PDLP Chapter 167 Rooftop, Zhang Ying
Chapter 167 Rooftop, Zhang Ying
The seventeenth day of the first lunar month.
Early in the morning, two black SUVs drove into the Tiantai Mountain scenic area.
Although it was winter, the mountains were still lush and green, with evergreen pines and cypresses and babbling streams.
Occasionally, you can hear birdsong echoing through the valley.
The car drove uphill along the winding mountain road.
It took another half hour to drive.
Finally, a construction site appeared ahead.
That's the excavation site of the Guoqing Temple ruins.
Several simple prefabricated houses stand by the roadside.
Behind the prefabricated houses is an area enclosed by a fence.
Inside the fence, one can vaguely see some ruins and traces of excavated foundations.
The car stopped in front of the prefabricated house.
The car door opened.
President Qin and Daoist Xuanming came down.
There were already people waiting here.
He was the head of the local Night Watch branch, surnamed Zhou, in his forties, with dark skin, and looked like someone who was always on the go.
"President Qin! Senior Xuanming!" Manager Zhou quickly approached, "You must have had a long journey!"
President Qin waved his hand.
"Enough of that, take us to see it."
The person in charge, Zhou, nodded.
"Okay, this way please."
He led the two men through the prefab house and into the fenced area.
Inside the fence lies a carefully cleaned site.
The remaining stone foundations, column bases, and paving stones still give a glimpse into the scale of the temple in its heyday.
President Qin stood at the edge of the ruins, looking around.
He doesn't understand archaeology.
But standing before these ruins, one can also feel a sense of historical vicissitude.
Those broken stones, those foundations worn smooth by time, are all silently telling a story.
"Is this the site of Guoqing Temple?" he asked.
The person in charge, Zhou, nodded.
"Yes, these were all discovered in previous years."
"According to archaeological research, this is the core area of Guoqing Temple, which was built by imperial decree during the Sui Dynasty."
"That's the site of the Mahavira Hall."
He raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
"That's the Dharma Hall."
"That's the library over there."
"And over there..."
He introduced them one by one.
President Qin looked in the direction he was pointing.
But apart from the ruins, nothing else could be seen.
At this moment, Master Xuanming suddenly spoke.
"Manager Zhou, I have a question."
The person in charge, Zhou, quickly replied, "Please speak, senior."
"Since the excavation of this site began, have any... unusual objects been discovered?"
Manager Zhou was taken aback for a moment.
"Something unusual?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"no."
"What was unearthed were all ordinary cultural relics, such as fragments of Buddha statues, fragments of sutra pillars, and daily utensils."
"No...extraordinary items were found."
Master Xuanming nodded.
He walked to a stone base, squatted down, and reached out to touch the stone.
The stone was cold.
It was covered with moss.
He closed his eyes and sensed carefully.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
He stood up and shook his head.
"Nothing unusual."
President Qin was somewhat disappointed.
But he knew things wouldn't be that simple.
"Director Zhou," he said, "where exactly was the energy fluctuation detected last night located?"
The person in charge, Zhou, took out his phone and pulled up a map.
"Here."
He pointed to a point on the map.
"The error shall not exceed fifty meters."
President Qin glanced at that spot.
Within the site of the ruins.
But it's a bit to the east, near a hillside.
"Let's go take a look."
The group walked in that direction.
After passing through several ruined foundations, we arrived at a hillside.
The hillside was covered with weeds and some scattered shrubs.
The person in charge, Zhou, pointed to a spot on the hillside.
"This is it."
"Monitoring data from last night showed that the energy fluctuation occurred in this location."
President Qin stepped forward and examined it carefully.
There was nothing there.
It's just an ordinary hillside.
Overgrown with weeds.
soil .
There is nothing unusual about it.
He looked at Master Xuanming.
Master Xuanming has already stepped forward.
He stood in front of that hillside, his eyes closed, as if sensing something.
a long time.
He opened his eyes.
His brows furrowed slightly.
"What's wrong?" President Qin asked.
Master Xuanming remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
"Something definitely doesn't feel right here."
President Qin was immediately invigorated.
"Something's not right?"
Master Xuanming did not answer immediately.
He walked around the hillside.
Then, he squatted down and reached out to brush away the withered grass on the ground.
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Beneath the withered grass was ordinary soil.
But he didn't stop.
He channeled his inner energy, turning over the layers of soil and continuing to penetrate deeper.
They dug to a depth of about half a meter.
suddenly.
His fingers touched something hard.
Master Xuanming was taken aback.
He sped up and cleared away all the surrounding soil.
Soon, a bluish-gray stone slab was revealed.
The stone slab is not large.
It is about one foot square.
The surface is rough and covered with mud and moss.
But you can vaguely see some patterns engraved on it.
President Qin quickly came over.
"This is……"
Master Xuanming remained silent.
He reached out and released his true energy, shaking the soil off the surface of the stone slab.
The patterns are becoming increasingly clear.
Those are lines.
It's winding and crooked.
Like...
The strokes of a rune.
However, it is not quite the same as the runes used by Taoist sects.
Master Xuanming stared at it for a long time.
Then, he slowly began to speak.
"This should be... a Buddhist sealing rune."
President Qin's pupils contracted.
Buddhist sealing runes?!
After the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism completely disappeared in Bactria.
No tradition has been passed down.
now……
To my surprise, Buddhist sealing runes were discovered here!
"Senior, are you sure?" he asked.
"Senior, are you sure?" he asked.
Master Xuanming nodded.
"Although I don't know much about Buddhism, some principles are the same. These patterns have the effect of connecting heaven and earth and nature, so they should be Buddhist runes without a doubt."
President Qin's heart was beating faster and faster.
He stared at the stone slab, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.
Sealing runes...
Why are there sealing runes here?
What is sealed?
What is the connection between last night's energy fluctuations and this rune?
He was about to ask a question.
suddenly.
Buzz!
A very faint buzzing sound came from under the stone slab!
The voice was very low.
So low that it was almost inaudible.
But everyone present was a practitioner.
Everyone heard it clearly.
President Qin's expression changed.
He instinctively took a half step back.
Master Xuanming remained motionless.
He just stared at the stone slab.
His gaze was deep and penetrating.
"It... is responding," he murmured.
President Qin was taken aback.
"What should we respond to?"
Master Xuanming turned his head and looked at him.
"Respond to Master Li's side."
"Judging by the time, Master Li should have started carving that statue of the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union in Lu County."
"With each stroke of his knife, the wooden sculpture became more perfect."
"With each improvement, the Taoist essence it contains becomes stronger."
"And here..."
He looked down at the stone slab.
"Here, I am sensing that Daoist essence."
After listening, President Qin remained silent for a long time.
A conjecture that seemed absurd to him surfaced in his mind.
What Master Li sculpted was not a statue of the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union, but the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union themselves.
They are those two legendary figures.
And here...
It is the place where those two beings once cultivated.
There is some connection between the two.
A connection that transcends millennia and life and death.
"Senior," President Qin said, his voice slightly hoarse, "what's sealed down there...?"
Master Xuanming remained silent for a few seconds.
Then, he slowly shook his head.
"This humble Taoist does not know."
"But one thing is certain."
He paused.
"This thing is related to the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union."
"It's related to the wooden sculpture that Master Li is carving."
President Qin took a deep breath.
He looked at the stone slab and at the ancient runes.
An indescribable emotion welled up in my heart.
A thousand-year-old mystery.
That thousand-year-old mystery that has troubled countless people in the Great Xia Dynasty.
Now, is the mystery finally about to be revealed?
"Senior," he asked, "what do we do now?"
Master Xuanming thought for a moment.
"wait!"
"The fact that this thing is responding to Master Li means that it has not completely disappeared."
"Opening it rashly might cause problems."
President Qin nodded.
"Okay, we'll wait here as you say, senior."
He turned around and looked at Manager Zhou.
"Director Zhou, from this moment on, the entire Tiantai Mountain area will be designated as a restricted area."
"Contact the relevant departments to assign personnel to guard the area and prevent anyone from approaching for the time being."
The person in charge, Zhou, nodded quickly.
"yes!"
President Qin then looked at the stone slab.
The stone slab lay there quietly in the sunlight.
Those ancient runes gleamed with a faint light in the sunlight.
Like a pair of eyes.
He was gazing into the distance.
Looking in the direction of Luxian County.