Compensate for the courtyard wall? How much would it cost to compensate for the courtyard wall of the Sweeping Dust Temple?
The three martial brothers stared at the drafty courtyard wall and were all dumbfounded. The same thought flashed through their minds, and each of them was so frightened that they did not dare to make a sound.
When facing severe torture at the Zhenhai Division, the three could still cry out a couple of times. But when it came to the issue of money, their heroic spirit immediately faltered, and their shrinking expressions were very obvious.
The Ming monk waited for a while without receiving a reply and said strangely, “Could it be that you think this has nothing to do with you?”
Yu Qing looked left and right, seeing that his two senior martial brothers were looking elsewhere as if they had heard nothing. At this moment, it seemed he, as the sect master, had to step up. He immediately asked carefully, “How much do you think we should compensate, Master?”
The Ming monk was slightly stunned, then said, “Why would we want your money?”
The three martial brothers were also stunned. Yu Qing tried asking again, “Then what does the Master mean?”
The Ming monk countered, “Do you not think you should repair it properly before leaving?”
Nan Zhu, who had a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist, chimed in, “Just this?”
The Ming monk said, “Then what else do you want?”
Nan Zhu waved his hands repeatedly, “That is fine, this is perfectly fine, it is what we should do, we will repair it!” He patted his bare chest to guarantee it.
Yu Qing secretly poked his lower back with his finger to no avail. He still took full responsibility and agreed.
With the plan to repair the courtyard wall confirmed, the Ming monk turned and went back into the main hall. Then Changkong and Baiyun directed the three to go to work, to pick up skulls under the steep cliff. There, the sea clan continuously collected skulls from the Nether Sea, piled up like scattered rocks.
Nan Zhu used the excuse of having no clothes to wear and asked if they could give him a monk’s robe to cover his shame. Changkong and Baiyun were not stingy. Moreover, they also felt it was indecent for him to work in the Ming Temple with a bare body where others could see, so they gave him a monk’s robe.
Once he got the clothes, Nan Zhu looked very delighted and cherishing, constantly pulling and admiring it.
When they reached the bottom of the cliff to move the skulls, he saw that Old Seven and Old Fifteen were looking at him unkindly. He knew the two had opinions about him taking full responsibility and agreeing too eagerly. He immediately made a soothing gesture, looked at Changkong and Baiyun standing on top of the cliff, estimated they would not hear, and then muttered in a low voice, “Could we not agree? We have no choice but to agree even if we do not want to. Besides, this is a great job. The courtyard wall of the Ming Temple is being repaired by us. How many people in the world have this opportunity? It is a matter of gaining face to talk about.”
Since things had come to this, Yu Qing could only squeeze out a few words, “You are truly shameless!”
After moving the skulls for one trip, Yu Qing and Mu Aotie stopped running and began to show signs of slacking off. That guy Old Seven liked working, so the two wasted time, letting Old Seven run back and forth and do more work alone.
Yet Nan Zhu was tireless in this, being extremely attentive to Changkong and Baiyun, making Yu Qing and Mu Aotie somewhat suspect whether Old Seven wanted to betray their sect and change his allegiance.
When no one was paying attention, even Mu Aotie could not help but complain, “No wonder he wanted to find the governor’s daughter back then.”
“Yes, a leopard cannot change its spots,” Yu Qing also replied, occasionally paying attention to Big Head on his shoulder. He found it was still motionless, and did not know when it would become lively again.
…
On the terrace of the Zhenhai Division, Zhu Xuan was entertaining an honoured guest. Qi Duolai, who arrived quickly, saw this and stood aside with his hands behind his back, waiting.
The honoured guest came for no other reason than the murder of Wang Xuetang. Although the case had already reached a conclusion, many guests of the Langhuan Residence were still detained by the Zhenhai Division, on the grounds of thoroughly investigating whether the murderer had any accomplices.
Since it involved the death of a relative of the Earth Mother, even though many of the detained personnel had connections at first, most of those connections did not dare to act rashly to help and had to wait and see.
Now that they learned the case had a conclusion, various connections sequentially came forward, hoping the Zhenhai Division would give them face and release the people.
Qi Duolai, who was listening on the side, smiled from time to time. Actually, he also found it amusing inside. In this matter, the Commander went with the flow and did this quietly. Xi Qingyue was happy when he arrested people without giving notice at the time, but now he probably knew the severity of the situation. The reputation of the Langhuan Residence was truly smashed on the ground, and the Fifth Cave Master’s face was probably not looking good either.
With the matter settled, the honoured guest did not disturb them further. He stood up to take his leave, saying, “Brother Zhu, I will leave that matter in your care.”
Zhu Xuan, who stood up to see the guest off, said, “Brother Chen came in person to put in a good word. I must give this face no matter what. I will have someone process your people first when I go back, striving to reach a conclusion for him today. As long as there are no major problems, I will take responsibility for any minor connections, and let him close the case and leave today.”
Thus, both host and guest were very happy, and the guest left happily after accepting the favour.
After accompanying the guest out, Qi Duolai then reported, “Commander, according to observation, those three who were severely injured and entered the Ming Temple are now working there.”
Zhu Xuan, walking with his hands behind his back, was stunned. “Working? What kind of work?”
Qi Duolai said, “Visually, it should be renovating the walls of the Ming Temple.”
Zhu Xuan found it strange. “Injured like that and they can already work?”
Qi Duolai said, “I was also puzzled, so I specifically went nearby to take a look personally. It seems the injuries of the three have already healed.”
Zhu Xuan stopped in shock and suspicion, facing him. “Injured like that, and they can heal in a day or two? Is the medical skill of the Ming Temple really so superb?”
Qi Duolai said, “They definitely received treatment from the Ming Temple, but the specific situation remains to be understood.”
Zhu Xuan stroked his beard and pondered. “Ordinary people cannot even enter the Ming Temple, yet those three fellows can actually tinker with the walls there. It seems that Tanhua is indeed highly valued by Ying Xiaotang. Otherwise, where would they get such a big face?”
Qi Duolai nodded…
Where it needed patching and where it needed rebuilding, Changkong and Baiyun were not polite. They included the places that should have been renovated long ago in their instructions. Thus, the three martial brothers renovated almost a third of the entire temple’s sections.
This was not all just physical labour. It was not just a matter of piling up the skulls. The masonry had to be practical and neat. That required spending a bit of craftsmanship on each skull. Therefore, this bit of work actually kept the three busy until the early morning of the next day before it was considered finished.
After the work was done, the three packed their things and went to the main hall to bid farewell to the Ming monk.
The white robed old monks sitting in meditation on the left and right inside the hall made the three martial brothers look at them sideways constantly.
After the farewell words, the Ming monk, sitting with crossed legs in the main seat, suddenly stared at Big Head on Yu Qing’s shoulder and asked, “The fire cricket gnaws on white bones. Does it feed on bones?”
Yu Qing was slightly stunned but still replied, “It does gnaw on bones.”
The Ming monk immediately advised, “Since that is the case, you must remember not to let it gnaw on fresh human bones. Once it tastes the marrow and knows the flavour, it might treat human life as mere weeds. Recklessly creating killing karma will inevitably lead to falling into the evil path, which is intolerable to the world. I am afraid you will not be able to protect it.”
Yu Qing’s expression turned solemn. He cupped his hands and bowed in return, “This junior will strictly remember the senior’s teachings.”
Nan Zhu added another sentence, “I will definitely come to visit the senior often when I have time.”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie knew his thoughts and almost could not help but roll their eyes.
The Ming monk smiled faintly, “Spare me. You are not welcome here. Go.”
The words were straightforward, having a bit of the flavour of a monk not telling lies, which immediately left Nan Zhu, whose attempts were shattered, with an embarrassed face.
Changkong immediately reached out to show the guests out. Yu Qing still raised his hand to stop him and ask to wait a moment, asking the doubt that had been in his mind, “Why did the Master intervene in time to rescue us?”
The Ming monk said, “Naturally, someone entrusted us.”
Yu Qing immediately asked, “Who?”
The Ming monk smiled, “Guess it yourselves.”
The other party did not tell the answer, and the three martial brothers did not dare to force it, so they could only take their leave then.
After walking out of the Ming Temple gate, the door slammed shut behind them with a clang. The three looked back, and from then on, they swaggered away. With doubts still in his mind, Nan Zhu could not help but mutter, “Who could entrust the Ming Temple to save us?”
Yu Qing sighed, “Who else could it be? The only connection is Duke Xuan, Ying Xiaotang. He must be thinking of the old affection for A Jiezhang.”
Nan Zhu nodded, “That is true. He treated you as that person. I wonder where that person is now. There has been no news for all these years, and no message has been sent to the temple to inform of their whereabouts.” While speaking, his hands were still happily stroking and admiring his monk’s robe.
Yu Qing said disdainfully, “I am afraid if the people inside the Ming Temple take a piss, you would treat it as a treasure to worship, right?”
Mu Aotie also snorted in disapproval.
Nan Zhu was slightly stunned, then reacted and sneered, “It is not me saying this, but you two are still too green when it comes to Jianghu experience. If this is not a treasure, what is? It is priceless and must be collected well as a treasure. Wear it out at critical moments and say it is a monk’s robe given by the Ming Temple. The fists punching over will be softened by three tenths, and the swords and knives chopping over will also be deflected by three tenths.
Even if we take a step back, if a Ming Temple monk’s robe is hung out for sale, just with this scarcity, it can probably be sold for quite a lot of money. This is a huge sum of money. I went to great lengths to get it, and you actually have eyes but fail to recognise the goods. Two younger brothers, we will see in the future!”
After speaking, he happily dusted the dirt off the monk’s robe again.
“…”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie, however, were both stunned and looked back together at the tightly closed gate of the Sweeping Dust Temple.
Nan Zhu, who had walked past, found no one beside him. He looked back, stunned, and said, “Let us go. What are you daydreaming about?”
Yu Qing looked back and said to him, “If you knew this clothes was useful, why did you not tell us at the time? Would it not be better to get two more?”
Nan Zhu laughed, “You are silly. I had an excuse because I was not wearing clothes at the time. If you, who were wearing clothes, still asked, what if they saw through it? Would not that mean I would not get any either? Let us go. Do not be reluctant. If you go back now, they will not give it to you anyway, and might not even let you in the door. Do not remind them to take this one back from me too.”
Thinking about it, it made sense. Yu Qing shook his head and turned around, “Forget it. Three Daoist priests wearing monk’s robes and wandering around everywhere is indeed not very good looking. I am afraid the Patriarch would be unhappy if he saw it.”
There was another thought in his mind that he did not say out loud. He, the grand Tanhua, had to rely on wearing a Ming Temple monk’s robe to protect himself while walking the Jianghu. It was a loss of face and would easily make people laugh at him.
The three continued walking towards the direction of the prosperous sea city. Mu Aotie asked, “Where are we going? Back to Hu Youli’s house?”
Yu Qing said, “Let us find Qingya first.”
Nan Zhu asked, “Why find him?”
“Regarding the death of Wang Xuetang, although the Zhenhai Division has closed the case, exactly how they closed it, even that monk could not explain clearly. Whether the matter has been cleaned up thoroughly and whether the Earth Mother will cause trouble for us, we must at least clarify the situation to be at ease and decide what to do next. Qingya is very well informed. He should know clearly. We will know as soon as we ask.”
The muttering backs of the three gradually moved further away from the Ming Temple under the sun, separated by a strait, like two different worlds.
…
In the Jinghong Hall, on the quiet pavilion, Qingya lay on a recliner with one leg fixed and bound.
Lying there, he was still leisurely, still peeling and eating peanuts in his hand. Hearing footsteps approaching, he turned his head to see Gu Qingzhao coming up. Distracted for a moment, he immediately covered half of his cheek and let out a muffled groan.
Gu Qingzhao knew what had happened as soon as he looked. He had accidentally bitten a peanut into the wound of his missing tooth again. He immediately laughed and scolded, “How many times has this happened now? Your teeth are gone. I told you not to eat, not to eat, but you just could not help it. You deserve it!”
Qingya covered his cheek and sighed, “The teeth will not grow back. These few teeth are completely gone… Xi Qingyue, if you have the ability, do not ever fall into my hands for the rest of your life.”
Just then, Pang Chengqiu quickly came upstairs again. After bowing to the two, he reported, “Master Qing, that Tanhua is here, bringing two companions, saying he wants to visit you.”
Qingya was startled by the words. Not knowing what he thought of, his face changed. He suddenly supported himself with the armrest and sat up. If his leg was not broken, he would probably have stood up directly.
He spat, spitting out the bloody peanut in his mouth, and said with a dark face in a deep voice, “That dog Tanhua is here again! Go tell him I am not in. Remember, from now on, whenever he takes the initiative to come find me, just say I am not in!”