Wu Wei and Hao Wen had originally assumed that even if Li Changqing opposed them, he would at least show Grand Secretary Wu some face. Instead, the man had gone around making reckless arrests without leaving the slightest leeway, completely ignoring the unwritten rules of officialdom.
At this moment, the countless rumors of the Demon Suppression Bureau ransacking households, exterminating entire clans, and torturing prisoners to death kept flashing through their minds. Both grew increasingly terrified. Over the years, the bureau's ferocious reputation had simply grown too fearsome, and Li Changqing had pushed things far too ruthlessly.
Watching them still cling to wishful thinking, Chu Qiguang shook his head inwardly. The other side had already gone stark raving mad; how could they possibly let the matter drop?
Yet despite Chu Qiguang's counsel and encouragement, Wu Wei and Hao Wen simply waved their hands. "Young Master Chu, that Li Changqing is an unrefined brute who plays by no rules. We'd better not go head-to-head with him. Let's just concede defeat for now."
Faced with the savage ruthlessness of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Wu Wei and Hao Wen were utterly cowed. No matter how much Chu Qiguang urged or consoled them, they remained entirely devoid of nerve.
Chu Qiguang inwardly cursed them as hopeless Adous. No amount of persuasion could banish the terror that the Demon Suppression Bureau instilled in them.
In the end, Chu Qiguang could only say, "How about this: I'll find a way to knock Li Changqing and his lot out of the game for a few days."
Wu Wei looked at Chu Qiguang with deep skepticism. "You can knock him out of the game?"
Hao Wen urged, "Forget it, Nephew Chu. Whatever you do, do not butt heads with that Li Changqing. You've seen how they operate these past few days—they have zero regard for the rules."
Seeing that neither of them believed he could deal with the Demon Suppression Bureau, Chu Qiguang offered no further explanation. Leaving the Wu estate, he hurried back to his own courtyard.
Back in the courtyard, Qiao Zhi was also startled upon hearing that he intended to take on Li Changqing of the Demon Suppression Bureau. The cat's first instinct was to dissuade him, but on second thought, the person standing before him was Chu Qiguang. If he took on the Demon Suppression Bureau...
'Isn't that fighting poison with poison? It might actually work.'
With that in mind, Qiao Zhi hastily asked, "How do you plan to deal with the Demon Suppression Bureau?"
Chu Qiguang said, "At first, I didn't have much of an idea either. But then I thought about it: only magic can beat... only immortal arts can counter immortal arts."
Qiao Zhi looked utterly baffled. "What does that mean?"
...
And so, that very night, Chu Qiguang went to the Daoist monastery again and sought out Daoist Fayuan.
If the Demon Suppression Bureau represented imperial authority and the Emperor, then the force in this world best positioned to rival it was naturally the Heavenly Master Sect, which represented theocracy.
In a side hall of the monastery, the Daoist acolytes had already laid out a banquet.
Daoist Fayuan, injured earlier by Li Changqing, was still pale. The moment Chu Qiguang mentioned Li Changqing of the Demon Suppression Bureau, righteous indignation washed over his face.
Yet when he heard Chu Qiguang speak of dealing with Li Changqing, he merely sighed, admitting that it was beyond his abilities.
Chu Qiguang said, "Daoist Master, both your sect and the Demon Suppression Bureau are tasked with slaying demons and hunting down evil cults, standing as natural rivals. Is there truly no one in Qingyang County who can put them in their place?"
Upon hearing this, Daoist Fayuan flushed with anger. "The Demon Suppression Bureau's martial arts, Daoist arts, and elixir pills—weren't they all passed down to them by our sect? They're nothing more than petty upstarts! If the abbot were willing to step in, what would a mere Li Changqing amount to?"
The bad blood between the Heavenly Master Sect and the Demon Suppression Bureau went back a long time. On one hand, there were jurisdictional frictions over handling demons and cults; on the other, many of the bureau's martial arts, Daoist arts, and elixir pills had been learned from the Heavenly Master Sect, leading some Daoists to view them as renegades.
Hearing Fayuan's words, Chu Qiguang asked, "Then how can we persuade the abbot to intervene?"
Noticing Fayuan stammering evasively, Chu Qiguang slipped twenty taels of silver under the table.
Fayuan weighed the silver in his hand and said that while the abbot naturally found the arrogant Li Changqing an eyesore, the Demon Suppression Bureau did represent the Emperor after all. Even if their authority did not extend over Qingyang Temple, the political pressure was considerable.
Chu Qiguang insisted that the Demon Suppression Bureau was tyrannical and oppressive, blotting out the sky with one hand and plunging Qingyang County into darkness, awaiting only the monastery's abbot to uphold justice.
Accepting another twenty taels of silver handed over by Chu Qiguang and feeling his deep devotion, Fayuan finally named a figure. He opened with thirty thousand taels of silver, saying that for that amount, the abbot should be able to temporarily knock Li Changqing out of the game for a while.
To say nothing of Chu Qiguang being unable to afford it, even the Wu and Hao families would likely balk at such a sum, especially since it would only buy them a brief delay.
However, Chu Qiguang had come prepared. "My brother happens to hold a burial plot with superb feng shui. Above, it connects to the sun, moon, and stars; below, it channels the spiritual veins of Qingyang County. It is backed by towering, graceful peaks, flanked on both sides by mountains like flanking guards. He originally intended to develop it with the Hao family, but I felt such a matter could hardly proceed without informing the temple. I persuaded him to deed the land to the monastery so everyone can co-develop this graveyard together. I wonder if the temple might be interested?"
Naturally, Chu Qiguang had researched the funerary trade of the Great Han Dynasty before coming.
First of all, the Great Han Dynasty did not strictly mandate ground inhumation. After all, in this era, many died far from home; without cremation, corpses would rot long before returning. As a result, many people had their remains cremated and their ashes gathered for burial, meaning the graves of common folk took up very little land.
Common burial grounds had existed in this world since ancient times, though they were typically built on a single hillside for an entire village or township. For one, the locals could help look after each other's plots and hold communal sacrifices each year; for another, prime geomantic locations were limited, and a single household could not hoard them all.
This cultural backdrop suited Chu Qiguang's ensuing plan perfectly.
Fayuan asked, "Oh? Is the feng shui truly that good?"
Seeing Fayuan show interest, Chu Qiguang slipped another twenty taels of silver to him. "Why don't you trouble the Master Abbot to come inspect it in Wang Family Village? Once the matter succeeds, there will certainly be a handsome reward."
...
Having agreed with Fayuan to meet the next day at Wang Family Village, Chu Qiguang went to see Wang Cailiang next.
The moment Wang Cailiang saw Chu Qiguang, he greeted him cheerfully. "Brother Chu, you were looking for me?"
Chu Qiguang wore a look of deep distress. Under Wang Cailiang's questioning, he let out a series of heavy sighs, saying that the matter of the Wang ancestral grave was in serious trouble.
Wang Cailiang's expression changed, and he asked in panic what was going on.
Chu Qiguang said, "Originally, the Hao family was determined to seize your land at all costs. Fortunately, I have a good relationship with the abbot of Qingyang Temple. The monastery is willing to come and take charge of the situation for you, developing the burial ground together."
Wang Cailiang was overjoyed to hear this. "Really? The monastery is willing to help us?"
...
On the martial arts practice ground of the Hao estate, Hao Yongtai practiced his forms while listening to Chu Qiguang recount the story beside him.
"The Wang family and the monastery have already decided to join forces and develop that graveyard together. Fortunately, I have very good relations with both the Wangs and the abbot. After much persuasion on my part, they finally agreed to let your family have a piece of the action."
Hao Yongtai suspected nothing. Looking at Chu Qiguang with complete trust, he said, "Brother Chu, you've really worked hard on this."
Chu Qiguang waved his hand with a dispirited sigh. "Ah, back then your brother Yongnian wanted this prime geomantic ground so badly. Moving his grave there will fulfill his dying wish. It's the least I could do."
Chapter 85