Chapter 46, Qinghe and the Pirate

Translator: StarReader

 

Su Chen stared at the Han Mountain Daoist Temple, whose walls were covered in moss and exuded an aura of antiquity.

 

When he was a child, he often heard the fishermen of Zhou Village talk about this place. being solemn and sacred. The abbot, Daoist Han Shan, held esteemed status in the hearts of the common people of the Wu Region. He was considered the highest personage beyond the mundane world.

 

Even the high-ranking officials and wealthy elite of Gusu deferred to him with utmost respect. If they wished to see Daoist Han Shan, they had to personally pay their respects at the Daoist temple.

 

When Su Chen joined the Medicine King Group and became a martial disciple, he gained a deeper understanding of the true influence Daoist Han Shan wielded in the martial circles of the Wu Region.

 

Daoist Han Shan was one of the seven publicly recognized Grandmaster realm martial experts in the Wu Region, ranking first among them.

 

The Five Major Groups of the Wu Region—Whale Gang, Heaven Falcon Group, Medicine King Group, Iron Sword Group, and Caravan Guards—were each led by a Grandmaster. Yet, none could rival Daoist Han Shan’s standing.

 

Only Han Mountain Daoist Temple was a place of seclusion, its occupants fed by the people’s offerings. They rarely meddled in the conflicts between martial groups over territory, maintaining detachment above the martial world, earning deep respect from those within it.

 

The abbot, Daoist Han Shan, was seldom seen at Han Mountain Daoist Temple. He was rumored to seek out eminent figures and travel extensively, his whereabouts unpredictable. On normal days, it was Daoist Qinghe and five other close disciples of Daoist Han Shan, along with numerous disciples each, who attended to the temple. Many of them were top-tier experts at the second-rate realm.

 

This made Su Chen curious. Ding Shisan was merely a second-rate small leader within the Whale Gang. How dare he sneak into this temple full of experts?

 

[This Han Mountain Daoist Temple is sacred in the Wu Region. Even the powerful Five Major Groups won’t touch it. Yet, this pirate chief dares to hide here.] Su Chen thought as he lingered outside the temple for a moment before deciding to follow and investigate. He scaled the wall and slipped inside the Han Mountain Daoist Temple.

 

Han Mountain Daoist Temple was vast, with deep courtyards.

 

During the day, Han Mountain Daoist Temple buzzed with believers and pilgrims, filled with incense smoke and lively activity.

 

The front courtyard featured a grand hall, while the garden boasted intricate architecture—pagodas with upturned eaves for storing sutras, an art gallery of Daoist paintings, a hexagonal two-story bell tower, and rows of ancient steles inscribed with poetry.

 

The back courtyard, however, was the residence of the Daoists, quieter and more secluded, exuding tranquility and emptiness.

 

Su Chen caught a faint whiff of fishy smell in the air as he sneaked into the rear courtyard of Han Mountain Daoist Temple, where the Daoists resided. He approached a separate villa and its rooms nearby.

 

Crouching at the corner of a room, Su Chen quickly overheard voices coming from within. It was Ding Shisan and a middle-aged man speaking in hushed tones.

 

“Ding Shisan, who sent you to the Daoist temple? Get out immediately! You’re lucky my master isn’t here; otherwise, seeing you at Daoist Temple would surely mean your death,” said the middle-aged Daoist, his voice low and stern, even bordering on enraged.

 

The Whale Gang’s pirates had long been subjected to heavy crackdowns by county officials across the Wu Region. Any named pirate would have their likeness posted as wanted posters at the city gates.

 

If a pirate chief were to secretly enter the Han Mountain Daoist Temple and be discovered, it would undoubtedly bring great trouble upon the Daoist temple.

 

“I know that Immortal Master isn’t here, so I dared to slip in. If he had been present, who would dare to show up so brazenly under his watch?”

 

Ding Shisan stubbornly refused to leave, loudly clamoring, “But Daoist Qinghe! You provided me with the intelligence about the Merchant Li’s cargo ship, saying I could make a fortune. That’s why I brought over ten of my men to rob it. However, this turned out to be an incredibly dangerous move—there were actually top-tier experts from the Medicine King Group on board! You’ve really screwed me over here. My entire crew is wiped out, and I didn’t even manage to seize any silver. How am I supposed to explain myself to my superiors in the Whale Gang? You need to give me a proper answer. You can’t just dismiss it with a simple apology!”

 

“Hmph, that Merchant Li was a fat sheep I had been fattening up for years. Selling him to you was a favor! Didn’t you think it through before acting? Running into Medicine King Group’s experts was entirely your own doing—don’t blame the sheep for being too stubborn!”

 

Daoist Qinghe slammed his fist on the table, pointing an angry finger at Ding Shisan’s shameless face, berating him harshly.

 

Along the Grand Canal near Suzhou, ships came and went frequently. But not every vessel was fair game for the pirates.

 

The Wu Region counties’ fishing boats and skiffs had already paid a monthly fee of one tael of silver to the Whale Gang, which represented a steady source of income. As such, the pirates of the Whale Gang no longer troubled them.

 

On the other hand, the large merchant ships traveling north and south, though appearing lucrative, often carried first-rate experts as escorts alongside valuable cargo. Especially in the case of the Wu Region’s Four Great Gangs, their vessels were particularly formidable, protected by many experts.

 

For the pirates, attempting to plunder a merchant ship escorted by top experts was undoubtedly dancing on the edge of a knife. Once they failed, destruction was only a matter of time.

 

To successfully rob a lucrative mark, pirates needed precise intelligence on crew members and ship movements. Without this, their efforts often ended in frustration.

 

The Han Mountain Daoist Temple had a massive following, with many wealthy merchant families from Suzhou City frequently visiting to pay their respects and pray for safety. As the acting abbot of the Han Mountain Daoist Temple, Daoist Qinghe interacted closely with these affluent families, making him an invaluable source of information on their financial status.

 

However, he preferred not to act directly. Instead, he collaborated with the pirates, devising schemes to amass wealth together.

 

Merchant Li operated numerous rice shops across Gusu County City, amassing significant wealth as a prominent figure in trade. Several years prior, Daoist Qinghe had leveraged his connections within the Medicine King Group to secure a position for Merchant Li’s daughter as an inner disciple—a move that earned him the family’s unwavering trust. Merchant Li frequently visited the Daoist temple, often seeking safe passage from Daoist Qinghe and engaging in casual chats about his travels.

 

Daoist Qinghe, seeing Merchant Li as a lucrative mark after years of grooming, decided to exploit his position by sharing information about Merchant Li’s cargo ship journey with Ding Shisan, a minor pirate chief. The plan was for them to split the loot from the heist, with Daoist Qinghe taking eight out of ten shares and Ding Shisan keeping two.

 

However, the operation unraveled. Ding Shisan and his crew of pirates intercepted Merchant Li’s ship, only to clash with an expert from the Medicine King Group. The encounter resulted in a significant loss for both parties: several pirates were killed, and Daoist Qinghe saw his anticipated windfall evaporate along with thousands of silver taels. Meanwhile, Merchant Li, now aware of the breach in security, became increasingly cautious, making future schemes against him more challenging.

 

For at least several years, it would be unwise to touch this fat sheep.

 

[Ding Shisan, that fool, is using his own mistake as an excuse and avoiding responsibility by claiming he encountered a Medicine King Group first-rate expert. If he truly faced such a formidable figure, he’d have been carved into eight pieces long ago and fed to the fish in the river.] Daoist Qinghe burned with rage inside.

 

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he sniffed carefully, as if detecting an unusual scent on Ding Shisan’s person.

 

“You idiot, you’ve got a tracking herb mark on you. How could you be so careless after spending years in the martial world? If a first-rate expert catches onto this, wouldn’t it bring trouble to my Daoist temple?”

 

Daoist Qinghe angrily cursed at him.

 

Ding Shisan, who had been rebuked, sniffed his own body and caught the faint smell of waterweed.

 

“Rest assured, esteemed Daoist. It’s just the scent of water plants. Frequenting the water, one inevitably picks up a trace of water weeds. Besides, even if a first-rate expert were to track here, they’d dare not barge into the Han Mountain Daoist Temple.”

 

Ding Shisan didn’t care at all. He often hung around the river, inevitably picking up the foul smells of water plants like water caltrops and bitter herbs. It didn’t bother him, nor did he find it suspicious.

 

Daoist Qinghe was clearly annoyed, waving his hand dismissively.

 

“Hmph, of course. My master, Daoist Han Shan, is the top figure in the Wu Region. Who dares stir up trouble at Han Mountain Daoist Temple? As long as they didn’t catch you red-handed, even Magistrate Wang wouldn’t dare. Now get out! Next time, I’ll give you a notice about a fat sheep to make up for your loss.”

 

This time, Ding Shisan had failed in his attempt to rob the fat sheep. There was nothing he could do to remedy the situation, so he just let the pirate chief leave as quickly as possible.

 

This incident couldn’t be allowed to leak and damaged the reputation of Han Mountain Daoist Temple. If his seniors found out, no one would be able to shoulder the blame.

 

“Can you promise?” Ding Shisan asked hopefully, though worried Daoist Qinghe might change his mind.

 

“Get moving! I always keep my word!” Daoist Qinghe was utterly fed up.

 

“Fine, fine! Just don’t go back on your word—sell me another fat sheep!”

 

With that promise secured, Ding Shisan slipped on his hat and scrambled over the wall to exit the Daoist temple. This time, instead of getting a fatty sheep, he lost a good dozen men. Talk about bad luck! All he could do was hope to make up for it next time.

 

Meanwhile, Su Chen was hiding in the corner of a building out back, eavesdropping on the conversation between Daoist Qinghe and Ding Shisan. His mind reeled with disbelief.

 

Daoist Qinghe wasn’t your average Daoist. He was the top disciple among the five personally chosen by Daoist Han Shan, the grandmaster himself.

 

Normally, it was Daoist Han Shan who traveled far and wide, leaving Daoist Qinghe in charge of running Han Mountain Daoist Temple in his stead.

 

Su Chen couldn’t believe his ears. The head disciple of Daoist Han Shan was colluding with pirates. Using the temple’s busy incense business as a cover, he was gathering information on pilgrims’ movements and passing it along to the pirates. The pirates then carried out their raids, splitting the loot with Qinghe.

 

‘Collaborating with bandits’ was no small offense—it was one of the capital crimes set by imperial law, right up there with treason, rebellion, and piracy itself.

 

In recent years, the Wu Region had been plagued by disasters, leading to a surge of displaced people and escalating pirate attacks. The government had intensified its efforts, hunting down pirates and severely punishing those who aid them. If caught, aiding pirates means certain execution by decapitation.

 

Su Chen’s eyes narrowed with cold fury; he silently condemned this injustice. Back then, Daoist Han Shan had saved him, a nobody. Su Chen held Daoist Han Shan in the highest regard. It was shocking that Daoist Han Shan’s prized disciple, Daoist Qinghe, had brought such shame upon their master and the Daoist community.

 

Daoist Han Shan was absent from the Daoist Temple these years, wandering far and wide. Daoist Qinghe was taking advantage of his master’s absence to act without restraint. The river robbery was orchestrated by Daoist Qinghe, even more despicable than Ding Shisan.

 

Still, Su Chen knew all too well that even if he spoke out about this, no one would believe him. Instead, they’d accuse him of defaming Daoist Qinghe and slandering the reputation of the Han Mountain Daoist Temple.

 

To convict someone of piracy, he needed evidence. Only then could he silence Daoist Qinghe with undeniable proof.

 

“Ding Shisan is my best bet. Maybe from him, I’ll find the evidence linking him to Daoist Qinghe. If this fails, I’ll try another approach.”

 

Su Chen left Han Mountain Daoist Temple and set off in pursuit of Ding Shisan. However, Ding Shisan was highly alert. Once outside the Daoist temple, he quickly dove into the river and sped towards Vastest Lake, disappearing from sight.

 

Su Chen chased for several miles but couldn’t catch up with Ding Shisan. He assumed that Ding Shisan had returned to the pirate base at Whale Gang on Vastest Lake.

 

Reluctantly, he headed back to Han Mountain Daoist Temple, hoping to find a flaw in Daoist Qinghe’s story.

 

Su Chen wondered if Daoist Qinghe rarely met Ding Shisan and if secret communications were involved. Perhaps his residence held letters or stolen goods.