A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

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After the princes and princesses were held back in the Palace, a few servants drank too much and were burned to death in the residence. Scar noticed that things were amiss when this happened.

 

These dead servants were all old people serving in the residence. They had been by the Master’s side for many years so they had gained some respect. They were always cautious and would never gather together to get drunk and eventually burn themselves to death.

 

“I heard that the Forbidden Guards have surrounded all the princely residences. None of the servants inside can take a step out. Moreover, I heard that someone almost got arrested by them because they got too close out of curiosity.”

 

“His Majesty really values Qi Wang. He is doing so much for him.”

 

“Are you new here?”

 

“Ah, yes. Why?”

 

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“Newcomer, you don’t know anything, so keep your mouth shut.”

 

Scar heard this conversation as he was passing by the courtyard. He had a vague feeling that he was being monitored from all around.

 

Master wants to kill the servants who know too many secrets.

 

Realizing that things were anything but reassuring, he pretended to argue with another servant, went back to his room to pack his belongings, and escaped with the steward who had accompanied him to Lingzhou several years ago.

 

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Taking advantage of the dark night, the two escaped from the city but didn’t dare to run too far before trouble subsided, for fear of arousing suspicion.

 

“There is a small temple on top of the mountain outside the capital with only a few old monks. Almost no one goes there usually.” The black-robed steward took out the dagger hidden in the sole of his shoes, “Let’s go and capture them first.”

 

“Are you certain no one will come?” Scar was somewhat uneasy.

 

“Save for some ignorant women and children, no one goes to that kind of dilapidated little temple. Even if those monks get lucky, nobles and high-ranking officials would never go to such a place.”

 

“Alright.” Scar agreed.

 

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They fled all the way to the temple, tricked the monks, and tied them up after settling inside.

 

The black-robed steward wanted to kill the old monks, but Scar stopped him, “Disposing the corpses will be troublesome. Let’s lock them up in the root cellar for now.”

 

The two struggled to carry the monks. The black-robed steward complained, “What do these stinky monks eat? They’re so heavy.”

 

“You two wicked people, how dare you commit evil in front of the Buddha’s statue? He will punish you.”

 

“The Buddha?” Scar sneered and took out the dagger, tapping on the jieba1Jieba [戒疤] – It is an ordination practice where ritual burn scars (by moxibustion) are received by Buddhist monks of some sects of Buddhism, including those of Shaolin. This practice is very rare and is part of an elaborate ceremony that is undertaken only after they shave their heads and take their bodhisattva vows. If you’ve ever wondered what those weird and symmetrical dots on Krillin’s (from DBZ in case you aren’t familiar) head are, you guessed it, it’s the jieba from when he was training to become a Shaolin monk. on one of the monk’s head, “Many years ago, a damned girl said that her Sanqing grandpas2T/N: Please check out the footnotes of chapter 34.1 in case you forgot who these Sanqing grandpas are. would punish me, but see, I’ve been living well all these years.”

 

“Those Daoist immortals and the Buddha are afraid of wicked people.” Seeing the monks tremble in fear, he put away the dagger with satisfaction, “Stay quiet and behave. On this barren mountain, if you make any noise and we two brothers kill you all, we won’t…”

 

Before he could even finish the sentence, they heard some noise coming from the outside.

 

“What happened? Didn’t you say there aren’t many people who come to this dilapidated temple?” Scar turned to look at the black-robed steward, his gaze falling on the latter’s bald head.

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“I’ll go out and take a look.” Pondering for a moment, the steward found a monk’s clothes and put them on before going out in large strides.

 

Seeing some noble kids standing at the door with their servants and guards, the black-robed steward had a bad premonition. What was wrong with these people? Why did they come here so early in the morning?

 

Fortunately, they were young and inexperienced. As long as he could deceive them, there won’t be any issues.

 

The steward was thinking about ways to fool these people when the younger-looking noble girl saw through his disguise.

 

What’s wrong with the Young Misses of the capital? How do they even know what monks usually wear?

 

“What does benefactor mean?” The black-robed steward opened his jiasha, revealing the patched monk’s robe underneath. “When benefactors come to pray to the Buddha, this poor monk didn’t want to appear unkempt so he used the traditional robe to cover his body. This poor monk never expected it would cause a misunderstanding.”

 

“The mountain is steep and the route is arduous. The fact that benefactors persisted throughout the way and successfully reached the temple implies that you have some predestined affinity with the Buddha.” The steward chanted the Buddha’s name and turned to look at the Buddha statue behind him. “This being the case, let’s not brandish swords in front of the Buddha.”

 

“Master, you actually care about the patches on your robe as a monk.” Jiuzhu remained unmoved. “It shows that your heart is not sincere toward the Buddha. You are not a true monk.”

 

The black-robed steward really wanted to shut this girl up. Since she came to pray to the Buddha, she should just do it and leave. Why care about what a monk was wearing?

 

As the atmosphere gradually became tense, the steward’s expression changed suddenly and he screamed, “The Buddha statue! The Buddha statue!”

 

What happened to the Buddha statue?

 

People always have some reverence for spiritual beings. Just as the guards got distracted, the black-robed steward jumped over their heads, and rushed toward the lass who blabbered the most.

 

“Ah!”

 

While gagging the monks with rags, Scar heard an anguished scream and frowned. That fool, he didn’t actually kill someone outside, did he?

 

He shot a warning glare at the monks: “Behave yourselves!”

 

After speaking, he turned and walked out of the cellar.

 

If he had known there would be so much trouble, he wouldn’t have escaped with that fool.

 

“Ming meimei, he… is he still alive?” The Zhou siblings huddled together and trembled, looking at the fake monk lying on the ground. They gulped, not knowing his condition.

 

“He’s fine. This injury will only make him lose consciousness, not kill him.” Jiuzhu swung the stick in her hand. The self-defense stick given to the guards of the residence was quite useful.

 

“But just now… I think I heard… heard… the sound of bones cracking.” Zhou Shucheng cautiously nudged the fake monk on the ground with his toe, getting no response at all. He quickly ordered a servant to tie him up with a rope.

 

“Young Master, we didn’t bring a rope with us.” The servant hesitated. “Should we go inside the temple and look for one?”

 

“Don’t go in yet, be careful, there might be more enemies inside,” Jiuzhu handed the self-defense stick to Zhou Shucheng. “Brother Zhou, you go.”

 

“Go where?” Zhou Shucheng shivered as he accepted the stick; he was afraid that if he didn’t take it, Jiuzhu might hit him too.

 

“Take the stick and stand away. Protect Zhou jiejie.” Jiuzhu rolled up her sleeves, looked around, and picked a stone before reaching the fake monk’s side.

 

“Ming meimei, Ming meimei!” Zhou Xiao looked at the large stone in Jiuzhu’s hand and quickly spoke up. “Let’s tie him up instead. Crushing… crushing him… to death will be too unsightly.”

 

“Jiejie, what are you thinking?” Jiuzhu looked at her in confusion and pressed the stone against the fake monk’s hands. “If certain acupoints on the hands are pressed for too long, one’s limbs will lose strength and they would become incapable of moving.” Jiuzhu patted the dirt off her hands. “We don’t have a rope, so we have to resort to this method.”

 

“So that’s how it is.” Zhou Xiao looked at her older brother holding the stick with wobbly legs and then glanced at Jiuzhu rolling up her sleeves and jogged toward the latter. She gently grabbed the hem of Jiuzhu’s clothes.

 

“Zhou jiejie?” Jiuzhu noticed Zhou Xiao’s grip on her clothes and took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands. She then reached out and put her arm around Zhou Xiao’s shoulder, comforting her: “Don’t be afraid, our side has more people. This temple is small and run-down. Based on my guess, even if evil people are hiding inside, they won’t be more than five in number.”

 

As soon as Scar came out of the backyard and spotted the guards, he knew something bad had happened. As a result, he turned around and broke into a run.

 

“Stop!” The guards chased after him quickly.

 

The temple only had one road leading down the mountain, so Scar had nowhere to escape. He was soon cornered by the guards. He clenched the dagger in his hand in hatred, “I have done so much for Master. Now I just want to bury the past and live in hiding. Does he need to be so vicious and kill me?”

 

Although the guards didn’t understand what this fake monk said, they didn’t speak in front of the Young Master and Young Misses.

 

“You are serving Master with your life, just like I did back then.” Scar pointed his dagger at the guards. “He wants to kill me today. And in the future, he will kill you all to protect the Zheng family.”

 

Zheng family?

 

Zhou Shucheng realized that things had taken a weird turn. His heart tightened. Could it be that they got pulled into some secret incident?

 

This won’t do, they absolutely could not let this man reveal it. In a place like the capital, one must not know too many secrets.

 

“Shut your mouth!” Zhou Shucheng rebuked sternly. “What Zheng family? You evildoer, confess honestly. Do you have any more partners inside? I have already sent people to report this to the authorities!”

 

“You’re not from the Zheng family?” Scar looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the person speaking.

 

Zhou family’s Young Master?

 

As the son of the Assistant Minister, why was he not studying properly at home and had instead run to this old temple deep within the mountain to pray to some Buddha?

 

Scar never expected that his grand escape plan would be ruined by a Young Master who had nothing better to do.

 

“Tie him up first.” Zhou Shucheng saw the scar-faced thug glaring at him and clutched the stick in his hand, taking a few steps toward Jiuzhu. “We can’t let him escape.”

 

“Young Master, we don’t have…”

 

“No rope? Then use your waistband!” Zhou Shucheng quickly moved behind Jiuzhu. If the Ming family’s guniang could knock out a villain who pounced on her with a stick, she could surely protect him, a weak scholar.

 

The servant reluctantly pulled off his belt and held up his pants with his hands, wanting to cover his face in embarrassment.

 

Scar was heavily outnumbered by the guards and finally tied up with two belts after a sound beating.

 

“From your appearance, you don’t seem like a good person.” Seeing the man all tied up, Zhou Shucheng finally dared to step out from behind Jiuzhu. “Where did the actual monks of this temple go?”

 

Scar didn’t respond to his question but stared at Ming Jiuzhu with bloodshot eyes. Why is she here?

 

Seeing Ming Jiuzhu’s face, he remembered the humiliation he had suffered at the capital’s yamen3T/N: This incident happens in chapter 32.1..

 

Jiuzhu also recognized Scar. She stood still, her hand touching the golden phoenix hairpin at her temple. Finally, she slowly withdrew her hand.

 

“What are you looking at?” Zhou Shucheng bravely stood in front of Jiuzhu and his younger sister. This bastard! Even at this time, he can’t help but look at pretty little guniangs.

 

“Gongzi, Young Miss, we found several monks tied up in the root cellar.” Some of the guards had gone to search around the temple and rescued the monks from the cellar.

 

Zhou Xiao looked at the trembling monks and began to doubt whether their protection talismans were truly effective or not.

 

“Zhou jiejie, actually… monks don’t make protection talismans.” Jiuzhu noticed her devastated expression and tactfully explained, trying to comfort her. “But it is the intention that matters the most. Uncle and Aunt will be delighted to receive the protection talismans you give them.”

 

“You don’t need to comfort me, I understand.” Zhou Xiao patted Jiuzhu’s hand. “It was my mistake. I believed the rumors and made you and elder brother accompany me all the way here only to encounter two fake monks.”

 

“Jiejie’s words are not true.” Jiuzhu shook her head. “If you had not insisted on asking for protective talismans, why would we come here and rescued the innocent monks from the evildoers?”

 

“Jiejie, your actions saved several lives.” Jiuzhu sighed. “You earned boundless merit.”

 

“Really?” Zhou Xiao’s spirits were lifted as she thought of indirectly saving someone. “But if meimei had not noticed something off about that fake monk, we wouldn’t have been able to save them.”

 

“Benefactors, if you wish to seek protection talismans, this poor monk can make them for you.” A skinny monk trembled as he spoke up. “This poor monk used to practice Daoism many years ago.”

 

Jiuzhu turned to him. “Then why did you become a Buddhist monk?”

 

“Early in life, this poor monk received the grace of the Abbot. He had no family to worry about, so he became a Buddhist monk.” The skinny monk explained. “If benefactors need protection talismans, this poor monk can draw as many as you need. You do not need to pay any money.”

 

Zhou Xiao: “……”

 

Suddenly, she didn’t feel like getting protection talismans anymore.

 

“Jiejie, since we’re here, let Master draw a few protection talismans for you.” Jiuzhu looked at the Buddha statue in the hall and put her palms together. “Of all things in this world, a sincere heart is the best to pray for well-being.”

 

Convinced, Zhou Xiao went with Zhou Shucheng to see the monk who had changed his path to Buddhism to ask for some protection talismans.

 

Jiuzhu walked up to Scar, whose hands and feet were tied tightly, and carefully observed him.

 

Almost nine years had passed, and this person looked much older now. Bound on the ground and unable to move, he looked like a pitiful worm.

 

The fear, unease, and panic from her memories seemed to have disappeared by half at this moment.

 

So the evil man who terrified her to no end actually looked so puny and weak.

 

Scar twisted his head, his scarred chin pressed to the ground. He didn’t understand why Ming Jiuzhu was looking at him with that gaze, but he hated it.

 

He waited for a while, but seeing that she still didn’t leave, he asked: “Miss Ming, do you want to say anything?”

 

Jiuzhu shook her head seriously. “There’s nothing I want to say. I just feel that from the way you’re tied up, you look like a worm.”

 

She was humiliating him!

 

Scar struggled a few times, but besides letting the stones on the ground scrape his face, he couldn’t even touch Ming Jiuzhu’s toe.

 

Want to do something even now?

 

Jiuzhu shook her head and sighed. She could tolerate someone being vicious and merciless, but she didn’t expect him to be so petty. He really looked like a disgusting green worm after being tied up.

 

She took a few steps back and heard footsteps coming from the path leading up and down the mountain.

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1Jieba [戒疤] – It is an ordination practice where ritual burn scars (by moxibustion) are received by Buddhist monks of some sects of Buddhism, including those of Shaolin. This practice is very rare and is part of an elaborate ceremony that is undertaken only after they shave their heads and take their bodhisattva vows. If you’ve ever wondered what those weird and symmetrical dots on Krillin’s (from DBZ in case you aren’t familiar) head are, you guessed it, it’s the jieba from when he was training to become a Shaolin monk. 2T/N: Please check out the footnotes of chapter 34.1 in case you forgot who these Sanqing grandpas are.3T/N: This incident happens in chapter 32.1.