Chapter 388: The Scabby-Headed Monk! The Court of Judicial Review Official! Wenhua Temple! Master Xingyin! A Demon in Disguise!

Li Yanchu returned to Qingyun Temple.

With Lady Yun now helping out at the Taiping Inn, business had grown even more prosperous with guests coming and going, laughter and chatter filling the halls. And yet, amidst that bustle, Qingyun Temple remained a place of rare tranquility, a haven of stillness set right in the heart of the city’s noise.

Back at the temple, Li Yanchu resumed his martial cultivation, training in both fist and saber. By now, the three martial arts manuals he had practiced were all mastered to their highest level. He was preparing to enhance them once more with merit points.

At his current level, his martial attainments were far beyond that of common martial brutes; “body cultivator” was a more fitting title than mere “warrior.”

To enhance all three martial manuals required a total of six thousand merit points. The Six Yang Saber Art condensed from three forms into one single form, now called

Rage-Cleaving a Thousand Armies

. In Li Yanchu’s eyes, that meant every strike was a critical hit, and each slash struck harder than the one before it.

The Primordial Chaos Technique elevated his qi shield to an even greater level, each new layer added another shield of

astral qi

. At its peak, his entire body would be encased in it.

Moreover, it could absorb part of an enemy’s attack and convert it into more astral qi, meaning that if an opponent failed to break through it in one blow, they would only make his defense stronger.

The Divine Astral Hands evolved into three core offensive forms:

Crushing

,

Cleaving

, and

Cannon

. The

Crushing Fist

shot out like an arrow, the

Cleaving Fist

fell like an axe, and the

Cannon Fist

, well, its name spoke for itself, roaring with the power of thunderous artillery.

Each of the three martial arts contained methods for tempering the skin, muscles, bones, blood, and organs. After fully mastering them, his physical body was thoroughly refined, and he became a living weapon of flesh and spirit.

With the Bodhi Pills from Jinguang Temple replenishing his blood and vitality, which was far more potent than any tonic, Li Yanchu’s cultivation advanced like a tiger gaining wings.

Around three or four in the afternoon, Head Constable Wang from the Wei City

yamen

hurried over, breathless. “Daoist Master Li Yanchu! We’ve got news!”

Li Yanchu stopped his practice and looked at him calmly. “What have you found?”

Head Constable Wang said, “I sent men to Qingshui County to investigate. That Young Master Sun, Sun Yushu, he’s perfectly fine. Alive and well.”

Li Yanchu’s eyes flickered with surprise, and the next words out of Head Constable Wang’s mouth shocked him even more.

“Not only that, Miss Dong Xue is alive too! Safe and sound!”

Li Yanchu’s brows furrowed, his face darkening with a chilling stillness.

Dong Xue... is alive?

Then the woman he had met last night, who had wept, pleaded, and told him her tragic story, who was she?

The way she had spoken, the sorrow she carried, none of it had seemed false in the slightest. If what she said was true, then who were the Dong Xue and Sun Yushu currently living in Qingshui County?

Head Constable Wang said gravely, “Today happens to be the day of their wedding. The Dong and Sun families are both local gentry, well-connected in court. When my men went to make inquiries on this joyful day, they were nearly thrown out!”

Li Yanchu’s voice turned cold. “There’s something strange about this. We should go to Qingshui County ourselves and take a look.”

Head Constable Wang nodded firmly. “Alright. I’ll follow your lead.”

With Li Yanchu at his side, he felt reassured.

Qingshui County wasn’t far from Wei City. They took a boat down the Wei River and arrived before long.

The Sun residence wasn’t far from the dock. When they reached it, the entire manor was decked out in lanterns and red banners, brimming with festivity, clearly in the midst of a wedding celebration.

Head Constable Wang wore his official constable’s uniform with a long sword at his side, his presence commanding and stern. Li Yanchu, dressed in a flowing blue Daoist robe, was handsome and composed, his bearing that of an immortal descended to the mortal realm.

The gate servants dared not slight them.

The two men did not reveal their purpose, merely reported their names and titles. The servants exchanged a look, then one hurriedly led them inside.

Ordinary

yamen

officers could be ignored, but Head Constable Wang, the famed head constable of Wei City, was a man of considerable reputation, and the Daoist beside him, with such poise and presence, was clearly no common Daoist priest.

The Sun residence was built on auspicious ground and had a layout that gathered wind and water, with pavilions, rock gardens, and flowing ponds. Its feng shui was impeccable. They passed through several corridors and courtyards until they reached the inner garden where the wedding feast was held.

The air buzzed with joy and laughter; a bridal procession had just entered, and the bride and groom were about to bow to heaven and earth.

The groom, Sun Yushu, was a delicate-looking scholar. The bride’s figure was slender and graceful with a red veil covering her face so that her features could not be seen.

But Li Yanchu’s eyes glimmered with divine light, and he quietly invoked his Spirit Eyes and looked closer. In an instant, his expression hardened. That wasn’t a pair of young nobles at all, but two kolonoks in human guise.

Seeing this, his eyes turned cold as frost. So there were demons stirring up trouble!

Just then, a sudden commotion broke out at the gate. A scabby-headed monk[1], ignoring the servants’ attempts to stop him, barged straight in.

“Blind fools! I came here to exorcise demons, and you let that Daoist in but block me?!” The scabby-headed monk roared in anger, his temper fierce and unrestrained.

Truly a man with no eyes for rank. That young Daoist hadn’t shown any invitation either, yet this monk had been stopped while the Daoist was let through.

“What, just because he’s handsome he gets special treatment?!” The scabby-headed monk refused to accept that logic.

“Insolence! How dare you! Do you know whose estate this is?”

A stern middle-aged man barked out, his tone full of authority. He was none other than the magistrate of Qingshui County, the local father-mother official[2].

Around him were county officials, wealthy merchants, and prominent local figures, who were all now glaring furiously at the intruding monk.

The monk snorted coldly, “A bunch of blind fools! You don’t even recognize demons when you see them! Those two aren’t human at all, they’re a pair of kolonoks!”

At once, the entire hall erupted in chaos. “Guards! Throw this mad monk out!”

“How dare you speak such blasphemy on this joyous day!”

“Beat him!”

Several hot-blooded young men rolled up their sleeves and charged forward.

But the monk only straightened his back and said proudly, “I am an officer of the Court of Judicial Review, here to hunt down a demon! Which one of you dares lay a hand on me?”

The Court of Judicial Review!

That name alone was enough to intimidate.

But after a brief pause, the crowd’s shouting resumed, louder than before.

“Mad monk! You dare spout nonsense and slander the imperial court, arrest him!”

“‘Officer of the Court of Judicial Review,’ you say? Since when did the Court of Judicial Review take in lunatics like you?”

The scabby-headed monk’s mouth twitched in anger, and he bellowed, “Once I’ve subdued this demon, I’ll settle accounts with the rest of you!”

Whoosh

!

He tore the Buddhist prayer beads from his neck and hurled them straight toward the bride and groom. The beads shot forth with astonishing speed, like a streak of golden light.

But, the delicate-looking groom merely raised his hand and caught the beads steadily, without the slightest effort.

The monk’s brows furrowed deeply. “Demon! Your cultivation...!”

The groom, Sun Yushu, gave a cold, mocking laugh. “Where did this mad monk crawl out from? Spouting lies and confusion, you’re the real demon here!”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. But now, many of the guests’ eyes flickered with doubt.

After all, the young master of the Sun family was a scholar, not a martial artist. Yet he had just caught a set of prayer beads infused with fierce Buddhist energy as if it were nothing. Those with sharper minds began to look uneasy.

The magistrate of Qingshui County quietly took two steps back, as self-preservation came first for men of letters.

Old Master Sun, the groom’s father, stepped forward with a solemn face. “Master, from which temple do you come? On what grounds do you accuse my son of being a demon? What proof do you have?”

The scabby-headed monk gave a harsh laugh. “I’m a disciple of Master Xingyin, of Wenhua Temple. If you don’t believe me, send someone to Wenhua Temple and see for yourself!”

Then his tone darkened, sharp as a saber. “But as for you, your son was killed by a demon long ago, and here you are helping that very fiend hold a wedding feast!”

Old Master Sun’s expression changed drastically.

Wenhua Temple was a renowned monastery, and Master Xingyin was a highly revered elder of the Buddhist world, widely respected for his virtue and cultivation.

But then again...

This scabby-headed monk before them, so shabby, with his scabbed scalp and ragged robes, could such a man truly be that great master’s disciple?

1. “Laitou” is a noun referring to a person suffering from yellowish scabs on their scalp.☜

2. “Father–mother official” was an honorific title in ancient China for local administrators at the prefectural or county level. It comes from the idea that “the people are like one’s children,” emphasizing that officials should care for the populace as parents would. In modern contexts, however, some people dislike this term, arguing that it is actually the common people who are the true providers and supporters of government officials. ☜