Hearing Chen Guangrui's matter-of-fact words, not to mention the Dragon King of Hongjiang, even Nie Changchuan couldn't help but look strange.
His cheap parents...seem to be somewhat interesting!
Nie Changchuan chuckled, grabbed Chen Guangrui's arm and said, "Father, when mother gave birth to me..."
In front of Chen Guangrui, Nie Changchuan recounted his experiences in this life again.
After listening, Chen Guangrui had a complicated expression, sighed softly, raised his hand and patted Nie Changchuan on the shoulder... He was too short to pat him, so Chen Guangrui could only settle for the next best thing and patted Nie Changchuan on the arm.
"Thanks a lot……"
Nie Changchuan shook his head: "I don't mind, but you need to compensate my mother in the future."
Chen Guangrui's body trembled, and he sighed, "Of course, I owe Wen Jiao a lot!"
Nie Changchuan raised his hand and patted his shoulder, saying, "There is no time to lose, father, you should return to life as soon as possible. Mother has already sent someone to Chang'an to report on the Jiangzhou incident. I believe that a reply will arrive soon!"
After saying this, Nie Changchuan turned his head and looked at the Dragon King of Hongjiang, clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, I will remember the Dragon King's kindness. If Hongjiang Water Palace encounters any difficulties in the future, you can go to Jinshan Temple to seek my help!"
Chen Guangrui was slightly stunned, and quickly asked: "Wait, after this incident, don't you plan to return to secular life?"
Nie Changchuan shook his head: "Jinshan Temple saved my life and raised me."
"I have always been grateful for your kindness, how can I just walk away?"
Chen Guangrui had a complicated expression and sighed: "That's the truth. Well, then you can stay in Jinshan Temple for the time being..."
Seeing this scene, although the Dragon King of Hongjiang still had doubts, he had no choice but to accept it as Chen Guangrui had already accepted it.
The father and son had a pleasant conversation in a harmonious atmosphere. The Dragon King of Hongjiang could not say anything to spoil the mood, so he could only order people to carry out the crystal coffin containing Chen Guangrui's body.
Chen Guangrui stepped into it and finally came back to life and returned to the world of the living.
The father and son thanked the Dragon King of Hongjiang, then left the Dragon Palace and flew to Jiangzhou.
When they returned to the prefectural government, it was already noon of the next day. Liu Hong and his gang of bandits had all been taken to jail, awaiting their fate.
The corpses in the prefect's mansion were also cleaned up, leaving only some difficult-to-wash blood stains and a faint smell of blood.
Since the prefect was dead, the ones giving orders now were the military officer surnamed Wang who had received the decree from the 'Dragon Subduing Arhat', and the well-known daughter of Prime Minister Yin, the prefect's wife Yin Wenjiao.
Nie Changchuan brought Chen Guangrui to the mansion to meet Yin Wenjiao. It was another touching scene of the couple reuniting.
For the next half month, Nie Changchuan stayed in Jiangzhou City, reunited with his parents, and truly enjoyed the family warmth that a child of his age should have.
It was not until half a month later that someone from Chang'an, Nie Changchuan's adoptive grandfather Yin Kaishan, personally led a large group of people to Jiangzhou City.
He first met with Nie Changchuan's family of three, expressed their affection for each other, comforted the crying daughter Yin Wenjiao, and then, with the introduction of the couple, acknowledged Nie Changchuan as his grandson. Then he rushed to the government office and personally took charge of Jiangzhou to avenge his daughter and son-in-law.
It has to be said that Yin Kaishan is worthy of being a famous general of the Tang Dynasty and one of the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion.
Although he is old, his prestige and means are far beyond the reach of Chen Guangrui and his wife.
As soon as he appeared, he took out the imperial edict and seized the supreme power of the entire Jiangzhou.
Afterwards, he ordered his men to torture the bandit Liu Hong and others, and at the same time dispatched the Jiangzhou Tongzhi, the Jiangzhou Canjun and the Xiangfu's personal guards, a total of three armies, to advance both by land and sea, to jointly encircle and suppress the bandits hiding in Hongjiang.
Those pirates were brave people to begin with, and with the support of Liu Hong in the government over the years, they lived a comfortable life and gradually lost their former ferocity and vigilance.
Under such circumstances, they naturally could not be the opponent of Yin Kaishan, the famous general of the Tang Dynasty.
In just three days, the Hongjiang bandits were suppressed by Yin Kaishan and all of them were captured.
The leader of the bandits was named Li Biao, who was the culprit who killed Chen Guangrui together with Liu Hong.
Under the ruthless tactics of a scholar brought by Yin Kaishan, Li Biao and Liu Hong quickly collapsed and confessed the facts of that year.
After reading the confession, Yin Kaishan flew into a rage and ordered his men to nail Li Biao and Liu Hong to a wooden donkey, parade them through the streets for public display, and then take them to the city government, where they were executed by slow slicing in public.
In order to vent his anger to the greatest extent, Yin Kaishan brought a master from Chang'an.
In his hands, the two thieves Li Biao and Liu Hong were cut into pieces a thousand times before they were finally freed.
Seeing this scene, everyone in Jiangzhou, both officials and civilians, trembled in fear.
Nie Changchuan felt deeply moved. This high-ranking official in the imperial court really understood revenge better than he did.
Compared with Yin Kaishan's methods, Nie Changchuan's previous so-called "massacre" was truly merciful!
At the same time, while Yin Kaishan was busy dealing with the bandits, Nie Changchuan and his family of three were not idle either.
When Chen Guangrui went to Jiangzhou to take office, he promised that once he had established a firm foothold, he would bring his mother over to enjoy their lives.
Who would have thought that he would suddenly encounter such a disaster. Yin Wenjiao was concerned about her mother-in-law's life and was afraid that she would be killed by Liu Hong, so she concealed the matter and left her mother-in-law, who was completely unaware of the situation, in her hometown.
Now that Chen Guangrui has been cleared of all charges and returned to the world of the living, he naturally wants to bring his mother to him first.
However, considering the itinerary issue, Yin Kaishan suggested that his son-in-law bring his relatives to Chang'an. After he dealt with the two thieves Li and Liu, he would take Chen Guangrui and his family to Chang'an to report to the emperor.
After all, the governor of Jiangzhou is the ruler of a state, and the matter is of great importance.
Yin Kaishan is the prime minister of the current dynasty and is entrusted with the imperial edict, so this matter has also attracted the attention of the current emperor.
In addition, Chen Guangrui pretended to be dead for thirteen years. Your Majesty was worried that his political achievements were insufficient and he could not control Jiangzhou. Therefore, in addition to questioning him, he also wanted to test Chen Guangrui's talents.
Chen Guangrui was very confident about this.
He said that he had been working in Hongjiang Dragon Palace for the past thirteen years, taking charge of all matters of the water palace, and had definitely not wasted his time.
Yin Kaishan was surprised to hear this, and talked with him in detail all night, curiously asking many questions about the Hongjiang Dragon Palace.
Only after the two thieves Li and Liu were dealt with did the group finally board the official ship and head for Chang'an.
When he arrived in Chang'an, Chen Guangrui's mother was already waiting for him in the prime minister's residence.
After thirteen years, the family was finally reunited and couldn't help but hug each other and cry.
That night, Yin Kaishan set up a banquet at the prime minister's residence and named it the "Reunion Banquet".
The next morning, at the court, King Li Yuan of Tang ascended the throne. Yin Kaishan came out and reported all matters, big and small, one by one. He also talked about the Dragon Palace and the Water Palace, and recommended his son-in-law Chen Guangrui as a man of great talent who could be used in an important position.
After examining him, the King of Tang gladly approved his request and promoted him to the position of Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, to govern the country.
As for Nie Changchuan, he said goodbye to his parents on the night of the reunion dinner, left quietly, and flew back to Jinshan Temple.
Coming before his mentor, Elder Fa Ming, Nie Changchuan knelt down and kowtowed, recounting the sins of killing he had committed during this period.
Monk Fa Ming sighed, waved his hand, and ordered Nie Changchuan to go to the back mountain to face the wall for ten years.
From then on, Nie Changchuan stayed in Jinshan Temple, practicing day and night.
During this period, Chen Guangrui and Yin Wenjiao came from time to time, ostensibly to worship Buddha, but actually to reunite with Nie Changchuan's family.
At the same time, Nie Changchuan also quietly revealed some secrets to the two of them, helping them gain a foothold in the court, and survived the subsequent Xuanwu Gate Incident together with his grandfather and others.
When Li Shimin ascended the throne, the Tang Dynasty's chariot officially began to advance rapidly.
Nie Changchuan felt a sense of urgency in his heart, as he knew that his destiny of traveling west to obtain Buddhist scriptures was getting closer and closer.
But he was not very willing to go to the West to obtain the scriptures, so he put all his energy into practicing, hoping to gain the power to control his own destiny.
However, spiritual practice is not something that can be achieved smoothly behind closed doors.
Soon, Nie Changchuan's practice finally encountered his first bottleneck.
At this time, his ten-year period of facing the wall had passed, so he bid farewell to the abbot and monk Fa Ming, officially left the temple, and traveled around the world under the name of Jinshan Temple.
During this process, Nie Changchuan would subdue demons when he encountered them, and fight violence when he encountered it. Whenever there was injustice, he would lend a hand, even if the other party was a city god, a land god, an immortal, or a Buddha.
Because of this, the grateful people gave him a name, Master Xuanzang, the Greatly Compassionate, Mighty and Virtuous Master.
At the same time, because Nie Changchuan often dealt with demons, immortals and Buddhas, many powerful people became aware of this person.
But what they didn't expect was that the Buddhist community, which should have had the most intense reaction, was extremely silent on this matter and did not say a word.
It's not that they don't want to speak out, but since decades ago, all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and Vajras of Buddhism have been imprisoned in Lingshan by some powerful force and cannot get out.
It was not until the 13th year of Zhenguan that the power that enveloped Lingshan finally disappeared completely.
The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were overjoyed and hurriedly went their separate ways to find out important news from the Three Realms over the years. At the same time, they tried to fill the gaps of decades in order to better prepare for the upcoming catastrophe of the Journey to the West.
At this moment, they were shocked to find that Chen Xuanzang, the person who was originally scheduled to go on the journey to obtain the scriptures, had grown up to be like this...
Somewhere in the Tang Dynasty, Guanyin Bodhisattva sat on a lotus platform, hidden in the clouds, looking at the scene below with a twitching mouth.
I saw a 9-foot-6-inch-tall, muscular, sturdy bald monk holding a heavy staff, standing on the bank of a fast-flowing river.
He put his hands together, chanted "Amitabha" solemnly, then jumped up and swung his Zen staff.
"boom!"
There was a loud bang, and a rich golden light burst out from the Zen staff.
The surging river exploded in an instant, and the rolling river water rose up, raising a circle of ring-shaped water curtain, revealing a fish-scale monster wearing armor and with a panic-stricken expression at the bottom of the river.
Seeing the monk fall into the whirlpool, the fish-like monster screamed, turned around and fled with fear on its face.
The monk fell to the bottom of the river with a bang. He waved the Zen staff in his hand, which led the water flow and crushed a large number of small demons into minced meat.
Then, he thrust his Zen staff into the riverbed, and suddenly golden light burst out, forming a water-repellent shield to prevent the river water from flowing back.
As for him, at the moment the golden light burst out, he kicked his feet, broke the riverbed, rushed behind the monster, pressed the back of the fish monster's head with his big hand, and pushed it into the riverbed, asking it loudly whether it wanted to be steamed or braised.
Seeing this scene, Guanyin Bodhisattva above the clouds tightly grasped the jade bottle in her slender hands, with veins exposed on the back of her hands.
...Who is secretly plotting against our Buddhist sect? !
At this moment, the bald monk at the bottom of the river seemed to have noticed her sight. He suddenly turned his head and looked towards the clouds, shouting, "Who are you, evildoer? How dare you spy in the dark? You must have bad intentions. Get off the clouds right away!"
Before he finished speaking, the monk waved his hand and a golden dragon flew out from behind him, pouncing towards the sky with its fangs and claws bared.