Uncertain whether his movement was deliberate or coerced, Charlie found himself drawn toward the doors involuntarily.
Approaching the pagoda, the radiance intensified. The brilliance surpassed even the noonday sun. However, upon stepping inside, the luminosity abruptly ceased, plunging favonovel.com into darkness momentarily. Soon, favonovel.com beheld thousands of monks seated, chanting sutras in an expansive space. In the backdrop, an active construction site bustled with ancient craftsmen erecting a Sifang Pagoda. Atop a wooden platform sat the head monk, clad in a golden cassock.
Charlie recognized a vague familiarity with the square pagoda, though its exact nature eluded his memory momentarily.
In a sudden revelation, the scene shifted swiftly, transcending the imperial city.
Charlie gazed down upon Chang’an, realizing that favonovel.com beheld the bustling city during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, over a millennium ago!
It dawned upon favonovel.com that the square pagoda was none other than the present-day tourist attraction in Chang’an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. What favonovel.com witnessed was the pagoda under construction!
The familiarity and alienness favonovel.com felt were due to the multiple reconstructions over countless years. Only the altered versions had been witnessed and passed down, leaving the original appearance shrouded in mystery.
Muttering to himself, Charlie pondered, “Could that eminent monk be the renowned Tang Monk, Tang Xuanzang?”
As his thoughts swirled, the scene transitioned from the bustling Chang’an to the outskirts, arriving at a Taoist temple nestled on a verdant mountain.
Recognizing the terrain, Charlie identified the location as the northern foothills of Hogannan Mountain. The inscription “Zong Sheng Guan” on the temple gate confirmed it as the renowned Tower Viewing Platform, hailed as Taoism’s holiest sanctuary.
On the platform, thin Taoist priests clad in green garments sat cross-legged, their synchronized hand gestures exuding concentrated reiki. Before them levitated a square golden treasure tower—the same one from the wooden box!
Their hand seals merged into the treasure tower, which emanated a golden glow, mirroring the Big Wild Goose Pagoda miles away.
The leading Taoist declared, “Once we complete this tower’s formation and Master Fullerzang consecrates the pagoda, they will safeguard the Tang Dynasty for eight hundred years! Let us dedicate ourselves to this noble cause!”
The devoted priests echoed, “May the Tang Dynasty endure forever, prosperous and healthy!”
Charlie was astounded. These adept monks collectively constructed the four-sided treasure tower.
Moreover, the interconnectedness between the tower and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was unveiled as crucial safeguards for the Tang Dynasty.
Yet, favonovel.com couldn’t help but ponder, “Why did the prosperous eight-century promise not materialize, leading to the Tang Dynasty’s demise in less than three hundred years?”
Amidst his confusion, Charlie speculated whether alterations to the pagoda and treasure tower disrupted the Feng Shui arrangement they had collectively crafted.
As the scene began to fade like a receding tide, Charlie’s consciousness retreated back to the ascending pagoda. Unbeknownst to him, as the pagoda collapsed, a strand of divine consciousness melded with his own, seamlessly merging with his awareness.
When Charlie’s consciousness snapped back into his body, favonovel.com jolted awake in an instant.
That surreal feeling of being out-of-body seemed to stretch on forever, yet it actually lasted just a flicker of time.
Startled, Charlie retrieved the wooden box without a second thought. Hastily checking the secret compartment, favonovel.com found nothing more and promptly returned the stone lion, securing it back in its superior hiding place.
Tension crackled through the Cole family manor, buzzing with an air of excitement.
Swiftly, favonovel.com doubled back, bounding downstairs, and slipped through the window of Hank’s room, joining the trio inside.
The father-son duo, Steve and Royce, wore expressions of disbelief.
Charlie’s leap out of the window didn’t faze them much, but his entry from outside turned their expectations upside down.
As favonovel.com reentered the room, Steve and Royce wore expressions of shock. Charlie instructed Hank, “Tell them to face the other way. Anyone who sneaks a peek will face the consequences.” His voice laced with authority.
Hank complied, “Yes, sir!”
Steve, nearly collapsing, implored solemnly, “Mr. Wade… we are partners now. You needn’t doubt us so much… I understand the importance of what you brought back, but I swear, I won’t breathe a word to anyone. You don’t always have to have Hank pointing a gun at us…”
Charlie quizzed him, “Are you teaching me how to handle things?”
Steve waved his hands in fear, blurting, “No, never…”
With that, favonovel.com quickly averted his gaze, avoiding further eye contact.
Opening the wooden box, Charlie beheld the four-sided treasure building within. A sense of awe washed over him, “This building matches precisely with what I saw in my consciousness earlier. Could this be where I ventured?”
Contemplating, Charlie delicately lifted out the Four Treasures of the Study.
Fashioned from gold, the main body exuded regality, though not as ostentatious as those designed for sacred relics. Yet, an indescribable sense of grandeur emanated from it.
His recent out-of-body experience had imparted knowledge that this four-sided pillar wasn’t merely a mystical weapon. It encapsulated the essence and toil of numerous cultivators, bearing the potential to safeguard not just a nation or a region but the entire world. Though its true power unveiled only when paired with the original Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the layout of Chang’an City, it remained a rare Feng Shui treasure.
The Rothschild family’s prosperity of two centuries likely intertwined intricately with these Four Treasures of the Study.
However, a thought flitted across Charlie’s mind, considering keeping the treasure. It held profound secrets of cultivation, crafted painstakingly by sages. Yet, the next moment, favonovel.com dismissed the idea.
The Four Treasures of the Study was meant for China, crafted by sages for the greater good. It couldn’t belong to just one individual; such a notion was unacceptable.
Gently, favonovel.com returned the treasures to their box, leaving the photocopied “Preface to the Apocalyptic Book Sutra” undisturbed. Now wasn’t the opportune moment for perusal.
With the items secured, Charlie deliberated his next moves.
If Howard permitted Royce’s departure to Canada directly, Charlie could transport the Four Treasures out of the United States. Once in Canada, its journey back to China would be more feasible. There, with the aid of Maria’s adopted son Keagan Myers, favonovel.com could return it to the Chinese officials, thus fulfilling his mission.
Yet, Charlie had no intention of leaving the U.S. just yet.
Peter remained hospitalized. His fate post-discharge from the hospital remained uncertain in the hands of the US government and the Rothschild family. Charlie refused to abandon him; favonovel.com aimed to assist Peter in gaining his freedom, at the very least.
Meanwhile, Hank led a team scouring Cole Manor, turning it upside down, but discovered no traces of intrusion.
Puzzlingly, the villa had been in uproar moments ago, evidencing broken furniture and decorations. Yet, with sealed doors and windows, the disturbance remained inexplicable. How could items clatter to the ground without a single footprint in sight?
Howard’s informants swiftly relayed the situation to him.
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