66: To find a way to transcend

Looking at Qiu Rang’s expression, Jiang Lan threw out another question.

“But from Bao Jing’s demeanor, it seems he himself doesn’t know about this?”

Qiu Rang replied:

“Whenever he has a fit of hysteria, he doesn’t know anything. It’s an old problem.”

As soon as these words came out, Jiang Lan’s curiosity was piqued again.

He only vaguely knew some things about Monk Bao Jing’s situation.

It seemed that a demon had entered the temple he belonged to back then, slaughtering everyone in the entire temple, and Bao Jing, not being present, had thus escaped.

But his hysteria was indeed a bit strange.

Even if one were normally scared by a demon and developed some issues, it shouldn’t be like Bao Jing.

If he were truly scared, he should be afraid when he sees a demon. How could he lose control of himself upon seeing one?

“What exactly happened with Bao Jing back then? Tell me in detail.”

Seeing Jiang Lan ask, Qiu Rang looked towards the upper-left, seemingly recalling something.

After a moment, he slowly began to speak:

“The year before last, a demon entered Bao Ping Temple in the west of the city. By the time I received the news and rushed over, all the monks in the temple had already been slaughtered, and the demon had long since vanished. I searched with my men for a long time before finally finding Bao Jing in a side hall within the temple.”

Qiu Rang continued to recall and narrate what happened at the time:

“I remember very clearly, Bao Jing was holding a bag of flatbreads, standing blankly in the side hall, as if he had lost his soul. When he saw us arrive, he looked at us but didn’t speak. At that time, we had already searched the entire Bao Ping Temple thoroughly, and he was the only living person we found.”

“Seeing how pitiful he was, I brought him back to the Demon Suppression Division. I originally thought of letting him leave after a couple of days of rest, but unexpectedly, Bao Jing’s Martial Dao talent was quite good. That’s how I ended up letting him stay in the Division.”

Jiang Lan frowned slightly.

“Side hall?”

“Yes, I remember, it was like the deepest side hall on the right within Bao Ping Temple, quite difficult to find. But now Bao Ping Temple has long since been rebuilt. I even visited it a while ago, and that side hall is still there.”

Jiang Lan looked up, “What was the scene like back then? Do you still remember?”

Hearing Jiang Lan mention the scene, Qiu Rang’s eyes showed a hint of fear, as if he had thought of something.

It couldn’t really be called fear; it was more like nervousness.

“Gulp.”

Qiu Rang swallowed, and after a moment, he uttered four words:

“A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.”

He immediately continued: “At that time, the blood of those monks had stained the entire temple floor red. There were corpses everywhere, almost no place to even set foot.”

Something’s not right.

Jiang Lan frowned again.

With corpses everywhere, how did Bao Jing get to the furthest side hall?

Since Qiu Rang said he was holding a bag of flatbreads at the time, it stands to reason that Bao Jing must have returned from outside after the incident was over.

Jiang Lan didn’t believe that if Bao Jing had been in the side hall the whole time, he wouldn’t have been discovered by the demon.

Once discovered, Monk Bao Jing wasn’t particularly strong, and he wasn’t even a Martial Artist at the time. Facing a demon, he would have been no different from fish on a chopping board.

Even if by some coincidence Bao Jing had remained in the side hall undetected, he couldn’t have just stood there with a bag of flatbreads, could he?

How calm would he have to be for that?

Jiang Lan looked at Qiu Rang again.

“Didn’t you suspect anything at the time?”

Those who work in the Demon Suppression Division, even if not brilliant, are certainly not fools.

If they were fools, they wouldn’t even know how they died.

Since he could detect something amiss just from Qiu Rang’s description, Qiu Rang, who was present at the scene, had even less reason not to notice.

So, either Qiu Rang was hiding something from him, or Qiu Rang had confirmed afterward that Bao Jing was not problematic.

Qiu Rang’s subsequent words also confirmed Jiang Lan’s suspicion.

“Of course, I was suspicious. Bao Jing at that time was strange in every way. To be honest, when I first found him in the side hall, I thought he had been possessed by some demon, and I almost had my men apprehend him.”

“But that child was like he had lost his soul. I brought him back to the Demon Suppression Division and even specifically found Taoist Priests in the Miao Fa Pavilion. It was the Taoist Priests who said he had no problems at all, just a bit overly frightened, and only then did I bring Bao Jing back.”

Jiang Lan was silent for a while.

Although he wasn’t familiar with the Miao Fa Pavilion, Jiang Lan knew the capabilities of those Taoist Priests.

Since they said there was no problem, then it was most likely not a problem.

But no matter what, Bao Jing’s hysteria was indeed a bit strange.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Jiang Lan’s mind, and he said to Qiu Rang:

“You just said that Bao Ping Temple was renovated and rebuilt?”

Although he had his original memories, he had no impression of this Bao Ping Temple Qiu Rang spoke of.

He only vaguely remembered that there indeed seemed to be such a temple in the south of the city.

“It was rebuilt early on. And I must say, the incense offerings are quite strong now; there are many pilgrims every day.”

Jiang Lan didn’t find this strange.

As the imperial capital of the Great Yan Nation, the number of common people in Yan Country naturally far exceeded that of other places.

With more people, there were naturally more who went to burn incense and worship Buddha.

And what they sought was nothing more than a few things.

Idlers wished to marry a wife, those without children sought children, impoverished common people wanted to escape poverty, and wealthy merchants wanted to become even richer.

Those holding power wanted to climb higher, and those who engaged in corruption and bribery wanted to avoid being investigated.

Ultimately, it came down to power, wealth, and lust—these three things.

Even Jiang Lan himself was no exception.

He wanted to seek that path of transcendence.

Whether it was power or wealth, on this path, they could only be considered accessories.

Jiang Lan nodded and said nothing more.

But although he said nothing, he noted down the place of Bao Ping Temple in his heart.

He had just been promoted and might be quite busy recently.

So Jiang Lan decided to find time to visit that place when he wasn’t busy.

Since the Taoist Priests of the Miao Fa Pavilion said Bao Jing had no problem, then the problem could only lie within Bao Ping Temple itself.

However, two years had already passed, and he had no idea what the current situation of Bao Ping Temple was.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Lan said:

“I have nothing else for you. Everyone can continue as usual. Brother Chou, you can go back first.”

Qiu Rang nodded, stood up from his chair, and bowed to Jiang Lan, saying:

“Then, my Lord, this subordinate will take his leave.”

Although Qiu Rang wasn’t as timid as Yu Zhi and the other two, not daring to speak, his attitude towards Jiang Lan was also exceptionally respectful.

Jiang Lan chuckled, “No need to be so polite. Didn’t I just say to act as before?”

Qiu Rang said no more, simply retreated outside the room, and then closed the door.

On the other chair, Chen Heguang smiled.

“Lord Jiang, why have you kept this humble subordinate here alone?”