"No, your guess is very likely." Pang Xiao rubbed his eyebrows regretfully and said tiredly, "It's my negligence. I just thought that there were no outsiders on the mountain, and I never suspected the monks of the Wanfo Temple. I didn't expect that something would happen to the Empress in such an environment."
"This is not your fault. I also didn't think that something would happen on such a dangerous mountain." Qin Yining looked around and carefully searched for clues in the hall.
Soon, footsteps came from outside the hall.
Pang Xiao looked at the door with a sharp gaze. He saw a novice monk lead in an old monk with a long beard and a kind face over sixty years of age.
Pang Xiao had been on the battlefield for many years, so when he was serious, he had an awe-inspiring aura. Ordinary people would feel a sense of urgency and fear under his gaze.
The old monk was an outsider but he felt the same. Especially when someone as noble as the empress was missing.
"This humble monk, Xuan Yun, greets Wang Ye." Xuan Yun put his palms together and bowed slightly.
Pang Xiao returned the bow and said in a low voice, "Abbot Xuan Yun should already know the specifics of the situation?"
"This humble monk already knows."
"This matter is of great importance. Her Majesty the Empress worships Buddha but something happened to her in your temple. If this spreads, Your Majesty will be furious and everyone in your temple will lose their lives. Therefore, This King's intention is to not publicize it and search for her in private first. "
Cold sweat appeared on Xuan Yun's forehead but he still calmed down and chanted, "Amitabha, this humble monk thanks Wang Ye for his magnanimity."
If Pang Xiao wanted to clear his name, he could have captured all the monks of Thousand Buddha Temple right now, put a crime on them and wait for the Emperor to deal with them. This way, he wouldn't have to bear the consequences at all. If he wanted to completely clear his name, he could put other crimes on them.
But Pang Xiao didn't do that and found him alone.
Xuan Yun was grateful and his attitude became more respectful.
Pang Xiao saw that Xuan Yun understood and said, "I heard that Abbot Yun's best friend is a high monk. Her Majesty the Empress has learned a lot from that high monk these days. Where is that high monk now? "
Xuan Yun said calmly, "Wang Ye, the one who preached with Her Majesty is actually a nun, her Buddhist name is Tongyuan. This humble monk met her more than ten years ago and hasn't seen her for many years. She wandered here and has been a guest in the temple. She is proficient in Buddhism and has a reliable character... indeed, she is a high monk. But the day before yesterday, she said goodbye to this humble monk and went down the mountain. "
No one would have thought that the senior monk was actually a nun. Everyone in the hall fell silent.
However, Pang Xiao and Qin Yining caught the last sentence.
Qin Yining asked, "Abbot Yun, do you mean that Abbess Tongyuan has already left the mountain the day before yesterday afternoon?"
"Yes." Abbot Xuan Yun nodded.
Qin Yining looked at Pang Xiao and said faintly, "It seems that I guessed correctly."
Pang Xiao nodded, "Even though there is no evidence, but it's not far from the truth. Abbot Xuan Yun, please secretly investigate if any of the monks in the temple have disappeared or if anyone is acting strangely. "
"We can't be sure exactly when Her Majesty the Empress disappeared. Sun momo said that yesterday, the Empress stayed in Guanyin Hall and did not return to her meditation room. The young novice monk only found that she was missing when he went to deliver the vegetarian meal this morning. So it is very likely that the Empress disappeared the day before yesterday. If the monks in your temple are not acting strangely, then it is enough to prove that the nun who left the day before yesterday was the one who kidnapped the Empress. That is why she ran away in such a hurry. "
Pang Xiao showed the note he found under the praying mat to Abbot Xuan Yun, "Even though Karma Peak is your temple's forbidden area, but for the Empress, we can't avoid offending it."
Reading the contents of the note, Abbot Xuan Yun's expression became uglier.
He understood Pang Xiao's meaning.
If the other monks in the temple were not acting strangely, then it meant that Nun Tongyuan had really deceived him and used his relationship to wait here, and harm the Empress!
To think that a monk would be so vicious!
If not for the benevolent and magnanimous Prince Zhongshun, all the monks in the temple would have been buried with Nun Tongyuan's actions!
"Wang Ye, please do as you wish. Actually, that forbidden area is not really a forbidden area, it is just a place for seclusion to worship Buddha. The mountain opposite is even steeper, there are cliffs everywhere at the foot of the mountain, only the top of the mountain has vegetation, and there is also a natural cave and water source. When our temple was first built, we built a suspension bridge so that it would be convenient for us to go to the other side to meditate and cultivate Buddhism when we are in seclusion. But the fog is really thick these days, we can't see the situation on the other side clearly. "
"I see." Pang Xiao said, "More than half of the suspension bridge has been submerged in the fog, This King indeed did not notice the situation on the other side. Moreover, when he heard that the other side is a forbidden area of your temple, he did not have any curiosity.
Qin Yining's brows were tightly furrowed.
He asked Abbot Xuan Yun at the right time, "Abbot, is there really no other way to go up the Karma Peak on the other side, and we can only go through the suspension bridge?"
Qin Yining was worried that there would be an ambush on the other side.
Abbot Xuan Yun said, "Amitabha, monks do not lie. There is indeed no way to go up or down the Karma Peak, because the terrain is too steep. The only way is that suspension bridge. "
Qin Yining nodded, "Thank you for telling me, Abbot. If we can find the Empress. We will also have
The credit of Abbot and Wanfo Temple. “
Abbot Xuan Yun shook his head, "We don't ask for credit, we just ask for no mistakes."
Pang Xiao told Abbot Xuan Yun in a low voice that on one hand, he had to check on the monks, on the other hand, he had to secretly arrange for people to search around, to see if the Empress could have been hidden.
At the same time, Pang Xiao also asked Tang Xiu to lead people to search along the way down the mountain, in case the Empress was taken away. He wanted to see if they could find any clues.
In less than two hours, Abbot Xuan Yun and Tang Xiu both brought back news.
None of the monks were lost, and they did not find anything suspicious on the way down.
So the Empress was really taken to the Karma Peak on the other side by that Abbot Tongyuan.
"This is really outrageous, that Abbot Tongyuan is a monk after all, how could she do such a thing?" Qin Yining's face was full of anger, "She clearly did not care about the safety of everyone in Wanfo Temple!"
"It is my humble monk who did not know her well."
Abbot Xuan Yun closed his eyes, put his palms together and sighed.
Pang Xiao's expression was dark. He was slightly worried about the situation on the other side of the mountain.
Even though he had immediately arranged for Jinghu Wei to guard the way up and down the mountain, but he had learned his lesson. There were so many monks in Wanfo Temple, he did not know if one or two of them had evil intentions. Previously, he had trusted these monks too much, which was why he had lost the Empress. If he were to go to Karma Peak now, he didn't know if there would be any danger here, and he didn't know if his Sister Yi would be hurt.
Qin Yining saw Pang Xiao's silence and guessed his inner conflict. He moved closer to Pang Xiao and said in a low voice, "Zhixi, the situation is urgent now, you should order people to go take a look. If something happens to the Empress, not just the monks of Wanfo Temple, even we will not be able to survive. "
"But the other side requested for me to go alone. If I send people, I'm afraid the Empress will be in danger." Pang Xiao said in a low voice. "I am not afraid of danger, I am worried about you. If I leave, if something happens to you here … "He was truly frightened by Qin Yining's repeated incidents. With such a situation suddenly occurring, the first thing he thought of was who was luring the tiger away from the mountain and trying to harm his wife.
Qin Yining understood. Knowing that Pang Xiao was thinking of her, his heart felt warm.
"You are worried about me staying here, how can I not be worried about you? That suspension bridge looks very dangerous, there is rushing water below, and it is so close to the waterfall. If you fall, you will be swept down the waterfall in time. I am also worried about you going to the Karma Peak alone. "
The two looked at each other in silence.
Pang Xiao shook his head. "I still have to go."
Something had happened to the mother of the country. If he could not choose between saving the Empress and protecting his wife, he would definitely be impeached. He might even be accused of being the main culprit behind the Empress's kidnapping.
How could Qin Yining not understand this principle?
"Alright, I will go with you."
"No." Pang Xiao rejected. "If something really happens, it will be inconvenient to bring you along. You just have to wait for me here. "
"If only Prince Mu was here. If he went with you, there would be an additional layer of protection. The other side of the suspension bridge is filled with fog right now, and we can't see anything clearly. These past few days, we haven't even seen the outline of the Karma Peak on the other side. I am really worried that someone has already done something. "
Pang Xiao also sighed.
"All of this is too much of a coincidence." He leaned close to Qin Yining's ear and said in a low voice, "I suspect that this was premeditated long ago. Including the Empress coming here, including us coming here, including Blockhead leaving midway, and including the fog on the Karma Peak, all of it was included. "
"You feel the same?" Qin Yining said, "We thought of the same thing. Who else in the world has this kind of ability? "
Apart from Tian Jizi, Qin Yining could not think of anyone else.
But why did Tian Jizi do this?
Her actions clearly showed that she supported Pang Xiao. She schemed to harm others, and could kill anyone, including Pang Xiao's wife and family. But she never had the intention to kill Pang Xiao.
Why would someone who wholeheartedly wanted Pang Xiao, the Emperor Star of Ziwei, to return to his rightful position, deliberately kidnap the Empress to the Karma Peak, and force Pang Xiao to go alone to save her?
Qin Yining could not figure it out no matter how much he thought about it.
But since he guessed that the other party was Tian Jizi, Qin Yining could at least be sure that Pang Xiao's safety would not be threatened for the time being. As for other traps, she could only take it one step at a time. Thinking about it now, it was time for Pang Xiao to decide whether to go or not. Even after discussing it with Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi, the conclusion would still be for Pang Xiao to go.
Pang Xiao wiped his face, and said helplessly and irritably, "There's no rush. Since we don't know exactly when she went to the Karma Peak, then there's no rush. Let's discuss it clearly with Sir Xie and Sir Xu, and I'll make some arrangements. It won't be too late for me to go then. "
When Qin Yining heard this, he also felt that these words made sense. If something had happened to the Empress, she wouldn't have been taken to the Karma Peak on the other side of the suspension bridge. Wouldn't it have been better to just retreat down the mountain and let her be washed down the waterfall?
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