Longyou, Qinzhou.
Qituo Mountain.
More than three months had passed since the Demon Suppression Bureau's search.
Qituo Mountain now seemed to have regained its former tranquility.
Morning bells and evening drums rang out, Buddhist chants drifting in waves.
Pilgrims still came in an unbroken stream—more than ever, if anything.
Because the commotion that night had been so enormous, Jeweled Temple had told the outside world that its boundless Buddhist Dharma had suppressed evil spirits.
This had indeed drawn many foolish men and women to prostrate themselves in worship.
They believed that a Bodhisattva had truly manifested and sheltered the region.
As for the Demon Suppression Bureau's investigation—
Its thunder was loud, but its rain was light.
The Longyou Regional Command still lacked a Commander. Though Wei He had methods, when facing a great sect with centuries of history, and without irrefutable evidence, he could only raise the stick high and bring it down gently.
After several rounds of wrangling, they searched the outer courtyards a few times and arrested several scapegoats. On the surface, the matter was thus laid to rest.
The rear mountain of Qituo Mountain.
Inside an utterly inconspicuous meditation room.
Three men sat around one another.
Wangfan, the chief of Arhat Hall, wore a kasaya, yet his bulging muscles seemed ready to burst through it at any moment.
He lifted his teacup and drained it in one gulp.
He was not drinking tea so much as downing wine.
"These days have been truly stifling!"
"Those court lapdogs have been wandering around the mountain every other day for the past three months. They claim to be searching for demon remnants, but they're really here to disgust us!"
"The other day, several Team Leaders even spouted nonsense in the Guest Reception Hall, saying our Golden Body Buddha had been