ITIEQ C47

Chapter 47 – White Lotus Monastery, You’re Finished

Kong Zhengqing pondered for a moment, preparing to set out immediately.

Shen Qinghe hesitated:

“There’s something fishy about this matter.”

“We can’t wait that long. They’ve already been alerted. Several major cases in court nowadays are all entangled with this so‑called White Lotus Sect. If we tear out this branch here and now, perhaps we can even uncover the whole plot in one swoop!”

Yaoguang also approved. Since he had traveled all this way together with Lord Kong, it would look bad to abandon him just to go off and fight some bandit leader. And now that trouble had come knocking on their door, his hands itched for a real fight.

“Just a gang of rabble playing tricks with gods and ghosts. Once we fight them at their doorstep, won’t they turn into meek little quails? Besides, I’ve won battles on fields with tens of thousands. Do you think I’d be afraid of fewer than a hundred men in their White Lotus Monastery?”

Seeing the two of them so eager, Shen Qinghe pressed his fingers to his brow.

“Dozens are easy to handle, but still…”

“Preaching cult households are tricky, you know. It’s cross‑boundary enforcement; the difficulty level is too high.”

But with morale running high, and Lord Kong’s ambitions driving everything, no one took his words into account.

He tapped on his gloomy‑voiced system:

“Your race track has finally arrived. Go to this White Lotus Sect—at the very least, you’ll be revered as some Holy Son.”

System: “…Program settings prohibit engaging in unlawful or criminal acts.”

Well, fine.

Go and try it? Then perish so be it.

The most bustling street before the prefectural office in Cangzhou rang with merchants’ gongs and drums, briefly drowned out by the galloping of horses, only to return moments later to its lively bustle. Yet thirty li¹ away, in the Lianshan mountains, there lingered only wet grass brushing at hem and sleeve, and the unceasing cicadas of summer.

The White Lotus Monastery’s deep crimson wooden doors were always open, ever welcoming pilgrims. But now they were packed with troops. A young sweeper boy in gray robes, terrified by the imposing scene outside, tried scrambling on all fours to notify the overseer inside, only to be caught halfway.

Pilgrims shrieked and scattered, chaos erupting like chickens and dogs in flight.

“Official business! By order of the court, all idle persons stand where you are, do not move!”

A soldier’s shout froze everyone in place.

This was Lord Kong’s arena. Shen Qinghe and his students stepped aside, retreating to the rear. Dismounting with veiled hat fluttering, he gazed at the scene.

“Who would have thought this tiny monastery at the mountain’s foot attracted so many worshipers? The incense offerings are surprisingly prosperous.”

At the gate stood a four‑legged bronze incense cauldron, perfumed smoke coiling heavenward. The lotus‑scented air lightened the body and spirit.

At such density, surely more than one censer was burning.

Because of deep‑rooted warnings² instilled since childhood, Shen Qinghe was particularly sensitive to things that made one feel airy or intoxicated. The last time he’d encountered something similar was Springwater Brew³ at a literary salon.

He tilted toward Gao Rong. “Can you smell what’s burning inside?”

Gao Rong inhaled deeply, thought a moment, then replied: “Likely aloeswood, mixed with asarum, angelica, and water lotus…? I’m no expert in incense, I can only identify these. But the art of fragrance has overlaps with medicine—after all, there are medical precedents of treating through scent.”

“Treating with incense?” Shen Qinghe’s gaze followed the curling trail into the temple. Behind a gauzy curtain sat a gilded jade statue of a bodhisattva, bare feet upon lotus, round‑faced, crowned with jeweled vines and adorned with pendants across its chest. Neither male nor female, it smiled down upon all passersby.

The view was hazy behind layers of veil; Shen Qinghe narrowed his eyes.

“Since incense can heal, does that not also mean it can poison?”

“Of course.” Gao Rong nodded, then suddenly realized what his teacher meant, focusing on the braziers with heightened concern.

Shen Qinghe said lightly: “Go fetch some of the ash.”

The monastery’s overseers soon gathered, dressed in white robes and daoist caps, shaking their whisk brooms with airs of immortals. Even when officials overturned every chamber and found nothing, they showed no fear. Instead, they rebuked coldly:

“We are devoted worshippers of the Holy Lotus Bodhisattva! Even if you are officers of the court, without justification, we will not let you trample us!”

Lord Kong, the commander here, swept his sleeve sternly:

“Hmph! Bodhisattva? Devotees? Have you been recorded at the Daoist Registry? Do you hold official permits? All your profiteering and trafficking—you are guilty!”

Shen Qinghe, idling at the side, remarked drily: “See that? This is the fate of not being on the government payroll. No registration? Then the law comes down hard.”

The daoists faltered, but quickly countered: “The divine power of the Holy Lotus Bodhisattva blesses all life! You claim we exploit and kill, but where is your evidence?”

“Then bring forth your women adepts. Let us see the truth of your monastery!”

So during their inspections, everyone—men and women—was driven out. Some were calm, some wept, all of them frail and plain of face, yet put in robes they indeed resembled bodhisattva attendants.

But questioned, they all gave the same answer: staying in White Lotus Monastery was voluntary, serving the holy one with all devotion.

Among them, Shen Qinghe spotted Xiaoman’s elder sister—easy to recognize by the mole beneath her left eye. At that moment, she played the part of gentle devotee, repeating the same words again and again.

A chilling level of psychological indoctrination—it would be hard to undo.

To any outsider standing there, it would look like state officials bullying a harmless little temple.

“Our money all goes to gilding statues—we are sincere believers! If you have no evidence, even should the Emperor himself come, you are still unjust!” the head priest scoffed, whisk sweeping smugly as if he already had victory.

“Evidence? Ha! We’ll bring you back for interrogation—then the truth will show itself!” Lord Kong, no stranger to storms, had never seen such brazen death‑facing defiance. He raised a hand, ordering his soldiers forward.

“You insult the divine!”

“To anger the venerable is to bring calamity!”

“You will never ascend to paradise eternal!”

At those cries, pilgrims who had been terrified just moments earlier now rushed in front of the daoists, arms spread in defense.

Even with steel drawn to their very faces, they did not flinch, but stared down blades with fanatic fervor.

And some, when blades could not be withdrawn in time, collided headlong into them—blood spilling in an instant.

“They’re mad!”

Yaoguang, too, was shocked: these pilgrims, blinded, were truly willing to die to shield the priests.

Shen Qinghe had anticipated something, yet the extremity still stunned him. He took in the sight calmly.

“Sheep herd effect⁴. Faith sometimes works this way—you empower me, I preserve you. Collective madness woven in peculiar granularity. A very strange relationship indeed.”

Gao Rong stilled, once again baffled by his teacher’s strange words.

Kong Zhengqing was no cruel butcher; he could not start a massacre among civilians. Against such radicalized commoners, he reluctantly called retreat, pulling troops away.

“Worthless rabble!” Kong Zhengqing punched the wall. He had never imagined what should have been a simple raid could grow so complicated.

Shen Qinghe observed:

“After all, life seldom grants satisfaction. When grievances overwhelm them, they can only place hope in these gods. Arresting their people is to shatter their dream as well. Listen to their promise—eternal bliss in the Pure Land⁵. What a naïve dream!”

Yaoguang raised an eyebrow: “The way you say it, sounds like you agree?”

Shen Qinghe smiled. “What I mean is—scientific education is an urgent necessity.”

Back at the prefectural office, Gongyang Ci, seeing how many troops had been mobilized, only asked once and did not press further.

Evening light spread over the reeds. Xiaoman, nibbling a dogtail grass stalk, sat by the riverbank near the yamen. As the troop column returned, she spat the stalk away, patted her clothes, and rushed forward.

“Lord—!”

She ran, panting and sweating.

“Well? Did you see my sister?”

Kong Zhengqing shook his head. “The monks of White Lotus are obstinate, rousing the people to shield them. If we are to seize them, it must be, as Lord Shen says, by long‑term plan.”

Xiaoman’s face fell, eyes dimming. She turned, looking at the handsome official she favored from the start.

Shen Qinghe shook his head too:

“We could use force. But from the look of them, the entire monastery would rather perish together—your sister included.”

Xiaoman’s last hope shattered. Tears welled in her reddened eyes. She grabbed Shen Qinghe’s robe hem.

He looked at her in silence.

The others glanced on in complicated silence.

Xiaoman’s tears spilled.

“You officials are all the same—saying one thing, doing another! If you won’t save her, I shall save her myself!” She spun around and ran, but tripped over her own feet, sprawling to the ground before scrambling up again, still running.

She couldn’t wait for “long‑term planning”—her sister must be saved now!

Shen Qinghe sighed, plucking her up by the collar.

“You silly child, why so hasty? Did I say I won’t save her? That trip wasn’t without gain.”

Lord Kong frowned suspiciously. “What gain?” Had he missed something?

“Didn’t you see? The White Lotus chose its site very well—mountain at the back, river in front, crickets in the trees. A fine environment—for a new campus⁶! This tract of land, I claim for myself.”

“…”

Turning the girl’s face in his hand, Shen Qinghe tilted her chin. “Hmm. Look closely—she’s actually not bad‑looking.”

“You—what are you doing!” Xiaoman covered her little face in alarm.

“Since we can’t get in from the outside, we’ll just have to infiltrate from within. If indeed they plan to sell your sister, then we’ll need agents in disguise, so we can bring them all down in one strike.”

Yaoguang scratched his head. Even raiding bandits had never been this troublesome!

Shen Qinghe eyed Xiaoman critically. “But you alone won’t do.” He turned to the others with a sly smile. “So—who wishes to dress as a woman, infiltrate the monastery, and complete this espionage mission?”

Everyone averted their gaze.

“Never noticed it before, but Lord Kong does have fine features…”

Kong Zhengqing waved his hands frantically. “Lord Shen, I am nearly thirty! And besides, after today’s confrontation, they surely remember my face. Impossible, impossible.”

Gao Rong and You Luo both stepped back.

“We really aren’t fit for this, Teacher…”

Yaoguang braced himself: “I’ve been a scout before—I could disguise. But me, in women’s clothes?” He flexed his arms, muscles bulging. “I’ve fists strong enough to knock heads sideways, but I don’t exactly look the part, do I?”

“To be honest… the most striking of us… is actually you.”

His eyes fell on Shen Qinghe’s sharp, mischievous face.

“Oh?” Shen Qinghe turned with a dangerous smile. “You think I’m suited?”

Yes—that expression precisely! Anyone with eyes in White Lotus would—

But Yaoguang only dared think it, forcing courage to say: “Indeed—your eyes are beautiful, your nose well‑shaped, your lips fine. And a brilliant mind besides.”

The others nodded silently, no objections.

Shen Qinghe folded his arms, tapping them with a finger. “Well, Yaoguang my boy, you’ve mastered the art of honeyed flattery.”

“Every word from the heart! If you go, Lord Shen, success is certainty.”

The system burst into laughter: “Host, he’s right. Truly no one is more fitting than you.”

A vein pulsed on Shen Qinghe’s forehead. He silently added another grievance to White Lotus’s account, and with a false smile said:

“Very well, sacrifice for the cause—I am willing.”

For the construction of a new branch school, even the dean himself would rise.

White Lotus Monastery—you’re finished.

Footnotes:

1. li (里) – a traditional Chinese unit of distance, about 500 meters. So 30 li ≈ 15 km. 
2. Instilled warnings – refers to cultural upbringing that instills wariness against intoxicants or “mind‑altering” substances. 
3. Springwater Brew (春水煎) – a poetic name, likely a beverage with calming or euphoric effect, perhaps from earlier chapters. 
4. Sheep herd effect (羊群效应) – psychological term: when individuals follow crowd behavior irrationally, like herd animals. 
5. Pure Land (极乐往生) – Buddhist concept of paradise, where devotees hope to be reborn for eternal bliss. 
6. Campus / branch school – running theme with Shen Qinghe, who often thinks in terms of education and institutions, even in absurd contexts.