Chapter 715: Chapter 698: Another Battlefield Without Gunsmoke

The night in Xiangyang, when viewed from the air, seemed to have a bit of the glow of thousands of family lanterns, even more bustling than the Capital at this moment, which was under a curfew. Few places had their lights on in the dark night.

Xiangyang had not suffered much damage during the chaos caused by the Maitreya Sect. Although Lv Shiheng had almost disrupted farming with his foolish actions, things were put back on track in a timely manner. At this time, Xiangyang could truly be considered a blessed land, more stable than most places in the world.

Especially in the southern part of the city, where the lights were most concentrated, everywhere there were lanterns and a cacophony of people’s voices, giving the distant impression of some garden event taking place.

Zhao Changhe, surprised, spurred his horse in that direction, descended near a grove of trees, hid his steed, and then strolled out to see the garden event.

He could hear people’s laughter from a distance, girls’ voices chiming like silver bells echoing through the night. It wasn’t easy to come by such scenes in these times of war and chaos. It was simply like Su Yang before the Maitreya rebellion, evoking a nostalgia for the Xiao Xiang Inn of that time.

Ah, this place was indeed Xiao Xiang.

Zhao Changhe wandered over and quickly saw that this was actually a temple fair in front of a grand temple. The plaza in front of the temple was huge, almost as large as the one outside the Imperial Palace… Having gone through the chaos of the Maitreya Sect, Zhao Changhe instinctively felt a bit wary of temples. In such desolate times, how had such a magnificent temple suddenly appeared?

Just as he was thinking of asking a passerby, his wandering gaze suddenly fell on a familiar face.

A young man was selling braised duck at a stall near the lanterns. “Hey, hey, Miss, I don’t sell duck legs separately; you have to order at least half a duck.”

“But I am a girl…”

“Miss, you could crush me if you lay down, so let’s not kid ourselves.”

“How can you talk like that? Who does business this way!”

“If you cut off a leg, how can I sell the rest of the duck? Would you buy any other duck and just take the middle leg home?”

“How can you act like a hoodlum in front of a temple!”

“I am just a duck seller, buy it or leave it.”

The customer walked away, indignant. The lad leant against the tree behind him, lazily, his eyes scanning around, though it was unclear whether he was looking at the girls at the fair or something else.

Suddenly a big face appeared in front of him, “Brother Zhou, selling ducks?”

Zhang Buqi was stunned for a moment, his eyes gleaming with wild joy, “Could this be some illusion technique? How could you possibly have turned up here?”

Zhao Changhe “shushed” him, “There are too many prying ears, shall we move somewhere else?”

Without hesitation, Zhang Buqi grabbed the oilcloth spread before him, scooping up all the ducks at once, and quickly fled, “Come on, I’ll treat you to a drink.”

Behind them, a customer shouted, “Hey, hey, hey, duck seller?”

Zhang Buqi didn’t look back, “Packed up, including the boss!”

…

“Could it be that the head of the Demon Suppression Department received our message? Strange, we didn’t even send an urgent dispatch. With the roads being tough in the snow, messengers may not even have reached the Capital by now.” At the secret base of the Demon Suppression Department, Zhang Buqi cheerfully warmed the wine, sliced off a duck leg, and handed it to Zhao Changhe, “No matter what, now that you’re here, we have our backbone, and my mind is at ease.”

Zhao Changhe took the duck leg and started eating, “How are you so sure it’s not an illusion technique?”

“Phew, if an illusion technique could be this real, I’d accept that too.” Zhang Buqi said, “What kind of fool would ask if I’m selling ducks upon meeting?”

Zhao Changhe, “…Hey, shouldn’t I be referred to as King Zhao or Crown Prince within the Imperial court sequence? You seem pretty happy with your insults, huh?”

“Ah? You like to be treated with utmost respect?” Zhang Buqi looked at him as if it were odd, “I’ve never seen a Prince who goes around fighting all over by himself on horseback.”

Zhao Changhe broke into laughter, clapping his hands, “Very well, very well.”

Great Zhou poured himself some hot wine and laughed, “If old Zhou liked being an official, I wouldn’t have spent my life as a secret agent. It’s just that I can’t be bothered with all the bureaucratic nonsense. Don’t try that trick on me.”

“What are you being a secret agent for, then?”

“It’s to see the things that officials can’t see, to make sure demons and ghosts have nowhere to hide.”

“Alright, alright.” Zhao Changhe raised his bowl and clinked it against Great Zhou’s, laughing as he said, “What’s the situation with this? Since you’ve already sent messengers to the Capital, it must be a bit of a problem, right? It’s not just me being paranoid?”

“Mmm… There is indeed a problem, although it’s not on the level of a wartime emergency. I’m not sure if the chief has received the news yet.”

“No, she hasn’t. And even if she had, since you guys didn’t mark it as urgent, it would probably get pushed back given how busy she is right now. No worries, now that I’m here, just tell me.”

“This temple… well, it didn’t just sprout up from nowhere. You know, a long time ago, Buddhism was quite prosperous in the world, but it never recovered after its suppression by the previous emperor. The rise of the Maitreya Sect from underground teachings is also related to that backdrop.”

“Mmm… So the temple is from earlier times?”

“Right, it just fell into disuse. However, after the fall of the Maitreya Sect, traditional Buddhism started to show signs of revival. Before, they didn’t dare to be too conspicuous, but since the previous emperor’s death, they no longer have any concerns and are flourishing.” Great Zhou sighed as he sipped his wine, “Look, it hasn’t been that long since the previous emperor passed away, what, about two months? And the temple has already been renovated, believers are donating money and goods enthusiastically, and there’s a crowded buzz of temple activities.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Without any festival or celebration, how come there are temple activities?”

“Of course, there are. Today is Laba. Laba is a Buddhist holiday. It wasn’t celebrated before, but now it’s started.”

“Hmm…”

“The new Governor is quite faithful to this, and he’s really opened the doors to it. Theoretically, now that it’s a prosperous and peaceful time and people’s hearts are at ease, you could say it’s a result of their moral teachings. We don’t know if there’s a problem with that… instincts suggest that gathering people’s hearts and holding mass events isn’t necessarily a good thing, so we reported it. Besides, His Majesty hasn’t lifted the previous emperor’s decree against Buddhism, has he? It seems wrong to just ignore that, doesn’t it?”

Zhao Changhe nodded. The sensitivity of these secret agents from the Demon Suppression Department was really high; ordinary people wouldn’t think so much.

In these chaotic times, people desperately need something to believe in, and the teachings of the Four Symbols Sect just aren’t as naturally fitting. It takes a long time to change the notion of divine beings coming to the world to rule over everything to divine beings coming to bring everyone to Ultimate Bliss.

Currently, they stand no chance against Buddhism and Taoism, which have slowly but steadily made their teachings and awareness deep-rooted in people’s hearts. This is also why Gui Chen so calmly “retired to Taishan”; his Taoist foundation was already solid, and there’s no point for the Four Symbols Sect to compete with them.

This situation isn’t necessarily bad… but it’s human nature to be fearful after a scare; after what happened with the Maitreya Sect, anyone with a bit of sensitivity is wary of these kinds of social gatherings. If things go south, it could lead to another Maitreya uprising. That’s why secret agents like Great Zhou are so vigilant and have reported to the Capital.

“The main thing is, we feel they’ve revived all too quickly; it feels like there’s someone pushing it,” Great Zhou’s expression grew grave, “Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the Governor has given them tax exemptions, leading farmers to affiliate and donate crops, plus the exemption from labor service for those who become monks, has lead to a massive number of commoners being ordained. If this continues, it’s strange if there aren’t any issues.”

Zhao Changhe nodded again. This perfectly exploited the gap where the Imperial court just couldn’t spare resources to manage these things. Once this becomes the norm everywhere, the tail might be too big to cut off.

Great Zhou was muttering, “I was young when the previous emperor suppressed Buddhism; I didn’t know why. But looking at it now, if this goes on for another decade, His Majesty might have to do the same.”

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment and asked, “Have there been any cases of bullying or domineering?”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on it, and so far nothing significant has turned up. We haven’t seen any scams like those used by the Maitreya Sect in the past; no loopholes, everything seems upright and legitimate. However, there have been public safety incidents where disrespectful attitudes towards Buddhism have led to followers of the faith killing someone. At that time, brothers from the Blood God Sect were greatly dissatisfied with this, nearly erupting in a big fight; it was the Governor who calmed both sides down. Honestly, the conflict between the brothers of the Blood God Sect and the Buddhist followers is bound to cause trouble sooner or later, and I don’t think the Governor can keep it under control, but with you here, it’ll be steady.”

Zhao Changhe turned back and looked towards the direction of the temple fair in the south of the city.

His Qi Observation Skill faintly activated, as if he could see a vortex of the Power of Faith gathering overhead, then flowing into some unknown place.

Great Zhou’s voice echoed intermittently in his ears, “I think… this is just a milder version of the Maitreya Sect, fundamentally not much different… Of course, the Blood God Sect is no good either, just a bunch of firecrackers ready to blow at the slightest touch…”

Zhao Changhe mused for a long while, then suddenly asked, “What about the Taoists here, not a peep from them?”

“There are. But it seems as if someone is suppressing them; they’ve been very low-profile, mostly focusing on the Taoist temples outside the city… In fact, the previous emperor never suppressed Taoism, and Taoist power has always been strong. But they’ve always kept a low profile; it’s hard to say whether it’s just their way, or if they’re hiding something.”

Zhao Changhe thought about it, then suddenly asked, “Who is the abbot of this Buddhist temple? And why does the Governor trust him so much?”

Great Zhou answered, “This is related to you as well. The abbot is none other than Master Yuan Cheng, whom you once took to fight against the Maitreya Sect. Although they didn’t act in your name, in the eyes of officials everywhere, they inevitably carry that halo.”

Zhao Changhe suddenly remembered the leftover tea on Tang Buqi’s table from back in the day and laughed, “I see. Then there’s no use sitting around pondering. I’ll pay a visit to the temple and have a chat with Master Yuan Cheng.”