I changed the world.

Page 165

The sky was clear and partly cloudy with a light breeze; it was a nice day.

Outside the gates of Yunxiao Palace, Li Jingxin personally greeted Qian Bushi, the director of the Imperial Bureau of Religious Affairs, and his entourage upon their return.

"Abbot Li, I'm here to bother you again and wish you a Happy New Year!" Director Qian, who was slightly heavy-looking, smiled like a Maitreya Buddha and greeted Li Jingxin with a cupped hand from afar.

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings. Director Qian's presence is an honor to our humble abode. Please..." Li Jingxin smiled and gestured for the group to enter.

It was the time when pilgrims flocked to the temple, and many believers came and went to offer incense at the entrance. From time to time, believers who recognized Li Jingxin bowed and greeted him. Li Jingxin would also bow and return the greeting from time to time. Fortunately, there were some Taoist priests around who quickly separated the believers. Qian Bushi first offered an incense stick in the Sanqing Hall with great interest, and then followed Li Jingxin to the guest room.

A staff member whispered to Li Jingxin that they had noticed that the assistant behind Director Qian had changed this time. The personal assistant who had accompanied him last time, who seemed to be called "Assistant You," was not with him this time. Instead, another female assistant was walking behind Director Qian.

However, Li Jingxin didn't take this change to heart, and simply nodded to indicate that he knew.

A quiet room had already been prepared. A hostess led Qian Bushi's entourage to rest elsewhere, while Qian Bushi and Li Jingxin entered the quiet room. The two sat down on a pair of rosewood armchairs. After the hostess served them tea, he withdrew and closed the door behind him.

"I'm here today mainly to inform Abbot Li of some good news." With that, Qian Bushi took out a document from his ever-present briefcase and handed it over: "The application for the election of the new abbot submitted by Yunxiao Temple has been approved. Congratulations, Abbot Li."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingxin, though somewhat prepared, still solemnly accepted the documents handed to him by Qian Bushi with both hands, quickly scanned them, placed them aside, and bowed to thank him.

After another round of polite exchanges, Qian Bushi inquired about the recent situation at the temple, the arrangements for the festival, and the situation of the believers. Li Jingxin explained everything in detail, and the atmosphere became even more harmonious afterward.

After some preamble, the conversation finally got to the point. Since the previous phone call had already revealed some of the details, Qian Bushi didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. As he had mentioned before, a dense fog had occurred on Sulu Island, the Empire's colony in Southeast Asia, and the events were quite bizarre. According to the current investigation, a sudden storm had occurred off the coast of Sulu before the incident. Because it wasn't the traditional storm season, and the meteorological department hadn't detected any warning signs beforehand, the storm caused several local fishing boats to go missing.

On January 29th, a lifeboat was discovered by fishermen near the shore and brought back to port. There were three people on board: one dead, one mentally unstable, and the only survivor named Techa Leva. Also discovered was a wooden sculpture, which, after investigation, was suspected to be modeled after Argon, a deity worshipped by the local indigenous people.

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On February 1st, a police officer on duty went missing at the Bamboo Police Station in Bamboo City, Sulu Island… A wooden statue, an artifact, also disappeared along with the two officers. Meanwhile, Techa Laywa also went missing…

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On the afternoon of February 8, the Ammani resort area at the foot of the Bindalai volcano on Sulu Island and its surrounding area were shrouded in dense fog. Subsequently, local police received a series of reports from people who claimed to have encountered supernatural events after entering the foggy area. They said they had directly crossed the fog-covered area and appeared on the other side of the fog.

After confirming the incident's authenticity, the police reported it to higher authorities. Around 4:30 PM that afternoon, with coordination from relevant parties, the military intervened, and the government closed all entrances and exits to the Ammani resort area, which remain closed to this day…

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“We now suspect that this incident may be related to the religious rituals of the local indigenous people. Although this suspicion seems a bit… well, unbelievable, based on the evidence we have collected so far, this possibility is indeed very high.” Qian Bushi’s expression was serious as he spoke, while intentionally or unintentionally observing Li Jingxin’s expression.

"However, those currently involved in the investigation are all secular people, and they always have only a superficial understanding of some religious issues. I know that the Yunxiao lineage has a long history and has always been a major sect of Taoism in our country. The previous abbot, your master, Master Ciji Xiao, was highly respected and had profound cultivation, and was admired by all over the country."

"Abbot Li is also a religious leader with widespread influence in our country. He is highly learned and knowledgeable. When I was in Beijing, I heard that the current Empress also greatly admires Abbot Li... It is conceivable that he will receive an imperial decree in the future. Abbot Li and his disciple are both true masters. This is truly a wonderful story!"

Qian Bushi smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "I hope Abbot Li will be generous with his guidance on this matter."

As he spoke, Qian Bushi took a tablet computer directly from his briefcase, turned it on, and handed it to Li Jingxin.

"You flatter me, you flatter me..." After exchanging a few polite words, Li Jingxin took the tablet computer.

Chapter 277 Seeking Advice

After he began studying the materials, he quickly discovered that the Religious Affairs Bureau had also put a lot of thought into it, creating a presentation that combined pictures, videos, and various labels, making it much more intuitive than the text-based materials.

He carefully read through the documents. Much of this information was already collected by his staff, but it had been meticulously organized and incorporated numerous inferences. In addition, there was a considerable amount of material that had clearly not circulated online, including videos, transcripts of interviews with relevant personnel, and even firsthand information obtained by the military after their intervention.

In particular, the firsthand video footage was much more complete and clearer than what Li Jingxin had seen before.

For example, in an aerial video taken at 20:23 on February 10, the persistent fog looked like a giant mushroom cap perched on the ground.

About twenty seconds later, a certain part of the mist suddenly began to churn. Then, a beam of clear light broke through the mist and shot straight into the sky. In an instant, it disappeared into the clouds.

Following the video was an image, a technical reconstruction of what appeared to be the true form of the light in the video. The object in the image was clearly a sword, with the words "Heavenly Punishment" inscribed on its blade...