Chapter 412: Sangyan Mad Monk

Chapter 412: The Mad Monk of Sangyan Temple

The situation had unfolded differently than expected, but the overall outcome wasn’t too far off. The only regret was that I still didn’t understand Minamoto Kiyoshige’s true motives for betraying me. Was she simply trying to monopolize Takamagahara?

The questioning words echoed in his mind, and without much hesitation, he answered himself.

“It seems Takamagahara holds other values for her that I’m unaware of. And it appears those values are quite significant—enough for her to survive this doomed situation and compensate for all her losses.”

“She’s the fourth in the Yin-Yang Order, and she has Kaze no Seki, a diseased loyal dog already on the brink of collapse. With Toyotomi Enshō’s abilities, it should be difficult to force her to reveal her true intentions.”

“And given Toyotomi Enshō’s foolish heart, there’s a high chance he’ll be deceived by her. It seems I’ll need to remain in hiding a while longer.”

The thoughts raced through his mind in an instant. At that moment, a fierce argument erupted outside the door.

“Hey, who are you? What do you want?”

“Don’t ask if you know. Don’t you recognize the clothes of the Edo Castle Garrison? If you don’t want to be charged with obstructing law enforcement, get the hell out of here.”

“Garrison, garrison—what about it? I run a medical clinic. I didn’t steal or rob. Which article and clause of the Ming Dynasty’s laws have I violated? The Empire is implementing new policies now. We’re no longer the criminals of the past. If you dare…”

“No more nonsense. Jindai Capital is suspected of treason. According to the Pacification Office’s orders, all related industries are now being sealed off!”

“My medical clinic has nothing to do with Jindai Capital, does it?”

“You still want to argue? I ask you: Did you accept an order from Jindai Capital’s subsidiary pharmaceutical company for transplanted artificial skin two months ago?”

“Yes, I did. But this is a normal business transaction!”

“Don’t you understand what ‘related industries’ means? As long as it’s related, we’ll investigate thoroughly. Get out!”

Bang!

With a loud crash, the door was kicked in, and a series of rapid footsteps approached the dark room.

Eyes soaked in a ghastly green liquid slowly closed without a sound.

“Is this it? Is this a humanoid Huangliang host?”

“It’s this one. Otherwise, why would the Tokugawa family implant artificial skin on it?”

“The target is too…”

“Don’t say anything. No matter how obvious the target is, we must deal with it. The lord’s order is to transport it away before the Pacification Office does!”

Whoosh!

As the sound of shattering glass echoed, he felt a warm flow of liquid, like amniotic fluid, pouring out around his body, followed by the pain of falling and colliding.

The hard, cold sensation proved that he had been ejected from the broken medicine warehouse.

“What the hell? Why do I feel so uneasy, like something is watching me in the dark?”

“Don’t get excited. The Jinyiwei are all concentrated near Jindai Capital’s building now. They won’t appear here for a while.”

“It’s not the Jinyiwei I feel… it’s it!”

“This is an unactivated Huangliang host. Even if it’s activated, it only has basic walking and language abilities for disguise. It can’t even defeat a child. What are you afraid of?”

“Fine. Maybe I’m just too nervous.”

The conversation around him suddenly stopped. Then he felt his body being tightly wrapped and stuffed into a huge box.

“You’re acting fast, Minamoto Kiyoshige. When you find all the Huangliang hosts I’ve hidden away, it should be when Takamagahara is completed, right? What do you want to use it for?”

“What do you want to do?”

The Ming King coldly stared at the unexpected visitor.

A fat, bald woman with a high cheekbone and drooping triangular eyes—even wrapped in a red monk’s robe—could not hide the ferocious aura around her.

“Our purpose is very clear on the day we help you take the position of Edo Castle’s hundred households.”

The female monk’s voice was as harsh as her appearance. “We want to spread the light of Buddhist faith in this barbaric land!”

“A place that others avoid—a place of death. You actually want to make money here?”

The Ming King, sitting cross-legged on the ground, sneered repeatedly. “Have you all gone mad at Sangyan Temple because of that so-called Capital Bodhisattva?”

“The Dharma is not a rigid thing. The Buddha is not eternal. As long as it can embody the faith of ordinary people, mountains, rivers, seas, grass, trees, stones—nothing cannot become a Buddha. Why can’t money? And money is just a sinful object of redemption. Universal salvation is the destination of capital. If you can’t even understand this, how can you become a Buddha?”

“That’s your Buddha, not mine!” The Ming King retorted without stopping.

“Today is not the time to discuss the Dharma.”

The female monk did not continue to argue with him on this issue. Her tone was cold. “Considering that we have different views on the Dharma, I can forgive you for this provocation. If the Ming King speaks disrespectfully again, I will have to punish you on behalf of the Bodhisattva.”

“Then I must thank the Bodhisattva’s mercy!”

The usually calm and composed Ming King, unusually, could not control the anger in his words. His emotions were extremely turbulent.

“If you want to spread the Dharma, you can do so freely. I am now just a Jinyiwei who has been ordered to recuperate. I can’t help you much.”

The female monk glanced at him with slight disdain and continued. “This time, in the operation against Jindai Capital, Su Ce did not use your Edo Castle’s hundred households. Instead, he had the thousand households’ Jinyiwei take over the entire operation. The meaning behind this is already clear. If you are still scared by his previous actions and continue to use ‘recuperation’ as an excuse to escape, your position as hundred households will not last long.”

“At that time, you will not only face a purge within the Jinyiwei, but our Sangyan Temple will see you as a failed salvation. We will take back the Buddha’s light bestowed upon you by the Bodhisattva.”

The female monk spoke directly, her words blunt and leaving no room for the Ming King to save face.

The Ming King’s expression suddenly became grotesque, and he roared, “The peacock was killed, and Su Ce ignored it. The lamp was expelled, and it was his order. My left and right arms were cut off one after another. I didn’t dodge. How could I still keep my position as hundred households?”

“That’s because you were greedy for small profits and formed factions before. Although Su Ce has been used to being a hands-off manager for these years, at critical moments, he cannot allow other voices within the Jinyiwei.”

The female monk paused. “But this is only a minor part of his reason for sidelining you. His real purpose is to use you as an example to intimidate others—to clear the way for his chosen successor in the most brutal way!”

The Ming King seemed to be in pain and shouted, “I am the Jinyiwei. You don’t need to lecture me as an outsider.”

The female monk didn’t bother to respond to him and continued. “Su Ce, a martial order, was willing to give up his blood feud and follow the orders of the Confucian order. He did this to fulfill the wish of Emperor Longwu to stabilize the borders and completely eliminate the threat of the Wajō region—the Empire’s largest criminal area. But now, this is no longer his only wish!”

“What are you trying to say?!”

The Ming King seemed to have lost his temper and gone mad.

“If you want to be reinstated, you need to eliminate Su Ce’s other distractions and focus all his attention on suppressing the Wajō region. That way, he will become inseparable from you—the capable and experienced hundred households of Edo Castle. After he dies, you will be the only choice for the position of thousand households!”

“So…”

The anger on the Ming King’s face suddenly vanished. He looked at the red-robed female monk who was speaking confidently with a complex expression.

“Do you want to kill Yan Jun?”