The relic tower had a circular middle with a pointed top and a square base below. The round belly part was hollow and had square holes. As Lin Tian walked by, he saw sothing placed inside, wrapped in bright yellow silk. Presumably, it contained the high monk’s cremated relics.
The tower forest mostly consisted of this architectural style, except for the tallest seven-tiered octagonal tower which was built from ancient bluish bricks. It stood on a solid rock platform. Lin Tian ascended the bluestone stairs and arrived in front of the high tower.
In front of the tower, there stood a marble stele, seemingly erected in modern tis, with its inscriptions also in simplified Chinese characters. Since Tianma Mountain was also a scenic area, it was not strange to have a stele with inscriptions.
"Lin Tian, the text on the stele seems to be describing this tower." Xiao Manxuan had been following Lin Tian quietly. The sight of the imposing relic towers at night had made her sowhat nervous, but now, seeing the stele, she bent down to read the text in the moonlight, and Lin Tian also quickly scanned it.
Tianma Mountain was anciently known as Gan Mountain. Legend has it that the master swordsmith of the Spring and Autumn Wu State, Gan Jiang, forged swords here, hence the na. This tower was built on the Sword Casting Platform and was thus initially nad the Treasure Sword Tower. Later, Fanyin Temple was founded here, and the back mountain was designated as the relic tower forest. However, the high monk felt that the na "Treasure Sword Tower" harbored too much Evil Qi and renad it "Bao Guang Tower."
Bao Guang Tower stood over twenty ters tall, with seven tiers and eight sides, towering at the mountaintop, standing tall and handso...
The rest of the text rely described how marvelous Bao Guang Tower was, and Lin Tian didn’t continue reading. He turned his head towards the entrance of Bao Guang Tower, which had a na plaque above the door and couplets on both sides: "Seated to witness the Chariots and Horses through Four Dynasties, never sensing the shifting sands of ti; Enduring Nine Tribulations and Ten Hardships, one truly understands the impermanence of life."
Lin Tian had read these lines in a book; they were a self-portrait of a monk with a legendary reputation. The plaque and couplets looked newer compared to the ancient tower body and were probably hung about a decade ago.
"Let’s go inside." Lin Tian took Xiao Manxuan by the hand and walked into the tower. The inside was not dark because, on the wall of the staircase, there were oil lamps with many wicks emitting a yellow glow, making it rather bright.
Inside, there was a spiral staircase made of bluestone, which was impeccably clean. The tower was over twenty ters tall, and it didn’t take long for Lin Tian and his companion to reach the seventh and final floor.
There was a room here, but the door was not locked. Lin Tian reached out to push the door open but heard a faint sound.
"Lin Tian, did you hear that? There’s a noise inside the room!" Xiao Manxuan was startled and instinctively clung to Lin Tian’s arm.
"Don’t be afraid, listen carefully again. What does the sound resemble?" Lin Tian patted her back, trying to comfort her.
"It sounds like..." Xiao Manxuan closed her eyes to listen more intently. The sound was strange, intermittent. After a mont, her eyes suddenly opened wide with surprise, and she exclaid, "It’s the sound of a guqin, precisely the sound of an ancient guqin."
Xiao Manxuan loved music and was highly skilled in it. Lin Tian had witnessed her talent once at the Night Rose Bar, and at that ti, he even suspected she had started learning from the womb.
Thus, hearing the guqin relaxed her initially tense mood. Xiao Manxuan couldn’t wait to push the door open, but as she did, a cloud of dust burst out, causing her to cough violently. Lin Tian waved his hand vigorously to disperse the dust by creating a breeze.
"The entire tower is swept clean; why is there so much dust here?" Xiao Manxuan wondered aloud, now hesitant to enter.
"Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you." Lin Tian took her hand and led her into the room. There was no light inside the room, but there were windows on all sides, and the bright moonlight ca through, so it wasn’t dark inside.
The room was just too strange, dusty everywhere, even cobwebs hung from the corners. Why hadn’t the monks cleaned this room along with the others? As Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan stepped inside, their footprints marked the dusty floor.
The room was simple, containing only a wooden table, so Lin Tian imdiately spotted the item the old monk had ntioned, presumably resting on the table.
"Lin Tian, it’s really an ancient zither!" Xiao Manxuan let go of Lin Tian’s hand and ran over excitedly.
He had seen it too, but why had the zither emitted sounds just now? Xiao Manxuan obviously had the sa question, she bent down and looked around it but couldn’t spot any issues.
Just as Lin Tian was about to chalk it up to a supernatural event, a breeze blew in from the window, passing over the zither, causing its strings to vibrate slightly and release a series of tones.
"So that’s it, I thought I saw a ghost," Lin Tian finally resolved his doubts. However, he noticed the thick layer of dust and figured the window must usually be shut, so why was it open tonight? Could it really be, as the old Zen master had said, fate?
Xiao Manxuan wasn’t as thoughtful, she pouted her lips and gently blew the dust off the zither, revealing an exquisitely ancient-looking instrunt in front of them.
"This zither is modeled after Shennong, made of paulownia wood. No idea how old it is," said Xiao Manxuan, who was not only proficient with the piano but also familiar with ancient Chinese zithers. She softly added, "This zither should be three feet and six and a half inches long, symbolizing the 365 degrees of Zhou Tian. The body is flat at the bottom and arched at the top, symbolizing heaven and earth, aligning with the concept of a round heaven and square earth..."
As she spoke about the zither, Lin Tian was dumbfounded. Was this still the sowhat petulant young lady he knew, or had she transford into a music master?
"Master Xiao Manxuan, does that an this antique zither is yours?" Lin Tian teased with a smile.
"What master? Am I that old?" Xiao Manxuan’s face blushed slightly, she retorted playfully, "Naughty, I want to play a tune."
Playing the zither was like reciting poetry; when inspiration struck, nothing could stop it. Lin Tian was about to nod in agreent when he suddenly heard so unusual noises.
He looked through the body of the tower toward Tower Forest and indeed spotted so unexpected guests.
"Distinguished visitors from afar, since you have co, show yourselves; why hide in secrecy?" the old Zen master suddenly said from outside the Tower Forest. His voice was not loud, but it carried far and Lin Tian could hear it clearly.
No sooner had the old Zen master finished speaking than several figures appeared in the distance. Five wore tight black clothing covering their heads with cloth, exposing only their eyes, and each had long objects hanging from their waists.
Lin Tian was all too familiar with these objects, having seen them often in war dramas: samurai swords, evolved from Huaxia’s Tang swords, were these Japanese individuals, perhaps ninjas?
There were also six tall n in suits, clearly Westerners! They dressed formally, peculiarly, not in typical suits but sowhat resembling evening attire with tails.
The mont Lin Tian saw these six n in suits, he sensed a peculiar aura, an aura sowhat similar to his own!
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