Chapter 7 007 Bait
Chapter 7
Yingji took the Buddhist scriptures.
"If there's anything I don't understand, can I ask you for advice?" Yingji paused slightly, her voice becoming softer. "Kong Fan?"
"Of course." Kong Fan nodded. "The first floor is filled with Buddhist scriptures. If you have a connection with Buddhism, you can read them."
Yingji murmured: "I'm afraid I have no fate with Buddhism, but I have fate with you." Kongfan heard it, but ignored it.
Suddenly, a man rushed out from the corner, bringing with him the sound of chains. He roared, "Bald donkey! Kill me!"
Yingji was startled, and Kongfan's arm blocked her way. Yingji looked at Kongfan with a slight surprise, then tactfully hid behind him and looked at the person rushing towards her.
He was a disheveled man with his feet locked with thick iron chains. The chains were very long and the ends were hidden at the end of rows of bookshelves.
The guards rushed in from outside, clamped the mad man's shoulders and stopped his charge.
Seeing the man like this, Kong Fan was also a little surprised. He asked, "Why did you lock him up?"
The guard looked embarrassed: "Your Majesty, he tried to escape several times. I really had no choice..."
Kong Fan waved his hand, the guards retreated, and the heavy iron chain locked around the man's ankle was also untied.
The man was stunned for a moment, looked at Kong Fan suspiciously, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you mean?"
"I will cast a barrier so you can't leave the library," Kong Fan said gently, "Uncle, please stay here and study the scriptures in peace, and comprehend the wonders of Buddhism."
Yingji suddenly realized who the madman across from her was. He was Yun Guanghe, the younger brother of the late Emperor Chaoxi. Yun Guanghe had always coveted imperial power, and the year Kongfan returned, he launched a war to force the emperor to abdicate. Sadly, he failed.
I heard that Kong Fan had captured him before the war officially began. Ying Ji had always thought that he had been executed as a traitor long ago, but she didn't expect him to be alive and well.
When Yun Guanghe thought of these Buddhist scriptures, he felt a headache coming on. He gritted his teeth and said, "Why do you have to torture me like this? You might as well just kill me!"
A faint trace of regret lingered in Kong Fan's clear eyes. He shook his head gently and said, "The emperor's uncle has committed a grave sin. Only sincere repentance can earn the Buddha's mercy. If the emperor's uncle can calm down and memorize all the scriptures in the library, he will surely find forgiveness. When his heart is filled with compassion and kindness, Kong Fan will pass the throne to him."
Yun Guanghe was stunned.
Yingji was also stunned, and looked at Kongfan in front of her in disbelief - what a stupid monk!
Yun Guanghe gradually came to his senses, and his gaze towards Kong Fan became complicated. Sometimes he felt that Kong Fan was fooling him, and sometimes he felt that Kong Fan was really a fool.
Kong Fan raised his hand, tapped the air, and cast a purification spell on Yun Guanghe. He said, "When your clothes are clean, burn incense and bathe, cleanse your body and mind, and then recite the scriptures."
Kong Fan had already left before Yun Guanghe reacted. He spitted "Pooh" at Kong Fan's back.
He looked down at his neat clothes, feeling a surge of anxiety. He couldn't fight back, couldn't escape, and didn't want to die. What could he do?
Looking at the densely packed Buddhist books, Yun Guanghe pulled a volume out of the bookshelf, tore it into pieces in anger, and threw it on the ground.
The torn scriptures were suddenly blown by the wind.
Yun Guanghe watched helplessly as the scriptures he had just torn up trembled and came together, gradually returning to their original state.
Yun Guanghe suddenly turned around and looked.
Kong Fanyu stood tall and slender at the entrance to the library, his hand, adorned with Buddhist beads, raised, his monk's robe fluttering in the wind. Sunlight streamed in from outside, casting a soft glow on his snowy figure.
"Buddhist scriptures should be cherished." He turned and left.
Yingji, standing not far away, came to meet him. Holding the Diamond Sutra in her arms, she asked, "Kongfan, after I finish this and come back to read other Buddhist texts, what should I do if I run into him again? He's so fierce. Can I come with you?"
"Can."
"Okay!" Yingji smiled and lowered her head to open the scripture in her hand.
Kong Fan glanced sideways.
She held the scriptures in her arms, reading as she walked forward. Her voice was naturally charming, especially when she read something she didn't understand and stretched out the words, adding a hint of coquettishness to her tone.
Reciting Buddhist scriptures in such a gentle and charming voice sounds a bit incongruous.
But she looked quite serious as she pointed at the words and read.
After listening to her strange recitation for a long time, Kong Fan withdrew his gaze.
·
Yingji returned to Xingji Hall and casually threw the Diamond Sutra onto the table. She sat down at the table and reached out to Bajiao.
Bajiao grinned and handed a tray of dumplings to Yingji.
Cultivators have long forgotten what hunger is, but Ying Ji, as a mortal, cannot skip three meals a day.
Yingji only ate two, and the rest of the dumplings were gobbled up by Bajiao.
Yingji turned her head to look at the Diamond Sutra that had been thrown aside, picked it up again, and lay comfortably in a rocking chair with her legs crossed, flipping through the pages slowly.
A white dove flew in from the window and stopped in front of Yingji, flapping its wings.
Yingji raised her eyes, a hint of surprise in them. She reached out and let the letter, tied to the pigeon's leg, fall into her palm. As the letter reached Yingji's hand, the white pigeon's wings flickered and slowly disappeared.
"Aying, I just ascended the throne and the country is unstable and rebels are everywhere. We were caught off guard by the attack of Chaoxi. I had no choice but to hand you over. In the future, I will definitely crush Chaoxi and bring you back!"
Yingji looked at the letter sent by Kou Yuze, and the image of Kou Yuze appeared in front of her eyes.
Kou Yuze had helped her several times, but she hadn't expressed any genuine gratitude. When the army was defeated, Kou Yuze had given her to Chaoxi, and she hadn't blamed him. Now that Kou Yuze had sent another letter, Yingji felt no wavering.
She had no heart.
However, since Kou Yuze had not yet obtained the Blazing Jade, Ying Ji did not intend to completely cut off contact with Kou Yuze.
Keeping in touch doesn’t mean you have to reply now.
Yingji raised a cunning smile on her lips. She stood up, walked to the candlelight with lazy and graceful steps, and burned the letter.
She returned to her rocking chair and read the Diamond Sutra. The words on the pages gradually became blurred. She yawned softly, leaned back, covered her face with the spread-out Diamond Sutra, and slowly fell asleep.
·
Kou Yuze waited for many days but received no reply, and he became increasingly anxious.
"Do you think she resents me?" He muttered to himself, looking at the handkerchief embroidered with poppies. "No woman can accept being given away by a man..."
Kou Yuze closed his eyes in regret, his face filled with pain. He tightly grasped the handkerchief Yingji had embroidered for him in his palm and pressed it against his face.
He really regretted it.
He had done so much for Yingji, so why did he fail in the end and give her away?
"Your Majesty," the palace attendant announced from outside the door, "Venerable Di Fu has arrived."
Kou Yuze suppressed his emotions and invited the person in.
Venerable Di Fu, dressed in a gray-brown robe, walked in silently, followed by a child who looked to be about seven or eight years old.
Kou Yuze asked, "Venerable Di Fu travels all over the place, why would he suddenly come to visit?"
Venerable Di Fu said, "My disciple Xue Zhonghong suddenly disappeared. Has Emperor Bei Cang ever seen him?"
“No.”
Venerable Di Fu narrowed his eyes and stared at Kou Yuze, then said, "But the day before we parted, he said he was going to Beicang to find his sister."
"Maybe something happened along the way." Kou Yuze said with a smile, "I've really never seen him before."
Venerable Di Fu stared at Kou Yuze for a long time, then suddenly laughed and said "OK" in a deep voice, "Then I won't bother Emperor Bei Cang. It seems I have to go to Chaoxi and ask his sister."
Kou Yuze nodded and said goodbye. After Venerable Di Fu left, Kou Yuze immediately wrote another letter to Ying Ji.
"Venerable Di Fu is going to Chaoxi to look for you, be careful."
The conjured white dove carried the letter and flew high over the Beicang Palace, heading east.
Venerable Di Fu stretched out his hand and the white dove instantly turned into nothing, and the letter fell into his palm.
He scanned the contents of the letter and sneered, "It really is related to Ying Ji!"
"Master, are we going to Chaoxi now?"
"Of course." Venerable Di Fu let out a breath slowly, and powerful spiritual power spread from his body, causing the grass and trees around him to tremble.
·
The intercepted letter did not reach Yingji, and she had no idea of the impending danger.
She found an opportunity to meet Xun Nianzhen.
"What? You said you wanted to leave the palace to lure the black python out?" Xun Nianzhen looked at her suspiciously.
Yingji could sense Xun Nianzhen's distrust of her, which was normal, since she wasn't honest to begin with.
Ying Ji nodded and said, "How do we know it won't work if we don't try? He escaped from the Demon Suppression Tower and hasn't been recaptured in such a long time. The people in the city are now in a panic. We should find a way to capture him as soon as possible."
Xun Nianzhen recalled the injuries Yingji sustained when she was captured by the black python last time. She asked suspiciously, "Aren't you afraid of death? You're no different from an ant in front of the black python. He can easily crush you to death!"
"I'm scared." Yingji chuckled, "But I want to help."
Xun Nianzhen was somewhat convinced. She sat down, took a glass of water, and asked, "Why?"
"I am your majesty's concubine, so naturally I have to help my man."
"Puff!" Xun Nianzhen spat out a mouthful of water.
Seeing her like this, Yingji smiled triumphantly. She deliberately teased Xun Nianzhen and "disgusted" her.
"You!" Xun Nianzhen slammed the table, furious. "There are many women like you in the palace, but you are the same as them. No one can disrupt His Majesty's practice! He wants to become a Buddha! A true Buddha!"
Ying Ji put away her playful smile and suddenly became serious. "As the captain of the Demon-Suppressing Guards, you have the responsibility to guard the Demon-Suppressing Tower. Now that the Black Python has broken through the tower and escaped, countless scattered demons have disappeared. Lord Xun, don't you want to atone for your sins?"
Yingji bent down, gradually approached, and gently persuaded him: "Even if we fail, we will only lose a wicked woman who wanted to disrupt Your Majesty's practice. Why not, Lord Xun?"
Xun Nianzhen's eyes changed color, and he stood up in anger, shouting: "You think I'm a villain who wants to kill people! Fine, I'll approve your plan, but you have to wait until I'm fully prepared and ensure your safety before you can act!"
Yingji looked at her with some surprise.
·
Kongfan sat cross-legged beneath a bodhi tree, performing evening prayers. The cold winter wind blew his robes as he silently recited the Buddhist scriptures. With the last verse, his fluttering robes settled into stillness.
Doubt appeared in Kong Fan's clear eyes.
Why... haven't I seen Yingji in a while? Didn't she say she'd ask him if she had any questions? She also said she'd go with him to the library to retrieve the scriptures.
I don’t know how well she understands the Diamond Sutra.
When Kong Fan went to Xingji Hall, the Diamond Sutra was spread out on the table.
Basho was lying under the table, soundly sleeping.
He walked over and woke the man up.
"Little boy, where did Yingji go?"
Basho opened his mouth wide and muttered, "Looking for the black python."
She turned over and continued to snore.
Kong Fan thought of Yingji's last proposal and suddenly frowned.
He stood up and looked around the room, seeing a string of silver bells casually placed on the table. He picked up the bells, closed his eyes, and fell into a state of tranquility.
With a crisp sound, the white mist in the sky dispersed, revealing Yingji, dressed in a bright red gauze dress, as she made her way through the noisy crowd.
It was winter, and everyone around her was wearing thick coats, while she wore a light gauze dress, revealing her bare back, her waist, and her pure white ankles tied with silver bells. She moved through the crowd like a demon, seducing everyone and capturing their attention.
She is clearly a mortal, yet she is incompatible with real mortals.
Yingji left Fanjing. She raised her head and stared at the sky in a trance. The cool breeze blew her gauze skirt high up like butterfly wings.
Floating lights flickered in the forest, and Kong Fan recognized that it was a demon-suppressing formation.
Kong Fan opened his eyes, held the silver bell, and went a thousand miles in one step.
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