Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Another false god." Zhang He used both hands to ruffle his hair into a mess. "Have we been fighting with false gods lately? How come we keep running into things like this everywhere we go?"
Pei Xuanji did not go down into the ant nest during the Gejiabao case and did not witness the demeanor of the ant queen. Therefore, she could not empathize with the worries of her two companions. She only saw that they looked unwell and felt uneasy.
She hesitated, "Should we report this to Ji Ren? Or should we—"
Or should we investigate this ourselves privately?
Li Zhi tapped the table lightly with one hand, pondering every step since arriving in Jiangbei Prefecture.
He was somewhat doubtful. Did Ji Ren really have such audacity? Would a man so obsessed with power allow a false god to create such a great disaster right under his nose, affecting his career?
Did he know about it or not?
With his mind racing, Li Zhi looked up at his companions, who had also fallen silent.
Pei Xuanji was young and impetuous, and only wanted to exorcise demons and seek the truth. She couldn't tolerate any falsehoods. Since she had already developed doubts about Ji Ren, she was unwilling to trust this chief of the Strange People Temple in Jiangbei Prefecture anymore.
Zhang He didn't have as many ideals and ambitions as Pei Xuanji. He was easygoing and would naturally take on any case that came his way if it came up. However, he was unwilling to challenge the authority of his superiors and seek trouble for himself.
There are three of them, and what they want to do requires the agreement of two of their partners.
At this moment, Pei Xuanji and Zhang He also looked at him.
Li Zhi easily understood the message conveyed in their eyes.
For some reason, Li Zhi burst out laughing.
The two companions were taken aback, looking helplessly at Li Zhi, who was usually calm and taciturn, who suddenly burst into laughter.
"Old Li, what's wrong with you?" Zhang He asked, his eyes wide.
Pei Xuanji thought of getting up to draw a talisman: "Could it be that ghost he mentioned..."
Li Zhi waved to Pei Xuanji.
He stopped laughing, stood up, and bent down.
Li Zhi leaned on the table, looked at his companions from left to right, and said softly, "If we follow the broken rules of the Temple of Strange People, we should naturally report the matter and wait for the superiors to pass the buck. Finally, we found a middle-of-the-road solution to resolve this trouble."
Pei Xuanji's eyes dimmed, and she murmured, "This is naturally the safest approach—"
Before she could finish speaking, Li Zhi continued, "If I were already the age of Zhang Tianshi, I would have chosen this path more prudently. But I am only eighteen this year, young and ambitious, and I am not willing to take the path that most people take."
After Li Zhi finished speaking, Pei Xuanji was deeply moved. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, saying, "That makes sense! Haven't we done something like that before? Back in Xiandu Prefecture, if we had followed the proper procedures and handed over the clues to our superiors, waiting for their decision, would the ant nest in Gejiabao have been wiped out so quickly?"
She finished speaking quickly, then looked at Zhang He and provoked him, saying, "Of course, this is an impulsive act by us juniors, and we are not forcing our seniors."
Now only Zhang He was left sitting in the chair. Helplessly, he stood up as well, pointed at Li Zhi and Pei Xuanji, and said speechlessly, "Little Pei, don't try to provoke me. I'm really confused. What did I do to offend you two? One of you says I'm too old, and the other says I lack drive. How worthless am I in your eyes?"
“I did a lot of ridiculous things when I was young, don’t do that in front of me.” Zhang He held up a finger and waved it in front of the two younger men. “What real gods and false gods? Old Zhang just finds it troublesome, Old Zhang isn’t afraid.”
The three of them smiled at each other, sat down again, and discussed the matter carefully.
This discussion lasted another hour. When Li Zhi finally returned to his room, Baozhu was already sleeping soundly on the bed, her soft belly exposed.
Li Zhi hurriedly went over, but when he got to the bedside, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether he should cover her with a blanket or let her turn over and lie down to sleep.
Hesitating, he had been staring at Baozhu for a long time without moving.
The fox was fast asleep, showing no sign of waking up at all.
She was sleeping so comfortably, why should she have to sleep according to Li Zhi's idea? Li Zhi smiled and thought to himself that his temperament was really too strange.
So he turned around, cleaned himself up, and got into bed.
Li Zhi, lying on the bed, looked up at the ceiling, not sleepy at all.
He was still immersed in the feeling he had just experienced, feeling that there were endless possibilities ahead, just like an eighteen-year-old boy.
Baozhu beside her stirred, as if she were dreaming of something, her ears twitching incessantly.
Li Zhi turned around and faced Baozhu.
“You need to grow up,” Li Zhi said almost silently. “And I need to be young again. Perhaps we should all change.”
Whether Baozhu heard it or not, her ears relaxed, and her breathing became slow and long.
Seeing how adorable she was, Li Zhi couldn't help but move closer to her and hug her.
The fox followed Li Zhi's movements, her eyes still closed, and mumbled, "You're back. The court session ended so late today."
After saying that, she skillfully found the most comfortable position to lean against his chest and continued to fall asleep.
"Silly fox."
Li Zhi looked at her helplessly, then lowered his head and kissed her ear affectionately.
The following day, after Li Zhi and the others reported to the government office, they split up and took action according to their discussion the previous night.
Li Zhi sought out a colleague in the Ministry of Finance who was in charge of financial expenditures, and with Zhao Jia's name, he drew a sum of money and then used the government office to buy a horse.
After leaving the yamen, Li Zhi rode his horse alone to Zhao Jia's residence to find him.
For some unknown reason, Zhao Jia did not come to the yamen today to hear his subordinates' reports.
When Li Zhi arrived at the Zhao residence's reception room after being guided by the servants, he finally understood the reason for Zhao Jia's absence that day.
Zhao Jia still had some alcohol on his face, and it was unclear whether he had been drinking all night. When he heard the servant report that Li Zhi had come alone on horseback, a look of pleasure appeared on his face. He praised, "I always thought you were a good kid. You're young, talented, and literate, a scholar. I thought you would be arrogant, but it seems you're quite pragmatic."
After praising me, he slowly asked, "What brings you here?"
Li Zhi respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Team Leader Zhao told me about the matter of the Misty Water last time, saying that we should not act rashly. However, I encountered a strange incident at Sanzhen Mountain and I really can't make up my mind."
When Li Zhi mentioned Xiaoshui, Zhao Jia's expression became more serious. When Sanzhen Mountain was mentioned, his expression became solemn. He looked Li Zhi up and down with his bloodshot eyes and asked, without asking anything else, "Is this strange event known only to you?"
Li Zhi said decisively, "Remembering the team leader's teachings, I didn't say a word to anyone else."
Zhao Jia grunted and said in a deep voice, "The things on the mountain are not something a newcomer like you can criticize. Remember to be careful with your words and actions."
After saying that, Zhao Jia paused and asked suspiciously, "However, I remember that the area you were in charge of patrolling was not near Sanzhen Mountain."
"This story begins with the strange event I encountered."
Li Zhi recounted Lianxin's story again, omitting Baozhu, Yuanyuan, and Ji Ren, and focusing solely on Lianxin.
In conclusion, Li Zhi explained that before Lianxin passed away, she said she came from Sanzhen Mountain, which is why he wanted to go up the mountain to explore.
As Zhao Jia listened to the strange tales told by Li Zhi, his expression changed dramatically and was quite fascinating. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard about Lianxin's passing.
Just as he was about to say something, Li Zhi spoke up again, saying that when he reached the foot of Sanzhen Mountain and was about to go up, he met another group of colleagues.
Zhao Jia asked, "Who is it?"
Li Zhi observed his expression and described the characteristics of his three colleagues.
“Oh, it’s them.” Zhao Jia stroked his short mustache, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and looked at Li Zhi. “This matter needs further consideration. You must not tell anyone else, especially not some young master from the capital. He’ll just spend a few days at the Yiren Temple to broaden his horizons, and then go back to being her young lady, coming and going as he pleases. There’s no future in following her.”
Li Zhi nodded in agreement, then asked with a hint of doubt, "This Three True Mountains..."
"The affairs in the mountains are quite complex. We do whatever we are told to do. This matter is not under my jurisdiction. However, the fact that you encountered a ghost in charge of this matter shows that he is not managing it well. I had something to say to Chief Commander Ji." Zhao Jia talked on and on, but did not mention the point that Li Zhi wanted to hear.
Li Zhi hesitated and asked, "Is this related to a natural disaster?"
Zhao Jia was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "What does this have to do with anything? It's unrelated. You're overthinking things. There are people on the mountain keeping an eye on things; how could they cause such a big mess?"
His words and actions were reflected in Li Zhi's eyes. Li Zhi lowered his eyes and pondered carefully, and then he carefully distinguished the truth from the falsehood.
He bid farewell to Zhao Jia and left the Zhao residence.
On his way back to find his companions, Li Zhi had already made up his mind.
The incident on the mountain implicated high-ranking officials throughout Jiangbei Prefecture, mostly using the goddess's name to traffic people. Hundreds of thousands of residents in Jiangbei Prefecture, due to the superstition of the goddess's protection, even those who loved their children would vie to send them to the goddess's side to enjoy blessings, and countless children fell into her clutches.
The temple of strange people was responsible for cleaning up all the ghosts who died unjustly and refused to enter the cycle of reincarnation that arose on and around Sanzhen Mountain.
They had been operating this way for a long time without any problems, and were confident that the sudden drought had nothing to do with the Shennv Temple.
Upon hearing about the strange events Li Zhi had encountered, Zhao Jia's first thought was to use this information to increase his leverage in Jiangbei Prefecture and suppress his colleagues, completely disregarding the connection between the natural disaster and the Goddess Temple.
Li Zhi tapped the air lightly with his fingers as a thought crossed his mind.
If that's the case, where exactly did the anomaly occur?
He looked up towards the direction of Sanzhen Mountain. Zhao Jia's residence was located on a high ground in Jiangbei Prefecture. From where Li Zhi had come from, one could see a bit of Sanzhen Mountain.
On Mount Sanzhen, a goddess is enshrined in a temple. Is she a goddess or a demon?
After nightfall, Li Zhi and the other two gathered in Pei Xuanji's courtyard and sorted the many talismans that she and Zhang He had prepared during the day into their satchels.
Zhang He glanced at the chest on Li Zhi's back, said nothing, but took a peach wood sword and handed it to him, saying, "Do you know how to use it?"
"I know a little." Li Zhi took it from his hand.
"This time, everything is under my command. I don't care what you two think of me. After all, I am the strongest and most experienced of the three. Let me make this clear from the start: those who don't listen to me don't need to go up the mountain," Zhang He said sternly, frowning.
"Understood," Pei Xuanji nodded.
Zhang He stared at Li Zhi with wide eyes, and Li Zhi obediently replied, "Yes."
Zhang He was finally able to relax a little.
After midnight, when the night was deep and quiet, the three of them quietly slipped out of the Ji residence under the cover of talismans.
Li Zhi and his companions moved through the shadows until they reached a section of city wall.
“This is it,” Baozhu whispered behind him.
Li Zhi then turned to the two Celestial Masters and said, "Go out from here."
After saying that, he took the lead and crawled into the hole that ordinary people could not see.
The hole dug by the weasel was neat and slippery. Li Zhi felt himself sliding a long distance in the hole before his feet finally touched solid ground.
Li Zhi stood up and looked up. The Three Realms Mountain stood silently and lonely before him in the night.
A moment later, a cry of pain came from behind Li Zhi. Pei Xuanji had lost her balance and rolled headfirst out of the cave, falling to the ground.
Li Zhi quickly stepped forward, grabbed her foot, and dragged her to the side.
Sure enough, Zhang He appeared in mid-air the next moment. When he landed, he lost his footing and almost stepped on Pei Xuanji's head.
Pei Xuanji was dragged aside by Li Zhi and got up with her mouth full of mud.
As she spat mud outwards, she looked at the Sanzhen Mountain at night and said with a sigh, "It really looks a bit scary."
Brushing the mud off her clothes, Pei Xuanji said to her companions, "I'm all ready, let's go."
“I can smell Yuanyuan’s scent. She’s right next to me.” Just as Li Zhi was about to leave, he suddenly heard Baozhu say from behind him.
He was taken aback, his gaze sweeping over the desolate land around him, but Li Zhi found nothing.
That child, having taken a weasel spirit as his godmother, was indeed somewhat different.
Li Zhi simply said, "Come out, I see you."
The companions walking ahead were taken aback and quickly looked around.
A small, thin figure stood up from the shadow of the small mound in front of her. She had washed her face, and by looking at only the intact side of her face, one could already make out some of her original features.
Yuan Yuan is actually quite pretty; if he didn't smear his face with black, he wouldn't look like a boy.
Pei Xuanji gasped, exclaiming in surprise, "How could you... you actually..."
Yuanyuan sneered and said, "Why are you so surprised? I've been waiting here for a long time, and I've finally found you. I know where you want to go. I'm from there. Come with me."
In front of the Celestial Master, she was calm and composed, as if she were not the same person as the girl Baozhu had met.
Baozhu whispered, somewhat puzzled, "Why would she be waiting for you here? You clearly don't know this place, I've only seen her once. Does she know about my relationship with you?"
Yuan Yuan, who was in front, glanced at Li Zhi from head to toe, pursed her lips, and without waiting for the Celestial Masters to answer, walked towards Sanzhen Mountain on her own.
Li Zhi exchanged a glance with his companions and followed.
He took a moment to turn back and whisper to Baozhu, "The weasel spirit probably has more than just the ability to dig holes; she must also have a keen sense of smell. The first time she saw you, she could smell my scent on you."
Baozhu suddenly realized that she could smell Yuanyuan's scent, and so could Yuanyuan, but she only saw that Yuanyuan was a mortal and overlooked that fact.
Once she understood this, she recalled the girl's words and actions in front of her, which seemed to be leading the Celestial Masters step by step to discover the secrets of Sanzhen Mountain.
Furthermore, if a Celestial Master is unwilling to delve into the matter, even if he hears what Baozhu says, he won't do anything. Only a Celestial Master who is truly obsessed with the case and has justice in his heart will appear here as Yuanyuan thought.
Baozhu was a little confused for a moment.
Which side of Yuanyuan, this ordinary girl, is the real her?
Yuanyuan was indeed very familiar with Sanzhen Mountain. The mountain did not look very tall from a distance, but once you stepped on it, you could feel how difficult it was to climb. If the three celestial masters were to climb it blindfolded, they probably would not reach the top of the mountain by dawn.
Not to mention, in the desolate mountain forest, the spiritual energy of magic arrays and talismans could still be faintly seen flickering.
Yuanyuan knew every stone on the mountain that she could step on firmly, and she knew how to climb up the mountain with less effort. She had obviously repeatedly evaded the Taoist priests, going up and down the mountain.
She led a few people up the mountain via a shortcut, avoiding the magic arrays and traps set up by the Taoist masters of Jiangbei Prefecture. They narrowly escaped without alerting anyone and arrived at the Goddess Temple on the mountain after nearly an hour.
This was an unremarkable temple, no different from the ones the three of them had seen in famous mountains.
The temple gate is inscribed with the three large characters "Goddess Temple". Due to the recent drought, the large incense burner at the entrance, where worshippers offer incense, is empty.
Yuanyuan pointed to the main gate and said, "Usually, when people come to offer incense, they go through this main gate. Further ahead is a main hall, which houses a statue of the goddess. There are also two side halls, but they're empty. And further back—"
At this point, Yuanyuan paused for a moment, seemingly lost in pain.
Seeing this, Pei Xuanji gently reached out and patted her back.
Yuanyuan took a deep breath and continued, "Further on, the children that the divine servants brought back from the Misty River lived. It was near the back mountain. They dug a large hole down there, and the children lived in it. When they grew up and their faces were clearly visible, the good-looking ones were sold to brothels in the city, the less attractive ones but those who could work were sent to human slave traders, and the rest were buried in the back mountain after drinking a bowl of water."
After saying this, Yuanyuan's teeth were already chattering, whether from pain or hatred, she clenched her fists tightly, turned to look at the three adult Taoist masters in front of her, and calmly said, "Can you destroy this temple?"
Can they destroy this temple?
To be an enemy of the entire upper echelons of Jiangbei Prefecture, and to be an enemy of the faith in the hearts of the people of Jiangbei, let the goddess go where she belongs, and let the Xiaoshui River return to its tranquil state.
With three people, six hands, and a fox demon in the box, is it possible to do this?
Li Zhi took a deep breath and said softly, "Do everything in my power."
"Well said," the fox spirit's soft voice entered his ears as she praised him.
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