No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 54 Flying Head Barbarian

"Monk?"

Su Ze frowned. Why were there so many cases in Bianjing City? The case of the evil book was just concluded, and now the case of the evil monk came.

Yang Zong said:

"This store is located in Jixiang Lane in the west wing of Bianjing City. There's a public rental property there. Because this area is very close to the Southern Court, most of the people who rent here are officials working in the Southern Court."

Yang Zong glanced at Su Ze and said:
"These are probably the best houses in the store."

"No one wants to give up the lease on such a nice house. Some properties have even been rented by two generations of fathers and sons."

"But last month, many tenants in Jixiang Lane went to the store and property management office to cancel their leases."

Su Ze had not yet taken office and was not aware of these things. He listened carefully to Yang Zong's story.

Yang Zong said, "This incident naturally attracted the attention of the officer in charge of the plundering of money and marriage. After questioning those who had returned their leases, he discovered that something demonic had occurred in Jixiang Lane."

"Demon thing?"

Everyone showed interest, even the half-grown child Zeng Bu's eyes lit up.

There is no way, apart from family, country and the world, legends about gods, ghosts, demons and monsters are also the most attractive topics for readers.

Yang Zong is indeed the top scorer of this year's exam, and his storytelling skills are also first-class. He continued:
"It is said that two months ago, a demonic monk came to Jixiang Lane. He knocked on every door and asked for alms, and the only items he wanted were the precious items hidden in their homes."

Wang Anshi said doubtfully:

"Since it was something hidden, how did the evil monk know about it?"

Yang Zong said:

"This is the strange thing about this evil monk. These items are treasures collected by each family. Some are passed down from previous generations and are never easily shown to others. But this evil monk knows them all and can even tell you where they hide the treasures."

Everyone gasped, this really sounded like an evil monk.

Su Ze asked:

"It's just like this, but it's not necessary to move, right?"

It is not easy to live in Bianjing City. After finally renting a public housing from the store and housing service department, who would be willing to give it up easily?

Yang Zong continued:

"If it was just the evil monk knocking at the door, there wouldn't be any need to move. But a month ago, many residents of Jixiang Lane reported to the Kaifeng government that their belongings had been stolen."

Han Jiang frowned and asked:

"Was it that evil monk who did this?"

Yang Zong shook his head and said:

"Yes and no."

He continued without leaving anyone in suspense:
"Many people have seen the culprit behind the theft, but it wasn't the evil monk, it was the evil monk's head."

"Head?"

Yang Zong took a sip of wine and said:

"It was a flying monk's head, flying out from the home of someone who had lost something in Jixiang Lane! And that flying head looked exactly like the demonic monk who had visited the residents of Jixiang Lane and demanded their property!"

Everyone was frightened now. Zeng Bu, who was still a half-grown child, took two steps back, covered his ears with his hands, and dared not listen anymore.

Wang Anshi was well-informed and had a strong memory. He frowned and said:
"But what about the flying-headed barbarians mentioned in Tang Dynasty's notes?" Su Ze also asked when he remembered:

"Youyang Zazu once recorded that west of the Wuling Mountains there was a tribe whose heads could fly, known as the Feitou Liaozi. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhu Huan, a senior official of the Sun Wu clan, had a maid who could make her head fly away from her body."

Yang Zong looked at Wang Anshi and Su Ze and exclaimed:

"Brother Wang and Brother Su are truly remarkable. They actually know about this Flying Head Barbarian. It's said that the bailiffs of Kaifeng Prefecture searched through ancient books and found the record. However, there's no record of how to deal with this monster in Youyang Zazu."

"Tenants in Jixiang Lane can only give up their leases."

Wang Anshi asked curiously:

"and after?"

"Later, Kaifeng Prefecture also dispatched bailiffs and yamen runners to Jixiang Lane. Someone witnessed the Flying Head Barbarians with their own eyes. This matter was reported to the acting Kaifeng Prefecture governor, Guo Lingyin. Guo Lingyin petitioned the emperor to request a monk from Daxiangguo Temple to chant Buddhist scriptures in Jixiang Lane. This is how they suppressed the Flying Head Barbarians."

The story ended here, but everyone was still a little reluctant to leave, so they started chatting about all sorts of things.

Today, the top four Jinshi candidates of this year's imperial examination are all in Wang Anshi's courtyard. Zeng Gong is also one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties known to later generations. Together with a time traveler Su Ze, every topic can be discussed in a lively manner.

The young Zeng Bu and Wang Anshi's younger brothers were all fascinated by the story.

In the evening, Su Ze suddenly said:

"It's been a truly enjoyable gathering today. Would you please leave your calligraphy? I'll have a craftsman carve it into a book, print it, and send it to your homes."

It was normal for literati and scholars to participate in literary gatherings and leave behind collections of works. For example, Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was the preface written for the Lanting Literary Gathering.

Su Ze's proposal was also a common practice at gatherings of literati and scholars, and since Su Ze had contacted the printing company, everyone naturally agreed.

Su Ze took out some paper from his pocket, and Wang Anshi asked his brother to take out pen and ink, and everyone recorded the interesting moments of today's gathering on paper.

When the ink dried, Su Ze gathered together what everyone had written, and indeed, he heard the voice of the guiding boy:
[The spiritual energy has been detected. Do you want to absorb it? ]

This trip was definitely not in vain!
It’s a pity that it’s so difficult to get together for such a high-end party.

Wang Anshi and the other four were newly-appointed Jinshi with many tasks to attend to, and Zeng Gong also wanted to study under Ouyang Xiu.

Su Ze will also have to go to work at the store in a while. Officials in the Song Dynasty only had holidays at the end of the ten-day period, which means they could only have three days off a month. This was even more disrespectful to labor laws than the 996 work schedule in later generations.

Moreover, there were many censors in the city of Bianliang, and long-term absenteeism would be impeached. This was why many officials preferred to serve outside of Bianliang, as they felt more comfortable outside!
Otherwise, how could Su Dongpo go hunting during working hours, "holding Huang in his left hand and Qing in his right hand"?

After another period of joyful gathering, everyone reluctantly left.

Su Ze rode his horse back to Zhang Yaozuo's mansion. He wanted to go in through the back door, but he didn't expect that the lights in front of the mansion were bright.

Zhang Yaozuo, dressed in an official robe, stood in front of the mansion, preparing to get on the carriage.

Seeing Su Ze, Zhang Yaozuo hurriedly asked his attendants to call Su Ze over.

Su Ze was also a little surprised. Zhang Yaozuo's position as the judge of the Dengwengu incident was a noble and leisurely one. In the past month, he had always reported for work on time and had never worked overtime. Why did he have to go out tonight?

If you are attending a banquet, you can't wear official robes, right?

Zhang Yaozuo saw Su Ze and said:
"There's a demonic disturbance in the Southern Courtyard, and the Emperor has summoned me to the palace. You should hurry back home and avoid going out at night these few days. When I'm not here, you'll be in charge of everything in the mansion."

After saying this, Zhang Yaozuo hurriedly got on the carriage.

Making trouble?

Su Ze thought of the evil monk that Yang Zong mentioned today. Could the two things be related?

Forget it, this seems to have nothing to do with me. Su Ze stepped into the mansion. He was anxious to check the harvest of cultural energy today!
(End of this chapter)