After a while, someone came back from outside. Judging from the expression on his face, Master Jinghong knew that something had happened. Could it be that even his junior fellow student had been taken away?
According to Master Jinghong's idea, even if the entire temple could not be saved, his junior brother had followed him for many years and was the backbone of their sect. The two of them, one openly and one secretly, had done a lot of things over the years. If something happened to his junior brother, it would be like cutting off one of his arms.
Not to mention the grand plans for the future, even being able to protect oneself at the moment is a problem. Although there are many monks in Tianlong Temple, most of them are serious monks. Apart from chanting scriptures, they are not of much use at all. All the martial monks are in Shangqing Temple.
"Something happened, Master. All the brothers and sisters in Shangqing Temple are missing, and my uncle is also missing..."
After hearing this, Master Jinghong felt his vision go dark instantly. If it were not for the two disciples behind him, Master Jinghong would have fainted. These were the people they had trained for many years. The last time they encircled and suppressed that group of Tang people, more than half of them had died, leaving only this small half. He didn't expect that all of them were gone in this fire, and even his own disciples were gone.
"Is he dead or captured?"
Master Jinghong no longer cared about anything else and spoke very anxiously. In the past, the word "death" had never been heard from Master Jinghong's mouth.
"Shangqing Temple was engulfed in flames, and all the houses were burned. We're not sure right now. According to what the locals around here say, no one escaped, perhaps..."
Listening to his apprentice's words, Master Jinghong's face turned pale. If they all died in there, it would be a good thing according to the current situation. He was afraid that those who should be taken away would be taken away, and all the useless people would die in there, which would soon implicate Tianlong Temple.
"Immediately cut off all contact with that side, and send some fellow disciples out to search, have them patrol secretly, and find another group of people, saying that your uncle went out to preach yesterday and did not return all night, so ask the government for help."
Master Jinghong is still smart enough. Shangqing Temple is obviously useless, so it is necessary to cut off contact with them, and Monk Jingren cannot be implicated here.
This is going to be a heroic act...
Everyone present knew that this was the best way to deal with the situation, but they still had some doubts in their hearts. The master always talked about courtesy and benevolence, but now that something had really happened, they didn't expect him to have such an expression.
Of course, it is normal for them to have this idea. All the daily dirty work is handed over to Shangqing Temple. Except for direct conversations between fellow disciples, they will not let their subordinates convey various messages. Therefore, in the eyes of these disciples, Master Jinghong is a real enlightened monk.
But now all the people who did the dirty work have left, either arrested or burned to ashes. Master Jinghong has no way to continue the demonstration, so this has caused his men to have such doubts...
However, Master Jinghong has accumulated a lot of prestige for a long time. Even if these people are dissatisfied with something, they have to keep their mouths shut. Can't they see the murderous look in the master's eyes? If we don't do what the master says, maybe we will become ghosts today. Forget about serving the Buddha. Even serving Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva would be a matter of life and death.
Soon, people around the entire royal city were alarmed, including the royal palace and Zhennan Palace. They were not ordinary people on the street, they knew the origin of Shangqing Temple.
In the eyes of many ordinary people, this is just a small temple. Apart from some ordinary people around, not many people come here to burn incense. Most of them go to Tianlong Temple.
But for the dignitaries, they know how powerful this inconspicuous little temple is. It is a representative of Tianlong Temple in secret. The dirty work is done by the monks of Shangqing Temple. Now it has been burned down. This is definitely not done by an ordinary force. Who has this ability?
Many people suspected the Prince of Zhennan, because His Majesty the King had a very good relationship with Master Jinghong, and the two sides were almost in cahoots. Of course, at least on the surface, that was the case. The Prince of Zhennan hated the Tianlong Temple to the core and didn't even bother to do some superficial work.
If there was anyone who was suspected, it would not be surprising that Prince Zhennan was the first. However, Prince Zhennan was a shrewd and calculating person. Even though he controlled most of Nanzhao's power, he still did not raise the banner of rebellion. How could he suddenly attack Tianlong Temple?
Prince Zhennan has been dissatisfied with Master Jinghong for a long time. If he wanted to take action, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until today?
What's more, in the eyes of many dignitaries, even if the Prince of Zhennan wants to take action against Shangqing Temple, he has to gather most of his forces. Don't think that Shangqing Temple is an ordinary temple. There are many capable people in it, and almost every monk has his own unique skills.
Therefore, if the Prince of Zhennan wanted to take action, there would be some movement in the market after all. But now, let alone the forces of the Prince of Zhennan in various places, even some of the best players of the Prince of Zhennan in the royal city are scattered everywhere and have not gathered at all. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this matter has nothing to do with the Prince of Zhennan.
So if this wasn't done by the Prince of Zhennan, could it be done by His Majesty the King?
This idea came into the minds of many people, but it quickly flashed away. This was simply impossible. The battle between His Majesty the King and the King of Zhennan was in a white-hot stage. His Majesty the King had no advantage at all. He was still counting on Master Jinghong for help. If one of Master Jinghong's arms was cut off, it would not be of any benefit to His Majesty the King. Unless he was stupid, he would never do such a thing.
Since neither of them could do it, what was going on? The power of Shangqing Temple was extraordinary, and it was definitely not something that ordinary nobles could deal with. Although the Queen Mother had strength, most of her power was in the court, and outside the scope of the royal city, so she could be ruled out. Who set the fire at Shangqing Temple?
