Chapter 121: The Threat

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Kongkong walked over.

“Was Deputy General Yuan here the whole time?” His two white brows drew tightly together. Staring at Deputy General Yuan’s forehead, Kongkong sighed again and again. “This old monk was wrong, wrong indeed... Deputy General Yuan, your life is in danger.”

Deputy General Yuan’s face instantly went deathly pale. Pressing his palms together, he bowed deeply to the master. “Please, Master, save me!”

“This...”

Seeing the master hesitate, Deputy General Yuan turned to Eunuch Hai, who had just arrived with the others, and hurriedly pleaded, “I beg you, Eunuch Hai, to put in a good word for me and save my life. I will repay you handsomely in the future.”

“You give me too much credit, Deputy General Yuan.” It was only a few words, and there would be considerable benefits to be gained. Eunuch Hai could hardly have been more willing. He went to the master’s side and added his support. “Master, why not display your divine power once more and help Deputy General Yuan? He is not yet forty, still in the prime of life. He should not suffer such a calamity.”

“But...”

Seeing the master’s troubled expression, Eunuch Hai could not help feeling anxious on Deputy General Yuan’s behalf. From the looks of it, this calamity was far from over.

Rong Mu, who had been standing behind them and observing his surroundings, heard their discussion. Curious, he glanced toward Deputy General Yuan and could not help frowning.

He had seen the man before coming here. Deputy General Yuan was broad and burly, covered in corded muscle, with a thick beard and a powerful, healthy bearing. Though dark clouds lingered between his brows, he hardly looked like someone whose life was in danger.

Yet now, with the black aura filling his entire head and his face deathly pale, he truly did seem to be facing the grave and troublesome danger the master had described.

“Master, please help me. From this day forth, I am willing to lay down my butcher’s knife, abstain from meat, pray to Buddha, and accumulate virtue,” Deputy General Yuan begged. Without even caring that he was still clad in armor, he knelt before Kongkong and repeatedly struck his head against the ground. “Please, Master, save me!”

“Ah...” Kongkong let out a long, heavy sigh and helped him to his feet. “At first, this old monk thought the frog demon had lingered here because she coveted the heir’s wealth and beauty. But then I discovered that she had arrived only a few hours ago, which meant she was clearly not a resident spirit of this estate. Now that I have seen your face, Deputy General Yuan, I understand. The frog demon came here for you.”

Eunuch Hai, standing nearby, was utterly bewildered. What was going on?

“That frog demon shares three lifetimes of karmic ties with you. The first two ended in tragedy. In this lifetime, she has accumulated the resentment of both former lives. Love has turned to hatred, and she intends to perish together with you.”

Deputy General Yuan looked troubled. “But there was no sign of this before!”

“Indeed. Last night, some disturbance occurred outside the Duke of Wei’s residence. The main gate was stained with a great deal of demonic aura, as well as the blood of practitioners from the Daoist and yin-yang traditions. The demonic aura strengthened the frog demon’s powers, while the blood of the Daoist practitioners inflicted a scorching pain upon her heart. She was driven completely mad, which brought forward her revenge against you.”

“Then what should I do, Master?” Deputy General Yuan clutched Kongkong’s legs, already so panicked that he could barely stand.

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Earlier, while sitting outside, he had felt dazed and heavy-headed. In the space of a moment, he had indeed seen a woman dressed in a breast-binding garment and trailing gauzy silk, drifting past in a hazy blur.

At first, he had assumed he had merely encountered one of the dancers kept in the heir’s rear residence. Now that he thought of it, a cold sweat broke out all over him.

“Master, save me! Save me!” Deputy General Yuan was so frantic that he no longer knew what to do. He clung to the master’s legs and refused to let go.

“Master, wasn’t that great demon already subdued by you?” Eunuch Hai had never encountered anything like this either, and he could not help asking in wonder. “Could that evil spirit have come out to cause trouble again?”

“If it was captured by the master and can still escape...” Deputy General Yuan collapsed onto the ground, terrified. “How powerful must it be?”

“Ahem, ahem...” Kongkong had not expected Eunuch Hai to ask such a question and felt awkward for a moment. Fortunately, his face was hidden beneath a full beard of white, so no one could see his expression. He cleared his throat and explained, “All things possess their own karmic cycles. An outsider cannot forcibly impose himself upon another’s karma. Should external force alter it, who knows what sort of chaos might follow?”

“Alas, if the frog demon insists on forcing her way out, this old monk cannot defy fate. That is why this matter is so difficult and troublesome.”

Eunuch Hai was a worldly and quick-witted man. The instant he heard this, he hurriedly said, “Master, please help Deputy General Yuan. Today, I noticed that some of the golden Buddha statues had grown rather dim. Another day, I shall certainly donate more incense money and have the great Buddhas in the main hall restored to their former splendor.”

Kongkong’s eyes lit up, but he maintained a solemn expression. “The restoration of the statues is secondary. The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. The karmic entanglement between Deputy General Yuan and the frog demon must ultimately be resolved by him.”

Deputy General Yuan bowed several times toward Kongkong. “Please enlighten me, Master.”

Kongkong bent down and whispered several words into his ear.

When everything had finally settled, Kongkong turned to the steward, who was standing some distance away, and asked, “May I inquire where the heir is? I have heard much of the heir’s talent and refinement and would very much like to meet him.”

His words were exceedingly tactful. The heir of the Duke of Wei was famously neither talented nor handsome, yet the master spoke as though he admired his gifts...

The steward scratched his head, looking thoroughly confused. “Our heir came out just moments ago to welcome you, Master. Did you not see him?”

“I did not!”

Deputy General Yuan and Eunuch Hai were both stricken with alarm. Because of what had just happened, they had completely forgotten that the heir had yet to awaken. What were they to do now?

“Could he be inside?” Master Kongkong asked the steward.

“I am not certain.” The steward walked toward the master and suggested, “Why do I not go in and take a look? The heir may truly be inside.”

Kongkong nodded.

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“Please excuse me.”

The steward entered alone.

Eunuch Hai quietly edged over to Deputy General Yuan, and the two began exchanging meaningful glances.

“Deputy General Yuan, have you explained matters to the heir?”

Deputy General Yuan shook his head vigorously.

“It has been this long. Why have you not gone to wake him? Did you strike him too hard?”

“How can you blame me? I clearly went very lightly!”

“If it is not your fault, whose is it? The heir is such a delicate young master, and you brought your palm down on him in one blow. How could you bring yourself to do that? With a temperament like yours, even demons would flee at the sight of you. And you still expect the master to save you?”

“You!” Deputy General Yuan was furious, yet he could only lower his voice, which left him even more aggrieved. If Eunuch Hai had not dragged him into this assignment, he might never have encountered such trouble.

“What do you mean, ‘you’? You were the one who suggested injuring the heir. It was not our suggestion.” Eunuch Hai shifted all the blame onto Deputy General Yuan, a smile gradually spreading across his face.

“Hmph!” Deputy General Yuan seized Eunuch Hai by the sleeve. “Do not think I failed to notice. My men followed me just now, and among them were people from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Hmph, Eunuch Hai, you certainly have some nerve. The Empress Dowager explicitly forbade the bureau’s people from interfering, yet you secretly engaged in such dealings. If Her Majesty were to learn of this, do you think you would still live long enough to spend that money?”

“What are you planning to do?”

The two glared furiously at each other while everyone around them pretended not to notice.

“Restoring the Buddha statues will require no small sum. I am rather short of silver, so it seems I shall have to rely on your support, Eunuch.” As he spoke, Deputy General Yuan tightened his grip around Eunuch Hai’s hand and slid it deeper beneath his sleeve, using Eunuch Hai’s back to conceal what he was doing, entirely unconcerned that so many people were present.

“Shameless!” Eunuch Hai’s face flushed red with outrage.

“Well, Eunuch? Will you do it or not?” Deputy General Yuan rasped.

“...I will.”