The person who opened the door was an old Taoist with a gray beard, a loose bun on top of his head, and a bamboo hairpin on it. The green Taoist robe on his body was very worn, he was fifty or sixty years old, and he was holding a It's just a rather old lantern. Judging from the appearance of this person, he is probably a low-level Taoist who guards the door of the "Seven Star Temple".
The old Taoist's eyes were dull, his clothes were fluffy and quite disheveled, as if he had just woken up from sleep. He muttered: "I'm really sorry, it's late today, and the incense burner in the temple has been extinguished. If the donor I would like to ask for a signature and incense, but please come back tomorrow."
Hua Bushi said: "Master Immortal, we are not here to ask for fortune sticks or incense. We just want to enter the temple and admire the calligraphy treasures in the forest of steles on the mountain behind the temple."
The old Taoist frowned and said, "Are you here to see the Forest of Steles? The sky is already dark, and you won't see much when you get there. I think you should go back and come back tomorrow!"
Hua Bushi said: "I have something urgent to do. I will leave Nan'ao tomorrow. I have heard about the calligraphy treasures in the forest of steles in the 'Seven Stars Temple', so I came here at night to ask the immortal to make it convenient."
He glanced at Bai Yiling, who had already taken out a piece of broken silver weighing two to three taels and stuffed it into Lao Dao's hand.
Money can make the world go round, even for Taoists who are monks. Although two or three taels of silver are not much, it is enough to change the attitude of this veteran Taoist gatekeeper.
The old Taoist immediately opened the door and said: "Master, please come in quickly! Although it is a little dark today, there is no problem if you want to see the forest of steles. I will find another lantern and take you there." !”
Hua Bushi said: "I don't dare to work with you. If the immortal can lend me the lantern in his hand temporarily, we can go there by ourselves."
The old Taoist nodded and said: "Oh, I think you don't want outsiders to disturb you, so that's fine. You can just take this lantern!"
A broken lantern is not worth a few copper coins, and of course it is nothing compared to the silver he got just now. This old man is very generous.
Bai Yiling took the lantern from the old Taoist's hand and held it to illuminate the road ahead. Hua Bushi followed behind and walked towards the back garden of the Taoist temple.
Speaking of the calligraphy treasures in the forest of steles in the "Seven Stars Temple", they are actually just some poems and lines written out of interest by celebrities or literati who came here to play. The owner of the "Seven Stars Temple" also knows that arty elegance makes people These calligraphy treasures were engraved on stone tablets and placed in the garden behind the Taoist temple. Over time, it became a scenic spot. Many tourists who knew some writing would visit this place.
However, there are not many people like Hua Bushi who make a special trip to see the calligraphy treasures in the Forest of Steles.
This "Seven Star Temple" is not too big, with only two back halls and two back halls. The statue of Taishang Laojun is enshrined in the back hall. However, there are no lights in the lower hall. When they walked around the door of the hall, they also looked at it. You can't see what's going on inside, and you can't hear a sound of people everywhere. There is no trace of the Taoist priests in this temple at night, and they have probably gone to sleep.
After passing through a small half-moon-shaped gate, there is another stone path and steps, leading to the back mountain of the "Seven Stars Temple", and the forest of steles is on the mountainside of the back mountain. Walking along the stone steps, you will be surrounded by dense pine forests on all sides. , the stone path passes through the forest, which is quite winding.
The lantern in Bai Yiling's hand was dim and could not reach far, but the road was very quiet, and he did not meet any Taoist priests or servants in the Taoist temples.
The so-called Forest of Steles has a total of sixty or seventy stone monuments, of varying heights, located in a large open space among pine forests. If you come here in broad daylight, you will not feel anything. At this time, the moon is dark, the wind is high, and the light is In the darkness, there are many stone tablets standing everywhere, but they all look like tombstones in a cemetery, which makes people feel a little scared.
Bai Yiling, who was walking in front, was scared and asked: "Master, Master, can Panlongjue really hide in such a ghost place?"
Hua Bushi said: "Of course there is nothing wrong. Ling'er must not say too much, lest others listen."
Bai Yiling said: "Where can there be people here? If there are people, they can only be ghosts!"
Speaking of ghosts, Bai Yiling couldn't help but shudder. She slowed down and leaned closer to the "gongzi master". Although she had martial arts skills, she was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl after all, and she was really not very courageous.
Hua Bushi was quite calm. He stretched out his hand to hold Bai Yiling's arm and said: "There are no ghosts and gods in this world. If there are any, they are just people pretending to be gods and ghosts. We don't need to be afraid."
While the two were talking, they had already arrived in front of the Forest of Steles.
Hua Bushi said: "Ling'er, please use a lantern to illuminate the words on these stone tablets so that I can see them."
Bai Yiling agreed and put the lantern close to the stone tablet, while Hua Bushi stared at it and recognized the words engraved on it.
Most of the inscriptions on these stone tablets are beautiful poems by ancient people of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and some are improvisations by contemporary literati. Some of the stone tablets are inscribed with excerpts from the Four Books and Five Classics. Some tablets are densely packed with inscriptions. They are full of words, and some stone tablets only have numbers on them.
Hua Bushi looked at each stone tablet one by one, and then motioned to Bai Yiling to shine the lantern on the next stone tablet.
After looking at more than 20 stone steles, Hua Bushi suddenly said, "Stop, this is the one!"
The stele illuminated by a lantern has only two lines of cursive script engraved on it: "Pick chrysanthemums under the east fence and see the Nanshan Mountain leisurely."
This is a famous line by Tao Yuanming, a great poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, describing the joy of mountains and countryside. There are many poems of this type in the Forest of Steles. This stele is mixed in among them, and it is not eye-catching at all. However, under these two lines of text, there is something A signature was written, and it was: Jiangnan Sima.
This Jiangnan Sima is undoubtedly the "Jiangnan Swordsman" Sima Zhufeng. The words on this tablet were actually inscribed by Mr. Ma Da himself.
Hua Bushi came to the stele, put his ear against the stele, tapped it lightly with his fingers, listened to the sound, and explored it inch by inch, trying to discover the secret holes in it.
Bai Yiling held the lantern high, staring with big eyes, staring at the actions of "Master Gongzi". She had long been filled with excitement about this thing that was said to be related to endless treasures, and that the black and white in Guangdong would do anything to get it. Curious.
The stele was only six or seven feet high, about a foot wide, and about three inches thick. It was not too big. Hua Bushi quickly knocked and explored the entire stele, but found nothing. But he Not discouraged, he immediately began to explore the base of the stone monument.
Soon he discovered something. On one side of the base, the sound of knocking on it was different from other places. It was obviously hollow. Bai Yiling took the lantern closer, and Hua Bushi carefully looked around that location. Sure enough, I found that there seemed to be a place on the side of the base that could be pulled. It would have been absolutely impossible to find it unless I looked carefully.
Hua Bushi knew a thing or two about the various mechanisms in the arena, but he could not be said to be proficient in them. The hidden mechanisms used to store objects often contained some hidden weapons such as poisonous needles and flying arrows.
For protection, if you don't know how to open it and pull it randomly, the mechanism will be activated and the hidden weapon will be ejected, endangering the life of the person who opened it.
If Meng Huan, who is proficient in agency ambush, is here, he can naturally find out whether the agency here has placed a hidden weapon for ambush. If so, he can also dismantle it. Unfortunately, Meng Huan is still in the inn in Nan'ao Town.
But Hua Bushi, the young master, does not have such ability.
Hua Bushi pondered for a moment, then stretched out his hand to pull the rock, but there was only a "zap" sound, and then a "pop" sound, the stone wall on one side of the base bounced to the side, revealing a half-foot-wide
, a dark hole three or four inches high.
The secret box was opened, but no concealed weapon was fired. It seemed that the young master was really lucky.
The reason why Hua Bushi directly opened the secret box was of course not just luck. Before opening it, he had carefully recalled what Mr. Ma Da said that day, and there was no mention of the secret weapon at all. If this secret box was equipped with
As for the hidden weapon used to kill people, Mr. Mada should at least mention it.
Of course, it is not entirely impossible if Mr. Ma Da had the intention to kill and deliberately failed to mention it. However, Hua Bushi ultimately chose to believe that the deceased "Jiangnan Swordsman" would not intentionally cause harm.
myself, and this guess is obviously not wrong.
He put his hand into the secret box and quickly pulled it out. In his hand, there was already a jade pendant as white as snow.
"'Panlong Jue'!" Bai Yiling shouted.
The jade pendant in Hua Bushi's hand is oval in shape, only three inches square and half the size of a hand. Carved on the jade pendant is a white dragon flying over the clouds and riding the mist, which is extremely delicate, yet still simple.
.Although the style of this jade pendant is old, it is white and flawless, and its luster is as new. Under the dim light of the lantern, it looks even more exquisite and translucent, making it an extraordinary thing.
Hua Bushi is an expert in appreciating treasures. From the perspective of identifying antiques, this piece of ancient jade is worth about a thousand pieces of silver. But since it is related to the treasures in the East China Sea, the value is immeasurable!
He looked at the jade pendant intently for a while, and then he was about to put it into his pocket. But at this moment, the young master suddenly had a sharp look in his eyes, and shouted towards a bush about ten feet away: "Who is it, come out!"
Bai Yiling was also startled when he heard the sound. He immediately took a step forward and blocked Hua Bushihe, holding a steel needle in his hand.
There was a burst of strange laughter, and a figure flashed out from behind the trees. It was a tall and bearded man wearing a sapphire blue cloak. He was none other than Yuan Gongyi, the head of the "Danxia Sect"!
He laughed dryly and said: "Master Hua's ears are really sensitive. Yuan just accidentally took a breath of air and you noticed it."
Hua Bushi's face turned pale and he said, "Didn't you leave with your men a long time ago? How did you end up here?"
Yuan Gongyi said: "What kind of person is Yuan? How could he be so angry with your little trick? Mr. Hua is looking down on me and other members of the 'Four Major Factions in Guangdong'. Am I right? Wu