Chapter 125 – Green Dragon Temple

After nibbling on the buns, Xu Qi’an asked Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng to go and inform the rest of the team to assemble in the front yard.

Xu Qi’an’s current team: the Golden Jade Hall, the Evil Suppressor Hall, the Spring Wind Hall, the Divisional Superintendent Chu Caiwei, and six constables from the government office.

Total 24.

The two silver gongs, Min Shan and Yang Feng, were responsible for verifying the Ministry of Industry’s records of gunpowder production and use, a tedious and time-consuming task.

Xu Qi’an decided in his heart that the gunpowder did not come from the Ministry of Industry, but just out of caution, he still did not stop investigating the Ministry of Industry.

To leave the capital today, knowing that so many forces were involved in the Sang Po case, Xu Qi’an followed his heart’s wishes and tried to bring as many men as possible.

He went to the Imperial City first, the others were stopped outside the Imperial City, and the only one who could walk hand in hand with him was the foodie Chu Caiwei.

This girl is a regular visitor to the Imperial City, wanting to come and go as she pleases, with a very unusual status.

“Did the Eldest Princess bestow you with a jade pendant?” Xu Qi’an asked.

Chu Caiwei nodded.

“I have it too.” Xu Qi’an pulled out the waist jade bestowed by Princess Lin’an and proudly flaunted it.

“It looks a bit familiar …. Ya, Princess Lin’an’s?” Chu Caiwei exclaimed delicately.

“I am now Princess Lin’an’s person, and she can appreciate me. When she saw that the eldest princess did not give me a jade pendant, she hastened to give one, showing that she values me more than the eldest princess and is more worthy of defection.” Xu Qi’an told the wide-eyed girl about yesterday’s events.

“She can be so silly.” Chu Caiwei giggled, mocking Lin An.

Big brother don’t laugh at second brother, where do you get the nerve to laugh at framing …. Xu Qi’an concurred, “Yes, not every woman is as icy smart as Miss Caiwei.”

Chu Caiwei’s goose face, her smile became sweeter and sweeter.

Not long after, he finally arrived at Prince Huai’s Mansion. The title of the King of Zhenbei was King Huai, and he was also Emperor Yuan Jing’s own brother, so the name of the residence was Prince Huai’s Mansion.

Two Chinese white jade lions in front of the door, the center door is two feet high, the golden door nails are arranged in an orderly manner, and the peppercorn door rings are bigger than those of the general princes’ and nobles’ residences.

Other than high-end, Xu Qi’an couldn’t think of any other adjectives.

At the entrance stood a line of sharp-armored soldiers with solemn expressions.

“This officer, Xu Qi’an, is His Majesty’s appointed organizer of the Sang Po case, I have something to pay a visit to Your Highness, so go and pass it on quickly.” Xu Qi’an flashed his gold medal.

An armorer glanced at Xu Qi’an and said in a deep voice, “The crown princess does not see anyone, please return.”

Xu Qi’an raised his eyebrows and was about to rebuke, when he heard the armorer add with a sneer, ”This is likewise His Majesty’s order, even if the Eldest Princess wants to see the Crown Princess, it will have to depend on our Crown Princess’ mood.

“Get the hell out of here, and don’t make a chicken out of it.”

Xu Qi’an suddenly realized “Oh” and laughed: “So the gold medal given by His Majesty is a chicken feather ….. This person has blasphemed against His Majesty and committed the crime of great disrespect.”

He pressed the hilt of his sword behind his waist with one hand and laughed fiercely, “This official is now going to apprehend the culprits, anyone who dares to obstruct will be killed on sight!”

Medaka!

The long black and gold sword was sheathed by half an inch, and Qi fluctuations were transmitted.

The guard who had sneered at Xu Qi’an realized that he had said the wrong thing and blanched slightly.

The head of the guards glared at his mouthy subordinate and walked towards Xu Qi’an, his armor clattering as he walked.

“This lord, the crown princess is not in the palace.”

“Where did it go?” Xu Qi’an sat on the back of his horse, looking out of the corner of his eye.

“My humble servant is just a gatekeeper, how would I know the whereabouts of the crown princess. But she is indeed not in the mansion, she just left the city this morning, and is only half an hour apart from you.” The head guard said kindly.

Xu Qi’an nodded slightly and said in a forceful manner, “This official is now going to apprehend the culprit, so if you don’t want to be sentenced to harboring a fellow officer, help me take down this person.”

He pointed at the armorer who exited sneering.

“My lord!” The head of the guards was in a hurry, he was furious in his heart, but he didn’t dare to get angry, and sincerely said, “The crown princess is indeed not in the mansion.”

The guards of the Prince’s House, when idle princes and nobles come, they can be given no face.

But the other party held the gold medal in his hand, and caught his subordinates, the head of the guards could only make peace.

Only then did Xu Qi’an believe it, turning his horse around and leading Chu Caiwei away.

“This Wangfei of ours is a bit interesting, the eldest princess can’t even see it.” Xu Qi’an smiled and tried.

Chu Caiwei lived up to her reputation, completely unaware of Xu Qi’an’s probing, and honestly replied, “The status of the princess is very special.”

“Special how?”

“This is a secret.” Chu Caiwei showed her teeth and smiled, “You should pry less into these matters, it’s not good for you.”

When she finished, she scowled and warned, “No bribing me with food.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m afraid I can’t help it ….” She said accusingly.

…..

There were three quests today, and the investigation regarding the death of Magistrate Zhao had already yielded relatively accurate results last night. Of the two remaining tasks, meeting the Princess was not achieved.

Xu Qi’an, who had gone out of his division, felt very Kam!

He was a person who treated his work with rigor and seriousness, and his bad mood was definitely not because he was craving for the beauty of the crown princess and wanted to catch a glimpse of her face.

The princess is special? This special is definitely not the face value, but refers to something else. Since she is so special, why did Emperor Yuan Jing give the great beauty to King Zhenbei back then ….. Or was it because of this specialness that made Emperor Yuan Jing regift the beauty.

Xu Qi’an distracted himself with his thoughts for a few moments, and then he threw the crown princess to the back of his mind.

The case is already so difficult, you can’t waste your brain cells on such irrelevant trivia.

…..

There was a White Phoenix Mountain on the western outskirts of Dafeng, which could be reached in half an hour or so from the western city gate.

White Phoenix Mountain gets its name from the fact that the mountain is inhabited by a white wild bird with long tail feathers, resembling a phoenix, hence the name.

But now the white phoenix is almost extinct on the mountain, and it’s still the pot of the Szetian Supervisors that says it all.

In a certain year and a certain month, a doctor of the Secretary of the Heavenly Palace ran White Phoenix Mountain to collect medicine, and caught a few white phoenixes by hand, and brought them home to study them, and found that the meat of the white phoenixes can be an aphrodisiac ….

Arriving at the foot of White Phoenix Mountain, the knowledgeable Lu Qing smiled about this matter.

Song Tingfeng’s heart stirred and hesitantly spoke up, “Chief, I have a friend who is not well, and I want to fight a few white phoenixes for him.”

Minshan Min Yinluo glared and said, “What time is it, still thinking of hunting game, business is important, if it delays the case, who is responsible?”

Li Yuchun frowned and didn’t answer.

Xu Qi’an then laughed, “This time I came to White Phoenix Mountain, mainly to understand an old story, it’s not very urgent, Tingfeng you remember to go and return quickly.”

Upon hearing this, Min Shan said coyly, “Lord Xu, why don’t you let me accompany Song Tongluo, so that we can take care of each other.”

You have to take care of each other even when you’re fighting birds? Xu Qi’an glanced at him, “You have a friend too?”

Min Shan felt all the men staring at him with an odd look.

Min Yinluo was a bit anxious, and half a day he stifled a sentence, “It doesn’t matter if it’s an aphrodisiac or not, the main thing is that I want to taste what it’s like to be an almost extinct bird.”

The crowd laughed, Xu Qi’an finished laughing and said with a stern face, “I was just joking, the background of the Sang Po case is very complicated, I don’t care where you guys go in the capital, when you’re out of the capital, don’t leave the team.”

The winding mountain steps run deep into the forest, and at the foot of the mountain there is a huge pagoda with a plaque reading “Qinglong Temple”.

Qinglong Temple is not to say that the incense burners are like clouds, but it is also not too depressed, along the way, you can occasionally see the people in the neighborhood who go up to the mountain in groups to burn incense.

A luxurious carriage was parked by the pagoda, escorted by a dozen or so armored soldiers in military attire.

This carriage looked familiar to Xu Qi’an, made of golden nanmu, with jade pieces and gold foil wrapped around the body details. It was the very same carriage he had encountered when he first went to the Department of Education.

The owner of the carriage had also asked Xu Qi’an to throw a pot and exchanged four hundred taels of gold for the Bodhi string.

“By the way, Daoist Golden Lotus said that the woman in the carriage would have a connection with me ….. Who could it be, the Golden Lotus is reserved for the royal family, the carriages of the Eldest Princess and the Second Princess aren’t like this, some county princess in the clan? Or, the emperor’s consort?”

“No, no, no, it’s definitely not a consort, don’t scare yourself.”

Even if it is a consort, it has to be a beautiful woman at the level of an aunt …. He added in his mind.

Tethering the horse to a stake by the pagoda, he left a fast man from the government office and a gong to watch the horse, while Xu Qi’an climbed the mountain with the night watchman.

Without taking a few steps, Xu Qi’an’s feet softened and stepped on a scented bag.

You’re not picking up silver today, you’re picking up scented sachets instead?

He naturally bent down and picked it up, holding it in his palm to examine it, the scented bag was embroidered with complicated cloud patterns, fine workmanship, expensive materials, and by no means was it affordable for an ordinary rich girl to use.

One side of the sachet is embroidered with the word “Nan” in gold, and the other side is embroidered with the word “Gardenia”. The golden tassel is tied with a nice thousand knots.

Xu Qi’an caught a nice odor, like perfume, like sandalwood, and like a woman’s unique body odor.

“People in front, you guys wait ….” A clear voice came from behind the crowd.

A young girl in a light blue lab coat caught up with her, and seeing that the night watchman’s messenger’s uniform didn’t scare her, she pointed to the scented capsule in Xu Qi’an’s hand and sighed in relief, saying, “This is the one dropped by our family’s maiden.”

She wore her hair in a maid’s bun, but the materials she wore were better than the average rich girl.

Xu Qi’an subconsciously looked toward the luxurious carriage at the foot of the hill, “Your mother?”

“Don’t ask too many questions and return the scented bag.” The young girl’s tone was impulsive.

“What kind of scented capsule?” Xu Qi’an received the scented capsule in his arms.

“You ….” The young girl glared at him viciously, “You wait for me.”

Carrying the hem of her thick skirt, she thumped down the stone steps, Xu Qi’an didn’t go and stayed where she was, watching her approach the carriage and say something by the window.

“Ning Banquet, don’t make trouble, that’s a carriage reserved for the royal family.” Li Yuchun frowned.

Xu Qi’an was only investigating the case under orders, in Chun’s heart, he was still his subordinate. Chun did not want Xu Qi’an to cause too much trouble during the investigation, so that even if he was convicted of a crime in the future, his efforts would be wasted if he offended someone he should not have offended.

…. You don’t understand. That woman is destined for me!

Xu Qi’an shook his head without explanation, still focusing on the movements on the side of the carriage.

The ending disappointed Xu Qi’an, who vaguely saw the car window open a crack, and the person inside seemed to be scrutinizing him.

It was too far away, but he couldn’t see the dimly lit interior of the compartment.

The window of the carriage closed quickly and tightly. A few seconds later, the carriage drove slowly, fading away.

It seems that fate has not yet arrived… Xu Qi’an let out a breath, “Let’s go and meet the presiding officer of Qinglong Temple.”

…..

A group of night watchmen in mess uniforms poured into the temple and immediately drew a deacon to receive them.

This deacon was a fat monk with a round face, kind eyebrows, in his early forties, hands folded, “Poor monk is the supervisor of the Green Dragon Temple, Dharma name Heng Qing, a few adults inside please.”

He guided Xu Qi’an and the others into the temple, enthusiastically describing the history of the Green Dragon Temple, claiming that it was an orthodox Western inheritance, and that the temple practiced Mahayana Buddhism and was dedicated to the Buddha.

Xu Qi’an swept his gaze across a magnificent temple and waved his hand, “Call your abbot out, this official has something to ask.”

Qinglong Temple was the only temple that practiced the Buddhist path in the territory of Dafeng Capital, and as this deacon said, the inheritance was from the Mahayana Buddhism of the West.

Xu Qi’an had done his homework before arriving; the abbot of Qinglong Temple was a fifth-ranked Ruler, more capable of fighting than any of them.

However, Xu Qi’an was not a wimp in the slightest, because the pre-Buddhist system was not good at fighting, except for the 8th ranked martial monk.

The ninth rank in Buddhism is called Shamata, an interesting realm where the core secret is to keep the precepts and not to break them for three years, and then one is promoted. At first glance it seems simple, but it is not.

The Buddhist precepts are so strict and complicated that one might inadvertently break them.

The 8th rank is a martial arts monk, not too different from a martial artist, and very capable of fighting.

The later seventh-ranked Dharma Masters and sixth-ranked Zen Masters were not very capable of fighting, and it was only when they reached the fifth-ranked Rulers that there was a qualitative change.

It was worth mentioning that Xu Qi’an had found an interesting point when he consulted the information in the Yamen’s casebook library, that the next rank in the ninth rank of Shamans was that of a mage.

Skipped straight to the 8th grade martial arts monk.

The information did not write why, time was short and Xu Qi’an was too lazy to spend time studying the Buddhist system, only guessing that in the Buddhist system, there might be two completely different paths.

“The Abbot is meditating, it is inconvenient to disturb, a few adults can speak with me if they have anything.” Heng Qing led the crowd into the tea room and ordered the Shamans to serve tea.

“Can there be a magic weapon within the temple that shields the Si Tian Supervisor’s Qi Lookout Technique?” Xu Qi’an sat cross-legged on the futon and asked bluntly.

“What does your lordship mean by that?” Heng Qing folded his hands and shook his head, “The temple does not have such a magic weapon.”

“Master, monks don’t lie.” Xu Qi’an’s gaze was sharp.

Heng Qing bowed his head, not meeting Xu Qi’an’s eyes, and said, “What the poor monk said is true in every sense.”

“Is it true that after passing through the Ninth Grade Shamans Realm, you can lie with impunity?” Xu Qi’an smiled skinlessly.

Heng Qing hung his head and did not bother, not caring or paying any attention to the cold gazes of the watchmen around him.

Nonviolent non-cooperation? Xu Qi’an was a bit angry.

PS: Next chapter in the evening.