Chapter 9: The Magnificent Monk

  "Are you telling the truth?" Shen Heng's face had turned a ghastly pale at this point, and he asked Yue Fei in a deep voice.

  Yue Fei replied proudly: "Every word is true, I am willing to confront Lord Zhu with the common people, and there are many archers who went together can testify!"

  "Hum, Zhu Heng deserves to die! Not only did he flee in battle, but he also dared to openly deceive my family!" County Magistrate Shen Heng suddenly slapped the armrest and stood up, pacing back and forth in the room. Xue Liangchen and others looked at him with surprise and uncertainty. Suddenly, Shen Heng stopped his footsteps and asked Xue Liangchen: "Xue Shao'er (in the Song Dynasty, young men were often called 'Shao'er'), so it seems that those bandits have been defeated by you?"

  Xue Liangchen was taken aback by the words, and he didn't know why the county magistrate suddenly turned to this topic again. He thought the other party suspected that his previous words were untrue, so he hastily replied carefully: "I respectfully obey your orders, sir. Luckily, I managed to drive away that group of thieves."

  "Alright, alright!" Then Shen Zhi saw Xue Liangchen's humility and thought of Zhu Zhifang's open deception of himself and the pressure from the Han family. He became even more determined: "Xue Langjun, County Magistrate Zhu was shot by an arrow and cannot continue to lead the archers to capture the bandits, but the matter of capturing the thieves cannot be delayed. You can temporarily take over as county magistrate and lead the archers in the county to capture this group of thieves!"

  "County Magistrate!" Xue Liangchen was stunned by this sudden good news, but Xue Liangyu on the side reacted first, calling out: "Second Brother!" with a face full of expectation.

  "County Magistrate, I'm just a humble commoner, I only fear... I only fear..." Xue Liangchen finally reacted, instinctively wanting to decline, but heard Shen Zhi County laugh and say: "Don't decline anymore, hurry back and prepare. If you need anything, just ask. You also know who wants this group of thieves. If you complete this task successfully, it's not impossible that the 'acting' title will be removed." As he spoke, Shen Zhi County lightly patted Xue Liangchen's shoulders twice, a rare intimate gesture that made Xue Liangchen hastily lower his head.

  "The county magistrate has given me such great support, I can only do my best!"

  "Alright, alright! You all may withdraw now and do your work properly!" At this moment, Shen Zhi County's face was already filled with smiles, without any of the previous annoyance. He watched as Xue Liangchen and his group withdrew before heading towards the rear courtyard.

  Xue Liangchen and his group left the county government office, each returning to their own homes. Zhou Ping followed behind, looking at Yue Fei with complex emotions. Now he finally understood why this King Yue E had ended up dying in the Wind and Cloud Pavilion. To a large extent, it was due to his straightforward personality, which bordered on being oblivious to human relationships. First, when he was injured, he had rebuked the Xue brothers for not pursuing the thieves who had just saved his life; earlier, he had pointed out County Magistrate Zhu Zhi's cowardice in front of everyone, leading to their defeat. These actions would naturally be seen as heroic by later generations reading about history, but people living at the same time as him wouldn't think so. Perhaps they couldn't retaliate against him then, but when he fell on hard times, there were plenty of petty individuals who kicked him while he was down.

  "Brother Yue, are your injuries severe? I'll send you back to the Han residence?" Zhou Ping asked, looking at the bloodstained bandages on Yue Fei's body.

  "It's all right!" Yue Fei raised the long spear he used as a walking stick and said, "It's just some flesh wounds. This place is not far from Huajin Hall either. Thank you, Brother Zhou!"

  Zhou Ping looked back and saw that the Xue brothers had already walked far away, then he said in a low voice: "Brother Yue, although we have just met, I feel like we are very compatible, just like old friends. So if what I'm about to say is overstepping my bounds, please forgive me!"

  Yue Fei was taken aback and hastily laughed: "Younger brother also knows what's good for him, Brother Zhou please speak freely!"

  "Brother, some things in this world are better left ambiguous and vague. If you speak too clearly, it may harm yourself!" Zhou Ping said as he bowed to Yue Fei and turned to chase after the Xue family brothers, leaving Yue Fei standing alone, lost in thought.

  "Ah Ping, what were you just mysteriously talking about with that little guy surnamed Yue?" Xue Liangyu asked Zhou Ping.

  "Report to Young Master!" Zhou Ping laughed and said, "This humble person just saw that guy being too arrogant, so I taught him a lesson, lest he doesn't know the height of heaven and the thickness of earth!"

  "Well said!" Xue Liangyu clapped his hands and laughed, "That little brat surnamed Yue is indeed too arrogant, with no restraint in his words. If he wasn't injured, I would have taught him a lesson yesterday, beating him until he couldn't get up." He turned to ask Zhou Ping, "Ah Ping, how did that guy react? Did he want to fight you?"

  "That's not the case, this guy was taught a few words by me and then apologized to me." Zhou Ping smiled, but deep down he still didn't want Yue Fei and the Xue family to have conflicts. After all, one is a great hero in later generations, and the other is his current patron, neither of which he wanted to see suffer misfortune.

  "Huh?" Xue Liangyu raised an eyebrow in surprise: "In that case, I'm not going to bother with this guy anymore!"

  "Ah Ping!" A sudden voice interrupted Zhou Ping and Xue Liangyu's conversation, Zhou Ping looked up to see that it was Xue Liangchen, whose face was gloomy, obviously having some difficult decision.

  "What do you think about County Magistrate asking me to temporarily take over as County Captain?"

  "Good or bad?" Zhou Ping furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment and replied: "Second Master, as far as I know, this county lieutenant is an official appointed by the imperial court, not someone who can be delegated by the magistrate."

  Xue Liangchen nodded silently, he was also a meticulous person, and Zhou Ping slightly mentioned it and understood. Although the county lieutenant is only a small official from the ninth rank up or down, no matter what, he is still an official appointed by the Ministry of Personnel's selection and the king's order. Based on the Xue family's situation, wanting to become a county lieutenant would require either relying on grain contributions to obtain office, or obtaining office through imperial examination, or accumulating seniority. The possibility of becoming a county lieutenant overnight was extremely slim. What County Magistrate Fang said earlier was just an empty check.

  "Second Brother, could it be that County Master is deceiving us?" Xue Liangyu hastily asked.

  Xue Liangchen ignored his younger brother and asked Zhou Ping instead: "Then what do you think we should do?"

  Zhou Ping thought to himself, "If I'm not mistaken, in a few years, the Jin army will head south. This place is located at the intersection of two rivers and is a strategic location that cannot be escaped from war and disaster. If I had enough money for the journey south, I would have left long ago. Why would I still be here with you all in this doomed place? So Zhou Ping casually brushed it off, saying: "I'm just a humble farmer, my knowledge is shallow, how dare I speak out of turn?"

  Xue Liangchen looked at Zhou Ping and didn't ask again. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of Xue's village, they saw Tian Ke Xu Wu rushing out of the village with two calabashes in his hand. Xue Liangyu had sharp eyes and shouted from a distance: "Ah Wu, what are you doing?"

  Xu Wu hastily raised the gourd in his hand and replied, "I'm on an errand for Master Lang. A monk named Zhi Shan has come to visit, and the master thinks our homemade wine is too weak, so he's asked me to go to the market to buy some good wine to entertain our guest!"

  "Ah! A monk who can buy good wine!" Xue Liangyu exclaimed, but before he could say anything else, he was pulled by Xue Liangchen and stopped from speaking. He then turned to Xu Wu and said, "You go quickly and come back soon, don't delay!"

  After Xu Wu had walked far away, he whispered to his younger brother, "Don't underestimate him, this Zhishan Zen Master is a famous monk in the north, with both wisdom and bravery, not to be looked at as an ordinary monk."

  It turned out that since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were two major enemies in the north, namely Western Xia and Liao. Especially Western Xia, which had been at war with the Song for over a hundred years since the time of Emperor Taizong of Song. Although the Song had an absolute advantage in terms of manpower and resources, they could not eliminate Western Xia.

  At that time, many people in Western Xia believed in Buddhism, so many monks who were both wise and brave participated in this war as spies, guides, or secret diplomatic envoys, playing a significant role. The officials and civilians at the time called them "Haoseng" (豪僧), to distinguish them from ordinary monks.

  Zhou Ping entered the house and was about to go collect the livestock, but then he heard Xue Liangchen say: "You are now my husband's party, first follow me in to pay respects to father!"

  Zhou Ping was taken aback, and hastily responded with a "yes", following behind. He passed through a courtyard, and soon heard the sound of hearty laughter coming from inside. Zhou Ping entered the room, and saw that Old Master Xue was chatting and laughing with a grey-robed monk, while two young men stood attendantly behind him - Xue Liangyun, the eldest son, and Xue Liangwu, the third son.

  "Master Chan, you're nearly forty years old, yet there's no sign of aging on you. You truly are a reincarnation of an arhat!" Old Mr. Xue stroked his beard and chuckled.

  "Governor Xue laughed and said, 'You are over fifty years old and still so healthy, you are a true arhat!'"

  At this time, Mr. Xue saw Xue Liangchen and Xue Liangyu coming in from outside, so he pointed to the two of them and introduced them to Zhi Shan: "These are my two sons. Liangchen, Liangyu, you two still haven't come to pay respects to the Zen master!"

  "Little ones pay respects to the Zen master!" Xue Liangchen and Xue Liangyu hastily bowed down to Master Zishan, who looked them up and down with his discerning eyes for a moment before smiling: "Indeed they are tiger cubs! This humble monk has trained in the northwest military town for over ten years, and rarely sees such fine young men as you two!"

  "Master, don't spoil the kids!" Old Mr. Xue smiled slightly: "But nowadays it's a peaceful era, reading the Six Classics and singing outside the East Gate is what makes a good young man. Unfortunately, my children only know how to hold a bow and spear, and can barely keep this family business going!"

  Master Zishan listened to Old Man Xue's words and his face changed slightly. He said in a low voice, "I'm afraid that may not be the case!"

  Xue Laozhang sensed that the other party had an ulterior motive, and asked in response: "Master Chan, what do you mean by this? I'm not saying that after Tong Jiao led his troops to recover Qingtang, our Great Song has already severed one arm of the Western thieves and occupied a strategic location. Could it be that there is another reversal in the northwest war situation?"

  "That's not it!" Zhi Shan shook his head gently and sighed: "I'm afraid the troubles of our Great Song are not in the northwest, but in the northeast!"

  "Northeast? Are you referring to the Liao State, Master Chan? That's unlikely. The Liao State and our Great Song have been brotherly nations for nearly a hundred years, with peaceful relations between our peoples. Is it going to come to bloodshed again? Why haven't any traveling merchants brought back even a hint of news?"

  Collection is really depressing, now only over 200, collapsed at the end of the street... various pleas, if possible, fellow book friends please help Weibo promote this, thanks in advance!