In the early morning, at the third watch, the stars are dim.
Zhao Rong got up early, did not do morning exercises, dressed lightly, quietly went out, left the manor, and hurried to Luojing.
There are no city walls in Luojing, and the north and south gates are in vain. The doors are not closed at night. Zhongnan State Taoism governs the country, and has vigorously promoted rule by inaction. There is no curfew at night. In recent years, some measures similar to curfew have been implemented at the request of some Confucian officials in the court.
, but under the perfunctory efforts of the lazy and comfortable Luojing people, the effect is not obvious. There are still people partying all night long in the city, staying up all night, and having fun.
Therefore, Zhao Rong's entry into the city in the early morning was not as difficult as he imagined.
Zhao Rong walked all the way through the city and came to the small inn near the south gate where he had rented a guest room. He opened the door and entered the room to change clothes. After getting ready, he left quietly.
Taibai Mountain is located in the southern suburbs of Luojing. It is the highest peak on this plain. It is one of the highest mountains even among the Zhongnan Mountains. Zhao Rong raised his head and stared at it from a distance. There was a "star" on the top of Taibai Mountain, shining brightly.
If an immortal looked down from the nine heavens, he would definitely think that the lights of thousands of houses in Luojing City were the rays of starlight sprinkled by falling stars.
That’s where the Chongxu Guan Vipassana is located, and it must be as bright as daylight at this moment.
While chatting, I heard Lin Wenruo say that it was a strange stone conceived in the deep mountains of Zhongnan. The brighter the sky during the day, the dimmer it became, and the darker the darkness at night, the brighter its light.
Zhao Rong frowned slightly. When he arrived at the foot of Taibai Mountain and heard the bell ringing on the mountain, it was already the second quarter of the Yin hour.
The whole day is divided into twelve hours, and one hour has eight quarters. Yin hour is from three to five o'clock in the morning.
It was summer at this time, the sun rose early, dawn was approaching, and the sky was not bright yet, but the chirping of insects was already rising in the mountains and forests.
Zhao Rong stepped into the market at the foot of the mountain and found that it was already quite lively. After asking around for a while, it turned out that today was a holiday once every seven days for the people of Luojing. To avoid the scorching sun during the day, many pilgrims came to burn incense and chant sutras in the early morning. Most of them were
The whole family came together.
Zhao Rong stepped up the mountain and looked carefully. He found that in addition to the pilgrims, there were also many Taoist priests and Taoist boys who looked like Chongxuguan. They must have just gotten up early.
Entering the exterior, after also crossing the threshold, he suddenly felt something in his heart. It was still in front of him on the left. Zhao Rong felt quite at ease. Just like the last time, he put some silver in the merit box and walked around casually.
stand up.
Next to him, a Taoist boy in black clothes and a blue hat passed by with a food box. Zhao Rong felt a little moved in his heart and turned around calmly to follow. After a while, he found that the Taoist boy had carried the food box into a certain building in the southeast corner.
In a side building.
Zhao Rong glanced around and looked through the half-opened door of the side building. He could only see half a table and chairs. Two Taoist priests in blue were sitting and chatting. The Taoist boy smiled after entering.
After a few sounds, he opened the food box and took out a few plates and bowls and chopsticks. Then he picked up the food box and walked inside. There must be other people in the building.
At this time, the early sun had risen, and the side building was just in the southeast corner with a wide view. A few rays of morning light crossed the door frame, passed through the lattice windows, and fell into the building, sticking to a thin Taoist priest in blue in Zhao Rong's field of vision.
Turning sideways, the latter tilted his head to the other side, put down the bowls and chopsticks, and pushed the stool inward to avoid the morning sun.
Seeing this, Zhao Rong pursed his lips slightly and reached out into the morning light. The morning sun was slightly warm, like silk covering his hands. It was bright and golden, soft and not hot. Zhao Rong stopped his hand, turned around and went out, without looking around. He saw that the view ahead was temporary.
There was no one around, so he quickly turned into a remote road.
Chongxu Temple looks very big, but Taibai Mountain is even bigger. Except for the large and magnificent building, the mountainside is covered with dense mountain forests.
Zhao Rong groped towards the mountain cautiously.
In Chongxu Temple, the blue-robed Taoist priests are the core Taoist priests, who are cultivators; the black-robed Taoist priests are ordinary Taoist priests who have no cultivation base; in addition, I heard that there is also a kind of purple-robed Taoist priests, who are the most noble ones in Chongxu Temple.
It's just that I haven't seen it myself, and I don't want to see it before the debate between Confucianism and Taoism.
According to what I saw when I just went up the mountain, ordinary Taoist priests only went up the mountain after eating fast food in the hall at the foot of the mountain. The Taoist priests in blue in the three-story side building not long ago should not have fast food outside.
There should also be a dining hall.
Whatever happened will leave traces behind.
These Taoist priests in blue asked the Taoist boys from the mountain to bring them food in the morning. There was only one possibility. They stayed outside last night to keep vigil. And those who had stayed up all night had gone through a long dark night and most of them were sensitive to light. The skinny Taoist priest just escaped and
The tepid morning sun is the sequelae of staying up late, and it must be the same for the other Taoist priests in the building who did not show up.
As I had guessed, the Chongxu Temple must be heavily guarded at night. Although the mountainside appearance is usually used by pilgrims to pray and burn incense, it is indeed one of the only ways to go up the mountain. It will be strictly guarded at night, and even opens its doors to welcome guests during the day.
Someone should be secretly alerting you at all times.
On the eve of the debate between Confucianism and Taoism, Chongxuguan and Wenruo were constantly fighting secretly. Neither side dared to relax in the slightest, and were very vigilant, trying their best to guard against and find the other's flaws.
Everything has pros and cons.
The disadvantages of this are obvious. With such a tight guard, it is extremely difficult to take away the Tingni purple gold furnace. Moreover, after the appearance of an "ordinary incense burner" disappears, it is very likely that they will pay attention to this trivial matter.
Come and see.
But there are advantages. At this time, all their attention is on the Lin family of Lanxi. If the temple is stolen, their first suspicion is definitely the Lin family of Lanxi. As for why Lin Wenruo came to steal an "ordinary incense burner", I guess
They can't even think of it after thinking about it, which will only lead to many wrong answers, distract their energy, and affect their judgment, which is beneficial to their own side of the Confucian-Taoist debate.
Of course, the best result is that they did not notice the theft of this "ordinary incense burner". It seems that there are so many people visiting every day, so there must be something stolen over the years. Therefore, I have to mislead them and take the initiative to give it to them.
Provide a more reasonable reason for the theft.
Based on these ideas, it is best to start during the day, because the security during the day is definitely not as tight as at night, and although it is expected that they will change their defense during the day, it is impossible for the guarding Taoist priests who have stayed up all night to continue to guard, but
The new Taoist priest will feel slack because his predecessor has passed through the most dangerous night safely.
And according to normal logic, they should be divided into dark guards and clear guards during the day. The former are hiding in unknown dark places, while the latter are the blue-clad guards who are stationed inside the various halls after opening their doors during the day, while chanting sutras and interpreting fortunes.
Taoist priests, well, and the ones walking around on the outside.
And because of the inertia of thinking, the Taoist priests hiding in secret and the Taoist priests on the surface will become dependent on each other and place their hopes on each other because they know the existence of the other party.
This is the benefit of starting during the day, but huge gains are also accompanied by equal difficulties and dangers. This is also a problem that will be solved in the next few days.
Finally, if you have a choice, it is best to choose a day when there are a lot of pilgrims and give them a roughly reasonable reason why the incense burner was stolen. People like to make excuses. Only when you really can’t find an excuse will you consider something that is beyond the norm.
factors. In addition, some blinders were arranged to confuse their judgment and prevent them from easily inferring the truth of the matter.
In this way, the general idea has been determined, and all that is left to do is to improve the plan and implementation plan.
Make decisions before taking action, know how to stop and gain something.
Zhao Rong has been climbing mountains all the way, specializing in remote and uninhabited dangerous roads, climbing rocks, crossing springs, crossing rocks and stepping on trees. Although he is still stuck in the golden stone stage of ascending to heaven, he has followed the path of a martial artist, and his physique has been tempered by Liu Sanbian and is different from ordinary people.
, is no longer the frail scholar he once was, who practiced the "Negative Mountain Sword" boxing pile hundreds of times every day. Although he has not yet learned the killing skills, he is not comparable to the ordinary knights and knights of the Yamashita Dynasty.
Not long after, Zhao Rong suddenly stopped under the tree. Three meters in front of him was a green-tiled red wall. Looking up through the gaps of the scattered leaves, the wall was about thirty feet high, with a horizontal
The rows of green and black tiles intersect with the clear sky, forming a long sky. Looking left and right, the red wall stretches for unknown distances, with no end in sight.
This red wall separates the mountainside from the top of the mountain. It is also the boundary between the inside and outside of Chongxu Temple. Outsiders are not allowed to trespass at will.
Suddenly, bursts of bells came from behind the wall. Zhao Rong listened carefully and counted silently in his heart.
Yin hour seven quarters.
In another quarter of an hour it will be five o'clock in the morning.
This bell tower is behind the wall, and the top of the mountain is too far away, so you can't see the mountainside clearly. You don't need to worry, just lurk at a high place near the mountainside appearance, squat and observe the scenery in the Chongxu Temple, and collect the necessary information.
Zhao Rong stretched out his hand and pressed the red wall in front of him, then turned around and returned the same way, erasing the traces he left one by one along the way.
When he arrived at the mountains and forests near the Chongxu Temple, Zhao Rong searched carefully, and on the hillside northeast of the temple, he deliberately chose a deep forest where no birds and animals lived to hide.
Gently lift up the leaves and look sideways. The view is not very good, but you can clearly see most of the area except the northeast corner, including the main hall in the middle called Yinzu Hall and the third floor in the southeast corner called Star Observation Tower.
The tall building, and finally the left side hall where the Tingni Purple Gold Furnace is located, which I am most concerned about, is the Lingguan Hall.
Zhao Rong nodded, stood up a branch, and while carefully memorizing the terrain, he took out two pieces of pancakes from his arms and gnawed on them. They were a little hard. He bought them from a breakfast stall that opened very early when he left the city.
Zhao Rong was chewing and observing at the same time. He took a glance and saw more than a dozen Taoist priests in blue walking out of the star observation tower in the northeast corner, which was slightly higher than where he was. Zhao Rong turned his head curiously and raised his eyes slightly.
Suddenly, I noticed that there were light spots flashing brightly and darkly in the hollow wooden window on the attic at the top of the Star Observation Building, and it seemed that there was a figure walking in it, blocking the light.
This attic with the highest appearance can be seen in all directions! Including this place! Zhao Rong was shocked, and the pancake in his hand fell to the ground. Oops, why did you forget the high-rise building with the secret whistle?! Shamelessly asking for recommendation votes and favorites~ (Today
There will be a remote recommended spot in the afternoon meeting, and some new book friends should be able to see Sword Girl...)