Chapter 69 Rotten

"Moth..."

Lin Chengye stared at the last word on the first page for a long time. Even though the sun was already high in the sky and there was a slight warmth, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Bian Yi's letter was very long; she didn't have time to count how many pages it had, and hurriedly took out the next one.

"This thing is extremely evil, but it has only one use: it can make people lose their minds and reason, turning them into ignorant and mindless puppets. Therefore, in the past, the Wuma lineage had a bad reputation in the martial arts world and was despised by the righteous path. These are all old stories, so I will not go into them for now. My knowledge is also limited, so I will only briefly recount some of the rotten things I have heard."

The woodlice are truly strange insects. Only the secret techniques of the Wuma family can subdue and control them. Legend has it that the method by which this creature is conceived is extremely bizarre and bloody.

Legend has it that in ancient times, woodworms were ordinary insects. The Wuma family used a secret technique to implant the insect's eggs into a human body for gestation. If the host died, a new body would be chosen to continue the gestation. This cycle continued for hundreds of years until a mother woodworm was finally born.

"Could such a bizarre thing really exist in this world?"

The words "human feeding" immediately flashed through Lin Chengye's mind, and she couldn't help but clench her hands tightly. This time, her fingernails truly dug into her palms, piercing her skin and flesh, and bloodstains fell on Bian Yi's letter, soaking the ink.

She didn't understand what the word "human" meant to the Wuma family. It seemed to be just a skin, a lump of flesh, something that could be used as feed for insects or discarded at will.

But that's not the case. Beneath those skins lie vibrant souls, so how can they be treated like mere plants? No wonder the Wuma family is despised by the martial arts world; they don't treat people as human beings, and their methods are cruel and bloody. How can they be accepted by others?

"...I know very little about the rest, especially the connection between the mother and son insects, and how they control people's souls, which are difficult to fathom. However, the key to this is probably of utmost importance to you."

But Chengye, do you still remember when I mentioned the Hundred Knowledge Tea House?

It just so happens that you are in the Land of a Thousand Buddhas, which is not far from this sect. I have attached a map below. I don't know if you can identify it, but perhaps you can go and visit to explore the opportunity.

Please remember: their customs are different; they only open their gates after 9 PM.

Sure enough, Lin Chengye turned to another page, on which a simple diagram was drawn with just a few strokes.

A river called Sushui runs through the middle. To the south, a square is drawn with the words "Linsu City." To the north, a circle is drawn with the words "Thousand Buddha Kingdom." To the west, several large vertical ink dots are drawn across the edge. Near the Sushui River, she drew a conspicuous cross with the words "Baixiao Inn."

"Does that mean we just need to go west along the Sushui River?"

Lin Chengye examined the ink dots several times but still couldn't understand their meaning, so he simply gave up, put the map in his pocket, and put it away.

That's it?

Lin Chengye flipped through the other letters again, making sure nothing was missing, and then sighed.

The letter bore the name Cheng Ye. Just to be safe, Lin Cheng Ye folded the papers and burned them over a candle. As she watched the papers engulfed in flames, she thought of the two corpses lying in the fire the night before, and her heart ached again. Their story had ended so abruptly, without even their bodies being able to be buried.

In the land of the Thousand Buddha Kingdom, many winters have passed like this, and the royal family remains indifferent, with no one offering a solution. Just thinking about it fills one with anger and helplessness. No wonder the people here constantly pray to gods and ghosts; they probably have no one else to turn to but the gods and ghosts.

There was still some time before the Lunar New Year, which meant he would have to stay at Yongfo Temple for the time being. Without much hesitation, Lin Chengye decided to go to Baixiao Inn tonight.

She realized that this time she really had to rely on herself, without even anyone to help her. Lin Chengye couldn't help but feel a little annoyed and muttered to himself.

"This letter is bad."

"...and they didn't even ask me how I was doing."

...

"aunt."

Around 9:00 AM, Wei Jingchen entered the Princess's bedroom, stood by the bed, and looked at the figure putting on her outer garment through the golden curtains, gently calling out to her.

As if nothing had happened before, and it wasn't the first time she had stood in this spot, it was the first time she felt that even though it was only three steps away, it was like the two banks of a river. The sight of the princess's back seemed to be through the mist rising from the river, so unfamiliar and unreal.

She arrived quite early, but Hua Shi, another personal maid of the Princess, told her that Her Highness was still asleep and asked her to wait in the side hall. Wei Jingchen shook his head and said that he would just stand in the plum grove and admire the plum blossoms.

The coldness of the snow and the fragrance of the plum blossoms almost permeated her very being. Wei Jingchen became much more sober, and the anger from yesterday was nowhere to be found on her face, replaced by an almost indifferent calmness.

She shouldn't have acted so impulsively, but yesterday's events exposed the royal family's incompetence to outsiders. As a member of the family, she felt ashamed and indignant. It also made her unable to deceive herself any longer, allowing her to see clearly that beneath the surface of Lai Kingdom's prosperity, there were parasites slowly eroding its foundation.

Wei Jingchen raised his hand, broke off a plum blossom, and crushed it into powder with a forceful movement of his palm.

She didn't know what the person behind it all wanted to do.

However, if humanity is lost, and if the common people are treated as worthless as grass and trees, this small boat will sink sooner or later, and the city walls will also collapse, not to mention what will become of the Lai Kingdom.

"You remembered my words that day, asking you to come visit me often."

After getting dressed, the princess walked out barefoot from behind the curtain. Ignoring all etiquette, she took Wei Jingchen's hand and led him to the dining table. She gestured for Hua Shi to serve the dishes.

The last words the eldest princess said to her were clearly an attempt to win her over. After all, everyone in the palace knew that among the three princes, the crown prince had a very close relationship with the emperor, and the second prince had no interest in vying for power, having long ago requested to leave the palace and return to his fiefdom of Luoshui County.

Only the Third Prince has never shown any intimacy with anyone.

“Jingchen was immature before, but he will definitely come to visit his aunt more often in the future.”

Wei Jingchen lowered her eyes, concealing her gloom. She didn't understand why the Eldest Princess was sending her such a signal at this moment. After all, over the years, the Eldest Princess and His Majesty's distant attitude towards her had been an open secret in the palace.

What is she doing here now? What does she have that the Princess needs? Wei Jingchen felt a headache coming on. The matter of the ghost illness was still unresolved, and now the Princess was up to no good. It was all a mess.

"Something's on your mind."

The eldest princess stated this in a calm tone. She smiled slightly, took a sip of the snow-white soup that Huashi had brought, and asked.

"Speak, what do you want to ask?"

The Snow Cloud Soup was decorated with four pieces of tender tofu topped with red plum blossoms. The soup base was bright red, but Wei Jingchen inexplicably felt that the soup looked more like blood, which was quite frightening.

“Aunt, you have keen eyes. Jingchen has learned that there is a strange disease in the Thousand Buddha Kingdom called the Ghost Disease. What exactly is it? Is it a threat to you, Aunt?”

Wei Jingchen pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, so he simply spoke frankly. Since everything was still shrouded in mystery, he might as well take it one step at a time. Once he had pulled out the claws extended by the person behind the scenes, he wouldn't have to worry about that person not leaving any traces.

"It poses no threat to me. Yongfo Temple has the Hall of Many Treasures guarding it, and the gods must be protecting this place. Yet, no one has ever contracted this disease before. However, I roughly know that this disease started after my father's death, which was the 49th year of Zhenping."

The princess paused, then suddenly seemed to remember something interesting and chuckled.

"However, the people were in a terrible state, terrified and afraid to approach, saying that the corpse would rot and stink if buried in the ground. So I chose a special person according to their wishes, appointed her as a sorceress, and sent her to deal with the corpse. I heard that the sorceress is really not an ordinary person, and is still alive to this day."

The 49th year of Zhenping.

It's that year again. Wei Jingchen frowned and tapped his knee a few times with his fingers.

The princess's other words seemed to have no effect. Wei Jingchen chatted with her casually for a few more minutes, then got up to take his leave, but as he was about to leave, he glanced subtly at the maid Hua Shi, who was standing to the side with her head down.

But it was only for a moment; Wei Jingchen quickly withdrew his gaze and strode out.

The princess rested her chin on her hand, watching Wei Jingchen's departing figure, then suddenly narrowed her eyes and slowly spoke.

"Huashi, which of these three princes do you think is the most intelligent?"

"This servant dares not speak recklessly."

Upon hearing this, the personal maid, Hua Shi, knelt on the ground, but her expression showed little respect as she replied indifferently.

"However, this servant believes that whichever one Her Highness the Princess favors is the wisest."

"You really know how to talk."

The eldest princess managed a few hoarse laughs.

"I still like Jingchen the most. He's smart, generous, and even humble. It's rare to find someone with such talent in this Wei family."

"Forgive my impertinence, Your Highness, but why do you need another prince? His Majesty's health is poor, you..."

Hua Shi knelt upright, gazing devoutly upwards. Her expression was almost one of madness, extreme; her dark eyes reflected only the swirling gold gauze draped over the man's arm.

"Only you dare to speak the truth. Your sister has become much more distant from me."

The sudden birth of the eldest princess interrupted Huashi's words. She bent down, ran her thumb across Huashi's face, and suddenly uttered a remark that was difficult to understand.

"The surname Wei... is really nice."

She then asked another question.

"Flower Stone, would you die for me?"

"Your Highness, why must you do this? Huashi and my sister's lives were saved by Your Highness. Since we live because of Your Highness, we should die for Your Highness."

Hua Shi would never forget that day. She and her sister were also in a snowy winter, barely clothed, their bellies filled with clods of earth and grass roots. She wanted to cry, but had no strength. Her sister held her tightly and whispered, "It's alright, it's alright. There are gods in the Thousand Buddha Kingdom. We've come this far. The gods won't let us starve."

They would freeze to death. Hua Shi refuted her sister in her heart. She didn't believe in God. If there were gods, why would they have to suffer so much in their lives? But then she thought, if she could die with her sister, perhaps it would be a blessing from the gods.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and in her hazy state, she suddenly smelled a delicate fragrance. She felt someone pick her up, and soft silk wrapped around her frostbitten feet. She craved this warmth and desperately burrowed into the person's arms.

"Your name is Qingquan, and your sister's name is Qinghe." The man seemed amused by her, and his clear voice rang in her ears, like a refreshing spring.

When Hua Shi opened her eyes, she saw the face of the Princess, so perfect and gentle that nothing in the world could match her.

From that time on, Huashi believed that there really were gods in the world, and that the person in front of him was a god sent down from heaven to save humanity.

Hua Shi bowed and spoke once more.

"Whether I am called Qingquan or Huashi, I belong to you."

"Just kidding, I wouldn't be willing to do that."

The princess withdrew her hand and said with a faint smile.

...

"That maid named Huashi just now...did you get a good look at her face?"

After Wei Jingchen left, she suddenly started talking to herself. She beckoned, and Jiang Heng immediately reappeared beside Wei Jingchen from who-knows-where. She nodded.

"I see clearly, it has four-tenths similarity to the blue stone, they must be sisters."

"Okay. You keep an eye on her; I find something strange about her."

Wei Jingchen's eyes were icy as she glanced back at the Bodhi House behind her. Whether it was her imagination or not, she could smell a faint scent of blood in the frigid air, emanating from the very spot where she had just emerged.

"Does Your Highness suspect that maid?"

Jiang Heng asked in a low voice, somewhat surprised.

"But...why?"

“I noticed that there seemed to be some red bruising at the base of her nails.”

Wei Jingchen rubbed his forehead; the red mark was extremely small.

"But the Snow Cloud Soup that the Princess ate today seems to be made of plum blossoms and tofu, and the red color may be left over from processing the plum blossoms."

Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"you're right."

Wei Jingchen patted Jiang Heng on the shoulder approvingly.

"It's just a guess, an intuition."

"Be careful in everything you do. If you are discovered, leave immediately and don't worry about me. Although I haven't seen any guards with Aunt, we still have to be careful."

"yes."

Jiang Heng didn't ask any more questions. In her eyes, Wei Jingchen was almost... She clasped her hands together, bowed slightly, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

...

Meanwhile, the shaman's house was unusually lively.

"Ouch, that hurts. Lou Sanbai, be gentle."

Lin Chengye sat in the chair, grinning, but he couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips. The sorceress, however, stopped smiling and paced back and forth angrily. Since she couldn't walk fast, she could only express her displeasure by thumping her peach wood cane on the ground.

In fact, Lin Chengye looked quite disheveled. She had a deep cut on her forehead and several open wounds on her arms, which had just been cleaned and treated with herbal medicine, filling the small room with the bitter smell of medicine.

"Serves you right! Serves you right! Who told you to act like that?"

This made the sorceress even angrier. She angrily raised her cane, about to strike Lin Chengye, but stopped abruptly and only lightly tapped him on the head.

She couldn't bear it. The sorceress looked at Lin Chengye, her eyes unconsciously softening and brimming with tears.

An extremely intelligent yet very stupid child.

This child was rejected by the entire Kingdom of Thousand Buddhas from day one.

After all, the people here believe that ghostly illness is a punishment from heaven, a consequence of the dead offending the majesty of the gods, and that they deserve it. Anyone who questions this order, anyone who dares to break it, is labeled an outcast or a madman.

Just like she was back then.

But it was different. Lin Chengye wasn't as confused or fearful as her. She used the most unruly and arrogant methods to unreasonably tear away the disguise of the entire Thousand Buddha Kingdom.

It also tore off her mask of feigning madness and charlatanry.

...

Lou Sanbai was startled awake this morning.

"Your gods are dead! Your gods are dead!"