0053 053 Mountain Hot Spring Dilapidated Temple Buddha
The heat these past two days has been abnormally intense, and sure enough, on the third day, it started raining early in the morning. Before they were even fully awake, the sky was terrifyingly dark, and then the heavy rain began to pour down, banging against the windows with a loud crash.
Qi Shuyao opened her eyes, facing the window. The dark clouds dispersed, and it was getting light. There was a warm body pressed against her back. The air conditioner in the room was humming loudly. Even though the doors and windows were closed tightly, she could almost smell the rain falling into the soil.
Unfortunately, the windows here aren't as clean as those at home; rainwater washes them down, turning them into muddy water.
I don't know what she was thinking, but she covered her face with the blanket and chuckled to herself. As her body trembled, she felt the arms around her waist tighten, and they pulled her exposed arms back in.
"What did you think of that made you laugh so happily?"
"I remember when I was in junior high school, my Chinese teacher said that people instinctively like rain because in ancient times, when it rained, people didn't have to go out hunting and could rest, so they naturally liked it."
"Lazybones."
"You lazybones, you've been sleeping in even longer than me these past few days. Have you been sleeping in a little longer and experiencing the charm of staying in bed?"
She turned over in Qi Yu's arms, pressing her arm, which was cold from the wind, against his chest.
"Yes, it's the first time I've ever stayed in bed so late, I really didn't want to get up."
"Then let's not get up today and sleep until evening."
"No, I need to go out this afternoon to check out the terrain."
"What? You have to work again? Didn't you say this was your vacation?"
"The holiday is over, honey."
He stretched his arm out from under the covers and reached back to rub Qi Shuyao's head. The girl immediately frowned and curled up unhappily in her pillow.
"snort!"
"Okay, I'll take you with me. I'm sure you'll like the place we're going."
Where?
He pointed outside.
Qi Shuyao looked completely bewildered.
This time he wasn't driving. After the rain stopped in the afternoon, Shi Heyu stood in the yard waiting for them. When he saw her, he exaggeratedly gave her a knightly salute and handed her the birthday gift he had brought.
"This big box is a gift from your dad, and this small box is mine. Which one you open first depends on who you're giving face to."
Without hesitation, she opened the large box, ignoring Shi Heyu's cries. A white jade bracelet lay quietly on the velvet, radiating a soft light.
Her hands were slender and long, and few bracelets could fit her size. But this one seemed to be tailor-made for her, hanging perfectly against the girl's fair skin.
"Tsk tsk tsk, your dad really spares no expense on you, he can buy you all sorts of nice things. Sigh, I'm afraid my pair of earrings are no longer presentable."
In fact, Qi Shuyao's first birthday gift was given to her by Shi Heyu. At that time, Qi Yu was just a struggling young man, while he was born a young master. When he saw that Qi Shuyao had two small ear piercings, he bought her a pair of diamond earrings in the first year they met. From then on, he took care of her earrings every year.
While Qi Yu was on the phone, Qi Shuyao quickly moved closer to Shi Heyu, grabbed his arm and acted coquettishly. Shi Heyu was very pleased and even tilted his head, indicating that she should kiss him.
Then he was ruthlessly pushed away.
"Hey Lao Qi, your daughter's all grown up now, she's not close to me anymore. I remember when she was a little baby, she loved to hug and kiss me..."
A cushion was thrown from the back row, covering his mouth. Qi Yu watched with a smile as she "attacked" Shi Heyu, her face full of indulgence.
"Alright, I've never been able to beat this little war god. Let's get going, or I'm afraid I'll lose my life here."
Two more cars followed behind his vehicle, with Zhou Cheng in the latter one. The three cars set off from Xianhui, left the small town, passed by Yangcheng, and arrived at the southeast corner of Jingyang.
The terrain here is so complex that it's rarely mentioned in geography class. The ocean has carved a thin depression into the land, which is named Shenghai. To the north of Shenghai is Jingyang, and to the south of Shenghai is Yangcheng. In the middle, a small protrusion connecting the land of Yangcheng is Xianhui.
Xianhui is full of high mountains, with peaks everywhere. Yangcheng is also a small plateau, while Jingyang is low in the north and high in the south. The southeast corner where they are now located is the place with the most peaks.
There are countless mountains here, but only a few are famous. For example, the one next to this peak is called Daiyang Mountain. It has extremely beautiful scenery, but it is not a tourist destination. The country has never developed it, and no one dares to come. Legend has it that this is the dividing line between heaven and hell. The old people often say that you should not walk to the foot of the mountain at night, because there are not many people walking on that road.
But down from Daiyang Mountain is a very old road, formerly known as Lingyang Road. Now it has been transformed into the main road in the southern part of the city, called Lingyang Avenue. There is also an elevated highway passing through here.
Later, during urban development, the foot of the mountain was fenced off, and the legend gradually evolved into the saying that people should not walk on Lingyang Street in the evening, and cars should not park there, because little ghosts that have just crawled out of the ground will be exhausted and dizzy. If they see a person, they will possess them.
This mountain and this road have such a long history that it has been integrated into the mountain and hidden in the people.
The mountain range is complex, with numerous legends surrounding it, making mapmaking difficult. Even after satellites were developed, maps of this area were never made public because they were deemed not worth surveying.
An ancient hand-drawn map is no longer reliable. The terrain is constantly changing, and information cannot be updated in a timely manner. The most complete history of this place is forever imprinted in the minds of the elderly indigenous residents.
Shi Heyu had contacted the people here a long time ago. Now that they had arrived at the foot of the mountain, an old man with long white hair combed like a Taoist priest was there to greet them with a wooden cane. However, they were not going to Daiyang Mountain today, but to a small mountain next to it that didn't even have a name.
The old man said that he had heard from other elders that his family had watched the mountain form over the years and that they regarded it as a deity and had been worshipping it devoutly. However, in recent years, strange noises had been coming from inside the mountain, which he described as "the Dragon King churning inside."
Qi Shuyao listened, initially disbelieving, but after following the old man for a while, halfway up the mountain, they suddenly heard a howling sound from within, like the roar of a giant dragon.
She shrank back to Qi Yu, clutching his clothes. The old woman was about to kneel down when Shi Heyu stopped her.
“Sir, we have already measured this place with professional equipment. There is a natural hot spring inside. As long as we blast this part of the mountain, there will be no more noise.”
She couldn't hear what the old man was saying. The group arrived at a small platform where a helicopter was waiting for them. They boarded one by one, and the helicopter took off, allowing them to observe the shape of the mountain from an overhead view.
Looking down from above, the towering mountains at the foot of the mountain are only just peeking out of the clouds. The peaks stretch far and wide, and you can only see the mountains; you won't even notice the trees.
Once the plane reached a certain altitude, it contacted the demolition team below. After a few countdowns, a large hole was blasted out at the spot Shi Heyu had just gestured to. The ground shook violently, and first, a large flock of small birds flew out. There was a rumbling sound below, as if wild animals living there were running out.
Then the mountain, along with the forest, all crumbled and collapsed.
After a while, the spring water gushed out from the breach and poured down like a torrent, still steaming in the July weather.
A person is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the mountains, yet someone can destroy them entirely.
He can even grasp a mountain with one hand.
"Won't the little devils on Mount Daiyang be blown out and scattered?"
Her question amused everyone on the helicopter, and Shi Heyu came over and ruffled her hair.
"I didn't realize you were so superstitious."
But after saying that, he quickly became serious again.
“Look over there, that Buddha statue hidden behind the forest was blown up in the mountains by that crazy real estate tycoon five years ago.”
The helicopter had flown to the other side of the mountain. This side of the mountain was low, with a rough and uneven surface, and was casually covered with a huge cloth, which was covered with dust.
Shi Heyu handed over a few pictures.
"This is the place where Lin Shang wanted to blast the mountain to develop mountain villas back then. He got the approval from the old director and brought the construction team in that same day. They blasted up this low mountain and only after removing the rocks did they find a Buddha statue hidden inside. It was a reclining Buddha, lying on its side with a smile on its face."
The photo looks like it was taken secretly; it's not very clear. You can only see the Buddha statue embedded in the rocky mountain, and the smile on its face makes your hair stand on end.
"Lin Shang is extremely superstitious. When he saw this, his legs went weak with fear. He shouted for the workers to bury the whole place and then ran away. The place remained vacant for a long time until three years ago when a big shot appeared. He fenced off the area and secretly dug up a tomb under the guise of real estate development. He unearthed many things and laid them out on the ground. He probably never expected that these things would later be photographed by an old man who was taking a stroll and posted online."
"Three years ago? And then?"
"Of course it was intercepted; only one image was leaked, this one."
Shi Heyu pointed to the last picture in her hand. It showed a statue of a person on the ground, leading a small horse. It must have rained heavily at the time, as there was a lot of water in the depression that covered the statue's feet.
"Later, the messages were all deleted. Most people who saw the picture at the time just treated it as a joke and no one investigated it further. Later, after they emptied the place, I came to take a look. There was a small glazed pagoda hidden in the mountains."
As they spoke, the plane landed. They took off their headsets and got off the helicopter, landing right on the ground. From there, they could see the gushing hot spring water, which, due to the terrain, was arranged in a staggered pattern, like a series of high-rise buildings.
"The scenery here is beautiful. Is it going to be developed?"
“Go ahead and develop it! Not only develop it, but develop it vigorously. Your dad has a keen eye for things. He planned it out after just looking at two pictures. Here, we can improve the landscaping below the hot spring, and we plan to develop a hot spring hotel above it.”
"Developing a hotel here? What will it be like?"
"Just like the one at home."
Qi Yu interrupted.
"The one at home isn't much better; it's like a swimming pool when you're soaking in it."
"I'll teach you how to enjoy yourself when we get home tonight."
Qi Shuyao turned to look at Shi Heyu warily. Fortunately, he was observing the other side and did not notice their conversation. Zhou Cheng came over from the other side to take them inside, and Qi Yu went ahead first.
Qi Shuyao stood still, and after Shi Heyu caught up, she leaned close to him and quietly asked.
"Which important figure dug up this Buddha statue?"
"The old land of Jingyang, Guanxiang."
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