Hou Andu was far from being as calm as he appeared. The kitchen had been on fire in the morning and in the evening, but it happened to be on fire when they arrived, so when he saw the thick smoke, he immediately believed that this was a trick by the assassins to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
He didn't care what Chen Chang said about his dream, so he said, "Your Highness, the temple has caught fire. It must be the work of the assassins. Liu Ming has taken people there."
Cai Daye was sweating profusely, and he said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness, this... this minister... this minister's ability to do things..."
Chen Chang waved his hands and said, "Master Cai, don't blame yourself. These assassins have been targeting me for a long time. Even if they start here in the Iron Buddha Temple, I will find another place. Anyway, once they take my life, they will follow me!"
Cai Daye wiped the sweat from his forehead. Chen Chang's words made him feel ashamed. Before, he had vowed that the Iron Buddha Temple was impregnable and would definitely not give the assassin any chance.
As a landlord, no matter what the final outcome of today's event is, he, the accompanying official, will always be guilty of being an overseer, and he could not help but groan inwardly.
Hou Andu said to Zhou Hong with a serious look: "Captain Zhou, you must stay close to His Highness and protect him. Don't let anything go wrong. Lord Cai and I will lead the troops to guard outside this meditation room. Liu Ming will lead people to kill the assassins inside the temple, and Zhou Jun will be responsible for the assassins outside..."
Zhou Hong nodded in agreement, then patrolled the meditation room, listened carefully to see if there was anyone lurking under or behind the bed, leaned his back against the wall, stretched out his finger and flicked, and found that there was no secret door in the wall, so he felt relieved.
He rushed in front of Chen Chang, watching the road with one eye, listening to all directions with both ears, and holding the hilt of his knife, carefully preventing assassins from attacking his car. If the enemy appeared again, he would kill him without a single piece of armor.
Ning Jingrong brewed tea again and served it to Chen Chang, Hou Andu and Cai Daye. Chen Chang drank tea and chatted with the two of them, seeming to be at ease.
Hou Andu looked normal. Cai Daye occasionally looked out the door, his mind distracted. After a while, Cai Daye felt his buttocks hurt and his legs were numb from sitting. This was his normal state.
While drinking tea, Hou Andu glanced at Chen Chang and saw that he was talking and laughing as if nothing had happened. There was no doubt that the assassin's target was Chen Chang. It was really surprising that a man who could be killed by the assassin at any moment behaved like this. This made Hou Andu, who always thought he had it all figured out, feel uneasy.
Chen Chang turned his head and saw Cai Daye sitting next to him, looking very quiet. He leaned over and said, "Master Cai, there are some assassins here. Don't worry. Captain Liu will take care of them outside. The three of us will just sit here and drink tea quietly."
Cai Daye blushed and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, Your Highness is very wise. Lord Hou, Captain Liu, and Captain Zhou are all experienced warriors. How could they defeat these assassins? I am too worried, too worried..."
Next, Chen Chang talked non-stop to Cai Daye. The two of them talked until their mouths were dry and they left Hou An aside.
Cai Daye was nervous to begin with, and after drinking so much tea, he quickly sat down and excused himself to go to the bathroom.
After he opened the door, he followed two guards to protect him and headed towards Xijing's convenience store.
As soon as Cai Daye left, Liu Ming appeared at the door in a hurry, looked around, first bowed to Chen Chang, and finally fixed his eyes on him.
Hou Andu knew what was going on as soon as he saw the look in his eyes, so Chen Chang apologized and walked away.
Chen Chang held the teacup in his hand and looked at the two people's backs, his eyes narrowed into a line.
Hou Andu came to the corridor and asked, "What's the matter?"
Liu Ming first looked at the door of the meditation room, then pulled Hou Andu to the side and began to speak in a low voice. Hou Andu only listened to two sentences before his eyes shone with a sharp light.
It turned out that when Liu Ming led his men to the kitchen, a doubt suddenly flashed through his mind, and he stopped abruptly. The soldiers behind him stopped and bumped into him.
His mind suddenly recalled the conversation he had with the temple's abbot, Master Xuyun, and he became more suspicious.
The Iron Buddha Temple is a pure place of Buddhism. Xu Yun intended to conduct a large-scale raid in the temple, which is reasonable.
It's just that there was a fire in the temple just now, and there was a lot of noise outside the dormitory. Even if the old monk was hard of hearing, he should be able to hear it. Why was he indifferent?
If his speculation was true, then this old monk would be extremely troublesome.
Liu Ming slapped his forehead in annoyance, which startled the soldiers behind him. The lieutenant next to him said, "Captain, the kitchen is in front of us. I think the assassin's accomplice has not gone far. Brothers, just spread out and chase him!"
Liu Ming ignored him at the time, his mind still thinking about the scene in the dormitory. If there was something wrong with the old monk, then it would be a big deal. He hurriedly said to the lieutenant: "Take your people to the kitchen, I'll go back to the dormitory to take a look."
Liu Ming immediately turned around and ran back with his three men.
After leaving the dormitory, he waved his hand and two of his men quickly drew out their 10-inch crossbows, placed them at the level of their left elbows, held their hanging swords in their right hands, and stood guard at the door, one on the left and one on the right. The sharp crossbow arrows emitted a cold light and were aimed at the doors and windows respectively.
Liu Ming and another of his men drew their swords and stepped into Xu Yun's dormitory.
Everything in the room was the same as before, and there was a faint scent of sandalwood emanating from the incense burner in the corner.
Liu Ming did not rush into the inner room, but looked around carefully. He gestured to the back, and the subordinate leaned against the door of the inner room.
Soon, their eyes adjusted to the dim light again, and they stepped in. They saw the old monk sitting on a cushion behind his veil, his body leaning to one side, and they couldn't tell whether he was dead or alive.
Liu Ming lifted the veil, squatted over, reached out to touch his neck, and found that Xu Yun's breath was still there, probably because he had been knocked unconscious.
The matter became clearer than ever. When he first entered the dormitory, there was another person in the room besides Xuyun. This person was most likely holding a sharp weapon and threatening Xuyun with his life. Xuyun was under control, and although he was anxious about the fire, he could not ask him for help.
Liu Ming looked up and saw that a small window on the back wall was suddenly opened, with light coming in. Dust was floating in the room and there were obvious signs of climbing on the wall, which meant that the assassin lurking in the dormitory escaped from here.
It was only a short time since Liu Ming came back to the dormitory for the first time, and the assassin might not have gone far.
Liu Ming's eyes dimmed. When the assassin entered Xuyun's dormitory, he must have threatened Xuyun to do something for him. But before he could leave, he led a team of soldiers and rushed away.
As soon as they left, the assassin knocked Xu Yun unconscious and escaped through the back window.
Liu Ming felt that things were far more complicated than they had expected, and there were probably more than one or two spies in the temple.
He took a deep breath and woke up the unconscious Xuyun. After a brief chat, he found that the assassin was hiding on the beam, holding a crossbow and aiming at Xuyun's head.
The assassin was wearing a black scarf and the room was dimly lit, so Xuyun could not see his face clearly.
"Where is beyond the dormitories?"
"Scripture Pavilion!"
Liu Ming led his men and rushed over hastily. These assassins were more cunning than they had imagined.
The Sutra Repository is a building with glazed tiles, red walls, and a single eave with curved corners. It is tall and majestic, with carved beams and painted rafters. It is unique, rigorous, simple and elegant, like a pearl inlaid among the lush green trees.
There was a crack in the door, probably because the assassin hastily slipped in without paying attention.
Liu Ming and the other two entered the room. The lower floor was called the "Thousand Buddha Pavilion". Vairocana Buddha was enshrined as the main deity in the pavilion, and small pavilions were built along the walls for offering a thousand Buddhas. The upper floor had cabinets along the walls to store Buddhist scriptures, and a table for reading scriptures. Alternatively, a small wooden structure in the form of a loft was built along the walls to store Buddhist scriptures, which was called the "Heavenly Palace Treasury".
After Liu Ming and others searched the first and second floors for a week, they found nothing unusual.
He did not give up, and finally found a clue at the end of the alcove during his second search. It turned out that there was a secret door there, and its color was very similar to the background of the alcove. In addition, there was enough light, so he did not find it the first time.
Liu Ming walked to the door, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it outwards, but it didn't move. He could only push it inwards, but it still didn't move.
While feeling surprised, he suddenly found that there seemed to be another mystery on the handle, so he pulled the handle and twisted it hard. A slight resistance came from his hand, and then a series of creaking sounds came from inside the door.
The secret door opened, and inside was pitch black. A spiral staircase was vaguely visible. The air was fresh, without any musty smell, indicating that it was suitable for ordinary people to enter.
Liu Ming was secretly shocked. This meant that the assassin must have been undercover in the Iron Buddha Temple for too short a time.
Liu Ming whispered something to one of his men, who fetched a tinderbox and lit it. Everyone bent over to enter the door, and walked up the stairs step by step into the tunnel.
Liu Ming held the crossbow in his hand, pressed his body tightly against the wall, and looked ahead vigilantly.
After walking up about thirty steps, they finally reached the bottom. The corridor below was even narrower, only wide enough for one person to pass through. After walking another thirty steps, Liu Ming raised his hand and the three people behind him immediately stopped. It turned out that there was a faint light at the bend ahead.
Liu Ming first made a gesture with his hand while holding the inch crossbow along the wall, and stretched the inch crossbow outward with his arm close to the wall. A few moments later, one of his men suddenly jumped over, squatted close to the left wall of the corridor, and aimed the inch crossbow forward. The whole action was completed in one go.
After confirming that it was safe, Liu Ming and the other two turned around one after another. Liu Ming saw an oil lamp hanging on the wall and no one in front of him. Liu Ming felt a little disappointed. Maybe the assassin had already slipped away through this secret passage. Where does this secret passage lead to?
"Captain, look!" one of the men in the front shouted.
Liu Ming and the other two hurried forward, only to see the space in front of them suddenly expand to about the size of a room. With the light from the tinderbox, they saw a corpse lying facedown on the ground.