Chapter 225: Inside the Hanguang Temple
In a quiet place on the outskirts of Luoyang, inside Hanguang Temple, the night is deep and everything is silent.

The monk on duty, Jingkong, had just finished a round of inspections in the temple and was about to step into his meditation room to rest when he suddenly heard a quick and light knock on the door.

Jingkong quickly put on his clothes, stood up and opened the door, only to see that the person outside was actually Fahua. Both of them were guards of the temple.

"Fahua? What happened?" Jingkong asked.

Fahua did not dare to speak loudly, but just walked to Jingkong and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

However, although the words were light, they exploded in Jingkong's heart like thunder.

Jingkong's face suddenly changed, his pupils trembled, and he said anxiously: "Ah? Quick! Go and greet him!"

As he spoke, he turned back to the house, quickly tidied his clothes, and took out a key from the secret compartment in the room. Then he turned around and caught up with Fahua.

Soon, Jingkong and Fahua hurriedly ran to a side hall, which was already filled with guards.

In the side hall, there were several people in casual clothes and black cloaks, with their backs to Jingkong and Fahua, while Fa Neng, Fa Yan and Fa Cheng stood by with their heads bowed respectfully.

When Jingkong and Fahua saw the emperor, they bowed down and said, "I did not know that Your Majesty was coming and was unable to greet you. I am guilty of death."

Wu Zetian didn't want to waste any time and directly ordered: "Open the secret passage."

"Yes." Jingkong responded hurriedly, ran to the side of the Buddha statue, and gently rotated the mechanism, and a secret passage suddenly appeared.

Faneng and the other two immediately entered the secret passage and led the way.

Wu Zetian, Shangguan Wan'er and several guards followed, and Jingkong accompanied them.

On the narrow corridor of the secret passage, there were long-burning lamps, and there were guards along the way. Along the way, Fa Neng, Fa Hua and others took out their keys one by one and opened the iron gates one after another, which showed that the defenses were very strict.

After walking dozens of steps, the view suddenly opened up. There was a completely different world inside, even a special kitchen and other logistical facilities that cooked for the prisoners. Food was replenished every few days to reduce the flow of people inside and outside the prison.

After walking for another stick of incense, we finally arrived at the last gate.

Jingkong opened the gate and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation: "Your Majesty, we are here."

Wu Zetian didn't say anything and walked in alone. Shangguan Wan'er had actually seen such situations many times, but she still felt worried every time.

Deep in the hinterland, a deep cave comes into view. Hidden in the deepest part of the cave is an indestructible cage forged from fine steel.

Inside the cell, there was an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in plain clothes and with shackles on his hands. However, he was still writing quickly and calculating something on a piece of straw paper.

This person is none other than the founder of Sheling, Wu Zetian’s teacher, the Zhou mathematician, physicist, astronomer and calendarist, engineer, Yuan Tiangang!

Without even raising his head, he asked in a deep and profound voice: "Why did Your Majesty suddenly come? I think the Ullambana Festival on July 15th is still more than half a year away?"

These words fully demonstrated Yuan Tiangang's extraordinary insight. He could judge the person's identity from the sound of footsteps.

Even though he was imprisoned, without sight of the sun and with no one to communicate with, he could still clearly tell the time.

Wu Zetian's eyes twitched wildly, but she remained silent with a complicated expression.

Seeing this, Yuan Tiangang smiled slightly, glanced at Wu Zetian, and calmly put down the pen in his hand: "Your Majesty, is this trip here for the matter of the snake spirit?"

When Wu Zetian heard Yuan Tiangang reveal the reason for her visit, her eyes flashed and she was surprised.

However, her surprise was fleeting, and she immediately put on a gentle but sharp smile: "Yuan Tiangang, if you are counting on Xiao Qingfang to save you, you will be disappointed." "Xiao Qingfang is dead, and the snake spirit is destroyed! I came here this time to send you off for the last time. The so-called magic of Luo River is just a lie you said to save your life!"

When Yuan Tiangang first heard Wu Zetian's words, he was slightly shocked, but he did not show it. He soon realized that this was a test from Wu Zetian.

He pretended to calculate, muttered something, and gradually smiled: "Your Majesty, it's too early for your Majesty to speak. The fire of the snake spirit has not yet been extinguished, and Xiao Qingfang is not dead. As for the miracle of Luo River..."

He paused deliberately, his eyes burning with anger: "If Your Majesty does not fear the will of heaven, you can regard it as nonsense. But the ten-year agreement is coming to an end, Your Majesty, please wait and see!"

When Wu Zetian saw Yuan Tiangang playing tricks and revealing the story of the snake spirit and Xiao Qingfang, she became a little confused.

Considering past events, she couldn't help but believe in Yuan Tiangang's ability to calculate.

After a long silence, Wu Zetian spoke again: "Teacher, don't refuse a toast and drink a penalty. Do you want to try the inner guards' tricks again?"

Yuan Tiangang suddenly laughed out loud. He knew that he had completely taken control of the conversation.

"Come on, this old man should have died ten years ago. If I could have an emperor buried with me, it would be a great honor, huh? Hahahaha!" Yuan Tiangang seemed to have no scruples.

Wu Zetian was very annoyed when she heard the laughter: "Yuan Tiangang, what do you want to tell me the secret of the magic of Luo River?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tiangang stopped smiling and said sincerely, "If Your Majesty must know about this matter, please come back during this year's Yulan Festival to ask me. It will take me some time to deduce the secrets of heaven, and I will give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer by then."

"You!" Wu Zetian was furious when she heard this, "Yuan Tiangang, you are challenging my patience!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. This calculation does take some time. Please be patient!" Yuan Tiangang said calmly and calmly.

Wu Zetian looked at his unhurried attitude, feeling extremely angry, but she could do nothing about it. In the end, she could only grit her teeth, leave a few harsh words, and leave angrily.

Returning to the side of Jingkong and others, Wu Zetian quickly calmed down and regained the composure of a ruler.

Shangguan Wan'er and others could hardly detect any emotional fluctuations on her face.

"What has Yuan Tiangang been calculating on those pieces of paper for so many years? Don't you have any idea?" Wu Zetian asked Jingkong.

Upon hearing this, Jingkong knelt down on the ground in fear and apologized repeatedly: "I am incompetent. I have asked an expert to check those papers. They are all about astronomy, calendars, and the movement of stars."

"There are also some drawings of sluice gates, bridges, palaces, and various mechanisms and hidden weapons. What's worse, there are nonsense and ghostly things. It seems that the old thief is deliberately confusing people so that people can't figure out what he is doing..."

"A bunch of useless people! Why should I keep you?" Wu Zetian was furious, her words were full of disappointment and indignation. She flicked her sleeves and left angrily, leaving behind a scene of astonishment and panic.

Shangguan Wan'er and her personal guards hurriedly followed, trying to appease the angry emperor.

Wu Zetian came secretly and few people knew about it. Most of the ordinary monks were asleep and did not notice anything.

In Hanguang Temple, less than half of the people are ordinary monks, and the other half of the monks and servants are disguised as inner guards.

The inner guards were much more vigilant than ordinary monks, and most of them realized that an important person was coming today, but since there was no order from above, they could only pretend not to know.

But after Wu Zetian left, there was an eye behind her that saw everything, and that person had been in this temple for a long time.

The Snake Spirit Elders have already begun to infiltrate this special temple...

(End of this chapter)