Chapter 481: Chapter 445: Intelligence from All Sides
After making some discoveries, Sang Que and Xia Chan did not continue to explore further.
In response to the chaos of zombies and ghosts attacking the base, the only solution Sang Que could think of was to use her own Ghost Realm to transform the area around the base into the Death Domain, and deploy the zombies from her painting to patrol the area.
In this way, unless they are highly targeted and extraordinarily powerful, zombies and ghosts will generally avoid approaching the Death Domain.
The matter of finding the ’Impermanent Bureau’ cannot be rushed; opening the Qian Trigram Eye only reveals a large door where Black and White Impermanence can immediately detect her spying, so thorough preparation is necessary before investigating.
From the reaction of the Yin Child and this corpse, it seems this Impermanent Bureau is likely a place where evil ghosts are artificially created, where Yin Walkers are made, and serves as a site for researching supernatural entities.
It might be directly managed by Zuo Jinye, and both the Old Gu Master and the storyteller could be held there; with luck, the three people the Yin Child is looking for might also be there.
The two humans and the cat returned to the base; Sang Que teleported to a high vantage point, watching the Dawn Base nearing completion, and felt her blood surge with an indescribable excitement.
All buildings are mostly formed, with ground leveling, interior decoration, water pipe connection, and electricity installation underway, soon ready for official use.
Over at Bright Moon Mountain, with the possibility of future conflict with the court in mind, Chaotian Pass had already been rebuilt into a modern steel fortress, equipped with some heavy weapons.
The mountain guards led by Luo Danian have been trained to adeptly operate these weapons.
Even if the court’s army presses in, as long as they don’t deploy Yin Walkers, it will be impossible to capture this place quickly.
In the following two months, Sang Que frequently traveled between the modern era and the Deceit Dynasty, mainly focusing on opening gates and transporting various materials, equipment, weapons, and personnel.
She also extended the Ghost Realm around Dawn Base, maintaining it to undergo gradual transformation into a permanent Death Domain.
Everything at Dawn Base is managed by Zhao Yunshu, with Liu Tianyou overseeing Bright Moon Mountain; Sang Que only needs to grasp the overall direction, without worrying about minor details.
Previously, Liu Tianyou often complained about a shortage of talent, but now with support from the modern side, Bright Moon Mountain discreetly harbors remarkable experts, with professors and top students from agricultural science institutes teaming up with ordinary villagers to farm the land.
At night, Sang Que would return to the modern era to stay with Sang Wan, entering the Contemplation Realm while sleeping to gradually deepen into the Nine Netherworld; ever since the Yin Child replaced the Five Spirits God, reaching Sixth Level strength, Sang Que has maintained this routine.
The soul suffers immensely in the Pot of Soup Prison on the Fifth Level; each visualization intensely and genuinely lets Sang Que experience the feeling of her body being steamed and boiled, multiplying as she descends the layers, posing a great challenge to her willpower, constantly tempting her to abandon.
At such moments, if she gave up, ghosts would slowly erode her soul, leading to a gradual loss of sanity, resulting in madness.
Winter departs and spring arrives, the ice and snow melting away.
After the spring equinox, trees begin to sprout tender green buds, and the villagers who hibernated through winter in Bright Moon Mountain emerge into the fields, busy with the year’s spring planting.
Living in the mountains for so long, they have nearly forgotten the outside world, fully immersed in this otherworldly paradise.
On this day, Sang Que was called by Yao Zhen to Qingfeng Temple outside of Bright Moon Mountain.
Qingfeng Temple had dismissed the previously recruited Daoist boys and resident Daoists, settling them in other Taoist temples, leaving only Yao Zhen and Master Jing Lan.
The temple doors were tightly shut, with a wooden sign placed below the mountain explaining the imminent relocation of the temple.
Upon arriving at the temple, Sang Que discovered that Monk Bingchen was also present, chatting with Master Jing Lan next to the divination table in the front yard; Sang Que approached, overhearing inquiries about Monk Bingchen’s master, indicating they were old acquaintances who hadn’t seen each other for many years.
The early spring weather was still cold, and Yao Zhen leaned against a nearby tree with hands in his pockets, yawning.
Seeing Sang Que, he casually greeted her, "You’re here. The matter you asked us to investigate has yielded some results."
"Infinite Life Buddha."
Monk Bingchen stood and offered a Buddhist greeting to Sang Que, who nodded in response.
Monk Bingchen went straight to the point, "Miss Sang, I have asked my master and reliable fellow monks in the temple for help; we can basically confirm that the person you’re looking for is a high monk from Jingzhou Sleeping Buddha Temple, with the Dharma name ’Ying Guang,’ now in his sixties."
"Where is he now?" Sang Que asked.
Monk Bingchen replied, "According to Sleeping Buddha Temple monks, Zen Master Ying Guang used to reside in Shengjing City assisting the Evil Suppression Bureau with some matters. He would return to Sleeping Buddha Temple at year-end for a short stay, but he didn’t return last year. It’s said he went to Qinzhou, yet till now, there’s no news of him; temple folks say Zen Master Ying Guang might have perished amidst the Qinzhou ghost calamity..."
Sang Que nodded slightly and then asked Yao Zhen, "What have you found out?"
Yao Zhen sniffed, "There are many Taoist Sect members working for the Evil Suppression Bureau; trying to pinpoint exactly which one you’re looking for is tough for my master and me. So, based on their duration at the Evil Suppression Bureau, we screened out those whose tenure was long enough, age old enough, and Daoist techniques deep enough and found that all those fitting the criteria headed to Qinzhou, becoming unheard of post-Qinzhou ghost calamity."
Sang Que contemplated, her gaze downcast, confirming that Monk Bingchen and Yao Zhen’s findings corroborated with her previous visions.
Recently, Sang Que gradually realized why the sight of those zombies seemed familiar; it’s because she had previously encountered those people in Fish Woman Village, beneath that lake, where the Impermanent Bureau is located.
Having inquired thoroughly about Zen Master Ying Guang from Monk Bingchen, it was nearing afternoon when Monk Bingchen bid farewell, and Sang Que escorted him down the mountain.
At the crossroads, Monk Bingchen leisurely apologized to Sang Que.
"Infinite Life Buddha, earlier Miss Sang suggested disbanding Nine Songs; after discussing with my master, we decided to accept Miss Sang’s advice and have since retreated to Tibet for Buddhist practice, ceasing involvement in Central Plains matters. I hope you understand."
Sang Que did not insist, responding softly with "mm."
During the Qinzhou battles, Sang Que noticed only Taoist disciples descended to aid the court in quelling chaos; Buddhist disciples remained in their temples chanting and praying, at most temporarily sheltering homeless refugees.
Monk Bingchen’s decision to leave was expected by Sang Que; apart from him, although Yao Zhen, the ghost vendor, and Qiao Ling haven’t directly expressed, their continued stay at Bright Moon Mountain indicates their choice to remain.
"Miss Sang, this package from my master is for you; inside is an incense burner from Nine Songs, along with a string of eighteen Buddha beads made from the eyebrows of deceased high monks from our temple, ensuring peace for the living and repose for the dead. It’s my master’s sincere token of goodwill; I hope you’ll accept it."
Sang Que accepted the bundle handed by Monk Bingchen and nodded; Monk Bingchen lastly chanted a Buddhist phrase before departing along the official road with his Zen Stick, gradually disappearing from sight.
Sang Que walked slowly up the mountain back to the temple, where Yao Zhen had already locked the door, assisting Master Jing Lan as they awaited Sang Que.
"Mulan, I’ve heard another piece of news—your brother, He Buning, has been titled Marquis Wu’an, responsible for handling the unrest in Jinzhou. He had already led an army and Ministry of Industry officials involved in Great Wall construction, likely nearing us."
Master Jing Lan sighed at this, "What a sin!"
Yao Zhen grumbled indignantly, "Indeed, a great sin! My recently built Qingfeng Temple now forced to relocate, truly unfair!"
Sang Que remained silent, quietly estimating that, if all goes well, within three days she could formally enter the Sixth Level of the Nine Netherworld, with her mother saying she’s almost ready too.
Time to head for the Impermanent Bureau!
