The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 188: Cloud Shadow and Water Moon

Is this girl... Ah Zi? Is that little tripod the sacred wood king tripod? Zhao Ti squinted his eyes on the beam and blew out a breath.

All the red powder was blown away, and then he shook his body lightly, the thin ice shattered, and he jumped off the beam.

He stood in the middle of the field and pondered for a moment, wondering how Ah Zi could be in Xingzhou City? Did she steal the Divine Wood King Cauldron, evade the Xingxiu Sect's pursuit, and then settle here?
Ding Chunqiu disappeared, and the Xingxiu Sect was in chaos with no one in charge. It was very likely that A Zi fled all the way north from the Xingxiu Sea to Xingzhou and then hid.

Zhao Ti walked out of the room while thinking and looked around, but the girl was no longer there.

He leaped up onto the roof and saw a purple shadow desperately running away in the distance.

Zhao Ti used his physical skills to chase after the purple shadow. The girl's lightness skill was not very high, so she could not run very fast. Zhao Ti walked slowly and gradually caught up with her, but did not alarm her, as he wanted to see where she landed.

At this time, we arrived at the northern city of Xingzhou, where there was the Western Xia imperial palace and some members of the Dangxiang royal family lived. The mansions were relatively sparse and not as dense as the other three sides.

The girl made several detours, avoided those mansions, and headed northwest. Soon, a bamboo forest appeared in front of her, and she dived into it.

Zhao Ti looked around carefully. This place was already an extremely remote place, but it was also not a place where ordinary people could live. Could it be that the other party lived here?
He glanced at the bamboo forest, then moved and jumped to the top of the bamboo shoots. He looked forward and saw a vague building in the depths of the bamboo forest. The girl arrived in front of the yard and opened the door and went in.

Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows, took a deep breath and walked on the bamboo tip. He landed on the ground after a while and then walked to the front of the house. Only then did he see clearly that it was actually a nunnery.

This temple is not small, but the walls do not look old and show no signs of aging, so it should not have been built very long ago.

There is a plaque hanging above the gate with the three words "Shuiyue Temple" written on it, which seems to be the name of this place.

Zhao Ti thought about it and thought that since it was in the north of the city, it might have some relationship with the Western Xia royal family, so it would not be a good idea to enter directly through the door.

He walked around to the side, climbed up the high wall, and looked down at the nunnery. There were actually no less than dozens of rooms, with a main hall in the middle and meditation rooms in the back.

He pondered for a few breaths, then jumped in and walked towards the hall.

The nunnery was not very bright, and there were no people walking around. There was only the sound of the breeze and the chirping of insects. It was very quiet.

After arriving at the main hall, Zhao Ti listened for a moment and heard no movement inside, so he gently pushed the door and walked in.

There were eternal lamps burning in the hall, as well as many candlesticks lit, enshrining Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all of whom had solemn appearances and magnificent golden bodies.

Zhao Ti walked around quietly inside, then went out from the back of the temple door and looked at two rows of houses. Except for a few nuns dozing off in one of the houses, there was no other person.

When I walked to the back of the temple, I saw a huge but exquisite round-moon-shaped door with the words "Cloud Shadow, Water Moon" engraved on top of the door.

Shuiyue Temple, the shadow of clouds and the moon in the water? Zhao Ti pondered for a few breaths, and then his figure flashed in like a ray of light and smoke.

After a while, he still didn't see anyone, so he continued to move forward and finally saw a bright place, a horizontal hall with two rows of plain lanterns hanging under the eaves outside. The door of the hall was open and the candlelight inside was bright.

He came near the door and looked inside. He saw a statue of Bodhisattva enshrined in the front of the hall with a compassionate expression. A graceful figure in white was sitting cross-legged in front of the niche with her back to the door. Her arms seemed to be clasped together, and the sound of low chanting could be heard.

There were two nuns standing next to the figure in white, but the girl in purple was nowhere to be seen.

Zhao Ti looked at the person in white. It was a woman. She had not shaved her hair. Her black hair fell to her waist. She looked familiar from behind. He listened to the scripture again. It was the Lotus Sutra. Although the voice was low, it was pleasant to the ear. He was moved. This was the voice of Li Qiushui. Could it be that after Li Qiushui returned to Xixia, she practiced in this Shuiyue Temple?
But if that girl was Ah Zi, why would she come here? She looked familiar with the place, so it was definitely not an accident. Could it be that she lived in this nunnery?
Zhao Ti looked at the hall in the shadows. Although he saw that Li Qiu Shui had been enlightened by the Sweeping Monk at that time and was told to return to practice cultivation, escape from the worldly affairs, and no longer care about state affairs, it was hard to say whether it was true. He might as well take this opportunity to test her.

Li Qiushui had a deep hatred for him. If he had not truly let go of worldly affairs, then once he appeared in front of her, she would definitely turn pale and get angry and would attack him, or even call for help.

He could either eliminate her directly or leave without leaving any trace. Moreover, he never revealed his appearance during his journey to Xingqing Prefecture, even when he was in the team.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ti put his hands behind his back, took a deep breath, and slowly walked towards the wooden door of the hall.

At this time, the two nuns inside noticed it and their faces changed color. Just as they were about to go to the door, they saw Li Qiu Shui waving her hand.

The two nuns stood still, clasped their hands together and bowed their heads, then they heard Li Qiushui turn her back to the hall door and say, "Which master is visiting Shuiyue Temple?"

Zhao Ti said with a smile: "Li Qiushui, you have so much free time. Aren't you afraid that Tong Lao will find out and attack you by surprise if you practice here?"

Li Qiushui was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "So it's the donor..."

Zhao Ti said, "Of course it was me. Some time ago, I went to Shaolin and chatted with the sweeping master in the Sutra Library. We discussed scriptures and the Dharma. Then I thought of Queen Mother Mei Zang, so I came to take a look."

Li Qiushui said, "Thank you for coming thousands of miles to Xixia. How is Master?"

Zhao Ti heard her acknowledge the Sweeping Monk as her master, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Master, everything will be fine."

Li Qiushui then slowly stood up and turned around, revealing her face without a veil, revealing a crisscross of scars, but her expression was calm, as if she was neither happy nor worried.

Zhao Ti glanced at Li Qiushui, and Li Qiushui said, "Donor, please don't lie. I am a person who has been born into the world, but I have not shaved my head yet. If you have anything to say, please speak frankly, and don't beat around the bush."

Seeing that she was calm, Zhao Ti nodded and said, "I saw a girl in purple entering the nunnery. Who is she?"

Li Qiushui looked at him and said, "That's one of my juniors, temporarily staying here. If she has offended you, I will apologize on her behalf. Please forgive me."

Junior? Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes. If it was A Zi, she could indeed be considered a junior of Li Qiushui. A Zi was Ding Chunqiu's apprentice. Regardless of whether Ding Chunqiu had betrayed Xiaoyao Sect or not, or judging from the relationship between Ding Chunqiu and Li Qiushui, she was considered a junior.

Zhao Ti said: "It is indeed disrespectful to me, but I don't know what kind of junior you are to the Queen Mother Mei Zang?"

Li Qiushui said: "She is a disciple of an old friend. Now her sect has suffered a disaster and has withered. She came to me with a letter and tokens from an old friend. I took her in and let her live by my side."

Zhao Ti smiled when he heard that. It was indeed A Zi. However, Li Qiu Shui must have been deceived by A Zi.

It seems that A Zi not only stole the Divine Wood King Cauldron, but also stole some other things from Ding Chunqiu. However, she may have learned that Ding Chunqiu was missing and suspected that he had died of infatuation, so she came here to avoid being hunted down by her senior brothers.

He nodded and said, "I came here to ask you one more thing. I was in a hurry and didn't ask you before in Shaolin Temple. Now I will leave after I finish asking you."

Li Qiushui asked, "I wonder what else you want to ask?"

Zhao Ti asked, "Why did the Queen Mother send Helian Tieshu to the Central Plains to sprinkle agarwood powder in front of the Great Song Emperor's Mausoleum?"

(End of this chapter)