Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 278 Guangzhai Temple, the well in the temple

Upon hearing that the princess had arrived, the abbot of Guangzhai Temple, Tao Hongjing, hurriedly led the people to greet her.

"Amitabha, the princess has arrived. I'm sorry I didn't come to greet you!"

Looking at Tao Hongjing, who had a clear face and an immortal look, but had a bald head, wore a cassock, and chanted Buddhist scriptures, Ren Yuan felt uncomfortable.

"Master Zhendao, sorry to bother you." Princess Yongkang regained her composure and was helped out of the carriage by Xiahou. She looked at the gate of Guangzhai Temple and said, "I suddenly felt like returning to my old house to take a look."

"Nostalgia is a virtue. Princess, please come in quickly." Tao Hongjing invited with a smile.

In fact, Princess Yongkang moved to the palace when she was two years old and knew nothing about this place, so she could only let Tao Hongjing lead the way and listen to his explanation:
"After the emperor converted his residence into a temple, he started a massive construction project and built the many palaces we have today. He also cast a 18-foot-tall statue of the Buddha of Infinite Life for worship. He also ordered the engraving of golden statues and flowers, and ordered Zhou Xingsi, Lu Jue and other famous writers to write temple steles. This is truly a sincere worship of Buddha."

"This Amitabha Buddha is used to suppress the head of Donghun Hou, right?" Princess Yongkang said, ruining the mood.

"Haha..." Tao Hongjing smiled awkwardly and said, "To be precise, it is to use Buddhist teachings to influence him and help him get rid of his hostility."

"You step on people under your feet, and their resentment becomes worse and worse. Do you still want to influence them?" The princess sneered.

"Princess, there is some truth in what you said." Tao Hongjing smiled bitterly, "But the Buddha has thirty-two special features, and 'flat feet' and 'thousand-spoked wheels' are two of them."

"How do you mean?" Xiao Yuhuan asked with interest.

"The former are the feet of the Buddha, with flat soles and no depressions. It symbolizes that the Buddha has eliminated all evil karma, completed his practice, and can treat all living beings equally, guiding them toward the smooth road to liberation without bias," Tao Hongjing explained.

Ren Yuan almost laughed out loud when he heard this. Isn't this flat feet?

"Oh, so that's the case. What about the latter?" Xiao Yuhuan asked again.

"The latter refers to the thousand-spoke wheel-shaped patterns on the soles of the Buddha's feet, which represent the Buddha's use of the wheel of wisdom to destroy the troubles and karma of sentient beings and lead them to liberation." Tao Hongjing replied, "So this is the mercy of the emperor and the Buddha, helping Donghun Hou to transcend."

"Has he transcended it now?" Xiao Yuhuan looked innocent.

"He has transcended." Tao Hongjing said with certainty: "He has been reborn now."

"That's really good." Xiao Yuhuan nodded and walked into the magnificent main hall. She saw a 16-inch-tall stone statue of Guanyin sitting in the hall, not a statue of Buddha.

"Where is the Buddha?" Xiao Yuhuan asked curiously.

"Isn't the Buddha in the middle of the courtyard?" Tao Hongjing smiled and said, "That's the 180-foot-tall Amitabha Buddha."

"The Buddha is standing outside, and Guanyin is sitting inside. This Guanyin is so arrogant." Xiao Yuhuan said bluntly: "Isn't she afraid of turning against Tiangang?"

"Haha, good question." Fortunately, Tao Hongjing had dealt with the erratic royal family before, so no matter what the Xiao family said, he would not be upset. "First of all, the Buddha said that all beings are equal, which of course includes the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. So, what does it matter whether Guanyin is inside or outside, or whether the Buddha is sitting or standing?"

After a pause, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Furthermore, Princess, take a closer look, what is the difference between this Guanyin and other Guanyin?"

Xiao Yuhuan stared at the stone Guanyin and said, "The Guanyins in other places are all male, why is the Guanyin in Guangzhai Temple female?"

"Princess, can't you tell who this Guanyin looks like?" Tao Hongjing asked with a smile.

"Have you noticed?" Xiao Yuhuan asked. "She looks a bit like a princess," the maids whispered.

"That's right, because the princess looks very much like the queen." Tao Hongjing stopped keeping the secret and said respectfully, "This Guanyin was specially carved in the image of Queen Xi by the emperor in memory of her."

"Is it possible?" Xiao Yuhuan looked at the Guanyin statue in surprise. It really looked like the mother she saw in her dream.

"Although there are not many Buddha statues made with faces that resemble emperors, empresses, and princes in this dynasty, it was common in the Northern Dynasties, and I have never heard that the Buddha was unhappy." Tao Hongjing smiled and said, "My Buddha is merciful, and I wish everyone can become a Buddha."

"You are truly a man of high character." Xiao Yuhuan praised him and said, "Then I must pay my respects to you."

"It should be so." Tao Hongjing smiled and offered incense to the princess personally.

The princess took it with both hands, lit it with the eternal lamp, and then held the incense stick to her forehead, bowing repeatedly. Then she inserted the incense stick, knelt down and kowtowed, whispering: "If mother can hear me, please show me your spirit!"

Before he finished speaking, a dull roar was heard from under the base of Guanyin.

"Protect the princess!" Xiahou was shocked when he heard this, and quickly led his men to rush forward and protect the princess.

"Get out of the way!" Xiao Yuhuan said decisively: "With Master Tao... here, who can hurt me?"

"Haha, that's right." Tao Hongjing nodded awkwardly and said, "Princess, please rest assured. Guangzhai Temple is absolutely safe."

"Of course I'm relieved, but what was that sound just now?" Xiao Yuhuan's face was tense, and she looked at Tao Hongjing seriously and asked, "Could it be that there is something under this Guanyin statue?"

"No, no." Tao Hongjing was about to deny it when a muffled roar came from under the Guanyin statue.

"..." Unable to bear Xiao Yuhuan's questioning look, Tao Hongjing finally changed his words amidst a series of muffled roars:
"Okay. There was originally a square well where the Guanyin statue was located. Not long after your father deposed Donghun Hou, the water in the well began to churn. Some people even saw a dragon flying into the well."

"Isn't this a good thing? It means my father is going to be the emperor." Xiao Yuhuan said as a matter of course.

"Of course it is so now. But at that time, your father's health was not good when the well water was churning. He always heard ghosts howling in his ears, saying that he had died a tragic death. At that time, a monk was invited to see, and he said that the ghost of the emperor of the Qi Dynasty was angry and wanted to settle accounts with the emperor. So the emperor built a palace on the open well mouth to suppress the ghost in the well. Since then, the palace has finally become quiet."

"And then they carved this Guanyin statue in the image of my mother and placed it on the well to suppress the ghosts?" Xiao Yuhuan said angrily, "What do you think of her? Is this something a human would do?!"

Then he gave a decisive order: "Move away!"

“Princess, you can’t do that.” Tao Hongjing and the monks hurried to stop them, and some even wanted to rush forward to protect the Guanyin statue.

However, Ren Yuan drew his sword and blocked his way. He shouted, "Whoever dares to take another step forward will be treated as disrespectful!"

"You..." The monks were filled with indignation and looked towards the abbot, hoping that he would be able to stop them without fear of power.

"Forget it. I can't beat them. Just let them do what they want." Tao Hongjing slid down to his knees as quickly as ever.

So the powerful sister Xiahou rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward, using her great magical power of "moving mountains and filling the sea". The muscles in her arms swelled, and she slowly pushed away the huge six-foot-tall Guanyin statue.

A bottomless square well was revealed, just as Chen Lingzhi's poem said:
Hidden deep in the hall, the walls are made of bricks and stones. The water is invisible, only the shadows are in pairs.

(End of this chapter)