Open Boldly If You're Going To

[Killed String-Hearing Realm creature. Gained fifteen years of Dao Cultivation.]

[Killed String-Hearing Realm creature. Gained ten years of Dao Cultivation.]

Two frigid chimes rang out in succession within her mind.

Jiang Yuechu sheathed her blade and shook her head.

Human martial artists cultivated far faster than demons or monsters to begin with.

For humans, this might be a good thing.

But for her income, it was rather unfavorable.

Two String-Hearing Realm foes combined still amounted to less than a single demon.

The courtyard fell into dead silence.

Only the two headless corpses continued to gush blood outward.

Chen Tong and the others were utterly dumbfounded.

Wait...

They had thought the worst that would happen was a show of force, a lesson to dampen Jeweled Temple's arrogance, and that would be the end of it.

But...

She actually killed them?!

How dare she?!

They stared at Jiang Yuechu, waiting for an explanation.

But Jiang Yuechu had no intention of explaining.

From the very start, there had only been two choices.

Either accept their bribe, leave, and turn a blind eye.

Or kill them outright.

There had never been a third option.

What, did they think letting these two go would stop them from holding a grudge?

That Jeweled Temple wouldn't pursue the matter?

Either way, she'd made enemies.

So she might as well kill them.

Life was short. She wouldn't bully others, but she would never let anyone bully her either.

Since she had this strength, and a golden finger to boot, she would live boldly!

It was like using a cheat in a game.

Either use it without restraint.

Or don't use it at all.

Hesitating, pretending, playing games—what was the point of cheating then?

She didn't even glance at the corpses on the ground. She walked straight to Magistrate Qian, who had collapsed to the floor, frowned, and lightly kicked his bulky frame.

"Time to wake up."

Magistrate Qian didn't move a muscle. A trickle of drool even ran from the corner of his mouth.

"..."

"This matter has nothing to do with you. If Jeweled Temple's people come asking, just tell them the truth."

Seeing that he couldn't keep up the act, Magistrate Qian finally "awoke" with a dazed expression.

He scrambled to his feet somewhat awkwardly, straightened his robes, and stole another glance at the two bodies, his eyelids twitching.

Jiang Yuechu frowned and said calmly, "Where is that black bear now?"

"It's... still on the mountain..."

"Still there?"

As if relieved of his burden now that Jeweled Temple's men were dead, Magistrate Qian burst out cursing: "Your Excellency! You don't know the half of it! Those bald donkeys arrived in Hechuan County yesterday. I thought the black bear would show some restraint, but what happened?"

"They went up the mountain, then came right back down!"

"I went to ask, and what did they say? They said the bear demon was their temple's guardian spirit beast, and to take it back, they needed to set up an altar, fast, and bathe in purification—told me to wait!"

"If you ask me, they just want that bear to eat a few more people! As if every extra day it feasts, they get some huge advantage!"

"..."

Jiang Yuechu understood.

If she had taken the money and left, this black bear would probably have stayed here "preaching the dharma" for quite some time.

"Which mountain?"

"N-North Mountain! Just over a dozen li north of the city! There used to be a temple up there years ago, long since fallen into ruin. That black bear's taken it over as his den now!"

Jiang Yuechu nodded, then casually pointed at the two men closest to the corpse.

"You two, deal with the body. The rest of you, follow me up the mountain."

With that, she turned and walked off.

"Yes, ma'am!"

None of them dared hesitate any longer; scrambling and stumbling, they hurried after her.

Bujie the monk bent down to pick up his wine gourd from the ground, dusted it off, and muttered under his breath, "Amitabha. Kill and burn, and your belt jingles with gold; mend bridges and pave roads, and no bones remain... Off we go, off we go—slaying demons and vanquishing evil."

Soon, the courtyard that had been packed with people was left with only Liu Ke standing there alone.

A scorching wave of shame burned his face hot.

He prided himself on being from a righteous sect, a man of chivalrous heart.

But when faced with a behemoth like that treasure, what had he actually done besides flap his lips?

"What are you still standing there for?"

A cool voice came from the courtyard entrance, tinged with lazy impatience.

Liu Ke jolted violently, as if waking from a deep dream, and looked up.

At the gate, the girl who had come back stood leaning against the doorframe, watching him at her leisure.

"Still planted there like a door god?" She raised an eyebrow. "Face going red one moment, white the next—are you about to put on a show for me?"

"I..."

The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"So dramatic."

"Hurry up and follow."

Liu Ke took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.

In the end, he slowly lowered his once-proud head.

"Yes, ma'am."

North Mountain, the ruined temple.

In the open space before the temple, over a hundred people knelt in a dark, crowded mass.

Above them, an enormous black bear sat upright on its haunches, draped in a tattered monk's robe it had clearly scavenged from somewhere, its paws pressed together in a solemn prayer gesture.

"What is suffering?"

"Hunger in the belly—that is suffering! No clothes on your back—that is suffering! To seek and not obtain—that is suffering upon suffering!"

The black bear spoke in human tongue, its voice loud as a bell, echoing through the mountains.

"But do you know where this suffering comes from?"

The crowd below all shook their heads in confusion.

"Foolish children! Foolish children!"

Master black bear shook his head with pained regret. "This suffering comes from your own greed, anger, and ignorance! You covet the grain and meat of this mortal world, you rage at the wealth of others, you are obsessed with the hollow pleasures of worldly life!"

"Let go! You must let go!"

"As long as you cast aside those external possessions, devote yourselves wholly to me, and offer tribute day by day, This Seat... this humble monk will surely deliver you, guiding you to rebirth in the Western Paradise, where you may enjoy eternal peace!"

His words were a jumbled mess, utter nonsense.

But the foolish men and women below listened as if entranced, knocking their heads to the ground like pestles pounding garlic.

"The master speaks the truth!"

"I see the light! I see the light!"

Watching this scene, the black bear grew more smug by the moment. He tossed out a few more lines of feigned profundity, then waved a paw.

"That's enough for today. All of you, disperse. Remember to come earlier tomorrow—don't neglect your cultivation."

The crowd thanked him profusely, leaving with reluctant backward glances.

Only when everyone was gone did the black bear slowly rise, peel off the bothersome tattered robe, and swagger back into the rear hall of the temple.

Inside the rear hall, a meditation room had been cleaned spotless.

He plopped down onto the soft bed with a satisfied sigh.

"Damn, Big Brother's got a good head on him."

He grabbed a piece of meat from the table—its origin indistinguishable—stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly.

Back when he was just a demon in the mountains, life had been miserable.

Not only did he have to fight other monsters for territory and prey, but he also had to live in constant fear that one day those mad dogs from the Demon Suppression Bureau would sniff their way up the mountain.

Not like now.

Wrapped in a kasaya, hoisting the banner of Jeweled Temple, all he had to do was wag his tongue here, spout a few nonsense lines, and offerings would come knocking on their own, endless and free.

Even if he devoured people, those bald donkeys at Jeweled Temple would be right there to wipe his ass clean afterward.

This kind of life—even an immortal wouldn't trade places!

"Mm... stay another seven or eight days, squeeze this area dry of every drop of oil, then head back to Jeweled Temple. After eating this much, it should be enough to digest for a while."

black bear gnawed on the meat, calculating in his head.

Just then.

Knock knock knock.

A soft rap came at the door.

"Great Master."

"Come in."

A gaunt old man pushed the door open—it was the one who had kowtowed the loudest in the crowd earlier.

"Great Master, today's lesson..."

"Oh."

black bear acted as if he'd just remembered, and said offhandedly, "Just have that newlywed wife from Wang Mazi's house come over."

The so-called lesson was him personally awakening human women, enlightening their mortal bodies, and then devouring their flesh and blood.

"This..." The old man's face showed a hint of reluctance. "Great Master, that woman from Wang Mazi's house... was already... enlightened by you yesterday..."

"Hm?"

black bear's brow furrowed.

The old man trembled in fear and quickly changed his tune: "But! But rest assured, Great Master! That woman has a younger sister, even more fair and lovely than she is! This old servant will go at once and have him send her over!"

"Go on."

black bear waved his hand impatiently.

The old man, as if granted a pardon, scrambled out backwards.

Inside the meditation room, only black bear remained alone.

He extended his scarlet tongue, licked the grease from the corner of his mouth, his eyes brimming with lecherous intent.

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