The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 162: Death of Ci Chen

Last time we talked about how Master Ci Chen sent Xiao Qingsu and Liu Ruyan to the border and then returned to Heci Temple. This time we will talk about the story of Heci Temple.

The farce at Zhu Zi's wedding had already spread to Jiankang City, including, of course, the news that You Wei had failed in his pursuit of Xiao Qing and the woman he had rescued.

Zhongshu Ling Shen Yue came to Tongde Temple with a memorial. He certainly did not go to worship Buddha. Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yongming, was discussing Buddhism with the imperial teacher and many eminent monks in the temple at that time.

Shen Yue stood outside the door for a long time until the imperial teacher and a group of monks came out, and then the eunuch handed his memorial to Xiao Yongming.

After Xiao Yongming looked at the memorial, he casually threw it to the yellow-robed monk beside him. This man was the monk in charge of the Jingfa Division of Nanliang, and the head of the Jingfa Division.

This Jingfasi is the Liang Emperor's agency for managing temples. It is also the Liang Emperor's money-making tool and intelligence department. The yellow-robed monk's Dharma name is Luo Yan. It can be said that he is the most trusted person of Liang Emperor Xiao Yongming. In other words, Xiao Yongming would basically take him with him wherever he went except when he was sleeping.

After reading the memorial, Luo Yan frowned and said, "Could it be that the news is wrong? Your Majesty, please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat to come in for a talk." Xiao Yongming nodded with his eyes closed, and Luo Yan waved his hand.

A young monk came out and bowed to Shen Yue, saying, "Sir Shen, His Majesty invites you in."

Seeing that it was a monk who came to invite him, Shen Yue's heart trembled. This was Xiao Yongming's habit. Whenever there was something that did not go his way, he would ask the monk to convey the message when summoning ministers.

Shen Yue stepped inside, and after kneeling and paying his respects, he did not dare to stand up and wait for Xiao Yongming to speak. It was just that Emperor Liang seemed to be chanting with his eyes closed, and kept moving the rosary in his hand.

Shen Yue turned his head to look at Luo Yan beside him, who whispered: "Your Majesty, Lord Shen is here, don't you have anything to ask?" Xiao Yongming didn't even open his eyes, still reciting scriptures silently.

Shen Yue hurriedly winked at Luo Yan, who said sternly, "Mr. Zhongshu Ling, please get up quickly. His Majesty asked you to get up."

Shen Yue raised his head slightly and glanced at the emperor. The emperor did not respond, so he stood up and sat aside. He asked Xiang Luoyan awkwardly, "Master, did your Majesty gain any insights from discussing Buddhism today?"

Xiao Yongming opened his eyes and said, "What a joke! You have disturbed my peace! Shen Yue, you'd better explain the reason, otherwise you will definitely be finished as the Minister of the Central Secretariat!"

Hearing this, Shen Yue's back was wet. He whispered, "Your Majesty, I have written it very clearly in the memorial. I wonder what Your Majesty wants me to say?"

Xiao Yongming snorted coldly, "More than thirty guards, more than ten of them are fourth-grade masters! But they can't even catch two traitors. What should you say? If you can't explain it clearly, go back and write your resignation!"

Luo Yan nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. It is really unreasonable that so many experts failed to catch a single person. May I ask, Lord Shen, did Master Zhu let those two traitors go?"

Shen Yue said in embarrassment: "If it was really Zhu Zi who took action, then it would be easy to explain. The key problem is here. Zhu Zi did not take action. On the contrary, when the guards were chasing Xiao Qing, if it were not for Zhu Zi's student Ding Yuancai who took action, I am afraid that all the guards sent would have been killed. The man who claimed to be Xiao Qing was actually a three-cultivator! A three-cultivator of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism!"

Xiao Yongming asked in surprise: "What? Another third-level cultivator?" Then he turned to look at Luo Yan.

Luo Yan immediately retorted: "Master Shen, did you hear wrong? Confucianism and Buddhism are both ways of consuming spiritual energy, but their concepts are very different. They are simply incompatible. How can there be someone who practices all three!"

Shen Yue shook his head and said, "Master, I wish I had heard it wrong! The man who called himself Xiao Qing used the Buddhist Vajra Divine Art, the Confucian and Taoist Qi Condensation and the Taoist Spiritual Sound Mantra. And Ding Yuan just said that the righteousness in that man's body is not inferior to mine. He is definitely a person who practices Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Moreover, Your Majesty, think about it, isn't Li Yi of the Northern Wei the first person to practice both Confucianism and Buddhism?"

Xiao Yongming looked at Luo Yan and asked, "Luo Yan, haven't you found out the whereabouts of Li Yi yet? He is so upright and has Buddhist teachings. Is it hard to find such a unique person? What do you do as the Jingfashi?"

Luo Yan said with embarrassment: "Your Majesty is right, but please give me some more time."

Xiao Yongming looked at Shen Yue and asked, "Do you think the person who calls himself Xiao Qing is Li Yi?"

Shen Yue shook his head and said, "I dare not say for sure, but I cannot rule out this possibility. By the way, Your Majesty, there is another reason for the failure of this operation, which is of course not the main reason. That is that Master Ci Chen of Heci Temple actually stood on the side of the rebels. It was she who killed the guards who were chasing the woman, otherwise the guards would not have returned empty-handed."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yongming looked at Luo Yan and said coldly, "Luo Yan, what's going on with this Heci Temple? Why are you meddling in worldly affairs instead of worshipping Buddha? What do you do as a monk? You can only show off your skills in front of me!"

Luo Yan immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I will send someone to investigate immediately and will certainly give His Majesty an explanation!"

Xiao Yongming said unhappily: "Don't send anyone, go yourself! And if you can't find that Li Yi, don't come back! There are plenty of monks who can chant, I don't need you!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan immediately replied: "I will do it right away, I will do it right away! I will never come back until I find Li Yi!" After saying that, he stood up and walked out quickly.

After Luo Yan left, Xiao Yongming muttered, "I don't know what's wrong with Luo Yan recently. The information he gets is not accurate. I can't even find him. He is becoming more and more useless."

Shen Yue said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I think it was just an occasional oversight. Master Luo Yan is loyal to Your Majesty, and he is not bad in other aspects."

Xiao Yongming snorted coldly: "Humph, if he didn't have some other skills, would I keep him around? Okay, you should tell me how to deal with Zhu Wentai." ...

Let's switch the camera to Heci Temple. I have to explain here that there were no nuns in the Northern Wei Dynasty, but there were in the Southern Liang Dynasty. The development of Buddhism in the Southern Liang Dynasty can be said to be all-round, and it broke many restrictions. This is of course thanks to the devout Buddhist Emperor Xiao Yongming of Liang.

Heci Temple is a small temple located in Xiangzhou City, with only two courtyards. In addition to the main gate, the main hall, and the Sutra Library, it is the residence of monks and nuns. Because they are all nuns, there are few incense sticks, and no one will deposit money here, so it is very poor. There are really not many such poor temples in Nanliang.

It was past noon, and three people came to the gate of Heci Temple, two monks and a eunuch. The two monks were Luo Yan and his apprentice. Luo Yan had four apprentices, and their Dharma names were Xuanguan Miaoli. Next to him was the second apprentice Deguan.

Luo Yan looked at the front of Heci Temple and shook his head, sighing, "Alas, there are too few monks who can practice asceticism these days. It's rare, really rare. Deguan, we are guests from afar, and there are only women inside, so it's not convenient to go in directly. Please knock on the door and let them know."

Monk Deguan took the order and knocked on the door. A young nun opened the door and saw that it was a monk. She immediately bowed and said, "Amitabha, hello, brother. Are you here to debate or to pay homage to the Buddha?"

Deguan returned the greeting and said, "Amitabha, my master, the monk Luoyan, is here to visit. I would like to trouble you to inform the abbot and ask her to prepare so as not to lose the etiquette."

The little nun was surprised and said, "It turns out to be a senior monk from the Jingfasi. Please wait a moment. I will go and inform the abbot."

After a while, the gate opened, and the abbot of Heci Temple, Ci Tong, led the 16 monks and nuns of the temple to greet him. Luo Yan immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Amitabha, Abbot Ci Tong, why are you doing this? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

Ci Tong returned the greeting and said, "Amitabha, Senior Brother Luo Yan is the Grand Master of the Jingfa Division. How dare we neglect him? Grand Master, please come in!"

Luo Yan smiled and walked forward alone, motioning Deguan to stand guard at the door. After entering the nunnery, he waved his hand and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, go and do whatever you need to do. The great monk is just here to chat with Abbot Ci Tong. You don't need to worry about me. Go now."

Ci Tong smiled and waved her hand to signal the monks and nuns to disperse. She and Luo Yan walked into the meditation room and sat down to look at the tea. She said, "Master, please forgive me. Our small temple is poor and we only have this Di Ding tea. If you are not used to it, I will ask someone to change it to plain water."

Luo Yan picked up the cup as if he had found a treasure and said with a smile: "Abbot, what are you talking about? This ground lily tea is the best!" He took a sip with a look of enjoyment on his face, shook his head and smiled: "To be honest, when my master and I traveled, we loved to drink this ground lily tea the most. We all know that ground lilies can be found everywhere. We can just pick some and cook them in a pot. It can be used as tea to quench thirst and as a dish to satisfy hunger. It's a good thing."

Ci Tong smiled and said, "It's good that Master Dafa likes to drink. I am afraid that Master Dafa may not be used to it. But I don't know why Master Dafa is visiting me?"

Luo Yan smiled and said, "The monk has been in Jiankang for a long time, so he wanted to go out for a walk. He was very pleased to see the simple and poor Heci Temple. But Buddhism is the state religion of Daliang after all. It's okay to practice in seclusion, but the appearance must be decent, right? So I came to give some silver to the abbot, so that the Heci Temple can be renovated."

As he spoke, Luo Yan took out two gold cakes from his sleeve and placed them on the table, then said, "Master, I know that the abbot will definitely not want to accept them, but this is the will of His Majesty. I hope the abbot will not make it difficult for you."

While Ci Tong was hesitating, Luo Yan suddenly asked, "By the way, may I ask, Abbot, why didn't I see your fellow apprentice Ci Chen just now? Where did she go?"

Ci Tong shook his head and said, "Master, my sister has been traveling for many years and has not returned yet. I don't know where she is."

Luo Yan nodded and smiled, "Oh, that's what happened. Then, Master, please tell the abbot about it. Ci Chen went to Zhujiazhuang, which is Master Zhu's manor. He has been there all these years and there is nothing to do. But the matter of Zhujiazhuang should have been settled. Why hasn't he come back yet?"

Ci Tong shook his head and said, "Junior brother really hasn't come back yet, so why does the great master want to see him? If so, as soon as I get news about junior brother, will I send someone to inform the great master?"

Luo Yan shook his head and smiled, "We monks don't tell lies, but why would the abbot lie?"

Ci Tong looked bewildered and said, "What do you mean, Master? I have never lied."

Luo Yan reached out and poured himself another cup of Di Ding tea. He sipped the tea while waiting. When he finished, he slowly put the cup down, stood up and said with a smile: "Since the abbot doesn't want to say more, the monk won't ask any more. We should get on the road."

Ci Tong also stood up and said with an apologetic smile: "Then I will see you off, Master."

Luo Yan waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, it was the great monk who sent the abbot off." As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Yan grabbed Ci Tong's neck and lifted her up. With his other hand, he made a Buddhist gesture and said, "Amitabha, as the abbot, you are the first to break the precepts. It seems that this Heci Temple should be managed by someone else. I'll ask you one last time, where is Ci Chen?"

Ci Tong struggled desperately, but to no avail. Luo Yan shook his head and said, "Ci Chen, why don't you come out? Then you can just watch the monk send your brother to see the Buddha!"

At this moment, Ci Chen rushed into the Zen room. She had already activated the Vajra Magic Power, and her body was as white as bronze. She shouted to Luo Yan, "Luo Yan, let my brother go!" Luo Yan threw Ci Tong aside. Ci Chen stood in front of Ci Tong and prepared to fight him to the death.

Luo Yan smiled and said, "Although this is not the first time I have seen monks and nuns use the Vajra Divine Art, I am still a little surprised to see it again. Ci Chen, do you really want to fight with the monk?"

Ci Chen said coldly: "You evil monk, I will fight you to the death!" Then he rushed towards Luo Yan.

However, this battle was like a fight between adults and children, and Ci Chen was the one being teased. Luo Yan stood still from beginning to end, and only used one hand to defend against the enemy. Ci Chen was knocked away by him again and again, but he rushed up again and again. In the end, Ci Chen's Vajra Power was broken by Luo Yan.