Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 28 Night Sneak Peek

As dawn broke, without bothering to pay the bill, he calmly left the inn with Yueya and Master Gu. Yueya was fine, but Master Gu kept turning back to look at Xiaochunzi's room. The stench of corpses was already faintly emanating from the backyard, but a manure cart carrying night soil was passing by in the front yard, its stench carrying for miles. The worker pinched his nose and frowned, completely ignoring the odor in his own house.

Wuxin tugged at Lord Gu's sleeve to stop him from looking around and attracting attention. After leaving the inn and counting their money, Yueya went to buy ten vegetable buns, each about the size of a fist. Lord Gu ate five, Yueya ate three, and Wuxin ate one and a half. Seeing Yueya licking her lips and smacking her tongue as if she wanted more, he gave her the remaining half.

"I'm not afraid of being hungry," he told Crescent Moon. "I have just as much energy even if I don't eat."

Crescent Moon didn't believe it, nor did she want it. The two pushed and shoved, and in the end, one slipped, and half the bun fell to the ground. Lord Gu, watching from the sidelines, exclaimed, "Damn it, I'd rather have it!"

Yueya and Lord Gu were eager to know where Wuxin was going, but Wuxin refused to say a word the entire way. The three of them left the city and took a mountain road, arriving at Qingyun Temple on Qingyun Mountain after most of the day. Although Yueya had lived in Zhili for a long time, the furthest she had ever visited was a large temple in the mountains near Wenxian County. The large temple was already quite magnificent, and the monks inside were all fat and prosperous; however, compared to Qingyun Temple, even though she was not very learned, she could still feel the vulgarity of the large temple. As soon as they passed the archway, she unconsciously tugged at her sleeve, touched her hair, and deliberately wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to appear solemn; Lord Gu's head was also turning in all directions: "Oh my, what a blessed land! How come I've never been here before?"

Wuxin climbed the cobblestone steps without a care, turning slightly to hold Yueya's hand. It was late autumn, and the mountains on either side presented a desolate scene. A dry, cold wind swept through the forest, rustling the withered leaves. A small mountain stream flowed down the mountain, its waters barely audible. Wuxin looked up and saw, amidst the layers of trees, the carved beams and painted rafters of the Jade Emperor Hall behind the mountain gate.

Master Chuchenzi seemed utterly surprised that Wuxin would return. Wearing a black cloak with a mink collar, he stepped off his mahogany daybed, opening the cloak to reveal his spotless white trousers and jacket underneath.

Wuxin treated him with great respect, cupping his hands in a fist and bowing deeply: "Daoist Master, I've come again."

Chuchenzi's long hair, parted in the middle and cascading down, was as black and glossy as a fine satin. He squinted, scrutinizing Wuxin from head to toe. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were hidden beneath his long hair, making his face appear exceptionally fair and youthful. "Why are you here again?"

Wuxin straightened his back, as if feeling ashamed and guilty, and smiled with his head bowed to Chuchenzi: "Isn't it all because of your Grandmaster Uncle-Grandmaster—"

Before he could finish speaking, Chuchenzi shook his head angrily, his eyes and brows bulging with rage: "Bullshit! What grandmaster-uncle do I have? My grandmaster-uncle died several times over a hundred years ago!"

Wu Xin smiled calmly and said, "Daoist Master, don't be impatient, let me finish. Your great-great-uncle has married and become the ninth concubine in Wen County."

Chuchenzi took a step back, slammed his hand on the small table on the Luohan bed, and shouted angrily, "Say one more word and get out!"

Wu Xin nodded: "Okay, I'll go outside to talk."

Chuchenzi strode forward with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, grabbing Wuxin by the collar: "Dare?!"

Wu Xin slowly raised his hands and gently patted Chu Chenzi's shoulder, while whispering, "Daoist Master, your great-uncle played the dead brilliantly."

Chuchenzi stared at him without saying a word.

Wu Xin continued, "If we let her continue like this, chaos will surely ensue in the future. So I need to go to Wen County to take another look at your great-grandfather's formation. Do you see the man and woman standing outside the window? The woman is my wife, and the man is my brother. I can't take them to Wen County to risk their lives, so I'd like to ask you to take them in for a few days. I think with your cultivation, Qingyun Temple shouldn't be haunted."

Chuchenzi released his grip, flicked his sleeve, and turned his back to him: "So what if it's haunted?"

Wuxin circled around to stand in front of him: "Those who cultivate the Tao are always compassionate. I think you can protect two lives."

Chuchenzi looked up at him and asked, "Who exactly are you?"

Wu Xin put his hands together in prayer: "Daoist Master, please, just give them three meals a day."

Upon seeing Wuxin, Chuchenzi felt as if he had fallen into a fog, his heart filled with uncertainty, neither above nor below the heavens. His Grandmaster Uncle was a secret within the Qingyun Temple, a secret he had only passed on to his eldest disciple, for after his passing, the disciple would become the new abbot. The secret was originally like a mysterious, esoteric tale, merely interesting, and utterly worthless; but when Wuxin brought news of his Grandmaster Uncle, the story and reality intertwined, causing Chuchenzi to have recurring nightmares.

Chuchenzi found two small rooms behind Qingyun Temple for Yueya and Lord Gu to stay in. Having witnessed the Taoist priest's ethereal demeanor, Yueya and Lord Gu were filled with admiration and dared not speak or act rashly. That evening, Wuxin sat on Chuchenzi's couch and recounted Yue Qiluo's evil deeds in detail. Chuchenzi, holding an antique-style hand warmer, listened with an uncertain expression. At the end, Wuxin leaned across the table and asked, "How much less skilled are you compared to Yue Qiluo?"

When Chuchenzi heard him finally stop using the title "Grandmaster Uncle," he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "My Grandmaster Uncle and she are not on the same path; we cannot compare ourselves."

Wu Xin asked again, "Yue Qiluo can summon souls from the underworld, can you?"

Chuchenzi shook his head: "I can only suppress the souls on the ground."

Wu Xin nodded in sudden realization: "Oh...not bad either, better than me."

Wuxin didn't sleep all night because after returning to his room, he told the truth to the crescent moon and admitted that he was going to Wenxian County.

Crescent Moon immediately disagreed, and unable to persuade him otherwise, she was eager to throw a tantrum. Sitting on the bed, she loosened her hair, wanting to cry but unable to, so she got out of bed to find Lord Gu. Lord Gu, wearing a cotton-padded coat, entered the room, rubbing his hands together and declaring that he would break Wuxin's legs. Wuxin stepped onto the edge of the bed and slapped his thigh: "Come on, hit me!"

Crescent Moon and Lord Gu, working together with a combination of gentle persuasion and firmness, still couldn't control Wuxin. At midnight, Wuxin set off down the mountain, with Crescent Moon and Lord Gu following far behind. Crescent Moon, whimpering in frustration, cried, "What kind of idiot is he? He's so stubborn, like a mule!"

Lord Gu chimed in, "It's a donkey!"

Crescent Moon added, "Let's go with you. More people are always better than fewer!"

Lord Gu licked his lips but didn't reply, because he really didn't dare to go to Wen County, for fear of Yue Qiluo and Ding Datou.

Without stopping, he turned and grinned at Crescent Moon, then raised his right hand and waved it slightly in farewell. Before Crescent Moon could speak again, he turned and quickened his pace, disappearing into the night as he ran and jumped.

With no ties to him, Wuxin became even more decisive in his actions. He walked tirelessly until dawn, then entered a small restaurant outside Chang'an County for breakfast. There, he overheard diners at the next table recounting a major event in the county—a female guest had arrived at an inn the previous night, remaining silent and refusing to eat or drink. Two days later, the waiter couldn't resist knocking on the door, but no one answered. He kicked the door open and found the woman already dead on the bed!

"It's not too surprising that a woman died," a diner recounted vividly. "What's surprising is that after the autopsy, they found that the female customer had been dead for at least ten days to two weeks—strange, isn't it? She came here on her own two days ago."

A gasp rippled through the restaurant. Wuxin paid the bill, got up, and quietly left.

After walking for most of the day, Wuxin passed through Pigsnout Town and headed straight for the city gate of Wen County. Wen County had been peaceful lately, and the city gates were wide open from morning till night. Wuxin easily entered the county town and mingled in the crowd towards the Gu residence.

As dusk fell, the alley where the Gu residence was located was eerily silent, withered vines, old trees, and crows all around. Wuxin slowly entered the alley and felt that the houses on both sides were devoid of life. Previously, the Gu residence had been haunted for months, but that only scared the neighbors away; now that the Gu residence was neither haunted nor disturbed, why did it become even more desolate?

Wuxin stopped before the two tightly closed, black-lacquered doors. Large brass padlocks hung on the outside, speckled with mud and water stains, suggesting they had weathered many storms. Locking the doors was normal; Wuxin hadn't originally intended to use them. Leaving the alley and circling around to the back, Wuxin decided to climb over the wall. He remembered Master Gu mentioning a garden at the back of the house, and Wuxin was now very interested in everything about the Gu residence.

The garden wall wasn't high, and without thinking, I climbed over before sunset. My footing landed on a soft carpet of weeds and fallen leaves. The plants, neglected for a long time, grew wild and sprawling, and rustling sounds occasionally came from the shadows—small creatures disturbed. A night breeze swept by, swirling up a flurry of fallen leaves.

I casually strolled past a few clumps of wild roses and noticed the garden wasn't very clean. If people don't come, ghosts will.

The pebble path was covered with fallen leaves, and he walked forward without bothering to find his way. He reached the garden entrance without any trouble, but when he looked up, he stopped in his tracks.

A small coffin, made of black wood, sat at the entrance to the courtyard; it seemed to be only big enough to hold a young child.

(End of this chapter)