Chapter 609

After seeing Liang Bo off, it was already past three o'clock.

Li Qingying urged me to go catch up on sleep; tonight there's clearly a tough battle to fight.

I lay in bed, but I just couldn't fall asleep.

The words of Wang Fuchen and Liang Bo alternated in my mind, slowly forming a net that I couldn't make sense of, so I couldn't sleep.

Liang Bo and Lin Mei were obviously cannon fodder.

But the cannon fodder, having encountered us, merely managed to preserve their lives temporarily.

What about the four selected couples?

Zhuyou Sanren had four disciples in total; Wang Fuchen was the youngest, yet the most promising.

And the matter of the attendant boys was clearly a plot hatched by Zhuyou Sanren and the other three disciples.

What did they intend to do with these four attendant boys?

Were they really chosen for the City God?

Of course not.

Then they were likely intending to use these four attendant boys to suppress something… or… to sacrifice them?

Light gradually seeped in from the window; I simply couldn't calm down, I got up, dressed, and prepared to go now to Jūnzhú Shān to meet Liu Junyan, and also check on the situation inside Chénghuáng Miào.

After I finished washing up and was about to leave, Liu Junyan returned.

I hurried forward and asked, "How's the situation at Chénghuáng Miào?"

"Until late night it was still the same; the incense and merit in Chénghuáng Miào had been gathered away to Dēngtiān Diàn." Liu Junyan said, "But around three a. m., the gates of Chénghuáng Miào opened, and we saw inside they were setting up altars—four altars in total. During this process, four couples entered Chénghuáng Miào; the women all had bellies as big as looms, looking full-term. By the time I returned, worshippers had already entered Chénghuáng Miào to offer incense."

From this it's clear that Liang Bo wasn't lying.

I then repeated Wang Fuchen's and Liang Bo's words to Liu Junyan in full.

Liu Junyan listened and fell into deep thought.

He leaned against the desk, his fingers occasionally doodling on the edge.

Soon he figured it out: "So it appears that Zhuyou Sanren has been propping up Wang Fuchen, but in fact Wang Fuchen has been under Zhuyou Sanren's control?"

"I've thought that too," I said honestly, "but I always feel there's something unreasonable in between."

Liu Junyan understood: "All the unreasonableness actually stems from Wang Fuchen's inaction; you can't fathom why Wang Fuchen, occupying the position of City God, is it out of womanly compassion, unable to bring himself to judge his master, or is he too fond of his own feathers, unwilling to bear the guilt of killing his master?"

I nodded: "Yes, that's exactly where I can't make sense of it."

"Xiao Jiu, have you considered that perhaps even Wang Fuchen himself never truly saw through his master?" Liu Junyan said, "The four characters 'Yībù Dēngtiān' mean both promotion and coercion, control; Wang Fuchen's Duàn Qíng Jué Ài left him with little contact with his master and senior fellows for many years, and Mo Qiong had earlier heard from worshippers that Zhuyou Sanren had been wandering outside for a long time—was he accumulating merit out there, or was he fleeing something?"

I immediately frowned: "You're saying Zhuyou Sanren has a problem?"

"At this point, that's the only possibility," Liu Junyan said. "I think Wang Fuchen may also have realized this, but being unable to expose Zhuyou Sanren's true colors himself, he had no choice but to drag us into it as well."

Just then, Li Qingying came over with her phone and turned on the speaker.

Hui Moqiong's voice came through: "Seventh Lord, those worshippers coming today seem a bit off; there are far too many of them, the vehicles are about to block the road outside Chénghuáng Miào, many are out-of-town plates, whole families, and they keep streaming into Chénghuáng Miào; moreover, I've been watching for a while and it seems only people go in, none come out."

Liu Junyan's face changed instantly; he said sternly, "What about inside? Can you see the condition of those worshippers in there?"

"Inside?" Hui Moqiong said, "The worshippers who have entered the main hall are offering incense; at the very center of those four altars, a large incense burner has also been set up today, and many worshippers are offering incense on the altars—that's all I can see so far."

Liu Junyan asked, "Are there no Daoists presiding over the altars? Are they all just worshippers?"

When Hui Moqiong said "yes," he also realized the problem: "Exactly, it's already early morning, and so many worshippers have come—why haven't those Daoists gone up to the altars yet?

"Mo Qiong, listen to me: now send two people, one to enter through the main gate of Chénghuáng Miào, the other to sneak in, to check the situation inside the main hall, including the rear side halls."

Hui Moqiong immediately designated two people to go.

Liu Junyan continued: "Mo Qiong, now gather all the manpower you can mobilize, encircle Jūnzhú Shān and Chénghuáng Miào, and do your best to stop every worshipper trying to enter the temple."

Hui Moqiong asked, "What about the worshippers already inside the temple? Should I try to figure out how to disperse them?"

"You can't do that," Liu Junyan said firmly. "Those who came today are likely all followers of Zhuyou Sanren; that old fox has already sensed danger, and these followers are his lifeline."

"All right, Seventh Lord, I'll follow your arrangements," Hui Moqiong said, then suddenly exclaimed, "Seventh Lord, the person we arranged to enter through the main gate of Chénghuáng Miào has been blocked out; they're not allowed in."

Liu Junyan wasn't surprised: "Just wait for the other person to return."

Not long after, the one who had sneaked in also returned to report.

After speaking in a low voice, Hui Moqiong's voice sounded again: "Seventh Lord, after the worshippers who entered the main hall offered incense, they were diverted; they each went into the corresponding rear side halls, and once inside they all knelt down in unison, praying devoutly—men, women, old and young all in the same posture. Strangely, although not much incense was burned, the incense smell throughout Chénghuáng Miào seems stronger than the sum of the past few days, and the whole Jūnzhú Shān is now a hazy white."

While they were speaking, Hui Moqiong's side suddenly became noisy.

Liu Junyan asked what was happening.

Hui Moqiong said, "The worshippers we've blocked outside are causing a disturbance, Seventh Lord; their emotions are a bit off, and if this continues I'm afraid something will happen."

"It won't happen," Liu Junyan said. "The people inside won't let them start a disturbance; time waits for no one, Mo Qiong, hold your ground."

Hui Moqiong said he would guarantee to complete the mission.

After hanging up, Liu Junyan told me, "Xiao Jiu, contact Elder Fang, have him mobilize personnel as quickly as possible to block all checkpoints leading into Jūnzhú Shān; don't let anyone else in."

I immediately called to contact Fang Chuanzong.

We've been through life-and-death together; Fang Chuanzong didn't even bother to ask for details before agreeing.

I had just hung up when Hui Moqiong's phone rang again: "Seventh Lord, as you said, the worshippers outside Chénghuáng Miào didn't riot; they caused a disturbance for a while, and now they all kneel in unison toward the temple gates—a huge crowd; this scene is too eerie."