Rolling mountains, stone cliffs standing sheer and high.
Within the cliffs are stone caves, packed densely with Buddhist statues, varying in size, some seated, some standing, all with different appearances and expressive faces.
Walking along the mountain paths, you can see clusters of stone Buddhas on both sides, sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, painted with the traces of time.
The autumn breeze lightly carries fallen leaves, sprinkling a ground of gold.
The afternoon sun pierces through the clouds, casting a faint glow on the stone Buddhas, possessing an ancient charm, part divine ambiance, as if traversing a Buddha Country.
This place is the renowned Dazu Stone Cave.
A group of people walked along the mountain path.
Sha Lifei wore a landlord robe, sat grandly on a sedan chair, surrounded by servants, very ostentatious.
Lv San, wearing a bamboo hat, followed behind like a servant, seemingly inconspicuous, occasionally pinching a spell and listening to the surroundings.
And ahead, a few elderly craftsmen led the way.
"During the Tang Dynasty, the military governor Wei Junjing built Yongchang Village in the North Mountain, simultaneously constructing the Northern Heavenly King and Thousand-Armed Guanyin statues, leading to the rise in the fashion of cliff sculptures..."
"Starting from the Song era, the trend of statue building flourished, and to this day, more and more statues keep appearing in the mountains..."
"This is a blessed land. If Sha Patron is willing to fund the creation of a Guanyin statue, it will surely increase his fortune and longevity, ensuring his familyās wealth for generations."
The old stone mason spoke while sneaking glances at Sha Lifei.
The Dazu Stone Cave is famous worldwide, and there are naturally many stone masons here, even forming a guild, banding together and setting rules.
The saying goes, all hustle is for benefit.
The stone masons certainly wouldnāt work for free.
Many fund the creation of statues, including devout monks collecting alms for decades, just to erect a Buddha statue in these caves.
Others travel from afar, from places like the Capital and Jinling, funding the creation of statues to show their reverence towards Buddha.
This wealthy guest from Shan State is no different. Although his speech is coarse, bearing the marks of a suddenly rich, country bumpkin appearance, he pays promptly.
If well-acquainted, the disciples wouldnāt worry about food and drink for years.
Thinking this, the old stone masonās face grew more humble, flatteringly saying: "Patron Sha, how large do you plan to build it?"
Sha Lifei touched his bare head, laughing heartily: "It should naturally be as big as possible, ideally like the one in Jiazhou."
Phffff!
A small stone mason almost burst into laughter.
The old stone mason glared at him fiercely, forced a smile, and said: "Not to hide from you, Patron, the Ling Yun Buddha is difficult to build."
"It started during the Tangās Kaiyuan period, was interrupted several times, the Western Sichuan military governor donated his salary of 200,000 coins, and even the salt tax granted by Emperor Xuan wasnāt enough. It wasnāt completed until eighty years later."
"You are wealthy, that goes without saying, but the time required is too long, itās unfeasible..."
The old stone mason indeed had a way with words.
Clearly mentioning insufficient funds, yet finding another reason.
Sha Lifei was purely talking nonsense, hearing this didnāt mind, rubbed his chin, saying casually: "True enough, but my statue can be small, yet must be exceptional."
"Back home, I heard something. There was a place with many deaths, often having strange happenings, they constructed a statue for suppression, and peace came immediately. It must have such an effect."
"Do you have such a place here, if thereās a similar statue, create one for me like that."
That was his true intention.
They had been here for several days, in the mountains.
The old stone mason was bewildered, shaking his head: "Patron Sha jests, this is a Buddhist Sacred Land, how could there be dead people."
"Moreover, such things we cannot create either..."
He did speak the truth then.
A Buddha statue capable of suppressing evil must include "Charging" and "Enlightenment," requiring Mystical Sect craftsmen and Buddhist disciplesā assistance.
Sha Lifei squinted his eyes, "Even with money, it canāt be built?"
The old stone mason answered truthfully: "No amount of money can make it happen."
"Then forget it."
Sha Lifei immediately lost interest.
"Donāt be hasty!"
The small stone mason who laughed earlier became anxious, "Master, isnāt there one near Wangu Town, you also know it..."
"Silence!"
The old stone masonās face changed dramatically upon hearing this.
Sha Lifei rubbed his chin, dark-faced: "Old man, you make Buddha statues yet arenāt honest, keeping things hidden."
"Humph! Weāre leaving, I wonāt believe it, anyway, youāre not the only ones here..."
Then he waved his hand, the hired servants immediately turned the sedan chair, preparing to leave.
The old stone masonās expression fluctuated, shot a fierce glare at his disciple, then sighed: "Patron Sha, donāt rush, thereās another side to this matter, casually getting involved leads to trouble."
"Decades ago, there was a pugilistic world hero nearby named Cai Jiuyuan, who joined the incense of the Maitreya Sect in Jinzhou, then returned to his hometown, gathered people for uprisings, dominating Shu, claimed as the Nine Heavens Buddha Master, later exterminated by the court."
"Legend has it, countless people died in the battles, Cai Jiuyuan himself transformed into a ghost lord causing trouble, later an Emei high monk built a Buddha Cave to suppress it."
"Itās been a long time, the people of Wangu Town are now good citizens living peaceful lives, and they are very taboo about this matter, donāt go asking around recklessly."
"There are still elderly monks guarding the place, I know them somewhat; if Patron Sha is interested, Iāll first test the waters..."
This speech made Sha Lifei feel a bit embarrassed.
After all, he didnāt actually intend to build any Buddha statue.
Thinking this, Sha Lifei feigned impatience, waving his hand: "Itās just a statue, why so complicated."
"Forget it, Iām done, hereās a hundred taels of silver for you, as compensation for your trouble, donāt say Iām breaking the rules!"
With that, he turned with his entourage and left.