Chapter 334: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Wang Shu led the government officers to escort all the monks from the temple.

As those monks were taken away, the grand procession moved through the streets of the Capital City, causing a commotion.

“What’s going on?” someone in the crowd asked.

“I heard these monks are not honest, pretending to be monks while actually being bandits,” another replied.

“Aren’t these the monks from Mingyin Temple?” a man said, “Cuihua from the neighboring village couldn’t conceive. She heard the Bodhisattva at Mingyin Temple was very responsive, so she went there every first and fifteenth of the month, and not long after, she got pregnant. If there’s something wrong with these monks, and they aren’t real monks, then wouldn’t Cuihua’s child be illegitimate?”

“You shouldn’t say such things lightly; it concerns a woman’s reputation.”

“Let me tell you, this isn’t baseless. Cuihua’s husband was injured a few years ago and hasn’t been able in that regard, so her infertility wasn’t her problem—it was his. They hadn’t conceived in years, but she became pregnant soon after visiting the Bodhisattva. Isn’t that strange?”

The crowd gasped in astonishment.

Late at night, the temple.

Howls of wolves came from the back mountain, sounding particularly intimidating.

During the day, many soldiers appeared here; now that the temple was sealed, there were no more pilgrims, and even the statues felt a bit lonely.

In such a silent night, in such a vast temple, dozens of black-clad intruders suddenly rushed in.

They first conducted a series of searches in the temple, then opened a secret chamber and barged in.

“Not good, it’s a trap.”

When the black-clad intruders saw the empty secret chamber, they realized they were tricked and quickly exited the chamber.

As they emerged, many soldiers were already surrounding them. They held torches and encircled the black-clad intruders.

“Capture them alive,” Zhou Wangshu gestured.

The soldiers rushed forward, engaging the black-clad intruders in battle.

Zhou Wangshu saw several black-clad intruders swing their knives toward him.

In this quiet night, the scent of blood spread in the air, life and death separated by a mere thought; one moment you were alive, the next you were dead.

The black-clad intruders thought they had picked an easy target, so ever since his appearance, their main attack was directed at him.

As Zhou Wangshu fought more recklessly, it became increasingly difficult for the intruders to cope, and finally, only five of them remained alive; they realized this was the most troublesome opponent.

“If you cooperate, I’ll spare your lives,” Zhou Wangshu said.

“We are under the control of our master. Even if you’re willing to let us live, our master won’t allow it,” Black-Clad Intruder Seven said.

“As long as you cooperate, give me the information I want, I’ll get you the best doctors, and maybe we can cure your poison.”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Swish swish swish!

A barrage of arrows shot through the air.

“Be careful, protect Mr. Zhou.”

The soldiers dodged the rain of arrows, knocking down those that were shot. After the arrow attack stopped, upon looking again, those five black-clad intruders had already died on the spot.

The soldiers chased after the archers.

“Sir, they got away again,” the soldiers couldn’t catch up.

Zhou Wangshu pulled out the arrows from the bodies, carefully examining their material, and said, “These are newly made. Check which shop crafted them.”

“Yes.”

Zhou Wangshu squatted down and pulled open the clothes on the body.

He saw a totem on the chest of the corpse.

“Investigate what this totem symbolizes.”

“Yes.”

Zhou Wangshu worked throughout the night, his efforts in vain, and ordered everyone to call it a day and go home.

When he returned to the Cheng’an Hou Mansion, Su Yaoguang had already gone to bed. He stood by the bed, watching the soundly sleeping Su Yaoguang, and chuckled softly, “After such a bloody thing happened, you can still sleep so soundly. Are you just that skilled or utterly carefree?”

Zhou Wangshu lay down next to Su Yaoguang, holding him tightly in his arms.

“Ah… ahhhh…” In the stillness of the night, a terrified scream pierced the silence.

Zhou Wangshu heard the sound and covered Su Yaoguang’s ears.

Xia Zhen, waking up in the middle of the night, turned over and saw a woman without facial skin lying next to him. Startled, he became even more energetic than he had been recently.

The next day, Zhou Wangshu got up and saw Su Yaoguang sitting at the dressing table, getting dressed, and approached her as she put on her shoes.

“You came back very late last night, didn’t you? I waited for a while, but I was too tired and didn’t wait for you. You should sleep a bit more,” Su Yaoguang said while drawing her eyebrows.

Zhou Wangshu took the eyebrow pencil from her hand and said, “Let me do it for you.”