Early the next morning, we took a plane to Jiujiang Lushan Airport and left the city where I was.
After the plane landed, we contacted Lao Li. When we arrived at Laoye Temple, it was almost dusk.
Lao Li has arranged accommodation for us near the Laoye Temple. It is a small independent villa with all facilities. We checked in with our bags and had dinner in the small villa. A large tripod of mixed fish was quite delicious.
After dinner, Lao Li suggested taking us to the Laoye Temple for a walk. He said that since we were here, we should visit the local places of interest.
I was a little reluctant. After all, I had been swapping cars for planes and planes for cars all day long. I felt completely exhausted. At that moment, I wanted to take a hot bath and then collapsed on the bed. I really didn’t want to sit down.
Eleven buses are wandering around.
However, Zhang Jisheng agreed. Perhaps seeing the reluctance on my face, he pulled me aside and said, "Zhou Cang, I feel more and more now that what we have been looking for may be an ancient
The sacrificial ceremony, and behind this sacrificial ceremony, it can definitely bring huge benefits. Well, let’s call that unknown thing a benefit for the time being. It is this benefit that has driven so many people to brave hardships and obstacles for so many years.
The land is pursued."
"Then what does this have to do with our going to Laoye Temple?" I asked in confusion.
"Zhou Cang, before archaeological excavation, many archaeologists will first visit nearby people to dig out useful information from the cultural landscape." Xiang Yu spoke first without waiting for Zhang Jisheng to answer.
"Since you all said so, let's set off while it's still early." I said.
Lao Li drove here, so of course he became our driver. The jeep took us directly to the front of the Laoye Temple.
This temple looks a bit old. The temple foundation made of granite strips has very obvious traces of time. There are four big characters "Dingjiang Wang Temple" on the temple entrance, and there are stairs winding up on the right side.
,
Entering the main temple, there is a statue of "King Dingjiang" in the main hall. The so-called King Dingjiang is actually a kind of giant turtle. Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang fought against Poyang Lake. After losing the battle at Kanglang Mountain, he took a small boat to the entrance of Poyang Lake.
He retreated towards Laoye Temple, and Chen Youliang led his warship to pursue him. He was about to catch up to Laoye Temple, but was rescued by a giant turtle. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne. He was grateful for the giant turtle's kindness back then, so he named it Dingding.
King Jiang is enshrined in Laoye Temple.
A few of us were standing in the middle of the main hall discussing the structure of the roof. An old man dressed as a temple official came out. The old man smiled and said: "There are few pilgrims in the temple at night. It happened that the old man was free at the moment, so he asked me to lead a few pilgrims."
How about taking a walk around the temple?"
"That's fine, I'm sorry to bother you, old man." Xiangyu said politely.
The total area of the Laoye Temple complex should actually be only six to seven hundred square meters. In the middle is the main temple, and on both sides are the Dragon King Temple, Tongrentang, large and small living rooms, and kitchens.
While walking, Miao Zhu explained to us the stories and legends of Laoye Temple, which were very similar to what we had heard before. We had finished visiting the entire temple in less than twenty minutes.
Miao Zhu warmly invited us to drink tea in the small living room. It was old Pu'er that he treasured.
The fish I had tonight was a little salty, and after walking around for so long, my tongue was already dry and my mouth was dry. When I heard that there was tea, I couldn't help but secretly swallow my saliva, and hurried back
Said: "Then I will disturb your old man."
"What's the matter? The Gushan old temple is already very lonely. The old man is also very happy to have you company with him." Miao Zhu took us to a relatively small living room at the end, and then asked us to wait for a while.
Yes, he went to take out the tea set.
The furnishings in the living room are very simple, just a round wooden table and a few low stools, but the simplicity contains a very grand charm. It can be seen that Miao Zhu is also an old man with a lot of troubles in his heart.
There is a large window in the living room. When you open the window and look out, you are facing Poyang Lake. It is completely dark. There are faint lights on the lake from the fishing boats. Together with the Lushan Mountain in the distance, it looks like a lake.
A splash-ink landscape painting.
The old man came back with the tea set, then boiled water, heated the pot, took the tea, and ironed the cup. In a series of slow motions, finally, white smoke curled up from the tea cup, and the tea worms in my throat were already squirming.
Miao Zhu’s tea was really good, and I couldn’t help but drink a few more cups. After three rounds of tea, Miao Zhu chatted with us and began to tell an ancient story. According to him, in 1938, the Japanese invaders
When the Laoye Temple was bombed, Lao Miao Zhu picked up an ancient book from the ruins of the bombed main temple. The ancient book was hidden in the belly of the giant turtle in the main hall. This story originated from that book.
Ancient books.
"Do you know why shipwrecks always happen in Laoye Temple waters for no reason?" Miao Zhu suddenly asked us with a mysterious smile before the story began.
“No underwater archaeological team has ever conducted an inspection before, saying that the underground electromagnetic field may have induced lightning, or the narrow tube-shaped terrain here may have caused strong winds and tornadoes, which affected the navigation of ships and led to frequent shipwrecks.
Xiangyu said.
"Huh," Miao Zhu sneered, "Girl, your rhetoric was given by the official. In fact, the water here is not only turbid, but also very deep. The official may have researched something, but it is definitely not the case.
"It is said in ancient books that there is a royal palace underground in the water area of Laoye Temple." said the old temple's Zhu Maguanzi.
"Imperial Palace, is it possible that there are still people who can live underwater?" Lao Li said.
"Hey, you little brother has got to the point. The owner of this palace may actually be able to live in the water." Old Miao Zhu smiled and gave each of us another half cup of tea.
"If you can live under the water, isn't it a fish?" Lao Li joked, "You can't be a fish beauty, right?"
When Miao Zhu faced Lao Li's ridicule, he was not in a hurry to explain, and continued telling the story calmly, "According to records in ancient books, the water area of Lao Ye Temple is just a central point, where their king is, and this is the center.
Radiating around, there may be an ancient city."
"Who is their king? Is there any record in the ancient books?" Zhang Jisheng asked.
"He is the Yufu King. After the Yufu Kingdom fell, he led his people to hide at the bottom of Poyang Lake. Because they are originally descendants of fish, they can live underwater." Miao Zhu said.
As soon as these words came out, we couldn't help but be stunned. This is a fantasy. King Yufu, the third generation king of the ancient Shu Kingdom, fled to the bottom of Poyang Lake after the country fell.
Although Sichuan and Hubei are adjacent and connected by the Yangtze River, it remains to be studied whether the Yufu King actually existed in history. Moreover, even if the Yufu King really existed, it is not possible to say that he could live at the bottom of the lake.
It's in line with scientific evidence, unless he is a monster.
When I think of the word monster, I don’t know why, but I immediately think of myself. It seems that I can hold my breath underwater much longer than others. My father often praised me for this before, saying that I was favored by God.
My child, I don’t know why, but at this moment, I unconsciously connected myself with the Fish King and the Fish Mermaid.
Miao Zhu continued: "There is also a picture of the Yufu King in the book, which really looks like what we later called a mermaid. The god they worshiped, the Yufu King, was a monster with a human head and a snake body, which they called
The Zhuyin mythical beast seems to be worshiped every year on the summer solstice and winter solstice. These two periods are the most dangerous periods in the Laoye Temple waters. As long as a ship collides with their sacrificial ceremony, it will be swept to the bottom of the lake."
When they heard Zhuyin Ancient Beast, Zhang Jisheng and Xiangyu's polite smiles stopped at the same time, their faces changed subtly, but they did not interrupt the old man and still sat there quietly listening.
"Old man, do you still have that ancient book? Can you lend it to us for a look?" I asked cautiously.
"No more. When the government renovated this ancient temple in 1983, it was taken away by the government. It was said to be a precious cultural relic with great research value. Even the ancient book has been hidden by the old temple. I
It was also a chance that I was able to flip through a few pages, and there was a lot of content behind it, which I didn't have time to read." Miao Zhu stared at the river and said softly, "The story behind it will always be a secret."
"Oh, that's such a pity. We are not lucky enough to see the legendary Fish King with our own eyes!" I was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly.
"A few years ago, I seemed to have heard that someone actually picked up some stones with red characters engraved on them in the waters of Laoye Temple, so I don't know whether the story mentioned in this ancient book is true or false. However, it doesn't matter whether it is true or false.
It will be our tea mixer, it will make our tea taste more delicious." Old Miao Zhu stroked his short beard with a smile on his face.
The moon rose, and we said goodbye to the old temple and returned to the small villa.
This night, I kept thinking about the Fish King, but I didn't find any information at night.
If I had told this story about Laomiao Zhu in the past, I would have dismissed it as a casual chat, but now that I have experienced it in Wawushan, I have to doubt whether the things in this story really exist.
After all, the people with the head of a human and the body of a snake, and the people who worship Zhuyin are so similar to the people from the ancient temple in Wawushan.