Colleagues here are all white lotus [Rebirth]

The abbot of Lingguang Temple passed away half a year ago. Because of Jueyuan's ability to handle affairs, a new abbot has not been selected for a long time.Today, the monks with the highest seniority in the temple are the monks of the Hui family, and there are three of them: Huijing, Huishan, and Huikong.

Hui Kong is the youngest and the best in health. Many disciples of Jue's generation have been taught by him personally, and they are closer to him.

The three eminent monks were protected by the monks. Fortunately, the main hall where the fire broke out in their meditation room was far away, and their disciples rescued them in time, so they were not injured.

Xie Yin and his party entered a larger Zen room that hadn't been burned, and saw three elderly monks chanting scriptures.They stood still for a while, and the eminent monks opened their eyes together after reciting the scriptures, with the unique compassion of monks in their eyes.

Jueyuan introduced the identity of the visitor, and the three of them stood up, clasped together and saluted, "His Royal Highness King Zhao, His Royal Highness King Yu, all benefactors."

Everyone returned the salute and sat on the futon. Chu Yanfang asked, "Three masters, regarding the case of the underground palace, we want to know some old things from many years ago."

Huijing said, "Oh? I don't know what His Royal Highness King Zhao wants to ask?"

Chu Yan glanced at Jueming slightly, and said, "Is there anyone who opened the underground palace of the Buddha Tooth Relic Pagoda 30 years ago?"

Huijing thought for a while, then shook her head, "Since the Buddha's relic was enshrined in the underground palace, the door has been sealed and never opened again. After careful calculation, it has been more than 50 years."

Chu Yan nodded, and suddenly asked, "Did someone want to steal the treasures of the Buddhist family back then?"

Huijing said, "Of course there are, but there are many disciples in this temple, and the gate of the underground palace has been sealed, so few people can enter the inner wall."

At this time a guard came in and whispered something in Chu Yan's ear.After seeing Chu Yan nodding, he told Shuntian Fuyin.Then back off.

Xie Yin and Chu Lie, who were looking forward to it very curiously, said, "..." I feel like I have become an invisible person.

Chu Yan glanced over and saw Xie Yin and Chu Wei sitting side by side, blinking four big eyes full of curiosity, with a smile on his lips unconsciously, and said to Huijing, "Master, please save Lingguang Temple from being injured. All the disciples are gathered together, this king has something to ask."

Huijing looked at Jueyuan, and Jueyuan clasped his palms together and saluted, "Yes. Disciple, go to the Buddhist hall now."

Before everyone got up, Huishan who had been silent for a while and felt a little dull suddenly remembered something, and asked Huikong beside him, "Didn't the younger brother worship under the master's door 30 years ago?"

Huikong was startled for a moment, then smiled with downcast eyes, "Yes, brother has a good memory."

·

The Nianfo Hall is far away from the place where the fire started, and it is also one of the remaining buildings of Lingguang Temple that escaped the fate of being burned this time.

On weekdays, this place is used for monks to gather and talk about Buddhism. The room is huge, and it is more than enough to accommodate all the disciples.Except for some disciples who helped Shuntian government officials to count the remnants and those who were seriously injured and received treatment elsewhere, most of the disciples had already gathered in the Chanting Hall.

The three eminent monks of the Hui generation sat on the futons, the two princes, Xie Shaoqing and Shuntian Fuyin all had chairs to sit on, and the rest of the monks and guards all stood.

Although some of the younger monks looked very old and were much older than Jue Yuan, Jue Yuan was the one who arranged things properly.Jueming came in and stood closest to the gate, and glanced at the three eminent monks of Huizi generation.

The Governor of Shuntian Mansion looked at Chu Yan, stood up after getting permission from his eyes, and said, "The disciples of your temple were summoned here today to solve the case of arson in your temple."

As soon as this remark came out, it was like a stone falling into a calm pool with no waves. Many monks in the Buddhist hall suddenly made a noise in a low voice. Those who behaved badly also had pale faces and bright eyes.

Fu Yin asked the subordinates who were specialized in inspecting the arson scene to come forward and inform everyone that they inspected the place with the heaviest burning marks in the main hall. The prayer flags, tables, chairs and floors were burned more rottenly and thoroughly than other places, and there were signs of being splashed with oil.Among the burnt objects was a charred black bamboo tube, which was a simple torch commonly used in temple kitchens.

After the monks heard the results of the inspection, the crowd became more and more excited. There was a lot of noise in the Buddhist hall, and it was only after Huijing chanted the Buddha's name that it quieted down.

Xie Yin secretly observed those monks, all of them were angry and surprised, and some were calm and indifferent. Only Jueming, who stood at the end, was blushing like a rosy cloud, mixed with complex emotions such as fear and joy.

The people of Shuntian Mansion then presented the evidence they found in front of everyone: half a month before the incident, someone asked for help from the back kitchen of the monastery, and he was the last person to clean the kitchen last night, and he At this time, he still carried evidence of arson on his body.

The yamen guard escorted Jueming out, and unfolded a large dark stain on his sleeve, which was stained with oil last night when the monks fell asleep.

Jueming didn't seem to be afraid at all of being caught. Amidst the questioning, accusation and angry denunciation of his fellow apprentices, he just stared straight ahead with a malicious and distorted smile on his face.It wasn't until someone mentioned the four monks who died in the fire that his expression was briefly empty.

Compared with other monks, Jueyuan had the most contact with this junior brother. Although he always had a vague feeling that Jueming was hiding something in the process of interacting with him, Jueyuan had always treated him sincerely. Now Jue Yuan couldn't believe it for a moment when his most beloved junior brother set fire to indirectly killing four senior brothers.

Shuntian Mansion Yin stroked his long beard and said, "The suspect Jueming, why did you move the corpse in the underground palace? What is your relationship with the deceased?"

As soon as these words came out, they were thrown into a frying pan, "Corpse?" "Why didn't the government say it before!" "The underground palace has not been opened for many years, so the corpse must have been dead for many years, right?"

When no one noticed, the pupils of Huikong, who was sitting on the futon with a look of pity, suddenly trembled fiercely, and intense emotions emerged in it.The speed of chanting the prayer beads in hand also suddenly increased.

Jueming raised his head resolutely, with a faint smile on his face, "The corpse is already in the underground palace, why did you plant it on my head?"

Shun Tianfu Yin said, "You little monk, I didn't mean that you moved the corpse to the underground palace, I mean why did you move the corpse to the gate of the underground palace?"

Jueming gritted his teeth, "How do you know?"

Chu Yu was also very curious, "Yeah, how did you know?"

Shuntian Fu Yin looked at the prince, and quickly put away his complacency in playing with the suspect, and explained, "The confession is very clean except for the dripping of wax oil, only dust is accumulated on the edges, and the corpse lying on the ground is very clean. There is thick dust in the place, and there are slight burn marks on the hands of the corpse, which were caused after death. The deceased should have died while holding the burning candle with his hand and leaning against the confession." After speaking, he cupped his hands to Chu Yangong , "Thanks to His Royal Highness King Zhao's insightful eyes, he found out the truth at a glance."

Xie Yin felt that his brain was useless, and he was completely in the state of eating melon seeds and watching a show. At this moment, he quickly asked Shuntian Fu Yin, "Where did he hide the relics?"

As early as when Shuntian Mansion got the evidence that Jue Ming was the arson suspect, they had already searched his residence and his whole body. At this moment, he had no choice but to say, "I haven't found the Buddha relic from him yet."

At this time, someone among the monks suddenly shouted, "Jueming must have stolen the relics! He set fire to the underground palace to steal the treasures from Lingguang Temple! This thief has lied to us for so long and even killed four of us. Brother, the government will punish him severely, and return the Buddhist sect to be innocent!"

This time the pot exploded, and gradually there was a voice of agreement among the monks.Xie Yin looked at the person who spoke, but he was only in his 30s and [-]s, with a pair of triangular eyes. After saying this, he quickly retracted his head into the crowd.

Jueyuan frowned and looked at the man, and said, "Jue'an, you have always been at odds with Jueming, why bother making trouble at this time, why do you think you are a Buddhist disciple?"

Jue An's face turned red and he was very upset, but Jue Yuan had always had a high reputation, so he muttered a few words and fell silent.

Shuntian Fu Yin said, "That's not wrong. Jueming, since you set fire to open the underground palace, it wasn't for the sake of relics, but for what? Quickly and truthfully tell you where you hid the Buddha treasure, maybe it can relieve your anxiety. guilt."

Jueming looked at Hui Kong who was sitting on the futon, his expression gradually calmed down, but there was a deep-seated cruelty hidden in his voice, which shocked the listeners: "I didn't steal the Buddha treasure. I want to open the underground palace just to A person who died in vain in the underground palace."

Xie Yin looked at the crowd, and suddenly felt that Huikong, who was sitting on the futon a little closer to him, reacted very strangely. When he heard about the corpse, both Huijing and Huishan were momentarily shocked. Only Huikong kept his eyes closed for several seconds. Holding the prayer beads, the speed of chanting in his mouth is getting faster and faster.If it weren't for the lighting problem, his face seemed to be getting paler and paler.

Then, under the amazed eyes of everyone, Jueming told a story: 30 years ago, two close friends coveted the Buddha's relic in Lingguang Temple, and someone told them that they could exchange it for a large sum of money.So they stayed near the Lingguang Temple, observed the rotation order of the monks, drew a detailed map, and finally jumped over the courtyard wall of the Lingguang Temple one night and quietly came to the underground palace.It was pouring rain that night, covering up all the sudden sounds, including the opening of the underground palace door.No one knows what happened in the underground palace, only know that later, only one person walked out of the underground palace, while the other disappeared forever.

Xie Yin had a strong premonition when he heard the story. Sure enough, after Jueming finished the last sentence, he stared at Hui Kong who was still chanting with his eyes closed, with a strange smile on his face, "The one who walked out of the underground palace People are the current Master Huikong of Lingguang Temple."

……

There was silence in the Buddhist hall.Jue Yuan's face also turned pale.

After a long time, several comments gradually sounded among the monks, "Nonsense!" "How could Master Huikong do such a thing!" "If he really coveted the Buddha's treasure, why didn't he take the opportunity to steal it after staying in this temple for so long?" "Master Huikong seems to have really come to Lingguang Temple 30 years ago..."

Huishan, who has always been simple and honest, was also a little confused, and hurriedly called the juniors around him, but Huikong kept reciting Buddhist scriptures.

Finally, Huikong stopped the beads in his hand, opened his eyes and looked around, all the disciples calmed down and looked at him.He is profound in Buddhism and treats his disciples kindly. He feels that almost all his disciples are close to him.

Many people stared at him nervously, hoping that he would open his mouth to refute the nonsense.

However, things are developing in a direction that no one wants to see. Huikong finally looked at Jueming, who was being detained by the yamen servants. Looking at the somewhat familiar face, he sighed, stood up and said, "It was predicted before Until today, I only thought it was a robbery. Now that it really came, I realized that it was actually a liberation. I have had a nightmare for 30 years, and it is time to wake up."