Chapter Thirty-Eight: Run

  The night is deep and people are quiet.

  People who played on the mountain have gone to sleep, and those with money and power live in the Taoist temple at the waist of the mountain. Ordinary tourists can only find a flat and spacious place to set up their own tents. The people of the Great Sui Dynasty have always lived a relatively comfortable life, and the country's strong national strength over the past century has also made them develop a confident but somewhat lazy personality.

  Taking a spring outing is not the exclusive privilege of the wealthy and aristocratic families.

  The rich have their own way of having fun, ordinary people have their own way of having fun.

  Very few people choose to camp at the foot of the mountain, and most live in a small square paved with bluestone in front of the Taoist temple on the middle slope. The Taoist temple does not offer free meals, but provides hot water. This is also one of the reasons why this Taoist temple is so prosperous, because the Taoist priests in this mountain are extremely rich and carefree.

  Almost everyone inside and outside the Taoist temple had fallen asleep, but three people at the foot of the mountain were busy digging a hole. To be exact, two people were digging the hole, while one person sat on a tree stump leaning against the trunk looking somewhat bored.

  "Dig deeper."

  The big dog didn't use any tools, and with the steel-studded gloves on his hands, he started working. Before long, a fairly large pit had been dug out of the ground. He glanced at Fang Jie, who was waving a horizontal knife to dig the earth, and sneered: "I can dig two, but you can't even dig one well. When it comes to getting things done, it's still best to rely on your own hands."

  "Today I finally realized that dog paddling is not just a way of swimming, impressive! Without anything handy, it's impossible to dig too deep until dawn."

  "Let's split it evenly."

  A big dog said seriously: "Dividing the body is relatively easier, dividing it into many small pieces, so digging a hole doesn't need to be too deep, just dig more."

  Li Xian glared at him: "How can you be so ruthless?"

  Dà quǎn dào: "Wǒ shā le liǎng gè nǐ shā le liǎng gè, cán rěn yě shì yīyàng de cán rěn."

  Translation:

  "The big dog said: 'I killed two and you killed two, cruelty is the same as cruelty.'"

  He turned around and glanced at Cui Lue with some displeasure, saying: "I'm telling you, Mr. Cui, even if you're not the main culprit, you're still an accomplice, right? Can't you lend a hand? Even if you kneel down now and use Buddhist techniques to help them attain enlightenment, won't they still resent you in the underworld?"

  Some listless and dispirited mercenaries looked at the big dog, their eyes without a glimmer of light. Earlier, Fang Jie had handed him a short knife, but he didn't dare to take action when looking at Liu Yinan who was already on his last breath after being beaten by him. Later, seeing Fang Jie stab Li Yuan in the neck, he trembled and moved to Liu Yinan's side, raised the knife and trembled for a while before stabbing down. Perhaps because of too much tension and panic, he stabbed four or five times without hitting the vital point.

  Blood gushed out in bursts, splashing him all over his body and face. Liu Yining was still not quite dead yet.

  Fang Jie killed Li Yuan after he really couldn't bear it anymore, stabbing Liu Yining's back with one knife, right in the heart, not a single deviation.

  He killed four people, but Fang Jie originally thought he would be afraid and trembling. However, after really killing someone, he was surprised to find that he was calm as if nothing had happened. He even carefully felt it, but was somewhat disappointed to find that he didn't have any excitement at all.

  Killing wasn't as thrilling for him as he thought it would be.

  This made Fang Xing somewhat self-deprecating. When he was in Fan Gu, he firmly believed that he was a person who couldn't bring himself to kill others, and even if he wasn't a kind person, at least he wasn't cruel. But now, after having killed someone, he finally understood that the reason he had always resisted killing people wasn't because of the few remaining good intentions in his heart. It was just that in his memory, he still had some resistance to killing, which was only a habitual way of thinking.

  Just as they were sweating profusely, the back door of the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain slowly opened, and two people wearing blue Taoist robes walked slowly to a huge rock protruding from the mountain waist. The older Taoist looked down at the mountain with a slight frown and asked the chubby Taoist beside him, who looked like he was only 15 or 16 years old: "A great calamity is happening, should we intervene?"

  The Taoist who asked the question was at least fifty or sixty years old, wearing a Taoist crown to cover his white hair but unable to hide his gray goat beard. Compared with the young Taoists beside him, he looked more like an immortal and seemed worthy of respect. However, when speaking to the young Taoists beside him, he used interrogative sentences and spoke in a very respectful tone.

  This young Taoist is not very old, and he's quite fat. The originally loose-fitting Taoist robe on him was actually tightened by his fat body, as if it were about to burst open. So when he walks or talks, he seems a bit out of breath, and I don't know if it's because the clothes are too tight and uncomfortable for him.

  His face is round, white and smooth, without a single wrinkle. If you had to compare his face to something, it would be a steaming hot white mantou (steamed bun) straight out of the pot.

  He is not only very fat but also very short.

  Nor did he know if it was because of his young age that he hadn't fully grown up, but his height barely reached the shoulders of the old Taoist. He wasn't wearing a Taoist hat, and his jet-black long hair was casually tied back and scattered down, with a smoothness that made women jealous.

  "There are so many disastrous things in the world, you go and take care of them all... aren't you afraid of exhausting yourself to death?"

  The young Taoist gave the old Taoist a glance, and said in an ill-tempered tone: "You called me out on this quiet night just to show me this? Isn't it just another murder...? Won't someone die every day in this world? Not to mention that your cultivation is laughable even if you descended from the mountain. Even if you became a god and could fly... Could you really prevent all the evil things in the world by flying around every day? Can you? Can you? Can you?"

  He asked three times in succession.

  The old Taoist's face turned red and he smiled awkwardly, answering: "Of course not."

  "What's the point of saying anything then."

  The young Taoist priest glared at him and said, "You disturbed my sleep, this matter will be remembered first. If you bother me again with such trivial matters in the future, I'll drive you down the mountain."

  The old man said anxiously, "It won't happen again next time... Ah yes, every year when the Wuyuan Institute holds its annual examination, Xiao Zhenren is always invited to attend... Last time he even sent someone three times to invite you, do you want to go this time?"

  "No way! No way!"

  The young Daoist waved his hand impatiently and said, "Three senior brothers, one became the leader of the Daoist sect and has to put on a show every day, welcoming and sending off guests. One disappeared for ten years without a trace, no one knows if he's dead or alive. Another is hiding in the imperial palace as a gatekeeper, unable to be free... Who has my carefree and joyful life? As for life... what we pursue is the Great Dao, what is the Great Dao?"

  He looked at the old Taoist and said seriously: "Eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and sleeping are all done by oneself, this is the great way."

  The young Taoist turned back to the temple, and as he was about to enter, he turned around and instructed the old Taoist: "In recent days, the number of tourists has increased, and the meat, eggs, and vegetables in the temple are not enough. Tomorrow morning, you go down the mountain to buy some back..."

  He looked down the mountain, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes: "If that meat were minced, it would actually be indistinguishable from human or pork. Even if we made buns out of it and sold them, no one would notice, right? And even if they did, as long as we don't admit it, nothing would happen, right?"

  The old Taoist was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he grabbed the young Taoist's hand and walked towards the courtyard: "You should go to sleep, you should go to sleep..."

  "Tomorrow when you come down the mountain, remember to bring back for me Xiangcheng Songji's pastries, oil fritters, and five-spice melon seeds. Also, Chenji's smoked pork leg, Lao Mangzi's family's cured sausage, and..."

  The sound gradually faded away, and the Taoist temple returned to its tranquility once again.

  ……

  ……

  At the foot of the mountain

  Chui Lue Shang knelt down and covered Liu Yi Nai's body with soil, but when he saw Liu Yi Nai's unblinking dead eyes, he was so frightened that he fell to the ground again: "What can I do? If someone finds out, my entire future will be ruined. My father doesn't know how much gold and silver he spent or how many favors he had to sell to help me get into the Imperial Martial Academy, but I've ruined my own future... If my father finds out, won't he break my legs?"

  "Great!"

  The big dog glared at him with a hint of anger and said, "You've already killed people, what's the point of regretting now?"

  Chui wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but ended up smearing mud all over his face. "But this matter can't be hidden forever, many people know that we five are traveling together to visit the mountains at dusk. Li Yuan and the others agreed to take me on this trip as a way of initiation, but if I return to Xiangcheng alone and the other four don't come back, the authorities will easily find out that I killed them."

  "It's definitely impossible to keep it under wraps."

  Fang Jie dragged a corpse over and threw it into the pit, then turned to Cui Lue Shang and said: "You don't need to hide this matter at all. After we bury their bodies later, you can immediately hurry back to Xiangcheng. Tomorrow morning when the city gate opens, quickly return home and tell your father the truth. This matter is not your fault, but rather Li Yuan and his men wanted to kill you first... Your father will naturally help you think of a way. We'll wait for you outside Xiangcheng, and then we can head to Chang'an together, and there will be someone to take care of you."

  Fang Jie buried the soil on one side and said, "Now I won't hide it from you. My name is not Shang Guo Hen, nor am I a merchant doing business in Fan Gucheng. I'm Fang Jie, a border scout of the Fan Gucheng border army who was recommended to take the exam at the Martial Arts Academy this year. Since we met, it's also our fate. You and I are fellow travelers, going to the Martial Arts Academy for the exam is also considered having someone to rely on."

  "You're also an examinee of the Martial Arts Academy!"

  Chui Lue was shocked and couldn't help but examine him carefully: "You're not lying to me?"

  "Could you have been deceived by this? Now that you've been deceived all the way to Chang'an, are you still being deceived?"

  Fang Jie laughed and said, "You might as well not intervene in this matter either. Hurry back to Xiangcheng now. In about two hours, the sky will be bright, and you can ride your horse back and forth, arriving at the city just as the sun rises. When you get back, go find your father and discuss it with him. I reckon he'll send you out of the city as soon as possible that day."

  "Really?"

  "If Father catches me and locks me up, what shall I do?"

  "Even a tiger would not eat its own cub, your father spent a lot of money to let you take the martial arts academy exam, how could he just watch you ruin your future? Go quickly!"

  Fang Jie patted his shoulder and said, "I guarantee nothing will happen."

  Chui thought for a moment and felt that what Fang said also made sense. He didn't want to stay in this place for another moment, so he stood up, clasped his fists together and said "see you later" before turning around and running away.

  After the figure of the merchant disappeared, Mu Xiaoyao jumped down from the tree and walked to Fang Jie's side. She looked at him seriously and asked: "You killed these people, not just because you wanted to kill them, right?"

  Fang nodded: "Right."

  "Isn't it just helping that stupid guy once, as you said?"

  "Right!"

  Fang Jie nodded again, then looked in the direction where Cui Lue had disappeared and said in a calm tone: "I'm just a small border scout, without a noble birth, without a strong background. Even if I arrived at Chang'an City, there would be many difficulties and hardships... The Cui family of Xiangcheng may not be as powerful as the Cui family of Boling, but it is also an unimpeachable aristocratic family with many high-ranking officials in the imperial court. Having a friend like you by my side will save me some trouble."

  "So you were calculating with that stupid guy from the very beginning?"

  The big dog asked in surprise.

  Fang Jie smiled and said: "I'm helping him, I'm also helping myself... isn't that right? Doing good for others is doing good for oneself. This saying seems to be from Buddhism too, but it still makes sense."

  "If possible, it would be better to make friends with a few more dignitaries. In any case, as an examinee like me in Chang'an City, I won't have an easy time, and if I can find some helpers, I naturally won't let them go. I remember when we left Fan'er Castle, I told you that three years ago I relied on the seven of you and Chen Jingfan, but these past three years I've relied on just the two of you. But from now on...I'll have to rely more on myself."

  "You've been leading me by the nose for fifteen years."

  He looked at Mu Xiao and said seriously: "It's time for me to leave, best... if I can run."