Chapter 124 The Truth About Bai Furen

"The one in front is unfathomable, but the two behind are interesting."

After Gou Xin left with Hei Wuchang (Black Impermanence) and Bai Wuchang (White Impermanence) and the old Daoist, Lawyer An uttered this sentence.

Clearly,

the aura of Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai aroused Lawyer An's apprehension.

Considering what they said earlier, "The underworld has its order, the law of death is ruthless," everything becomes easier to explain.

"They came to the door, but they didn't seem to be looking for a fight."

Zhou Ze and Lawyer An walked in, and Zhou Ze briefly recounted what had happened.

After listening, Lawyer An couldn't help but laugh. "That's interesting. They wanted to recruit you as a subordinate. But everyone has their own opportunities. It's not like I've never seen people with exceptionally good luck before."

"Alright. They're with the old Daoist now. We'll see if they really have great fortune or are favored by the heavens tomorrow. By the way, you said you had clues about Madam Bai's matter?"

Lawyer An nodded, took out the painting, and placed it on the coffee table.

Yingying also brought Lawyer An his special-order super-sized coffee.

He twisted open the lid.

Because ice cubes were added,

it wasn't hot, but gentle.

Lawyer An "glugged" it down for a good while, finally feeling refreshed, as if all the fatigue accumulated from running around all day yesterday had been swept away.

Zhou Ze was a little puzzled. Could this expired Nescafé instant coffee really have some miraculous effect?

After all, Viagra (Viagra) was originally researched as an anti-stress drug, but a special effect was discovered in a different way.

Boss Zhou wondered if he should have Yingying brew some expired instant coffee for him to drink in a few days.

"I haven't asked him yet, but he should know."

Saying that,

Lawyer An unfurled the painting.

In the painting, an old man was bowing respectfully,

looking as obedient as could be.

The little boy sat at the bar, not participating in this, silently taking out his stationery box and starting his elementary school homework.

Yingying hesitated, but remembering her promise to the boss, she still walked over and stood next to him, ready to listen together.

Lawyer An made a "please" gesture to Zhou Ze, indicating that the boss should start asking.

Zhou Ze didn't stand on ceremony and spoke directly:

"I ask you, do you know Madam Bai? The temple deity that Zhang Jian wrote an inscription for, who died from being drowned in a pig cage."

The old man in the painting showed a thoughtful expression.

Then the entire painting began to fluctuate.

The old man kept spinning around,

sometimes up, sometimes down,

sometimes left, sometimes right,

a bit like the dynamic effect shown by quickly flipping through a folded book as a child.

After waiting for a while,

Lawyer An reached out and knocked on the table, showing his dissatisfaction.

The old man immediately bowed and said:

"It's not that this old man is delaying or playing hard to get. It's just that the person the superior mentioned, this old man does have an impression of, but it's somewhat different from what the superior said."

"Just say as much as you know."

Zhou Ze urged.

"Yes, sir."

The old man immediately continued:

"Back then, there was indeed a shrine in Tongcheng, dedicated to 'Madam Bai,' but it was built by the local people and was not well-known outside of Tongcheng. Even the locals in Tongcheng only knew about it in the eastern suburbs. It was considered a *yin* shrine (unrecognized shrine) and not included in the jade register."

("Yin shrine" refers to a shrine not recognized by the government, not the kind of meaning of gathering people for promiscuous activities - Xiao Long's note).

"However, later, Mr. Zhang Jian personally removed the plaque he had written and had the shrine torn down."

"Why?"

Zhou Ze pressed,

He already knew this,

He wanted to know the reason!

"The reason, well, is because Mr. Zhang Jian was deceived."

"Deceived?"

"Yes, sir. Please listen to this humble one slowly. When Madam Bai was first known, her reputation was excellent, but it was only spread among the local countryside.

One day, Mr. Zhang Jian came there to choose a site for a factory. When he stayed there, he dreamed of Madam Bai, who warned him of danger. Sure enough, in the second half of the night, a fire broke out in the factory. Although it didn't cause any major disaster, Mr. Zhang Jian was grateful for Madam Bai's reminder and personally wrote a plaque and established a shrine.

You should know that at that time, Mr. Zhang Jian was the top scholar of the late Qing Dynasty and also shouldered the heavy responsibility of industry. The incense of the shrine he established would naturally not be bad. Before long, Madam Bai's name gradually began to spread.

But later,

Mr. Zhang Jian suddenly learned the truth,

and in great anger,

he removed the plaque and ordered the shrine to be torn down!"

"Old An, burn this painting."

"Alright!"

Lawyer An immediately got up, pretending to take the painting away.

"This old one was wrong, wrong, I shouldn't have kept you in suspense, I shouldn't have kept you in suspense!"

The old man in the painting immediately knelt down and kowtowed,

while shouting:

"Because Madam Bai's background is false!"

Hearing this,

Yingying's face changed.

Zhou Ze's eyes also revealed a serious look, and he urged:

"Speak quickly!"

"It's like this. The original legend of Madam Bai in the countryside was that she was a noble lady from the Qing Dynasty. Because of rumors of an affair with a scholar in the boudoir, she was subjected to family law!

This is actually the standard origin of a rural temple deity. They are all pitiful characters, pitiful women, and pitiful stories.

But in reality, it is not so.

This Madam Bai was not born from a scholarly family.

She,

She,

She…………"

The old man paused for a while, not to keep people in suspense,

but because when he said this,

even in the simple ink painting,

his face showed that kind of terrified expression.

But he still gritted his teeth and continued:

"She was a Taiping rebel!

And she was the most beloved adopted daughter of Zhong Wang (Prince Zhong) Li Xiucheng!

She was called 'Jade Faced Rakshasa' by the servants!

And,

And her cause of death,

was not that she had an affair with some scholar and was secretly killed by her family,

but after the Taiping army was defeated,

she was ordered to be drowned in the Hao River by Zeng Guoquan!"

Zhou Ze knew who Zeng Guoquan was. He was also a remarkable figure in the late Qing Dynasty, the younger brother of Zeng Guofan, and considered a famous general at the time.

In fact, in terms of front-line combat ability, this Zeng Guoquan was much better than his brother Zeng Guofan.

When Zeng Guofan personally commanded on the front lines, he often suffered great defeats, but his younger brother and his Ji Battalion were brave and unstoppable. He captured Anqing, and he also captured Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

However, this person was stubborn and prone to killing. After capturing Tianjing, he even plundered the city, and almost the entire Tianjing was burned to the ground. If his brother hadn't been famous for knowing how to behave and assess the situation, he would have had a hard time ending well.

After digesting this information,

and then looking at Yingying next to him,

Zhou Ze suddenly found it a little funny.

It seems,

Madam Bai wove a "dream" for Bai Yingying.

The identity in the dream and the identity in reality are completely different.

Of course, Yingying was just a simple little girl who had been lying in a coffin for two hundred years and hadn't seen the outside world, so of course she would believe whatever Madam Bai said.

What's more,

even Mr. Zhang Jian was "deceived" by Madam Bai back then, wasn't he?

Since this is the case,

it's easy to understand why Mr. Zhang Jian was angry and removed the plaque and tore down the shrine after learning the truth.

He happened to be caught up in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement when he was young, and he himself later came from a proper imperial examination background, which represented a state of class opposition to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

With his identity and status, he actually wrote an inscription and built a shrine for a remnant of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. One can imagine his anger after learning the truth.

Jade Faced Rakshasa,

Heh,

Zhou Ze seemed to remember that many martial arts novels also seemed to have this title.

Looking at Yingying, who looked shocked and confused,

he couldn't help but reach out and pinch Yingying's chin,

and said:

"She is her, you are you, they are not related."

Zombies and living people in their lifetimes are two kinds of life, completely different existences.

Yingying nodded,

but still bit her lip,

sat down next to Zhou Ze,

and leaned on Zhou Ze's shoulder.

Zhou Ze reached out and put his arm around her shoulder,

then asked:

"Do you know why she is still lingering in the mortal realm?"

"This old man really doesn't know. Although this old man has wandered around Tongcheng for many years, I have only done things like chasing shadows. How dare I fight against those fierce ghosts and ruthless characters?

But I think,

maybe it's unwillingness,

those Taiping rebels..."

The old man in the painting pointed to his head and said:

"Even after death, they are still dreaming that dream in their minds."

This is very possible.

After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom succeeded, Hong Xiuquan completely degenerated beyond recognition. In the later stages, it was still supported by Li Xiucheng and a few others. If it weren't for Li Xiucheng and others, the Qing court's time to put down the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom might have been shortened by several years.

And Li Xiucheng was named "Zhong Wang (Prince Zhong)," which was enough to show his loyalty to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If Madam Bai was his adopted daughter, she must have been deeply influenced.

But the question arises,

Madam Bai wanted to have Yingying cremated,

what was that for?

"Then do you know Madam Bai's recent movements?"

"This…this……" The old man hesitated.

"We're going to deal with her. She won't be able to cause trouble for long."

Lawyer An said from the side, which was to relieve the old man's worries.

The old man finally opened his mouth and said:

"Half a year ago, I passed by the old City God Temple in the eastern suburbs, and I felt a little cold."

…………

"Come, come, brothers, we are all underground workers;

Since we are here,

we naturally have to pay our respects here.

Although this City God Temple is small, it has been preserved from the Qing Dynasty. Even when it was renovated later, it retained its original flavor. Some of the plaques and stone tablets inside were written and carved by our ancestors, which is much more interesting than any museum."

The old Daoist acted like an enthusiastic tour guide,

leading Gou Xin and others toward the City God Temple.

Then,

he looked up at the City God statue inside,

took a deep breath,

thinking in his heart,

I won't go to the clubhouse, I won't go to amusement parks, I won't go to any places where problems might occur,

I'll just take them to the City God Temple for a stroll,

Surely there won't be any more problems!

Thinking about this question,

the old Daoist reached into his pocket again.

The stack of hell money that the boss gave him had turned into two stacks, naturally given by Gou Xin. This made the old Daoist feel that these people were very good friends, not bad, not bad.

Touching the thick stack of hell money,

the old Daoist's anxiety was relieved a lot, and he was even a little happy, grinning,

"Hehehe."