The Rise of Baosha Temple

Longyou, Qinzhou.

Qituo Mountain.

More than three months had passed since the Demon Suppression Office's search.

Now Qituo Mountain seemed to have regained its former peace.

Morning bells and evening drums sounded, with Buddhist chants rising in waves.

Pilgrims still came in an endless stream, even more than before.

The commotion that night had been too great, so Baosha Temple's public explanation was that boundless Buddhist power had suppressed evil.

It had drawn plenty of gullible folk to prostrate themselves in worship.

They believed a bodhisattva had truly manifested to protect the region.

As for the Demon Suppression Office's search...

It had been all thunder and little rain.

The Longyou Commandery had no commander at its helm. Wei He had his methods, but without conclusive evidence, even he could only raise his hand high and bring it down gently against a major sect with centuries of history.

After several rounds of wrangling, a few searches of the outer courtyards, and the arrest of several scapegoats, the matter was, on the surface, laid to rest.

On Qituo Mountain's rear slope.

Inside an utterly unremarkable meditation room.

Three men sat together.

Wangfan, head of the Arhat Hall, wore a monk's robe, but his bulging muscles looked ready to burst through it at any moment.

He picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp.

He looked less like a man tasting tea than one drinking wine.

"This is stifling!"

"Those court hounds have been prowling around the mountain every few days for three months. They claim they're searching for Demon remnants, but they're really here to make our lives miserable!"

"The day before yesterday, a few squad leaders even had the gall to run their mouths in the Guest Reception Hall. They said our golden Buddha statue was poorly made and