Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 199 The Dragon King Statue in the Mud! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The shouts attracted many workers, who gathered around the excavated pit and saw a black stone dragon head that had been unearthed below, not much smaller than the excavator's shovel.

Old Huang roared and charged down, then, upon seeing the dragon's head, immediately slapped his thigh:
"Damn it, who knows how long those people from the Cultural Relics Bureau will keep messing around here."

Zhou Yi took the compass and tested it, confirming that the needle's vibration was related to the dragon-head stone sculpture. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"The area around the stone sculpture is all mud and has no cultural relic research value, so it shouldn't be a big problem. But we need to find a way to pull the stone sculpture out as soon as possible."

The construction site had no shortage of cranes, and soon a crawler crane arrived. The huge hook was lowered into the deep pit, and several workers wrapped the slings around the dragon head. Two excavators lifted it up from below, and a dragon head stone statue that was about three meters high was slowly pulled out of the mud.

As soon as the stone statue was lifted out of the mud, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Zhou Yi looked up at the sky in confusion, then stared at the dragon-headed stone statue for a while, suddenly recalling a sentence mentioned in a Taoist scripture:

[The Dragon King is freed from his predicament, and heaven sends down sweet rain.]

Could this dragon-headed stone statue be the local Dragon King God?
Thinking of this, he said to Lao Huang:

"Quickly call the town's leaders over, and if you have the town's history book, bring it along. If all goes well, I might be able to sort this out for you before the cultural relics bureau arrives."

For Lao Huang and his team, nothing is more important than meeting the construction deadline. As long as the deadline isn't missed, everything is fine.

The project manager for this section of Qingshui Town started making phone calls, and several construction workers also began contacting their respective acquaintances.

Wu Meiniang took an umbrella from the carriage, stumbled down to the ground, and stood beside Zhou Yi to hold it up for him, while half of her own body was soaked by the rain.

Zhou Yi took the umbrella and stood next to Wu Meiniang.

The two, dressed in Taoist robes, stood together under an umbrella. In the misty summer rain, they looked like a painting, possessing an indescribable beauty.

"Immortal Master, is this stone statue a divine object?"

The Book of Changes says:

"We're not sure yet. We'll wash off the silt first, then put up some talismans so the stone statue can remain untainted by the mud."

The crawler crane lifted the stone statue to the top of the open space, and several excavator operators continued digging. They had to clear all the silt from the deep pit before they could backfill the roadbed layer by layer.

In addition, everyone wanted to see if there was anything else, so that the cultural relics bureau wouldn't dig it up again if they came.

After the stone statue was hoisted up, Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang also went up there.

The entire stone statue is about ten feet tall, with a dragon's head and a human body, holding a jade tablet and dressed as a courtier... This is the classic attire of the Dragon King statue, and most Dragon King temples in various places have this style.

Several workers pulled over a water pipe and asked Zhou Yi:

"Master, may I wash it?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Yes, we can try our best to wash away the silt... Are you from Qingshui Town? Was there a Dragon King Temple here before?"

If it can be proven that there was a Dragon King Temple before, then a temple can be built on the spot, and the Dragon King statue can be moved in to continue protecting the area and its people. There is a large reservoir right next to it, and with the Dragon King there, there is a high probability that drowning incidents will not occur again.

The workers were from nearby villages, but it was unclear whether there was a Dragon King Temple nearby.
"I heard from the elders in my family that the reservoir used to be several times larger than it is now, and the entire Qingshui Town was filled with water. I've never heard of the Dragon King Temple. I wonder if the town government has any relevant information."

The Book of Changes clearly states that this reservoir was built in the 1950s and has made great contributions to flood control, water diversion, and drought relief in Yiyang City.

If there was a Dragon King Temple, when would it have been destroyed?

Were those evil cultivators deliberately making the highway detour here to suppress the Dragon King's statue?
I feel like there's a secret hidden here!
While I was deep in thought, someone from town arrived. An elderly man wearing glasses, who looked like a retired teacher, was holding a book with the words "Qingshui Town Chronicle" printed on it.

The person next to him introduced:
"This is Teacher Liu from the archives of Qingshui Town. He came along after hearing that a Dragon King statue had been unearthed here."

Zhou Yi greeted him:
"Teacher Liu, is there any record of the Dragon King Temple in the town's annals?"

If there is a statue of the Dragon King, there should be a temple to the Dragon King. As long as it is recorded in the town annals, it can be rebuilt... The state does not allow the construction of new temples in principle. Only if it is proven that a temple once existed in this place can it be rebuilt.

Teacher Liu pushed up his glasses and said:
"There is no Dragon King Temple, but there are records of this Dragon King statue."

After saying that, he was about to open the town chronicle he was holding in his arms when Old Huang quickly held an umbrella over him, afraid that the town chronicle would get wet.

After searching for a long time, Teacher Liu finally found a passage:

"In the spring of the thirty-ninth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, torrential rains struck the Central Plains, causing widespread flooding. The prefect erected a statue of the Dragon King at Qingshui Post Station... You young people may not know that the name Qingshui in Qingshui Town does not mean 'crystal clear,' but rather that it is entirely filled with water. The earliest name of the post station is no longer verifiable. It was renamed Qingshui Post Station in the thirty-ninth year of the Wanli reign due to the torrential rains. Later, as the floodwaters receded, more and more households were built around the post station, and Qingshui Post Station gradually became Qingshui Town, which then developed into Qingshui Town."

Wow, this stone statue really has a story behind it?

The Book of Changes asks:

"Then how did this Dragon King statue end up underground?"

Teacher Liu turned a few more pages and said:
"When the Dragon King statue was first erected, it was very popular, and people from Luochuan came and went in an endless stream. During the Chongzhen era, the Central Plains suffered from a severe drought for many years, and the Dragon King statue gradually lost its incense offerings and was no longer worshipped until it was abandoned. After the Tartars marched south, the Central Plains fell, and the Dragon King statue disappeared without a trace, and generations of people could not find it anywhere."

As she read this, Teacher Liu looked up at the more than three-meter-tall Dragon King statue and said, "I've read the town chronicle many times, and I always thought the Dragon King statue was just made up. I never imagined it actually existed."

Nearly four hundred years have passed since the late Ming Dynasty, and the Dragon King statue has finally reappeared.

A leader from a cultural institution leaned over and asked:

“A stone carving from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and so large at that, isn’t it a cultural relic? Should we hand it over to the city museum, or should we get together with the villagers to build a Dragon King Temple to enshrine it?”

Having finally acquired a historical artifact, everyone wanted to keep it in the town so that young people could learn about the town's rich history.

Old Huang strongly supports this idea. He even said that if the temple is to be built, the project team can donate some money... As long as it doesn't delay the construction period, everything is negotiable.

However, since this was something most people weren't very good at, they eventually turned to the I Ching.

He and Wu Zetian were the only two people in the room wearing Taoist robes, making them look like insiders.

The Book of Changes says:

"From a metaphysical perspective, the Dragon King has the responsibility to protect the territory and ensure the safety of the people. If a small temple is built for this stone statue and it is enshrined again, the probability of Qingshui Town encountering floods in the future will be greatly reduced."

The Dragon King is in charge of water, and the name Qingshui Town happens to contain the word "water," which fits the Dragon King perfectly.

Everyone knew what to do as soon as they heard that.

Old Huang asked:

"Master Zhou, how much would it cost to build such a temple?"

The Book of Changes says:

"As long as the land is free, the cost won't be too high. It's just two parts: building a small temple and consecrating it... The Dragon King Temple doesn't need to be too big; one room will suffice."

Old Huang was too lazy to calculate:

Is 80,000 enough?

"Enough, absolutely enough, we won't even use it all."

The statues are already in place; all that's needed is to re-consecrate them. Relatively speaking, it's much simpler than the local earth god temple in Sanlizhuang.

Upon hearing about the cost, Lao Huang said that the project team would cover the money, but the people in the town were not willing and also wanted to express their gratitude to the Dragon King.

They quickly raised tens of thousands of yuan in donations through WeChat and phone calls, mostly from large-scale aquaculture and agricultural producers in the town... Such an opportunity to curry favor with the Dragon King was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and they couldn't miss it!
While they were discussing, the silt below had already been cleared away. Zhou Yi went to take another look and found that only the area around the stone statue was covered in silt, while the rest of the place was dry soil, just like when he was a child digging for loaches and eels in a dried-up riverbed.

There was nothing in the silt, which greatly disappointed the excavator operators who were preparing to dig for gold and silver.

Zhou Yi took the compass and checked around, but found nothing unusual. He then said to the excavator operator:

"You can backfill now!"

Back on the ground, the rain had stopped. The townspeople had pooled together 78,000 yuan, and Lao Huang, representing the project team, added another 10,000 yuan, bringing the total to 88,000 yuan, which was all handed over to Zhou Yi.
"Master Zhou, the Dragon King Temple will be located in the wetland sightseeing park next to the reservoir. You can choose the specific location yourself. I'll leave the design and consecration of the temple to you."

The construction site has its own commercial concrete mixing plant, so there is no need to purchase concrete separately. The town will also provide convenience for any other needs.

Zhou Yi never expected that he would suddenly go from being a Taoist priest to a construction foreman. He immediately got into the car to choose a location for the Dragon King Temple. As for the formalities, the town leaders would take care of them.

After the location was chosen, the Dragon King statue had been cleaned and had an inscription on its back that read "First carved in the second month of the thirty-ninth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty." Everyone gathered around to take pictures.

Zhou Yi affixed several talismans to the stone statue. Having been in the mud for hundreds of years, the stone statue was easily tainted by the decaying aura of the mud, so it was necessary to clean it before it was consecrated.

However, it must be said that after being soaked in the silt for hundreds of years, the original blue stone statue has turned black, making it look majestic and imposing.

Zhou Yi wrapped the stone statue in layers of yellow silk cloth. Before the consecration ceremony, the statue could not be opened for inspection.

While he was busy, people had already come to set out offerings.

Old Huang called over a flatbed truck and moved the statue to the location where the temple was being repaired. Once the temple was finished, it would be moved back in, and then it could be consecrated.

At 5 p.m., Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang drove back to Yunwu Mountain.

I thought it would be a small job, but it turned out to be a busy day. However, the income was not bad. Putting aside the cost of building the temple, the project team gave me an extra 5,000 yuan as a labor fee.

As they ascended the mountain, Wu Zetian said:
"Last month we brought the Earth God back to life, and now we've saved the Water Dragon King. Shouldn't we build a Mountain God Temple and a City God Temple next?"

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"Just let things take their course. There's no need to be too deliberate. When the time is right, fate will bring us together."

Upon reaching the mountain, he didn't even have time to drink water; he quickly opened his black notebook and began reviewing his day's findings:
[Rescuing the Dragon King from his predicament, the statue reappears in the mortal realm, merit +88]

(End of this chapter)