Chapter 029: Gathering of Experts
An hour later.
A monk came to the grove where Zhang Liang, the shadowless pink peony, was buried.
The monk had a dark face and a body as strong as a bear. He had a sword hanging from his waist and a water-ground iron staff as thick as a goose egg in his hand. He looked quite ferocious.
He strode into the woods, looked around for a while, saw no one, and was about to shout when suddenly his face changed slightly, his nostrils flared as if sniffing, then he took big strides, went straight into the woods, and came to a thorn bush without hesitation.
Looking at the obvious signs of earth-moving in the thorn bush, the monk's face twitched twice. He stomped his foot hard, causing the ground to shake. A spring of mud exploded in the thorn bush and spread in all directions, revealing a pit.
In the earth pit, there lay a young man with a sunken head and a pale face. His hands and feet had been chopped off and piled on top of him.
The young man was Zhang Liang. When the monk saw his tragic death, he punched his chest hard and let out a shrill wail toward the sky:
"Disciple, you died miserably! Who is it? Who dares to kill my disciple, ?"
In a rage, the monk swung his staff and started beating around in the forest.
Be it a tree as thick as a man's embrace or a stone as big as a millstone, they will break if they touch or shatter if they hit.
For a moment, it seemed as if a series of explosions had occurred in the forest. Large trees fell down one after another with a loud bang, and huge rocks splashed all over the sky and then exploded into pieces.
He continued to vent his anger like this for a long time, until he had razed half of the forest to the ground. Only then did the monk stop, panting heavily.
He returned to Zhang Liang's body, carried his body out of the pit, dug the pit deeper and wider, put Zhang Liang's body back, put his hands and feet back on, filled the pit with soil, and made a grave mound.
He cut down another tree trunk, trimmed it with his sword, made a simple tombstone and placed it in front of the grave. Then he said to the grave with red eyes:
"My disciple, wait a moment. Once I have taken the head of your enemy, I will find you a good place with good feng shui and give you a grand funeral!"
After saying this, he picked up his Zen stick, followed the mysterious inspiration, took big strides, and galloped away.
Just as the monk was going crazy in the woods.
Ni Kun, Kan Kan, and Wen Caiting have arrived at the other side of the Leshan Giant Buddha. They are standing on a hill and gazing at the giant Buddha, which is sitting with its back to the mountain and its head level with the mountain.
It was already dark at this time, but the surface of the river in front of the Buddha's feet was brightly lit.
There were countless large ships moored on the river, with monks and nuns sitting cross-legged on the decks facing the Buddha and chanting sutras, while believers were also facing the Buddha, burning incense and bowing in pious respect.
In order to maximize the influence of the Buddha, Buddhism has not blocked the area around the Buddha and does not prohibit anyone from coming to worship. However, people are not allowed to touch the Buddha statue at will to avoid causing damage to it.
Therefore, there are martial monk masters stationed at the foot of the Buddha statue and on the mountains on both sides.
Of course, since this giant Buddha is regarded as the "manifestation of Buddha", serious monks and nuns would certainly not dare to blaspheme it.
Those martial arts monks stationed around the giant Buddha are mainly on guard against certain people in the martial arts world who have no reverence for the Buddha, and they especially guard against the demon sect that has been fighting with the Buddhist sect for who knows how many years.
However, as long as they don't cause damage, even if someone from the Demon Sect comes to visit, the Buddhist masters will most likely turn a blind eye even if they find out.
Maybe the people in the Demon Sect would be so shocked by the miracle of the Buddha's manifestation that they would put down their butcher knives and become Buddhas right away?
Even the Evil King Shi Zhixuan was once tried to be converted by Buddhism. As for the people from other evil sects, Buddhism does not necessarily have to kill them all. It would be best if they could be converted.
Using the lights of the boats on the river, they watched the giant Buddha from afar for a while, and then Kākān said:
"Sir, what secrets does this giant Buddha statue have that warrant us rushing here overnight to investigate?"
She now simply called Ni Kun "Young Master", omitting his last name and using the word "we", trying to subtly separate herself from Ni Kun and subtly make Ni Kun regard her as one of his own.
This little trick to build closer relationships is not worth mentioning, but when the demon girl deliberately uses it, it is really difficult for ordinary people to resist. I am afraid that they will unknowingly treat her as their own.
Even Ni Kun did not dislike her way of speaking and replied with a smile:
"As I expected, this Leshan Giant Buddha is no ordinary wonder, it has its own mysteries.
“Buddhism has already discovered the giant Buddha. I originally thought that Buddhism might have already discovered the mystery here and gained some benefits, so there wouldn’t be many opportunities left for me.
"I never thought that because of the vague belief of 'Buddha's manifestation', the Buddhists were too reverent to the Buddha statue and regarded it as a miracle. They did not dare to search the top of the Buddha statue carefully, and thus missed the opportunity."
After a brief observation, Ni Kun saw clearly that the Buddhist masters were only stationed at the foot of the giant Buddha statue and on the mountains on its left and right sides.
On the hill above the Buddha statue, there was no sign of any Buddhist masters.
Apparently, Buddhists dare not challenge the so-called miracle of "Buddha's manifestation" and dare not do anything that might seem like they are "overriding" the head of the Buddha statue.
As for the entrance to Lingyun Cave, Ni Kun remembered that it was right on the hilltop where the giant Buddha's head was resting.
"Buddhists are bound by their beliefs and dare not go above the giant Buddha's head. Those martial artists who came to join in the fun have no intention of offending Buddhism for no reason. They forcibly bypassed the blockade of many expert monks and ran around on the mountain above the Buddha's head. This is a good opportunity for me..."
Ni Kun smiled slightly and said:
"Let's go downstream and cross the river, then go around the mountain behind the Buddha statue and climb to the top of the statue."
Kanan's expression moved, her beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement:
"Young Master, are you going to... step on the giant Buddha statue and humiliate Buddhism in public? Or even chop off the head of the giant Buddha statue? Do you have a grudge against Buddhism?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ni Kun gave the demon girl a cold look. "What is the grudge between me and Buddhism? Why would I step on Buddha statues, insult Buddhism, and cut off Buddha's head for no reason? Isn't that just because I have nothing better to do?"
Kwan Kwan was a little disappointed: "Then why do we have to go around to the top of the giant Buddha's head?"
Ni Kun said calmly: "I have my own reasons."
The three of them then walked downstream towards the giant Buddha, chose a narrow part of the river and crossed the river on bamboo, then went around for a while, from the side and rear of the mountain, used their lightness skills to climb over the mountains and through the forests, and went around to the top of the mountain where the giant Buddha stood.
During this process, Ni Kun lay on Wen Caiting's back the whole time, and was carried by Wen Caiting, which made Kankan inexplicably surprised. She wondered if this old monster Ni Kun had some strange habit?
…
Just as Ni Kun and the other two were sneaking in the mountains.
A small Wu Peng boat was floating downstream upstream.
A tall figure dressed in a bright red Shu brocade robe with flowers, a bronze mask on his face, a small black gauze crown on his head, a wine gourd tied to a jade belt around his waist, his sleeves fluttering in the wind, as if he wants to fly away with the wind. He stands at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, looking far ahead at the river surface with rows of masts and bright lights.
Behind this person stood two old men, both of whom had high noses and deep eyes, and looked like they were from the Western Regions.
The Sui Dynasty had an open-minded atmosphere and was the common leader respected by the forty small countries in the Western Regions. People from the Western Regions were very common in the country.
Not only are they common, but they can also become high-ranking officials. For example, Wang Shichong was a Western Hu man with very obvious physical features.
Therefore, in the great Sui Empire, no matter where you see Western Hu people, it is not worth making a fuss.
"Is that the Leshan Giant Buddha? It is indeed magnificent and a wonder!" Of the two old men, the one on the right, with a ruddy face and holding a wine gourd, said as he poured wine, "We have heard of it for a long time, but have never been to Sichuan to see it. I didn't expect to see it for the first time in the late Sui Dynasty!"
The old man on the left who was leaning on a deer-head cane frowned and said, "Junior brother, be careful with your words."
The old man who was drinking laughed: "Brother, you are too cautious. There are only three of us on the boat. Dongfang Zuoshi is a Ming Dynasty man and knows more than us. What are you afraid of?"
The old man holding the deer-head cane shook his head, too lazy to say more. He casually glanced at the giant Buddha, then swept his sight across the back of the red-robed man in front of him. A very hidden greedy look flashed in his eyes, and then he looked back and forth among the boats on the river, looking for any Buddhist nuns or secular beauties that were pleasing to his eye in the light of the lights.
The red-robed man in front said nothing, his eyes calmly looking at the river, examining the flags on some large ships, and concentrating on sensing some hidden aura.
"Ba League and Sichuan Gang have come to join in the fun. There are many masters' auras on the monks' boats. In addition to Master Zhenyan, are there other eminent monks? There are so many Buddhist masters in Shuzhong alone. The strength of Buddhism is really unfathomable..."
But it is normal when you think about it. There are more than a hundred temples on Mount Emei alone, and there are also many temples in and around Chengdu. With so many temples, and so many masters , it is really not worth making a fuss about.
As he was thinking, a loud shout suddenly came from the hilltop near the giant Buddha's head:
"Witch, sneaking around in the middle of the night, what are you trying to do?"
His roar was like thunder, shaking the whole area.
