Catching Monsters

Chapter 321 Yellow Jade Granary
Abbot Fakong, who was being held captive by Jiang Yun, felt a slight sinking feeling in his heart. Impossible!
They had been involved in human trafficking for many years and were very experienced; no clues were left inside the temple.

Could it be that the Embroidered Uniform Guard tortured someone so severely that they confessed?

Impossible!

Abbot Fakong knew very well that there were many monks in Bailong Temple, but those selected to engage in human trafficking were all his confidants.

He also knew that these people had a strong will.

If one were to be tortured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard for days and nights, perhaps they wouldn't be able to withstand it.

But how long has it been since he was captured and imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Moreover, even if Jiang Yun produced some so-called confessions, he could simply dismiss them as slander by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Abbot Fakong was confident that there would be no mistakes. He took a deep breath, and his gaze regained its confidence.

His eyes held a threatening glint as he said in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun, you have arrested so many eminent monks from our Bailong Temple and brought them into the Jinyiwei. If Bailong Temple is innocent, what will you do then?"

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What does Abbot Fakong want?"

“Easy.” Abbot Fakong waved his hand and said in a deep voice, “I want you to immediately release all the monks of our Bailong Temple.”

"Return the stolen property."

"He also has to go to the Buddha statue and commit suicide to atone for his sins!"

Upon hearing this, Li Wangxin's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

After all, Jiang Yun is young and impetuous. If he really agrees, what if he can't produce any evidence? Wouldn't he be at a disadvantage?
Seeing so many monks united in their demand for an explanation, Li Wangxin naturally had already prepared for the worst.

At worst, I'll release Bailong Temple and apologize to them on behalf of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In more serious cases, the emperor might reprimand the commander and remove them from their post.

This is the worst-case scenario.

Jiang Yun's eyes flickered slightly, then he laughed and said, "Abbot Fakong has quite the audacity to tell me to commit suicide as an atonement?"

"Don't you dare?"

"Provocation won't work on me." With that, Jiang Yun punched him hard in the stomach.

Abbot Fakong was in so much pain that he was covered in sweat and clutched his abdomen.

Jiang Yun glanced at him coldly, then shook her head and said, "Abbot Fakong, have you forgotten that you are now my prisoner?"

"When will we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, ever have the chance to negotiate with criminals like you?"

Abbot Zhiming and Abbot Hongzhen, who were present, both frowned deeply.

Behind them, Abbot Lingxin and Abbot Yunsha, seeing Jiang Yun do this in front of so many monks, were enraged and lashed out.

Even the hot-tempered Abbot Lingxin didn't dare to actually lay a hand on Jiang Yun, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, right at the gate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Let's go, take these eminent monks and virtuous masters to see the evidence."

Jiang Yun held Abbot Fakong's hand tightly and said, "Abbot Fakong, you must go to this place too."

"Go to the Yellow Jade Granary in the North City!"

"The Yellow Jade Granary?" The four abbots, Zhiming, Hongzhen, Lingxin, and Yunsha, exchanged glances, somewhat puzzled.

"You will know when you go there."

Upon hearing the name of this place, Abbot Fakong, despite his profound cultivation and extraordinary state of mind honed over many years, was deeply moved.

My legs also started to feel a little weak.

impossible!
What a coincidence!

It was just a coincidence!

Abbot Fakong kept trying to convince himself. He took a deep breath, stared at Jiang Yun, and kept reassuring himself.

After a moment's thought, the other four abbots nodded in agreement with Jiang Yun's suggestion.

Seeing this, Li Wangxin pondered for a moment and followed.

Soon, Jiang Yun, Li Wangxin, and dozens of Imperial Guards escorted Abbot Fakong.

Behind them were Buddhist disciples from the four major Buddhist temples, as well as a vast number of believers in the capital.

If uninformed members of the public saw this, they might think it was some grand Buddhist day, with all the monks out in a procession to celebrate.

Jiang Yun was also feeling uncertain. He looked towards the north of the city and thought to himself, "Qida has to keep that place under control, otherwise, I'll be in trouble..."

……

Huangyu Granary is located on the north side of the outer city of Beijing, right next to the Grand Canal.

This place was originally a place where many grain merchants stored grain, but five years ago, it was bought by monks from Bailong Temple and they started a grain business.

Of course, this is not surprising. The various temples in the capital city have all been involved in a wide range of businesses, so it is not unusual.

Inside the Huangyu granary, bags and bags of grain were piled up.

There are four monks from the Hakuryong Temple guarding the warehouse.

Zidane has already won.

Four monks were pinned to the ground. A quick glance inside the barn revealed no place where any of the monks were hiding.

Zidane's face darkened. He drew his sword and looked at the four monks, saying, "Tell me, where is he?"

The four monks looked terrified and shook their heads repeatedly.

"What does this benefactor mean? Who is he/she?"

"We're just the granary keepers at Hakuryū-ji Temple..."

Hearing that the four men denied it, Zidane's eyes turned cold, and he said, "Search them. Check all the bags, and also check if there are any partitions on the floor."

"Yes!"

Zidane's large number of Imperial Guards quickly set off and began inspecting the barn from top to bottom.

They inspected the grain sacks and then lay down on the ground, tapping the ground.

After a lot of work.

Inside the grain sack, there were no clues; it was filled with all sorts of rice and grains.

However, soon after, one of his men heard an echo coming from below when he struck the ground.

"Lord Qi, we've found something!" Upon hearing this, Qi Da's face lit up with joy. He quickly came over, lay down on the ground, put his ear to the object, and gently tapped it with his fingers.

Sure enough, there were more cubicles below.

Zidane understood the situation, so he walked up to the four monks with his hands behind his back and said, "I've found the place. Are you still trying to deny it?"

"grown ups……"

The four of them were somewhat panicked and exchanged glances.

How did the Embroidered Uniform Guard find this place so quickly?

They are monks who reside year-round in Huangyu Granary and are highly loyal.

After hearing about the incident at Bailong Temple, the four of them did not flee, but instead stayed and guarded the warehouse.

It's a pity it wasn't dark yet, otherwise we could have moved the people out of the capital.

“I don’t have that much patience. Of the four of you, I’ll spare only one life, and kill the rest.” Zidane said slowly, “You only have one chance. Whoever speaks first lives.”

Upon hearing this, the four monks' expressions changed drastically, and they exchanged glances.

"Don't panic!" At this moment, a monk shouted loudly, "If you speak, you will also die."

This immediately brought the other three monks to their senses. Fortunately, Brother Huang reminded them, otherwise the three of them would probably have spoken first.

Senior Brother Huang remained clear-headed; it is precisely in times like these that one must not panic.

At this moment, Senior Brother Huang hurriedly stood in front of Qi Da: "Lord Qi, I say, this humble monk is willing to live."

"Senior Brother Huang, what are you doing!"

"Didn't you say that once you open your mouth, you're doomed?"

"Senior brother, betraying the White Dragon Temple will ultimately lead to a bad end!"

The three were filled with both hatred and shock!
Normally, Senior Brother Huang treated them well, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be such a despicable person at a crucial moment.

"Kill him," Zidane said calmly.

Soon, with a swift strike, all three men perished.

"What's your name?" Zidane asked.

"Replying to your question, my name is Huang Xiaowu."

"Huang Xiaowu? You don't have a Dharma name?" Qi Da asked in confusion. In his mind, shouldn't monks all be addressed by their Dharma name?
"I am a martial monk. Only those who have made great contributions will be granted a Dharma name by the temple," Huang Xiaowu replied respectfully.

"Take me down to take a look."

Huang Xiaowu sighed, knowing that there was no way out at the moment.

The fact that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was able to find this place indicates that they had already obtained a great deal of information and clues.

Soon, Huang Xiaowu moved many grain sacks aside. Underneath these grain sacks, there was a hidden section of floor tiles. Huang Xiaowu opened this area.

A dark passage appeared before them.

……

Meanwhile, Jiang Yun and his group had already arrived in front of the Huangyu granary in a grand procession.

The Huangyu granary was quite large, with its gates wide open, and the Imperial Guards were already on duty there.

Upon seeing this scene, Abbot Fakong's previously anxious heart finally died.

Abbot Fakong turned around, looked at the four abbots and the others, took a deep breath and said, "Gentlemen, in my opinion, we should go to the Eastern Garrison Command!"

"What's so interesting about this dilapidated granary! Don't fall for Jiang Yun's trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain."

"We must hurry and rescue the monks of our Bailong Temple."

Zidane was waiting at the door. When he saw Jiang Yun arrive, he quickly followed and whispered in Jiang Yun's ear, "Sir, we found him. There are people here, and the evidence is conclusive."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun finally smiled and said to Abbot Fakong, "Abbot Fakong, now that we're here, aren't we going in to take a look?"

At this moment, Abbot Hongzhen of Lingyin Temple also frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Fakong, didn't you make such a confident promise? Why are you getting nervous now?"

"I……"

Jiang Yun said, "The barn isn't very big. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to go in. Commander Li, the four abbots, let's go in and take a look."

Abbot Mingzhi held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, constantly turning them over.

He gave Fakong, who was pale-faced, a deep look, raised his hand and said, "Let's go, we should definitely go in and have a look."

The group quickly entered the barn, and under Zidane's guidance, they discovered a dark passageway beneath the barn, emanating a nauseating stench.

Zidane then took the torch and led the group inside.

Following a dark path, we soon arrived at the area below the barn.

Even Jiang Yun was somewhat taken aback.

At this moment, dozens of women were being held captive here.

The environment here was dark, damp, and reeked of a foul stench; all the women were chained to the ground.

All the women had somewhat cloudy eyes, as if they had been imprisoned here for many days.

“Abbot Fakong, this Yellow Jade Granary is now part of your White Dragon Temple’s territory, isn’t it?” Jiang Yun paused and asked, “What? These women are being held here, and you still dare to claim it has nothing to do with you?”

Abbot Fakong was stunned when he saw this. He turned to look at Jiang Yun and roared, "Of course it has nothing to do with our White Dragon Temple!"

"Jiang Yun, your heart is far too vicious!"

"They secretly captured these dozens of women to frame Bailong Temple!"

Abbot Fakong was already somewhat deranged. Jiang Yun looked at his crazed appearance and asked, "I see that the underground space is quite large. How could I have dug such a large space under your White Dragon Temple's warehouse without anyone noticing?"

"You're sending so many women to slander you?"

Abbot Fakong looked at the four abbots beside him, and he knew in his heart that these four were his lifeline.

"I did not do this, abbots. We have known each other for many years." Abbot Fakong paused and said through gritted teeth, "If this crime were to be pinned on Bailong Temple, and the news were to leak out, you can imagine how much damage would be done to the reputation of our Buddhist community!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the four abbots present changed slightly.

"So this can only be a frame-up by the Embroidered Uniform Guard against Bailong Temple!" Abbot Fakong continued to incite, "No one wants Buddhism to suffer a blow because of this, right?"

(End of this chapter)