Chapter 63 Cao Yan's Actions
Chapter 63 Cao Yan's Actions
Bodhisattva Temple.
Speaking of this, Li Yuan thought of the Bodhisattva statue covered with eyeballs, which was truly "very awe-inspiring".
But this time he didn't refuse.
Ever since he first saw the Bodhisattva statue, he had been asking about it, and he found out about it from Master Wang, the private school in the inner courtyard.
Temples of the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva and the Remnant God are widely spread. When Gaoliu County was first built, the Bodhisattva temple in the inner city was already there, and it was very popular.
"Okay, let's go for a walk."
There are few pedestrians in the outer city as the impact of the city lockdown continues, but the inner city seems quite lively, with crowds of people on the streets and alleys, and it seems to be unaffected.
"The inner city is still better."
Li Lin sighed a little.
Before the Li family fell into poverty, they had a small courtyard in the inner city. After they fell into poverty, it was bought by Qin Xiong to keep a mistress.
Li Yuan glanced at the yamen runners standing at the end of the street and nodded:
“It’s definitely much better.”
The gap between the rich and the poor between the inner and outer cities is very obvious, which can be seen from the distribution of gangs. In the outer city, there are the Chai Gang, the Yu Gang, and the Sanhe Gang; in the inner city, there are the Changyuan Escort Agency, the Yizi Inn, the Tongda Money House, and the Lihe Martial Arts School.
Well, there are brothels.
After taking a look at the Chunfeng Tower on the far street which was closed during the day, Li Yuan added something in his mind.
The Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple is located in the northwest corner of the inner city. Pilgrims come here every day, and you can smell the scent of incense and candles from afar.
Accompanying my brother and sister-in-law into the temple.
The Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple covers a large area. Upon entering, you will see a square. A two-meter-high incense burner with a large belly is placed in front of the main hall, with smoke curling around it.
“This incense burner!”
After just one look, Li Yuan couldn't walk anymore, his heart was pounding.
"Second brother, you accompany sister-in-law to burn incense, I will go around by myself."
Such a large incense burner, no matter what its grade, is a top-notch item for him.
How much stuff can you put in there if you squat on the gray stone platform?
"Okay, don't wander off."
Waving his hand, Li Yuan moved closer with two handfuls of incense. When he was two meters away, he indeed saw the light.
Not white light, but blue light!
[Incense burner in front of the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple (second level)]
[The wrought iron mixed with copper has not changed color for thousands of years. The devout prayers of countless believers gathered here and drifted with the smoke, expressing the believers' desire for good luck and peace...
It has gradually become mysterious...】
[Control conditions: First level of God Worship]
[Control effect: Concentrate and calm the mind, solemn appearance, calm and unmovable, a little good luck]
What a good thing!
After inserting the lit incense into the incense burner, Li Yuan felt his palms itching. This burner was better than he expected, even better than the statue in the main hall!
At least, the light was a normal color, not the bloody color that made him feel creepy.
"This incense burner weighs at least a thousand pounds, made of wrought iron and copper. It would have cost several hundred taels of silver to make it, not to mention that it has been passed down for a thousand years..."
After thinking about it, Li Yuan gave up the idea of buying it. No temple would sell such a symbolic thing.
Not to mention, the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple is so popular that it has no shortage of money.
but……
"Among the nine temples in Gaoliu, Bodhisattva is the first, followed by Canshen. These two temples are very popular, but the ones outside the city seem to be running out of incense..."
The gods are worshipped during Dayun period and temple fairs are more grand and solemn than any other festivals. However, there are too many temples and naturally it is impossible for all of them to be popular.
The competition between temples is sometimes more brutal than that between gangs.
Li Yuan thought about taking some time to go out of town and visit those families. He turned around and prepared to look for his brother and sister-in-law. When he looked up, he saw an acquaintance.
"Hey, is that Lu Bailing?"
Miss Lu, dressed in a smart martial arts robe, was very eye-catching. At this moment, she was accompanying an elegant middle-aged man to the backyard of the temple.
However, after just one glance, Li Yuan's eyes were attracted by another person. The woman had her back to him, carrying a sword that looked extraordinary.
This sword...
"Shh!"
As if she noticed someone was watching her, the woman turned around suddenly and glanced over with a sharp look.
"Master!"
Even from a distance of several dozen meters, Li Yuan felt that the woman was extremely ferocious. Although he was curious about the grade of the sword, he did not look at it again.
Compared to the sword, he was more envious of this big incense burner.
……
"what happened?"
Lu Yunqing paused slightly.
"No, maybe he's just a pervert."
Fang Yunxiu didn't take it seriously. When Lu Bailing heard this, she turned around and looked over: "Where did this lecher come from? How dare he be so bold?"
"The Bodhisattva is beside us, don't act rashly!"
Lu Yunqing glared at his daughter, then turned to look at the temple abbot who came from the backyard:
"I am guilty of causing Master Kongding to come out to greet me. I am ashamed, ashamed."
"What are you talking about, sir?"
The bald old monk clasped his hands together, was very polite, and led the group to the backyard:
"The vegetarian meal is just ready, and I'm just about to invite a few distinguished guests to taste it..."
“That’s Lu’s blessing.”
Lu Yunqing smiled and took a look inside when he passed by a wooden window.
In the smoke, the Bodhisattva with six eyes on his face and a thousand eyes on his body seemed to be smiling.
……
The Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple is quite large, and it enshrines not only the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, but also two Vajras on each side of the main hall.
They are composed of blood, flesh, bones and tendons, and together they form the 'God of Vajra', which is the most famous subordinate god. In addition to the main gods, many temples also worship these Vajras.
Like the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, these great Vajra statues are also carved in such a way that they are so impressive that one dare not even look at them for too long.
"I'm still poor!" In front of the Four Vajra Temples, there are incense burners of different sizes, but there are also two first-class ones. Unfortunately, Li Yuan can't afford them at all.
Envious of the food but unable to afford it, Li Yuan didn't think about it for the moment. He found his brother and sister-in-law and prepared to find a restaurant to eat.
"Have you heard? The Changyuan Escort Agency was ruined, and the escorts were robbed. Not only did their reputation fall, but they also had to pay the Weapon Forging Shop 500 taels of silver!"
"Captain Lin was so angry that he almost got bedridden. I heard that they are recruiting people and are going to work with the Weapon Forging Shop to seek an explanation from the Viper Gang!"
"Alas, when Commander Qiu was here, there wouldn't be so many troubles."
……
On the way, Li Yuan heard some discussions.
He looked up and saw a wooden platform built outside the Changyuan Escort Agency with a flag recruiting people. Several strong men were fighting on the wooden platform.
There were many onlookers, and cheers were heard from time to time.
"Third brother, your boss is planning to go out of town to look for the Viper Gang? Don't go, it's too dangerous!"
When Li Lin heard this, his heart tightened.
"I haven't heard of that. Don't worry, it's not my turn."
Li Yuan had never heard of this, but he felt it was quite credible. Could it be that Cao Yan was really anxious?
However, this has nothing to do with him.
"The title of forging genius should still be useful..."
With thoughts turning in his mind, Li Yuan led his brother and sister-in-law into a pub.
This tavern is not as luxurious as Yizi Restaurant, but the prices of food and drinks still give Li Lin a headache, and he refuses to eat here no matter what.
It was Li Yuan who took the initiative to order two dishes before he sat down reluctantly, chattering non-stop.
"Alright, why can't you just accept this little gift from the Third Brother?"
The second sister-in-law glared at him, and Li Lin finally shut up.
"Second sister-in-law is in the period of recuperation, so what's the big deal about eating something good?"
In his previous life, Li Yuan loved eating and drinking. He had no other choice before, but now that he had more money, he wanted to eat something good.
At least, get a few pots of honey water.
He doesn't like drinking alcohol. He can't get used to strong liquor. Rice wine is okay, similar to the fermented glutinous rice juice in his previous life, slightly sweet.
Of course, honey water is best.
Although the taste is far inferior to that of the previous life, it still has some flavor.
"This water is so sweet!"
Wang Juan loved drinking. Li Lin didn't say anything, just drank a glass in silence, and tears started falling for some reason.
"Second brother, you..."
Li Yuan was a little amused.
"When you were a kid, every time our mom came back from a gathering, she would bring us a few cups. At that time, our eldest brother was there too, but he always refused to drink and gave the cups to you. I was young at that time and always snatched them from you..."
Wiping away tears, Li Lin raised his glass:
"Thank you, Third Brother!"
……
……
On this day, Li Yuan did not go for blacksmithing or practice standing meditation. Instead, he accompanied his brother and sister-in-law to stroll around the inner city for a day and went to bed early at night.
A dreamless night.
"call!"
The next day, when it was bright, Li Yuan stretched his muscles and got up.
After not practicing for a day, he felt full of energy and his blood seemed to be more active than before.
"Relaxation and tension are called Tao. The Grandmaster never lied to me!"
Li Yuan felt the change and even felt like taking a break and taking another day off.
But he still gritted his teeth and climbed up, swallowed a blood-nourishing pill, and practiced a few sets of military postures before going out.
He was the first one to go to the forge every day, but in fact, the inner courtyard disciples did not have this restriction. They forged iron, made little, and earned little, and no one cared.
As soon as he entered the weapon forging shop, Li Yuan noticed the unusual atmosphere. He found a familiar blacksmith and asked him a question, and his expression changed inevitably.
"The head shopkeeper has contacted more than a dozen forces in the inner and outer cities. Are they going to go out of the city together to find the Viper Gang?"
Li Yuan was a little frightened.
Cao Yan was too impatient. It seemed that he didn't believe what Fatty Sun said at all...
After a while, Zhang Ben also came.
Old Zhang's expression was solemn and he was more stern than ever before: "From now on, no leave is allowed. Within ten days, we must complete the inner armor!"
"Disciple understands!"
Li Yuan was grateful and responded solemnly.
……
Cao Yan moved very quickly.
It had only been three days since Fatty Sun came back, but he had already contacted more than a dozen forces in the inner and outer cities, and even borrowed three great monks from the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple.
Except for Li Yuan, all the inner-court disciples of the Weapon Forging Shop who had achieved some success in their blood energy received the order to leave the city.
Cao Yan even mobilized old apprentices who had long left the inner courtyard.
For a moment, the shop was filled with a tense atmosphere.
when!
when!
when!
The sound of blacksmithing in the forge was unprecedentedly loud and frequent. There was no need for Zhang Ben to urge them, as all the blacksmith assistants were working with all their might.
"Do you know how to work hard now? If you had this energy earlier, you would have mastered the forging skills long ago. Do you still need to worry about this?"
Zhang Ben was very disappointed with his friend.
The blacksmiths were scolded so badly that they couldn't even raise their heads. They glanced at Li Yuan in the corner and couldn't help feeling envious and jealous.
In the entire blacksmith shop, except for Zhang Ben, this junior brother is the only one who will not be transferred out of the city.
"call!"
Li Yuan let out a long sigh and put down the forging hammer:
"Master, the black and silver silk is ready, we can weave the armor!"
(End of this chapter)