Chapter 150 Temple or Shrine

Ye Yang, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly asked, "Zanglong Temple, is it a temple or a shrine?"

Although 'temple' is a collective term, there's a distinction between a Buddhist temple (si) and a Taoist/folk shrine (miao). Most people just don't pay attention.

Temples are for Buddhas. Shrines are for ghosts and deities.

"It should be a temple, right? At least that's what's written in the Book of Life and Death," Nie Xiaochun said uncertainly.

Ye Yang said, "Among earthwork geomancers, building a temple and building a shrine are very different. Moreover, earthwork geomancers rarely travel the world. Without an invitation from a client, they might not even leave their homes."

"Mu Wenmin's sudden arrival at Zanglong Temple must have a reason. Either he's rebuilding Zanglong Temple, or he's tearing down a shrine."

Tearing down a shrine is a delicate matter. If you encounter a shrine dedicated to ghosts and deities that must be demolished, the geomancer has to first invite the ghosts and deities to leave before tearing it down. Tearing down a shrine without the involvement of a geomancer will inevitably lead to disaster.

Building a shrine is the same. The ghosts and deities enshrined in a shrine may not be there for "instant wish fulfillment," but perhaps to suppress evil.

I tapped the table lightly and said, "Xiaochun, have someone check for me: who else is recorded in the Book of Life and Death as having died at Zanglong Temple? Did their Earthly Souls (di hun) return?"

"Zhao girl, go find your dad and have him think of a way to see if we can get into the Noble Manor without using our identities as geomancers."

"Lin Zhao, Feng Ruoxing, Leng Gou, get ready. We'll head to Noble Manor as soon as the information arrives."

Before long, Nie Xiaochun had news: "Apart from Mu Wenmin, there are no records of Zanglong Temple in the Book of Life and Death. I suspect it might be an empty temple."

"An empty temple!" I shook my head slightly. "The possibility of an empty temple is unlikely."

There are many empty shrines, but few empty temples, perhaps none at all.

Shrines dedicated to ghosts and deities are rarely large-scale. Some small shrines don't even have living quarters and rely on devout believers or nearby villagers to clean them. No one presides over worship at the shrine, and the etiquette isn't formal.

But temples are different. The character for temple (si) implies 'serving.' Building a temple requires someone to be responsible for serving the deities. Even if there are no formal monks, there are lay Buddhists to preside. The situation of an empty temple is extremely rare.

Moreover, a newly built temple wouldn't be left unoccupied.

While I was pondering, Old Liu walked over with a smile. "Boss, your problem is solved. Now there are two ways to get into Noble Manor. It just depends on which one you want to use."

Old Liu said, "The first way is to walk in openly. I contacted Xie Sanbao. He said he can talk to the officials about development."

"In less than two days, we can use the identity of a developer to talk to the local residents about relocation."

"This identity is enough for us to swagger in. We can also contact the local community and have them take us door-to-door. What do you think?"

"That's not bad!" I turned and asked, "What's the other identity?"

Old Liu said, "Noble Manor has a gatekeeper. This family has been gatekeepers since the early days of the founding of the country, two generations now. It's a family business! However, the old gatekeeper is too old and can't do it anymore. They just need someone to replace him."

"You see..."

My eyes lit up immediately. "Have you checked the gatekeeper's background?"

The gatekeeper profession seems inconspicuous, but in fact, it hides capable people.

Gatekeepers, like night watchmen, are part of the night watch and some gatekeepers with a lineage are called "living lions" in the art world. In other words, he is the third stone lion in front of a wealthy family's house.

The stone lions in front of the house are called Suanni, one of the nine sons of the dragon, specializing in blocking evil. Genuine stone lions can even be used as magical instruments.

If the stone lions can't stop the evil, the living lion in the gatekeeper's house has to take action.

Ninety percent of living lions are geomancers who have retired from the martial world and are hired by wealthy families to take care of them in their old age. They watch the gate. The remaining ten percent have inherited the secret methods of the gatekeeper. The ancestral masters of this ten percent of gatekeepers are Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde.

Two generations of gatekeepers, who can believe that they are not geomancers?

Old Liu said, "I already had Zhao Ci check the gatekeeper's identity, but I really didn't find anything special."

"After liberation, Noble Manor was once used as a high-ranking cadre building for a period of time. The gatekeeper was already there at that time. Later, because the location was relatively remote, the people inside gradually moved away. But that gatekeeper stayed."

"In those years, wasn't 'succession' popular? When the old gatekeeper couldn't do it anymore, his son naturally took over his job. He's been doing it for decades. Now he's over seventy and can't do it anymore, and he's asking to retire."

I asked, "Isn't the retirement age sixty? How did he retire at seventy?"

Old Liu said, "According to his age, he should have retired long ago. Later, he was invited back by the residents inside, and he has been working until now."

Old Liu said here, and added, "By the way, I forgot to tell you that the identities of the residents there are not ordinary, you have to be careful when you go."