Chapter 164 She was chosen by God
Chapter 164 She was chosen by God
Three days later, after serious discussions between representatives of various countries and sects and the Cihang Temple, the Dharma Assembly was able to continue, but the battle of wits would not continue. Instead, it would enter the debate and interpretation of scriptures that was supposed to take several days.
During this meeting, the Qin officials only put forward a simple request, or condition.
Even if someone suddenly attains enlightenment during the subsequent debates or interpretations of the sutra, speaks eloquently, and presents all kinds of strange visions, he still cannot be the first in this Dharma Assembly.
If he wanted to become the number one in this Dharma Assembly, he had to fight Gu Zhuo head-on and get his approval.
The meaning revealed in this simple condition made the representatives of various sects extremely dissatisfied, because it was completely condescending.
Even if a disciple of my sect wins first place in debate and interpretation of scriptures, he still needs to be recognized by a peer, otherwise he will not be considered the real first?
Are you going to put Gu Zhuo in the position of examiner?
The senior monks of Cihang Temple certainly had strong opinions about this.
It is impossible for the envoys from various countries and representatives from various sects to have no objections.
However, it was said that the officials of the Qin Dynasty were completely indifferent. They just said one sentence to the people present and then got up and left.
The sentence is: You are not qualified to object, please find someone else.
There was only one person here who was qualified to object, and amidst everyone's bad premonition... Daoxiu nodded as expected.
Therefore, people can only let the anger in their hearts dissipate with the wind and be buried by the snow, waiting for the day when the snow melts due to the wind and the stones emerge.
It was just that day that was visible to the naked eye.
When all this was finalized and things had a new direction of development, some people left in confusion because they couldn't find the way forward.
Xie Yinglian was the first one to leave.
Unlike the glory she showed when she came, she left in a very low-key manner. Her face, as pale as paper, was full of haggardness, and there was no bright light in her dark eyes.
She sat in the carriage of a low-key carriage, with dozens of scriptures piled beside her. Her slender hands kept tightly grasping the books from time to time, as if grasping a straw floating on the water, but after a moment she could only helplessly let go.
She tried to find relief in Buddhism and mend her shattered spiritual heart, but always to no avail.
Even though she knew that this was destined to be a long struggle, she still couldn't help but have a strong desire to find the answer she needed in the blink of an eye.
This is not stupidity, but she knows that she must be valuable enough so that the elderly in her family will give her the patience to start over.
If she couldn't do it...something that she didn't want to see would definitely happen.
Most children from aristocratic families are like this.
Li Ruoyun, as the most outstanding young man in the Li family in recent years, was once highly expected by the elders in the family. But now he has been abandoned and will not survive more than a year.
After Gu Zhuo pointed out the fact that he had betrayed Xiu Hu Zhenren, Li Ruoyun's reputation plummeted. In order to avoid being embarrassed again, he left long before Xie Yinglian's carriage drove out of Cihang Temple.
This time his departure was also low-key. The Li family did not ask anyone to escort him. They only let an old servant accompany him. It was hard to tell whether it was care or something else.
The shabby carriage, which could hardly be described as low-key, was driving on the official road to Southern Qi. Li Ruoyun did not seek relief in the scriptures, but just thought about his past in a daze, not daring to think about the future.
Until one snowy night, a strong man from the Tianming Sect suddenly appeared and launched an ambush.
The old servant of the Li family died on the spot, but before he died he successfully summoned support with a magic weapon. The two sides immediately engaged in a fight, and even the Secret Service was involved.
The scale of the fight was huge, until the snow on the ground turned into blood, and broken limbs and bodies flew everywhere. The three elders of the Demon Sect who had been lying in ambush for a long time found an opportunity and successfully killed a powerful priest of the Li family. Only then did everything come to an end.
It is not known whether she was well protected or was regarded as bait, but Li Ruoyun managed to survive to the end.
He sat in the carriage, looking at the blood flowing on the snow, looking at the familiar people turning into unfamiliar corpses, looking at the elders of the Demon Cult walking slowly towards him...knowing that he would soon no longer have to suffer.
A feeling of relief arose from this, making him feel relaxed and even a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Just as Li Ruoyun was preparing to face the hasty end of his life, a voice fell into his ears, giving him the possibility to survive.
But in an instant, his relaxation and smile disappeared, and the sound of a strong heartbeat rushed into his ears, followed by nervousness - because before he could react, he had already agreed to the request that the voice had not yet made.
The man hiding in the dark rescued Li Ruoyun and allowed him to escape from the hands of the three evil cult elders.
Afterwards, the three elders of the Tianming Sect looked at each other in silence, with very complicated expressions.
Even the most scheming Taoist nun An Ning did not expect that this incident would lead to such an accident in the most unlikely place.
How can I explain this to that extremely cold-blooded mysterious girl?
……
……
The rescuer is the current master of Wuyou Mountain.
The reason why he saved Li Ruoyun was very simple. It had nothing to do with such messy things as fate. It was purely out of business considerations.
Wuyoushan believes that in the next few years, Southern Qi will no longer be peaceful. Under the influence of this unrest, many people will inevitably have troubles and think about how to solve their troubles.
It is well known that Wuyou Mountain was created to solve troubles.
Planting such a nail in advance in the hope that it can play an important role at the critical moment has always been Wuyoushan's style and habit.
Nowadays, there are people from Wuyou Mountain in many sects and even in many countries in the world.
This is a very important point why their assassinations have been so successful in recent years.
——That was Lin Wanyi’s only failure.
However, this failure may be corrected soon, because Wuyou Mountain has welcomed a long-awaited big business, and Lin Wanyi's name is among them.
……
……
When the Cihang Dharma Assembly was held again, the relevant information was sent to the Divine Capital and presented before the goddess.
She watched Gu Zhuo's arrogance calmly, without frowning.
Only when she mentioned Xiu Hu's death, her eyes changed slightly, as if a small stone had broken the calm surface of the lake.
After reading the letter, the Empress temporarily put aside her endless official duties, got up and left the imperial study, walking in the winter sunshine.
The purpose of taking a walk is, of course, to relax.
The thirty-eighth year of Zhengsheng is about to pass, and too many things have happened during this year.
Whether it was when she was confirmed as the new queen in early spring, or when she took advantage of the bloody incident on Long Street before the summer festival to successfully carry out a small purge of the local dignitaries in Shendu, to the death of the old man in autumn, and Gu Zhuo's invincibility at the Cihang Dharma Assembly this winter, for her... everything was so satisfying.
The most important thing, of course, is the old man’s death.
Yingxu is immortal, and there will always be an unbreakable causal connection between her and the past.
As for the monk who lived in Cihang Temple, she had never worried about him. He was the person she trusted the most.
If there really is such a thing as luck in the world, then her luck this year can be described as invincible and unstoppable.
It can even be said to be God's will.
It's hard not to be deeply intoxicated by this feeling.
The Queen was not intoxicated, and was even alert, because it was common for things to decline after reaching their peak.
She stood by the lake in the imperial garden, with her hands behind her back, looking at the lake surface that had not been frozen by the winter wind, and the fish swimming happily in the water. The emotion in her eyes became increasingly faint.
After an unknown amount of time, her eyes regained some freshness and she said to the eunuch beside her, "Since Wan Yi and Gu Zhuo don't like it, let's make the rumors fade."
The eunuch responded in a low voice.
The queen raised her head, looked at the blue sky, and said, "I seem to have never met Gu Zhuo?" The eunuch thought about it seriously and said, "Your Majesty, you met him at the banquet after the summer festival, but you did not speak to him in private."
The queen said, "Then it is worth meeting."
……
……
Winter has arrived, can spring be far behind?
Time always catches us off guard.
The ceremony at Cihang Temple ended faster than anyone expected, but Gu Zhuo had already left before that.
Before leaving, he and Lin Wanyi stood under the eaves and chatted for about half an hour.
This time the girl did not try to express her love again, because she felt it was meaningless. She simply recounted her life in the mountains, the difficulties she encountered in her practice, and the joy she felt after solving the problems herself.
They are all very trivial and everyday things.
Gu Zhuo didn't find it boring. He listened very carefully and always responded.
As always, it was a mutually enjoyable conversation.
At the end of her words, before saying goodbye, Lin Wanyi stared at Gu Zhuo without blinking for a full half a quarter of an hour.
It was not until Gu Zhuo could no longer bear it that she asked a question.
"I'm here to see you this time, when will you come to see me?"
Gu Zhuo thought that this was indeed a problem.
Lin Wanyi didn't like his speechless response, but she knew she had no reason to lose her temper over it, so she simply smiled and said softly, "I heard about what you asked Li Ruoyun about that day. I also like the wine brewed by Xiu Hu Zhenren. If there is any Lihuaxue left, please have someone send a pot to Chaotian Sword Palace."
Gu Zhuo was slightly startled and said, "But your alcohol tolerance is very poor, right?"
Lin Wanyi said: "If you don't drink, you will continue to be poor."
Gu Zhuo said: "Drinking it may not be good."
Lin Wanyi thought so, and immediately laughed, saying to him, "At least after drinking, you can take the opportunity to go crazy, right?"
After saying this, the girl turned and left.
The skirt fluttered in the wind and snow, as bright as an old spring day.
Gu Zhuo watched her leave quietly.
At some point, Yu Sheng came under the eaves and asked, "Let's go?"
After a moment of silence, Gu Zhuo was sure that he could not wait for Pei Jinge to arrive in Cihang Temple, so he nodded.
Finally, he took a look at the empty Foshan covered by snow, and thinking about the fact that Qing Xiaoyue had never really left, his mood naturally calmed down.
……
……
The journey was very peaceful.
With Yu Sheng around, many things were inconvenient for Gu Zhuo to do, but he still knew what was going on.
The three elders of the Tianming Sect lowered their heads, apologized to the fat orange cat, and recounted the fact that Li Ruoyun had escaped.
The Cihang Temple Dharma Assembly had an unsatisfactory result. Master Daoxiu did not attend the closing ceremony. Just like the top winners of the two competitions, debate and sutra interpretation... had no intention of coming to challenge him for the time being.
Just as he had said to Pei Jinge at the beginning, no matter how many plots and conspiracies were offered in this Cihang Dharma Assembly, it was meaningless because it would ultimately not get around him, and he was no longer interested in it.
Chen Chi is still working as a postman, and his whole body is numb.
The flying sword flew back and forth in the thousands of piles of snow, bringing the Empress's intention to Gu Zhuo.
Gu Zhuo did not give an immediate reply.
On the same day, Qing Xiaoyue left.
Without having to think too much, you can guess that this is what the lady meant.
From this perspective, the emperor's trust in her, or the degree of power he delegated to her, really exceeded many people's imagination.
Pei Jinge still didn't show up. I guess he was still busy with old things. It was impossible that he was too embarrassed to face Gu Zhuo.
So…it was very quiet all the way north.
Leaving the warmth of the south, on the way north, Gu Zhuo stopped the carriage at the foot of a mountain.
He climbed up alone, entered the old palace, and walked out onto the terrace.
This is where Lu Mingcheng died.
Gu Zhuo stood here for a long time.
It was not until dusk fell and the afterglow of the evening burned across the sky that he stopped leaning on the railing alone and turned away.
Yu Sheng didn't ask him what he was going to do, but just asked him to avoid being alone as much as possible because Lin Wanyi had been horrifically assassinated.
On the way back to Chaotian Sword Palace, the killer from Wuyou Mountain set up a grand killing plan for Lin Wanyi.
Fortunately, she survived.
The reason why Lin Wanyi did not die in the assassination was because Qing Xiaoyue appeared in time, allowing this famous girl to survive - Qing Xiaoyue's appearance was top secret news and was not known to the world.
After hearing the news, the emotions in Gu Zhuo's eyes faded and turned cold, just like the wind and snow in the night.
This is all too coincidental.
It was such a coincidence that he didn't want to believe it was a conspiracy and thought it was a real coincidence - there was no reason for the queen to act with this, and it was inappropriate to use it as a reason to attack.
Yu Sheng only said one sentence about this.
"As long as there are still people living in this world, there will never be true peace in this world. As long as your death has meaning, don't expect others to not dare to kill you because of your status and realm."
Gu Zhuo listened to these words, thinking about everything that the empress had done in the past year and the blood that had flowed from it.
He was silent for a long time, then said, "I've thought about it."
Yu Sheng asked, “Hmm?”
Gu Zhuo said: "About the meeting with that lady."
Yu Sheng looked at him quietly and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you don't really want to see her."
"That was true before, but now I have changed my mind."
Gu Zhuo smiled gently and said calmly, "I think this is a conversation that must be had."
Sorry for being late, I will update as usual tomorrow
(End of this chapter)