Chapter 287

Chapter 287 The Thousand Sound Temple (2)

“The Thousand Sound Temple is a temple in the west mountains . It is usually full of incense and fire . Many people who believe in Buddhism go there for worship . Xiao Qing and I occasionally go there, but we mostly go there for relaxation, instead of worshiping . Does this have anything to do with our blasphemy of Buddha?” Xu Caiwei stared at Mu Yi .

“Blasphemy? No, that’s not it,” Mu Yi shook his head . Even if she had smashed an image of Buddha, she wouldn’t attract ghosts .

Xu Caiwei was relieved . She had been afraid . Most people believed that the gods were everywhere . If that had been the cause, she would have had to go to the temple and apologize .

“Is there anything weird in the Thousand Sound Temple?” Mu Yi continued .

“Anything weird?” Xu Caiwei thought carefully and said, “Isn’t it strange that there are a thousand bells in the Thousand Sound Temple?”

“A thousand?” Mu Yi was a little surprised . He thought the name was just a casual one . What kind of temple would use a thousand bells?

“To be exact, there are a thousand fist-sized bells hanging all over the temple . As long as you ring the unique big one, there will be a series of sounds coming out of the thousand little ones . It is very famous, so it is called the Thousand Sound Temple . ” Xu Caiwei explained .

“The Thousand Sound Temple… a thousand little bells hanging all over the temple?” Mu Yi’s face became gloomy, “Anything else? Is there anything special?”

“Not that I know of,” Xu Caiwei shook her head . She was not a true Buddhist . Her knowledge of the Thousand Sound Temple was limited as she had only been there a few times .

Yan Li knew even less than Xu Caiwei . As a county magistrate, he couldn’t go to such places openly . Moreover, he was not a Buddhist either . He didn’t even like temples . In his opinion, it was just superstition .

After his daughter’s accident, he invited the abbot of the Thousand Sound Temple, but the abbot claimed that he was too old to help . It made him hate the Thousand Sound Temple more .

Now that he knew that his daughter’s accident might have been caused by the Thousand Sound Temple, he wanted to destroy the Thousand Sound Temple immediately .

“Uncle Yan, I remember there was someone in Yamen who believes in Buddhism, right? Why don’t you call him here and ask,” Xu Caiwei said . Yan Li’s eyes brightened .

He didn’t know about the Thousand Sound Temple, but there must be someone in Yamen knew more about it . Even if nobody Yamen knew about it, someone from the city would do . He would definitely find someone that could give him the information .

“Yes, yes, I’ll find someone right now . ”

“Caiwei, please entertain the Taoist Priest . I’ll go find someone now . ” 

He left in a hurry .

 After Yan Li left, Mu Yi closed his eyes, suppressed the injury, and thought about what had just happened . Xu Qing had been possessed by a very powerful and strange spirit . The Thousand Sound Temple gave him a hint of foreboding . Maybe Xu Qing’s possession had something to do with it .

 Mu Yi was not a man of great curiosity, but he had to do as he promised . If he flinched because of difficulties, it would become a habit that would be disastrous for his future progress .

Half an hour later, Mu Yi opened his eyes . In the process, Xu Caiwei had been sitting carefully aside, breathing lightly for fear of disturbing Mu Yi .

Xu Caiwei was a smart woman . She knew who could be provoked and who couldn’t . There was no doubt that Mu Yi belonged to the latter .

“Taoist Priest, dinner is ready . Would you like to have dinner first?”

Seeing Mu Yi wake up, Xu Caiwei said immediately . When they came, it was at dusk . It was dark outside now after such a long delay .

“There is no need to be in a rush . Did the County Magistrate Yan find the person we need?” Mu Yi asked .

“Yes, he did . He’s waiting outside,” Xu Caiwei immediately .

“Well, please send him in . We’ll have dinner when we figure out what is going on,” Mu Yi said .

Later, Xu Caiwei went out and brought in a man of about forty-years-old . The man was wearing a blue shirt, but his eyes were a little cautious in his white face because he had been warned before he came in .

“Taoist Priest, I’m Xu Hui . ”

“Are you familiar with the Thousand Sound Temple?” Mu Yi asked .

“Taoist Priest, the abbot of the Thousand Sound Temple and I are good friends . I used to linger in the temple, so I’m familiar with it,” Xu Hui said and looked at Mu Yi curiously .

“Is there anything weird about the Thousand Sound Temple except for the thousand little bells? For example, forbidden areas?”

“Forbidden areas?” Xu Hui was stunned, but then shook his head . “I never heard of forbidden areas in the temple, but there are some strange places . I don’t know if the Taoist Priest wants to know about those though . ”

“Tell me . ”

“There is a spring on the mountain, but it’s extremely cold . Whether it’s boiled or not, ordinary people who drink it will have diarrhea after drinking from it, if not other serious illnesses . I once asked the abbot, but he didn’t know the reason, either,” Xu Hui said .

“A spring? What else?” Mu Yi continued .

Xu thought about it, “Apart from the spring, it is said that there were ghosts in the temple some years ago . ” 

“Ghosts?” Yan Li exclaimed . Even Xu Caiwei’s eyes were wide open . They didn’t know and had never heard such rumors .

“Yes, ghosts . It’s not known to outsiders . I learned about it from an old monk in the temple . Five years ago, because of an earthquake, the gold Buddha in the temple suddenly cracked . At that time, a monk who served the Buddha turned into a ghost and made trouble in the temple . Fortunately, it was quickly suppressed . After that incident, the Thousand Sound Temple closed for a month to forge another golden Buddha statue . It is said that it is to suppress the evil spirits of hell . Of course, there are also rumors that there is an entrance to hell under the Thousand Sound Temple, but that is just a rumor . ” 

After Xu Hui finished, he took a look at Mu Yi . He didn’t know if he was making Mu Yi unhappy when he told him about this rumor .

 Fortunately, Mu Yi was meditating and didn’t look unhappy .

Xu Hui had just managed to pass the imperial examination at the county level . Although he was outstanding among ordinary people, he was nothing in the eyes of the magistrate . Therefore, when Yan Li found him, he immediately knew an opportunity had come .

He wouldn’t have hesitated to disclose all the bad things he had done in his life if he was asked to, let alone the secrets of the Thousand Sound Temple .

“I also remember that five years ago, when I took the office, there was an earthquake in this city, but it was not a large one . Only a few dozen shabby houses collapsed in the city, and several people died,” Yan Li added .

 Whether the rumor had credibility or not, the earthquake five years ago was true, and a lot of things could be verified, such as the closing of a The Thousand Sound Temple for a month . Although it had been five years, if anyone wanted to verify it, he could .

 As for the new gold Buddha statue, it could have left some clues behind and been hard to verify but not impossible . Regardless, Mu Yi could tell from his unconscious movements whether he was lying or not .

“Five years ago? In the earthquake, the golden Buddha statue cracked and someone turned into a fierce ghost . ” 

The problem was in the Thousand Sound Temple .

It was one thing to know, and another matter to solve it . Before entering the courtyard next time, he needed to go to the Thousand Sound Temple first because the answer was hidden there .

“Please take me to the mountain tomorrow,” Mu Yi said, looking at Xu Hai .

“Yes, Taoist Priest,” Xu Hui said .

It was not a secret that the county magistrate’s daughter had been possessed . Many people had been hired in and out of the city for more than a year, but none of them succeeded at freeing her . At the beginning, they may have been able to keep it a secret, but as time went by, it got out though they dared not talk about it in public .

The next day, with Xu Hui leading the way, Mu Yi went to the Thousand Sound Temple . Xu Caiwei followed . Although it was a temple, it didn’t forbid female guests . It was impossible for Yan Li to come, so he sent two people to follow him in case there was any trouble . When Mu Yi went up the mountain, the morning bell had just rang . With the melodious bell, the clouds and fog on the peak of the mountain seemed to disperse . If he listened carefully, he could hear the sounds of countless small bells .

When the bell rang, Mu Yi scattered his mind power and felt it carefully . The rippling sound made his mind feel pressured . Fortunately, he was still a long way from the temple, so the feeling was not very deep .

The Thousand Sound Temple was not simple, neither were any of its bells .

“The Thousand Sound Temple lives up to its reputation,” said Mu Yi softly .

“It’s a pity we’re a little late, or we’d be able to listen in the temple,” Xu Caiwei said regretfully .

“If Madame wants to hear it, we can ask them to ring it again later,” a housekeeper of the Yan mansion said .

“No,” Xu Caiwei shook her head, and she turned to look at Mu Yi .

“The first morning bell is the best in the Thousand Sound Temple,” Xu Hui said .

 They finally set foot on the Thousand Sound Temple’s steps .