Chapter 13

The mist in Que'erjian grew thicker and thicker.

The entire Maitreya Temple was shrouded in mist at some point, looking hazy and almost unreal.

They had come to find clues, but unexpectedly, two more wandering souls were added to the city of the dead.

Such a commotion inevitably alarmed the other monks in the temple. When the abbot, Master Huiren, arrived at the Great Hero Hall with three monks, Yang Shouwen was squatting in front of the corpse, holding a candle and examining it up and down.

"Who are you?"

Yang Rui had already regained his composure, but his legs were still weak.

At thirteen, facing such a situation, it was inevitable to feel panic. Fortunately, Yang Rui had been trained in the government office for a year. Although he hadn't seen much, he had developed a fair amount of skill in putting on a show of authority.

Yang Shouwen was fully focused on examining the corpse, as if he could see something significant.

At this moment, it was naturally Yang Rui's turn to step forward. He took out his badge and loudly declared, "I am the assistant to the magistrate of Changping County, sent by the magistrate to investigate a case. Unexpectedly, I encountered an assassin's attack and have already killed one of them."

Master Huiren, whose name was Huiren, was greatly startled upon hearing this.

Despite his young age, Yang Rui exuded a presence of a government official, which made Huiren treat him with caution.

Even though Huiren was in his forties and was the abbot of Maitreya Temple, he had no substantial background and couldn't stand tall in front of government officials. This was also why the temple was called Little Maitreya Temple. Compared to the large Maitreya Temple, which had the support of the government, this temple in Que'erjian on Hugu Mountain clearly lacked depth.

"May I ask, what happened? What about Jue Ming...?"

Jue Ming was the monk who had been shot.

Yang Rui's attitude was still quite good, and he recounted the situation in detail.

"The person who shot the monk was a Liáo. There were three of them, and one has already been killed by my elder brother."

At this point, Huiren noticed Yang Shouwen's presence.

After examining the Liáo's corpse, Yang Shouwen found no useful clues and felt somewhat frustrated. He ignored Huiren, stood up, and returned to the Great Hero Hall with his spear.

The monks followed him in, looking at Yang Shouwen cautiously, unsure what he was searching for.

Yang Rui, however, had a sudden idea and seemed to understand Yang Shouwen's intention.

"Master, do you remember the Liáo who stayed alone a few days ago?"

"Of course, I remember."

Master Huiren quickly replied, "That gentleman was very generous and gave a gold ingot as an offering. He said he planned to stay here for half a month to practice Buddhism. For such a benevolent man, I couldn't refuse."

Clearly, Master Huiren was more impressed by the gold ingot.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Kaiyuan Tongbao was the legal currency. However, copper coins were not easy to carry, and China had always lacked silver, so silver could not be used as a circulating currency. As a result, gold became the hard currency besides copper coins.

"Second Brother."

Yang Shouwen suddenly spoke, beckoning Yang Rui over.

He whispered a few words in Yang Rui's ear, and Yang Rui nodded repeatedly before approaching Huiren.

"Master Jue Ming said that the Liáo spent a long time in the Great Hero Hall that day. Do you remember?"

"Oh, of course I remember."

Master Huiren smiled and said, "That benevolent man was very devout and meditated for a long time in the Great Hero Hall. I remember he sat in front of the mural on the left wall. I even asked him why he didn't meditate before Maitreya. He replied, 'It's not that I don't meditate before Maitreya, but when I was a child, I had a serious illness. After a long night of sleep, I recovered. Since then, I have followed the Long Eyebrow School. This time, I came to the temple to meditate, so I should first pay respects to Long Eyebrow.'"

Yang Shouwen stood to the side, seemingly indifferent.

But he listened carefully to Master Huiren's words.

His gaze then fell on the mural. On both sides of the Great Hero Hall, there were nine arhats, and Long Eyebrow was one of them.

But what was so peculiar about this Long Eyebrow?

Yang Shouwen stroked his spear, looking at the hazy image of the arhat in the mural.

He had a vague feeling that the deceased, whom he had discovered during the day, had not come by chance but had a very specific purpose.

He had planned to stay for half a month but left in the rain that night, which must have been related to the three Liáo who appeared later. After the three Liáo killed the man, they did not find what they were looking for, so they sneaked into Maitreya Temple. Unexpectedly, Yang Shouwen and Yang Rui appeared and entered the Great Hero Hall... The Liáo, fearing their secret would be exposed, tried to shoot Yang Shouwen but was discovered and one of them was killed on the spot.

There must be something peculiar about the Great Hero Hall.

And the Liáo's meditation before Long Eyebrow must have had another purpose.

But what clues did he leave behind?

Yang Shouwen couldn't figure it out, so he walked to the mat in front of the Buddha, sat down cross-legged, and placed his spear on his lap.

"Master, such an incident is beyond my ability to resolve.

It's already late, and there is a heavy mist outside. My elder brother and I will stay here for the night. Please send someone to the county office to report to the magistrate as soon as it's light. I will stay here, and you need not worry."

"That's good, that's good!"

Two murders in one night had made Master Huiren quite worried that Yang Rui would leave.

Since he was staying, the master would not refuse.

He quickly arranged for a meditation room and had someone move the bodies, but Yang Rui stopped them.

"Do not move the bodies. This is the crime scene. Leave them here until the constables arrive tomorrow to investigate."

"Yes, as you say, sir."

Yang Rui walked to Yang Shouwen's side and whispered, "Elder Brother, shall we go to the meditation room to rest?"

But Yang Shouwen's eyes were tightly closed, and his breathing was steady, as if he were asleep.

"My elder brother..."

Yang Rui explained to Huiren, "He is skilled in martial arts but has a peculiar temperament. Let him stay in the hall."

"Very well, very well!"

The monks were busy for a while, finally arranging everything.

Yang Rui went to the adjacent meditation room to rest, and Master Huiren also returned to his own room with the others. However, whether they could meditate and practice after such an incident was unknown.

The Great Hero Hall returned to its tranquility.

The hall was dark and quiet, and Yang Shouwen slowly opened his eyes.

Jue Ming's body lay to one side, the blood having stained the stone bricks beneath him. Yang Shouwen stood up and walked to the mural of Long Eyebrow, slowly sitting down. He looked at the mural, a puzzled expression on his face.

What did that person want to say?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the early morning, the mist had not dissipated and was even thicker.

Yang Shouwen walked out of the Great Hero Hall, stood on the wet, dew-soaked square, and stretched.

He hadn't slept all night, but his eyes were red, and he looked very alert, showing no signs of fatigue.

He wandered alone in the quiet temple, discovering that Little Maitreya Temple was not large and had a small gate in the back.

Pushing open the small gate, he found a platform of about 800 square meters.

Standing on the platform, he could overlook the misty Que'erjian...

It was a good place to recite poetry and enjoy the scenery.

He suddenly remembered that his father had said he would entertain an old friend at this Little Maitreya Temple on the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival? It was only ten days away... Ah, it's coming soon! He would mention it to Master Huiren later.

"Big Brother, you woke up early."

As Yang Shouwen stood on the viewing platform, admiring the beauty of Que'erjian, Yang Rui quickly walked out from the small gate.

He, too, had not slept all night. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of the shot Jue Ming and the assassin killed by Yang Shouwen would appear in his mind. When he was on the ground, he clearly saw how Yang Shouwen killed the Liáo. The lightning-fast movements and the ruthless, fierce strikes left a deep impression on Yang Rui.

One strike to kill, without any hesitation.

Yang Rui found that Yang Shouwen's spear technique was not complicated but was very decisive and highly lethal.

He always felt that he had practiced, perhaps not as well as Yang Shouwen, but not far behind. However, after witnessing Yang Shouwen's actions, Yang Rui knew that if he were in a confrontation with Yang Shouwen, he wouldn't even be able to block one strike.