Bang, bang, bang!
Lu Ying knocked on the door three times before someone spoke impatiently through the crack, "What are you knocking for? This is the prince's private temple—no outsiders allowed!"
Lu Ying replied, "Taoist Priest Zhiping sent me with a message. He's encountered a minor problem at the Three Thoroughfares Inn and requests the temple head to come over."
The "Three Seconds" Taoist priest's religious name was Zhiping.
The door opened, and a Taoist priest wearing a black veil hat waved her inside.
The White Deer Temple was not large but carried an air of noble imperial grandeur. Two lifelike white deer statues stood in the corridor, and in the center of the courtyard was an Eight Trigrams altar with a sea lamp at its center. Covered by a glass lampshade, it remained lit year-round, regardless of wind, snow, or dust. The lamp burned expensive wax oil, consuming at least twenty jin daily—a testament to the temple's extravagance.
As she walked, Lu Ying silently memorized the temple's layout and orientation to sketch a map later. Following the priest, she entered the White Deer Hall, where two rows of priests in black robes sat, each looking quite robust. Lu Ying handed the letter written on a handkerchief to the temple head seated in the central deer-antler chair and recounted how Taoist Priest Zhiping had been caught in bed by Butcher Hu.
"...That's the situation. Taoist Priest Zhiping is being held at the Three Thoroughfares Inn by Butcher Hu, who demands payment in exchange for his release. Priest Zhiping gave me a silver coin to deliver this message. Whether you go or not, I need a definite answer to bring back to the inn."
"Outrageous!" The temple head slammed the handkerchief onto the table after reading the plea for help. "This Zhiping keeps stumbling over women and never learns! He's incorrigible—I bet he'll die because of a woman someday!"
Lu Ying thought to herself: Judging by the temple head's reaction, it seems Taoist Priest Zhiping's lustful missteps are nothing new.
The two rows of priests began voicing their opinions. Some advocated reconciliation: "Temple Head, please calm down. For now, we should quickly pay to rescue Brother Zhiping. Let's not lose more by clinging to less."
Others favored a hardline approach, refusing to compromise: "We can't pay. This is clearly a honey trap—Brother Zhiping fell into a scheme and got caught red-handed. Those street thugs see that Prince Jing has left for his fiefdom in Anlu and think the prince's residence is in decline, that we have no one backing us. They set up this trap so quickly to bully our White Deer Temple. If we obediently pay the ransom today, word will spread far and wide. Everyone will think the White Deer Temple is an easy target, and we'll face endless trouble. Today it's Butcher Hu, tomorrow it'll be Butcher Li—are we to be extorted forever?"
Some began taking sides: "Exactly! Are we, the priests of White Deer Temple, afraid of a mere butcher? Let's all go to the Three Thoroughfares Inn to rescue Brother Zhiping and teach that butcher a harsh lesson. Let's see who dares mess with us after this!"
"Count me in! I'll go too."
Yet others opposed: "Times have changed. What era is this? We can't assist Prince Jing, but we mustn't cause him trouble either. Brother Zhiping stumbled because of lust. After this ordeal, he'll surely learn his lesson, cultivate himself, and not cause any more trouble.""I second the motion. Although there are few pedestrians on the windy, sandy street, there are many onlookers at the Three Thoroughfares Inn. If word gets out, people will only say a group of Taoists bullied a butcher. The butcher caught the adulterers in the act, witnessed by all. If he goes to the yamen to accuse Taoist Zhiping of adultery with his wife, he has both reason and witnesses. When the yamen sends officers to arrest Taoist Zhiping for a court confrontation—wouldn’t that be even more troublesome?"
"Exactly. A little impatience spoils great plans. We must protect Senior Brother Zhiping. He’s suffered a great loss this time and surely won’t dare repeat such behavior."
Someone sneered, "If Senior Brother Zhiping didn’t lust after women, even sows would climb trees. He’s brought prostitutes in through the back door several times for illicit stays, turning the meditation room into a den of vice. I live next door and could hear the noises. He still denies it, hiding the prostitutes in cabinets. He’s a scourge who’ll ruin our White Deer Temple sooner or later! I say we don’t need to pay ransom—let that so-called Butcher Hu chop off his head, so we can finally have peace."
The implication was clear: eliminate the threat by borrowing Butcher Hu’s hand to kill the troublemaker.
Immediately, someone scolded, "You heartless ingrate! If Senior Brother Zhiping hadn’t picked you up off the streets back then, you’d probably still be begging with a broken bowl at the City God Temple!"
"It was Prince Jing who raised me, not Senior Brother Zhiping. Now His Highness is burdened by this man—why not discard the deadweight?"
The two sides began a war of words over whether to protect or abandon Zhiping. If Lu Ying hadn’t been present, they likely would have come to blows.
It seemed that after Prince Jing left for his fief, his chances of becoming crown prince had dwindled, causing unrest and division among his followers. With morale low, the team was hard to lead.
"Enough arguing!" The temple master stood up, making a final decision. "We’ll get him back first."
The temple master took the banknotes and, accompanied by his fellow disciples, followed Lu Ying in a grand procession to the Three Thoroughfares Inn. Commander Wu was unexpectedly sitting opposite Wang Daxia, raising glasses together, while Taoist Zhiping, bruised and swollen, crouched in a corner crying, "Temple Master, save me!"
Looking at the battered face before him, the temple master wouldn’t have recognized him if not for the familiar voice.
Seeing six people arrive, Commander Wu pushed his "wife" aside and held his butcher knife horizontally between them. "Well? Here to pay up or snatch him back? Bringing so many people—did you think Butcher Hu would fear you stinking Taoists?"
The temple master noticed both Commander Wu and Wang Daxia wore eye veils. "You two still refuse to show your faces—what are you afraid of? Have you pulled this badger game so often you’re scared other victims will recognize you and you’ll end up in court? We’ll give you the banknotes, but take off those veils first."
Commander Wu was a renowned officer of the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen, a tiger-slaying hero many people knew. To disguise himself, he’d deliberately glued a fake beard around his chin, but removing the eye veil might still get him recognized. He stubbornly refused, making an excuse:
"Don’t think I’m stupid. Before catching them, I found out your White Deer Temple is Prince Jing’s private property—you’re all the prince’s men, and you outnumber us. If you see our faces clearly and track us down later for revenge, my wife and I would die without knowing how it happened."
It was clearly a brazen badger game. The temple master asked, "So you’re not actually surnamed Hu?"
Commander Wu chuckled. "Of course not. Today, aside from my wife’s ample bosom, nothing about us is real."Wang Daxia even played along with Commander Wu's words, puffing out his chest in a show of defiance. "Would the Taoist master like to inspect the goods?"
At this point, it became a game of nerve—whoever dared more would win.
The White Deer Temple Taoists were so startled they lowered their heads, not daring to look directly: This level of brazen flirtation was simply too much, no wonder Senior Brother Zhiping fell into the trap—if it were me... ahem!
When they entered, a wanted poster with the portrait of the cart driver Zhiping was still pasted on the inn wall. Fortunately, this reckless man had beaten Zhiping's face into a swollen mess, and even with a crowd watching, no one recognized him as the wanted criminal on the poster.
The wanted notice clearly stated: One thousand taels of silver as reward for capturing this man.
This swindler thought he had earned five hundred taels, unaware he could have legally obtained double that amount!
The foolish man with big eyes but poor vision. The temple master contemptuously slapped five hundred-tael silver notes on the table. "Release him."
Commander Wu picked up the silver notes, stuffed them into his robe, and took Wang Daxia's hand. "Let's go."
Seeing Commander Wu depart, Taoist Zhiping grumbled angrily: "Hmph! A pair of swindling husband and wife!"
Slap!
The temple master raised his hand and struck. "Flies hover only over cracked eggs. You've completely disgraced our White Deer Temple! Someone, carry him back and deal with him according to temple rules."
Knowing his wrongdoing, Zhiping dared not protest even when struck. Besides, compared to Commander Wu's earlier chest-kicking and face-disfiguring punches, the temple master's slap felt like a mosquito bite—hardly painful.
The innkeeper quickly chased after them. "Um... could you settle the room charge and meal expenses?"
Actually, he should have asked Commander Wu, since Taoist Zhiping hadn't actually slept with anyone nor consumed the food and drink. But the sharp butcher knife in Commander Wu's hand was too terrifying, so the innkeeper didn't dare pursue him for payment, choosing instead to bully the weaker party.
As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Though Prince Jing's tree hadn't truly fallen yet, the once highly respected White Deer Temple was already being extorted by swindlers and the Three Thoroughfares Inn keeper.
The temple master focused on first getting the troublemaker Zhiping back to the temple, not wanting further complications. Swallowing his pride, he had no choice but to pay.
To maintain the illusion, Commander Wu and Wang Daxia paraded ostentatiously through the streets, exiting the city through Fucheng Gate and disappearing into the dust-filled winds, creating the impression that they changed locations after each scam to mislead observers. In reality, they immediately changed outfits in the suburbs and reentered the capital through Zhengyang Gate.
By the time they returned to the capital, night had fallen. They went their separate ways—Commander Wu back to the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen, Wang Daxia to the Imperial Guard Office.
No sooner had Wang Daxia's bottom touched the bench than Lu Ying tossed him a black Taoist robe embroidered with the White Deer Temple emblem. "We're infiltrating the White Deer Temple tonight for reconnaissance. Change quickly—we have contacts inside the temple."
It turned out Lu Ying had sent the message asking White Deer Temple to rescue their man at Three Thoroughfares Inn precisely to take advantage of their absence. When the temple master took most Taoists to the inn, leaving only two guards at the temple, the Embroidered Uniform Guard spies secretly infiltrated and stole several White Deer Temple robes to facilitate tonight's mission.
"Investigating cases is tough," Wang Daxia sighed. "Can't you let me catch my breath? I haven't had dinner yet—Commander Wu ate all the food at the table while I had to play the demure wife serving him wine and dishes. I'm exhausted."Lu Ying said, "Commander Wu has done us a great favor. It's only right that you serve him. If you're hungry, didn't you bring two Shandong steamed buns? It's getting late, just eat them in the carriage."
Wang Daxia had no choice but to change his clothes, tie his hair into a Daoist bun, and start gnawing on the buns larger than his head. While eating, he asked, "How is Doctor Wei's health today?"
Lu Ying replied, "Noble Consort Shang has summoned her to the palace again."
Wang Daxia felt sorry for Wei Caiwei's exhaustion. She had lost half a pot of blood just a month ago and had only just recovered—how could she endure such back-and-forth strain? He asked, "She just returned from the palace the day before yesterday, and now she's summoned again? This Noble Consort Shang is so demanding. Doctor Wei's body isn't made of iron."
Lu Ying explained, "According to the patrolling guards in the palace, a Dark Spectre appeared and startled Noble Consort Shang. She was terrified and developed a high fever, so she summoned Doctor Wei to the palace."
Author's Note: Daxia: I'm eating myself.
Dark Spectre, pronounced hēi shěng, refers to a calamity born from the water element in the Five Elements theory in ancient times. In the Five Elements, water corresponds to black, hence the name "Dark Spectre." This phenomenon appeared before the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and occurred multiple times in the Jiajing Emperor's palace, remaining a mystery to this day. According to the "History of Ming": In the same year, "on the seventh month, day Gengxu, a Dark Spectre appeared in the capital. Men and women slept outdoors in panic. There was a creature with golden eyes and a long tail, resembling a dog or a fox, carrying a black aura that entered through windows straight into inner chambers. Wherever it reached, people fell unconscious. The entire city was in an uproar, wielding blades, lighting lamps, and beating drums to drive it away, but it could not be caught. During the emperor's morning court at Fengtian Gate, the guards saw it and caused a commotion. The emperor wanted to rise, but Huai'en held his robe, and only after a while did things calm down."
This means the beast had golden eyes, a long tail, and looked like a dog or a fox. It carried a mass of black energy into houses, causing anyone who saw it to fall unconscious. The whole capital was alarmed, but it could not be captured. It even attempted to breach the palace, frightening the emperor so much that he wanted to flee.
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