The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 13 Monks Do Not Lie

"Young master~ come and play~"

The brothel was bustling with activity, and scantily clad girls at the entrance were enthusiastically soliciting customers.

But when the girls saw Jiang Feng arrive, they all dispersed and made way for him.

The madam walked towards Jiang Feng with a dark expression: "You dare to come here! You come here either to persuade girls to leave their profession or to arrange marriages for them!"

That's bad enough, but last time it was even worse—they actually lured away our most beautiful courtesan from the brothel!

Jiang Feng retorted indignantly, "Did I kidnap your courtesan? It was clearly our old abbot who kidnapped her!"

The madam snapped, "You're definitely involved! You're not welcome here, get out!"

Jiang Feng took out a coin and waved it in front of her: "I'll give you a chance to rephrase your words."

Looking at the copper coin in Jiang Feng's hand, the madam laughed in anger: "Are you out of your mind? Do you know the prices these days? You can't even buy a pancake with a single coin, and you dare to act rich in front of me!"

Since Yang Guang took office as the Grand Administrator of Yangzhou, he ordered people to mint coins on a large scale. The copper coins were mixed with a large amount of iron and tin, and the resulting copper coins were white in color and were also known as "white coins".

Nowadays, prices are soaring, and the price of rice has reached an alarming "a thousand coins for a bushel of rice." Just as the madam said, you can't even buy a pancake for a single coin!

In the madam's eyes, Jiang Feng showing off a single coin in front of her was clearly making a fool of her!

Jiang Feng laughed and said, "Can you see clearly what I have in my hand?"

"It's just... a luminous pearl!"

The madam gasped in surprise, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. She discovered that the copper coin Jiang Feng was holding had somehow transformed into a luminous pearl the size of a pigeon's egg!

"Can I go in now?"

Jiang Feng flicked his thumb, and the luminous pearl flew high into the air.

The madam jumped high, covered the luminous pearl with both hands, then put on a fawning smile and followed Jiang Feng into the room.

"Master, which young lady are you here to arrange a marriage for today? I'll have someone fetch her right away~"

"I've come to find you."

"what?"

The madam was taken aback, then flicked her handkerchief in annoyance: "Don't tease me. I'm over forty years old, past my prime, who would want me?"

Jiang Feng said confidently, "Let's find a place to talk in detail. If things go well, I guarantee I'll find you a good family."

The madam didn't take his words seriously, and wasn't sure what he was up to. After hesitating for a while, she led him upstairs and found a quiet guest room for them to sit down.

Jiang Feng took out a piece of paper covered with names and handed it to the madam, saying, "Take a look first."

The madam took the list and looked at it, then said with a puzzled look, "These are all regular customers of our brothel, but they haven't been here for a long time."

Jiang Feng confirmed Zhao Hongtu's guess and asked her, "Think carefully, what do they have in common?"

The madam tapped the table with her knuckles, then shook her head slightly after a while: "I really can't figure out what they did wrong."

Jiang Feng said, "They're all dead."

The madam stiffened, her fingers tapping the table abruptly stopping. She frowned slightly and said, "No wonder they haven't been coming lately. Sigh, business is getting harder and harder these days."

Jiang Feng rolled his eyes and said, "If you're willing to continue doing business with them, I can help summon their souls."

The madam shuddered and quickly said, "There's no need for that. These gentlemen were difficult to serve even when they were alive, let alone after they've died!"

Jiang Feng, still clinging to the present, pressed on, "How exactly are they so difficult to please?"

The madam recalled, "Some of them were particularly troublesome, some were stingy and wouldn't give the girls a single penny as a reward, and some even took pleasure in tormenting the girls."

Especially Niu Er, who beats girls when he's drunk.

One time, when he was drunk, he stripped Yunniang naked and pinned her against the window, beating her. This attracted a crowd of onlookers. Yunniang, unable to bear the humiliation, threatened to jump off the building while still naked.

Fortunately, a kind passerby couldn't stand by and watch, so he beat up Niu Er, thus saving Yunniang.

Jiang Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Go and call Yunniang here."

The madam shook her head: "We can't call her back. Yunniang was redeemed by the man who rescued her almost ten years ago."

As she spoke, she suddenly slapped her forehead: "Yunniang, you know her? She's Wang, Li Youcai's second wife, and Li Fugui's stepmother!"

"The Wang family..."

Jiang Feng frowned, then asked, "Take another close look at the list. Did all these people have affairs with the Wang family?"

The madam had someone bring out the account book from ten years ago, and after carefully searching and comparing it, she found that most of the people on the list had ordered Wang's services.

The madam's expression shifted several times before she spoke with difficulty, "Are these people's deaths really related to the Wang family? Do you think it could just be a coincidence?"

Jiang Feng said, "It's hard to say, we'll have to ask her."

The madam sighed, "Sigh, she finally escaped her misery, and now she's giving up a perfectly good life. What is she after...?"

Seeing that Jiang Feng remained silent and showed no sign of leaving, seemingly lost in thought, she asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

Jiang Feng looked up and said, "I'm wondering who I should tell you to."

The madam was speechless for a moment, then glared at her and said, "Thank you, but I don't need it! You should think more about yourself. Your dilapidated temple doesn't have a single worshipper. I don't think it'll last more than a few days. You'd better sell your valuables and return to secular life!"

Jiang Feng looked at her with a smile: "Return to secular life? Do you think it's possible? I've never been a monk."

"ah?!"

The madam stared in astonishment, her mouth agape, and it took her a long time to speak coherently: "No, you really didn't become a monk? So you've been a fake monk all along?"

Jiang Feng said earnestly, "A monk does not lie."

Madam: "@#￥#@……"

You can't believe a single word you say!

She gritted her teeth in anger and said impatiently, "Are you leaving or not? If not, I'm leaving. I don't have time to waste on your nonsense."

Jiang Feng said with a regretful expression, "Never mind, it seems you're not so fortunate. Go and call Cuiping here; I have a good marriage proposal for her!"

The madam gritted her teeth in anger: "I knew you were up to no good! Go ahead and sabotage me, go ahead and sabotage me! You'll be happy when you've ruined all my business!"

After saying that, she turned and left.

After a while, Cuiping walked in gracefully, closed the door, and looked at Jiang Feng expectantly: "Master, I heard from Mama Wang that you are going to introduce me to a marriage."

Jiang Feng nodded: "Li Gang, the janitor at the county government, has ten acres of land and is a decent person. However, he has a blind old mother who is unable to move around easily, so he hasn't been able to find a wife. If you don't mind that his mother is a burden, I'll take you to his house to meet her in a couple of days."

Cuiping quickly replied, "I don't mind, as long as he doesn't mind me!"

Jiang Feng nodded and asked, "There's something else I want to ask you. Why haven't the girls around here gone to the temple to burn incense since last month?"

Cuiping glanced at the doorway and, seeing that no one was eavesdropping, began to explain in a low voice.

"Aunt Wang said that there are monsters in the county town and many people have died. For the past two months, we have not been allowed to go out or discuss this matter in private."