
Their hair, mouth, and eyes rolled around between the two of them. Despite their young age, they were quite good at observing people's emotions.
Sensing that the atmosphere was not good, he laughed twice:
"Hey, Miss Xie, good morning, Miss Xie... well, the county magistrate, the monk has to go down the mountain to report the crime, so he's leaving first."
The little bald novice smeared oil on the soles of his feet and escaped.
"you……"
Ouyang Rong's expression changed.
"Wait a minute, don't run so fast, I suddenly know how to investigate this case, wait for me..."
He looked worried, stood up quickly, and ran after his hair.
Unfortunately, in the next moment, a certain felt hat came back to his head.
There is also an extra plain hand on the felt hat, with blue veins faintly exposed.
Ouyang Rong was held down by Xie Lingjiang.
He kept his bent and half-rising starting running posture, but at this moment, he seemed to be unable to move as if a immobilizing spell had been cast on him.
All that was left was a pair of dripping eyes that turned slightly sideways.
I saw the tall little junior sister in red clothes in front of me, holding the felt hat on his head with one hand, and holding the familiar skirt knife worn on his waist with one hand.
In this situation, Ouyang Rong was a little doubtful. In the next second, the junior sister would use her backhand to draw the sword. The sword flashed, causing his senior brother to fall to the ground and completely relieve his hatred.
Ouyang Rong found that the small crown with green hair on her head was a little skewed, her hair was slightly messy, and her eye frames were also red.
The silkworm with pitiful features lies in the shape of two crescents, looking a bit haggard.
There is still a little pickled radish red oil on the corners of the lips that has not been wiped clean, but the red lips without rouge appear to be even redder and more delicate.
As if aware of the gaze, the junior sister turned away and sniffed.
She puffed up her cheeks and nodded slowly:
"Sit down, senior brother."
Ouyang Rong:......
or2 I’m sorry, dear brothers, it’s a little late, so I’ll give you a big chapter of 4,000 words. Let me tell you the reason for being late. I stayed up all night coding until 8 o’clock in the morning last night. My eyelids started to fight, and I didn’t dare to post out of chapter, so I lay on my bed and squinted.
After a while, I slept until three o'clock in the afternoon and woke up until now...