When Zhuyan awoke, she smelled a strong scent of sandalwood in the room. Unlike the usual faint, calming aroma, this sandalwood was overpowering and unpleasant. The intense fragrance made her dizzy and nauseous.
A strange, cackling laughter echoed through the room. Zhuyan followed the sound with her eyes and immediately sprang up, rushing towards it. Lai Luozhi struck her, causing her to fall, but she still managed to call out:
“Mother, Mother, wake up!”
Madam Jin lay motionless with her eyes tightly shut inside a large, square-shaped glass coffin. The wooden frame was carved with moth patterns, and candles burned brightly around it. On the other side of the glass coffin stood an altar, different from the one behind Ji Dafu’s gambling den. This altar had fluttering flags above it and a bronze cauldron below. Instead of incense, the cauldron contained human hearts preserved like candied fruit. Around the cauldron were grooves arranged according to the Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, and Four Symbols, filled with dark red, cracked blood scabs.
Moth symbols surrounded the altar, and at the forefront stood a statue with a human body and a moth’s head.
No wonder she had detected the scent of blood beneath the sandalwood when she woke up.
Zhuyan realized that Madam Jin wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. As she looked closer, she was shocked to see that the light refracting through the glass coffin came from honey.
The glass coffin was filled with honey.
Were they planning to preserve Madam Jin’s body like the candied hearts? Could it be that she was already…
“Lai Luozhi, did you kill my mother?!” Zhuyan demanded.
Lai Luozhi laughed loudly. “How could that be possible? If I killed her before eating, how could I nurture your mother’s womb and create another you?”
What?
Zhuyan felt sick to her stomach but was slightly relieved to know her mother was still alive. “Creating life must follow the laws of nature. You’re delusional.”
“Silence!” Lai Luozhi raged, his pale skin barely flushing even in anger. “Why not? As long as I offer your heart to the Moth God and eat the flesh from your mother’s heart, I can nurture your mother’s womb and create you.”
This man had gone mad; he had become a man-eating demon.
Zhuyan laughed coldly, deliberately provoking Lai Luozhi. “You use Buddhist incense to cover the stench of death on you. Buddhism preaches compassion and karmic cycles, yet you commit demonic acts in a Buddhist sanctuary. How does human flesh taste? If it’s so delicious, why don’t you eat your own?”
Lai Luozhi saw through her intention and pointed a sharp knife at Madam Jin, cackling sinisterly. “The moment I saw you, I knew you were blessed with extraordinary fortune. I had someone check your birth date and time, and it was confirmed. You are the chosen one I’ve been seeking. With you, my great undertaking will be complete.”
Worried for Madam Jin, Zhuyan pleaded, “If you’ve chosen me, then kill me and spare my mother. I’ll take her place.”
A tear rolled down Madam Jin’s cheek.
Reminded of his goal, Lai Luozhi approached Zhuyan with the knife. With her hands bound, Zhuyan could only retreat until she was backed against the altar with nowhere to go.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and chunks of earth and stone fell from above. With a thunderous crash, an opening appeared in the western wall, revealing Shen Du’s towering figure.
Lai Luozhi reacted quickly, pushing Zhuyan in front of him and pressing the knife against her neck. “No one can stop me. I must complete my ritual. If anyone dares to approach, I’ll kill her.”
He dragged Zhuyan to the bronze cauldron, aiming the knife at her heart. As he tore through her clothes, he encountered an obstacle and exclaimed in surprise, “What’s this?”
In that split second, Xu Xiangren and Jing Lin snuck in from both sides, pouncing on Lai Luozhi and forcing him to release Zhuyan as they grappled with him.
Shen Du leaped forward, scooping up Zhuyan and carrying her to the exit. He set her down at a safe distance, his heart racing as he anxiously examined the area over her heart. There, he saw a bronze whistle peeking through her torn clothes – the very one he had given her.
Feeling relieved, he instructed, “Wait here, and don’t wander off.”
Shen Du returned to join the fight, and together with Jing Lin and Xu Xiangren, they quickly subdued Lai Luozhi.
As the underground palace showed signs of collapse, they carried Madam Jin out and escorted the captured Lai Luozhi. No sooner had the underground structure caved in than numerous people wearing clothes marked with moth symbols and half-face masks emerged from the shadows, rushing towards them.
Shen Du let out a cold snort, shielding Zhuyan behind him before whistling sharply.
Hearing the signal, his guards swiftly arrived and engaged the Moth Cult members in battle.
The Buddhist sanctuary, peaceful for centuries, now echoed with the sounds of clashing weapons and spilled blood – a bitter irony.
Lai Luozhi shouted, “I demand an imperial audience! Don’t think you’re the only one who can do this! This is a frame-up, a false accusation! I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Empress!”
Shen Du, already furious that Lai Luozhi had nearly stabbed Zhuyan in the heart, lost his patience upon hearing these outbursts. He punched Lai Luozhi in the stomach, forcing out the contents of his belly, then followed with several more blows before his anger subsided.
“Take him away,” he ordered.
Jing Lin efficiently removed Lai Luozhi’s shoes and socks, using the latter to gag him. Suddenly, all was quiet.
Shen Du approached Zhuyan, hesitating before carefully reaching for her hand. Zhuyan’s sharp glance stopped him in his tracks, and he could only sheepishly rub his nose and say softly, “Let’s get on the horse. I’ll take you back to be examined by the imperial physician.”
Zhuyan gave him a cold look before turning away. She snatched Jing Lin’s horsewhip and reins, mounted the horse in one fluid motion, and galloped off.
Jing Lin stared at his empty hands in bewilderment.
Shen Du, his eyes cold and rigid, mounted his horse and followed Zhuyan. As Shen Du prepared to leave, Jing Lin hurried over. “Chief, I don’t have a horse. May I ride with you?”
“Hiya!” Shen Du ignored him and rode off in pursuit of Zhuyan.
Jing Lin’s face fell. What had he done to deserve this?
Fortunately, Xu Xiangren kindly offered to take Jing Lin along. As they rode, Jing Lin complained incessantly, annoying Xu Xiangren. However, Xu Xiangren did learn that Zhuyan was angry with Shen Du, mainly because of the divorce issue.
“But the divorce was just for show, wasn’t it? I think the lady dislikes the Chief because of his current unsightly appearance,” Jing Lin speculated. Then, glancing at Xu Xiangren, he added, “It couldn’t be that the lady has taken a liking to you, could it?”
Xu Xiangren, now handsome after shaving his beard, thought to himself: What does this have to do with me? He’s been divorced three times already. How could Zhuyan be interested in him?
“Shut up!” he said aloud.
“Are you feeling guilty?” Jing Lin pressed.
“I said, shut up.”
The next day, Lai Luozhi’s execution was carried out, with the public allowed to observe. Before the execution, Chief Minister Tang of the Court of Judicial Review read out the list of Lai Luozhi’s crimes.
The charges included framing loyal officials, abducting women, embezzling public funds, using the temple as his money-making venture, practicing evil sorcery and taking lives indiscriminately, and even plotting rebellion, among other offenses.
Lai Luozhi had long been despised by the common people, and this announcement ignited their fury. Not content with merely cursing him, they refused to let the executioner carry out the sentence. Instead, they beat Lai Luozhi to within an inch of his life. Someone brought out the large urn that Lai Luozhi always carried with him, and they threw him inside. They set up a fire beneath the urn, filled it with tung oil, and set it ablaze.
“You ignorant fools! You should arrest Shen Du! He’s the real criminal!” Lai Luozhi shouted.
“Take me to see the Empress! I demand to see the Empress!”
The crowd paid no attention to his cries, joining hands and singing to bid Lai Luozhi farewell.
“The Black King of Hell dies, and the common people live!”
As the flames consumed him, Lai Luozhi let out a final, desperate howl.
“A moth to the flame. Brother Xu, you’re truly righteous, helping Lai Luozhi fulfill his wish,” Zhuyan remarked, her eyes bright as she watched the agitated crowd in the distance. Among them were many local constables, who had been the ones calling for Lai Luozhi to be burned alive.
Xu Xiangren chuckled lightly. “It wasn’t me. It was Shen Du. He knew you would come to watch Lai Luozhi’s execution, so he had people bring the ‘please enter the urn’ torture device for you to enjoy the spectacle.”
“Please enter the urn” – how fitting a punishment.
“The moth’s flight into the flame was but a fleeting dream in the end.”
After Lai Luozhi’s death, the people’s anger was not yet sated. They cut his charred corpse down to the bone and threw the remains into the fire, reducing them to ashes.