STOTTD | Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Da Li Si, 阅微堂.

Shen Jibai was sitting behind the desk, holding a note about one finger long in his hand.

He lowered his brows and eyes, obviously lost in thought.

Since Tang Gaozu founded the dynasty, several emperors had been recovering lost lands and expanding territory. Year after year of war caused many refugees and orphans on the frontier to have nowhere to live, and they flowed into the Eastern Capital.

To prevent too many refugees from flooding in, or from mistakenly adopting someone else’s child and causing disputes, the prefect would carefully investigate every foreigner and register them in the records.

The constables he sent out to investigate Chao Nanyi followed the information that Linghe Zhenren filled out back then, found the address where he had picked up Chao Nanyi, and rushed over, only to discover that it was an abandoned village. There had been no sign of people for decades, and it was impossible for there to have been an abandoned baby there.

Who would travel such a long way to throw away a child in the middle of nowhere? If they were going to abandon it, they would leave it at the entrance of a temple, or in front of a household, making sure someone could see it.

He took out a small portrait, rolled it up and stuffed it into the bamboo pouch on the leg of a homing pigeon, then had the constables take the portrait and investigate in secret, to see whether anyone had ever seen someone with a similar face.

Yes, he had always suspected that the current “Lingyun Jun” was a sister who looked exactly like Chao Nanyi, and that the two of them were secretly planning something in the shadows.

That was why, when they talked under the moon in Guihua Small Courtyard, his attitude had loosened somewhat. He wanted to use the chance of investigating the case to get close to her, and wait for an opportunity to find clues.

The room door opened with a creak. Shen Jibai immediately released the homing pigeon, moved his eyes toward the door, and with a slight frown, scolded, “You don’t know the rules?”

“I should be asking whether you know the rules!”

Before the words had even finished, a man over forty, with a stout build, walked in slowly with his hands behind his back.

Shen Jibai stood up and said, “Shen Jibai.”

Shen Jibai lifted his robe and sat down in the Eight Immortals chair by the window, picked up the tea cup on the high table, blew on it, and said casually, “I heard you transferred a batch of constables out of the Demon Suppression Tower, wanting to question them separately?”

Shen Jibai: “Yes.”

Shen Jibai took a sip of tea and slowly said, “This tea, even if it tastes bitter going in, is not the fault of the person who brewed it. If you really want to get to the bottom of it, not only will you hurt people’s face, you will also damage the substance. What do you think, is it or is it not?”

Shen Jibai sat back down. “If Shen Jibai has something to say, please speak plainly.”

“You-!”

Seeing that he would not budge at all, Shen Jibai slammed the tea cup heavily back onto the high table, put on the air of someone in power, and said with overwhelming authority, “Has Shen Jibai Shaoqing forgotten why the entire Da Li Si underwent a major purge last time?”

“Shen understands.” Shen Jibai said calmly, “Just as Shen Jibai reported in your memorial, that night the Fox King broke through the seal on his own, and it was not because the constables in the Demon Suppression Tower failed in their care.”

“Ah! That’s exactly it.”

Shen Jibai showed an expression as if a teachable child could be taught, and nodded very satisfied. “Although you went out to investigate the case that day and were not in the city, after coming back you also learned the whole story, so what more is there to investigate?”

Shen Jibai changed the subject. “Lingyun Jun does not believe it and insists on investigating to the end.”

Coincidentally, Shen Jibai did not believe a single word of that either.

But Lingyun Jun had a special identity. Although she held the post of temple assistant, she could not really be counted as his subordinate. Using her as a shield was indeed somewhat troublesome.

He frowned and asked, “You two have always been at odds, and half a month ago you even fought and made a scene before the Son of Heaven. Why are you helping her this time?”

“Shen Jibai also saw it. Lingyun Jun has formidable means. Since she insists on this, how could Shen refuse?”

Three bells rang. This meant the dining hall had opened for meals and there would be no waiting after the hour.

Shen Jibai stood up, made an inviting gesture, and signaled for him to talk while they walked.

Shen Jibai stared at him for a long while before standing up and going out first.

With their status, there was no need for them to go to the dining hall in person. Constables would naturally bring food boxes every day.

But Shen Jibai did not like special treatment. Since taking office, he had done everything himself, and everyone in Da Li Si knew this.

Because of that, although Shen Jibai’s face looked a little ugly, he did not say anything.

The two of them went together to the dining hall. Probably because he was not affected by soft or hard tactics, Shen Jibai could only painstakingly and earnestly drone on from beginning to end about what had happened ten years ago.

A demon had once gone missing from the Demon Suppression Tower. The constables on duty that night did not dare conceal it and immediately reported it to the Da Li Si chief.

The Da Li Si chief at that time was a trusted minister highly relied upon by the Son of Heaven. He submitted a memorial pleading guilty, but unexpectedly, the Son of Heaven really removed him from office and ordered an investigation. Not only that, he also demoted the deputy chief and several temple assistants in succession, and stripped the cultivation of the constables on duty that night, locking them in the lowest level of the imperial prison, where they still have not been released to this day.

Although he did not say it directly, the meaning was very clear: the consequences of a nameless little demon going missing were already this serious. If the matter of the Fox King were known to the Son of Heaven, everyone in Da Li Si would be unable to escape punishment.

Only then did Shen Jibai finally confirm that the matter was not at all the “broke through the seal on his own” written in Shen Jibai’s memorial, but a man-made escape.

Everyone in Da Li Si, out of selfish motives, tacitly chose to lie.

＊

Dining hall.

The two top figures of Da Li Si both came to get food, startling the cook so much that his hand shook, and he almost failed to hold the wooden ladle steady.

He subconsciously turned back to glance at the cook resting behind him, then forcefully stamped his right foot. The sound drew the cook’s attention.

Taking advantage of that, he made faces at the man, tilting his chin toward the two of them.

The cook immediately came over, picked up the wooden ladle set aside nearby, and after finishing serving Shen Jibai, when it was Shen Jibai’s turn, he deliberately lowered his voice and said with a flattering smile, “Shen Jibai, why have you come personally today? Is the meal sent over not to your taste? Do you need anything else made?”

The meals eaten daily by the Da Li Si chief were made separately by the cook. That was something Shen Jibai had specially “advised” after taking over. Originally, the deputy chief was also within the scope of special care, but this Shen Jibai Shaoqing was young, straightforward, upright and incorruptible, not soft or hard to deal with, and hated this sort of special treatment the most, so he took the initiative to cancel it.

“No need.” Shen Jibai said to the cook, “Less meat.”

The cook shook the ladle and scooped meat to fill it for him. Only after watching him leave did he and the person beside him both let out a breath.

Those two ancestors sat down at the small table by the window. Shen Jibai Shaoqing lowered his head and ate his meal, never saying a word, while Shen Jibai kept talking about something, not even bothering to eat.

The cook craned his neck and looked for a while, then saw a paper crane fly in through the window into the dining hall and land on Shen Jibai Shaoqing’s shoulder.

“Shen Jibai!” It was Lingyun Jun’s voice.

The constables in the hall, who had been eating with their heads down, all froze, then pricked up their ears. Even the cook, who had gone back to sit behind them, stood up and stretched his neck to look toward the window.

“A Ke has found some important clues, does Shen Jibai Shaoqing want to know or not?” Another paper crane landed on Shen Jibai’s shoulder.

Shen Jibai, who had been chattering nonstop, finally shut his mouth. His expression grew darker and darker, and more and more unpleasant.

Only to see Shen Jibai raise his hand and sweep the paper crane off his shoulder. As the paper crane fell into midair, it suddenly turned into a wisp of cloud and smoke and dispersed.

He looked at the person sitting opposite him, slightly lifting one eyebrow. “Shen Jibai also saw it. This is all Lingyun Jun’s idea.”

As soon as the words fell, another paper crane flew in and circled above Shen Jibai’s head. “If Shen Jibai Shaoqing were to beg A Ke, or call out ‘good big sister’ once, A Ke could seriously consider it.”

The raised eyebrow slowly lowered. This time, it was Shen Jibai’s face that grew ugly.

After passing on the message, the paper crane suddenly disappeared.

The constables who had pricked up their ears to eavesdrop on the gossip looked at each other, the shock on their faces impossible to hide.

Even the cook could not help turning back to gossip with the cook beside him, “What’s going on? Weren’t these two always at odds? Why are they suddenly getting along?”

The cook shook his head. “I heard these two came out of the Shen residence together yesterday, and then took the same carriage to Taiqing Daoist Temple. Shen Jibai Shaoqing even personally got off the carriage to send Lingyun Jun back into the temple, and didn’t come out all day. Yesterday was the first time in all these years that he missed duty!”

The cook narrowed his eyes. “It must be your minds being filthy. Lingyun Jun swore an oath, swore that in this life she would absolutely never look for a Big Brother, Big Sister. I don’t believe it.”

“Isn’t an oath just made to be broken someday?” The cook did not care at all.

Shen Jibai was silent for a moment before he said, “Lingyun Jun has lost his memory. She’s making a mess, and Shen Jibai Shaoqing is joining in the nonsense too? If this really reaches the Son of Heaven, everyone in Da Li Si will have a layer of skin ripped off. Taiqing Daoist Temple, on the other hand, will not have anything happen to it at all.”

Shen Jibai said, “Taiqing Daoist Temple’s duty is to catch demons, not to detain them. The Demon King ran away from Da Li Si, so naturally it has nothing to do with Taiqing Daoist Temple.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Jibai’s expression stiffened. Then he suddenly slapped the table and stood up. “Good! So this is the idea you were playing. It’s not enough that the deputy chief position satisfies you, now you want to curry favor with Taiqing Daoist Temple and climb higher! Shen Jibai, I thought too highly of you. A person recommended by that stinking Daoist who knows nothing all day except flattering the Son of Heaven and putting on ghost tricks, what big thing can he accomplish.”

He waved his hand and swept the bowls and plates to the ground, then flung his sleeves and left. Porcelain cracked and shattered all over the floor with popping sounds, and the muddy vegetable soup spilled onto the ground, mixing with the rice and meat slices.

When the meat had been hidden under the rice, it had not looked like much. Now that it was spilled on the ground, everyone realized that there was enough meat here to split among three or four constables.

The dining hall became even quieter. Just moments ago, the clinking of bowls and chopsticks could still be heard, but now even the sound of swallowing could not be heard.

Shen Jibai continued eating with an unchanged expression. Only after he swallowed the last mouthful of rice in the bowl did he stand up. Seeing that the constables dining in the hall had already run off and there was no one left now, he could only walk out and say to the low-level attendants sweeping the courtyard, “Go to Taiqing Daoist Temple and invite Lingyun Jun over. Tell her everyone is already here.”

＊

Outside Luoyang City, in the locust grove.

A strong wind blew up, scattering a few leaves. The leaves drifted down and landed on the female Daoist’s head, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Zhou Xin looked around, clicked her tongue in amazement, and sighed, “This escape technique is really nice! Next time I should see if I can escape to the men’s bathhouse...”

After leaving a mark on a tree, she walked forward for a while, only to discover that she seemed to have run into a ghost wall. No matter how she walked, she would return to the marked tree, unable to go deeper inside.

There was qimen dunjia in this locust grove. If things went badly, there might even be a formation barrier, hiding that mountain.

Zhou Xin mobilized her qi, formed hand seals, and chanted an incantation. The silver bell on her right wrist exploded in sound, and with a burst of tinkling and ringing, a thunderclap suddenly split the sky and struck straight at the locust grove!

The locust tree in front of her was split in two. She tried walking again, but before long she came back once more.

Zhou Xin tried several times in a row, chopping the visible trees in front of her into pieces, but she still could not break this formation and remained trapped, circling in place.

She had no choice but to set up several formations nearby, then used the Five Elements escape technique to return to Taiqing Daoist Temple.

Just as she appeared at the entrance of Taiqing Daoist Temple, she immediately saw a young man riding over on horseback in Da Li Si official robes. When he saw her, he quickly tightened the reins and shouted, “Lingyun Jun! Shen Jibai Shaoqing has sent this humble official to come find you and ask you to make a trip to Da Li Si!”

“Got it.”
Zhou Xin waved her hand, signaling for him to go first.

As the attendant just turned his horse around, the female Daoist behind him suddenly disappeared.

Zhou Xin had not yet been to Da Li Si, and she had no image of its terrain in her mind, so she did not expect that she would suddenly appear in 阅微堂, sitting on the desk where Shen Jibai worked.

The person sitting on the Taishi chair behind the desk seemed to be reviewing something, still holding a bamboo pen in his right hand and resting his left hand lightly on the edge of the desk. If not for the fact that she had widened her eyes in shock and the veins at her temples were jumping, anyone looking at this scene would think that it was her who had neglected her duties, trapping the youthful Lingyun Jun in front of the desk and her body, as if she were about to do some shameful bad thing.

Thinking of the consequences of the previous two times their bodies had touched, Zhou Xin felt a chill run down her spine, and all the hair on her body stood up.

Just as she was about to explain, she heard footsteps at the door. Then a middle-aged man’s voice burst into the room together with the footsteps, “Lu Mou heard that Shen Jibai Shaoqing and Shen Jibai had a big quarrel in the dining hall, so what is this aga-”

The voice suddenly cut off.