Chapter Fifty: Cause and Effect

How could I possibly blame Fatty for putting the Dragon-Head Stele back? If anything, I felt like hugging him and kissing him twice. This is the benefit of having a true master at your side. I can't even imagine what would have happened if Fatty hadn't been here today—if something had gone wrong with the Twelve Ghost Caves or that stone coffin, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Chen Qingshan clearly shared my thoughts. He asked Fatty, "Fat Master, will putting the Dragon-Head Stele back cause any negative consequences?"

Fatty’s face darkened again at Chen Qingshan’s question. He shook his head and said, "It's never too late to mend the pen after losing a sheep, but there’s always a difference. The waters of this Hidden Valley run far too deep. If I hadn’t been careful, even I might have capsized in this little backwater tonight. King of Thieves, we’ll have to find time to visit your eldest brother. To be honest, I still feel very uneasy about all this."

"And what about Third Uncle? Did he die in vain? Fat Master, can’t you avenge him? That stone coffin in the river is tough, but that madwoman ghost must be dealt with. We have to avenge Third Uncle!" Chen Qingshan said.

"Village Chief, don’t be so hasty. We can’t say for sure that it was the madwoman who killed Third Grandpa." I spoke to Chen Qingshan. Even though the madwoman had come after me, I still couldn’t bear to have Fatty destroy her completely.

"That’s right, this matter is far too strange. If it was truly the madwoman who killed the old man, why did she wait until now to act? Besides, I’ve seen that ghost before—she doesn’t seem like a ferocious spirit. There’s still a trace of conscience left in her. And don’t forget, that Dragon-Head Stele suppressing the Feng Shui node is a spiritual artifact that can warn people of danger. Ghosts can’t get near it. So even though the madwoman is the most suspicious, she might not be the real culprit," Fatty explained.

Fatty’s argument about the ghost being unable to approach the Dragon-Head Stele was quite convincing. Chen Qingshan frowned, "If it wasn’t her, then who else would go after the child? Who else in the village would dare commit murder, and kill Third Uncle no less?"

"There are those who dare. Don’t forget, King of Thieves’ father died even more horribly than the old man," Fatty said, glancing at Chen Qingshan.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, I quickly interjected, "Enough, we’re all on the same side. Village Chief, don’t be too anxious. Everyone is grieving Third Grandpa’s death, but with Fat Master here, we’ll surely get to the bottom of this."

To distract Chen Qingshan, I asked, "Village Chief, are you still going to build the Temple of Lord Guan?"

"Build it! That was Third Uncle’s final wish. Even if I have to fund it myself, construction starts tomorrow. I don’t believe that once we invite Lord Guan to this Hidden Valley, any demons or monsters would dare show up! What creature wouldn’t fear Lord Guan?" After saying this, Chen Qingshan, clearly dissatisfied with Fatty and me defending the madwoman, stood up and left.

I spread my hands at Fatty, saying, "Don’t take it to heart. The Village Chief has always respected Third Grandpa most. One moment he was alive and well, the next he’s gone. He just can’t accept it right now."

But Fatty stopped me and said, "Hold on, before we talk about anything else—what did you just say? The old man wanted Chen Qingshan to build a Temple of Lord Guan?"

"Yes, I saw the Village Chief last night and he said it himself. Third Grandpa felt that too many strange things had been happening in the village lately. He must have sensed something was wrong, so he wanted to build a temple for Lord Guan to suppress the haunting atmosphere," I replied.

"But of all the deities in Heaven, why Lord Guan in particular?" Fatty asked, looking at me with a peculiar expression.

"Because most people in Luoyang worship Lord Guan. The Guanlin Temple is where Lord Guan’s head is buried, and Luoyang is under his protection. Why? Is there a problem with that?" I explained to Fatty. He was prone to overreacting, and I wasn’t sure why he’d asked.

"I know that, but the old man’s suggestion to build a Temple of Lord Guan at this time isn’t just because of that. Let me think for a moment," Fatty said, frowning and falling into thought. I didn’t disturb him, but I felt he was becoming just as jumpy as I was.

After a while, Fatty looked up at me. "King of Thieves, the old man had been watching over the Feng Shui node for days, and then suddenly died last night. Isn’t that suspicious?"

"It’s odd, but it could just be coincidence. Maybe he didn’t have time before and only got free yesterday?" I replied.

"Remember, there are no coincidences in matters like this. I’ll tell you: there are too many experts in Hidden Valley, and everyone is scheming. If you rely on luck, you won’t even know how you died," Fatty said.

His words made me a bit anxious, so I asked, "Fat Master, you’re much more experienced than I am—what’s really going on?"

"The old man said yesterday he wanted to build a Temple of Lord Guan, and then died that very night. That’s the cause of his death. If you hadn’t mentioned it by accident, we’d have overlooked this," Fatty said.

I was puzzled. "Could it be that some spirit heard about the temple, got scared, and killed him?"

"Let me tell you a story, and you’ll understand. Lord Guan’s courage and power are well known, and many people worship him for different reasons—some as the God of War and Wealth, others for his loyalty. He has many titles: Lord Guan, Martial Sage, even monks venerate him, bringing him into the Buddhist fold. His rise in status went from Marquis, to King, to Emperor, to Sage, to Heavenly Deity. There’s a lesser-known title: Righteous and Brave Prince of Martial Peace. This was conferred by an emperor—some say Emperor Zhenzong of Song, some say Huizong, but either way, it was a Song emperor. Why bestow that title? Legend has it that during Zhenzong’s reign, a drought demon emerged, draining the Salt Lake. The land was parched. Emperor Zhenzong asked Celestial Master Zhang for help, who then sent Guan Yu to subdue the demon. Guan Yu fought for seven days and overcame the fiend. In gratitude, Zhenzong gave him the title Righteous and Brave Prince of Martial Peace. That day happened to be the 13th of the fifth lunar month, which later became the date for Guan Emperor Temple fairs, when people pray for rain. Curiously, it always rains on that day, much like the seventh night festival. Thus the saying: ‘No drought lasts past the 13th of the fifth month.’ If it doesn’t rain, a few Taoist rituals at the temple will always bring rain. So eventually, Lord Guan was even given the job of rain-bringer, a duty of the Dragon King. Whenever there was a drought, people prayed to Lord Guan. And because he subdued the drought demon, wherever such a demon appeared, building a Guan Emperor Temple would make it vanish without fail," Fatty explained.

"So Third Grandpa wanted to build a Guan Emperor Temple, ostensibly to ward off the village’s evil, but in truth, his real aim was to get rid of that little drought demon?" I said to Fatty, deeply impressed by his breadth of knowledge.

Fatty nodded, "Exactly. Someone didn’t want him to eliminate the drought demon, or found out about his plan, so they panicked and killed the old man in desperation."

"Why?" I already had a vague idea, but couldn’t quite grasp it.

"Your eldest brother Sun Zhongmou nearly turned on me that day because we accidentally released the drought demon. Honestly, I never thought of inviting Lord Guan to deal with it. I misjudged that old man—he really knew his stuff. Think about it: if the drought demon hadn’t been released, within three months the entire region around Hidden Valley would face a devastating drought. The Luo River’s water level would drop, and the Twelve Ghost Caves would be exposed. If we get rid of the drought demon now, some people’s efforts will come to nothing," Fatty said.

"You mean the one who killed Third Grandpa was Tang Renjie!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Who else? I can’t think of anyone else," Fatty said, narrowing his eyes.

"I had suspected Chen Shitou at first, since he knew the child best, but with your explanation, Tang Renjie is far more suspicious," I admitted. Fatty’s meticulous reasoning had convinced me. I never would have thought that the seemingly amiable Tang Renjie I’d met was so ruthless.

Suddenly, I slapped my forehead. "If Chen Qingshan insists on building the Temple of Lord Guan, won’t he be in danger too?"

"That’s why you need your eldest brother. That person managed to kill without making a sound. The two of us alone aren’t enough. If your brother agrees, we’ll set a trap and wait for the killer. Murder? Do they really think there’s no law in this land?" Fatty declared.