Li Dayong saw that the river was not very wide and the bridge was still there, so he thought it would be easy to cross the river. Unexpectedly, he found some trees and tried to build a bridge, but he failed again and again. If they were to cross the river on foot, with their skills, most of them would be able to cross, but it would be difficult for the horses.
One of Li Dayong's subordinates was a brother, usually everybody called him Xiao Wo. He was thin, with a quick-witted look on his face. Seeing this situation, he said, "Dage, my grandmother said that anyone with four legs can swim. Let's ride a horse and swim across! "
Li Dayong looked at the surging river, pulled his beard and said, "You try."
Xiao Wu immediately mounted the horse, kicked the horse's belly with both legs and shouted, "Go! Go! "
The horse was very obedient and jumped into the river. After walking for a while, its whole body sank into the water and then floated up again. Xiao Wu was delighted, "Ha ha! Big Brother, look, my grandmother was right, it's really passable! Go go go, whoa whoa! Ah ah! "
Though the channel was not wide, the water was rapid and deep. Xiao Wu's horse thrashed forward a few times, but it had no feet to stand on, and was carried downstream by the rapid current. Xiao Wu reined in the reins and stirred the stirrups, which made the horse so agitated that it nearly threw him off its back.
Xiao Wu had no choice but to give up struggling, he grabbed the horse's neck with both hands and shouted, "Big Brother, help!"
Li Dayong was so angry that his eyes turned white. The brothers next to him quickly untied their belts and by the time the belts were connected to a long rope, Xiao Wu had already floated up and down the river.
Li Dayong unhappily ordered one of his men to take the rope made from the belts and ride down the river. Then he led eight or nine of his brothers who were holding up their pants and looked at the rolling river in a daze.
They did not know how to build a bridge, so they had no choice but to send people to a nearby village to hire people. Li Dayong anxiously stood guard at the bridgehead.
After Zheng Yu learned that Yang Fan and the others had crossed the river, he immediately turned back and ran all the way. When he was about to reach Luoyang, there was a fork in the road ahead. There was a stone bridge on the road, which led to the direction of Dragon Gate. Zheng Yu did not think about it and led his men down that road. He only ordered two people to rush back to Luoyang and warn his companions who were guarding the city gate.
There was only one road from Luoyang to Yi Que Dragon Gate. On both sides of the road, there were all kinds of green crops, some of which were as tall as the waist and some of which were as low as the knees.
Zheng Yu and the others ran all the way to Yi Que, but they did not see Yang Fan and the others along the way. Seeing that there were already people working in the fields, they asked the farmer about it. The farmer was standing in the field with a hoe in his hand. Listening to their explanation, he nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, there is a group of people. They look like they are in a hurry, they look very distressed. They are running towards the mountains.
"Thief!"
Zheng Yu sneered, whipped his horse, and charged into the mountains.
It was spring now, and there were many pilgrims coming in and out of the mountains. In fact, Wu Zetian worshiped Buddha, and there were countless temples in Luoyang. However, some believers always felt that the more devout they walked, the more efficacious the Bodhisattva built in the mountains. The temples in the city smelled of money, so there was a constant flow of pilgrims coming to Dragon Gate. Some of them came late and stayed in the temples until the next day.
When Zheng Yu and the others entered the mountains, they saw some pilgrims coming out of the mountains one after another. Zheng Yu asked these people again.
The target of Yang Fan and the others was too obvious and could not be hidden. Before these pilgrims went down the mountain, they had already seen them halfway up the mountain. Listening to the inquiry of this group of rich people in fresh clothes and furious horses, the pilgrims kindly pointed out that the first batch of pilgrims on horseback went around to the back of the mountain.
Behind the mountain was Hot Spring Mountain, the territory of the Hot Spring Hot Spring Soup Supervisor. It was the forbidden area of the royal family, and ordinary people could not go there. Zheng Yu thought that he was doing things for Liang Wangwu, and in the entire court, other than the Emperor, their Wangye was the most powerful. He did not care, and led his men and horses to kill their way to Hot Spring Mountain.
Zheng Yu reined in his horse at the bottom of the winding stone path, and raised his head to look up. He heard the sound of horses neighing coming from the top of the mountain. Zheng Yu sneered and said, "Dismount, go up the mountain!"
The group dismounted one after another, tied their horses to the top of the mountain, pulled out their blades, and aggressively climbed up the mountain along the bluestone path. Just as they climbed to the front of the first memorial arch, they heard a loud shout in front of them. From behind the memorial arch, a group of people jumped out with a whooshing sound.
These people were agile and their movements were agile. Although the direction they jumped out from was different, the way they jumped out was also different. Some flashed, some jumped, some somersaulted in the air, but when they stood, they stood in a straight line. Just this uniformity was enough to make people look at them in a new light.
Zheng Yu was startled. He saw that these people were all wearing grey robes, bamboo hats on their heads, straw sandals on their feet, and leggings on their trousers. In their hands was a black whistle stick, the tip of the stick pointed to the ground. His gaze followed the tip of the stick, and thus he could only see a little bit of their chin.
Zheng Yu shouted, "Who are you people?"
One of the grey-robed men said in a deep voice, "The forbidden area of the royal family. What is your intention?"
Zheng Yu was at the foot of the Emperor, so of course he could not admit his identity. Besides, they were used to being arrogant and always kept their word. How could they let others interrogate them about their origins? If they did not agree with each other, they would immediately give the order to attack. Since they could not go up the mountain smoothly, then they would fight.
After this exchange, Zheng Yu knew the origin of this group of people. When they fought, some of the grey-robed men had their bamboo hats knocked off, revealing a big bald head with two lines of scars on the top of his head. Only then did Zheng Yu know that these people were martial monks from an unknown temple on Dragon Gate Mountain.
This group of bald donkeys had nothing to do every day. When they were full, they chanted scriptures and treated it as breathing practice. The rest of the time, they waved their spears, played with sticks, and practiced their fists and feet. Each of them was as strong as iron, and their Qi and blood were extremely strong. When they fought, they could fight better than these Jianghu people who prided themselves on their fighting skills.
The most hateful thing was that this group of bald donkeys had helpers. Seeing that they had the advantage in numbers, one of the monks let out a shout, and a group of martial monks seemed to jump out of the thicket. Another group of martial monks carrying heavy black sticks rushed out and joined the battle. One shouted Senior Brother, another called Junior Brother, and the other brandished their sticks like a wheel.
Zheng Yu and his group were beaten until their heads were bleeding, and their noses were bruised and swollen. They could not resist anymore and could only retreat down the mountain while fighting.
When Zheng Yu reached the foot of the mountain, the group of martial monks did not chase after him. In an instant, they disappeared into the forest. Zheng Yu was angry and hateful. Just as he was feeling helpless, another group of people on horses came from afar.
The group of people who had just arrived was Li Dayong and his group. They found the villagers to help build a bridge. Since there was a handsome reward and the bridge was convenient for the villagers to travel, they naturally worked very hard. When the simple bridge was hurriedly built, Li Dayong and his group led their horses carefully across the river and then went straight to Dragon Gate.
They asked along the way and arrived at the foot of Hot Spring Mountain. They just happened to see Zheng Yu and his group coming down the mountain with their faces covered in dirt. Some were limping, some had bloody noses and swollen faces, as if they had just been beaten up.
Li Dayong hurriedly went up to ask Zheng Yu, and immediately became angry. He said fiercely, "This group of bald donkeys must be martial monks from several monasteries on the mountain. Just one monastery can't gather so many people. Damn it! They are actually standing together with Yang Fan against us! Let's go, now that we have joined forces, let's go up the mountain! "
Zheng Yu said with lingering fear, "We can't, we can't! We don't know how many people there are in that group of bald donkeys. When they fight, it's like they are playing around. They also have the geographical advantage and look down on us. It's not that I look down on you, but even if you and I join forces, it will be difficult for us to win against them. "
Li Dayong said angrily, "So what? Are we going to just watch them stay on the mountain? "
Zheng Yu sneered and said, "As long as he doesn't enter the capital to see the emperor, it can't be considered settled. Don't worry, I have already sent someone back to report. When His Highness gets the news, he will definitely make a decision. You and I will guard the foot of the mountain and not let them escape. As for other matters, we will wait for His Highness to arrive before making a decision. "
Li Dayong had no choice but to rest at the foot of the mountain with him.
On the mountain, Yang Fan saw Zheng Yu and his group retreating down the mountain in a sorry state. He put his palms together and said to an old monk next to him, "Thank you for your help, Zen Master!"
This monk was about sixty years old. His face was ruddy and his skin was without wrinkles. However, the corners of his eyes were slightly loose and he had a beard on his chin. He was wearing a yellow robe and a pair of straw sandals. He was not wearing a kasaya, a monk's hat, or prayer beads. He was only holding a string of prayer beads in his hand. He was dressed casually in a meditation room.
This old monk was Fa Zheng. He was one of the ten eminent monks of Rodu who created the Great Cloud Scripture and was given a purple kasaya by Wu Zetian. He was the leader of the various monasteries in Yique Dragon Gate.
Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Benefactor has received the emperor's secret edict and is accompanied by hundreds of cavalry and internal guards. What you are doing is naturally proper. This group of people acted openly and did not dare to reveal their identity. You can imagine what they are doing. The various monasteries in Dragon Gate are often rewarded with incense oil by the royal family. This hot spring mountain is a forbidden area for the royal family. Since we are neighbors, how can we just stand by and watch? However … "
Fa Zheng glanced at Yang Fan and said, "Why these people came and why Benefactor Yang is guarding, shouldn't this old monk know?"
Yang Fan pondered for a moment and said, "This disciple's trip is to protect a noble person!"
Fa Zheng's eyes lit up, but his voice was still calm. "How noble?"
Yang Fan smiled and asked, "Which Buddha is the most noble in Buddhism?"
Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Haha, since you have become a Buddha, you have achieved perfection. Since you have achieved perfection, there is naturally no distinction between nobility and inferiority. Why would there be a ranking?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Zen Master, please don't argue with me. Between Buddhas, even if there is no distinction between nobility and inferiority, there must be a ranking, right? Let me put it this way, the Buddha of the past, the Buddha of the present, and the Buddha of the future, which Zen Master respects the most? "
Fa Zheng said, "This old monk lives in the present, and the one I respect the most is the Buddha of the present."
Yang Fan said, "If that's the case, then the one I am protecting is the Buddha of the future."
He slowly turned towards the direction of Luoyang and said lightly, "The Buddha of the present is there!"
The prayer beads that Fa Zheng was twirling suddenly stopped. After pausing for a moment, he resumed twirling, but at a much faster speed.
Yang Fan said seriously, "Zen Master, do you have any regrets?"
Fa Zheng shook his head gently and said, "Benefactor Yang is carrying the imperial edict. This old monk is protecting the Dao, what is there to regret? It's just that … "
He frowned slightly and said, "It's just that since this noble person is so noble, this old monk's cultivation is limited. I'm afraid I can't protect him for long."
Yang Fan chuckled and said, "Zen Master, don't worry. This disciple has long expected that the journey will be difficult and dangerous. To be able to arrive here safely is already somewhat beyond my expectations. However, since I'm here, then … the Skanda Temple, the Demi-Gods and Eight Divisions, and the guardians of the various factions should also be here! "
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