Chapter 356: Not Effective
"Are you guys from Muyang City?" Yun Fu walked over and tried to get close to them with a smile.
Don't underestimate these beggars, they are a well-informed group.
The group of beggars looked at her and Qi Hanzhou behind her, and their gazes finally fixed on the flatbreads in her hands.
Very greedy.
Yun Fu also generously handed them the patties in her hand: "Here are a few meat patties. If you guys don't mind, I'll treat you guys."
When the beggars heard that it was "meat pie", their eyes lit up.
They all stretched out their hands.
The palm-sized meat patties were quickly divided up among them.
"My dear brothers, my brother and I have just arrived in Muyang City and we don't know much about it. We are afraid of accidentally offending someone we shouldn't offend, so we want to ask you about what's going on in Muyang City." Yun Fu knelt down and started the conversation.
Her attitude made the beggars lower their guard and become more friendly.
"Well, you're right to ask us about what's happening in Muyang City!"
"Yes! There is nothing in Muyang City that we don't know."
The beggars ate their bread and chatted with each other.
"On my way here, I heard that something big happened in Muyang City. It seemed like they were building a tower."
Yun Fu gave some appropriate guidance and opened up the beggars' mouths.
"Oh, you're talking about the army from Shengjing that built the eighteen-story tower in Muyang City, right?"
"I know, I know. That tower is for the salvation of the soul of a certain general named Qi. It was ordered by His Majesty himself."
"Yes, yes, yes. I also know that the tower is built on the mountain behind the Datian'en Temple in the southern suburbs."
…
Yun Fu successfully obtained the location of the tall tower and winked at Qi Hanzhou.
"Eighteen stories? I've never seen a tower that tall in my life! I really want to see it with my own eyes."
An old beggar waved his hand at her and said, "There's not even a shadow of the tower now. It's pointless for you to go there. You won't see anything."
"Ah? Didn't they say that the emperor gave the order himself? Why hasn't it been built yet?" Yun Fu said with a hint of surprise.
The old beggar had an expression that said, "You are still young and don't understand anything."
"Do you think a tower that tall can be built just like that? With insufficient manpower, construction is naturally very slow. At that rate, it might not be completed in three to five years."
"They're short on manpower, so didn't they capture the local people to serve as soldiers? I heard that whenever there's a major project like this, ordinary people are captured to serve as soldiers to speed up the process. Could it be that Muyang City is different from other places?"
The old beggar lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the general in charge of building the tower once pressured the mayor of Muyang City to increase taxes and force the people who couldn't pay to serve as soldiers. But the mayor didn't agree, and the two sides got into a very unpleasant situation."
Yun Fu understood, so the mayor of Muyang City was a rare good official.
However, this also led to a serious shortage of manpower and slow progress in construction.
None of these concerned her. What she wanted to know was where the coffin containing the corpse was.
The underground palace hasn't been built yet, so the coffin must be placed somewhere else.
"Ahem, did they travel thousands of miles from Shengjing to transport the coffin of that great general surnamed Qi?"
A younger beggar came forward and gestured with his hand, "It's been transported here. I saw it with my own eyes. The huge coffin was pulled by a huge carriage and was heading towards the Datian'en Temple."
"Datian'en Temple?"
Yun Fu searched for the original owner's memories in her mind.
The original owner should have heard of this Datian'en Temple, but there is not much relevant information.
All we know is that this Datian'en Temple is one of the three thousand-year-old temples in Dasheng and is famous all over the world.
She raised her watery eyes and met Qi Hanzhou's gaze.
I want to see if he knows about this Datian'en Temple.
After the two looked at each other, Yun Fu understood something from Qi Hanzhou's eyes.
You should know this Datian'en Temple.
Then there was no need for her to ask these beggars here, lest she ask too many questions and arouse their suspicion.
The two left the dilapidated temple.
Yun Fu then asked, "Do you know this Datian'en Temple?"
Qi Hanzhou nodded and said in a deep voice, "During the years when my father and brother were away on the battlefield, my mother heard that the incense here was very strong and effective, so she came here to pray for my father and brother who were far away on the battlefield. I escorted her here."
That was a long time ago.
Thinking of his deceased parents and brothers, Qi Hanzhou looked toward the distant dusky green hills, lost in memories: "My mother fasted and prayed to Buddha, chanting sutras for a hundred days, praying for my father and brothers' safe return, but... it seems that this Datian'en Temple is not effective."
Neither his father nor his brother came back alive.
Yun Fu frowned slightly: "Will the people in this temple recognize you?"
After all, the two of them were just simply disguising themselves, and might not be able to fool everyone.
Qi Hanzhou said, "I don't think so. I haven't believed in gods or Buddhas since I was a child. After entering the temple, I have been staying in the side room in the backyard and have rarely shown my face."
But he was quite familiar with the Datian'en Temple.
The ancient temple is located in the mountains on the southern outskirts of Muyang City. The mountains are beautiful and the temple is built against the mountain.
There are four halls, nine floors and thirty-six palaces.
There are more than 500 monks' quarters and guest rooms, and more than 1,000 monks.
But when the two of them rode their horses to the gate of Datian'en Temple, Qi Hanzhou found that this place was not the same as he remembered.
He remembered that many people went to this temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, and the incense was very popular.
But now, looking at it, it is really deserted outside the mountain gate.
In late autumn, the mountains are covered with fiery maple leaves. On both sides of the stone steps of the mountain road, there are hundreds of years old ginkgo trees with lush branches and leaves, and the golden leaves cover the stone steps.
The scenery is nice, but it’s a pity that no one goes to appreciate it.
The two of them climbed up the stairs all the way to the mountain gate hall, where they met a young monk in gray monk's robes.
"What brings you two donors to our temple?"
Generally speaking, Yunfu is the one who handles this kind of socializing with people.
She stepped forward and said, "We came to the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings. Otherwise, what else could it be?"
The little monk stared at her with his big round eyes, seeming to be very surprised by her words.
"Ah? Burn incense and pray? Now?"
Yun Fu twisted the corner of her lip: "Yes, now."
The young monk shook his head, hesitating to speak: "You two donors are from outside the region, I guess. I don't know the current situation in the temple."
Yun Fu continued to ask, "What happened in the temple? Little Master, you finished your words in one breath!"
The young monk looked young, with clear eyes, and clearly had nothing on his mind. "To be honest, an army from Shengjing is staying in the temple, and the pilgrims are afraid to come. To avoid colliding with the young general from Shengjing, you should go to another place!"
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