Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 367 366 The Temple Priest in Colorful Clothes

Hunting is actually a very broad term.

It can be used to lure wild animals into the mountains and forests, or to set traps and launch attacks in the arena of fame and fortune.

But regardless of the type, they all require a well-planned layout.

The key to planning lies in one principle: you have to do this in advance.

Feng Xiuhu turned back to look at the temple gate and suddenly understood.

He exhaled slowly and said softly, "Mist."

As soon as he finished speaking, thick fog surged out from behind Feng Xiuhu and swept towards the temple gate.

Shunzi and Fang Youliu had no idea what Feng Xiuhu was up to this time, but they did not stop him.

As the mist surged into the temple, Feng Xiuhu stepped forward and looked closely—he saw dense threads floating in the air ahead, all formed by magical power, and appearing semi-transparent, occasionally reflecting a wisp of light.

"Well, so it's the Spider Cave."

Feng Xiuhu gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Shunzi kicked the clerk, breaking his leg, and grabbed him by the collar, yelling, "You fucking played dirty tricks?"

The Master of Ceremonies cried out in pain, "High Priest, save me!"

Shunzi slammed him to the ground, kicked the ceremonial official in the neck, and spat on him, saying, "Spit!"

Feng Xiuhu was still puzzled: "Did Caiyi Temple know we were coming all along, so they set up a trap in advance?"

Shi asked in her mind, "When a spider spins its web, does it know whether the next thing to pounce will be a butterfly or a moth?"

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized that these so-called "traps" were just a common tactic used by the Caiyi Temple, and were not intended to target any specific enemy.

To put it simply, the silk thread will always be there, whether Feng Xiuhu comes or not.

So, that's why Zheng Ajuan and her man were discovered in the first place.

What else is there to say?

When the trap is discovered, the roles of prey and hunter are reversed.

Feng Xiuhu gathered his magical power, and a thin layer of red light appeared on his fingertips.

He stretched out his index finger and gently touched the silk thread in front of him.

With a flash of red light, the silk threads that stretched all the way to the depths of the temple instantly turned into a dense mass of red, standing out conspicuously in the mist.

A painful scream came from inside the temple.

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand gently, and all the red threads collapsed and disappeared in an instant.

He stepped across the threshold first: "Let's go, I know where the real culprit is."

……

Along the way, they didn't see a single master of ceremonies in the temple. It seemed that they attached great importance to the capture of Zheng Ajuan—to an extent that even exceeded Feng Xiuhu's expectations, which was why they sent everyone out.

If it were just about impersonating bandits to rob and kill passersby, it obviously wouldn't have reached this level. Feng Xiuhu was certain that there were other secrets involved.

We made our way to the backyard.

Feng Xiuhu pushed open the panel door of the meditation room. A middle-aged man dressed in a sacrificial robe was sitting on a futon, meditating and using his magic to suppress the rust on his body.

Feng Xiuhu laughed and said, "You actually didn't run away?"

He didn't intend to kill anyone when he made his move, in order to spare the lives of the high priest, but he didn't expect the high priest to remain so calm.

The high priest raised his eyelids and coldly sized up the three men: "Why don't you state your names?"

Feng Xiuhu walked up to him and squatted down, pointing to himself first: "Ma Er."

Then, pointing to Shunzi: "Ye San."

Finally, referring to the coachman: "Fang Liu."

He gestured with his chin toward the high priest: "And you?"

The chief priest nodded and replied, "Zhuo Su Shou."

Shunzi parked the rickshaw in the yard. Fang Youliu searched around for a while, then tore off the red cloth from the table, shattering the incense burner and offering plate all over the ground.

Seeing this, Zhuo Sushou's eyelids twitched slightly, but he wisely remained silent.

Fang laid six red cloths on the ground and carefully helped Zheng Ajuan lie down on them. Feng Xiuhu pointed at Zheng Ajuan: "Do you know her?"

Zhuo Sushou nodded expressionlessly: "I recognize him. He's a fugitive wanted by the police."

Snapped!
Feng Xiuhu slapped him across the mouth until blood flowed: "I didn't hear you clearly, say it again."

Zhuo Sushou pursed his lips and remained silent, staring intently at Feng Xiuhu.

Feng Xiuhu snapped his fingers, stood up, lit a cigarette, and shouted towards the door, "Ye San."

"Hey!"

Shunzi ran in, and Feng Xiuhu pointed behind him: "He has an eye problem, get it treated."

"okay."

Shunzi wiped his hands haphazardly on his clothes, then pounced on Zhuo Sushou and pinned him down tightly.

Zhuo Sushou wanted to resist, but his magic power seemed to have lost its sensitivity and he couldn't mobilize it no matter what he did. What was even more desperate was that he was far from being a match for Shunzi in terms of strength.

Shunzi picked up a shard of porcelain from the ground and inserted it into the crevice of his eye socket.

The screams behind him were shrill and agonizing, but Feng Xiuhu pretended not to hear them.

A short while later, Shunzi called out to him from behind, "Brother, there's only one left. Should we continue treating it?"

Feng Xiuhu turned around and saw Zhuo Sushou curled up on the ground, trembling and wailing.

He covered half his face, and bright red blood trickled down between his fingers.

Feng Xiuhu nodded: "I think he's much better. Let's observe him a little longer."

Squatting down again, Feng Xiuhu grabbed Zhuo Sushou by the hair and lifted him up: "It's the same question, do you recognize her?"

Whether out of anger or pain, Zhuo Sushou roared at Feng Xiuhu: "She saw what she shouldn't have seen!"

"What exactly?"

Feng Xiuhu asked, "She didn't know much, except that she saw the police officers pretending to be bandits killing people and then transporting the bodies here. That's all she knew—why did she have to be so ruthless?"

"Because she shouldn't have leaked the information..."

Zhuo Sushou gritted his teeth, his voice becoming hoarse: "This is Jiang Luoxi's secret. Compared to this, her life is insignificant."

"I love hearing secrets, and I'm not afraid of death."

Seeing that Zhuo Sushou was in a good mood, Feng Xiuhu pressed on, "Come on, tell me about it."

"You want to know?"

Zhuo Sushou smiled bitterly: "Fine, you won't live anyway. If you want to hear it, I'll tell you."

Upon hearing this, both Shunzi and Fang Youliu looked over.

Shunzi angrily retorted, "What do you mean we can't survive?"

Feng Xiuhu raised his hand to stop him—he wanted to hear the secret more than whether he would survive.

He really loves hearing secrets.

Feng Xiuhu gestured, "You continue."

Zhuo Sushou sneered: "Do you know about the Bloodlight Locust Tree?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded: "I know, you're using corpses to nourish trees, but the question is, why are you using Bloodlight Locust Trees?"

"For the sake of Zhu Linjin."

Zhuo Sushou replied.

This answer was not unexpected for Feng Xiuhu, but the logical relationship within it still needed to be explained by Zhuo Sushou.

Zhuo Sushou sighed and explained the whole story.

"The story begins with the great plague of that year..."

"At that time, too many people died, and it was summer with unusually hot weather. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the county ordered the corpses to be transported outside the city for unified burial."

He pointed to the ground: "This is right here—behind the temple, there's a place surrounded by bamboo groves, which used to be a mass grave where corpses were buried."

(End of this chapter)