Wrapping Up

Spring rain whispered, spring rain whispered.

Great Tail Venerable's ashes were soon soaked by the spring rain.

"This old wolf was probably planted with an idea by someone too."

Nie Yannian stepped forward and kicked the ashes, cursing, "Not even a Sarira. Clearly, he was a Demon Monk, not an eminent monk!"

"Master Nie, Yun Province is the only place within the realm with a Buddhist lineage. Great Tail Venerable seemed to have genuinely studied Buddhist teachings, so why did he come here to spread the Dharma?" Meng Yuan was truly curious.

"These bald donkey bastards have the most damn nonsense going on!" Nie Yannian folded his arms, stroking his chin with one hand. "Monks are much like those sour scholars. The sour scholars think they are meant to enlighten ignorant rabble, when really they just look down on everyone from on high. The bald donkeys want to deliver suffering beings from misery, when they cannot even deliver themselves."

As he spoke, Nie Yannian pointed at the pile of ashes. "These bald donkeys all have something wrong with their heads. Whenever they have nothing better to do, they love making some grand vow. Meet your eyes once on the road, and they say you've formed karma with them. Damn hard to shake off! There are too few eminent monks in the world, and too many bald donkeys like this!"

Meng Yuan asked again, "What was the Sudden Enlightenment school Master Nie mentioned earlier?"

"The Sudden Enlightenment school is not exactly a sect, but a school of thought. It is like the Confucian and Daoist traditions, each with all manner of branches. Buddhism has the Sudden Enlightenment school and the Gradual Cultivation Sect. Their ideas differ, so they are internal branches." Nie Yannian explained.

"Then how did Master Nie tell that Great Tail Venerable belonged to the Sudden Enlightenment school?" Meng Yuan asked curiously.

"I just bluffed him offhand. Didn't think much of it." Nie Yannian smiled. "Truth is, I couldn't tell whether he was Sudden Enlightenment or Gradual Cultivation Sect at all."

Meng Yuan smiled. "What do we do next? This has gone beyond the scope of a prince's estate guard."

"If it had only been a few little spirits making trouble, that would have been the end of it." Nie Yannian turned much more serious. "But this old wolf was tangled up too deeply. There is some guru behind him, and that sounds mighty strange. Once we return, you need not concern yourself with it. The Demon Suppression Division must take over."

"Master Nie, did you used to serve in the Demon Suppression Division?" Great Tail Venerable had said Nie Yannian was from the Demon Suppression Division, and Nie Yannian had admitted it outright.

"Yeah. I used to specialize in killing demons." Nie Yannian hugged his saber. For once, the man who was usually so irreverent showed a trace of melancholy.

Seeing that Nie Yannian did not wish to say more, Meng Yuan did not press him. Yet he made up his mind to visit Drunken Moon Pavilion later and have a chat with Master Nie's beloved daughter.

"Master Nie, when can I learn Blossoming Spring Thunder?" Meng Yuan was an ambitious sort and had long coveted the technique that summoned the strange spectacle of spring thunder.

"Still not weaned, and you already want to chase women?" Nie Yannian sneered, poking Meng Yuan with a finger. "Your hand is ruthless, but your heart isn't! Not only did you deliberately let Yellow fur go, you even gave her a gentle warning! Other people seek fox spirits, but you went and found a weasel spirit. Quite the promising future you have!"

Nie Yannian had seen what happened with Xiang Ling. Meng Yuan did not argue, only asked, "Master Nie, once spirits take human form, can they have children with people?"

"Of course!" Nie Yannian laughed. "Want me to arrange one for you?"

"Master Nie never arranged one for himself?" Meng Yuan grinned as well.

"I did. Slippery as hell!" Nie Yannian chuckled.

The two of them both burst out laughing.

After a while, with the spring rain still falling, Ren Debiao finally returned.

His clothes were in tatters and his arm was bleeding. Yet he had returned alone, with no sign of Wolf Two.

"He got away?" Nie Yannian frowned.

"This subordinate was incompetent." Ren Debiao saw Wolf One's corpse, then glanced at Meng Yuan before lowering his head to admit fault.

"You've been in the ranks for two years, and your acupoints are nearly all opened. How come you can't even measure up to a greenhorn? Scholar Meng killed a demon and still had time to sleep with a weasel spirit again. Look at you!" Nie Yannian never knew how to speak tactfully.

What the hell does that have to do with me? Why compare me to him? Meng Yuan was an honest man who did not do things that offended others. He said tactfully, "I was lucky too. The road was slippery, and Wolf One fell. I shot him with two arrows, and he was clumsy with his Monk's Saber, so I only managed to kill him by luck. Even then, I nearly left my life out there."

"You're the one who knows how to conduct yourself!" Nie Yannian glared at Meng Yuan, then turned to Ren Debiao. "Without a good background, if you want to make something of yourself, you can only stake your life on it, kid!"

"Yes." Ren Debiao clenched his fists and answered with his head lowered.

Nie Yannian said no more. He walked to the blue stone where Great Tail Venerable had sat to preach, then tipped his chin toward Meng Yuan.

So I'm the one who does all the dirty, exhausting work, huh? Meng Yuan obediently stepped up and moved the blue stone, revealing a tunnel.

The tunnel was only a little over ten feet deep. One could see its end at a glance.

There was not much inside: only two dead dogs, several sacks of herbs, and a tattered bundle.

Nie Yannian took out the bundle. Inside were several taels of broken silver and a worn-out cassock.

There was not a single written word, nor any mark at all.

"No words left behind. Perhaps he truly was from Zen Buddhism's Sudden Enlightenment school." Nie Yannian muttered as he looked at the cassock.

After inspecting the surroundings again and finding nothing, Nie Yannian told them to descend the mountain. "Wolf One was yours to kill, so you carry him back yourself!"

Wolf One weighed around two hundred pounds, which was not much. Without a word, Meng Yuan hoisted Wolf One onto his back.

Nie Yannian walked ahead and naturally had no intention of helping. Ren Debiao did not offer a hand either, and his expression only grew uglier.

Meng Yuan's strength had not yet recovered after the fierce battle. Before long, he felt himself running out of steam. The spring rain had not stopped, and the mountain path was slick, so he inevitably stumbled and slipped, falling from time to time.

Nie Yannian stopped every so often to wait, a smile still on his face, while Ren Debiao remained silent as ever.

Meng Yuan did not ask either of them for help. He merely gritted his teeth, summoned a breath of resolve, and stubbornly forced himself onward down the mountain.

After noon, the spring rain finally stopped, and they eventually emerged from the mountains. The Medicine Manor's foreman had already arrived with several villagers, waiting with a donkey cart.

At the sight of the giant wolf's corpse, the villagers cried out in terror.

"This..." The foreman's expression was unpleasant as well. He stared at the wolf corpse for a while before saying, "Master Nie, the manor has prepared food and hot soup. Please take a hot bath first, then have something warm to eat."

Nie Yannian nodded, pulled Ren Debiao aside, and spoke to him in a low voice for a few moments. Ren Debiao then mounted a horse and rode off toward Songhe Prefecture.

Meng Yuan was exhausted to the point of collapse. He tossed Wolf One's corpse onto the donkey cart, then simply lay down on the cart himself, using Wolf One's belly as a pillow.

"Already spent?" Nie Yannian came over, sat on the donkey cart, and smilingly handed Meng Yuan a waterskin.

Meng Yuan had not wanted to take it, but the fur on Wolf One's belly pricked his face. He sat back up, accepted the waterskin, and gulped for a long while without replying.

"You think you can avoid offending people, but if you gain something and they gain nothing, you've already offended them! Otherwise, why wouldn't they lend you a hand?" Nie Yannian kept mocking him.

"Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire. If he helps me, that is goodwill; if he does not, that is his duty. I do not care what he thinks in his heart, nor do I expect his help. So long as he does not provoke me, I will still respect him. But if he provokes me, it is not as though I have never beaten Steward Liu's son." Meng Yuan said.

"Heh! You really did learn something from all that reading!" Nie Yannian looked Meng Yuan up and down, smiled, and said nothing more.