Introduction
That was a long time ago.
Through the fog of thousands of years of history, a continent called Shenzhou appears before our eyes. This magical land belongs to the most powerful and prosperous empire in Chinese history: the "Tang Dynasty".
The current emperor of this dynasty is a woman, a historical figure who is more like a legend than a legend, and she has a name with historical charm: Wu Zetian.
According to historical records, "When Wu Zetian was thirteen or fourteen years old, she had read a lot of books, had a strong memory, and had laid a certain foundation in poetry and songs. She was also good at calligraphy, and her handwriting was outstanding and unique."
She was the concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the empress of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi. After assisting Emperor Gaozong in handling military and national affairs and supporting the government for thirty years, she realized her long-cherished wish through a series of political strategies and means. She ascended the throne, named herself "Holy and Divine Emperor", changed the country's name to Zhou, and became the only female emperor in Chinese history. This year, she was 67 years old.
However, during the nearly 50 years of her rule over the empire, she had free rein in selecting officials, promoted cruel officials, and rewarded informants and lies.
For a time, corrupt officials were rampant in the country. They tortured and extorted confessions, killed innocent people indiscriminately, and framed people, causing many civil officials and military generals to suffer unjust crimes.
The expansion of the bureaucracy led to a sharp increase in the number of bureaucrats, intensified contradictions within the ruling group, and everyone was in danger. In addition, years of conspiracy, horrific killings, widespread implicated people, and the corpses left by the expeditions everywhere. For a time, ghosts and demons were rampant and demons were everywhere.
Terror and resentment, like the dark clouds that lingered over the divine capital of Luoyang, began to spread across the country. Drought, hail, natural fire, severe cold, and the constant haze.
one
Hedong Road.
The ninth day of July.
evening.
The Wushan Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles, like a gray screen forcibly blocking the thousands of miles of road. Wushan is not its original name. After a violent storm a few decades ago, the originally beautiful lake and mountains were shrouded in a thin layer of fog, which was hard to get rid of and made the mountain road more difficult. Pedestrians and mountaineers always feel scared when crossing the mountain.
Yunsheng Temple is an ancient temple, first built in the Jin Dynasty. Monks built huts in the mountains to practice Buddhism and founded the Yuntai Sect, a branch of Zen Buddhism. The temple has been popular for hundreds of years. In the early years of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, the temple was very popular, but later, for some unknown reason, pilgrims only went in but never came out. The government investigated but found nothing. Later, most of the monks in the temple died. Legend has it that one of the monks in the temple turned into a demon and ate people. Suddenly, the ancient temple fell into decline.
The monks who survived escaped, but never mentioned anything about the temple. Outsiders could only start to speculate. The topics of weird spirits, ghosts, and fairy foxes were always talked about by the mountain people and outsiders around this quiet world. People who came to run, carry loads, and play. Although this place was a shortcut, the road was flat, and the scenery was beautiful, people would rather work harder than pass by this gloomy temple. So this ancient temple was abandoned for nearly a hundred years.
Later, the descendants of Yuntai Sect went around to beg for alms, hoping to revive the glory of Yuntai Sect. Just a year and a half ago, a monk who came from nowhere led his disciples to redecorate the temple, ring morning bells and evening drums, burn incense and worship Buddha, and opened the door to convenience. The ancient temple gradually started to improve.
"Hello. Is anyone there?" The door knocker rang, and a high but elegant voice came.
The red temple door opened a crack.
"What can I do for you?" The person who opened the door was a young monk about twelve or thirteen years old.
"Young Master. It's really foggy when we pass by here. I want to stay overnight."
The young monk looked at the man, who was about 27 or 28 years old, dressed like an elegant scholar, with his hair not tied into a bun, but hanging down behind him. However, he was dressed in black, which made him feel a little cold.
"Yes, the fog won't clear up. Come in. Uh, there are women living in the temple now. If you have nothing to do, don't wander around in the temple."
The visitor said "sorry for bothering you" and followed the little monk into the temple.
The temple is not big, but of course not small either. There are three courtyards, towering pagodas, and towering ancient trees. Although the temple is old and desolate, it is also solemn and austere.
In the side room, the young monk was about to leave but was stopped by the man.
"Uh, young master. Excuse me. How can there be female relatives in the temple?"
The young monk smiled and replied, "Sir, please forgive me for making a fool of myself. The two biggest donors to our temple are Sun Xiaochong, the governor of Longyou, and Yuan Mo, the governor of Youzhou. Both of them are from Hedong and are good friends with our master. They often donate money to support Buddha. They often open the door to travelers and officials passing by. Today, Mr. Donghe, the brother-in-law of Mr. Yuan Mo, is passing by Wushan to marry his daughter. It is getting late, so he stayed overnight at our small temple."
"I see. Ugh."
"Sir, please go ahead."
"It's like this, I want to see your nine-story pagoda, but is it behind this temple?"
The young monk touched his head and said, "Sir, the pagoda in our small temple only has seven floors. It is behind the temple. There is no nine floors!"
"Oh, really?" The man also smiled, "Maybe I remembered it wrongly."
"gentlemen."
"What?"
The little monk looked at the sky, turned his head and said quietly, "Don't go out when night falls. Close the doors and windows. It's very cold in the temple."
The man blinked. "Ah! I know. Thank you for your help."
The little monk clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, closed the door and went out.
The night came little by little.
two
night.
From the trees in the temple came the distant and hollow cries of crows. After a few cries, there was no sound of wind, no sound of leaves falling to the ground. The whole temple and the whole Wushan Mountain were as if dead. Silence.
In the main hall of Yunsheng Temple, the eternal lamp surrounded by fog flickered.
In the flickering lights, the newly gilded face of the Three Buddhas in the center of the hall was distorted and hideous under the flickering candlelight, like a ghost.
Abbot Miaolin paced back and forth in the hall, muttering, "Buddha, have mercy on me. Nothing else can happen tonight."
The disciple sitting on the cushion next to him lowered his head and remained silent.
"Uh, Master."
"What?" asked the abbot.
The question was asked by the young monk who was in charge of reception at the gate. "Master, a donor came to our temple to stay overnight in the evening. He asked me where the nine-story pagoda in the temple is. Our pagoda clearly only has seven stories."
"Well? What does the person look like?"
"She has a pretty face, bright eyes, long hair covering her ears, and black sleeves. She looks a bit like a demon. But she is very easy-going and elegant."
"how old?"
"About twenty-seven or twenty-eight."
"Oh!" Miaolin looked at the majestic and tall statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the center of the hall without comment.
"So where does this person live now?"
three
The fog was getting thicker and thicker, like smoke, making people feel uncomfortable.
In front of the west wing of the front yard, Miao Lin was about to knock on the door, "Uh, is anyone there?"
The candlelight flickered in the room, but no one responded. Miao Lin was about to leave.
"Ah. Come in."
"Then I am sorry to bother you." Miaolin came in with his back bent and lifted the curtain.
There was no one in the compartment.
"Excuse me. Are you the abbot?" asked a shrill voice.
"Ah, yes. I am Miaolin," Miaolin replied, looking around but couldn't find anyone.
"The master has gone out to do some work. The master knew that the abbot was coming, so he asked me to wait here." Two fluorescent lights the size of green beans flashed in the corner, and then suddenly jumped onto the table.
Miaolin then noticed that the person who had just spoken was not a human, but a rat. It looked like a mouse, slightly larger than a fist, with short whiskers. It stood on the table on its hind legs, with its two small front paws neatly placed between its legs.
Since the Han Dynasty, some Taoist practitioners would catch some small monsters as their attendants. People in the Buddhist sect also know this, but few practitioners can do it. So Miaolin was really surprised.
"Oh. So, where did your master go?"
"Well, it's hard to say. Before leaving, the owner said that when the night dew wet the "Guanfeng" on the left eaves (one of the nine sons of the dragon, good at looking far, Gu often uses it for the eaves), he would return when ninety-nine drops of water fell."
"I see! How many drops are there now?"
"Seventy-three drops, no, seventy-four drops, they just fell." said the little mouse.
"Oh. I haven't asked you yet."
"She Rat. He is the master's servant." The little mouse answered Miaolin's question humbly, and suddenly… "Shadow!"
shadow!
A shadow creeps in from outside, but there is no moonlight and no one outside. Whose shadow is it? Where does it come from?
The shadow squeezed in through the crack in the door. The little mouse Qiu Ling jumped down from the table and moved close to the shadow, as if listening or whispering.
"Master, come with me. The master of the family wants to see you now." As he said that, Qiu Ling had already squeezed out from the gap in the door and ran out jumping.
Miaolin opened the door and followed closely behind Qiu Ling.
As the night deepened, the fog grew thicker.
Four
Behind Yunsheng Temple is a garden that has been in disrepair for a long time. At this time, in the thick fog, nothing can be seen clearly except the direction.
Miaolin followed Qiu Ling for a while and saw Qiu Ling stop in front of a huge object. It was a seven-story tower.
The tower is surrounded by crisscrossed branches, and the moss on the tower is particularly smooth due to the dew.
Qiu Ling signaled Miao Lin to keep quiet, then pointed to the side. Miao Lin looked in the direction of the Thirteen Ghosts Calling the Gate , and saw countless ghost lights floating under the tower in front of him. In the ghost lights, a man stood, his robe sleeves and hair covering his whole body, and only a pale face looking up could be vaguely seen. Like a ghost.
At this time, the man sighed, "During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the world was in chaos and demons were rampant. Xingzhen, the abbot of Yunsheng Temple in Hedong, fell into the devil's way because of a single thought, and practiced with human blood, poisoning all living things. He was suppressed by the Great Saint Tianshi Zhong Jiudao under the nine-story pagoda with the method of subduing demons. Xingzhen was stubborn and his demonic nature was unleashed, so the Great Saint Tianshi made gold and silver statues of the King of Hell and the Judge and placed them on the first and second floors of the pagoda. The pagoda sank more than two meters, and from now on, only seven floors can be seen."
"May Buddha have mercy on me." Miaolin clasped his hands together and bowed.
The man rolled up his sleeves, turned around and said, "Master, you are the descendant of Yunsheng Temple."
"Xingzhen's disciple Mingxiu is my ancestor."
"Oh, I see. So, that incident happened again in the temple, right?"
"Why, ah, yes."
Then it sank.
"Xingzhen has appeared again." Miaolin's voice was a little heavy. "My disciples died one after another, one every ten days. There are more than a dozen disciples now. There are also pilgrims who moved in and some never left. And."
"And you dare not tell anyone! It's not that you are afraid of ruining your own reputation, but you are afraid of ruining the Yunsheng Temple and the Yuntai Sect's reputation. Right!" The man smiled coldly, "Then don't care about people's lives, serve the Dharma with your flesh and blood, and improve your public morality! What a profitable deal."
"You think I'm the evil monk!" Miao Lin put his hands together and straightened his body. "Ever since the evil monk Xing Zhen was brought to justice a hundred years ago, Yuntai Sect seems to be possessed by a demon. The founder Mingxiu, my master, and fellow disciples all died of old age. Why are there always nightmares surrounding the Yuntai Sect? Although my knowledge of Buddhism is superficial, I can still sacrifice myself to defend it. The Buddha said, if I don't go to hell, who will?"
"So you came back to find out why."
"Yes. But."
"If my guess is correct, the daughter that Dong He married fainted within an hour of entering the temple."
"Ah! Yes, Miss Dong's father Dong He is an old friend of mine. Since he came to stay, he didn't want to tell anyone about what happened in the temple. I thought that the person who was getting married could offset the evil spirit, but I didn't expect it to be like this. Could it be sex?"
"It's not true!"
Miao Lin was startled. "What? Not him?"
"There is a lot of resentment in the Zen temple, and the atmosphere is filled with resentment, as if it were a ghost or a vengeful spirit. I observed its aura. It is evil and has a bit of Buddhist flavor. This is a bit strange." The man continued, "So the first thing I thought of, like you, is Xingzhen."
"That."
"wrong."
"What?"
"You and I are both wrong. I just looked at the bottom and inside of the tower. There was no dead or living thing, just a ball of empty air. Xingzhen had already turned to ashes, so how could there be a vengeful spirit haunting the tower? There must be something else."
got windy.
The wind brought waves of shrill screams.
five
Miaolin was walking hurriedly in front, while the man put the rat into his sleeve and followed slowly.
Passing through the side halls, we came to the courtyard in the center of the temple. That was… Hell!
There was a woman in wedding dress in the yard.
The bloody mouth was so bright red, and the bright red wedding dress she was wearing seemed to be dripping with blood. The woman's face was pale, and her messy hair covered her hollow eyes, revealing a sad smile. She was looming in the white and thick mist, standing there, with her hands raised high, her eyes looking, playing with something.
The whole courtyard was like hell. The bluestone floor and walls were covered in blood, and the smell of blood was carried by the wind, dyeing the thick fog blood red.
There were monks in the temple, as well as pilgrims and servants of the Dong family. There were more than a dozen bodies lying in a mess below. Some of them looked like human beings, but their abdomens had been cut open, with their internal organs scattered all over the floor. Some were torn to pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, even their bones had been torn apart and their skin and flesh peeled off. Some had extremely twisted limbs, as if someone had kneaded a ball of mud with great force, with their heads, arms and spines twisted into strange shapes.
The strange thing is that they all have no heads!
Miao Lin was stunned, watching the rest of the survivors run out of the temple. The thing he was most worried about still happened, and he was tired of running away at this moment. Behind him, he saw that person, sighing softly. "The fog is vast, the night is deep. There are no wronged souls in the nine springs of thorns. Sighs are heard, the sky is nine layers. The chess game in the world has an end and an end. The confused are not confused, and the evil are not evil!" With one hand, he flicked his robe sleeve, and in an instant the fog had faded, and the moonlight slowly shone through.
The woman in the fog fainted and fell down. Dong He ran to the outside of the temple, trembling with courage, and then hugged the woman and burst into tears.
"What's going on?" Miao Lin asked.
"Just half an hour ago, Miss Dong suddenly woke up and said she wanted to see the Buddha, so she came to the main hall alone," one of the disciples said. "After arriving at the main hall, she worshiped devoutly, but who would have thought that she would suddenly turn into a demon."
When the disciple said the word "demon", Miao Lin's body shook.
That person said, "That's how nature really is back then."
"yes."
"I don't know who put the head in the hall in the end, but?" The man rolled up his sleeves and strode through the courtyard and came to the door of the hall. He smiled coldly and said loudly to Miao Lin.
"This is the sin and disaster that your Yuntai Sect has committed!" After saying this, he gently pushed with his arms, and with a "creaking" sound, everyone was shocked. If the skylight is hell, then the hall is purgatory.
Dong He even fainted while holding his daughter in his arms. Hundreds of heads came from nowhere and filled the hall. On the blue brick floor, on the altar, on the beams, and even in the palm of the Buddha's hand was a bloody head.
Miao Lin actually vomited. In the hall were the rotten heads and skeletons of his master, uncle, and fellow disciples.
"In the early years of the Sui Dynasty, the country was in chaos and the devil was rampant. The Yuntai Sect worshipped the Happy Buddha and lured women to practice yin and yang. It was shameful at the time, and later they killed people to silence them for fear of being investigated by the government, and even became full of resentment. This is retribution. Heaven will reciprocate. You can stop it now!"
The human head in the Buddha statue's hand slowly turned, and the face that was distorted by pain slowly recovered. He looked at the man with cold and miserable eyes, and his lips moved slightly.
"You still won't stop! Back then, my master thought you were innocent and your soul was wandering around the temple, so he gave you a way to live and help you ascend to heaven. But after a hundred years, you still refuse to leave. You are full of resentment and have committed many sins. How many innocent people have stained this Yunsheng Temple with their blood."
The head smiled coquettishly, and for a moment, ghost lights appeared and drifted in the courtyard and the main hall.
The man straightened his clothes, turned around, took out a letter from his bosom, gently pinched it with his middle finger and index finger, placed it on his chest, and chanted: "Out moon, avoid the thick clouds; chase the mice away, wait for the cat to find them. Those who are lost are not lost, those who hide are not hidden!" After speaking, he shook his two fingers, and the talisman floated several feet away. After a burst of red fire, thirteen ghosts knocked at the door , and the talisman disappeared.
At this moment, all the heads in the hall turned to stare at the Buddha statue. Everyone's eyes were also focused on the Buddha statue in the hall.
"It's really good!" As he said that, the man bent down and picked up a bluestone brick from the patio. The bluestone brick weighed several dozen pounds, and he lifted it up with a light pinch of his fingers. He held it in his hand and looked at it for a while, "May the people and the earth rest in peace…"
six
It was already midnight.
I saw the man slowly stand up, look up at the sky in the mist, take a deep breath of the midnight air, and exhale slowly. It felt so cool.
He swung his sleeves, turned around and shook his hands, and the bluestone bricks flew and hit the Buddha statue.
After a loud noise and a cloud of dust, everyone could see clearly.
The Buddha's clay block had collapsed in half, and in the yellow mud lay the body of a woman, struggling, with pain, humiliation and fear tangled on her face.
"Buddha, have mercy on me." Miao Lin knelt down woodenly, "I've been worshipping this all day."
"People's hearts are unstable, and they can't distinguish between good and evil! They will eventually ruin their future. In fact, Buddha is in people's hearts. If the heart is evil, Buddha is a demon; if the heart is good, Buddha is still Buddha." The man said, and then he took out a small walnut-like paper lantern from his arms, rolled up his sleeves, revealing his snow-white arms, and sat on the steps, whispering softly, as if he was whispering to a woman he loved. The ghost lights around him slowly floated up and down, surrounding him. He slowly stretched out his left hand, gently pinched a small green flame with two fingers, and put it into the small lantern with his right hand, one, two. The small lantern became brighter and brighter, bright enough to be like a star.
"Originally, a girl who could be included in a painting, but she will never wake up in this Yunsheng Temple. Although she was unwilling to die, she became a vengeful spirit, which was fine. I think that day, Xingzhen and others wanted to escape the pursuit of the government, but ah~~ the government troops suddenly arrived outside the temple, and it was too late to do anything else. Coincidentally, the temple was repairing and reshaping the golden body. In a hurry, the body was stuffed into the clay of the golden body, and the person and the Buddha were combined. Then Xingzhen and others were taken away. How could the official know, how could the world know! When Xingzhen and his evil monks returned to the temple, the mountain gate was wide open, people were swarming, and there were other monks beside, so it was difficult to start, so they let him go. Who would have thought that a beautiful corpse would be in the golden body of the Buddha, receiving incense and scriptures. Over the past few decades, a stream of resentment finally turned into a fierce ghost and demon, which led to the disaster of Yuntai. God's will! I took you in, don't complain anymore, the grudges have been divided, and you can go to transcend."
The man stood up and took the little star into his arms.
"If you ask me why I didn't save your disciple? Ah. Tianshi Zhong Jiudao was in the temple that day out of pity, but for me, I can't go against the will of heaven." The man looked at Miao Lin and said. Although the man was smiling, there was no smile on his face, only sadness and indifference.
"You know what happened that day, you know how it happened!" Miao Lin knelt on the ground and pondered over and over again, how could this young man know what happened decades ago, which was also mentioned by his master before.
It was just mentioned, and outsiders had no way of knowing.
The young monk who was in charge of reception came over and slowly helped him up. Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly said, "Great Sage Heavenly Master Zhong Jiu said yes."
"That's my master!"
"Your last name is Mo!" Dong He stood up with the help of his family, his voice trembling. At this time, Miss Dong was also sent to the backyard by the maids. The monks in the temple were busy with the corpse in the bloody courtyard.
With a long sigh: "What a beautiful world of clear wind and bright moon!" The man looked up at the sky. Thirty years of fog had finally dissipated, the moon came out, and thin clouds were crossing the sky. The warm moonlight caressing the white face of the man in black.
"Mr. Dong, my son-in-law Lan Yunzhi will be here at noon tomorrow. I will take my leave now. By the way, tell my son-in-law that the thing he entrusted to me has been done, don't forget to send a cart of good wine during the falling leaves season next year. See you in Chang'an." The man walked out of the temple without even looking back and disappeared in the misty moonlight.
The little monk who was in charge of reception in the temple courtyard smiled faintly and bowed deeply!