Chapter 282 The Unknown Sword and Auspicious Omens Emerge
"Dalang doesn't look well."
After a pause, Ouyang Rong turned around and asked seriously, "You didn't invite me when you went to Yunshui Pavilion for tea?"
"..." Li Fusu.
"Don't joke, my dear." He rubbed his dark circles and smiled wryly, "I had some trouble sleeping last night because I was praying for my grandmother."
Ouyang Rong looked at him strangely: "You're really being silly by praying for her?"
Li Fusu scratched his head: "My father stays at the pagoda day and night to pray for blessings. As his son, I can't just hide away and eat and drink well. I have to stay with him."
At this point, the bearded young man looked worried and somewhat haggard:
“Father is also very tired. The date for Lianghan to report the auspicious signs is getting closer and closer. Father has been a little restless lately, and I have to stay by his side.”
Ouyang Rong smiled:
“Your father had no choice, so be it. But don’t get sick before your uncle does. It’s no use if you get sick; your maternal grandmother won’t love you and your paternal uncle won’t care.”
"..."
"For restlessness and insomnia, the Sour Jujube Seed Decoction is the main treatment. You may want to try it."
Li Fusu asked in surprise, "My lord also knows medicine?"
"I've recently been reading through some medical books and prescriptions, and I've learned a bit. A person can't always..." the young magistrate said calmly.
"Sometimes you don't even know what injuries you've sustained or what illness you have, and you just listen to what others say."
After leaving behind a single sentence, Ouyang Rong and Li Fusu parted ways as usual in front of the pagoda.
The early morning sun, around eight or nine o'clock, shone brightly on a brand-new and solemn pagoda in front of the two of them.
The tower, hundreds of feet tall, with its eaves soaring high, is resplendent in gold and green, and countless glazed tiles gleam brightly.
Li Fusu entered the pagoda from which the solemn chanting of sutras could be faintly heard, to find Li Xian and Master Shandao, and to begin a new day of prayer and chanting.
Ouyang Rong knew the way well and walked around the tower. He stopped with his hands behind his back in front of a familiar well behind the tower.
He glanced down at the ancient well in the underground palace, then looked back at the golden pagoda that had been completed just two days prior, and muttered to himself:
"Isn't it a bit off-center? Speaking of which, shouldn't the lotus tower from back then have been built above this entrance to the underground palace?"
"However, if it's rebuilt exactly on the old site, blocking out the sun, wouldn't it be pitch black underneath? I wonder if the master would never get any sun. That won't do..."
"The pagoda I built truly embodies comprehensive humanistic care. Even if the pagoda is slightly off-center, the merit will be greatly enhanced."
"So, little wooden fish, please give me more merit points!"
Ouyang Rong smiled.
He was quite satisfied with the largest pagoda in Jiangnan that stood behind him, built strictly according to the original scale of the Lotus Pagoda.
During this period, apart from necessary official business at the county government, Ouyang Rong spent most of his time at Donglin Temple, overseeing the construction of this pagoda, which rose from nothing to its current state.
I've watched it grow into a high-rise building.
The new pagoda was built very quickly.
This is thanks to the favorable conditions created by the large-scale construction of canals and wharves in Longcheng County in the first half of the year.
The county town at the foot of the mountain has no shortage of skilled craftsmen and able-bodied young laborers. As long as the Su family provides the necessary funds, the scale and speed of the pagoda's construction will not be a problem.
As for the Buddha statues and memorial tablets enshrined inside the pagoda, they are, of course, various honorific titles and Buddhist ranks bestowed upon her by the Empress herself.
The face of the large Buddha statue at the very center of the pagoda is also modeled after the face of Her Majesty the Empress.
It can be considered a completely custom-made template based on this "saint".
The only complaint in someone's mind was that His Majesty's titles were a bit too many and too long.
Those who don't know the situation might think that the tower houses many people, but fortunately the new tower is big enough to accommodate them all.
Ouyang Rong gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Furthermore, although it is a Buddhist sanctuary, the decorations inside the pagoda are as luxurious as possible, even if they are understated.
To paraphrase Li Xian's words, the Empress Dowager would certainly like it.
The newly built, towering pagoda has become a new landmark of Donglin Temple.
Master Shandao dreamt about it that night, and his mouth was crooked from laughing.
But Aunt Wei, who was in charge of the accounts and brought out the silver down the mountain, couldn't help but look a little pained.
She didn't show it at all in front of Ouyang Rong, but who knew the sighs and lamentations of a housewife behind the scenes?
As for Li Xian and Li Dalang, they were not housekeepers and were not very sensitive to matters of money. The father and son trusted a certain young strategist they had gone through many hardships to find, treated him with the respect due to a teacher, and listened to his advice.
As for the other accountant, Lady Li, she was surprisingly calm, tacitly cooperating with Ouyang Rong's actions without showing the slightest pain or complaint.
Every day, people come and go from the Su residence on Luming Street, carrying away boxes containing precious treasures and paintings.
It was this young lady who was quietly pawning her birthday gifts.
During this time, Ouyang Rong's three meals and snacks every day were provided by the Su family without fail.
With his keen eyes, he noticed that as the construction of the new pagoda progressed, the daily food quality of Wei Mei and her daughter, as well as Li Xian and his son, visibly decreased.
Li Xian and Li Dalang, who were stationed at the temple, started going out early and returning late to mooch off Donglin Temple's vegetarian meals in the morning and evening.
However, the meals that Wei Mei and her daughter Li Guo'er personally delivered to Ouyang Rong every day remained unchanged and were always on time.
Ouyang Rong saw all of this but said nothing.
On the contrary, he ate quite heartily. After all, happiness comes from diversity. Well, if it weren't for Li Dalang and Yan Liulang occasionally sticking their heads over to freeload off him...
"Judging from the letter sent from Jiangzhou a few days ago, Junior Sister should be back soon."
Standing before the well surrounded by stone railings, Ouyang Rong touched the sword at his waist, muttered to himself, and gracefully leaped over the railing.
Currently, the new stupa and the statue of the saint have been fully completed.
Li Xian and Li Dalang, under the guise of filial piety, followed a group of eminent monks from Donglin Temple, including Master Shandao, to pray day and night for Her Majesty the Empress in the capital.
Meanwhile, a brocade box containing a jade pendant, sent by the Empress, was sealed and offered before the Buddha, receiving incense offerings.
As for the junior sister, the latest news is that she secretly purchased the precious jade from Guangzhou Prefecture in Lingnan Road three days ago and returned to Jiangzhou.
However, she did not return to Longcheng immediately. She only stayed in Jiangzhou City for half a day, leaving a message to let her know that she was safe and that the purchase of the jade had gone smoothly. Then she rushed to Gezao Mountain to seek the elixir.
Now that the work of supervising the construction of the pagoda is complete, Ouyang Rong has suddenly found himself with some free time.
Aside from encouraging and persuading a cowardly old county magistrate with empty promises, he spends all his free time wandering around the Pure Land Temple, just like he is doing now.
Seeing that no one was passing by the well, Ouyang Rong turned over, nimbly went down the well, and entered the underground palace.
After activating a withered monk as part of his daily routine, Ouyang Rong quickly skipped over the questions and answers that seemed like a routine task for the Master.
He took out a piece of osmanthus cake and handed it to him. The withered monk stopped, walked happily to the side, sat down, and began to savor it.
Ouyang Rong turned around, walked to the side, and drew a long sword from his waist.
Using the hazy moonlight on the sword as a 'torch,' he carefully explored the secluded underground palace.
"Logically speaking, after Master Zhongma died, it should have remained in the underground palace."
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, muttering to himself.
He has been frequently revisiting old haunts lately, not to accompany the mad monk Xiuzhen.
Instead, they were exploring something they had been longing to do.
After recovering from his illness and descending the mountain, Ouyang Rong spent the last few days reviewing all the events that occurred after activating the Blessing of Returning Home.
He suddenly realized something he had overlooked.
If the inscription by Master Zhongma on the walls of the underground palace is genuine, then he is not deceiving anyone.
Then, wouldn't the new cauldron sword that Master Zhongma stole from the Mad Emperor have remained in the underground palace?
Or perhaps it's still at Donglin Temple?
Based on Ouyang Rong's experience of intercepting "craftsmanship," Master Zhongma initially took advantage of the loophole that the Dingjian sword born in Butterfly Creek would use the entire Dragon City as a sword furnace for the first sword washing.
Master Zhongma hid in the underground palace and preemptively used the sword technique, true name, and other conditions to summon the new Ding Sword, successfully intercepting Emperor Sui Feng.
Later, the Mad Emperor set fire to the temple, and the Lotus Pagoda was flooded. Master Zhongma remained hidden in the Pure Land Palace, suffocating from the scalding black mist, and never came out.
Therefore, that sword with an unknown true name remains in the Pure Land Palace.
Ouyang Rong glanced down at the Moonlight Sword.
He was initially quite skeptical that this strange longsword was the unknown cauldron sword.
The reason is that the hazy moonlight emitted by its blade can strangely activate the moonlight stone carvings on the walls of the underground palace.
Based on the vision of Master Zhongma that day, Ouyang Rong guessed that these stone carvings were likely made with that unknown cauldron sword.
So... this stone carving's light, resembling the cold moonlight, is the sword energy of that unknown cauldron sword?
The moonlight emitted by the Moonlight Sword is able to activate the Moonlight Sword Qi that has been dormant in the stone carving for decades because it has some kind of common origin with it.
Based on this, it's highly likely that the Moonlight Sword is the unknown cauldron sword.
However, this moonlight sword "burst out" from Liu Ziwen's body.
A while ago, Ouyang Rong went to the Guyue Sword Shop to investigate. An old craftsman revealed that the Moonlight Longsword was a newly forged sword from the Jia San Sword Furnace, made by that old swordsmith... Is it a lineage?
But this eliminates suspicion.
Imagine, if the Moonlight Sword were truly that unknown cauldron sword, would the old swordsmith have given it away so easily?
If he had an extra cauldron sword, why didn't he just send it to Yunmeng Sword Marsh to settle the Lotus Tower Alliance?
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, looking around at the empty and dimly lit underground palace.
"Master Zhongma has long been cremated and turned into relics. Where did this unknown cauldron sword go?"
"I previously asked Master Shandao about the situation after the underground palace was opened. Apart from the body of Master Zhongma who had attained Buddhahood in his physical form, they said they did not find anything resembling a sword..."
"Could it be that, like my 'craftsmanship,' it is also a form that is neither sword nor sword, difficult to recognize, a pearl covered in dust, cleaned by a monk and casually discarded?"
"Or perhaps it was taken by someone with ulterior motives and hidden away?"
"But in all these years, apart from 'craftsmanship,' since the reign of Emperor Wen, I have never heard of a new Ding sword being produced..."
Ouyang Rong stroked his chin and pondered:
"The sword's master is dead, and it's in a form that's no longer a sword... It's normal for such a gem to be covered in dust. Besides, future generations don't know its true name, and even if they did, who could sweep away the dust?"
He sighed softly, frowning as he looked around:
"Does this mean it will be completely lost?"
"Wait, not necessarily. I've heard that people with strong personalities can have a mysterious connection with swords that haven't yet recognized a master. Swords have a spirit and can choose their owners. Like my 'crafted' sword, it's quite interesting. It both dislikes me a little and depends on me so much that it can't live without me. That sounds a bit strange, cough..."
"But it's rare to find someone with such a strong spirit; ordinary people don't even know its true name, so how can they find it..."
A whole morning passed, and Ouyang Rong circled the underground palace several times, but still found nothing.
Where exactly is this cauldron sword?
A short while later, he frowned, turned and left.
Well, before leaving, I used pastries to lure Master Bu Zhi into searching him. I even took his Buddhist beads, biting them and finding teeth marks. It definitely wasn't the Dingjian.
Ouyang Rong nodded.
In the end, Xiuzhen was found with nothing but fleas.
Leaving behind the innocent, battle-damaged, and mentally impaired monk, Ouyang Rong strode away.
That evening, Ouyang Rong returned to the Melu Garden. As soon as he entered the gate, a vibrant red figure came into view.
"Senior Brother!"
The junior sister jumped off the swing, her pretty face beaming with joy as she handed over a bundle of red cloth and a pill box.
Wrapped in red cloth was a perfectly round jade ring, and inside the pill box lay two pills of different colors.
"I have fulfilled my mission." She tilted her chin up.
"Junior Sister, you've worked hard!"
Ouyang Rong took out a portion of crispy mountain and fed it to the person.
Xie Lingjiang: "..."
"It's not good to eat cold drinks before meals; it will give you a stomachache," she said sternly.
"Stomach ache?" Ouyang Rong frowned: "Then drink more..." He immediately changed his mind: "Then give it to me, otherwise it will dissolve."
"don't want."
The steaming, misty dessert in Ouyang Rong's hand was swiftly snatched away by a woman in red sleeves.
"Isn't it against eating cold drinks before meals?"
"Couldn't you wait for me, Senior Brother? Let me eat later. I need to digest a bit."
“…” Ouyang Rong nodded: “You really can’t stump me. Alright, I’ll go next door first. Junior Sister, you can digest this properly.”
Ignoring his junior sister's resentful look, Ouyang Rong took the two items and immediately went to the Su residence to gather everyone for a meeting.
On the way, he muttered to himself... Why didn't feeding her increase his merit this time? Hey, Junior Sister is getting harder and harder to raise... No, harder to coax.
The Su family mansion next door.
When Li Xian and the others saw Ouyang Rong, they immediately became nervous.
Has it finally arrived?
An hour later, the study door opened. Before leaving, Ouyang Rong glanced at Li Xian, whose face was flushed and hands were trembling, and left a pill box on the table...
late at night.
A tall figure appeared in front of the newly built pagoda next to the Beitian Aid Home.
The figure seemed to walk silently, its aura deeply concealed, making no sound whatsoever.
Wearing a bronze mask and carrying a long, narrow wooden box, he entered the tower, walking silently through the shadows and bypassing the dozing monks on guard duty.
The figure arrived in front of a brocade box with a golden sealing strip, which was offered before the Buddha.
Before the Buddha, a sliver of clear blue light suddenly mingled with the orange glow of the candlelight.
An arc floated silently above the brocade box.
The box appeared to be intact and lay quietly on the table.
Ouyang Rong ran his fingers around the seal and tapped a spot on the box. A neatly broken, rounded fragment fell off and was sucked into his palm.
Although one piece is missing, the box remains sturdy and shows no signs of disintegration.
He took out a smooth jade ring, inserted it into the empty box through the perfectly sized arc notch, and then calmly pieced the fragments back together like building blocks, fitting them perfectly.
The brocade box is intact.
The young man wearing the bronze mask took one last look at the kind-faced golden Buddha statue, then turned and left.
The arc disappeared.
The next day.
As was customary, the deposed Prince Xunyang, Li Xian, and other masters prayed for the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty inside the largest pagoda in Jiangnan.
A sweeping monk accidentally knocked over a brocade box, which fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Li Xian and the monks rushed to save Yu.
To their astonishment, they discovered that among the fragments, the jade pendant bestowed by the Empress was not only intact, but its missing corners had healed, making it perfectly flawless and as bright as the moon.
The Buddha appeared and restored the jade to its original state.
The eminent monks were greatly shocked, and the auspicious omen of the jade pendant's perfect roundness spread throughout Longcheng in an instant, astonishing everyone in the county.
On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the first year of the Shengli era, a county magistrate surnamed Diao from Jiangnan submitted a memorial to the emperor, presenting auspicious omens.
The memorial was sent to Luoyang at top speed.
This caused a huge stir.
Hope I didn't disturb the guys' Qixi Festival (serious face)
(End of this chapter)
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