Three days ago, he received a handwritten letter signed by the abbot of the temple, but the seal on it was the official seal of the palace.
Looking back now, what he received was not an invitation, but an imperial edict.
It is still unknown which big Buddha is hidden in this dilapidated temple. He cannot lose the big picture for the sake of small gains and offend the people behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Fuqiu's expression instantly became kind.
"My disciples are all cultivators. They haven't heard of worldly affairs for a long time. There are always some shortcomings in their social etiquette. I hope you can forgive me."
The guard didn't hesitate for a moment, and immediately followed suit, putting on a friendly face.
"I was just too blind. Please forgive me, Master, and don't hold it against a simple man like me. Master, at such an old age, you are willing to come thousands of miles and risk your life to help me. On behalf of the people in this temple, I thank you..."
etc.
Alarm bells rang in the thalamus, and his eyes opened slightly.
"Danger? What danger?"
The guard smiled innocently and became polite again.
"Ah, the Heavenly Master is a master of exorcising demons and monsters. He must have been as calm as a rock after witnessing all this day and night. I apologize for my limited knowledge and inappropriate words, which have caused the Heavenly Master to laugh."
What the other party said was equivalent to saying nothing. Fu Qiu was shocked and confused. Before he could ask any further questions, he heard a noise from the side door of the temple and several people walked out.
He glanced over, and it was a trivial glance, when he saw two monks carrying out a Taoist priest in a gray robe, whose life or death was unknown.
The guard must have seen it as well, and sighed.
"Hey, this is the ninth person to come in the past few days. I heard he's the abbot of Songling Mountain. He's not very old, but he's very brave. It's a pity..." He paused at this point, then looked towards Fuqiu. "But fortunately, the Heavenly Master arrived in time. I don't think such a tragedy will happen again."
Fuqiu was shocked and his calves were cramping, but he still managed to keep a straight face and just pretended to wipe the sweat off his face.
"Oh, I just remembered that this, this magic weapon for exorcism fell on the chariot. I'll go get it now."
After he finished speaking, he was about to retreat quickly, but before he could even step back out of the temple gate, he was stopped by a voice.
"May I ask if you are the Fuqiu Celestial Master? The Celestial Master has personally visited my humble temple, and I feel truly guilty for not welcoming you."
Fu Qiu turned half his head and saw a fair-skinned monk looking at him with a smile.
"I'm a few steps late. I was just passing by the Heavenly Master's sedan chair. There was nothing else on the sedan chair. Did the Heavenly Master make a mistake?"
Where did this evil monk come from? He had never met him before, but he was determined to pick a fight with him?!
Fuqiu's forehead twitched and he tried hard to calm down.
"Your Excellency is...?"
The young monk smiled kindly.
"I just wrote the letter, don't you remember it, Master?"
Yes, of course he did.
Seeing that the man in front of him didn't look very old, Fuqiu immediately put on the air of superiority. He took a few steps to the side, motioning for the man to come closer to talk.
"My master and I had some friendship back then. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you should answer truthfully."
Ichiku nodded.
"Tianshi, please ask."
"What is the evil spirit in the temple?"
"I don't know."
"Where did that evil spirit come from?"
"I don't know about this either."
Fuqiu was furious and his voice became louder.
"You know who's in charge, and who was harmed by that evil spirit, right?!"
Yikong's expression was filled with unease, and Fuqiu's forehead veins throbbed wildly. After a moment, the young monk finally hesitantly beckoned with his finger, and Fuqiu quickly leaned forward to offer his ear.
After a burst of inaudible whispers, the Taoist boy who was looking at the distance saw that the two narrowed eyes of his master suddenly opened wide.
Yikong stepped back a little meaningfully, and finally said tactfully.
"Tianshi has come here today to take on a mission in this time of crisis. If you stay, you will surely be blessed with many blessings in the future. However, if you change your mind and leave hastily, not only will you lose face for the Northern Hongji Sect, but you will also have a hard time navigating the Chizhou area in the future."
******************
In the end, Fuqiu followed the young monk from Yongye Temple into the temple.
He didn't really believe the smooth-talking monk, he just believed the seal on the letter.
After all, he has seen some storms before, and ordinary people really can't take away his old bones. Besides, this is a temple at the foot of the imperial city, so it's unlikely that something too outrageous will happen here, right?
He followed the young monk towards the main hall with a heavy heart, not even bothering to look around along the way. He was absorbed in thinking about his own things when suddenly he heard the sound of a piano.
The sound of the piano seemed to come from the direction of the main hall. It passed through several layers of prayer flags and several corridors, but still reached his ears. It was enough to show that the person playing the piano had profound skills.
The melody was subtle and distant, its eight notes harmoniously harmonizing, as if only an old monk who had cultivated for decades could comprehend such a timbre. Yet, for some reason, upon closer listening, it was imbued with an endless sense of sorrow, despair, and desolation, even more heartbreaking than the pipa played by the old contraption in Wangchen Tower on a winter's day. It was truly an indescribable feeling of contradiction.
"arrive."
The young monk in front stopped, and Fuqiu came back to his senses.
Looking up, he found himself in the backyard of the palace. The yard was not big, but it was already crowded with more than a dozen people.
They say that when people of the same trade meet, they become particularly jealous. It wasn't that much of a jealousy, but it was still easy to pick one out from the crowd. Fu Qiu only glanced up and recognized three or four of them. The rest didn't need much scrutiny; they were all pretty much the same.
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