Jinyi Spring

Master Liaoji chimed in, “Exactly. It’s all thanks to the soldiers’ speed and strength that the fire didn’t reach the main hall and meditation rooms. It’s just that, alas, Master Qingxin!”

Commander Xie nodded, his expression softening slightly, then turned to the row of Flying Eagle Guards, his tone suddenly turning somber, "Where did they go?"

The head centurion stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. “Reporting to Your Excellency, the kitchen suddenly caught fire last night. The fire was large and fierce, and the weather was dry. If left unattended, the entire nunnery could be burned down. I left a few people to guard the nun Qingxin and sent the rest to fight the fire.”

"Who were the remaining people?"

The three Flying Eagle Guards and two Forbidden Women who had chased Qingxin yesterday stepped forward, their heads bowed and their faces ashen.

One of them, bracing himself, clasped his hands and said, “Reporting to you, sir, last night there were many people coming and going. Apart from our people, everyone else was wearing monks’ robes. And with the flames soaring into the sky, we were momentarily blinded and didn’t notice that Qingxin Dharma Nun had taken advantage of the chaos to run out of the temple. By the time we realized it and chased after her, she was already on the Baicang River Bridge.”

Another person continued, "When we reached the bridge, we heard a burst of wolf howls from the woods ahead. Judging from the noise, there were at least twenty of them. Qingxin Fagu fainted on the spot from fright. Suddenly, three wolves leaped out, and before we could react, they dragged us into the woods..."

His voice trembled as he spoke.

Another person said, "When I chased after them with a torch, I only found some pieces of clothing... and a pool of blood on the ground."

Commander Xie's face was so dark it looked like you could wring water out of it.

Upon seeing this, the centurion hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "Sir, if we had only been concerned with guarding the nunnery last night and had not gone to put out the fire, allowing the nunnery to burn to the ground, that would have been a grave crime."

"Furthermore, who could have predicted that Qingxin Fagu would run away alone in the middle of the night amidst the chaos, and that she would coincidentally encounter a pack of wolves coming down the mountain? This cannot be entirely blamed on me."

The implication is that it wasn't someone who came in to kill Qingxin, but rather that Qingxin herself went out to seek her own death. They bear some responsibility, but not all of it.

Abbess Liaobei, not wanting anyone else to die because of Qingxin who was already dead, quickly pleaded for mercy.

"Amitabha. Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. The soldiers are fighting the fire and saving many more lives. I hope you will understand and be lenient."

Commander Xie was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I will not deny your merit in fighting the fire. But the loss of lives is dereliction of duty."

He glanced at the crowd, then slowly rose to his feet. “Upon returning to the capital, those who fought the fire will receive twenty strokes of the cane, and those who watched over the fire will receive fifty. I also bear responsibility and will plead guilty to His Majesty.”

The women were so frightened that they cried out loudly.

Commander Xie then went to the Zen temple where Qingxin lived.

He took his seat at the head of the meditation room, his cold gaze sweeping over the people in front of him.

He knew an older nun who had previously served as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Xiao and was now called Cixi.

The two young nuns were only a little over ten years old.

He looked at Cixi and said coldly, "I remember there was also a nun named Jing'an. Where is she?"

Ci'an's eyes were swollen from crying, and she seemed unable to stand steadily. She said in a hoarse voice, "Jing'an accidentally fell into the stream a few days ago and caught a severe cold. Fearing that the illness would spread, she was moved to another monastery."

"Tell me everything that happened last night in detail."

Tears welled up in Ci'an's eyes again. "Last night, I was sleeping soundly when suddenly there was a commotion outside... I went out and saw flames shooting into the sky. Fa-gu also came out, and I told her that the wind was strong at night and that she should go back inside to take shelter."

“A monk came and told us to go put out the fire, but I thought I had to serve my nun, so I didn’t go. Seeing that the fire was getting bigger and bigger, and it looked like it was going to spread this way, another person came and told us to go put out the fire, so I went…”

"Waaah... I shouldn't have gone. The Dharma Master died so tragically..."

Ci'an spoke while weeping, her cries filled with unbearable grief.

The two young nuns joined in the crying, their faces smeared with snot and tears. Commander Xie frowned, his plump face growing even more gloomy.

He slammed his fist on the table, and the three nuns choked, their crying abruptly ceasing.

"Think again, has Qingxin Fagu acted strangely during this period? Or, has she been in contact with anyone?"

Ci'an sobbed as she said, "There's nothing unusual. Chanting scriptures, worshipping Buddha, eating vegetarian food, and resting are all perfectly normal."

The little nun Zhi'an was so frightened that she dared not look up and covered her face with her sleeve and cried.

Qingxin Fagu is really dead... She said those things shouldn't be said in front of an official...

There was only one official at the time.

Commander Xie glanced around, raised his chin, and said, "Search around and see if there's anything unusual here."

Several Flying Eagle Guards rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and soon returned with one of them carrying a package, their expressions unreadable.

"Sir, this was found in the box."

Commander Xie took it, opened it, and saw a man's undergarment and a jade pendant.

His face suddenly darkened, and he slammed the package heavily on the table. "Speak! Who brought this in?"

The nuns were even more frightened, their voices trembling:
"No, I don't know, I really don't know..."

"N-Never seen it before, never seen it before..."

Commander Xie's lips curled into a cold smile. "It seems you'll have to go to the imperial prison to loosen your muscles before you'll tell the truth?"

Cixi immediately knelt on the ground, trembling all over, and said in a trembling voice, "M-Your Excellency, please think about it, how could the Dharma Master let us see this thing after it came here..."

A young nun cried, "I do manual labor and guard the gate; I can't even get into the nun's bedroom..."

Zhimiao trembled, remembering Qingxin Fagu's words: there was only this one official present, and she could not say those words.

She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and cried. All she could do was shake her head.

Commander Xie also felt that the little nun might not know such a secret, but Jing'an and Ci'an, who served her closely, could not possibly be unaware of it.

But this is a sacred Buddhist site, and it is not appropriate to carry out punishments here.

He paused for a moment, picked up the package on the table, pointed at Cixi and said, "Take her back to the palace with you." He then pointed to the two young nuns and said, "Take them to the imperial prison for further interrogation."

The Emperor was anxious and wanted to go to the palace to report first.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Bring the sick Jing'an along too. Make sure the prison doctor treats him well and leaves him alive."

The sun was high in the sky, and the mountains and forests were covered in snow. The soldiers were still searching all over the mountains and fields.

A soldier, carrying a bundle, trotted over tremblingly, knelt before the loyalist, and raised his hands above his head. Inside the bundle were a broken bone, a blood-stained monk's hat, and several pieces of torn clothing, with dried, blackened bloodstains on the edges of the cloth.

Qin Wang looked down at the items, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he knelt down in the snow, his knees hitting the ground with a dull thud.

He clutched the package to his chest, as if holding a living person, and began to wail uncontrollably. (End of Chapter)