Chapter 279 The Powder-Faced Monk
Li Daoxuan came back to his senses and slowly opened his eyes.

There were rain and dew on his body, and even traces left by birds.

Looking at the sky in the distance, the fish belly is turning pale, and it is Qingming Festival again.

When I stand up and clean off the clutter on my body, I sigh at the passing of time.

"It's been a night."

This yard was silent, but outside it was starting to get lively.

After Shopkeeper Chen sent some people over yesterday, the quiet courtyard had a more lively atmosphere. There was only a sparse smoke from cooking, the sound of people's voices, and the sound of birds accompanying the people. It felt like returning to the secular world.

Standing in front of the altar, Li Daoxuan took out three yellow talismans to seal the clay figurine, called out to the outside, and soon a servant came in and answered.

"Young Master." The person who answered was a young boy who looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, about the same age as Li Daoxuan, except that he was pale and thin, and a little malnourished.

People these days are very prone to malnutrition, and even rich young men are prone to lacking something. Being able to sell themselves into a wealthy family is something that many poor people want to do.

After all, if you farm by yourself, you might starve to death, but if you go to the landlord's house, you can have enough to eat, not to mention if you meet a good boss, you can even have new clothes to wear. Who can catch up with such a good thing?

Li Daoxuan naturally understood this truth, but at first he still held on to the ideas of his previous life. He couldn't bear to see the poor selling themselves, and the rich should naturally drive the poor under their control. So at first he was a little resistant to letting servants serve him, but later he gradually got used to it.

He did not deduct the wages and food from his servants, which was the greatest kindness he could show to them.

"What's your name?" Li Daoxuan asked the young man.

"My name is Agou." The boy answered stiffly.

He was wearing the new clothes he had received yesterday. The corners of the clothes were carefully folded, and they looked a little big and did not match his slender body.

However, these clothes were all bought by Li Daoxuan and cannot be customized, so they can only be worn temporarily.

"Agou? This name doesn't seem very good." Li Daoxuan felt that the boy's name was a bit indecent when he heard it.

"Last name?"

"My last name is Chen." The young man answered honestly.

"Since you're here, why not just call you Chen Ergou?"

Li Daoxuan said this with some evil humor, as he found the name very familiar to him.

"Thank you for the name, young master." The young man thanked him quickly.

"Whose child are you?" Li Daoxuan asked again.

Chen Ergou answered truthfully and told where he came from. He was one of the two farm families that were purchased. His original surname was Chen and he was from Xuzhou, Henan.

There was a severe drought last year, and he and his family fled to Yangzhou. Something happened on the way, and even selling all the things they had with them was not enough to make up for the debt. In the end, they were forced to sell themselves, and the whole family was sold at stake.

When Li Daoxuan heard the young man's words, he thought of the Chen family from Henan.

The old farmer was indeed an honest man, with a bit of golden merit in his aura. He felt at ease knowing that his family had not done anything wrong.

"From now on you will follow me. If I come back you will listen to my instructions." Li Daoxuan said to Chen Ergou.

"Yes, young master." Chen Ergou thanked him and saw Li Daoxuan handing him something.

"Put these three clay figures in the central hall, remember to put them under the incense burner in the middle, and then call some people to clean up the place."

"Yes."

Chen Ergou left and Li Daoxuan took back the magic weapon.

I found out everything about Xue Yuyan last night. Today is a good opportunity for me to test the details of this Happy Zen Sect.

I don’t know who the Happy Zen Master is and how powerful he is. If he is comparable to the Japanese monk, it will be a bit tricky.

It is better to be safe than sorry, so Li Daoxuan decided to prepare some backup plans.

"But the paper man cannot carry anything after transforming, so I have to ask Chang Wei to help me with something." Li Daoxuan thought so and asked the paper man to tell him the truth.

I went back to the room, changed my clothes, washed up, and went to have breakfast.

Let’s not mention that Chang Wei started to get busy because of Li Daoxuan’s words, nor let’s mention Li Daoxuan’s meeting with the shopkeepers in Yangzhou.

We followed the route out of Yangzhou and headed towards Tongshan, passing through wild grass and dirt roads.

Then you can see thousands of miles of fertile fields and fertile farmland.

The mountain village is undulating and smoke is curling up.

The old ox is plowing, and the farmer is picking up the ground.

Children were playing in the mountains, and women and men were working in the fields. It was a busy time for farming, and farmers were scattered among the fields.

Find the road and go forward, and you will see a small hill.

The mountains are rolling and there are rippling lakes.

The jungle is dense and the grass is overgrown.

If no one leads the way, you will get lost here.

This place is called Tongshan. There is a stone on the mountain that looks like a throne. It is said that after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he sat here to view the mountains and rivers.

Walking further along Tongshan Mountain, there is another stone that looks like a young monk carrying an old monk on his back, and the old monk is looking back.

This stone is called the Loyalty Stone, and it is said to be the story of a young monk and an old monk.

Walk to the west peak of Tongshan Mountain and you will find a temple.

The words "Zunti" are written on it, so it is called Zhunti Temple.

The temple faces south, with the mountain gate in front and the main hall at the back. There are three Buddha statues on lotus pedestals in the middle of the main hall. The middle one is Thousand-Armed Guanyin, the left one is Tianfei Niangniang, and the right one is Bixia Yuanjun.

In the main hall at the back, Tathagata Buddha is enshrined in the middle, with the Eighteen Arhats standing on both sides. There are two large ginkgo trees on both sides in front of the hall.

This temple should be illuminated by the Buddha's light and full of incense, but at this moment it is deserted and silent, with no visitors.

Around the temple, there are always bald men with knives walking around, alert to the situation around them.

When I entered the temple again, I saw many wooden racks with clothes hanging on them, and bald men chatting in groups of three or four.

But at this moment, a black cloth carriage came shaking, and a bald man jumped out of the carriage and walked towards the temple.

He hurried in, came out after a while, opened the car curtain, got into the car, and then came out again carrying a little girl.

The little girl had messy hair, and her bright clothes were tied with straw ropes. There were tears on her face, and she looked extremely depressed.

The little girl was Xue Yuyan. After she was caught, she was taken out of Yangzhou directly. She traveled all night and finally got here.

Xue Yuyan looked at the dense jungle and mountains on all sides, her heart filled with despair. Knowing that she could not escape, she could only feel disheartened.

As you walk along the road into the temple, you can hear the noise coming from all directions.

The smell of wine and meat filled the air, as if one had entered a den of bandits, making one feel scared unconsciously.

Entering the temple, Xue Yuyan was thrown to the ground.

The little girl felt pain when she hit the ground, but she gritted her teeth and said nothing. She thought to herself, "Brother Li, Brother Li will definitely find me."

Thinking of this, the despair in my heart seemed to fade away a little, and I finally mustered up some courage.

Xue Yuyan's face turned pale. She struggled to sit up and look around. This temple was no longer a temple; it was simply a cannibalism den.

Not far from her, on a haystack, a group of ragged women were huddled together.

Their hair was disheveled and their clothes were naked. It was not difficult to imagine how much sin and torture they had endured.

Looking at their faces again, they are full of suffering.

The exposed scars told Xue Yuyan that these girls had experienced inhuman torture.

The little girl had never seen such a scene before, and the little courage she had mustered up suddenly disappeared. She was trembling with fear, praying in her heart that someone could save her, then curled up and unconsciously moved to a corner.

Not long after, footsteps were heard and a group of people stood in front of Xue Yuyan.

"Master, it is her."

(End of this chapter)