Chapter 127: Haunting

Walking through the corridor, Wen Jing strolled over to the Qinci Garden where the Taoist nuns lived. The nuns were gathered in small groups of twos and threes, chattering about something unknown.

Hearing someone speak up, all the nuns turned their gazes toward Wen Jing. Their eyes held a hint of curiosity, but even more of hostility.

"You... you look familiar. Did the master send you here to kill me?!" a plump nun stared at Wen Jing in sheer terror and demanded.

Recognizing her as the delusional plump nun from before, Wen Jing smiled and said, "I'm here to look for Daoist Master Mingqing."

"You're lying! That dead fatty doesn't even live here," the plump nun retorted, glaring.

"You're a dead fatty, too."

Someone in the corner muttered under their breath. All the nuns burst into uninhibited laughter, and the plump nun joined in, laughing uproariously as if the joke were on someone else, until tears streamed down her face and she still couldn't stop.

This crowd looked nothing like Taoist nuns, Wen Jing thought with a headache, feeling as though she had accidentally wandered into a kindergarten surrounded by a bunch of unruly kids. Still, since Mingqing didn't live here, she could safely question these wild children.

"Then where does Daoist Master Mingqing live?" Wen Jing asked with a continued smile, feeling at that moment like a creepy auntie brandishing lollipops to lure little boys.

"Senior Sister Mingqing is standing right behind you," Mingzhi said, looking at Wen Jing with a completely serious expression.

Ignoring this hallucinating nun, Wen Jing turned to a few unfamiliar nuns nearby and asked, "Senior Sister Mingqing must be very nice to you all normally. I'll bet you ten steamed flower rolls on it."

Ten flower rolls? Several nuns swallowed hard, a gleam of light flashing in their eyes.

"I'll take that bet!"

"Me too!"

The rest of the nuns swarmed over as well, surrounding Wen Jing tightly in the center.

"Speak one by one, and no repeating what others have said, or it doesn't count," Wen Jing made a "shh" gesture. Ten flower rolls were enough to drive them to this level of frenzy—what kind of lives did they lead on a daily basis?

"I'll go first! That dead fatty Mingqing wouldn't even let us eat!" one nun blurted out first, terrified someone else would steal her turn.

Wen Jing nodded. "Next."

"She beat me." Another nun rolled up her sleeve to reveal layers of old and new scars.

"Mingqing tried to kill me."

"Mingqing forced me to drink urine."

"She even made me lick her feet."

......

Hiding on a nearby rooftop, Ding Wu listened to these bizarre accusations and arrived at a single conclusion: these people were absolute lunatics. Not a single normal one among them!

Glancing back at Wen Jing, who was still listening with rapt attention, Ding Wu found it hard to comprehend how anyone could take the words of madmen seriously. If this Mingqing were truly so vile, wouldn't these lunatics have banded together to tear her apart long ago? After all, they probably didn't even know what "laws" were.

"Is that all?" Wen Jing asked, looking at the nuns who were all scratching their heads in thought.

The nuns exchanged glances and shook their heads. Then, dozens of hands reached out toward Wen Jing simultaneously.

"Where are the flower rolls?"

Uh... Wen Jing froze slightly. She certainly didn't make a habit of carrying hundreds of flower rolls around with her.

"Wait here, I'll go fetch them for you right now," Wen Jing said, preparing to slip away.

"Grab the liar!"

Someone shouted, and dozens of hands snatched at Wen Jing's clothes all at once.

"Quick, search her! Where's she hiding them?"

Speechless, Wen Jing shouted toward the side, "Daoist Master Mingqing!"

The nuns instantly whipped their heads around, and Wen Jing seized the chance to squeeze out of the crowd.

"Catch her! Don't let her get away!"

Seeing that Wen Jing was about to be overtaken, Ding Wu leaped down from the roof, grabbed her by the collar, and trotted all the way back to the Lingyun Hall.

"Those crazy nuns really have lost their minds," Ding Wu wiped the sweat from his brow, his face darkening as he recalled the scene just now. If he thought of those dozens of nuns waving their chicken-claw-like hands... if they had been caught, they would have been torn to shreds.

"We'd better hand out ten flower rolls to each of them for dinner tonight, or we won't get a wink of sleep," Ding Wu said.

Wen Jing nodded. You could default on anyone, but never on children's treats; otherwise... they would hound you endlessly.

Ding Wu nodded repeatedly in strong agreement. Three women made a stage play, but thirty women—and crazy women at that—were terrifying beyond words.

Touching his chin, Ji Changge watched the whispering Ding Wu and Wen Jing, then said with an eerie tone, "You two were gone for half the day, and all you found out was that they want flower rolls for dinner tonight?"

Ding Wu glanced at Wen Jing. Although they had said a lot, the only thing that seemed genuinely true was that they really, really liked flower rolls...

"Judging by what they said, this Daoist Master Mingqing seems to have forced them to do many things they didn't want to do, though the specifics remain unclear," Wen Jing told Ji Changge.

"You actually believe the ramblings of those crazy nuns?" Ding Wu asked in astonishment, looking at Wen Jing. She couldn't possibly be taking those ravings seriously, could she?

"Madmen may speak crazily, but at the very least, they don't lie. You just can't approach what they say with a normal person's logic."

Ji Changge gave a slight nod, turned to Ding Wu, and asked, "Was there any abnormality with her?"

"None. She's been as jittery as a startled rabbit all along. Today she broke a pottery jar and even stepped on a nun's foot in front of her. If she were really Baili Moqran in disguise, shouldn't she have actively sought out Your Honor by now?" Ding Wu speculated.

"We cannot simply wait for him to find us. If he never shows up, are we expected to wait forever? We need to devise a way to lure him out," Ji Changge said.

......

Early the next morning.

Just as Ji Changge was—

A guard suddenly hurried in. "Your Honor, two Taoist nuns request an audience."

"Bring them in."

The visitors were Daoist Masters Mingxin and Mingyuan, both bearing worried expressions. It was Mingyuan who finally spoke up.

"Your Honor, Senior Sister Mingqing has vanished. When we went to her room this morning, no one was there. We've searched everywhere and no one has seen her, which is why we came to report this to Your Honor."

Ji Changge and Wen Jing exchanged glances. Could it be that she caught wind of something and fled?

"Are you certain you've searched everywhere?" Ji Changge asked.

"Certain. We searched every corner of the Taoist temple except for the mountain behind, but Senior Sister wouldn't go up the mountain alone," Mingxin affirmed with absolute certainty.

"Take us to her room to have a look," Ji Changge instructed.

Led by Mingxin, the group arrived at the Nianci Garden, where older nuns like Mingqing and Mingyuan resided.

Stepping into Mingqing's room, everything appeared normal. Her quilt was neatly folded, and not a single item was missing.

Ding Wu opened the wardrobe; her clothes, shoes, and other belongings were all present. The room held very few possessions, making her look like a truly devout nun dedicated to her spiritual practice.

"Could it be..." Mingxin suddenly lowered her voice.

Gazing suspiciously at Mingxin's hesitant demeanor, Ji Changge asked, "Could what be?"

"Over the past few days, many nuns have been saying that the graveyard is haunted. In the middle of the night, you can often hear a woman crying—it's utterly chilling. Senior Sister... could she have been harmed by a female ghost last night?" Mingxin asked, her face pale with terror.

Ding Wu sneered. "This is a Taoist temple! Which ghost would dare come here?"

"That may be, but plenty of people heard it. Last night, Mingyuan got up to use the chamber pot and was so scared she peed her pants. Mingyuan, tell them—didn't you hear a woman crying miserably?" Mingxin nudged Mingyuan.

Mingyuan's face flushed beet red, but to prove Mingxin was telling the truth, she nodded anyway. "That night, as poor Daoist was walking along, I suddenly felt a chill at the back of my neck and faintly heard a woman crying. I thought to myself, which little nun is weeping in the middle of the night? Then I suddenly saw a white shadow flash past in the distance like a gust of wind, and I was so frightened that..."

Ji Changge looked at Mingyuan and Mingxin. Seeing how vividly they described it—while he naturally put no stock in ghosts and spirits—he wondered if the two of them were trying to cover for Mingqing. If Mingqing was declared "dead," that would be the end of it, sparing her from the Dali Temple's investigation. With guards stationed at the mountain paths, it wouldn't be easy for Mingqing to leave the mountain; perhaps she was simply hiding somewhere, waiting for the storm to pass before returning to the temple. The protestation of innocence was a bit too loud—vanishing precisely at a time like this. Yet, as long as she remained on this mountain, he would unearth her.

"Ding Wu, take some men and thoroughly 'search' for Daoist Master Mingqing's whereabouts. I want to see a person alive or a corpse dead," Ji Changge deliberately emphasized the word "search."

"Understood, Your Honor." Catching the implication, Ding Wu secretly groaned. Patrolling the mountain again? The mountain was so vast, where was he supposed to find a rogue nun?

Upon returning to the Lingyun Hall, Wen Jing suddenly caught a whiff of a foul stench, and Ji Changge pinched his nose as well.

"Your Honor, the body of Qingliu has dissolved into a pool of black water, leaving only a skeleton. If we keep it here much longer, the smell is truly..." A guard stepped forward to report.

Ji Changge looked at Wen Jing, using his eyes to seek her decision.

Qingliu's corpse had indeed reduced to a skeleton; the poison's corrosive power was simply too swift. In a few more days, even the bones would dissolve, rendering any autopsy meaningless.

"Have her buried," Wen Jing said softly.

Daoist Master Mingyuan walked in to inform them that dinner was ready.

"Is there a graveyard near the Taoist temple?" Ji Changge asked Mingyuan.

Mingyuan's gaze flickered slightly before she replied, "There is a graveyard on the back mountain."

Mingyuan's reaction did not escape Ji Changge's notice. He immediately stated, "This official wishes to bury Qingliu's remains there. I wonder if that is permitted?"

"Qingliu is not a member of our Taoist temple, so this... this must be approved by the Holy Nun," Mingyuan said.

"Very well."

......

Ruan Qinglian naturally raised no objections; she had never cared for the rules and regulations of the Taoist temple in the first place. Upon hearing Ji Changge's request, she readily agreed and even offered to perform a ritual to deliver Qingliu's soul from purgatory.

Wen Jing wrapped up Qingliu's remains, and accompanied by Ruan Qinglian, Ji Changge, and the others, she headed toward the graveyard. (To be continued...)