Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 651 Zhu Shang
"Then I'll try it."

Without hesitation, Qin Huai stretched out his large, fan-like hand and directly peeled off the letter with the red ink mark at the very top.

"Okay, be brave!"

Wei Xiaolian smiled and gave a thumbs up. Before he could say anything more, the middle-aged scholar behind the counter took out an iron plate, his ink brush hard as a knife. With sparks flying, he quickly engraved something and casually tossed it to Qin Huai.

Qin Huai took it and saw that the back of the iron plate had a chilling and painful "kill" character written on it, while the front had the two small characters "Qin Wu" engraved on it. There was also a blank space above it that was left unengraved, which was probably to be verified based on the performance of the mission.

The characters are surrounded by various weapons, making them look very exquisite, not at all like a hastily made work.

"Does this old fisherman know about my conversation with Wei Xiaolian? Could it be that he has all the information about what happens inside the Ministry of Justice?"

After observing him for a moment, Qin Huai looked at Wei Xiaolian again. The silver token that the boy with the flower in his hair had used to open the door was similar in shape to the iron token he was holding now, but it had something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Presumably, that was the real identifier used by the Great Western Killing Tribe to identify people.

If Qin Huai's guess is correct, it should also be something related to Si Chen.

"The ten Heavenly Stems, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, R, and G, are ranked from the first to the last. The ranking of the members of the Killing Department is based on this. If you do a good job on this mission, I will once again add blood ink to this waist token. Only then, with the protection of the God of War, will you be considered a true member of the Killing Department."

The middle-aged scholar flipped his hand and revealed a pure gold waist token engraved with the character "甲" (jia). He said calmly, "This time, Zhu Shang wants you to go to Wenshu Monastery on Qingyang Mountain, get rid of the newly emerging evil spirits there, and bring back the temple's treasure, the 'Dragon-Shedding Wine.' If everything goes smoothly, you can be designated as a member of the Geng Banner."

At the same time, Wei Xiaolian returned from a screened room, holding a bundle of cowhide maps, and handed them to Qin Huai.

"Wenshu Monastery? Evil spirits? Dragon-shedding wine?"

Qin Huai was somewhat surprised, since normally it would be difficult for evil spirits to be associated with Buddhist holy sites.

"What? Scared? If you don't want to take it, you can choose any other bounty."

Wei Xiaolian was about to take the map back when Qin Huai took it from him.

"No, I'm just amazed that there are still evil spirits in Buddhist temples these days."

Qin Huai shook his head and immediately unfolded the map.

"Ha, I can tell you're from Gansu and Shaanxi, coming from Sichuan in the north. You've never seen those disgusting monks of Da Shun. Otherwise, you would have discovered that there are many inexplicable things in the world. Once you've dealt with them in the future, you'll know that evil spirits in temples are nothing."

When the name Da Shun was mentioned, Wei Xiaolian's eyes immediately showed an indescribable disgust.

"Perhaps, I'll be going now."

Seeing that he could not get any more useful information from the two men, Qin Huai looked at the map and his waist token and followed Wei Xiaolian out of the Ministry of Justice.

Walking through Xijing City, Qin Huai carefully examined the map and the reward notice.

The letter contained very little information, only stating that according to reports from spies of the Great Western Army, Wenshu Monastery had recently become very popular, but the number of worshippers had inexplicably decreased significantly, with many entering but not leaving. The letter instructed the Killing Department to send people to investigate.

The contents were standard and contained little useful information, but the origin of Wenshu Monastery was explained on the next sheet of paper.

The predecessor of Wenshu Monastery was Xinxiang Monastery, which was destroyed by war sixty years ago. Later, Zen Master Cidu came to the ruins of Xinxiang Monastery and vowed to restore the monastery where his tonsure master, the Venerable Xinxiang Jingchu, had once been the abbot.

Qingyang Mountain was nothing but ruins and overgrown weeds. Zen Master Cidu took refuge between two ancient cedar trees, practicing Zen meditation and living in a thatched hut. Not long after, the Zen Master's practice became extraordinary. In meditation, auspicious signs of fire appeared. Many people found it miraculous and unbelievable, believing that he was the reincarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva. They spontaneously repaired Xinxiang Temple and renamed it Manjushri Temple.

Later, legends arose of the Bodhisattva's miraculous powers and the fulfillment of the wishes of believers, which made the Wenshu Monastery increasingly prosperous with the passage of time.

Among the numerous intelligence reports, one term caught Qin Huai's attention.

"A fondness for alcohol? The monks of Wenshu Monastery aren't required to observe the precept against alcohol?"

Qin Huai's mind raced. He thought of the mission objective of this trip, the "Dragon-Melting Wine," and his intuition told him that things were definitely not that simple.

Further down the list, there was only one piece of information that was somewhat useful: the monks of Wenshu Monastery often went down the mountain to buy raw materials for brewing wine, but the owner of the town's winery had never seen them come to his door, and the wine brewed by Wenshu Monastery was never sold outside the town, making it quite mysterious.

Qin Huai wanted to continue reading, but there was nothing more. The abrupt stop made him feel a long-lost sense of unease.

"Alright, alright, let's go."

Hearing the impatient replies of the city gate guards, Qin Huai realized that he had unknowingly walked to the city gate.

'In the end, it's just a fleeting thought; this perception is far inferior to the physical body.'

Qin Huai thought to himself, then took out his waist token and showed it to the city gate guard who was hesitating whether to step forward and question him.

"This is a matter for the assassination department; make way immediately."

Upon seeing Qin Huai reveal his identity, the city gate guards immediately acted as if they had been granted a pardon, stopping the civilians and allowing Qin Huai to leave the city first.

"Qingyang Mountain, Qingyang Mountain".

Qin Huai kept walking, gesturing with his finger on the leather map, and soon found a road leading from Xijing City to Qingyang Mountain.

Perhaps because of his strong physique and extraordinary speed, Qin Huai only took two hours to travel the half-day journey.

At the foot of a towering, misty mountain peak, lies a bustling town.

Even though the recent terrifying rumors about the cannibalistic evil spirits at Wenshu Monastery have made this town a little quieter than before, Qin Huai still thinks that its prosperity is no less than that of Xijing City.

Qin Huai carried his giant sword through the bustling crowd and could see that the narrow stone-paved road was now filled with people selling and buying goods, loudly haggling over prices.

They sell their own bamboo baskets, wild game hunted in the mountains, and vegetables grown on their own land.

There were vendors selling chickens, dogs, and even tree saplings.

The largest number of businesses were grain merchants and medicinal herb farmers who sold various grains and Chinese medicinal herbs.

"It's so lively, looks like it's a market day."

After watching with great interest for a while, and finding no signs of demonic influence on the people, Qin Huai nodded and walked through the path that the crowd had spontaneously made for him, soon arriving at an inn.

"Waiter! Bring Master Wu a superior room. And whatever other good wine and dishes you have, just bring them over."

Qin Huai casually tossed the heavy gold coins onto the counter by the door, his murderous aura completely concealed, and walked into the lobby. Looking around at the townspeople chatting and eating, he said to the approaching waiter, "Alright, please have a seat, sir, it'll be ready shortly!"

Although curious about Qin Huai's strange attire and background, the waiter, who had been welcoming and seeing many people at the inn for a long time, probably had a guess in his mind. He wisely didn't say a word more and instead brought up the fine wine and delicacies as quickly as possible.

Qin Huai took off his helmet, casually smashed the mud seal on the wine jar, and was about to pour himself a drink to quench his thirst when he smelled a special fragrance emanating from the jar. It was like tender bamboo leaves covered in morning dew, or like the venomous saliva secreted by a green snake's sharp fangs—complex, contradictory, yet incredibly alluring.

"Waiter, what kind of wine is this?"

Qin Huai raised his hand and called over the waiter who had been keeping a close eye on the situation. He got straight to the point and pointed directly at the wine jar, asking the question.

"Sir, this is a snake wine called 'Bamboo Leaf Green', a specialty of Qingyang Mountain. It is made from the clear spring water of the bamboo forest on the mountain, and then soaked in green snakes for several years. It can strengthen the spleen and nourish the body. It's very good."

When the waiter saw Qin Huai asking a question, he immediately began to introduce the situation.

"Oh? So, how does it compare to the wine brewed by those monks at Wenshu Monastery?"

Qin Huai nodded and asked calmly.

"Sir, you flatter us. How can the wine we ordinary mortals brew compare to the sacred wine of our masters? That wine is offered as tribute to the gods!"

Speaking of Wenshu Monastery, Xiao Er suddenly became interested and said mysteriously, "To tell you the truth, I, Er Gou, grew up in Qingyang Mountain. For more than 20 years, I have gone up the mountain every month to worship Buddha and burn incense. Several times I have even seen the masters drinking with the Buddha statues."

"Wine for immortals? Is this why they don't use external yeast?"

Qin Huai's heart stirred, and he directly pulled out the Killing Department's waist token, slowly saying, "I am a soldier of the Killing Department, ordered to come to Wenshu Monastery to slay evil spirits. You run an inn in town, so you must be very well-informed. Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

"Hey! Shopkeeper, my savior has arrived!"

Before Qin Huai could finish speaking, the waiter jumped up excitedly and shouted to the innkeeper, who was still behind the counter at the door, fiddling with gold coins.

Soon, the square table where Qin Huai was sitting was surrounded by people in three or four circles.

"When and how did you discover that something had happened at Wenshu Monastery?"

"Reporting to the magistrate, nine days ago, a devout man named Wang from the town took his family up the mountain to pray for blessings. They did not return for a long time. The guards waited for two days but did not receive any news. Realizing something was wrong, they set off to Wenshu Monastery to look for them. However, as soon as they arrived at the mountain gate, three of them were devoured by evil spirits. Only two of them escaped back in a sorry state and urgently reported to the magistrate. That's how we met you."

The innkeeper was literate and respected among the townspeople. He quickly explained the ins and outs of the matter.

"What does that evil spirit look like?"

Qin Huai turned to look at the two Wang family guards who had managed to escape.

"The gate! It's the mountain gate! The mountain gate of Wenshu Monastery has come back to life!"

A tall, pale-faced man, still shaken, gestured with his hands, saying, "It was so dark, it looked like a tiger's mouth. My second brother and the others were eaten as soon as they went in! We were a step too slow, and we could clearly hear the beasts chewing on flesh and bones, and smell the pungent stench of blood! If the mountain gate hadn't been immovable, we probably wouldn't have made it back!"

"Evil spirits at the mountain gate? No wonder you dare to hold a market at the foot of the mountain."

After hearing the explanation, Qin Huai looked enlightened. He asked a few more questions and, after confirming that the townspeople did not know anything more, bought two chickens and a donkey and headed towards Wenshu Monastery along the mountain path.

Half an hour later, Qin Huai, carrying an old donkey on his shoulder, two chickens in his hand, and a sword at his waist, finally saw the gate of Wenshu Monastery.

Putting down the donkey and chicken used for scouting, Qin Huai subconsciously looked at the couplets on both sides of the mountain gate.

Its wisdom and virtue pervade heaven and earth, and its traditions transcend time.

"This Zen Master Cidu is quite wise."

After looking around outside the mountain gate for a while and noticing anything unusual, Qin Huai picked up a chicken and threw it into the dark, empty gate.

A rooster squawked in agony, followed by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, and then the sounds of wild beasts gnawing on flesh and chewing bones.

Qin Huai took out a tinderbox, lit it, and threw it into the empty gate. He found that in the Heavenly King Hall, which was built in the same place as the mountain gate, there were two statues bending over and tearing at chicken carcasses. Their heads were buried very low, which looked quite creepy.

"Clay sculptures, the two guardian deities?"

Perhaps sensing Qin Huai's gaze, the two burly generals, Heng and Ha, raised their heads, revealing their faces. However, they showed no sign of majesty or anger. Instead, their features appeared as if they had been splashed with strong acid, their faces completely blurred and indistinct, leaving only two irregular black holes.

Within that black hole, the size of an infant's fist, flickered an uncertain, glowing red light.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

The well-traveled Qin Huai was not intimidated by the two clay statues. He immediately snorted and stepped into the room. His Qingfeng sword flashed with silver starlight as he slashed at the heads of the two generals, who were much larger than him.

Because of the incense offerings made year-round, the entire room was filled with a rich sandalwood scent, while the clay statue with its indistinct features was illuminated by the faint light of the tinderbox, appearing and disappearing in the darkness.

clang!
A crisp metallic clang, accompanied by a shower of sparks, echoed through the gatehouse. Qin Huai gazed at the two generals, Heng and Ha, who had collapsed to the ground, their bodies severed. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the glowing red light in their eye sockets was actually the still-burning, thick incense sticks.

As Qin Huai made his move, severing the connection between its head and body, the sandalwood incense that had been lodged in its eye socket was completely extinguished and fell silent.

"That's it?"

Qin Huai raised an eyebrow; things were much simpler than he had imagined.

Just then, a gust of evil wind came from the side. Qin Huai subconsciously leaned back and did a backbend, and his True Qi surged out of his body, transforming into a burst of flames that illuminated the surroundings.

Qin Huai then discovered that there were not only two freely moving clay statues of the two generals Heng and Ha in the gate hall, but also five larger and more oppressive evil spirits on both sides.

The couplet on both sides of the left-hand niche reads: "The Buddha with a large belly, who dwells in the Tushita Heaven, is now in power; the Buddha with a smiling face, who will appear in the world in the future." The Buddha enshrined on the lotus seat is clearly a Buddha with a large belly, but what he holds in his hand is not the common gold ingot, but a huge gourd.

On the right are the Four Heavenly Kings, their postures and expressions vividly portrayed, whether angry or hateful, they are lifelike. The evil wind that just attacked Qin Huai was the magic sword thrown by the Heavenly King of Growth.

These five clay statues have complete faces, unlike the two guardian generals whose eye sockets are hollow and incense sticks are burning inside. As they move, a unique scent emerges from the strong sandalwood incense.

Qin Huai twitched his nose and asked inexplicably, "Is it wine?"

(End of this chapter)