In the afternoon, Li Zhiyun took two personal soldiers to the county office, found the county Cheng Ding Guoyi, and asked him to call him over. After a few people walked out of the county office, Li Zhiyun said: "Ding Xiancheng, you take us to Zhou Shen's house by taking a shortcut." ”

Although Ding Guoyi didn't know what he was going to do, he still led the way in front. Li Zhiyun walked and observed left and right. As they entered a narrow alley, he suddenly shouted, "Wait! This is it. ”

It is a one-man alley, only about ten feet long, and the alley is lined with walls of houses. Li Zhiyun pointed to a wall and said, "Look, what is this?" ”

When everyone looked at it, they saw that the wall was stained with a lot of purple and black things. Ding Guoyi stared at it for a while and said, "It seems to be blood." ”

"It's blood," he affirmed, "it's been days." ”

"How can there be so much blood on this wall?" Ding Guoyi asked puzzled.

Li Zhiyun said: "This should be the scene where Zhou Shen was killed." ”

"Huh?" Ding Guoyi was shocked, "King Chu, how do you know?" ”

Li Zhiyun didn't answer, but said to him: "You inspect the scene and make a record." Let's go to the house next door and ask. "The door to the house on the left is not far from the front of the alley. Li Zhiyun led a few people into this house. There is an elderly couple living in the house, who are sitting in the courtyard and weaving baskets from bamboo strips. Li Zhiyun walked over and said, "Uncle, I want to inquire, between the second and third watches on the fourth night of the first month of this month, did you hear any unusual movement in the alley?" ”

The old man said, "We are young and old, we go to bed early, and we don't hear anything." The old woman on the side said: "He slept to death, he didn't hear it, I heard it." ”

"Oh? What do you hear? ”

"At the second end of the night, I heard a 'bang' in the alley, like an axe hitting something, and I heard someone screaming, and then there was no sound. It was too dark that night and I didn't dare to go out. The next day, I inquired, but nothing happened. I told the old man about it, and he probably didn't remember it. ”

Li Zhiyun asked people to record what the old woman said, asked her to draw a charge, and then thanked her. They returned to the alley, and the inquest had been inspected and recorded. Li Zhiyun asked casually: "Does this alley have a name?" ”

"Yes. It's called Seven Feet Lane. ”

When they left Qiqi Alley and walked back, Li Zhiyun suddenly found that the street was much more lively than a few days ago, and many villagers were walking on the street in twos and threes carrying yellow cloth bags embroidered with "Buddha" on their backs. Puzzled, he asked, "Why are there so many pilgrims at once?" Are there any Buddhist festivals? ”

"The King of Chu doesn't know," Ding Guoyi said, "Three days later, Xu County Commander will hold a fasting meeting in the county seat, and these people are all here to participate in the fasting meeting." ”

"Oh? And what's going on? ”

Li Zhiyun did not return to the post station, but followed Ding Guoyi to the county office and found Xu Tiecheng. Xu Tiecheng was a little apologetic: "His Royal Highness the King of Chu, the lower officials have been entangled in chores recently, and they have not been able to take the time to go to the post house to pay respects, please forgive your highness." ”

Li Zhiyun waved his hand unmindfully and said, "Xu County Order, this king came to you today to ask, do you want to hold a fast meeting in three days?" ”

"Yes. The king of Chu knew that the current wars were still frequent, and the lives were devastated, so the lower officials wanted to hold a fasting meeting and invite the monks on Yinhua Mountain to come down the mountain and pray for the blessings and disasters of the people of Xia County. Xu Tiecheng said, "Is there something wrong?" ”

"No, no, I'm just asking." Li Zhiyun said that, chatted casually with Xu Tiecheng for a few more words, and then left.

After Li Zhiyun returned to the post station, he called Zhang Zheng to his guest room that night and whispered to him.

The next morning, on the stone path of Yinhua Mountain, a wandering monk appeared. He wears a Pilu hat, a robe, and sandals, a string of Buddhist beads around his neck, and a yellow robe on his shoulders. After the wandering monk climbed to the halfway point of the mountain, he walked forward along a fork in the road, and walked about a stick of incense, only to see a temple appear under a huge ancient acacia tree in front of him.

The wandering monk walked to the temple, only to see that the environment here was quiet and there were not many pilgrims. He walked into the temple hall, bypassed the Buddha seat, walked to the back, and just walked a short distance, he met a short and fat monk. The other party stopped and said, "Who are you looking for?" ”

"The poor monk wants to see the host."

"I am. What are you looking for me? ”

The wandering monk folded his hands and said: "Amitabha, the poor monk is a wandering monk, who came to the treasure temple and wanted to borrow it for a night." ”

"Since you are a wandering monk, come with me." The host led him to a row of houses in the backyard, pushed open the door of a house, and said, "You can stay in this clean room, the canteen is opposite, and if you are hungry, you will go to eat fast." The wandering monk hurriedly thanked him. The host nodded, turned and walked away.

When the wandering monk entered the room, he saw that the furnishings in the room were very simple, only a bed, a low table and a few benches, and a futon was placed on the bed.

When he settled in, he found that the courtyard was quiet and rarely moved. It was only during his fasting that he met some monks. As soon as the time for the meal was over, the monks disappeared without a trace. In the entire courtyard, only one monk in a short shirt and trousers was busy in the room.

The wandering monk thought that the monks of this temple probably had another place to live. However, in order not to arouse the suspicion of others, he could not trespass around, so he could only stay in this courtyard. At sunset, the monk returned from outside the courtyard carrying water. Probably because the bucket was too heavy, he was unsteady and staggered.

Yun Yousheng hurriedly ran over and said, "Master, I'll come!" With that, he took the burden and, under the guidance of the other party, carried the bucket into the kitchen and poured it into a water tank. This water tank is very large, after the two buckets of water are poured, the water tank only holds a small half, and it is estimated that it will take two or three more trips to fill the water tank. Help others to the end. Yun Yousheng decided to help the other party fill the water tank, so he said, "Master, where is the water source?" ”

"Go straight out of the yard, there is a mountain spring a mile away."

After picking a few trips, the wandering monk filled the water tank. He put the bucket and the pole in the corner of the wall, took the towel handed by the monk, wiped his sweat and said, "Master, I see that you are old, why do you still do such heavy work?" ”

"Alas, presiding over the distribution, who would dare not do it? There are thirty or forty people in this temple, and I am the only one who bears the water every day, and I feel very difficult. The monk said with a bitter face, and then asked, "Where are you from?" ”

"Baoshan Temple."

"Where is Baoshan Temple?"

"More than a thousand miles from here."

"Far away? I haven't heard of it. The monk said, "You are quite smart. If you help me like this, I will not do you any wrong, but you will come with me. With that, the monk pulled him out of the kitchen and into a clean room.

The wandering monk walked into the room and took a look, the furnishings of the room where the monk lived were also very simple, and it was almost the same as the one he lived in. The monk brought two plates of seasonal fruits from the Buddhist shrine and put them on the table, and brought a few bowls of dishes like a trick, although they were vegetarian, but they were all delicious. He placed the dishes and chopsticks on the table and beckoned the other to sit down.

"How can it be so delicious that it doesn't go well with it? You wait. The wandering monk said, turned around and went out. Suddenly, he brought a huge gourd and showed it to the other party.

"What's in there?"

"Do you smell it?" Yun Yousheng said, unplugged it, and handed the gourd mouth under the other party's nose.

The monk wrinkled his nose and said, "How can a monk drink alcohol?" ”

"Shh——!h Yun Yousheng put his index finger to his mouth and said in a low voice: "There are only you and me in this courtyard, plug in the door, who knows?" Then he walked over and plugged in the door, came back and sat down at the table, and poured wine into the other man's bowl. The monk was tired after a day's work, and he also wanted to drink a few sips to relieve his fatigue, so he didn't stop it.

The two drank and chatted, and the monk unconsciously drank two large bowls, and he was already seven or eight points drunk. Yunyou monk said: "Master, I heard that the county order will hold a fasting meeting the day after tomorrow, and the monks on the mountain will all go down the mountain, what is there to say?" ”

The monk looked at the door and said in a low voice, "You pass me your ear, and I will listen to you." The wandering monk hurriedly stretched out his ears, and the monk put his mouth next to his ear and whispered.

At the second watch of the night, on the stone path leading to the Lotus Temple in Longxing Temple, there were two monks, one was Gao Tansheng, the head of Longxing Temple, who was strong, and the other was a handyman with a thin body and carrying a lantern. The handyman followed Gao Tansheng step by step, shining a light for him.

The two walked to the gate of the Lotus Temple and stopped, and Gao Tansheng said to the miscellaneous servants: "You go back, don't come to pick me up tonight." The handyman clasped his hands together and said "yes," turned and walked back.