421: What are Chapter 421's intentions?

Liu Jing and Yang Jinyuan looked at Han Jingyang simultaneously.

Did this mean they could accept it?

Han Jingyang was also a little surprised.

The monks were truly generous; in addition to the three promised dharma instruments, they had prepared extra compensation.

And they very thoughtfully delivered it right in front of Liu Jing and Yang Jinyuan.

Their grasp of social nuances was flawless.

They really knew how to conduct themselves.

It was a bit of a waste for them to be monks.

Han Jingyang looked at Old Monk Delin: "Old Monk, what is the meaning of this?"

Old Monk Delin chuckled and said: "For the two female benefactors to risk their lives to protect us and our Xingguo Zen Temple by fighting against Japanese invaders a hundred times their number, and to achieve a great victory—their strength and courage are impeccable. Even more rare is this sense of righteousness. This is a small gift we have prepared for the two female benefactors. It is a humble token, please accept it."

Only then did Han Jingyang nod towards Liu Jing and Yang Jinyuan: "It is the good intention of the monks, go ahead and accept it; there is no need to be polite with them."

Liu Jing and Yang Jinyuan quickly stood up and lifted the red cloth.

Han Jingyang also took a glance; they were two Hetian jade pendants with some patterns carved on them. Judging by the luster, they were old items, and while their value was hard to estimate, they certainly weren't cheap.

Truly nice.

The monks were thoughtful.

I'll have them appraised later; if one turns out to be a top-tier piece, that would be even better.

After Liu Jing and Yang Jinyuan accepted the pendants and thanked the monks, Han Jingyang looked at Old Monk Delin: "Old Monk, if you have something to say, just say it. Seeing you hesitate like that is quite uncomfortable."

Old Monk Delin gave a bitter smile: "Mr. Han has eyes like torches, so I will speak plainly."

"Go ahead."

"I would like to adjust the feng shui of Xingguo Zen Temple and even this Thousand Buddha Mountain."

Han Jingyang raised an eyebrow: "Old Monk, that idea of yours... is quite fanciful."

"No, I feel it is quite feasible," Monk Delin sighed: "The geographical location of Thousand Buddha Mountain is extremely critical. It is a very important qi node between Quancheng and the great Yellow River dragon vein. Once a problem arises here, not only will Quancheng suffer, but even the Yellow River dragon vein will be affected. No one knows what will happen then."

"Give it a rest. The importance of Thousand Buddha Mountain is beyond doubt, but at the same time, such a naturally formed grand feng shui structure is not something anyone can just move if they want to. To think of changing this grand structure, which has existed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, with one's own strength—if that isn't fanciful, what is?"

"Of course, I don't have such great ambition."

"Then explain in detail."

"Reinforcement," Monk Delin sighed: "Thousand Buddha Mountain is very important, but it is constrained by objective conditions such as area and altitude, making it unable to fully utilize the function of this critical qi node. The sages of past dynasties understood this point, which is why they engaged in major construction on Thousand Buddha Mountain; the cliffside stone carvings and the forest of steles came about precisely because of this."

"Do you mean that the cliffside stone carvings and the forest of steles cannot suppress this great qi node of Thousand Buddha Mountain?"

"They can suppress it, but they cannot withstand the destruction of external forces; it is very fragile."

Han Jingyang suddenly realized: "That is exactly the plan the Japanese invaders have."

"Correct, and they began implementing relevant plans very early on. Previously, I couldn't see it clearly and only vaguely felt that something was inappropriate. It wasn't until recent years that I completely understood it: the feng shui structure of Thousand Buddha Mountain itself has a problem."

"Where does the problem lie?"

"Mr. Han should know."

Han Jingyang sighed.

Of course he knew.

He felt something was off the first time he came here.

The problem didn't lie with Xingguo Zen Temple, but rather with the newly built scenic area and various newly constructed attractions, especially the joyful maitreya buddha in the so-called Maitreya Victory Garden.

That design was truly hard to describe.

The least appealing part was its golden, glittering luster, which was completely inconsistent with the low-key and restrained style of traditional culture. It was normal to build it tall, but designing an open-air buddha statue to look like a nouveau riche was really hard to like.

Then there was the styling design; how should one put it? It was mediocre, completely lacking in design sense and aesthetic appeal, and extremely rigid.

This maitreya buddha had no merits other than being large in size.

But that was not the key point.

The key was the location of this maitreya buddha.

Where was it?

It was at the eastern foothills of Thousand Buddha Mountain, that is, at the eastern foot of the mountain, located in the middle of a series of Japanese-style buildings in the Maitreya Victory Garden. It was the core attraction of the Maitreya Victory Garden, occupied quite a large area, and faced east from the west.

Anyone familiar with Quancheng should understand what this orientation meant, because this maitreya buddha, designed and created by the Japanese invaders, was facing directly towards Quancheng, facing directly towards the Xinhai Revolution Martyrs' Cemetery, the Xinhai Revolution Shandong Martyrs' Tomb, the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery Memorial Hall, and the tombs of martyrs like Xu Jingxin and He Fengxiang, among other special structures.

What was the intention of the Japanese invaders?

It was obvious at a glance!

One must know that the Xinhai Revolution Martyrs' Cemetery was built long before the Maitreya Victory Garden.

Furthermore, this maitreya buddha was also sitting directly on top of the qi veins connecting Thousand Buddha Mountain with Daming Lake and Baotu Spring in the city center of Quancheng.

Thousand Buddha Mountain was an extension of Mount Tai. The qi veins extended all the way from Mount Tai to Thousand Buddha Mountain, converged at this critical qi node on Thousand Buddha Mountain, and then split into two large and several small branches, forming a dense network of qi veins that nourished the mountains and waters of Quancheng. This was also the key to why Quancheng was prosperous.

But that maitreya buddha was sitting right on the critical node where the qi veins of Thousand Buddha Mountain extended and branched out.

Although a mere maitreya buddha could not truly block the flow of the qi veins, it could cause a significant impact.

It was similar to sticking a needle between the major and minor blood vessels of a human; it wouldn't truly stop the blood circulation, but it would certainly cause the person to experience pain, itching, soreness, numbness, or even spasms and fainting.

It was no coincidence that Quancheng began to experience various problems around the turn of the new century, and that its economy and livelihood were gradually overshadowed by cities like Dao City. Although there were reasons such as its geographical location not being as good as coastal cities, Quancheng also had its own advantages. Yet, for so many years, it had never been able to seize these advantages, which meant the problem was significant.

To say that it had nothing to do with the Maitreya Victory Garden built by the Japanese invaders was truly hard to believe.

Now, Old Monk Delin had discovered the problem and wanted to solve it.

His courage was beyond reproach.

But it was very difficult to handle.

Why?

The Maitreya Victory Garden was a later-built scenic area, an economic entity with a professional company in charge of operation and management, and it had nothing to do with Xingguo Zen Temple.

If the operators did not transfer the management rights, ownership, or other permissions of the scenic area, Old Monk Delin couldn't even pull a single tree of theirs.

That was where the trouble lay.

The Japanese invaders certainly wouldn't let Monk Delin touch a single blade of grass or tree in the Maitreya Victory Garden.

Let alone the most critical joyful maitreya buddha.

Destroy it by force?

A single mistake could very likely cause an impact on the qi veins, thereby affecting the mountains, waters, people, and buildings of Quancheng.

Therefore, even Han Jingyang felt it was very tricky.

But thinking about it again, since Monk Delin had taken the initiative to bring this up, he must have an idea, or even a rough plan.

It was worth asking.

So he asked directly: "Old Monk, judging by what you said, you have already calculated it all? Just waiting for me to take action? Can you tell me your plan? Let me hear if it's feasible."