Сhарtеr 385: Тhe Coррer Spаrrow Criеs in Сhаng'аn 39
Wеstеrn Brightness Тemple was locаtеd in Yankаng Ward nеаr thе Wеst Mаrkеt, аnd thе grоup аrrived shortly thеrеaftеr. Due to the Вuddha Swallоwing Sins casе, thе numbеr оf wоrshiррers at thе tеmplе hаd dwindlеd cоmpаrеd to befоrе, but its foundаtion remainеd, and incensе still burnеd vigоrouslу. The fragrаnt smоkе curlеd uрwаrd, еnvеlоping thе tеmplе halfwаy up thе mountаin in mistу сlouds, lеnding it аn еthеreal, othеrworldly ambiancе.
To avоid any mishаps, Shеn Du hаd put his mаsk back on and issued stern orders:
"You lead the team to disperse the worshippers. The rest will split into three groups to surround the three entrances of Western Brightness Temple. The remaining will search the mountain."
"Yes!" Each person accepted their orders and departed, leaving only Shen Du and Zhu Yan behind shortly after.
Recalling her earlier disagreement with Shen Du, Zhu Yan pushed away Shen Du, who had been holding her by the waist, and slid off the horse on her own. She tossed out a sentence:
"I’ll go look for clues."
With that, she hurried away with quick, small steps.
Shen Du narrowed his eyes, watching Zhu Yan avoid him as if he were a venomous snake. Earlier on the horse, she had refused to stay close to him and hadn’t even looked at his face. Adding today’s events, it seemed whatever affection they once shared had completely vanished.
Unconsciously touching his mask, Shen Du’s dark eyes rippled with emotion, devoid of any warmth.
It was now nearly February. As it had just snowed, novice monks were sweeping the snow away. The worshippers, having received instructions, hurried out in small groups. When they saw Shen Du sitting tall on his horse, wearing a mask, they all lowered their heads, not daring to look, and quickly boarded their carriages to leave.
Meanwhile, as the Inner Guards entered the mountain to search, the previously quiet forest erupted with the flapping of startled birds, shaking the white snow from the branches.
Western Brightness Temple had one main gate and two side gates. Shen Du was familiar with the layout, having accompanied the Empress here to pray for blessings before. Zhu Yan was also familiar with it and was now entering the temple gate within Shen Du’s line of sight.
Scanning the entire mountain and temple, Shen Du speculated on where Lai Luozhi might be hiding and spurred his horse to chase after Zhu Yan.
Lai Luozhi could very well be here, and Shen Du absolutely could not allow Zhu Yan to search for him alone.
"Zhu Yan!"
Hearing the call, Zhu Yan stopped and turned around, looking suspiciously at Shen Du.
Shen Du rode over, but suddenly his eyes widened in horror as a cloud of smoke rose before him. When the smoke cleared, Zhu Yan had vanished from the spot.
"Zhu! Yan!"
A thunderous roar startled countless birds into flight.
Qi Yeyun, who had been following closely behind, thought he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes hard. Confirming he hadn’t been mistaken, his expression also changed:
"Brother-in-law, it must be Lai Luozhi. Chen Huo'e used this trick back then."
Shen Du certainly remembered—that was exactly how Chen Huo'e had kidnapped Chen Shoujie’s wife, Lady Chen.
"These are all illusions," Shen Du pondered briefly. "Go find the Unrighteous Commander and bring him here."
The Unrighteous Agents were skilled in such martial arts techniques, which had greatly aided in solving cases in the past.
"Also, notify the Capital Prefecture to send people to assist."
Qi Yeyun hesitated slightly. "Brother-in-law, but you’re alone, and your injuries..."
"It’s fine. Just go as I said."
Qi Yeyun wasted no time and quickly rode away.
He was no longer the little follower who trailed behind Zhu Yan. Most of his time was now spent studying at the Hongwen Academy, and Shen Du had also sent him to the Patrol Camp for training.
With so many people helping, the entire Western Brightness Temple and the mountain were like an impenetrable fortress—even with wings, escape would be impossible. But he didn’t know how long it would take to find her. Every moment wasted meant greater danger for Zhu Yan, and his anxiety grew heavier.
The abbot and other monks of Western Brightness Temple had been taken to the main hall for questioning, but they all claimed nothing unusual had occurred. Most also had witnesses to prove their innocence.After listening nearby, Shen Du went straight to the back mountain—the bamboo grove where the young novice had discovered Liang Chenzhong and Kuang Zhanxin. Taking this bamboo grove as the center, the other five corpses had been found scattered across various locations on this mountain, all within two li of this central point.
Shen Du drew his sword, comparing and tracing the positions where the bodies were discovered. Falling leaves rustled, and the snow lay pure white, concealing many traces.
After several attempts, during the final one, the trajectory drawn by his sword in his mind felt strangely familiar.
At that moment, Qi Yeyun arrived with the constable Xu Xiangren and Jing Lin, approaching Shen Du. Qi Yeyun asked curiously:
"Brother-in-law, what are you tracing with your sword?"
"The burial sites of those who lost their minds."
Jing Lin then spoke up: "Madam instructed me to inquire about the birth dates of the victims. I have gathered the information. Please review it, Commander."
Upon hearing this, Shen Du took the list and glanced over it: July 13th, November 16th, February 27th... Nothing seemed particularly unusual; they were all ordinary birth dates.
Why did Zhu Yan order an investigation into this?
Xu Xiangren also leaned in to look: "Birth dates—could there be auspicious days, inauspicious days, yin hours and days, or yang hours and days among them?"
A light dawned in Shen Du's eyes, and he ordered Jing Lin: "Go to the nearest Xuanyi Temple and invite their Taoist priest here."
Jing Lin accepted the order and left. Qi Yeyun traced the burial locations of the mindless victims in his palm, frowning:
"Although I don’t understand much, it looks like a formation diagram based on the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams."
Xu Xiangren: "You understand this?"
Qi Yeyun’s face flushed slightly: "My father donated incense money to a Taoist temple and goes there every year to pray and divine fortunes. Over time, I’ve picked up a little."
Shen Du hurried over: "Since you understand, mark the formation’s eye right now."
Shen Du was restless with anxiety, and Qi Yeyun, also worried about Zhu Yan, immediately nodded and went to borrow brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from a novice. Shen Du described each burial site in detail, and Qi Yeyun marked them. Meanwhile, Shen Du took Xu Xiangren to the spot where Zhu Yan had disappeared earlier. Sure enough, they found traces of burned saltpeter and sulfur.
"Such items would never be found in a temple," Xu Xiangren picked up the residue, crushed it, and sniffed it, frowning. "There’s Hundred Minds Incense in this. Only places in Buddhist temples where incense and similar items are stored would have such a strong scent of Hundred Minds Incense."
The two found the abbot and had him lead them to the storeroom. In one corner, they indeed found signs that someone had been there, but it was now empty.
The abbot broke into a cold sweat, desperately trying to distance himself and Western Brightness Temple from the matter. Shen Du paid no heed, grabbing the abbot by his collar and glaring angrily:
"I spare you because you are a monk. Otherwise, I would settle your crimes of colluding with Lai Luozhi right now."
The abbot trembled in fear, loudly protesting his innocence. In the end, it was Xu Xiangren who came up with a way to make the abbot confess honestly:
"Yes, Lai Luozhi caught hold of my weakness years ago. He coerced me into agreeing to his demands, handing over the back mountain to him without interference. But I truly had no idea so many corpses were buried there, let alone that those corpses were killed by Madam Tang under Lai Luozhi’s instruction."
"Last night, he came to rest here. How could I have known he brought someone with him? As for where he is now, I truly do not know."
Shen Du seethed with anger. Such filthy deeds hidden in a sacred Buddhist place—if Lai Luozhi were not eliminated, it would be a disgrace to humanity.
After confessing, the abbot collapsed to the ground, looking utterly defeated and silently weeping.Soon, the Taoist priest from Xuanyi Temple was invited to take a look and immediately nodded in agreement. It turned out that these seemingly ordinary days were actually highly auspicious. They were not randomly abducting people but specifically targeting men and women born on these fortunate days, pairing them up and burying them at the key locations of the array. This was clearly a human sacrifice to their revered fire moth deity.
Meanwhile, Qi Yeyun had mapped out the positions of the array’s key points. Shen Du handed the abbot over to his subordinates and led the group toward the designated locations.
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