I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse
Chapter 901: Benefactor, Please Halt

Chapter 901: Chapter 901: Benefactor, Please Halt

"Dad, let me handle this investigation, I’ve been idle these last few days anyway and bored out of my mind," you patted Shi Kai’s shoulder, "Besides, we’ve got someone here who’s familiar with the terrain. Let this kid join me."

"Good, once the job is done, I’ll commend you for your work!"

"Hehe, no need for commendations, just get mom to stop smacking the back of my head and I’ll be happy."

Luo Cheng gave you a despondent glare, but deep inside he was overjoyed. It meant that you were finally moving past the shadows of your previous life, and he also believed that it was time for you to start confronting some things on your own.

You didn’t go home but headed straight to Jincheng Square in the northwest of Chang’an with Shi Kai. Although Shi Kai looked slim and small, he was surprisingly strong, which forced you to see him in a new light. During the journey, you learned of his plight through his own words. Huichang Temple monks had incited some of the villagers, who were excessively superstitious, to donate their lands. Unfortunately, Shi Kai’s parents refused to conform, but opposition was scarce, and in the end, the village chief had Shi Kai’s parents locked up, forcing them to sign the documents under duress. Hopeless and indignant, they had committed suicide.

As he spoke, Shi Kai was in floods of tears. You gently patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don’t be sad, your parents’ spirits in Heaven will surely bless you. They wouldn’t want to see you unhappy. Rest assured, I will definitely seek justice for you."

"Okay!" Shi Kai nodded firmly.

"However, I’m a bit puzzled. As far as I know, monks are nothing but idlers. Other than chanting a few scriptures, they have nothing else to do. They would never lower themselves to farm the land, so what use do they have for your land?"

Shi Kai shook his head, "I don’t know. Ever since my parents died, the villagers chased me out. I’ve been begging in Chang’an for the past few days, hoping to find an official to appeal for my parents. But those aristocrats either avoid me or shove me away; nobody is willing to help. Later, someone told me to seek out General Luo, which is why I came here."

"If that’s the case, then let’s start our investigation from this point of doubt. Even those Si Tulu monks wouldn’t dare to commit murder; there must be some trickery involved."

With Shi Kai leading the way, the two of you stealthily arrived at an antique-looking Buddhist temple. From its exterior, the temple resembled an estate, the kind that only aristocrats could afford to live in. There were also many wooden pieces placed outside the temple, and about ten workers were laboring away. With Shi Kai in tow, you approached a carpenter who was polishing timber and inquired tentatively, "Uncle, what are you all working on here?"

The carpenter glanced at you and then gestured with his mouth towards a pagoda being constructed within the estate, "Over there, the high monks of Huichang Temple are building a pagoda. We’re accumulating merit here."

"Uh, for free?"

At the mention of money, a look of helplessness clearly spread across the craftsman’s face. He sighed and said, "Who dares to mention money here..."

"Oh, looks like those monks are really quite overbearing."

"Shush, please don’t speak so rashly; Buddha in Heaven might hear you."

"Pfft!" You rolled your eyes and then continued to inquire among several other people. Very quickly, you concluded: these artisans had been forcibly brought in to work – the temple provided food but no wages.

"Well, well, marvelously well indeed," you muttered with a smile, then got ready to enter the temple alongside Shi Kai.

"Make way there, young man!" At that moment, sounds of hoofbeats came from behind, and you turned to see an opulent coach approaching you.

"Is this road built by your family, young master? I just won’t let you pass!" Your hefty figure moved to stand in the middle of the road, immediately blocking the entire smooth path.

The coachman had no choice but to stop, and then a delicate figure poked out from the carriage. That person had fair skin, bright eyes with curved willow-leaf eyebrows above them, and a small, enticing, moist mouth, dainty and cute. You felt that this person looked vaguely familiar when, unexpectedly, the one in the carriage cursed out loud, "Luo Family’s dead fatso, why are you blocking, blocking my way?"

At first, you thought the one inside the carriage was a refined little shota, but it turned out to be a girl dressing as a boy, a Lolita. This girl must have been spoiled from a young age, speaking with a bossy air that was quite uncomfortable to hear.

"Hey, you even recognize this young master. What’s the matter, is this road built by your family, are these trees planted by your family? Why should I make way for you, why can’t you make way for me instead? Hmph!" You turned around, leaving your plump rear end to the little Lolita.

"You, you! You’re making me so mad! Coachman, ram into him, it’d be best if you cripple that dead fatty!"

"Aiya, you’re rather ruthless for a little girl. Hey, Brother is in a good mood today, I’ll let you go first. However, I’ll leave you with a poem, you can take it back to your room and display it."

"Tch! You can write poetry? Fine, if you can make a passable poem, I’ll let you go first, then have your poem copied and keep it in my room from now on." The little Lolita’s words revealed a deep distrust, she secretly thought that with your ability, making a doggerel would be quite an accomplishment.

"Hehe, listen up. ’Green bamboo snake mouth, yellow wasp tail needle. Both can cause harm, but the most venomous is a woman’s heart.’"

When she heard the first two lines, the little Lolita laughed at you, but after the entire poem was finished, her face flushed red with anger as she pointed at you, "You, you, you..."

"What about ’you’, and what about ’me,’ hehe, little girl, take it back and display it. When you marry someone, bring it along. However, I think there probably isn’t any such fool who would dare to marry you. It seems you came to the Buddhist temple by mistake today; you should have gone to the nunnery, haha, ohoho."

In this world, unlike before, you indeed had the mentality of playing a game; thus, you became much more capricious in your actions, feeling a complete release of your natural instincts.

The horrifying laughter caused even the nearby carpenters to develop goosebumps, yet you remained clueless, striding arrogantly into Huichang Temple.

Perhaps the affairs of Huichang Temple were too numerous today, as even the gatekeeping monk was missing. You and Shi Kai leisurely strolled around the temple grounds.

First, you went to the high tower that was under construction and inquired the workers about their situation. The conclusion was the same as what you had deduced outside the temple: these craftsmen were forcefully brought here, and if they did not comply, the monks would intimidate them with reasons such as showing disrespect to Buddha, surely leading to the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the future.

After gathering enough information, you prepared to leave, quite satisfied.

"Benefactor, please wait a moment," a Little Sami called out to you just then.

"What’s the matter? Don’t you know this young master is very busy? I make tens of millions of taels of silver every quarter of an hour. Can you afford to waste my time?"

The Little Sami seemed accustomed to dealing with those who throw their weight around; he was not frightened by your words and instead bowed respectfully, "Amitabha, Benefactor, my master invites you to his quarters for a talk."

"Your master? Who is that?"