Chapter 103: So the Bean Soldiers Are Here Now?

The sun rose higher and higher.

On Huangcao Mountain, both sides bowed to each other.

The crow flapped its wings and flew into the sky; the wolf demon transformed into a massive wolf and departed; the three men and the fox also began their return journey.

The demon had reverted to its true form, carried in the hand of one of Third Brother’s bean soldiers—a lizard-like spirit roughly three feet long, gray with mottled markings; evidently its original form was weak and feeble, which is why it had maintained human shape to fight them, though its strength was not great, its reflexes, speed, and running far surpassed those of humans.

“These demons only arrived this morning,” Third Brother said. “They’re not usually at the temple.”

“Yes, their corpses radiate heavy death qi—if they’d been here regularly, we’d have noticed them the moment we arrived.” Lin Jue paused. “According to what they said, the Bodhisattva manifests on the third of every month. These demons likely come once a month to take silver and leave pills.”

“That must be it. The monks must be trading silver for pills—whether ‘life-sustaining poison pills’ or ‘immortal pills.’” Third Brother sneered. “Whether poison or immortal, they never considered these pills might be fake.”

“Indeed…”

“How did you come to know these two?”

“Didn’t you already know? The thousand-day wine you’ve been dreaming of—you traded it for the earthwood spirit with them.” Lin Jue said. “That one wanted the wine to help his longtime friend attain enlightenment.”

“The thousand-day wine!”

Third Brother suddenly remembered, and felt a pang of regret—such wine appeared only once every ten years, and ten years for a human is no short span.

Even for Daoists, it’s the same.

A slight delay, and you’d have to wait another decade.

Even for Daoists—even for those who’ve become True Persons—how many decades do they have?

“Brother, you’re impressive. I thought I was the one with the widest network in our observatory, yet here, so far away, even demons aid you.” Third Brother chuckled.

“Merely an accidental bond.”

The three walked into the morning light, growing ever more distant.

Below, the red leaf forest and villages remained shrouded in a long ribbon of morning mist; as the sun rose, the fog lifted, gradually revealing their true forms.

“That crow has attained enlightenment.”

The youngest sister kept turning back, amazed and awed.

“Yes…”

That’s actually a good thing.

…

Descending the great mountain, passing through the red leaf forest, following the path beside the fields, they unexpectedly encountered pilgrims fleeing from the temple—including the Wang pilgrim.

Seeing them, especially the bean soldiers and the giant lizard they carried, the pilgrims were startled.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Lin Jue felt his own demeanor should be more approachable; Third Brother, to their eyes, might seem like a powerful killer. He handed his longsword to the youngest sister, stepped forward, and bowed:

“We are Daoists from Fuxiang Peak on Yishan—not evil people. We merely passed through and stayed overnight. The monks here are impostors, pretending to be divine to deceive and rob. Because we know some arts, they were exposed and tried to bribe us; when that failed, they plotted to poison us. In the struggle, we discovered they consorted with demons—and so we slew them.”

The pilgrims trembled, unwilling to believe, yet dared not refute.

Seeing this, Lin Jue continued:

“We need your help: after leaving here, report this to the local authorities. We won’t leave—we’ll wait inside the temple.”

Hearing this, they began to believe.

In fact, among these pilgrims were officials.

“Is what the Daoist says true?”

“Of course.” Lin Jue said. “Think: we’re just passing Daoists who stayed overnight. Why would we have any grudge against these monks? How many famous temples in the world have a Bodhisattva manifesting every month? These monks collected vast offerings—yet didn’t repair the temple or gild the statues. Where did the money go? Have any poor people been aided? You live here—you know better than we, distant Daoists.”

The crowd fell silent, some doubt creeping in.

But devotion bred blind faith; even if doubts arose, they’d find excuses to dismiss them.

Yet just now, during the battle, the monks had indeed received aid from demons, and these three Daoists held actual demons. The armored soldier, though unusual, was still more trustworthy than a demon.

Most convincing of all: these three Daoists had let them go—and asked them to report to the authorities.

“Then what of the Bodhisattva’s manifestation?”

“The golden light from the statue is just a trick. The chanting is done by the monks.” Lin Jue said. “If you truly have no reverence for the Bodhisattva or Buddha, come closer to look—or return with us now—and you’ll find hidden mechanisms beneath the altar.”

“No no no…”

“Go now. Don’t dwell on this. Don’t overthink—it harms your spirit. No matter how far-reaching this conspiracy, it won’t bring you further harm. You’ll simply lose your silver. Consider it a nightmare.”

They all looked at him, their fear easing.

Humans aren’t heartless things. Listening to this Daoist’s words, seeing his expression, one could already sense good from evil.

The three returned to the temple—it was still a mess.

On the ground lay two decapitated giant snakes—not pythons, yet grown as large as them—and a spider nearly chopped to pieces, its body the size of a cartwheel. The snakes bore dozens of slash wounds; the spider, hundreds of jagged cuts—evidencing how fierce the battle outside had been.

Half the monks were dead; the rest were locked in the main hall, guarded by several bean soldiers.

Now, besides the stench of blood, there was also a taint of death qi.

“Brother, do you sense something wrong?” Lin Jue frowned.

“What’s wrong? Of course something’s wrong!” Third Brother was sharp. “There’s another demon behind this, using pills to control these bald fools.”

“More than that…”

“What?”

“Silver. Death qi.” Lin Jue looked at him. “Doesn’t it feel familiar?”

“Hss!”

Third Brother froze.

Thinking harder, he was stunned.

“This place is hundreds of miles from Yixian!”

“Yes.”

“If there’s a connection…”

“Yes.”

Back in Yixian, those demons had indeed been purged by the Divine Lord Yi Li. At least, for the past half-year, though occasional ghostly incidents occurred in the surrounding mountains, no more silver thefts had happened in the city. After the statue of Yi Li was moved into the city, similar strange events ceased entirely.

But if this place’s events are linked to Yixian’s, how vast is the demon network behind it?

“Then your chase just now was absolutely right—if you’d let it go, it might have warned the others.”

“I was just angry.”

“Hahahaha! I prefer that reason!”

“…“ Lin Jue shook his head. “We must notify Qiyun Mountain. Have them ask their deities to expand their search and investigate thoroughly again.”

“Those deities are lazy—especially now. They’re probably not even thinking about eliminating demons.” Third Brother scoffed. “Securing sacred grounds and offerings, securing their status for centuries to come—that’s their real priority.”

“After the grand ritual, they might be more willing.”

“Maybe.” Third Brother said. “Still, we must notify them. If Qiyun Mountain’s deities truly uncover the truth, then the Divine Lord Yi Li—and even the Jade Mirror Great Emperor—will earn Dao Master’s respect. I’ll visit their temples and burn incense.”

“I’ll go too!”

“Hah! But for now, we shouldn’t stay here. This mountain temple is foul. Let’s take these prisoners to the county—just in case!”

“Brother, your thinking is thorough.”

Lin Jue paused suddenly, then turned toward the inner room: “But I have one more thing.”

“What?”

Third Brother followed his gaze and understood at once, smiling faintly.

“Borrow your friend.”

“Good!”

Lin Jue walked to the door of the innermost room. The fox leapt lightly over the corpses and followed him; behind them, several bean soldiers carried the monks’ bodies.

The door was still locked.

Lin Jue slashed it open with his sword and stepped inside.

The lingering souls here were heavy with resentment—unrest even in daylight. By day, their shadows were faint, nearly invisible; only with great care could one see their clawing, gnashing forms, desperate to attack Lin Jue yet terrified of sunlight, cowering in the room’s dark corners.

The bean soldiers entered with heavy footsteps.

“Thud…”

The monks’ corpses were dumped on the floor.

The door closed. The room plunged into darkness.

Only a sliver of light seeped through the cracks, illuminating the dust dancing in the air.

Several lingering souls drew swords and daggers, ready to rush Lin Jue—then froze, staring at the corpses on the floor.

“You brave men must have seen through their tricks, despised how they plundered the poor, refused to join them—and were murdered for it! You died with unfinished vengeance!”

Lin Jue didn’t know if this was true—he just said it.

But they were already dead, without bodies, mere lingering souls—not even ghosts. They couldn’t hear words; only in the bean soldiers could they regain their senses. Now, they could only feel intent.

Intent is conveyed through words.

Mind and speech united—ghosts and spirits understand.

“These monks have been slain. Three demons have been killed. Your grudges can now be laid to rest.”

Lin Jue spoke these words—and thought them truly:

“To linger here is torment. If you wish to depart, depart. Dust to dust, earth to earth.

“If you refuse to depart, come with me!

“Nothing more: help me punish evil, promote good, slay demons, and tread the world to right such injustices—to bring peace to this chaotic age, and reduce such horrors!”

The lingering souls fell silent.

Two of the lingering souls were already faint, now growing even fainter until they gradually dispersed; the remaining three turned to look at Lin Jue.

Lin Jue pulled out a bottle.

“If you wish to come with me, I am deeply grateful. You may dwell temporarily within this bottle; when I return to the mountains, I shall surely forge new bodies for each of you. For the tasks I will ask of you in the future, I thank you now.”

“Shu!”

The three yin souls surged toward him at once.

Lin Jue bowed deeply, then tucked the bottle away.

So now the bean soldiers have appeared, haven’t they?

As for the two that vanished, perhaps they did not resonate with Lin Jue’s thoughts, or perhaps they were unmoved by his words—naturally, they departed. These three remained because they aligned with what Lin Jue said and were drawn to his mindset and character at that moment; thus, they are surely three worthy heroes.

To show them greater respect is only natural.

…

While still on the road, they encountered the county constables.

Third Senior Brother presented his ordination certificate, explained the temple incident, ordered some constables to escort the monks back to the city for detention and interrogation, and led others back to the temple—where the scene left the constables gaping in shock.

They then lingered in the city for several days.

Although many had witnessed the monks summoning demons, the demon’s corpse still lay in the courtyard, and other evidence—the monks’ breakfast, the hidden space beneath the altar where they could conceal themselves to chant sutras, even the skeletons of victims buried behind the temple—had all been uncovered. Moreover, Third Senior Brother possessed an unusual ordination certificate. Yet this matter was of grave importance and could not possibly be resolved in an instant.

If word of this spread, it would shake the entire region, passed mouth to mouth for years, perhaps even reaching the imperial court, maybe even finding its way into someone’s writings.

But alas, this was a mediocre official.

The county magistrate cared nothing for temple demons, murderous monks, or stolen money—as long as he himself was neither deceived nor harmed. Upon seeing the three’s formidable magical arts, he immediately treated them as honored guests, making Lin Jue certain that had the demons won, he would have done exactly the same.