Chapter 205: The Daoist Priest's Crisis

“You’re just hiking up the price on the spot—” the red-clad girl once again voiced her doubts.

Min Zhanlian sneered, “What, does your esteemed sect have no rules of hierarchy at all?”

This remark was both harsh and provocative. A look of resentment appeared in the middle-aged man’s eyes. But the red-clad girl was not a simple subordinate; she was an emissary of the Dharma protectors sent from the Shandong main altar. Although young and of lower rank than him, she was not someone he could casually reprimand.

“I agree to this condition,” he nodded.

“And the daily meals,” Min Zhanlian said. “There’s nothing here for a human to eat. You’ll have to provide that too. With vegetables, meat, wine, and tea.”

“Of course,” the middle-aged man signaled, and someone next to him brought over a booklet.

“This is the account book for the Wang Family Old Inn on the county’s main street. A courtyard has been prepared for you. All food, drink, and expenses will be recorded in this book.”

“Well done,” Min Zhanlian expressed his satisfaction. “How do I find you if I need to, and how do we communicate?”

“Go to the back of the Wang Family Old Inn and draw a symbol. Someone will naturally meet you,” the middle-aged man said. “You will not see me again. If there is any business, this emissary will be your contact.”

In the afternoon, Min Zhanlian’s entire group arrived at the Wang Family Old Inn. They showed the booklet, and the waiter, without a word, welcomed them in, serving tea and water, bustling about. Once the tea and water were served, they all withdrew from the courtyard as if on command.

Min Zhanlian’s men, however, did not rush to wash up and change clothes. They simply inspected the rooms and courtyard for anything suspicious. After a short while, the middle-aged man with the local accent returned.

“It’s not a black inn,” he said in a low voice. “It’s indeed an old establishment.”

“Hmm.”

“I just went to the back and had a look. The shopkeeper and his family are also converts.”

Min Zhanlian nodded. “As expected.”

The middle-aged man he had brought was a native of southern Shandong and was very familiar with the local situation. He had been specially hired after Min Zhanlian took this job. This man had been in the underworld for many years and was full of jianghu experience.

After he withdrew, the oldest of the riders—whom Min Zhanlian politely called “Uncle He”—came in to report that everything had been settled. Sentinels were posted at the doors, windows, and eaves. He was Min Zhanlian’s steward, responsible for all the group’s daily needs. Because of his great responsibility, he was Min Zhanlian’s trusted confidant.

“Those who are free can now rest in shifts. Send the eyes and ears out to gather information!” Min Zhanlian instructed. “We need to see what kind of immortal this Daoist Priest Dao is.”

The “eyes and ears” were three unremarkable people: two men and one woman. They were all ordinary-looking people who would not leave any impression at first glance. They were skilled in makeup and disguise and could imitate people from all walks of life.

“Yes,” Uncle He replied, then said in a low voice, “I wonder if the food and wine here are clean?”

“It should be fine,” Min Zhanlian said in a deep voice. “Since we have no enmity with each other, and they are paying us to kill someone, why would they try to harm us first?”

“It’s better to be careful,” Uncle He said. “These remnants of the White Lotus sect are said to have magical arts. We should be on guard against them drugging us or using spells.”

Min Zhanlian chuckled. “Uncle He, you’re overthinking it. It’s true they have some magical arts, but no great undertaking in this world has ever been accomplished by magic. Not to mention the defeated Xu Hongru from ten years ago, even Zhang Jiao’s Taoist skills—which the court at that time prostrated itself before—and the millions of Yellow Turbans who rose up in rebellion, weren’t they all defeated? The more you fear them, the more tricks they can play. If you see something strange and don’t get flustered, the strangeness will defeat itself.”

As they were speaking, someone suddenly came to report: a guest has arrived.

“Please,” Min Zhanlian nodded. Needless to say, this must be an emissary from the sect, bringing new information.

The visitor was indeed an emissary from the sect, the same red-clad girl from before.

However, to avoid being recognized, she had changed into a black cloak.

“Has the young lady brought any new information?”

“The person you are to deal with is at the congee distribution center every day, giving out medicine and treating the sick,” the girl said without any pleasantries or titles, her face cold and her words direct. “The altar master wants you to kill him in the most bizarre way possible.”

“As for bizarre methods, we mere mortals probably don’t have such skills,” Min Zhanlian said with a smile. “I’m afraid your esteemed sect’s various esoteric arts would be more suitable.”

“Isn’t that what you called ‘playing tricks’?” the girl said with a grin. “It can’t accomplish great things.”

Min Zhanlian was suddenly on alert. These words had been spoken just a moment ago. He had men posted in front of and behind his residence, and there were no secret rooms or tunnels here. It was impossible for anyone to be eavesdropping. How could this woman have heard him?

“This is difficult to handle…”

“Hmph, you just want money, don’t you?” the girl sneered. “Wasn’t the incident where Fortress Lord Ma of Qingcheng Mountain and his entire family committed suicide due to a curse your doing? I’ll add fifty taels of silver. He must die in a spectacular manner—a death by heavenly retribution.”

Zhang Yingchen still didn’t know that someone wanted to “punish him by heaven.” Although there were suspicious people monitoring him, Zhang Yingchen felt that he hadn’t done anything to provoke others. No matter who the other party was, they wouldn’t resort to murder.

He hadn’t ruled out the possibility that some local secret society might want to kill him out of a sense of competition. This possibility always existed.

The secret societies in Shandong were numerous and complex. The larger ones were the Wenxiang and Luo sects, and there were countless other branches and societies. The Wenxiang sect was very famous and powerful. Xu Hongru of the White Lotus sect was a disciple of Wang Sen, the leader of the Wenxiang sect in Jizhou, Hebei. The White Lotus sect had been operating in Shandong for over twenty years, with over two million followers. It was deeply rooted and extremely powerful. After the failure of the rebellion in the second year of the Tianqi era, the White Lotus sect suffered a heavy blow in Shandong. But its remnants still had strength and continued to operate underground, waiting for an opportunity. In the second year of the Chongzhen era, they besieged Laiyang, and in the same year, a remnant, Zhu Bingnan, also attacked the government in Suizhou, Henan. As for the Luo sect, it was a native product: its founder, Luo Qing, was from Shandong, and it had a strong following among the soldiers of the Grand Canal transport system. It also had many branches.

From reading historical materials, Zhang Yingchen knew that among the larger sects active in late Ming Shandong—the Luo, Wenxiang, Hongyang, Huangtian, and Yiqi Zaoxiang sects—the Hongyang sect had a prophecy of the “Red Sheep Calamity,” claimed to be a successor of the Luo sect, and liked to work through the upper echelons. The Yiqi Zaoxiang sect was more like a shamanized Taoism and had always advertised that it did not participate in rebellions. On the other hand, the Huangtian sect, founded by the Tiger Eye Chan Master Li Bin during the Jiajing era, was very close to Li Chuang in the late Ming and spread prophecies like the “eighteen sons” for Li Chuang during its missionary activities.

“I wonder who will be the one to strike me down?” This was what Zhang Yingchen had been considering recently. He currently had more and more timely information about the Luo sect. There were some former Luo sect followers in the Catholic church in Shandong. Of course, that seemed to be the result of them confusing the Catholic worship of the Virgin Mary with the belief in the Unborn Old Mother. Lu Wenyuan was thus able to get a lot of information from them and send it to him.

But this did not improve his situation in the slightest. The three beggars guarded the front and back gates of the Taoist temple every day, and as soon as he went out, he would feel someone tailing him. No matter where he went, he would encounter men, women, old, and young people secretly following and spying on him. A few times at night, he was awakened by extremely faint footsteps on the roof.

Zhang Yingchen was very surprised. Obviously, his status in the eyes of the other party had been greatly elevated. It was very likely that an operation against him was being planned.

He didn’t know what the opponent intended to do. If they wanted his life, they could do it at any time. The fact that they were holding their fire clearly showed their intention to force him to leave.

Zhang Yingchen, after all, was not prepared to be martyred at any time. While eagerly hoping for the arrival of the bodyguards he had applied for, he had to seriously consider leaving this place.

But his missionaries had not yet arrived. If he just left like this, all the hard work he had put into treating the sick and saving people these days would be for naught. He was reluctant to give up.

On this day, he had just returned from the congee distribution center when he saw a sedan chair parked at the entrance of the Taoist temple. Ming Qing and several servants were waiting for him.

It turned out that there was a large village called Dadian Zhuang north of the city. In the village lived a gentry named Zhuang Qian. He was originally an official in the capital and had recently retired to his hometown. The county magistrate and the local gentry had just gone to see him, originally hoping to ask him to help with disaster relief, but they didn’t expect that Master Zhuang had contracted the epidemic shortly after returning home and was bedridden. His family had heard of Zhang Yingchen’s superb medical skills and had sent people to invite him.

Hearing that a gentry was inviting him, Zhang Yingchen’s spirits lifted. When he went to a gentry’s house to see a patient, he could at least enjoy some food and drink. The days of living in a dilapidated house, eating black cakes, and drinking bitter water could finally be put on hold for a few days. Moreover, staying in a gentry’s fortified compound was safer than here. So he packed up his medicinal herbs and went with his disciples.

When he arrived at the Zhuang family’s residence in Dadian Zhuang and examined the patient, he found that Master Zhuang was only suffering from heatstroke and indigestion, causing endless diarrhea. He was showing signs of dehydration and was gradually unable to eat or drink.

This was nothing for Zhang Yingchen. Many people had contracted this illness recently, and he had already worked out a set of effective treatment plans. Coupled with the “special medicine” he had on hand, he was practically a hundred-for-a-hundred cure.

Thus, Zhang Yingchen once again enjoyed the treatment of a “distinguished guest.” Although he was used to the respect and preferential treatment from his patients’ families, in this place, the respect of the rich was much more practical than the respect of the starving. Zhang Yingchen found that this place was much better than that dilapidated Taoist temple. It was only three or four li from the city, making it convenient to go to the congee distribution center and the surrounding areas to treat the sick and preach. Dadian Zhuang was also a fortified compound, and ordinary strangers could not enter. At the very least, the chances of him being beheaded in his sleep would be much smaller. So he made up many “symptoms,” which scared Master Zhuang and his family. In short, Master Zhuang’s illness required long-term treatment, otherwise it would easily relapse. Thus, the Daoist priest, at the invitation of Master Zhuang and the earnest pleas of his family, settled down in the residence. However, he continued to rent the dilapidated Taoist temple, just in case.