Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 70: Watching the Fight Between Tigers
After going outside, Taoist Yun Cheng let out a breath.

The Taoist boy behind him quickly opened an oil-paper umbrella to protect him from the rain, and asked in a low voice: "Master, where are we going next?"

"Go to the county government office."

The Taoist took big strides and went straight to the county government office, and the Taoist boy hurriedly followed him.

A pair of stone lions were placed outside the Genshui County government office, and the gate was wide open. The officer in charge of guarding the gate recognized Taoist Yun Cheng and bowed: "I am honored to meet you, the master."

"I came here today to see you, Master Song."

"Master, please wait in the side room. I will ask the doorman to report it."

Although the visitor was a Taoist priest, the government office had its own rules and it was impossible for the Taoist priest to be allowed to walk in like that.

Soon, the doorman received the message and politely invited Taoist Yun Cheng to the living room for tea.

Song Wencheng, the magistrate of Genshui County, who was wearing plain clothes, was waiting there. There was also another person, who was none other than Ma Ben, the chief constable known in the underworld as "the magic horse and the fast knife".

Taoist Yuncheng knew very well that Ma Ben was Song Wencheng's confidant, so he didn't care.

The two parties sat down as host and guest, and maids served them fragrant tea.

After some greetings, Taoist Yun Cheng said directly: "Master Song, I came here to tell you about the evil deeds of the Ghost Spirit Cult."

Song Wencheng said, "Oh," and said, "I'd like to hear more about it."

The Taoist immediately started talking about things like the Ghost Sect forcing people to burn incense and exorcising ghosts to cause trouble.

After listening, Song Wencheng did not comment and asked, "These things happened among the people, but did the host see them with his own eyes?"

The Taoist replied, "It was something I personally encountered when I was a Taoist priest in the Taoist temple. Moreover, when I came down from the mountain and walked in the countryside, I saw that many families enshrined ghost statues in their homes."

Song Wencheng pondered and said, "Master, you are also a Shintoist, you should know the etiquette and royal decree. The Ghost Spirit Sect is a large sect that originated in the prefectures and counties. With the license of the God Law, it can preach, parade, build temples, etc. in the local area. If the common people are willing to worship ghosts, the government cannot interfere, let alone stop it."

The Taoist raised his eyebrows and said, "But the ghost followers will do anything to gain support, even using ghosts to harm people and intimidate the people. Can the government just sit back and do nothing? If this continues, something bad will happen sooner or later."

Song Wencheng sighed, "Master, I understand your concerns. But so far, no one has come to beat the drum to complain, so the facts about the Ghost Spirit Cult remain to be verified. Of course, I will send Captain Ma to lead a field investigation, and when there is a result, I will definitely give Yunshan Temple a reply."

Taoist Yun Cheng had expected his official tone, and was not surprised at all: "In fact, the Ghost Spirit Cult came from the prefectures and counties, preaching and parading in the county, and even building temples. My Yunshan Temple does not reject them, but there is a prerequisite, that is, they cannot break the rules and harm the people, otherwise, what is the difference between them and demons? If they really do evil things, then Yunshan Temple will have to kill the demons and exorcise the monsters."

When he spoke the latter part, his expression was filled with indignation and murderous intent.

Song Wencheng looked at him: "What does the host mean?"

"I hope you can come forward and take the lead, find a place for both parties to sit down and have a good talk. If they can reach an agreement, everyone will be happy and there will be no fighting. This will also be a good thing for the entire county."

"Okay, the host is indeed tolerant. I agree. Alas, to be honest, I have not had a good time recently. There are so many troubles that I am overwhelmed. If I don't handle one of them well, I will lose my job."

Taoist Yun Cheng was too lazy to listen to these true and false complaints from the officialdom, so he bowed his head and said, "Then I'll trouble you, sir. I'll take my leave and wait for good news at the Yuelai Inn."

"Walk slowly."

After watching the Taoist leave, Lord Song sighed deeply with a sad face.

Ma Ben said, "Sir, I have already investigated everything the Ghost Spirit Cult did, and it is indeed as Master Yun Cheng said. How can they be called a cult? They are clearly demons, and they deserve to be killed!"

Song Wencheng smiled bitterly and said, "So what? We don't dare to kill him, and we may not be able to kill him." "Are we just going to leave it alone?"

"No. I have been in office for more than three years. How can I be a figurehead? Before I leave office, I must do something to give an explanation to the people of Genshui County."

Ma Ben asked hurriedly, "Sir, where are you going to be transferred to?"

Song Wencheng shook his head and said, "It's unknown for now. I don't think it's a good place. I'm just a juren. Last month, the prefecture sent a letter saying that Lord Nie had committed a crime and was imprisoned. He would be sent to the capital to be punished. Alas, it's really hard to do anything in such a troubled time."

Ma Ben was silent. He was a man of upright character and had followed many masters. There was no doubt that Song Wencheng was definitely a good official. Although he sometimes chose to compromise under pressure, it was a helpless move.

The fact that Mr. Song was being transferred was more or less related to the death row incident last year.

That matter remains an unsolved case to this day.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "Sir, what are you going to do about the Ghost Cult?"

Song Wencheng narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's talk first. If we can't reach an agreement, we can fight. But we don't have to fight. Yunshan Temple and Guiling Sect are like water and fire, neither of them is easy to deal with. In this way, we can just sit on the mountain and watch the fight."

Ma Ben's eyes lit up: "Your Excellency has a good idea. In my humble opinion, Yunshan Temple is very powerful. If we start a fight, we will definitely be able to win and destroy the Ghost Spirit Sect. That would be great."

Song Wencheng snorted coldly: "It's just dog biting dog. It's best if both sides suffer losses."

Ma Ben's heart shuddered, thinking that his Excellency was a man who had read books of sages and was in charge of a humanitarian government office. He did not have much affection for Shintoism, and he could not stand the fact that the wealthy families in the city spent so much money to invite household gods.

They all started cursing in private, saying that the common people were obsessed with matters of ghosts and gods and would inevitably become lawless, thus giving rise to chaos.

But there was nothing that could be done. After all, news had spread in the temple that evil spirits had entered the palace and were causing chaos in the government.

If this is the case above, what can we do below?

For Captain Ma personally, if he had to choose between Yunshan Temple and the Ghost Spirit Sect, he would lean towards Yunshan Temple.

Over the years, Yunshan Temple has always had a good reputation. Even if there are some unclean aspects, the merits outweigh the flaws.

Of course, as a government official, Ma Ben will always stand on the side of Lord Song.

……

In the outer courtyard of Yunshan, Yun Ning found Yun Yi and said, "Second Senior Brother, how come Senior Brother hasn't come back for so long since he went down the mountain? Without him as the leader of the mountain, many things have gone haywire."

Yun Yi looked bewildered and said, "Has Senior Brother been down the mountain for a long time? I don't keep track of the date, so I'm not sure."

Yun Ning: "...Before he left the mountain, Senior Brother said that he was going to talk to the Ghost Spirit Cult. I was worried that they might not come to an agreement and start a fight. Senior Brother would definitely suffer if he were alone."

Yun Yi said: "Big Brother is always steady and will not act rashly."

"Hey, it's no use asking you. I'm going up the mountain to find my master."

As Yun Ning spoke, he opened an umbrella and walked along the mountain path to the inner courtyard.

At this time, thunder rumbled, dark clouds gathered, and a rainstorm was about to come.

(End of this chapter)