Chapter 741: He's Alive!

Liaofan's screams went on for a long time.

Eventually, the little monk crouched down and began sobbing.

"Master, his mind has probably suffered a tremendous shock," Siniang said from the side.

Zheng Fan nodded.

The little monk had spiritual roots.

Zheng Fan had dealt with this master-and-disciple pair before, and he had always felt that the two of them possessed considerable good fortune.

By "good fortune," he meant that even if they never accomplished anything particularly great in this life, they ought at least to survive danger, turn calamity into blessing, and live freely enough.

Unfortunately... looking at the little monk now, whatever good fortune he possessed did not seem to have protected him this time.

Of course, one could also force the matter from another angle.

If that basin of fish soup had not delayed them... if Marquis Zheng had not suddenly felt like taking in two little brothers... then perhaps he would already have finished eating and left the inn before the brothel madam and her "newly adopted godson" arrived late.

In that case, he would never have encountered Liaofan after the little monk had "fallen into the red-light trade."

But that truly was stretching things.

Diviners and Qi Refiners liked explanations of that sort precisely because they had so much elasticity.

No matter what happened, one could twist the logic until it came back around.

And then continue swindling food and drink.

Perhaps, for the little monk himself... he might have preferred death to ending up in a house of male courtesans and having his chastity defiled.

Zheng Fan turned toward the brothel madam.

Earlier, she had shouted outside that this newly adopted godson of hers was untouched.

But that might merely have been a seller praising her own merchandise.

"Has he received clients?"

Zheng Fan asked.

The madam swallowed.

Xu Chuang's saber was still resting against her neck.

And when the man before her became serious, when even a trace of anger entered his manner, the pressure he gave off was enough to make someone as experienced in worldly dealings as her immediately lose her nerve.

To put it plainly, now that Great Yan's two Princes were gone, even the Emperor had to treat Zheng Fan politely, drag him over to sit on the Dragon Throne together, and let him enjoy the experience.

Looking across all of Great Yan... there had never been many people whose status stood above Marquis Zheng.

Now... there seemed to be none.

Once a man reached the point where he no longer needed to kneel... he could look back and discover that a black mass of people had already knelt beneath him.

"N-No... no... he's new... newly trained... new..."

Marquis Zheng raised one hand and pointed toward Gao Zhunpang.

Gao Zhunpang immediately stepped forward and saluted, awaiting orders.

"Pass this Marquis's command. Order the local garrison commander to bring troops immediately and surround her brothel. No one is to be allowed out."

"Yes!"

Gao Zhunpang was somewhat surprised.

Earlier, judging by the Marquis's attitude, it had not seemed as though he intended to reveal his identity.

And that had indeed been true.

Zheng Fan had originally had no desire to expose himself and turn the matter into a major affair.

That would have been boring.

But Liaofan's appearance forced him to do exactly that.

He needed to understand how Liaofan had crossed the Tianduan Mountains from the snowfields to Shengle City, and then how he had been trafficked onward to the brothel in Shangchuan County.

That entire chain had to be clarified.

If Zheng Fan waited to summon men from Fengxin City to handle it, the delay might create gaps and mistakes.

Better to lock everything down now.

Besides...

Zheng Fan felt that the willow cutting he had planted today had already borne fruit.

If these turtle bastards had not been clamoring for more male courtesans... there was no chance he would have met little Liaofan "fallen among the flowers."

And so, while everyone inside the inn was still staring in astonishment and had not yet recovered from hearing him call himself "this Marquis"...

Zheng Fan took Liaofan and left.

They climbed into the carriage.

Rather than immediately leave the county, they went straight to the Shangchuan County Yamen.

Naturally, he was not here to beat the grievance drum because someone from his household had been trafficked.

He simply wanted to borrow a place.

After thinking it over, the county yamen seemed the quietest option.

The yamen runners at the entrance saw people forcing their way inside and shouted as they moved to block them.

Xu Chuang brushed them aside directly and roared:

"Marquis Pingxi has arrived!"

If this were any ordinary day, Marquis Zheng might have taught him something about the tone and spirit Eunuch Wei used inside the palace when announcing, "His Majesty has arrived!"

But right now... he was not in the mood.

The Shangchuan County Magistrate hurried over without even having time to put on his official robes.

The moment he saw Zheng Fan, he dropped to his knees and saluted.

"This lower official pays respects to Marquis Pingxi. May the Marquis enjoy peace and health."

"You recognize this Marquis?"

"Yes, Marquis. During last year's campaign against Chu, this lower official served as a grain transport officer and was fortunate enough to see the Marquis in person."

That saved trouble.

No need to have the Sword Saint pull out Longyuan and perform again.

"This Marquis needs to borrow your official residence. From this moment onward, unless this Marquis gives permission, no irrelevant person is to enter and disturb us."

"Yes. This lower official understands!"

Behind the county yamen stood the magistrate's residence.

Naturally, his family lived there.

But within moments, all of them hurried out without even having time to pack their belongings, clearing the entire place for Marquis Pingxi.

Once inside, Zheng Fan said to Xu Chuang:

"Get a few servants. Bathe him and clean him up."

"Yes."

Not long afterward... little Liaofan stood before Zheng Fan after being thoroughly scrubbed clean.

People of this era liked powder and rouge and considered them beautiful.

But the actual level of makeup skill was honestly questionable.

Male courtesans were even worse.

Liaofan had no kasaya to wear after being cleaned up, so he had simply been dressed in what was probably clothing belonging to the county magistrate's young son.

Even so... he looked far more pleasant to the eye.

At that moment, Gao Zhunpang returned to report.

"Marquis, this subordinate has already taken men and secured that brothel."

Zheng Fan nodded and waved a hand, signaling that he could withdraw and wait.

Gao Zhunpang immediately saluted and left.

The Shangchuan garrison commander had asked him to introduce him to the Marquis... but Gao Zhunpang did not mention it at all.

The Marquis was obviously busy right now.

There was no point wasting the tiny scrap of favor he had only just received.

And truthfully... that scrap was probably nowhere near enough anyway.

"Siniang."

"This subordinate is here."

"There are no other usable people around me right now. Only you. Go interrogate the madam and the others. Untangle the whole chain. Best if you can seize the traffickers who handled him as well. Who is the current General of Shengle again? Forget it. Doesn't matter who. Send word and make him cooperate fully. I want to know, clearly and completely, how the little monk came from the snowfields into Shengle City."

"This subordinate understands."

There was no need to say more.

Siniang's ability to handle matters required no explanation.

After Siniang left, Zheng Fan said to Xu Chuang:

"Have the people in the yamen prepare some food and send it in."

"Yes, Marquis."

Zheng Fan did not rush to question Liaofan again.

He had already stimulated him badly at the inn.

Better to wait for the boy's emotions to settle first.

Food soon arrived.

Liaofan looked at what had been set before him and began eating without needing anyone to tell him.

Meat or vegetables... he avoided nothing.

The only thing missing was his old line:

Since the Marquis threatens us with weapons, then let us eat. The Buddha will not blame us.

While the little monk ate...

Marquis Zheng sat nearby, slowly working his fingers against one another.

After thinking for a while, Zheng Fan signaled Xu Chuang to summon the County Magistrate, who had been waiting outside the entire time.

"This Marquis needs to borrow your men to deliver several messages."

"Marquis, please command. This lower official will spare no effort."

"First, send someone to Yingdu with a verbal message for Prefect Xu Wenzu. Tell Lord Xu that this Marquis has run into some business in Shangchuan County and will be delayed here. If Lord Xu has time, he may come meet me in Shangchuan County. Second, send someone to Fengxin City with word for Mr. Bei. Tell him this Marquis has found Monk Liaofan here. Third, send someone to Shengle City. Order the current General of Shengle to seize everyone in the surrounding area involved in the slave trade and hold them until this Marquis's people arrive for questioning. No mistakes."

"Yes. This lower official obeys."

Zheng Fan nodded.

The County Magistrate immediately withdrew to carry out the orders.

Liaofan had finished eating by then.

He pinched his fingers into an orchid gesture, picked up a handkerchief, and began dabbing at the corner of his mouth.

Zheng Fan suspected that the boy had first suffered some serious psychological trauma and had then been "trained" by the brothel madam.

At present... he probably belonged somewhere in the realm of split personality?

A pity the Blind Man was not here.

"Finished eating?"

"Y-Yes, my lord. I'm finished."

Marquis Zheng narrowed his eyes.

His questions at the inn must have inflicted another round of psychological trauma.

Now, in order to avoid the pain of confronting those memories, Liaofan seemed to have thrown himself even more deeply into the male-courtesan role the madam had created for him.

It was a form of escape.

Marquis Zheng pulled the red stone from his robes and placed it in his palm.

"Son. Come out."

The stone rocked a few times.

Then a cloud of black mist appeared.

The Demon Child floated there, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

The Demon Child was already two grades behind.

Before assassinating Zhao Jiulang, Zheng Fan had tried to speak heart-to-heart with him.

It still had not worked.

The Demon Child seemed to be deliberately restraining his own advancement.

Not because he did not want to advance.

But because he was consciously suppressing himself.

Zheng Fan had no idea what he was planning.

It was much like how most parents, when their children entered adolescence, could not understand what the hell was going through their heads.

Still... the Demon Child was the Demon Child.

His nature as a soul-form being meant he could perhaps be used to break through Liaofan's mental defenses and force the little monk to directly confront whatever had happened on the snowfields.

The side effects would be severe.

There was no guarantee Zheng Fan would actually obtain the information he wanted.

And there was a very high chance Liaofan would become an idiot afterward.

But the Blind Man was not here.

This was the only method presently available to him.

More importantly...

Zheng Fan desperately wanted to know what had happened on the snowfields.

If the pair had simply been attacked by some Savage tribe... little Liaofan should never have become like this.

Even if his master had truly been killed, he should have rejoiced that his master had finally been released, his karma repaid, his debts in this life ended.

Zheng Fan weighed the matter for a while.

Then put the red stone away again.

Endure it.

Better to endure a little longer.

The Demon King prophecy was too important.

And it had long since stopped being his concern alone.

The other seven Demon Kings had every right to know.

At that moment...

Liaofan suddenly spoke.

"My lord, what would you like me to do?"

"What's your name?"

"Whatever my lord likes to call me... that's what I am."

"Enough. Sit over there."

"My lord, was my service not good enough? Did I make you..."

"Shut up."

"Yes, my lord."

Liaofan closed his mouth.

His gaze began wandering around the room.

Then he noticed a string of Buddhist prayer beads hanging against one wall.

They had probably been placed there to ward off evil.

These days, from nobles down to commoners, people liked keeping so-called consecrated ritual objects from famous monks in their homes for protection.

Once Liaofan's eyes landed on those beads... he could no longer look away.

Subconsciously... they felt deeply familiar.

Not because the beads were his or his master's.

The world could be full of coincidences, but not coincidences that absurd.

Rather... he knew the material.

At first glance, the beads looked translucent and expensive, made from precious material.

In truth, whoever had bought them had been cheated with inferior goods.

This trick...

Liaofan and his master had used plenty of times while wandering and begging alms.

His master always said:

If the heart is sincere, the spirit answers. Why should it matter whether the prayer beads are real or fake, costly or cheap?

The people they cheated were precisely the ones who did not lack money.

They were helping those patrons work off karmic debts.

Amitabha.

Now... upon seeing counterfeit merchandise from others in the same line of work...

Liaofan's gaze slowly grew serious.

Marquis Zheng had been watching him from across the room and noticed at once.

He did not dare continue stimulating the boy.

A few more shocks and the child might decide, with perfect single-minded devotion, to commit himself fully to a career as a male courtesan.

But if Liaofan could awaken some of his own memories... that would be far better.

Zheng Fan remembered the Blind Man once telling him:

Illness of the heart still required medicine for the heart.

Put plainly... the best way out was still to walk out by oneself.

"Master..."

Liaofan began murmuring.

Marquis Zheng half narrowed his eyes.

He waited.

Did not hurry him.

Liaofan stood.

Pointed toward the prayer beads on the wall.

Then looked at Zheng Fan in confusion.

"My lord... may I..."

"Your lord gives them to you."

"Thank you, my lord."

Liaofan took the prayer beads down.

Held them in his hands.

Ran his fingers over them.

After a long time... he hung them around his neck.

Then sat down.

This time... cross-legged.

But after settling cross-legged, he tried stretching one leg outward, propping himself up with his right arm, attempting to sit in a more alluring pose.

Very soon... confusion entered his face again.

No matter how he sat, it felt uncomfortable.

No matter how he arranged himself, something felt wrong.

At last, he suddenly found sitting itself unbearably tormenting and stood again.

At first, he stood the way the madam had taught him, one hand at his waist, body posed softly and seductively.

Then... he began trying to press his palms together.

His movements kept changing.

Even his expression shifted endlessly between "solemn Buddhist dignity" and "fawning seduction."

Marquis Zheng said nothing.

He simply sat there... watching the live scene of a split personality unfolding before him.

Very soon... even standing became unbearable for Liaofan.

He sat.

Then stood.

Then sat again.

"Hoo..."

Even Zheng Fan felt tired from watching.

Up and down.

Down and up.

The little monk soon began panting.

"My lord, come play... Avalokitesvara... Amitabha... my lord..."

Wonderful.

Now not only sitting and standing were torment.

Even speaking had become torment.

This continued for an hour.

At last...

Liaofan reached his limit.

Thud!

He collapsed to the floor.

His face was white.

He gasped violently for breath.

Only then did Zheng Fan rise and walk over.

The little monk began foaming at the mouth.

Then he vomited.

Everything he had eaten earlier, still undigested, came pouring back out.

Marquis Zheng nimbly dodged the filth.

After Liaofan finished vomiting, almost all color vanished from his face.

Then he curled tightly inward, hugging both arms around himself as though freezing.

Marquis Zheng covered his nose with one sleeve and slowly circled around to inspect him.

"Master... I'm so cold..."

"Mother... hot water... I'm cold... so cold..."

"Please... give me something to eat. Just one bite... please..."

"Cold... so cold..."

Marquis Zheng listened patiently from the side, trying to remember every word.

There might be clues hidden among them.

"Marquis."

Xu Chuang reported from outside.

"Marquis... Marquis... yes... Master..."

The title suddenly seemed to trigger something in Liaofan.

He murmured to himself:

"Master... this disciple didn't forget what you said... you told me to go back and find the Marquis... find the Marquis..."

Zheng Fan immediately raised one hand, signaling Xu Chuang at the door not to speak.

Then... he leaned closer to Liaofan himself.

"This Marquis is right here. You were looking for this Marquis. Why?"

Liaofan did not actually look at Zheng Fan.

His eyes held only thought and recollection.

"This disciple... has to go back and tell the Marquis... the Buddha's golden body... he'll have to pay for it... hahahahaha... now the Marquis can't welsh on the debt... can't welsh on it..."

"This Marquis won't welsh. Quickly, tell this Marquis what your master wanted you to say."

"Disciple, look. Look! Hurry and look! There really is a person underneath this ice!"

Zheng Fan's expression immediately hardened.

Ice.

Beneath it.

A person?

This master-and-disciple pair... had truly found it.

"That's right, Master... it's a person... maybe frozen to death... Master... why are all these Savages bowing to someone who's been frozen dead?"

"Heh. Because Savages are ignorant. Easy to fool. Hahaha. Another day, master and disciple can change a few things and become Buddhas here on the snowfields ourselves. Let them build us temples."

"Ah... Master, look. The person beneath the ice... I think he moved."

"You little bastard, don't try to scare your master. He's frozen inside the ice. How could he move?"

"Master! He opened his eyes! He opened his eyes! He's alive! He's alive!"

Liaofan's face suddenly flushed red.

The child who had already exhausted himself sprang upright and seized Zheng Fan's clothes with both hands.

He roared directly into Zheng Fan's face:

"He's alive! He's alive! The person under the ice is alive! Alive!!!"

Zheng Fan did not pull away.

He kept listening as Liaofan recreated a conversation, one moment himself, the next his master.

"Disciple... we have to hurry back. We have to hurry back and tell the Marquis. We found the person he wanted us to find. Mother of mercy... and it's even alive."

"Yes, Master! Let's run! Ah! The ice cracked! It's cracking!"

At last...

Liaofan stared at Zheng Fan in horror.

Then, in an extraordinarily devout voice, as though imitating the worship of those Savages... he whispered:

"The Demon King... has descended... the Demon King... has descended..."

[End of Chapter 741]