Cao Shuisheng rocked the boat into a harbor in the north shore of the lake, and after docking, he jumped out of the boat and tied the cable to a willow tree. Yang Muyun helped Yun Niang carry things, and the fish in a large net pocket were carried on her shoulders, and she could still walk like flying.

"Xiao Xiucai's strength is not small." Yun Niang was deeply surprised.

Not far in front is Tiaohu Village, where Cao Shuisheng and Yun Niang live, the village is not large, only twenty or thirty households. Cao Shuisheng's home is easy to find, and the first yard at the entrance of the village is.

Opening the courtyard door, an old woman about fifty years old greeted her.

"Shuisheng, Yun Niang, why did you come back?" The old woman complained.

"Mother, Shui Sheng saw that the moonlight was very good tonight, so he wanted to catch one more net of fish, no, it would be too late to come back." Yun Niang explained to the old woman.

"It's good to come back, it's good to come back, my mother is worried about death." The old woman saw Yang Muyun behind them, "This little brother is—"

"He is Yang Xiucai, who accidentally fell into the water and was rescued by me and Shui Sheng." Yun Niang introduced.

"Hello Auntie!" Yang Muyun stepped forward and saluted.

"Okay, okay, don't talk outside, let's get inside." The old woman was busy.

......

It's an ordinary fisherman's house, the furnishings in the room are simple but very clean. The old woman is Cao Shuisheng's own mother, her wife is deceased, and she is now living with her son and daughter-in-law.

Yang Muyun came into the house, and Shui Shengniang hurriedly beckoned him to sit down, and brought the meal that had already been prepared with Yun Niang.

The meals are also simple, with only white rice in addition to steamed fish and pickles. Yang Muyun also felt hungry, and picked up the bowl to eat it very sweet.

"Mother, will you sit down and eat too?" Cao Shuisheng said.

"You eat first, I'll come over after I've incense on the elders." Shui Shengniang said.

"Elder?" Yang Muyun secretly felt strange, he had only heard of incense to the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, and had never heard of incense to any elders. He looked up and saw Shui Shengniang lighting a stick of incense and respectfully inserting it into the incense burner in front of a portrait hanging on the wall of the main hall. Then he folded his hands, muttered something silently, fell to his knees, and bowed reverently.

Yang Muyun took a closer look at the portrait, which was painted by an old monk with kind eyebrows, and he didn't feel strange, and when Shui Shengniang came to the dining table after worshipping, he asked: "Auntie, may I ask what god you are worshipping here?" How come Xiaosheng has never seen it? ”

"Xiao Xianggong, you are a foreigner, so naturally you don't know about this master." There was a look of excitement in Shui Shengniang's eyes, "That was what happened in the eleventh year of orthodoxy, that is, at this time last year, a plague broke out in the entire Hongze Lake, and many people died of illness at that time, including Shui Sheng's father......" Speaking of this, Shui Shengniang's throat choked, and he paused and continued: "At that time, I was also infected with the plague, and Yun Niang's ......" She glanced at her daughter-in-law, and Yun Niang's face was also dark, "Just when we were all feeling hopeless, Master Jin Chan came." ......”

"Master Jin Chan?" Yang Muyun exclaimed in surprise.

"What? Xiao Xianggong also knows Master Jin Chan? The aquatic lady was surprised.

"I don't know." Yang Muyun hesitated and shook his head, and the scene that happened at the door of his house a few days ago came to mind: an old man who suddenly fainted to the ground was rescued by a gray-clothed monk, and after the gray-clothed monk woke up the old man, he boasted to the people around him that he had great powers, Master Jin Chan. Is he the same person as the Jin Chan Master that Shui Sheng Niang said? Could it be that there are still two Golden Zen masters in the world? Yang Muyun thought about what happened that day.

"I'm just wondering, Xiao Xianggong is from Jiangnan, how can he know about Elder Jin Chan?" Shui Shengniang continued, "Master Jin Chan used the elixir on his body to heal all of us who were sick, and he is the Buddha who came into the world!" The more Shui Shengniang spoke, the more excited she became.

"Mother, you can rest for a while, let's eat first!" Yun Niang persuaded.

"Auntie, where is that Golden Zen master now?" Yang Muyun asked.

"Master Jin Chan is now the presiding master of Ganlin Temple in Huai'an Mansion." Shui Shengniang said.

"Oh? So has he left Ganlin Temple now? ”

"How could Master Jin Chan leave Ganlin Temple? Now that many believers go to him every day to get rid of their illnesses and disasters, the elders are too busy to do so, so how can they still take a break and leave? Shui Shengniang said strangely.

"Oh?" Yang Muyun was a little surprised, "Does this master still care about getting rid of illness and calamity?" ”

"Of course, Master Jin Chan is the Buddha's own disciple descended into the world, the magic power is vast, a few days ago in the west of the village Wang Erniang's house heard someone knocking on the door every night, open the door, but there is nothing, but as soon as the door closes, the knock sound sounded again. Everyone said that this was a ghost knocking on the door, so scared that Wang Erniang hurriedly went to Master Jin Chan and asked for a post to stick to the door, don't say it, it's really spiritual, the ghost knocked on the door, and it never appeared again. ”

"This is true, this morning Wang Erniang's son Datou also told me that their family can finally sleep peacefully in the past two days." Cao Shuisheng also agreed.

"It seems that Master Jin Chan can not only cure diseases and save people, but also eliminate disasters and evil spirits!" Yun Niang also praised.

Listening to their family's praise of this golden Zen master, Yang Muyun only felt extremely ridiculous, a monk, but keen on earthly things, not in the temple to chant the Buddha, but like a Maoshan warlock to draw talismans to exorcise ghosts, this behavior itself makes people feel extremely weird. Yang Muyun is a scholar who has read a lot of books, although he does not dare to say that he knows astronomy and geography, but he can also gain insight into many world events. This is also doomed to his opinion, which cannot be on the same level of thinking as these village husbands and wives. If something goes wrong, it's going to be a demon, he always thought so.

"Yun Niang, you and Shui Sheng have been married for two years, and you don't have a child yet, tomorrow after you and Shui Sheng finish selling fish, you will go to Ganlin Temple and ask the master for a pair of medicine ......"

"Mother, look at you, there are outsiders, but you say this......" Yun Niang's face was like a big red cloth.

"What are you afraid of, Yang Xianggong is a scholar, he won't laugh at you, besides, he looks like he has been married." The aquatic lady smiled kindly.

Yang Muyun was taken aback, how did I see this old lady when I got married.

Shui Sheng Niang saw that his face was different, and said with a smile: "If Yang Xianggong is curious, you might as well go to Ganlin Temple with Shui Sheng Yun Niang tomorrow to meet that Jin Chan master." ”

Yang Muyun smiled awkwardly: "That...... All right. ”

......

Yang Muyun was lying on the bed in the wing room on the left side of the courtyard, the moonlight was like water, and there was silence around him, but he couldn't fall asleep over and over, Huai'an is a Jin Chan master, Nandu is a Jin Chan master, is this accidental? Is there any connection between these two Golden Zen masters? He had planned to return to Nandu early tomorrow morning, but now he was not in a hurry to leave.

Since you can't sleep, get up and take a walk. He got up, got dressed, pushed open the door, and went into the courtyard. After pacing twice, he pushed open the courtyard door and walked out.

The lake is full of willow trees, and when a gust of wind blows, the willow branches of the trees dance in the wind, like a maiden combing her tender hair. Yang Muyun felt a chill and was about to turn back, when he suddenly felt a flash in the corner of his eyes, a move in his heart, and a gaze in his eyes. In the depths of the willow forest, there seemed to be a faint flash of fire.

The nerves in his body began to tense, and he hurried in the direction of the light.

Seeing that it was getting closer, his whole body began to be on guard. "Brush" a cold light from the oblique thorn to his left shoulder, Yang Muyun's figure was stunned, his left shoulder shook slightly, dodging this cold light, his right leg was raised suddenly, and his right foot kicked firmly in the opponent's chest with a "bang", only to hear a miserable scream, poof, the person flew up and fell heavily to the ground.

Another cold light swept towards Yang Muyun's waist, Yang Muyun jumped up, his body jumped high, his waist twisted, and a beautiful whirlwind kick kicked directly on the opposite door, directly kicking him unconscious.

As soon as Yang Muyun stood still, he saw the torches flashing continuously, and more than ten people came over and surrounded him. Yang Muyun was full of spirit and was about to take the lead, when someone shouted: "Stop!" ”

The person in front of Yang Muyun dodged a way, and a man in Xuanyi walked quickly into the circle. The man appeared to be no more than thirty years old, very tall, with a mustache and a piercing gaze.

The man in Xuanyi hugged his fists and made a Jianghu salute: "This official is He Dongxun, the new governor of Huai'an Mansion, I don't know what to call a strong man, why do you want to do it with your subordinates?" The voice was sonorous and powerful.

It turned out to be a person from the government, Yang Muyun's heart sank, and he raised the silver waist card he was wearing and handed it over, "This official is Yang Muyun of the hundred households of the Jinyi Guard." ”

He Dongxun took it and looked at it carefully, returned it respectfully, and bowed: "Lord Yang." "The hundred households of Jinyi Wei are the sixth grade, except for the Shuntianfu and Yingtianfu officials, who are from the sixth grade, the local government officials are all the seventh grade, so He Dongxun saw Yang Muyun and saluted respectfully.

"This official was walking by the lake, and when he saw the fire here, he came to take a look, and he didn't want to run into Lord He, may I ask Lord He what is going on here?" Yang Muyun asked.

"Lord Yang, please come with the lower officials—" He Dongxun turned and walked forward.

Yang Muyun followed He Dongxun to the place surrounded by torches, which was a grave that had been cut open, the coffin inside had peeled off the paint, and the lid of the coffin had been lifted aside, revealing the phosphorus and white bones inside.

"Lord He, this is-" Yang Muyun was puzzled and looked at He Dongxun.

"Lord Yang, it has been less than a month since the lower official came to this Huai'an Mansion to take office, and he found a strange thing......" He Dongxun didn't directly say the matter in front of him, "...... When sorting out the archives left by the previous magistrate, it was recorded that in the summer and June of the 11th year of orthodoxy, there was a great epidemic along the lake, and many people died from the epidemic. He Dongxun's face showed a solemnity, "There has also been an outbreak of plague in Xiaguan's hometown, and once the epidemic broke out, the infection was fast and spread widely, and its tragic situation could not be described in words. He Tuiguan's eyes even showed a hint of fear, "According to common sense, to isolate the epidemic, you must stay more than 30 miles away from the outbreak place. Strangely, some villages are less than five miles apart, and everyone in one village is affected by the epidemic, while the other village is unharmed......"

"What Lord He said is indeed abnormal." Yang Muyun nodded in agreement.

Therefore, the lower official asked the prefect to re-investigate the case thoroughly, but the prefect did not comment on the grounds that there was no bitter master in the case...... The lower officials had no choice but to visit privately. He Dongxun shook his head frequently as he spoke.

"Did Lord He find out anything?" Yang Muyun asked.

"Lord Yang, please see-" He Dongxun took out a blackened bone fragment, "This is taken from the bones in the coffin by Xia Guan, the medullary cavity is like ink, and the bone surface is covered with black-brown spots, which is obviously poisoned and died, not caused by epidemic." ”

"Poisoned?" Yang Muyun's eyes flashed, "Lord He means that the epidemic along the lake in the summer of the eleventh year of orthodoxy was caused by human poisoning. ”

"Exactly!" He Dongxun's face was solemn, "During this period of time, the lower officials visited eleven places, opened coffins and collected evidence in eight places, and the appearance of the evidence was the same. ”

"Did Lord He report this matter to the prefect?"

"The lower official is trying to report this matter to the prefect." Although He Dongxun's words were powerful, a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

"Once the prefect approves of this case, he will thoroughly investigate the Jin Chan master who is now in Huai'an Mansion, but this master has a large number of followers and has great influence in Huai'an Mansion, and it may be very tricky to thoroughly investigate such a person." Yang Muyun understood the concerns in his heart.

"Lord Yang......" He Dongxun stopped talking.

"Lord He, even if this official is on your side, I'm afraid it won't help." Yang Muyun understood what he wanted to say, "Now almost the entire people of Huai'an Mansion worship this Golden Chan Master, if you insist on a thorough investigation, I am afraid it will provoke a civil uprising." ”

"Then what does Lord Yang think should be done? Let this demon monk confuse the people of the entire Huai'an Mansion, I am afraid it is not the blessing of the imperial court. He Dongxun was deeply worried. The Taiping Dao at the end of the Han Dynasty and the White Lotus Sect at the end of the Yuan Dynasty all relied on demagoguery to achieve the goal of bringing disaster to the world. ”

"Lord He is worried about the country and the people, and his loyalty can be expressed. This matter must be urgently investigated, and sufficient evidence must be collected to make the people repent. When the people's hearts are back on the side of the court, a demon monk will not be able to be caught. Yang Muyun comforted him.

————————

On the stage of the school outside Chaoyangmen, a young man about 20 years old wore a golden helmet, gold chain mail, dragon pattern combat boots, and waved the order flag.

A sergeant with a black flag on his back shouted with a sword and gun in his hand and rushed towards the Dianjiangtai.

"Front, stop!" The young general waved the blue flag, and an officer and soldier with a blue flag on their backs shouted and crowded in front of the stage to protect the young general tightly.

"Rear army, cut off the enemy's rear road!" The young general waved the red flag, and in the distance, a pair of cavalrymen with red flags on their backs raised dust and planted obliquely behind the black flag army.

"Left and right armies, flank!" The young general waved the blue and green flags crosswise, and two officers and soldiers with blue and green flags on their backs outflanked the black flag army from the left and right.

"Chinese army, follow me into the enemy formation!" The young general held high the Yellow Dragon Banner and led a group of military horses to kill the Black Flag Army......