Chapter 21: Cuiyun Ancient Hut

  "National Day, Founding of the Army, let's take a look around and see if we can find any clues." Yu Xin Yuan said to his two assistants.

  Expanding the search circle, there were indeed new discoveries.

  National Day under an archway, found that on both sides, each inserted three incense sticks, the incense heads had burned out, leaving only the incense sticks.

  This is also a wooden archway, not much different from the previous one, but it looks newer. The archway has an inscription that reads: "Eternal Fame". On either side of the archway are two couplets: The upper couplet is: "The fragrance of orchids and the beauty of jade, the eyebrows of a goddess, pure and clean, follow the water"; The lower couplet is: "The scent of plum blossoms and the shadow of peach blossoms, the face of a peach blossom, also for thousands of years". The inscription at the bottom reads: "Respectfully erected by all the elders and fellow villagers of Leijiang County in December 1945."

  This plaque must be related to the suspect! Yu Xinyuan took out his notebook and neatly recorded the couplet.

  Jianjun's discovery was even more astonishing: in the grass thicket of the bamboo forest behind the mountain, a blood-stained pillowcase was found with the five words "Leijiang County Committee Guest House" clearly printed on it in reverse!

  It can be inferred that this dirty thing is something from Yamada Jiro's body. Then, the murderer went to great lengths to bring this dirty thing from Yamada Jiro to the clean and serene Su Yun An. This proves that Yamada Jiro must have some connection with Su Yun An. Yu Xin decided to enter the temple to investigate.

  The area of Cuīyún ān is not very large, with apricot yellow walls, brick red ridges, and dark green ancient Bodhi trees, all hidden among the bamboo sea. The entrance is also three gates standing together, a large gate in the middle, two small gates on either side, with a couplet at the door: "After all, water should flow to the sea, and clouds must find their way back to the mountains." Due to the long years, the couplet and the door panels have some cracks. Because there is no grand Buddhist ceremony, the main gate is closed tightly, only two side doors are open, following the Buddhist rules of entering from the left and exiting from the right.

  As soon as you enter the gate, there is a small bridge, and a mountain spring flows from under the bridge. On the left side of the bridge is the liberation pool, and on the right side is the turtle pool. After crossing the bridge, the winding path is quiet and secluded, with climbing vines wrapped around the walls, and the sunlight is lush and green; whether it's a pavilion or a pond, they are all exquisitely small and elegant, with a refined layout, making the Bodhi tree in the courtyard appear even more majestic and towering. In the Guanyin Pavilion, a statue of White-robed Guanyin is enshrined, holding an open lotus flower in her left hand and raising her right palm, standing on a lotus pedestal, gazing downward with her eyes, her face round and dignified, her clothes wrinkled and creased, as if swaying gently in the wind, vivid and lifelike, with a warm and auspicious air beyond the solemnity.

  Buddhist Zen has a tradition of "farming and Zen being equally important", Cuīyún An is no exception. The back mountain is a large piece of lush green tea garden, which is the origin of Buddhist tea "Cuīyún Buddha's Hand". This is also the reason why Cuīyún Mountain is also known as "Fragrant Tea Mountain".

  "Winding paths lead to secluded spots, the Chan house is surrounded by deep flowers and trees." After Yu Xin explained their intention, a delicate little nun led them, winding around seven or eight times, into the master's Chan house.

  The meditation room was not large, but it looked old and dim due to its age, emitting a faint scent of sandalwood. At the entrance, there was a wooden couplet: "Sword breaks through the void with ease, moonlight shines without interval." The master nun was an elderly woman in her 70s, sitting in meditation. A young nun whispered, "Master, the guest has arrived!" The master's eyes slightly opened, and a glimmer of light flashed out, thinking that this was a nun who had attained enlightenment.

  Following local customs, though far from his heart. As an atheist, he still followed Buddhist etiquette and put his palms together in front of his chest to pay respects: "Master is well!"

  The mistress smiled faintly and said, "No need to be polite, today I'm troubling all of you masters! Please sit down!"

  Yu Xin Yuan sat down in a row and asked, "Master, when did you discover... that thing?"

  "This is the first year after '**' that Cuiyun An has officially reopened to devotees. Throughout the Spring Festival, Cuiyun An was bustling with people coming and going, and prayer ceremonies were held every day without a break. It wasn't until recently, when the number of visitors decreased, that I had the nuns sweep the inside and outside of the temple. Early this morning, a young nun came to report in a flurry, saying that something had been found in the Buddha niche on the back mountain... Amitabha, what a sin! What a sin!"

  Yu Xin continued to ask: "Shifu, I'll take a risk and ask one more question. Is Cuiyun An related to someone with whom it has a feud?"

  "What grudge?" said the mistress, "The Cuīyún Ancestor's shrine is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva. The Nirvana Sutra says: 'If one root can see colors, hear sounds, smell scents, distinguish tastes, and know the Dharma, then all roots are also like this.' Guanyin Bodhisattva also possesses this kind of divine power, using her eyes to observe the suffering and difficulties of sentient beings in the mundane world, and going forth to rescue them. Guanshiyin Bodhisattva is greatly compassionate and merciful, saving all suffering sentient beings, deeply revered and worshiped by the masses, where does this talk of grudge come from?"

  Yu Xin continued: "Shifu misunderstood me, I was asking if the masters of Gui An are..."

  The abbess's face suddenly turned angry: "Today, I invited all of you to come here, it was really unavoidable. Since the founding of Cuīyún An 500 years ago, except for the year when foreign devils desecrated it, it has always been a place of pure and clean cultivation. Even during the ** period, the rebel faction did not touch Cuīyún An at all. All the nuns here strictly follow the precepts, accumulate virtues, and do not contend with the world. I didn't expect to be insulted like this today, so I hope you can investigate this matter as soon as possible, catch the person responsible, and restore peace to Cuīyún An! Otherwise, I will go find Director Zhao to reason with him!"

  Yu Xin Yuan knew that Zhao Hui Zhang, the current chairman of the Buddhist Association, Chairman of the China Religious Peace Committee and Vice-Chairman of the National Political Consultative Conference, was a famous patriotic person and social activist, as well as a renowned calligrapher who had close relationships with many central leaders. Although Yu Xin Yuan himself did not believe in Buddhism, during his days at the labor reform farm with Lu Si Xie, he often listened to Lu Si Xie's lectures on basic Buddhist principles. Therefore, Yu Xin Yuan knew that Buddhism emphasized "precepts, meditation and wisdom", and most abhorred "greed, anger and delusion", with "anger" being considered the primary evil cause. Having cultivated for so many years, Liao Yin Shifu should have long had the realization of "all four elements are empty". Yet today, she still lost her temper in front of outsiders, showing that she was furious to the extreme.

  Yu Xin Yuan still wanted to ask something, but the little nun who brought him in hastily said: "The master is about to have lunch soon, please follow me to the outer room for a meal!"

  The little nun said softly to them: "Everyone, sorry, this matter hurt Shifu too much, it may have triggered some past events of Shifu, and was rude to everyone, I apologize for everyone here!" She said as she joined her palms together in greeting.

  Yu Xin bowed and returned the courtesy: "Young Master, you are too serious. Maintaining peace in one region is the responsibility of public security. Since something big happened at your temple, we should feel guilty and will do our best to investigate this matter and clear up the reputation of your temple!" Suddenly a question flashed through his mind: "Young Master, what you just said brought back some unpleasant memories related to Shi Tai, can you tell me about it?"

  The little nun wanted to speak but hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Master, why don't you go ask Fang Zhengwu, the martial arts master from the county?"

  Fang Zhengwu is indeed an encyclopedia of Lei Jiang! Yu Xin Yuan will smile at this.