Chapter 1897 - A New Assignment

A New Assignment

"Don't worry—once we arrest those two front-men, all of the Liang family's hidden treasures will come to light." Mu Min spoke with unwavering certainty to the somewhat anxious Liu Xiang. "During our interrogation of Madam Han Qiaojie, the old bawd from Fangchun Courtyard, we discovered that Officer Zhong Aijiao's wife became a sworn goddaughter of Master Liang's concubine—the father of that young Master Liang. That's no shallow connection."

"You'd better keep close watch on them—don't let anyone else escape or commit suicide!" Liu Xiang complained. "Gao Lingxiang, the head of the Guandi Temple gang, still hasn't been captured. Not being able to execute him publicly at the trial is truly regrettable."

"We're pursuing him with all our resources right now. The likelihood of him fleeing Guangzhou is slim—after all, the plague lockdown kept the city under martial law for quite some time. Besides, Gao Lingxiang has a family in tow, which means he can't have gone far."

"What a pity that Gao Tianshi took his own life! He got off too easily." Liu Xiang said resentfully. "If we don't eliminate Gao Lingxiang, we won't be able to satisfy the people's demand for justice."

Mu Min remained unmoved by this sentiment. Based on the evidence they had gathered, Gao Lingxiang was nothing more than a spoiled young master—in terms of notoriety, he couldn't even compare to his villainous younger brother, Gao Lingquan. There was absolutely no evidence linking him to the Witchcraft Case. Moreover, he had only held the position of Chief Gang Leader at the Guandi Temple for a few months at most. Rather than saying the people resented him personally, it would be more accurate to say they despised his title of "Chief Gang Leader."

Still, Mu Min chose not to argue the point. She understood Mayor Liu's state of mind all too well.

As time passed, the shadow of the plague gradually faded, and Guangzhou's residents returned to their usual bustling, noisy routines. The epidemic prevention teams in their gray gowns and oversized face masks, along with the heavily armed National Army soldiers patrolling the streets and alleys, had all vanished. The curfew had been lifted. The dreadful sound of two-wheeled corpse carts rumbling through the lanes had finally ceased, and people breathed sighs of relief—they had managed to escape the Plague God's clutches with their lives intact.

Those who had lost family members still wore mourning white. But the living mostly counted themselves fortunate for having survived. The collective relief following the catastrophe, combined with an urgent desire for release, had packed every teahouse and restaurant to capacity. The only disappointment was that all the brothels inside and outside the city—whether official courtesans or private prostitutes—had been shut down for a "vice trade rectification." Many patrons had no choice but to venture to White Swan Lake beyond the city walls, seeking out the Tanka boat-brothels for their "moments of pleasure"—for now, the Australian police hadn't extended their reach there.

Amid this near-carnivalesque atmosphere, an undercurrent of suppressed anxiety still lingered. In the teahouses and tea stalls, people spoke in hushed tones about the recent "citywide manhunt."

Before the plague even erupted, the forced roundup of the Guandi Temple's men had already left the city's residents slack-jawed in amazement. This was the local power that neither Provincial Governors nor Viceroys had dared provoke for years, wiped out overnight by the Australians. Every gambling den and hideout had been swept clean in an instant; even those fortunate enough to evade arrest dared not resume their former trades.

After the plague subsided, the Australians' appetite for arrests seemed to grow even greater. Every day brought new apprehensions. Police and National Army soldiers hurried through streets and alleys, smashing down doors and dragging people away; some were seized on the main thoroughfares, in their shops, or in teahouses.

Among those taken were both gentry of great houses and ordinary merchants and commoners, but the largest group consisted of the street thugs—the "city foxes and social rats"—along with the idle vagrants who served as hangers-on and muscle for the brothels and wealthy households. All of them, it seemed, had been implicated in that recently sensational "Witchcraft Case."

In the teahouses, some learned elders who had read their histories adopted mysterious, hushed tones as they recounted the Witchcraft Case of Emperor Wu of Han, explaining how that affair had led to the execution of tens of thousands—eliciting gasps of astonishment from their listeners. Meanwhile, Public Opinion Officers were stationed in various establishments, ceremoniously reading aloud the special serialized supplement from the Yangcheng Express covering the "Maojia Inn Serial Murder Case." This serialization had frankly moved beyond the bounds of reportage literature—it contained lengthy passages describing the criminal acts in a style that was purely "naturalistic," enough to give many readers nightmares that night.

None of this, however, concerned Cui Hantang. Ever since the Witchcraft Case concluded, he had been busy staking out territory for himself. First, he struck while the iron was hot by submitting a special report on the issue of Guangzhou's feng shui.

After some extended discourse on Guangzhou's feng shui, he solemnly proposed the following:

First, rename "Zhenhai Tower" (Tower for Suppressing the Sea) to "Tanhai Tower" (Tower for Surveying the Sea), because the character "zhen" (suppress) carried connotations of subjugation, which from a feng shui perspective would suppress Guangzhou's royal aura. This had been the deliberate intention of the Ming Dynasty when they constructed the tower.

Second, strictly prohibit any excavation or logging on Yuexiu Hill to prevent damage to the mountain's dragon vein.

Third, construct a Daoist temple at the ancient breach on Ma'an (Saddle) Mountain to repair and guard the dragon vein.

Fourth, when conditions permitted in the future, build a large feng shui tower in the center of Guangzhou for tourists to visit—something like the Canton Tower of later eras, combining tourism, cultural entertainment, and multiple other functions. This would both amplify Guangzhou's dragon energy and demonstrate the might of the Senate...

Unexpectedly, no sooner had this report been drafted than the recently arrived Elder Li Zhuoxian demolished it point by point at the meeting. To preserve face for New Daoism and Archpriest Cui, the meeting ultimately approved only the first and second proposals—the second passing under the pretext of "environmental protection." The third was "to be considered by the municipal government at its discretion," while the fourth was mercilessly rejected. As for the proposal requesting that New Daoism take over the old Daoist temples, the meeting indicated it would be "revisited later." Old Cui's scheme to absorb the property and personnel of Guangzhou's various temples through this takeover was forced into temporary suspension.

However, his other motion—to hold a grand jiao ritual for those who had perished in the Witchcraft Case and the recent plague, one of impressive scale and momentum to fully win over the hearts of the people—passed smoothly. Yet his original plan of "government builds the stage, New Daoism performs" became "government builds the stage, the Three Teachings perform."

"Damn it! Doing it alongside the bald donkeys is bad enough, but what's the meaning of dragging the foreign religion into this too?!" Cui Hantang stared at the memorial ceremony plan, now mutilated beyond recognition, nearly tearing his topknot right off.

Dissatisfied though he was, this ritual ceremony was still New Daoism's first public appearance in Guangzhou—an excellent opportunity to spread their influence. And so the rotund Daoist grew busy indeed. Abandoning his usual lazy habits, he hauled the young Daoist disciples out of their beds before dawn each day, having Qingyun and Xiaoqian drill them on Taiji sword forms and music. In the afternoons, he would produce a flat, rectangular box and gather them to watch something on it, requiring them to practice the movements they observed.

Cui Hantang himself was also run ragged. Beyond sending telegrams to Archpriest Dai E at Lingao headquarters requesting personnel, he had in recent days made whirlwind visits to several Elders: Lin Baiguang of the Comprehensive Governance Office, Wu Mu of the Political Security Bureau, Pei Lixiu of the Purple Dawn Building Entertainment Company, Zhang Yikun of the Grand World, and Ding Ding from the newspaper—engaging each in lengthy conversations.

However, when he confidently went to visit Liu Xiang, hoping to secure that prime feng shui site on Ma'an Mountain, Mayor Liu dismissed him in just a few sentences: "Brother Hantang, I've thought about this for a long time after you left, and I think you make an excellent point: Guangzhou's dragon vein really does need protection. I've already decided to change the plaque on Zhenhai Tower—Chairman Wen is even going to write the calligraphy himself! I've also had the Municipal Bureau put up signs on Yuexiu Hill: 'No Logging, No Unauthorized Burials.' That splendid mountain has been covered with graves and stripped bare of trees—it's quite unsightly! So I've decided to first clear away the wild graves, then plant trees! We're going to turn Yuexiu Hill into Guangzhou's grand park! Which means I can't give you Ma'an Mountain after all. It's part of the dragon vein, you know—it has royal aura. We can't just dig it up willy-nilly. What if we damage the dragon vein? You understand, yes?"

Cui Hantang knew Liu Xiang had changed his mind. He had no choice but to lower his stance and settle for less: "Ah yes, Mayor Liu is absolutely right, yes indeed. Haha, the dragon vein, well, certainly shouldn't be disturbed, ah, shouldn't be disturbed. Mayor Liu, you are truly far-sighted, truly... extraordinary! However, you see, our New Daoism has over twenty people of both sexes all crammed into that tiny courtyard at the Grand World—it was crowded to begin with. And now, to properly conduct your memorial ceremony, I've had to call in over a dozen more people from Lingao. We truly have nowhere to put them. Might you perhaps, hehe..."

Liu Xiang thoroughly enjoyed watching Cui Hantang squirm. Seeing this portly man grovel before him filled his heart with secret satisfaction. He had lost face over that possession incident, and this Archpriest Cui had gone around boasting about it... leaving Liu utterly humiliated! If he didn't extract some compensation now, how could he live up to his dignity as mayor? Still, he couldn't be too hard on him openly—after all, the fat Daoist had helped him out before. As long as he remained in Guangzhou, Liu could manipulate him at will anytime; no need to fear him flying away.

With that in mind, Liu Xiang spoke up, wearing his characteristic smile as usual: "Haha, Old Cui, what are you saying? We're practically brothers! There'll be plenty of time ahead. How about this—during the recent entry into the city, we seized several temples—both Daoist and Buddhist. The monks and Daoists all ran off. If you don't mind them being a bit run-down, how about I allocate the Wuxian Temple to you? It's not small at all!"

"Well... excellent, excellent! Thank you, Mayor Liu, thank you!" The rotund Cui pounded his chest enthusiastically. "Are you free this evening? Dinner's on me at Purple Dawn Building!"

Liu Xiang knew when to stop: "No need, no need. You've helped me out quite a bit too. This small matter is nothing. I still have to prepare for the public trial. Why don't you go tidy up the temple first? The memorial ceremony and public trial are the main events in our social governance efforts right now—oh, and that Louze Garden cemetery at Yantang, send some of your people to perform a ritual there when you have time."

"Of course I'll go there—I'll go personally. But the land for building a temple at the cemetery really needs to be approved soon..."

"The land is no problem—I'm at your service whenever. But your New Daoism's land purchase payment needs to be in place too," said Mayor Liu. "You see, the Catholic Church was quite prompt—their money has already arrived in our account. I'm actually holding off on approving their paperwork right now. Otherwise, they'd snatch up all the best locations."

(End of Chapter)