The Counterattack of the Villains

Not long after, the monk who knew the guest returned and said to Li Mu: "Donor, the abbot has invited me."

Li Mu cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Master."

The monk Zhike led the way, and Li Mu followed him through the corridor and the hall, and came to the outside of a Zen room.

The monk who knew the guest said, "Master Abbot, the guest has arrived."

"Please come in." A powerful voice came from the Zen room. Today's eminent monks are all middle-aged and in their prime.

The monk Zhike pushed open the door, stood aside and said to Li Mu, "Please, almsgiver."

"Thank you."

Li Mu stepped into the Zen room, and the monk Zhike left directly.

The room is simply decorated, with a pinewood table in the middle, teacups and teapots, and several pinewood chairs beside the table.

On the right side of the room is a couch, with a big word "Zen" on the wall behind it.

Because a visitor had arrived, Abbot Benyin had already gotten up from his couch and stood by the table in the room.

When he saw clearly the appearance of Li Mu who entered the Zen room, his expression immediately changed.

Although he quickly returned to normal, Li Mu still captured that moment of surprise.

Li Mu stared at Ben Yin and was the first to speak: "Master, do you feel that your appearance looks familiar? Is it more like the late emperor or more like Xian Xian?"

He didn't mince words at all, he made his words clear directly.

Ben Yin said calmly: "Why did the donor say this?"

Li Mu didn't engage in any confrontation with him, and didn't give him any chance to pretend to be confused. He immediately cupped his fists and bowed deeply, saying, "Duan Yanqing pays homage to my uncle."

Ben sighed secretly, knowing that he couldn't play catch-up on this matter and could only deal with it head-on.

He let out a long sigh and said: "Amitabha, a monk has put aside his worldly ties, does not hold back the rites of elders and young ones, and does not talk about family members. The benefactor only needs to call the poor monk to his original cause."

Li Mu stood up and asked, "May I ask Master, has Master Kurong ever left seclusion?"

Ben Yin shook his head and said: "Uncle Kurong was practicing alone in Shuangshu Yuan. If there is no major matter of life and death, I'm afraid he won't leave easily."

In terms of seniority among laymen, Master Kurong and Ben Yin are the same generation.

However, the master that Ben Yin worshiped at the beginning was the senior brother of Master Kurong, so among the monks in Tianlong Temple, Master Kurong was one generation higher than Ben Yin.

Li Mudao: "In that case, could Master Abbot make the decision for me?"

Naturally, he didn't expect Ben Yin to make the decision for him, because Ben Yin was Duan Zhengming's uncle, and he and Duan Yanqing's father were cousins, so they were separated by one level.

No matter how close the worldly relationship is to a monk, there is still a close relative. How could he support his cousin and go against his own nephew?

Li Mu's fundamental purpose in saying this was just to force Ben Yin into a corner.

It would be best if, in the end, people like Tianlong Temple fall out with him directly.

In this way, when he takes action, he stands on the moral high ground and has no scruples.

"This..." Ben Yin hesitated for a moment and then said: "The donor please give the poor monk some time. The poor monk needs to discuss it with several senior brothers."

Li Mu nodded and said, "No problem, I can wait."

"Excuse me."

After tithing, Ben left the meditation room and left quickly.

Li Mu was not in a hurry and waited quietly in the Zen room with peace of mind.

…

There are several large houses in the west of Tianlong Temple. Different from other splendid halls in the temple, this large house is entirely made of pine wood. The wooden doors and pillars are not peeled, and the wood is natural and simple.

On the door of one of the large rooms was a plaque with the words "Muni Hall" written on it.

Muni means silence and silence. Apparently this is where Ben Yin and his brothers meditate on weekdays.

Benyin came outside the hall and said to Heshi: "Amitabha, something big happened in the temple. I came here to discuss it with my three brothers."

A voice came from inside the house: "Abbott, please come in."

Ben opened the door and entered the room. There were three futons placed side by side in the hall.

A tall and burly monk, who looked like a Buddhist Dharma Protector, sat side by side with two yellow and lean monks, facing the gate.

The names of the two lean monks are Ben Guan and Ben Xian respectively, and they are the senior brothers of Ben Yin.

The burly monk is called Ben Shen, and he is Ben Yin’s younger brother.

Whether it is the abbot and abbot of a temple or the leader of a sect, he may not necessarily be the eldest among his peers, nor may he be the most skilled in martial arts, but he is probably the one with the most management skills.

When Benyin entered the room, the three monks had already stood up. Benguan asked: "Junior brother, what big thing happened in the temple?"

Ben Yin said solemnly: "Prince Yanqing is back."

"What?"

When the three monks heard this, their expressions changed. Ben Shen, who was burly and relatively impatient, asked, "Is it possible to confirm the identity of the visitor?"

Benyin nodded and said: "It should be true, the appearance of the person who came here is 60-70% similar to that of the previous emperor, and he came to see Uncle Kurong to make decisions for him."

"If his identity is false, how can he dare to face Master Kurong directly?"

The three monks were all silent. After a moment, Ben Guan asked: "Junior brother, what are your plans?"

Ben Yin sighed and said: "This matter is very difficult. Prince Yanqing came to Master Kurong to make the decision. Apparently he wanted to ask Master to prove his identity and help him get back the throne that belongs to him."

Ben Shen said categorically: "It's absolutely impossible. Now that the foundation of Zhengming has been solidified, it's impossible for Master Ku Rong to shake it."

The Prime Minister echoed: "Besides, Zheng Ming is tolerant and caring for the people, which is very popular among the people. He is supported by all the civil and military officials, soldiers and common people in the country."

"Uncle Kurong is an eminent monk and has always understood justice. It is impossible for him to agree to this matter. The most he can do is fight for him to be the prince."

Ben Guan shook his head and said: "The position of prince is also impossible. After all, he is the former prince. This status has a lot to do. If he stays in Dali, Dali will definitely fall into turmoil."

"I think Prince Yanqing also knows very well that Dali can no longer accommodate him."

"It's better to explore his tone first and see what his intentions are, and then decide whether to alarm Master Kurong."

The other three monks all agreed: "That's good, that's good."

…

Li Mu waited for a meal in the Zen room, and then saw a group of four monks filing into the Zen room.

Ben Yin said to Li Mu who stood up: "Donor, these three are the brothers of the poor monk. They are the original view, the original appearance, and the original reference."

Li Mu politely bowed his fists to the three monks and said, "I have met three masters."

The three monks returned the favor and said, "Amitabha, that's good, that's good."

After seeing the gift, Ben Guan said: "I don't know what the donor wants here. You can just say it bluntly. If you can help the donor, we will not refuse."

Li Mu looked at Ben Yin and said: "I have just informed the abbot of my request, and it is nothing more than a request to see Master Kurong."

"I would also like to ask all masters not to use Master Kurong's seclusion and meditation as an excuse. I believe that Master Kurong will never sit idly by and ignore this matter as it relates to the rise and fall of the Dali Dynasty."

The four monks looked at each other, and Ben Guan frowned and said, "Donor, if you had come back a few years earlier, you might still be able to do something."

"You should also know very well that it is impossible to achieve anything now, so why bother to force it?"

There is nothing wrong with this. Yang Yizhen successfully rebelled two years ago and successfully ascended to the throne.

Seeing that the overall situation was decided, Duan Yanqing thought that he would never have another chance, so he left the East China Sea to practice martial arts hard, thinking that one day he would be successful in martial arts and come back to assassinate Yang Yizhen and regain the throne.

As a result, for the past two years, I have been in seclusion and practicing hard, and I know nothing about the outside world.

Who would have thought that Yang Yizhen would be killed by Shanchanhou Gao and his son after only being emperor for a few months?

By the time he returned with successful martial arts, it was already the second year of Baoding, and Duan Zhengming had already secured the throne. He also provoked powerful enemies on Huguang Road and was besieged until he was crippled.

Duan Yanqing himself must be blamed for this matter. If he could wait and see patiently for a while and show up when Marquis Shanchan launched an army to rebel, how could Duan Zhengming have anything to do with him?

It’s all life!