Su Che gave a trimmed account of his night at Withered Forest Chan Temple, omitting his encounter with the herb gatherer and erasing all the preparations he had made while reviewing the case files.
The story became very simple: a young official hurrying to take up his post had risked taking a dangerous mountain path for the sake of a shortcut.
Before the night had fully deepened, he happened upon an ancient temple where he could shelter. Who would have thought that in the middle of the night, he would suddenly see a wheel of green light in the courtyard?
He had cautiously endured the night, waiting for the green light to fade on its own.
"What exactly is inside this Withered Forest Monastery?"
Upon hearing this, Instructor Gong lowered his head to eat, while Doctor Xu looked away.
Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian exchanged a glance. In the end, Old Tian was the one to open the conversation.
"County Commandant Su may also know: Guobei has many spirits, and Shanyin has immortals."
"Some matters need not be understood too thoroughly. We'll just touch upon them. If County Commandant Su is interested, you may pay closer attention in the future."
"Our county's Withered Forest Chan Temple was built by imperial decree of Emperor Taizong of the previous dynasty. As for why it was built—simple to say, yet complicated as well."
"During the previous dynasty, there was a Great Sage from the west. For reasons unknown, he suddenly had the thought to come to our Central Land and spread the Dharma. Invited by the emperor of the previous dynasty, he demonstrated Buddhist teachings within the imperial palace. Heavenly flowers fell in profusion, golden lotuses surged from the earth, and thus he preached the Dharma for thirty-six years."
Yet this was a major event in the histories of the previous dynasty. Later generations often pointed out that the previous dynasty's fragmentation and collapse, and the world becoming what it was today, were all connected to that Great Sage's journey east.
When this dynasty compiled its histories, it also clearly stated that this man's arrival from the west had caused the previous dynasty to revere Buddhism. High and low alike fawned upon Buddha, wasting the nation's strength in vain, until hearts turned apart both within and without, bringing about the calamity of later collapse like mountains crumbling and earth splitting.
"Then he suddenly left without farewell, traveling east all the way into the Eastern Sea. From then on, there was no more news of him."
"Some say he was suppressed by a great master of the Daoist School and imprisoned in the Nine Heavens' Ultimate Prison, suffering for endless kalpas. Others say he angered a Sword Cultivator and was cleaved apart by a single sword, his Golden Body shattered, forcing him to reincarnate and cultivate anew."
"In short, after that, no one in the world ever saw traces of this master again."
These matters were all recorded exactly as they were in this dynasty's history of the previous dynasty.
But what did any of this have to do with Withered Forest Chan Temple?
"Because of that man, there was once a period in the previous dynasty when fawning upon Buddha became the fashion. During his more than thirty years of preaching, that great master accepted quite a few disciples. After he went east, those disciples lost their patron and feared being purged, so they scattered. One branch moved to our county."
"Withered Forest Chan Temple was built at that time. The reason it was named Withered Forest was because something strange happened when it was completed."
"Oh?"
"Our Shanyin County has superb feng shui and earthly veins, with clear mountains and lovely waters. County Commandant Su must have seen it all along your journey here."
Su Che nodded. Registrar Tian was indeed not wrong.
"Withered Forest Chan Temple was originally called Longxing Temple, a homophone for 'dragon rising,' meant to win a favorable word for the nation's fortunes. But when the temple was completed, every blade of grass and tree on the entire mountain withered overnight. For the next fifty or sixty years, not a single plant could survive there."
"Such a thing actually happened?"
Registrar Tian nodded. This truly was a local curiosity. Outside the circles of prominent local clans, even people in the county might not know its origins.
"Indeed. That was why the local villagers called it Deadwood Temple. As the years passed, even the temple monks forgot the original name of Longxing Temple and changed its name to Withered Forest Monastery. Heh heh, though that's what they said, during the great age of strife when the previous dynasty collapsed, what use was there in keeping that plaque declaring it an imperially commissioned Longxing Temple, other than inviting disaster?"
Registrar Tian picked up a piece of mandarin fish with his chopsticks.
"As for how Withered Forest Monastery became what it was today, that began in the early years of this dynasty's founding. Another strange incident occurred within Withered Forest Chan Temple."
"On the eighth day of the eighth month that year, everyone in Withered Forest Monastery—from the abbot and temple supervisor to the novice monks and fire-tending Daoists—all three hundred and fifty-six people in the temple died cleanly in a single night."
"All three hundred and fifty-six corpses had their heads cut off. Not a single monk with a head could be found. From then on, Withered Forest Monastery became ruins and a taboo within the county. Even today, there are still people in the county who claim to often see headless monks on that mountain, wandering everywhere in search of their heads."
Registrar Tian added, "That is why locals ordinarily would not spend the night there."
Locals would not spend the night at Withered Forest Monastery?
Su Che suddenly understood some things.
"Let us not speak of this anymore. It was likely only ghost fire. Since catching demons and slaying ghosts is my duty, I'll simply level that ruined temple later."
"Ah..."
"You cannot put it that way..."
"Brother Su..."
The moment Su Che finished speaking, everyone else at the table changed expression.
Magistrate Jiang's face darkened. He raised his right index finger and pointed toward the Void above.
"Brother Su, watch your words. Watch your words."
Within a single county, they feared demons to such an extent.
Had the demons of Shanyin County truly grown so rampant?
Su Che made a rough assessment of the overall situation in Shanyin County.
Magistrate Jiang's expression had changed, and Registrar Tian immediately stepped in to ease the atmosphere.
"Lord Su, shamefully enough," Registrar Tian said with a chuckle, "there is a case for which we must ask you to trouble yourself."
"Please speak, Registrar."
Now that Su Che was discussing official business, his expression turned grave as well.
According to Great Liang's official ranks, the magistrate of an upper county was Subordinate Eighth Rank, while the registrar was Principal Ninth Rank, and he, the county commandant, was Subordinate Ninth Rank. Registrar Tian outranked him by one grade, while Magistrate Jiang outranked him by four.
Looking at it positively, as county commandant, he was Shanyin County's third-ranking man.
Looking at it negatively, only the two doctors in all of Shanyin County held ranks lower than his.
Everyone else was merely an unranked minor clerk.
Su Che was willing to show these two nominal superiors, Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian, sufficient respect.
If others respected me a foot, I would respect them a yard. This was an unbreakable rule of officialdom.
"Something strange has happened in our county treasury."
Su Che listened attentively.
"About a month ago, some treasury silver began disappearing from the county treasury every day."
Treasury silver going missing? It sounded like one of those television dramas about outlaw heroes he had watched in his previous life.
Speaking of which, compared with that stern Fahai who said, "Snake demon, I need you to aid my cultivation," Xu Xian was the true tough guy.
He seemed to have seen on some animal documentary that snakes took several hours at a time—truly the marathon champions of the animal kingdom's friction contest.
I really hope I get a chance to compete with a snake demon someday.
Ah, my thoughts have wandered too far. Too far.
"Five taels of treasury silver vanish every day. This has gone on for a hundred days already."
Registrar Tian let out a long sigh. "As the saying goes, dripping water wears through stone. In a year, that will be over a thousand taels; in ten years, over ten thousand taels of the people's fat and blood..."
Magistrate Jiang glanced at his partner.
Hadn't it just been two taels? How had it become five now?
"Have you checked the treasury workers?" Su Che asked.
"Starting fifteen days ago, I had them work naked inside the treasury."
The newly appointed Shanyin County commandant nodded. Registrar Tian truly handled affairs reliably.
"Have you probed the depths?"
Su Che carefully considered his wording.
"Two inches deep." Registrar Tian paused, then continued, "Tomorrow, I plan to have them probe three inches deep."
More than reliable—this was practically meticulous. But that was not what I was asking.
"Oh? Shouldn't the silver in the treasury all be official silver?"
Su Che considered it. Great Liang should still be at a stage where copper and silver circulated together.
The exchange rate was one tael of silver for one thousand copper cash, though naturally that rate constantly fluctuated.
Ordinary people had little use for silver in their daily lives; copper coins were enough. After all, a bowl of scraps-of-meat noodles cost only three coins. Even if you had the ability to shave off a layer of silver to pay, the owner would have no ability to collect it.
Merchants and government offices were the ones who used silver most often.
Government taxes had to be moved back and forth. Transporting mountains of copper coins was certainly unrealistic. Thus, copper coins were exchanged for silver and cast into official ingots of fifty taels and ten taels.
To carry a five-pound lump of silver in by land and then bring it back out again—
One could not manage it without practicing a specialized technique.
"What has been lost is paper-and-brush silver collected but not yet cast into official silver," Registrar Tian added.
Su Che immediately understood.
Before taking office, he had specifically studied Great Liang's expenditure system. Broadly speaking, it could be divided into three levels of finance: the court, the Circuit Censorate, and the prefectures and counties.
The taxes of every prefecture and county had a fixed quota. After this quota was forwarded to the Circuit Censorate, the Circuit Censorate made the first allocation. The remaining surplus was then forwarded to the court for central expenditures.
There was no need to mention the tricks involved above. Taking Shanyin County as an example, if the court set Shanyin County's quota at two thousand five hundred taels, then any taxes Shanyin County collected beyond that amount could be retained for its own use.
These extra funds had all sorts of names depending on their use: paper-and-brush silver, horse-fodder silver, cinnabar silver, and so on.
So although the amount of silver lost this time seemed small, it was meat from the bowls of every official in Shanyin County.
Su Che felt a surge of shared indignation.
Isn't this stealing my money?
How could this possibly be tolerated?
"This case must be thoroughly investigated. Registrar, please wait. I shall solve this case within seven days."
"As expected, heroes emerge from the young." The magistrate laughed and raised his wine cup. "County Commandant Su, please drain this cup."
"To victory!"
"To victory!"
For the first time, everyone at the table was so united.
Two taels of silver might be little, but it was everyone's silver.