Qi Yuan urged her horse on, galloping out of the city at top speed. She brought no one with her. The cold wind howled, making her bright red cloak billow behind her—but she didn’t care in the slightest. Even when her hood was blown down, she made no move to pull it back up.
She knew—there is no such thing as an ever-victorious general in this world.
Throughout history, aside from a miracle like Zhao Zilong, every great general, no matter how brilliant, has suffered defeat.
But for her—that was unacceptable!
Especially the one who killed her, who caused the people she had brought here to lose their mother from childhood—that person deserved to die!
Since she was a child, what puzzled her most was why Li Xiuniang had always been so different from other mothers.
And what she envied most… was other people’s children.
Now, because of her, someone else’s child had become an orphan. She felt unbearably guilty.
Of course, she was guilty—but there were those who deserved to go straight to the eighteenth level of h*ll!
She rushed all the way to Wanan Temple in the outskirts of the capital. Tilting her head slightly, she coldly stared at the three characters carved above the gate—Wanan Temple—and her face showed a chill colder than she had ever known.
By the time she arrived from the capital, it was already night.
A young girl, alone, arriving on horseback in the middle of the night—naturally, the temple’s guest monk was surprised. He hurried out to greet her with a smile and said, “Amitabha, young bodhisattva, worship is done in the mornings.”
There was a hint of anxiety in his expression. “Young lady, it’s very late. You’re alone—please, go home quickly. Your family must be worried.”
Qi Yuan didn’t move. She looked at him seriously and asked in a low voice, “What is your name?”
The monk was stunned, then bowed with palms together and replied, “This humble monk’s Dharma name is Jingkong.”
Before he could finish his sentence, several more monks suddenly came rushing out from within. When they saw Qi Yuan, their faces lit up with surprise and excitement.
Jingkong’s expression immediately changed. He quickly tried to usher her away: “Miss, our temple doesn’t receive worshippers at night. Please, go elsewhere.”
But the monks behind him pushed him aside, pulling and dragging him away.
The lead monk remaining smiled with narrowed eyes, pressed his palms together, and said, “Amitabha. Benefactress, coming here so late at night—have you encountered some difficulty?”
Qi Yuan gave a light laugh. “Yes, I’ve encountered some trouble. So I wanted to ask your esteemed master Cishan for guidance.”
Cishan was a renowned monk in the area.
The monks exchanged sly glances and smiled knowingly. One of them immediately went inside to inform the master, another helped lead Qi Yuan’s horse, while two more flanked her on either side, casually but clearly surrounding her as they led her inward.
Late at night, when Cishan was woken up, he was surprised. When he heard it was a young maiden asking for him, he became even more curious. “What would she want?”
The crowd around him burst out in laughter.
One said, “Master, what do you think she came for? You’re a living bodhisattva—anyone who comes to pray to you gets a child. Everyone within miles knows that. So why else would she come?”
Another guffawed, “Of course—to ask for a child!”
Laughter filled the room. The monks found it all incredibly amusing.
Though Cishan chided them, “Quiet, quiet! Such unbridled tongues!”
Still, his heart was full of pride. He ordered someone to fetch his kasaya, then walked out toward the guest quarters with a smug air.
As soon as he entered the guest courtyard, he saw a slender girl standing beneath the trees in the dark.
His disciples weren’t wrong—it really was a young maiden.
When the girl turned her face toward him, he couldn’t help but gasp inwardly.
What a beautiful little lady! He wondered who the useless fool was who married her and still couldn’t give her a child—forcing her to come here alone in the dead of night. She must have suffered greatly.
Smiling, he took a step forward. “Ami—”
Before the “Amitabha” could even leave his lips, Qi Yuan launched herself off the tree trunk with one powerful kick, using the momentum to land a brutal blow straight to Cishan’s chest.
The force sent Cishan flying to the ground, vomiting blood on the spot.
Without a moment’s pause, she closed in on him. A dagger slipped from her sleeve and pressed directly against his chest.
Cishan was completely stunned by the whole sequence of events.
Wasn’t this supposed to be some desperate little lady with nowhere else to turn, forced to come begging for a child?!
What in the world was going on?!
Qi Yuan stared at him coldly. Her gaze didn’t look like she was looking at a person—but rather at a stone, a tree, something lifeless.
She didn’t waste words and got straight to the point: “That girl you abducted from the country estate a few days ago—where are you hiding her?”
Cishan’s eyes flew wide open, his lips trembling.
Qi Yuan didn’t hesitate. Her dagger drove an inch into his chest—blood instantly gushed from the wound.
Then she asked, “Pu Wuyong is your biological uncle, isn’t he? How rare—so that eunuch dog actually has a nephew. Did he tell you to behave for a while? Said he’d get you a position at the Directorate of Buddhist Clergy?”
The Directorate of Buddhist Clergy oversaw all the temples and monks across the realm.
It was a fat and powerful post, one of the most lucrative there was.
Of course, Cishan had no intention of remaining a monk forever. After some time, he would renounce his vows, change his name, and become an official at the Directorate.
The Directorate didn’t employ monks to manage monks—it was staffed by real government officials.
Then, finally, he could help the Pu family extend its bloodline and legacy.
But—how did this woman in front of him know all this?
Qi Yuan was done with patience. Ever since the assassination attempt at the villa and the false charges of treason, she’d had none left.
So now, she drove the dagger in deeper and said icily, “Say another word of nonsense, and I’ll dig out your eyes and hang them on that tree—let’s see if your all-powerful uncle can make it in time to save you!”
…
Cishan was so terrified he nearly pissed himself!
What kind of devil was this?!
He whimpered—no matter how powerful his uncle was, he wasn’t a god. By the time he arrived, it’d all be over.
What use would revenge be if he was already six feet under?
He blurted out, “In the cave behind the mountain! In the cave behind the mountain! They’re all in the cave behind the mountain!”
Qi Yuan didn’t miss that word—“all.”
Ever since seeing Pu Wuyong again at Baiyun Temple, she had remembered all the vile things that eunuch dog had done.
That man, already a powerful court eunuch, naturally wanted to promote his family before he entered the palace—that much was common.
But he did it without a shred of regard for human life.
He indulged his nephew in raping innocent women.
Many of those women came to Wanan Temple to pray for children, and after returning home, some took their own lives.
Others bore the children in silence, swallowing their pain.
But it didn’t stop there. The monks at Wanan Temple even kidnapped girls and locked them in caves behind the mountain to repeatedly violate them.
This incident had caused a huge scandal in her previous life—rocking the entire court.
It eventually led to widespread temple closures and strict reforms on issuing monk registration documents.
If that perverted eunuch Pu Wuyong had even a sliver of humanity left, it was only for his nephew—Cishan.
Pu Wuyong had delivered such a “gift” to her.
Now it was only fair that she return it in kind.
Without a hint of hesitation, Qi Yuan buried the dagger deep into Cishan’s heart. He didn’t even get the chance to scream—his head lolled to the side, eyes wide open, dead without a sound.
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