When it gets dark, there are fishermen singing folk songs and lowering their nets in the lake to catch fish.
Zhuo Mengyuan stretched, slowly opened her eyes, and then froze.
She rubbed her eyes vigorously as if in disbelief. What she saw was still the black and old canopy and the severely damaged cramped cabin. Next to her lay an unconscious tall woman who was also trapped in the trap with her brother.
Companions in the mural.
But she clearly remembered that she slept on Huang Gong's luxurious ship and beautiful couch last night.
"Ziqi? Haizhou? Wang Shuang..."
Zhuo Mengyuan called and raised the cabin curtain.
They saw a small boat lying beside them. Fang Ziqi, six others, and her brother Zhuo Sanlang were lying in a mess in the boat.
Amidst Zhuo Mengyuan's calls, Fang Ziqi, Zhao Haizhou and others gradually woke up, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Last night... was it a dream?"
"If it were really a dream, it would be impossible to dream together."
"Yes, we all still smell of alcohol. The holy monk who calls himself Huang Xu is definitely not a dream."
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from far away and came closer.
The wind and dust rose up and submerged the willow embankment by the river.
Not long after, dozens of knights with intact leather armor appeared in front of them holding standard weapons. With an order, they rescued several people ashore.
The leading knight dismounted and saluted: "I am late, please forgive me, madam."
Zhuo Mengyuan leaned forward slightly: "You're welcome, Lieutenant Liu. Yes, Lieutenant Liu, have you ever seen a large and exquisite ship playing fairy music?"
"That's not true..." Lieutenant Liu had a strange look in his eyes. He glanced at Zhuo Sanlang and Wei Youniang who were unconscious at the side, and said with joy, "My dear lady, I have actually found Sanlang and... this person."
Zhuo Mengyuan said with lingering fear: "It was a fluke. I have been waiting in the Yeguo Temple for more than half a month. If it had not been for the help of the holy monks, let alone rescuing the third brother, my own life would not have been saved."
As soon as the words fell, Zhuo Mengyuan felt that the atmosphere around her was a little solid.
Some of the knights looked pale, and some had complicated eyes.
Captain Liu's eyes across from him also became serious.
"Most of a month?"
Liu Xiaowei looked at Zhuo Mengyuan and said slowly: "It has only been three days since the young lady and the young gentlemen went up the mountain. Besides, we went to Yeguo Temple last night. The temple was completely deserted, and weeds never stopped.
"Sheng, the temple is empty, let alone any holy monks."
"Young lady, will you encounter the legendary spirit?"
"Yes, I heard that there is a demon in the mountains who likes to confuse the woodcutter and villagers."
"Hey, that's weird. I've also heard of the name Yeguo Temple. Why was it suddenly abandoned?"
Listening to the whispers of the knights, the expressions of the seven Zhuo Mengyuan also changed.
He and others clearly spent more than half a month in Yeguo Temple, but Liu Xiaowei said that they only had three days.
Lieutenant Liu is a close confidant of the county guard and will never lie. Besides, there are so many soldiers who testify.
A sense of absurdity and trance lingered in the minds of several people.
The morning breeze blew through the mist on the lake.
Everything seems unreal.
"Is it possible that everything that happened is just our illusion?" someone whispered.
Fang Ziqi raised his eyebrows: "How is that possible! Zhuo Sanlang is real, we are real when we are drunk, and the spirits and mysterious holy monks in the temple are also real!"
Lieutenant Liu crossed his hands and said, "You should go back to your home first. The prefect and the princes all know that you have left the city without authorization. Even though it is only for three days, you have broken the rules."
Zhuo Mengyuan, Fang Ziqi, Zhao Haizhou and Wang Shuang exchanged glances with each other.
After a while, everyone had made up their minds.
"After we return to the government, we will apologize to the governor. Now we ask Colonel Liu to take us up the mountain again and investigate the temple."
…
The morning sun shines down, coating the yellow walls and black tiles of Yeguo Temple with a touch of gold powder.
Everything seemed like yesterday, except that the noise and vitality were missing, and the whole temple was eerily quiet.
The seven Zhuo Mengyuan people, surrounded by soldiers from the government, walked through the temple square and various palaces. What they saw and heard was exactly the same as what Liu Xiaowei had described.
Not only was there no human figure in the temple, but even the pines, cypresses, orchids and chrysanthemums and other plants were missing.
However, the pillars of the palace are old, the walls are broken, the red paint is peeling off, and weeds are covered with spider webs. It is obvious that no one has stayed here for a long time.
They entered the main hall again and looked for the mural.
However, I saw that the paint on the mural had faded and was mottled, making it impossible to distinguish what was depicted.
Lieutenant Liu, who was standing quietly on the side, observed the disappointment in everyone's eyes, and said neither humble nor arrogantly: "Everyone, can you go back to your home?"
Zhao Haizhou looked confused: "Is it really just a dream? Or is it a witchcraft? That holy monk is just a figment of our imagination?"
"But how can my brother explain it?" Zhuo Mengyuan murmured.
Everyone was silent.
After a long while, Zhuo Mengyuan smiled bitterly and shook her head: "Let's go."
At this moment, Fang Ziqi suddenly whispered: "Wait a minute."
Lieutenant Liu frowned slightly, already a little impatient. Just as he was about to speak to urge him, he saw Fang Ziqi twisting out fine powder from the bag on his waist, mumbling something in his mouth, and throwing it on the ground.
Three inches above the ground, a circle of fire quickly appeared.
Lieutenant Liu and the other soldiers were secretly surprised.
Fang Ziqi's expression remained as usual, even a little lonely. After seeing the holy monk's wonderful Buddhist teachings, he felt that what he had learned so hard in the past two years were just trivial skills that did not make it to the stage.
The fire light dissipated, but there were footprints emerging on the ground.
The footprints ranged in size from big to small, but there was one that caught everyone's attention.
Lieutenant Liu stared at the huge hoof print about two feet long, with a look of confusion on his face: "This is..."
Fang Ziqi said: "This is the holy monk's mount we just talked about, the white horse that is as huge as an elephant and can spray fairy flames.
Under the guidance of Fang Ziqi's medicinal skills, everyone followed the giant horse's hoofprints until they reached the southwest corner of the temple, where the hoofprints disappeared.
"there is none left?"
"It seems that the holy monk has already left."
"But at least it proves that it was not a dream. The holy monk and his fairy horse did appear!"
"Yes, there really are masters in the world who can see the beginning but not the end of the dragon. I hope that one day, Mengyuan can see the holy monk again and listen to his teachings... Ziqi, what are you looking at?"
Zhuo Mengyuan turned her head and saw Fang Ziqi staring at something in the corner, somewhat lost in thought.
She looked intently and saw a rusty ancient bronze bell hanging there.
The wall of the clock seems to be damaged, and it seems that it has not been used for a long time.
Fang Ziqi whispered: "The holy monk left here. Before leaving, he seemed to have wiped the dust off the bell and took away the copper bell from the bell."
"This clock feels a bit old."
Zhuo Mengyuan said while looking at the inscription standing next to the clock.
"It was made in the third year of the Yuan Guan year... In total, it is 219 years ago. It is really an ancient relic. At that time, when Buddhism was flourishing and the incense in Yeguo Temple was prosperous, this bell was rung by the eminent monks in the temple.
, the clanging sound day and night, not only the temple people, but also the creatures in the lakes and mountains far and near can hear it..."
The voice stopped suddenly, and a look of shock gradually appeared in Zhuo Mengyuan's eyes.
Fang Ziqi was also stunned.
"Dangming...Dangming...this!"
They looked at each other, with inexplicable and complicated emotions in their eyes.
The morning breeze blows over the mountains after the rain.
Under the sunlight, the old temple looks like a wash.
For a long time, he was in the surprised eyes of everyone behind him.
The two of them straightened their sleeves, bowed respectfully towards the ancient bell.