ebookland Chapter 186: Shura's Plan
Chapter 186: Shura's Plan
Last time, we talked about how Li Yi found out that the river map he deduced had turned into a mark on King Shura after he returned to reality. He instantly realized that the incarnation of King Shura was not killed by Master Bodhidharma! So what will happen next? Let's read on.
Zu Hao helped Li Yi up and asked, "Who is King Shura?"
Li Yi replied: "The last flood was caused by the battle between Master Bodhidharma and King Shura in the East China Sea. If he is still alive, this time it might bring a bigger disaster! No, I have to go find Master Bodhidharma immediately!"
Chen Chong suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Yi who was about to leave, and said seriously: "Li Yuefu, if you recognize this map, it means that the River Map is guiding you. Since you have already deduced the River Map, you might as well deduce the Luoshu as well, maybe you can get more clues!"
Seeing Chen Chong's determined eyes, Li Yi nodded and walked to the tortoise shell carrying the Luoshu. He said, "This picture is a book, which means it has words. We must understand the words from this picture! Brother Chen, do you have a pen and ink?"
Chen Chong waved his hand and asked someone to bring a table and set out the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone. Li Yi looked at the Luoshu and said as he put pen to paper, "There is also yin and yang in calligraphy. According to the ink, heavy ink is yin and light ink is yang. According to the strokes, even numbers are yin and odd numbers are yang. According to the structure, there is yang on top and yin on the bottom, yin on the left and yang on the right, and yin inside and yang outside."
Li Yi looked at the Luoshu and continued, "Transform the Luoshu into the Nine Palaces. Wear nine and step on one. Three on the left and seven on the right. Two and four are shoulders. Six and eight are feet. Five is in the center. The River Chart is the scripture, the Luoshu is the authority. The River Chart is the body, and the Luoshu is the function. Now, we just need to find the corresponding characters and add them into the Nine Palaces to get the prophecy."
After that, Li Yi began to fill in the blanks, saying as he filled in the blanks: "Odd numbers are yang, even numbers are yin, and does yin correspond to strokes or structure? There are so many solutions, where should I start?"
Zu Hao said, "Didn't the River Map give some guidance before? Didn't you say King Shura?"
Li Yi immediately wrote the three words "Shura King" on paper. Because calligraphy is in traditional Chinese, it reads "Shura King". The word "Xiu" is divided by a short vertical stroke in the middle, and the two strokes on the left side correspond to the number of Yin two; and the word "Luo" has nineteen strokes, ten of which are reduced, which corresponds to the number of Yang nine; and the word "Wang" has four strokes that correspond to the number of Yin four!
Li Yi, Zu Hao and Chen Chong were all shocked, and then they looked for words according to the corresponding pattern of the three words "Ashura King". Finally, the prophecy they determined was "Ashura King slaughters Li Lao and takes the sacrificial axe". After confirming this prophecy, Zu and Chen turned pale.
Li Yi didn't know what "Tu Li Lao took the sacrificial axe" meant, but he knew from the expressions of the two that something big was going to happen, so he asked, "You two, what does Tu Li Lao take the sacrificial axe mean?"
Zu Hao replied, "Li Yuefu, you grew up in the north, so you may not know much about Wu and Yue. The people of Wu and Yue all regard Dayu as their ancestor, and the sacrificial axe is a ritual vessel used to worship King Yu. It is said to be a magical weapon used by King Yu to open mountains and drain water when he was controlling floods. It is enshrined in the King Yu Mausoleum in Lilao County!"
Chen Chong was a member of the Chen clan, one of the eight surnames in Jiangdong. He said angrily, "We must not let that Shura King destroy the mausoleum of our Wu Yue ancestors! Brother, Li Yuefu, quickly come with me to pay respect to His Majesty!"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "The situation is urgent. We should act separately. The only one who can deal with King Shura is Master Bodhidharma in Tongde Temple. I will ask him to help. You two should go to see His Majesty and explain the matter!"
The scene switched to Tongde Pagoda of Tongde Temple. Li Yi hurriedly climbed to the top of the pagoda. Bodhidharma was still in a state of meditation. Li Yi bowed and said, "Master, can we meditate on this Zen again in a few days? Didn't you kill the incarnation of Shura King last time? Just now, I calculated the national destiny with the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. How did I calculate that Shura King was going to take the axe used for sacrifice from the Yu King's Mausoleum in Lilao County?"
Bodhidharma slowly opened his eyes and said, "So that's what he planned. Well, Xiuyuan, don't panic, come and sit down." Li Yi sat aside helplessly. "Do you know what the sacrificial axe is used for?"
Li Yi replied: "I heard from Chen Zhongzheng that it seems to be the magic weapon used by Dayu to open up the mountains when he controlled the floods."
Bodhidharma nodded and said, "That's right, but the sacrificial axe is only half of the magic weapon, the axe head. In order to restore the magic weapon Tianshui Yue used by King Yu, we still need the axe handle. Those people from Shura Palace should be searching for the axe handle. I can stop King Shura from taking the axe, and you have to find a way to stop the people from Shura Palace from getting the axe handle."
Li Yi asked: "Master, do you know the whereabouts of the axe handle?"
Bodhidharma shook his head and said, "I don't know either, but the axe handle should be like the axe, and should be worshipped somewhere as some kind of sacrificial vessel. You can ask the Jiangdong clan, and maybe you can find some clues."
Li Yi bowed and said, "Well, I will go and find a solution. When will the master set out?"
Bodhidharma asked, "Xiuyuan, once I leave Jiankang, Luoyan will attack you. For your safety, you should find a way to leave this place first, so that I can go find the Shura King."
Li Yi thought for a moment and replied, "Thank you for your reminder, Master. Xiuyuan knows what to do now. But Master, why didn't you send the Asura King back to hell last time?"
Bodhidharma shook his head and said, "The incarnation of Shura King is stronger than I thought. I failed to send him back last time. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult this time. So you must stop the people of Shura Palace from getting the axe handle."
Li Yi asked: "Master, you said this time is more difficult, is it because you are passing on your skills to your disciples..."
Bodhidharma stretched out his hand to interrupt Li Yi and said with a smile: "Xiuyuan, you have your mission. I pass on my skills to you to help you, Buddhism, and the way of heaven. I will do my best to stop King Shura. If I can't stop him, I will find a way to destroy the axe."
Li Yi asked again: "Master, if King Shura gets the axe and the axe handle and restores King Yu's Tianshui Yue, what will he do?"
Bodhidharma sighed and said, "He might want to use the Tianshui Axe to split the Yaquan boundary monument and create a way for the Shuras imprisoned in hell to return to the human world. Once the Shuras return to the human world, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Li Yi bowed and said, "Disciple, I understand!" After that, he turned and left Tongde Pagoda. Bodhidharma looked up at the Buddha statue, chanted the Buddha's name, and continued to meditate.
The scene switches to the palace. Xiao Yongming listens to Zu Chen's story with a solemn expression, and is hesitating about what to do. At this time, the eunuch outside the door comes to report: "Your Majesty, Li Yi, the special envoy of the Northern Wei delegation, requests to see you."
Xiao Yongming waved his hand, and Li Yi quickly walked into the hall and knelt on the ground without saying a word. At this time, in addition to Xiao Yongming and Zu Chen, there was another person in the imperial study, that was Shen Yue.
Shen Yue said calmly, "Li Yuefu is a foreign minister. He is so flustered to meet Your Majesty and he is so polite. Isn't this a loss of the integrity of an envoy?"
Li Yi kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, Liang is in danger! I have just learned from Master Bodhidharma the true intentions of the Shura King. Your Majesty, please send troops to wipe out the Shura Palace tribe as soon as possible!"
Xiao Yongming asked: "What does King Shura want to do?"
When Li Yi told Shen Yue about the matter, he frowned and asked, "How does Li Yuefu plan to find the whereabouts of the handle of the Tianshui Axe of King Yu?"
Xiao Yongming looked at Shen Yue's nervous expression and asked, "Shen Yue, do you know anything about this matter?"
Shen Yue bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I only know that King Yu's divine weapon, the Tianshui Yue, was divided into a sacrificial axe and a measuring ruler after his death. They are guarded by King Yu's descendants respectively. As for where they are enshrined and who guards them, I don't know."
Li Yi said, "In this case, I think we can start from two aspects. First, ask the Confucianists, Taoists, and Buddhists to participate in the search and mobilize elite troops to wipe out the Shura Palace. Second, start with the descendants of King Yu and try to find the Heaven-Measured Ruler before the Shura Palace to stop King Shura's plan."
At this moment, Luo Yan suddenly came to the imperial study, saluted and said: "Your Majesty, I think there is a better way to deal with this matter!" Li Yi stared at Luo Yan, unable to guess what this evil monk was going to do.
Xiao Yongming asked: "What do you have in mind?"
Luo Yan smiled and said, "Since the Heaven-Measure Ruler is guarded by the descendants of King Yu, the people of Shura Palace will definitely attack them. We might as well use static to dynamic, gather the descendants of King Yu in one place and protect them, and use them as bait to lure the people of Shura Palace into the trap!"
Xiao Yongming nodded and said, "Well, this method is feasible. It saves the trouble of searching."
Just as Li Yi was about to speak, Luo Yan suddenly asked him, "Li Yuefu, this matter is a matter of state affairs for Daliang. As an outsider, it is not convenient for you to intervene! Or have you already given up your dark ways and joined the light to serve His Majesty?"
Shen Yue knew about the agreement between Xiao Yongming and Li Yi, so he stepped out to smooth things over and said, "Li Yuefu, the monk is right. As an outsider, you should not interfere in the political affairs of Liang. By the way, I heard that Zhu Zi has arrived in Jiankang, and it seems that he came here specifically for Li Yuefu. I don't know what he is going to do."
Xiao Yongming looked at Shen Yue and nodded, then said seriously: "Go, call Zong Ji and Liu Hong, I have something for them to do! Li Yi, as an outsider it is inconvenient for you to stay here. If anything happens, I will send someone to find you." After saying that, he waved his hand.
Li Yi reluctantly left the palace and returned to the inn. On the way, he saw through Luo Yan's intention. This evil monk wanted to help the people of Shura Palace find the ruler of heaven! First, gather the descendants of King Yu together, and then make moves from within to force them to tell the whereabouts of the ruler of heaven.
In addition, Li Yi also figured out one thing. As long as Luo Yan is not eliminated, even if Xiao Yongming sends troops to clear out the Shura Palace, it will not cause any substantial damage, just like the imperial court's troops just watched when Lingyin Temple was attacked. So the top priority is to eliminate Luo Yan, the Buddhist scum! This matter is definitely not possible on his own. He had planned to borrow Zhu Zi's power before, so now he has to act immediately.
That night, Xiao Yongming hosted a banquet to receive the Wei envoys. During the banquet, he repeatedly expressed his concern for Li Yi and told Ping'an King Tuoba Li that he would formally hand over the letter of credence tomorrow to discuss the wedding arrangements. This was of course a cover-up. Xiao Yongming and Li Yi had an appointment in three months, so Li Yi didn't have to worry about how to delay it.
After the banquet, the Northern Wei envoys were about to return to the inn, but Li Yi went to see Xiao Yongming alone, which made Tuoba Li very unhappy and made him suspicious of Li Yi. In fact, Li Yi went to see Xiao Yongming to postpone the three-month appointment because he had more important things to do.
Although Li Yi's reason was very good, he was helping Liang State to eliminate the disaster, but Xiao Yongming did not agree to his request. After some discussion, he only said that he would not be put under "house arrest" for the time being, because Li Yi proposed to go to Kuaiji in person to find the measuring ruler.
Xiao Yongming also told Li Yi that he had appointed Xiao Zongji as the commander-in-chief and Liu Hong as the military supervisor, and reorganized 10,000 Yanjia troops. Once the troops were assembled, they would go to Kuaiji to protect the descendants of King Yu and wipe out the Shura Palace. At the same time, he also ordered the governor of Kuaiji to tell the descendants of King Yu to pack up and rush to Lingyin Temple in Linjiang for refuge.
Li Yi didn't know whether to be happy or worried after learning about this. You know, Lingyin Temple had experienced the last disaster and lost more than half of its people. If it confronts Shura Palace again this time, it will probably be a disaster. But now, apart from Lingyin Temple, Li Yi really doesn't know which other temple can truly protect these descendants of King Yu.
Li Yi reluctantly returned to the inn, but still had to face the questioning of Tuoba Li and Lu Yu. After Li Yi explained everything, Lu Yu, as a Confucianist, expressed his understanding and supported Li Yi in doing what he should do. But Tuoba Li was very dissatisfied with Li Yi and said that the affairs of Nanliang should be solved by themselves.
After a debate, the three of them parted unhappily. Li Yi returned to the room with a worried look on his face. Cui Zhi immediately stepped forward to express her concern. Li Yi had asked her to find out the news from Xiao Zonggang and Xiao Ruoping, but these two forces were unaware of it. This was how powerful Shen Yue was. He was like an old silver coin beside Xiao Yongming.
Li Yi, who got nothing in the end, lay depressed on the bed. Cui Zhi wanted to help him relax, so she massaged his shoulders and back. As she was massaging, she was about to go down. To be honest, Cui Zhi was a complete slut now.