Mojing, the city that never sleeps
The door was not closed, so Ding Can walked in and saw the interior layout at a glance.
There is a simple wooden table and bench at the entrance, with a kettle and teacups on it, and a whitewashed wall on the left.
On the right side is a bed for people to rest. A monk who is over 70 years old is sitting cross-legged on it with his eyes closed. He holds a string of Buddhist beads in his right hand and is moving them rhythmically.
This is Yanzhi, the abbot of Duxi Temple.
His eyebrows were gray and grew wildly, becoming thicker at the ends and mixed with some other colors.
His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. He must be chanting.
The noise they made when they entered the room was quite loud, and Yanzhi must have heard it, but he continued to move his Buddhist beads without stopping for a moment.
He was not going to speak first, and they exchanged glances with each other.
Well, since I need help from others, it’s no big deal to lower my posture first.
Xia Jialian said respectfully, "Master Yanzhi, we came here today to visit you and take a look at the room where Miss Zhang Shutang stayed that day to see if there was anything wrong or if there were any signs that she had been abducted."
"To convert to Buddhism is to distance oneself from the mundane world. The four donors do not need to look down on me so much. You can search this place on your own."
Yan Zhi then slowly opened his eyes. After he finished speaking, he couldn't help coughing a few times.
After getting up from the couch, he stood quietly by the wall.
Shi Yan looked at his face and asked, "Master, are you sick?"
"I've caught a cold since the day before yesterday, but it's nothing serious." Yanzhi smiled at her kindly.
No wonder he was not in the Buddhist temple at this time. It turned out that he was sick.
The room is so small that there is really nothing worth searching. No wonder it increases the suspicion of Zhang Shutang's disappearance.
Ding Can raised his head and saw only low beams above him, so the possibility of leaving through the roof was ruled out.
"Under this bed..." She touched the thin cushion on it.
Yanzhi explained, "Amitabha, this is the kang used when the temple was first built. It was only used during the cold winter months. Now it's just an ordinary bed."
Ding Can just remembered that when he passed by the monks' quarters just now, there was indeed a stove outside each room. When the weather was cold, adding firewood here would not only keep the bed warm, but also make the temperature of the entire room much higher.
But now it’s almost summer, and the stove is of no use and is just a decoration.
"Did the master arrange the accommodations for the ladies of the Yuanwai Mansion that day?"
Yan Zhi nodded and said, "In order to ensure proper accommodation, Mr. Zhang informed me in advance of the number of female relatives who would be staying, so as to avoid any mistakes."
Duxi Temple is well-known far and wide and receives a large amount of donations every year.
Zhang Gusheng's pottery business was very good, and he donated a lot of the gold and silver he earned, becoming an important pilgrim in the temple.
The money from incense offerings at Duxi Temple is not used by monks, but is used to build temples, repair golden Buddha statues, and do everything possible to help when natural disasters occur in certain places.
In addition to donating money, Zhang Gushen also sent some goods produced by the pottery factory. They were not expensive, so the temple would not refuse.
Most of them are daily necessities suitable for monks to use, including bowls, chopsticks, tea sets, etc.
Every time the season changes, we will deliver clothes you need for daily life.
Occasionally, when some refugees came to the temple to seek shelter, Zhang Gusheng would lend a helping hand to ease the burden on Duxi Temple.
It is precisely because of these that Zhang Gusheng has maintained a good relationship with the temple for many years.
He had made many generous donations, but only this time he asked the temple for help. Yanzhi was grateful and naturally very happy to do it.
Since it is to eliminate disasters and solve problems for the people, Yanzhi would agree even if it was not Zhang Gusheng.
It was just because Zhang Gusheng specifically gave notice in advance, saying that his daughter was often sick and needed a quiet environment. She couldn't be disturbed by other noises when resting, so she needed a separate room.
It was not a big deal, so Yanzhi arranged Zhang Shutang to stay in his room.
The monks' quarters are only used for rest at night and do not require a large space, so when they were first built, only a very small building area was used.
His room was at the edge of the monastery and was smaller than others.
It is also next to the high wall of the main hall and is usually very quiet. If someone really comes here, the possibility of finding the last room is very small.
Zhang Gusheng was also very satisfied with the room and felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
But he didn't expect that the person who fell ill that day was his own daughter.
Yan Zhi sighed, "Everyone in the temple is very sorry about what happened to Miss Zhang. Some people are worried that Mr. Zhang might not donate to the temple anymore. However, this month, the gauze clothes that will be used in the coming summer were delivered on time."
"Amitabha……"
Ding Can raised his eyelids and said, "So, Mr. Zhang is a very kind person. They say good people are rewarded. How could the Zhang family suffer such a thing? Master, you practice Buddhism in seclusion, so you should be able to see some of the secrets of heaven. I wonder if the Buddha has any guidance on this matter?"
She paused, "Who is it that wants to bring disaster to the Zhang family, or is it really as the rumors in the city say, that they are tainted with something unclean?"
Yan Zhi clasped his hands together and said, "I'm truly ashamed. I have no way of knowing. I only hope that by chanting sutras for Mr. Zhang every day, I can avert the impending disaster. However, today is the sixth day of the first lunar month."
Although his expression was calm, his eyes revealed obvious helplessness.
"Master Abbot," the young novice monk appeared at the doorway again without anyone noticing. "Master Abbot, a great master has come from afar to discuss Buddhism. He is currently in the main hall."
"I'll go with you now, please do as you please." After the two men bowed, they left at the same time.
"Please do as you please."
After Yanzhi left, Ding Can knocked on the kang again, but only a dull sound came out from under his hand.
"Sister Can, do you still think there is something wrong here?" Gao Wenwen followed and lifted up the mattress to take a look.
Traces of straw and soil mixed together were visible underneath. They were used to cover the pit, and there was nothing special about them. She lowered her eyes and said, "After all, this is the only place in this house that can even be called a hiding place."
There was nothing fishy going on here, so Gao Wenwen went outside again. With the help of natural light, he squatted down and looked inside from the side of the stove.
It was pitch black at first glance, but after a while you could vaguely see the scene inside.
The design principle of the fire pit is to first determine the overall size, and then use a circle of ordinary red bricks on the outside to fix the scope.
In order to ensure the circulation of smoke, a lot of space was left, and hollow bricks were used as supporting beams and columns only in a few places.
A wide stone slab is placed on top of the support to fix the top, and the top layer is sealed with a mixture of red mud, fine sand and water.
Once the mixture is completely dry, it will prevent the smoke from burning charcoal from escaping and causing harm to people while they sleep.
When the weather gets cold, the smoke from the burning charcoal in the stove will float into the kang and then be discharged upwards through the chimney, and the whole kang will become warm.
"The stove is outside. Even if someone could be hidden there, Zhang Shutang was inside the house at the time. How did he do it?"
Xia Jialian scraped it lightly with his fingers a few times, and some tiny dirt particles appeared between his fingers: "If the kang was knocked open at that time, it might be possible."
The main raw material of the kang is soil, which is easy to break up with a knock and then restore to its original state. After the kang is burned a few times, the newly built water stains will completely disappear without any trace.
If someone had known the room where Zhang Shutang would stay and had tampered with it in advance, knocking him unconscious and placing him in the kang, people who came to search later would not think there was anything wrong with the kang, and the truth would be hidden.
"Even if it's the same as what you said, that happened a month ago, and there are no clues now." Gao Wenwen spread his hands.
These are indeed just speculations. Only after another disappearance occurs tonight will more clues emerge for investigation.
But at least they now have an idea.
Before leaving Duxi Temple, they saw Yanzhi talking with a foreign monk on the side of the Buddhist temple.
Yanzhi noticed them at the same time and nodded slightly in their direction.
He is the abbot of the temple. If someone really does something under his nose, it is actually not easy.
As for Xia Jialian's previous speculation, if it is true, this matter cannot be concealed from Yanzhi.
He would not have been unaware that his bed had been smashed and sealed again.
But just now, apart from sighing, he didn't show any other signs.
Were they wrong, or was Yanzhi hiding it too well?
Ding Can continued walking. "Yanzhi converted to Buddhism, and he doesn't seem like someone who would help evil people. There are still many things I don't understand."
"Indeed, but we still have time, there's no rush." Xia Jialian rubbed the dust off his fingers.
In about an hour, it will be time to go to Zhaoxia Tower.
During this period of time, you can do more inquiries in the city.
*
After strolling around the city for a while, they first saw the Bamboo Leaf Sect that Shu Yubei had just joined.
In the corner of the foundry's plaque, there was a faint carving of a bamboo leaf pattern, which was where she was currently.
At the door, there was a burly man who took off his shirt, revealing his strong muscles. He was sweating profusely, and his whole face was red from the fire.
He took the hot iron block out of the fire with his left hand, rinsed it with cold water, placed it on the pad, and then used his other hand to hold the hammer and hit it hard.
The red iron block suddenly became much thinner like a fluid.
After watching it for a long time, it is a bit addictive and you can't take your eyes off it. Ding Can thought of some short videos he had watched before, and he was also fascinated by them. When he came to his senses, he found that a long time had passed.
They continued to move forward. Shi Yan noticed that Gao Wenwen did not catch up. She turned around and found that he was still standing there, with a vague intention of looking into the shop again.
"Why don't you leave? Do you want to buy weapons?"
This person is really weird. Didn’t I just tell you not to spend money indiscriminately?
Gao Wenwen hurriedly followed, glancing back out of the corner of his eye: "No, I was just looking around. I didn't expect there were so many people in this store, and there were quite a few people from the underworld here."
"Oh? Really..." Shi Yan's eyes flashed with mischief, "I thought you were looking for Shu Yubei. We just met her not long ago."
Gao Wenwen scratched his head. "No, actually. I just wanted to take a look. I was a little curious because I finally got to see other students in the dungeon."
As expected, Shi Yan raised the corners of her lips and said jokingly, "I see you are indeed quite curious about her."
Ding Can coughed lightly a few times and patted her shoulder: "Alright, you see through it but don't say it out loud."
The two of them walked forward hand in hand with light steps, leaving Gao Wenwen alone in the same place. It took him a long time to react and he quickly caught up with them.
"You two did this on purpose, didn't you?"
With him chasing him, Ding Can quickened his pace, looked back frequently, and almost bumped into the passers-by in front of him.
"I'm sorry."
She apologized first, then she saw who was coming. He was wearing a cloth on his head and looking at her eagerly.
"It's okay, sir. Our Qixing Hall is right next to us. If you're interested, you can go in and take a look."
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