Unsolved Case

Su Che recounted his experience of spending the night at Withered Forest Chan Temple, trimming away the beginning and end. He concealed his encounter with the herb gatherer, and erased all mention of the preparations he had made while reviewing the case files earlier.

The story became very simple: a young official hurrying to take up his post had risked traveling along a dangerous mountain road to save time.

Before night had fully fallen, there happened to be an ancient temple ahead where he could take shelter. Who would have thought that, in the middle of the night, he would suddenly see a wheel of blue light in the courtyard?

He had waited for the blue light to fade on its own, cautiously enduring the night.

"What exactly is inside Withered Forest Chan Temple?"

Upon hearing this, Instructor Gong lowered his head and ate his food, while Doctor Xu looked away.

Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian exchanged glances. In the end, Old Tian opened the conversation.

"Constable Su may also know that Guobei is rich in spirits, while Shanyin has immortals."

"Some things need not be explained too clearly. We will merely touch upon them. If Constable Su is interested, you may keep an eye out in the future."

"Withered Forest Chan Temple in our county was built by imperial decree of Emperor Taizong of the previous dynasty. As for why it was built, the reason is simple, yet also complicated."

"During the previous dynasty, there was a great sage from the West. For reasons unknown, he suddenly took it into his head to come to our Central Land and spread his teachings. Invited by the emperor of the previous dynasty, he expounded Buddhist doctrine within the imperial palace. Heavenly flowers rained down in profusion, golden lotuses sprang from the earth, and thus he preached 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 arrival from the West.

When this dynasty compiled its histories, it also explicitly stated that this man's arrival from the West had led the previous dynasty to revere Buddhism. From high to low, they fawned upon the Buddha and squandered national strength, until hearts turned away both within and without, bringing about the later calamity of utter collapse.

"Then he suddenly left without saying farewell, traveling east all the way into the Eastern Sea. From that day onward, there was no more news of him."

"Some said he had been suppressed by a mighty figure of the Daoist School and imprisoned in the Nine Heavens' Ultimate Prison to suffer through eternal calamities. Others said he had angered Sword Cultivation and been cut apart with a single stroke, his golden body shattered and his dharma body broken, forcing him to reincarnate and cultivate anew."

"In short, from then on, 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 that have to do with Withered Forest Chan Temple?

"Because of that man, there had once been a period in the previous dynasty when fawning upon Buddhism became the fashion. During the more than thirty years that great master preached, he also accepted quite a few disciples. After he went east, those disciples lost their backing and feared being purged, so they scattered. One branch relocated to our county."

"Withered Forest Chan Temple was built at that time. It was called Withered Forest because something strange happened when it was completed."

"Oh?"

"Our Shanyin County has excellent feng shui and earth veins, with clear mountains and beautiful waters. Constable Su must have seen as much on your journey here."

Su Che nodded. Registrar Tian was indeed telling the truth.

"Withered Forest Chan Temple was originally called Longxing Temple, a homophone for the rise of the dragon, perhaps a verbal blessing for the nation's fortune. Yet when the temple was completed, all the grass and trees across the entire mountain withered overnight. For the next fifty or sixty years, not even a blade of grass or a single tree could survive there."

"Such a thing actually happened?"

Registrar Tian nodded. This was indeed a local curiosity. Outside the circles of the local prominent clans, even people in the county might not know its origins.

"Indeed. That was why the local villagers called it Withered Forest Temple. As the years passed, even the monks in the temple forgot its original name, Longxing Temple, and changed it to Withered Forest Chan Monastery. Heh heh, that said, during the great age of contention when the previous dynasty collapsed, what use was there in keeping a plaque declaring it the imperially decreed Longxing Temple, other than inviting trouble?"

Registrar Tian picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of mandarin fish.

"As for why Withered Forest Monastery became what it is today, that dates back to 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 Chan Monastery—from the abbot and monastic supervisor to the young novice monks and temple workers—three hundred and fifty-six people in all, 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 Chan Monastery became ruins and a taboo within the county. Even today, there are still rumors that headless monks are often seen all over that mountain, searching for their heads."

Registrar Tian added, "That is why locals ordinarily would not spend the night there."

The locals would not spend the night at Withered Forest Chan Monastery?

Su Che suddenly understood some things.

"Let us not speak of this. It was probably just ghostfire. Since capturing demons and slaying ghosts is my duty, I will level that broken temple when I return."

"Ah..."

"You cannot say that..."

"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 empty air 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 run rampant to this degree?

Su Che made a rough assessment of the overall situation within Shanyin County.

Magistrate Jiang's expression had changed, so Registrar Tian immediately stepped in to ease the atmosphere.

"Lord Su, it is rather embarrassing to say," Registrar Tian said with a chuckle. "There is a case that will require your attention."

"Please speak, Registrar."

As Su Che turned to official business, his expression also became solemn.

According to Great Liang's official ranks, the assistant magistrate of an upper county was Subordinate Eighth Rank, while the registrar was Principal Ninth Rank, and he himself, as county constable, was Subordinate Ninth Rank. Registrar Tian ranked one grade above him, while Magistrate Jiang ranked four grades above him.

Looking at it positively, his position as county constable made him the third-ranking official in Shanyin County.

Looking at it negatively, the only people in all of Shanyin County ranked below him were the two doctors.

The rest were merely unranked petty clerks.

Su Che was willing to give Assistant Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian, his nominal superiors, sufficient respect.

If others respected me one foot, I would respect them ten feet. This was an unshakable rule of officialdom.

"Something strange has happened in this county's treasury."

Su Che listened attentively.

"About a month ago, some treasury silver began disappearing from the county treasury every day."

Treasury silver being stolen? It sounded like one of those television dramas about outlaw heroes from his previous life.

Come to think of it, compared to 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 something on an animal documentary saying that snakes took several hours at a time—veritable marathon champions of the animal kingdom's friction contests.

He truly hoped for a chance to compete with a snake demon someday.

Sigh, my thoughts have wandered too far. Far too far.

"Five taels of treasury silver disappear every day. It has been happening for a hundred days now."

Registrar Tian let out a long sigh. "As the saying goes, dripping water pierces stone. In one year, that would be over a thousand taels; in ten years, over ten thousand taels of the people's hard-earned fat and blood..."

Magistrate Jiang glanced at his partner.

Had it not just been two taels? How had it become five now?

"Have you investigated the treasury laborers?" Su Che asked.

"I have had them working naked inside the treasury for the past fifteen days."

The newly appointed Shanyin County Constable nodded. Registrar Tian truly handled matters prudently.

"Have you sounded the depths?"

Su Che carefully considered his phrasing.

"Two inches deep." Registrar Tian paused before continuing, "Tomorrow, I plan to have someone probe three inches deep."

More than prudent—this was simply meticulous. But that was not what I meant.

"Oh? Shouldn't all the silver in the county treasury be official silver?"

Su Che considered that Great Liang's current realm should still be in an era when copper and silver were used together.

One tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, though that ratio 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 copper coins. Even if you were capable of shaving off a layer of silver to pay, the shopkeeper would have no way to accept it.

In ordinary times, merchants and the government used silver the most.

Government taxes had to be transferred back and forth. Moving mountains of copper coins around was clearly impractical. Thus, copper coins were exchanged for silver and cast into official silver ingots of fifty taels and ten taels.

To carry a five-catty lump of silver in by land and then carry it back out again—

That could not be done without practicing specialized cultivation techniques.

"What was stolen was the 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 system of expenditure. It could roughly be divided into three levels of finance: the court, the regional administrations, and the prefectures and counties.

Every prefecture and county had a tax quota. After that quota was remitted to the regional administration, the regional administration made its first allocation. The remaining balance after allocation was then remitted to the court for central expenditures.

There was no need to mention the tricks involved at the higher levels. Taking Shanyin County as an example, if the court set Shanyin County's quota at two thousand five hundred taels, then any tax revenue collected beyond two thousand five hundred taels could be retained by Shanyin County for its own use.

These extra funds had all kinds of names depending on their purpose: paper-and-brush silver, horse-fodder silver, cinnabar silver, and so on.

So although the stolen silver was not much in quantity, it was meat from the bowls of Shanyin County's officials, great and small.

Su Che felt some shared hatred for their common enemy.

Was this not stealing my money?

If this could be tolerated, what could not?

"This case must be thoroughly investigated. Registrar Tian, please wait. I will solve this case within seven days."

"As expected, heroes emerge from the young." The assistant magistrate laughed loudly and raised his wine cup. "Constable 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.