Indulging in Carnal Desire

“According to legend, Emperor Shunzhi was a devout Buddhist, particularly in Zen Buddhism. As a result, he also taught Zen Buddhism to his favored consort, Consort Dong’e. Being of erudite and clever nature, Consort Dong’e eventually attained an equivalent mastery of the faith.

“The pair was in perfect harmony, and Consort Dong’e was showered with his love day after day. However, good things don’t last forever. Consort Dong’e later carried a prince in her womb for 10 months, but he only lived for 3. Because of this, Consort Dong’e fell ill from the heartache of losing a child and passed away the very same year.”

“After Consort Dong’e’s death, Emperor Shunzhi was inconsolable and was extremely aggrieved. Due to his grief, the thought of leaving home to become a monk suddenly popped into his head. And so, after his beloved Consort Dong’e’s funeral, Emepror Shunzhi asked the monk in charge of cremating Consort Dong’e to shave his head…”

On the trail of a steep mountain, a man and a woman wearing conical bamboo hats were climbing up. The man among the two was telling a popular legend in a magnetic tone, while the girl next to him listened with gusto.

“In the end, did Emperor Shunzhi go to Wutai Mountain to become a monk?”

“There was such a rumor, but there wasn’t any substantive evidence to prove that,” Yan Zhan explained unhurriedly, “It’s just that, starting from Emperor Kangxi, every generation of emperors would pay a visit to this place. So, if you say that there isn’t really anything on this Mt. Wutai…”

“I don’t believe it!”

Chu Jiao rubbed her chin while pondering, feeling that perhaps there might really be precious treasure hiding in this Mt. Wutai.

“Eh? Brother Yan,” Chu Jiao lightly tugged on Yan Zhan’s sleeve. “Do you see someone in the thicket up ahead?”

Yan Zhan looked in the direction where Chu Jiao’s fingers were pointing to, his face immediately hardening as he said, “Wait here first. “

Waving a hand, one of the soldiers following not too far behind them quickly ran forward to check.

“Governor, it’s a young monk! He’s injured and unconscious.”

With this new information, Yan Zhan was finally put at ease and brought Chu Jiao over to check the situation.

“Who would be so cruel as to not even let go of a child!?”

Upon seeing the novice monk be covered with bloody stab wounds all over his body, Chu Jiao’s rage was provoked.

“Let’s rest here,” Yan Zhan instructed, “Orderlies, bring the medicine kit over and treat him.”

Yan Zhan had dared to take Chu Jiao to Mt. Wutai, so naturally, he made extensive preparations beforehand.

He has been fully informed of Zhang Chong’s and Du Shourong’s whereabouts. Their two troops had already reached Jinzhong. However, Zhang Chong was currently entangled by the mutiny in his army, so he was a bit preoccupied at the moment; Du Shourong, on the other hand, had disappeared in the nearby Taihuai Town in Jin Di. According to reports from his scouts, Du Shourong was not alone when he came to Jinzhong and was closely guarded by numerous skilled experts. The scouts didn’t dare get too close for fear of alerting him, so the tracking was stopped.

Mt. Wutai was just a few kilometers south of Taihuai Town, so one didn’t need to second guess where Du Shourong was intending to head off to.

“It was a Japanese katana.” The orderly was treating the young monk’s wounds. Yan Zhan then squatted at the side to examine one of the wounds more carefully, soon coming to a conclusion.

“The Japanese?” Chu Jiao sneered, “I haven’t settled my debt to them yet… It’s definitely Du Shourong’s party!”

Yan Zhan had gone abroad before. He lived in Japan for ten years and gained fluency in the language.

Right now, Chu Jiao could still remember the words Yoshida Hideaki left unfinished in her ear “After all, even your ‘Qiqi’….”

Later on, she asked Yan Zhan what ‘Qiqi’ meant, and Yan Zhan told her that it meant “Father” in Japanese.¹ Qiqi in Chinese sounds very similar to the pronunciation of chichi (父 / ちち) in Japanese.

Chu Jiao believed with an 80% certainty that the original owner’s father was murdered by the Japanese. And, their real goal was the little troublemaking seal that was hanging around Yan Zhan’s neck.

As for whether the Du father and daughter pair had a hand in it… Hehe, Chu Jiao was too lazy to investigate them.

Du Shourong was bold enough to cooperate with the Japanese, so he deserved an early death.

As for Du Xiruo, it wouldn’t be excessive at all to give her the title of ‘The One Who Helped Tyrant Zhou in His Oppression’²This means to take the side of the evildoer so she’s calling Du Xiruo an accomplice. today.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

About half an hour later, the little monk woke up with a burst of coughs.

“You! Who are you people!?”

With a panicked look, he wanted to retreat far away, but with this wounded body of his, he could only grimace from the sheer force of the pain, causing tears to leak out of his eyes. Yet, he still put on a look that showed them that he would rather die than submit. Wiping his tears away, he cautiously stared at the group of people in front of him, like a small frightened animal pretending to be fierce.

“Don’t be afraid, little master,” Chu Jiao slowly squatted down and gently held the little monk’s hand, “We are not bad people.”

“We found you injured and unconscious along the path, so we simply took care of your wounds and bandaged you up. Be careful and don’t move that much, otherwise, your wounds might open again.”

“We came from a distant place. I heard that the Zhenhai Temple on Mt. Wutai is very spiritual.” Chu Jiao lovingly patted her belly before turning to glance at Yan Zhan at the side and leaning against him, “We merely wanted to donate some money to the gods and pray for the happiness of our child…”

“…” Upon hearing this, Yan Zhan almost fumed in anger, but under Chu Jiao’s discrete eye signals, he merely nodded and responded, “Yes, that’s it…”

Hui Ran stared at the kind sister in front of him, and the vigilance in his heart dropped. He quickly warned them, “Don’t bother going anymore, the mountain is full of bad people!”

[Completed]