Volume 4: Beginning of Spring Chapter 31 Heart to Heart
Master Hongzhen led Tang Butian and his party into the pagoda, walked into the main hall, and then came to the entrance of the underground palace.
After Jiang You carried Jiang Mo off the cart, he folded the cart and put it against the wall. He looked up and saw Master Hong Zhen looking at Jiang Mo again.
He took two steps and picked up Jiang Mo. "I only have this one son. He must carry on the family line and will not become a monk."
Master Hongzhen did not respond, he walked into the entrance.
Tang Butian and Guan Nuo followed in.
Jiang You walked at the end holding Jiang Mo.
As he walked, he looked around. The walls on both sides were made of stones and looked quite old. The wall lamps on the wall were on.
The ground was smooth and sloped slightly downward.
After turning a few corners, a stone road appeared in front of them. On the other side of the road, there were two stone tablets, and behind the stone tablets was a stone gate.
Master Hongzhen walked forward quickly, the corners of his gray monk's robe fluttering with his steps.
After walking along the stone path, Jiang You walked to the stone tablet. He read the words on it. They were written in cursive script, with great momentum. "Chief," he looked up at Tang Butian who was standing in front of the stone gate, "What's written on it?"
Hearing this, Tang Butian came over. After taking a look, she said, "The names of 58 demons." She walked to another stone tablet. "This one records the people who built the underground palace and the time, the difficulties encountered during the construction process and how they overcame them, as well as Master Dikong..."
After Master Hongzhen opened the stone door, he turned and walked to Tang Butian. "The first abbot of Jinguang Temple, Master Dikong, hid his relics in the underground palace after his death to suppress the demons here."
"Where are the relics?" Tang Butian asked.
"Anzai."
Master Hongzhen made a gesture to Tang Butian, then he quickly walked forward and passed through the stone gate.
Behind the stone gate is a stone chamber of about 70 to 80 square meters. In the middle of the stone chamber stands a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. Surrounding the statue are some thin stone pillars linked by chains.
Tang Butian felt the spiritual power recorder in her pocket vibrate, so she took it out and looked at the numbers on it.
Master Hongzhen walked up to one of the stone pillars that was broken in two and said, "This is it. The seal has been broken."
A length of chain fell to the ground.
Tang Butian turned the recorder screen towards Master Hongzhen.
"Three days ago, the Special Operations Department handled a missing person case. The victim was taken into a small world. I recorded the spiritual power fluctuations of the spirit of that world. Compared with the spiritual power fluctuations left here, the characteristics of the bands have many similarities."
"The demon that escaped, its name is Yin Buyi, it is a demon between visible and invisible," Master Hongzhen turned his head to look at Tang Butian, "May I ask where is the demon now?"
"Break up."
Master Hongzhen looked at Tang Butian's serious expression and lowered his eyes. "It doesn't matter where you come from or where you go."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang You holding Jiang Mo in one hand and walking to his side. He bent down as if to pick up the chain and said, "Donor Jiang..."
The chain was picked up.
Master Hongzhen swallowed the words he hadn't said. He took a step forward and walked to the front of the Buddha statue. The white jade prayer mat opened from the middle to both sides, revealing a square entrance more than one meter wide.
Jiang You rubbed his nose.
"Down below is where the demons are imprisoned," Master Hongzhen paused, "there is no ventilation or lighting system down there."
"Then Guan Nuo and I will wait for you here." Jiang You said.
Master Hongzhen nodded.
He took a step slightly to the side, and Tang Butian stepped over the chains and walked over.
The two walked into the entrance.
Tang Butian smelled something fishy.
Her eyes gradually became familiar with the environment. This level was dug very deep and high, and she saw huge cages, all of which were empty.
She looked at them , and walked to the deepest part. Master Hongzhen stopped and said, "I chant sutras in the Buddhist chanting hall every day, and I have never felt anything wrong."
"Have you brought Zhuang Zekun here?" Tang Butian asked.
"I have been here before," Master Hongzhen turned and looked at Tang Butian, "Mr. Zhuang left the Special Operations Department more than ten years ago. I want to know why he would interfere in the affairs of the Special Operations Department in Tangjiang City again."
Tang Butian pursed her lips.
"If Miss Tang is not comfortable talking..."
"What is Jinguang Temple's position?" Tang Butian asked.
Master Hongzhen lowered his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, "These demons escaped from Jinguang Temple. Jinguang Temple cannot escape the blame. During the investigation, if there is any need for me to help, please let me know, Miss Tang." He paused, "Buddhism is a quiet place. Jinguang Temple does not want to get involved in Mr. Zhuang's personal grudges."
"I see."
After Tang Butian and Master Hongzhen entered, the white jade prayer mat was closed again.
Jiang You looked up at the Buddha statue and said, "It's quite big down there. I've lived on Wenhua Street for five or six years, and I had no idea that the area below Jinguang Temple was like this."
"I don't know either."
"I think it's a good idea to develop this place into a tourist attraction. The demons are gone anyway, so it might as well be left empty. We can make up a historical story, renovate it, and put a few more Buddha statues around it. What do you think?"
"I, I don't know..."
"I've been thinking about making money lately. Is your mother in Tangjiang now?"
"Yes, what's the matter?"
"Have you found out about your father's matter?" Jiang You looked at Guan Nuo with concern.
"I almost know. It's Jinghu Society."
"The Huang Juan we caught this time is Huang Hu's sister, did you know that?"
Guan Nuo looked at Jiang You in confusion.
"Huang Hu is the core of Jinghu Society. I forgot that you are an intern and you can't see the law enforcement video I uploaded at that time. They didn't tell you, right?"
"No, what happened to Huang Juan?"
"She knows a lot of secrets of the Jinghu Society, and maybe she also knows..."
"Does she know who killed my father?"
"Maybe. I'm just guessing." Jiang You stroked Jiang Mo's pigtails. "School has started. Don't forget to take care of my son on weekends for the basketball class."
"Okay, okay."
The white jade prayer mat was opened again.
Tang Butian and Master Hongzhen came out.
They followed the same path they came from and walked out of the underground palace. Along the way, Guan Nuo was unusually silent.
When they walked out of the pagoda, Master Hongzhen bowed to Tang Butian again and said, "I'll leave this matter to you, Miss Tang."
Tang Butian nodded slightly.
Guan Nuo suddenly said, "I have something to do. I'll go back first."
Jiang You put the chopped ginger back into the cart.
"What did you tell him?"
Jiang You looked at Guan Nuo's shrinking figure and said, "We were just chatting casually. What did you see down there?"
"You've been very proactive lately."
Jiang You pushed Jiang Mo forward and asked, "Are you going to give me a raise?"
"Why?"
"Guan Nuo told me that what I'm looking for is in the north, near a well. I want to find that well now," Jiang You looked down at Jiang Mo, who patted his cheek. "Think about it carefully. Was there anything strange when you ate the Mingshen that day?"
Tang Butian rolled his eyes when he saw Jiang Mo.
