Si Teng (Rattan) – CH 028

Chapter 28

Qin Fang’s face darkened. “In those days, being fat meant a family was wealthy.”

“In every era, the Emperor’s family was the most prosperous. According to you, only a pig could become Emperor.”

What logic! If left unchecked, such a shameless monster would inevitably become even more outspoken. Qin Fang quickly swept all the printed papers on the table into his arms, leaving none for Si Teng. “Si Teng, you say it’s okay with me, but these are my elders. As a monster of the Chinese nation, you should inherit the fine virtues of the Chinese nation—if you don’t respect their lapses, then don’t look at them.”

Si Teng frowned and stared at Qin Fang for a long time, then reluctantly agreed. She took back the photo and looked at it again and again, looking frustrated and uninterested. After a while, she looked at Qin Fang and said, “It’s true that life is better now, with better nutrition, and each generation is more beautiful. Especially you; it’s like a genetic mutation.”

Was this human language?

Si Teng ignored Qin Fang’s scowl and continued to flip through the photos. After a moment, she pulled out two. “Are these the front and back of a photo?”

It must be that the subordinate had numbered each photo. These two, one P4 front and one P4 back, represent the front and back of the fourth photo.

It was a family photo of Qin Fang’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother, holding their son, Qin Fang’s grandfather, at the edge of West Lake, with the Broken Bridge in the snow as a backdrop. Many people who hadn’t been there thought the Broken Bridge was a two-part bridge. In fact, there was a saying that after a winter snowfall, the ice and snow on the sunny side of the bridge melted, but the shady side still retained a silvery, silvery appearance. From a distance, the bridge appeared to be broken—the person who took the photo of Qin Fang’s great-grandfather’s family clearly understood this. From the angle of the photo, it did look like a “broken” bridge. Qin Fang’s great-grandfather was holding his son’s wrist, smiling broadly, a picture of a happy family.

On the back was a line of inscription. “In the winter of 1946, I took my wife and son on a lake trip, accompanied by my friend Bai Ying. We came with joy and returned with great pleasure.”

Si Teng pondered for a long time, finally completely dispelling her imagination about Qin Fang’s great-grandfather.

She said, “Your great-grandfather’s handwriting is truly like scratches by chicken claws, like a ghost scrawling.”

***

Si Teng originally gave a three-day deadline but later extended it a few days to add another step of “evidence collection.” During this time, Temple Master Cang Hong visited once, and Qin Fang heard him mention the words “Red Umbrella.”

Si Teng was stunned for a moment and said, “Oh, that’s Senior.”

After Temple Abbot Cang Hong left, Qin Fang questioned Si Teng. Si Teng briefly recounted Red Umbrella’s situation and pondered, “If Red Umbrella hadn’t died, over three hundred years would have passed since the Kangxi era… With dedicated cultivation, it’s indeed possible for Red Umbrella to become a demon again. Furthermore, it experienced a long period of turmoil, with many killings, which provided Red Umbrella with a good opportunity to absorb the evil energy. As long as Cang Hong can provide even a little evidence, Qiandong must be visited.”

***

It was said that Red Umbrella’s severed arm was deep red with white spots, soft as cotton, and rotten and smelly. After three days, it rotted and turned to water. Wherever the water touched, it turned to dead ground, barren of any vegetation. Ants and insects would convulse and die if they touched it.

Based on this, one person came up with a brilliant idea: a sealed box filled with soil from the Qiandong mountainous area. This soil must be made extremely stinky.

If time were to speed up, even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe the claim that the Taoist sect would find Red Umbrella and obtain evidence within days of Si Teng’s request. Therefore, Red Umbrella’s discovery must have occurred many months ago, when Magu Cave’s Chen Yindeng had encountered him in the mountains. Although she had been defeated, she had used a magical weapon to slightly injure Red Umbrella during her escape. Red Umbrella’s blood then dripped into the soil, and the sealed box contained that blood-soaked soil.

As expected, three cobblers were no match for Zhuge Liang. A group of people had cobbled together a nearly impeccable story, and they were all ready to applaud themselves, only for Professor Bai Jin to pour cold water on them. “It’s a good story, but I have reservations about whether the foul-smelling soil can actually scare Si Teng.”

Master Ma Qiuyang, so engrossed in his fabrication, ignored Bai Jin’s advice. “The elders say lies mixed with nine-tenths of truth are the hardest to discern. We’re doing this for real. Isn’t Miss Chen from Qiandong? Ask someone from your hometown to fetch soil from the mountains and send it over. Quickly, send it by plane. As for the stench, the transformed monster is undoubtedly a rough wood monster. Since it eats humans, the stench must also contain the smell of decayed flesh and blood. Find a few more plant and animal sources of decay and try to figure it out. Don’t forget, Red Umbrella was wiped out by the 42nd year of the Kangxi reign, and Si Teng…the transformation didn’t occur until 1910. These two monsters have never met. Si Teng has no idea what Red Umbrella’s blood smells like!

Professor Bai Jin sneered, “But don’t forget, these two are both monsters. Monsters may share some similarities. Perhaps Si Teng can tell that the things we hand over don’t have demonic auras.”

Master Ma Qiuyang was speechless for a moment. Master Zhang Shaohua sighed and said, “If that’s the case, we can only leave it to fate. We’ve never found any monsters. This matter was originally… just a gamble.”

***

In modern society, there was no such thing as rushing a horse for 800 miles. Even sending it by plane was out of fashion. Chen Yindeng called home and ordered a courier. The next evening, the so-called Red Umbrella’s stinking soil arrived.

The delivery box was small and covered in layers of tape. After Chen Yindeng signed for it, she lost the courage to open it. Abbot Cang Hong of Baiyun Temple asked her when she would meet Si Teng. She hesitated and said, “Tomorrow. Let’s all take it easy tonight.”

That was fine. Abbot Cang Hong of Baiyun Temple instructed everyone to get a good night’s rest and go see Si Teng together the next day. This time, they didn’t avoid Wang Qiankun and Yan Furui, and they were both notified.

Yan Furui, realizing this was another major undercover intelligence report, quickly called Qin Fang. Qin Fang was furious. “Can that even be called intelligence? Can visiting someone together be called intelligence?”

Yan Furui was deeply aggrieved. “Then tell me what intelligence is.”

Qin Fang patiently gave him the example of the Yuchang Sword. The gist of it was that treating someone to a meal wasn’t intelligence; using it as a pretext to assassinate someone was.

Yan Furui applied his learning. “Perhaps they’re using a visit as a pretext for assassination?”

This was like a cow talking to a duck. Qin Fang was so angry that he was vomiting blood. He yelled at him. “Or get some real information. Next time you call with such useless information, I’ll block you, believe it or not!”

Yan Furui felt looked down upon, his self-esteem severely damaged. He was determined to find out something different. After putting Wafang to sleep that night, he slipped out and thought about who to find under the guise of a chat to spy on.

It was late at night, and it was difficult to find Chen Yindeng. It was inconvenient for a man and a woman alone. Abbot Cang Hong of Baiyun Temple and Master Zhang Shaohua were elderly and couldn’t handle the hassle. Professor Bai Jin’s words were too profound to understand. Mr. Liu Hexiang was too formal, and it was obvious he was very reserved. Taoist Master Ma Qiuyang always looked arrogant and contemptuous. Liu Jinding was bald and too fierce, like a robber from the Water Margin. Ding Dacheng was a northern man, too tall and imposing, and too intimidating…

Yan Furui, who bullies the weak and fears the strong, finally settled on Pan Qinian of Taoyuan Cave. “He’s the one! He’s the shortest and presumably the easiest to fool!”

But how could he find a pretext? He had one. Flattery was a surefire way to get the point across. He’d say he’d long admired Taoyuan Cave and, finally finding the opportunity, had come to visit… Then, slowly and tactfully, he’d steer the conversation towards prying into their secrets…

Yan Furui excitedly knocked on Pan Qinian’s door.

Everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan, except for one miscalculation: Pan Qinian was just too good a talker!

Don’t you admire Taoyuan Cave? Do you know its history? Starting with the ancestor’s story—how he came from a poor background and devoted himself to Taoism—he even quoted from classics and compared it to Tao Yuanming’s “Peach Blossom Spring.” Yan Furui tried to get a word in, but the bigger picture was important, so he forced himself to listen intently. His eyes were already wandering…

Hey, that thing on the cabinet behind Pan Qinian, was it a gourd?

This gourd was really interesting. It had a big belly and a red ribbon tied around its waist, resembling the wine gourd of Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals. But it suddenly started shaking, making a buzzing sound…

Yan Furui couldn’t help but point at the gourd and ask Pan Qinian, “Is your gourd shaking?”

Pan Qinian instinctively turned to look. Suddenly, his body froze. After a second or two of silence, he cried out, “Evil spirit! There’s an evil spirit!”

***

It wasn’t just Pan Qinian; several other people’s magical instruments were shaking at the same time. Liu Jinding heard the humming of the coins on his gold and silver sword. Ding Dacheng’s copper abacus, whose beads had been neatly arranged and leaning against each other, was awakened when he checked and found it in a chaotic mess, with numbers displayed randomly on each rod. Zhang Shaohua’s thunder-struck wooden seal, originally placed against the wall of the table without anyone touching it, had slid several inches away, with one corner even slipping over the edge. Zhang Shaohua stated with certainty that sacred objects of the sect must be kept reverently and never thrown around.

However, by the time they gathered in the main room of Master Cang Hong, nothing unusual had happened. Taoist Master Ma Qiuyang, wielding his “Summon All Gods” banner, looked around nervously. “Could it be Si Teng who’s been here?”

Everyone exchanged glances, no one daring to rule out the possibility. This demon, who never played by the rules, appeared calm and composed on the surface but had secretly grown suspicious and came to investigate? Luckily, everyone’s magical instruments were quite capable.

Temple Master Cang Hong urged everyone to go back and rest. “We’re meeting her tomorrow anyway. Whether it’s auspicious or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Yan Furui happily returned to his room, feeling he’d finally accomplished something tonight. He was going to tell Si Teng, “You came to the Taoist sect to spy on secrets tonight. Did you think you could get away with it? No, no, no, the Taoist priests’ magical instruments are quite powerful. They’ve already noticed…”

He pulled out his room card to open the door, only to discover it was ajar. Had he forgotten to close the door before leaving? How careless! Fortunately, this was a legitimate hotel. If it had been a shady place, the child would have been taken away without him even noticing.

Yan Furui closed the door and groped into bed in the dark. He pulled out his phone and typed a text message to Qin Fang. The screen’s shimmering light illuminated the small area above his head, and for some reason, he felt something was amiss… After a second or two, Yan Furui suddenly realized something and hurriedly reached out to turn on the headlight.

On Wafang’s bed, the quilt was flipped outward and draped loosely at the foot of the bed, but the person was gone.