Second Master Fan was far more impatient than Prince Consort Ye Jingkuan. The Prince Consort at least had to deal with his own younger brother, so even if impatient, he had to endure it somewhat. But Second Master Fan was dealing with his own servants, so naturally he could beat them however he pleased. In a moment of indignation, he even slapped Fan San across the face. He stood at the door with his neck stretched out, glaring at Fan San who blocked the entrance, so angry he nearly vomited blood: “Your Second Master just wants to go out for a bit, yet you block me like this—what exactly do you mean by this? Are you the master or am I the master? Should I listen to you or should you listen to me?!”

He had been stuck in this temple for over three days now. Not even seeing a single female mosquito was one thing—gritting his teeth, he could still endure that. But when it came to food, he absolutely could not tolerate it. Day after day of vegetables and tofu—he was practically turning into vegetables and tofu himself. He only wanted to go down the mountain to improve his meals. First, he wasn’t causing trouble; second, he wasn’t going to Yangquan. He just wanted to eat some game at the foot of the mountain. Yet even this was firmly blocked by Fan San and his men who kept him trapped in the temple. This was simply too suffocating!

Fan San finally understood why the family had sent a few more people to watch over Second Master Fan. Covering one side of his face, he couldn’t help but curse several foul words in his heart. The look he gave Second Master Fan carried a hint of disdain—if this matter had been entrusted to the eldest master or third master, it would have succeeded long ago. It would have succeeded on the first try. Where would there be any need for a second attempt? Now, with great difficulty finding someone to help, without Second Master Fan needing to lift a finger himself, he only needed to endure for a while and could claim great merit before the Imperial Concubine. Yet Second Master Fan stubbornly insisted on courting death, as if afraid he couldn’t get himself killed, and even wanted to go down the mountain to play.

He sighed helplessly, leading his men to block the way firmly—though he also wanted to see Second Master Fan suffer misfortune after the matter failed, he knew that if things didn’t succeed, the most unfortunate one would still be him, the servant who followed along. He could only patiently coax Second Master Fan as if coaxing an ancestor: “It’s truly not that this humble one dares to make decisions for you, Second Master. The family has strict orders that you must listen to the masters in all things. Since the masters have said you’re not permitted to descend the mountain, Second Master, please just endure it. In any case, it’s at most just a matter of enduring these few days.” Seeing Second Master Fan’s eyes widen as if about to explode again, he quickly smoothed his ruffled feathers: “If Second Master truly cannot stomach the temple food, this humble one will instruct those below to hunt some game—whether rabbits or birds, we’ll definitely get you some meat. What do you say?”

What nonsense! This was simply bullying taken too far. Second Master Fan was so angry his beard bristled and his eyes bulged. He kicked Fan San’s knee hollow, seized an opening, and quickly scrambled toward the door to exit, cursing as he went: “Go to hell! What’s the point of this master eating that tasteless, flavorless game? This master wants to go down the mountain to find a proper chef!”

Fan San scrambled up from the ground in a flash, enduring the pain and resentment as he stamped his foot and called for people: “Are you all dead?! If Second Master goes down the mountain today and something happens, none of us will live to tell the tale!”

Only then did the people around finally react, stumbling over each other as they surged forward, finally managing to restrain Second Master Fan.

Fan San endured his anger as he stepped forward to face Second Master Fan, and finally couldn’t hold back: “If Second Master continues to cause such reckless trouble, this humble one will have no choice but to write home. It’s not that this humble one dares to boldly obstruct you—it’s truly that there are many matters outside, with Imperial Guards everywhere. If they were to see you, Second Master, have you thought about the consequences? If something truly happened, not only would you be unable to explain to the family, losing face before the eldest master and third master, but first and foremost, Imperial Concubine would not spare you. Second Master, even if it’s for the sake of Madam and the Master, please try to endure a bit longer. In any case, it’s just a matter of these few days. Am I right?”

What “just these few days”? Second Master Fan was about to jump up when he saw several expressionless people standing before him. He couldn’t help but take a step back—the people before his eyes were not his attendants, nor were they monks. They looked deathly still. Second Master Fan feared such people most. He moved back two steps to stand behind Fan San, poking his head out to ask them: “Who are you people?”

Since they appeared in the temple, they must be temple people. Fan San knew these monks possessed death warriors no less formidable than the Imperial Guards. He guessed correctly right away, quietly turning back to tell Second Master Fan: “These are the heroes under the masters’ command. Second Master, you absolutely must not cause trouble anymore. These people won’t show you the same consideration as people from our household.”

Second Master Fan had also heard of these people’s prowess. After hesitating a while, he finally stopped insisting on going down the mountain. He pushed Fan San: “Go ask them what they want.”

Not a single person spoke. Second Master Fan was so frightened his heart and liver trembled. Yet he also felt he couldn’t save face. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the large monk who always followed at Sannan’s side walk over and perform a Buddhist salute with joined palms.

Fan San hurriedly returned the Buddhist courtesy, looking with puzzlement at the group of people behind the large monk: “Master, are you sending these heroes down the mountain?”

The large monk shook his head: “It’s because you benefactors have been too noisy. This place was formerly just a small temple with only two or three young novices and one abbot. You’ve been making too much commotion. If devotees come to offer incense in the future and hear the disturbance, it won’t be good.”

Second Master Fan’s face showed some embarrassment. He pouted his mouth—capable of hanging an oil flask—and asked: “Are your people reliable or not? It’s been three or four days now. How come there hasn’t been any movement at all? When you spoke before, it sounded so promising, saying there were people on the other side who would soon leak information. But until now, why haven’t I heard any news?”

The large monk showed no anger at all. He smiled and made a gesture of invitation: “This visit is precisely to discuss this matter with the benefactor. News has already arrived. Please come join us to deliberate together.”

Hearing there was news, Second Master Fan immediately became obedient. He wanted to play and escape, but he also knew Fan San’s words made sense. If he dared to bungle this matter, his younger sister, Imperial Concubine Fan, would truly dare to kill him and dispose of his corpse.

He hurriedly followed behind the large monk into the meditation room. Just then, he saw a shadow swiftly drift out from Sannan’s room—truly just a shadow. It was broad daylight, high noon, yet he couldn’t even see the person’s face. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but where was there any human figure? He only saw a lush expanse of pine waves.

Inside the room, Sannan was sitting cross-legged studying a map. Second Master Fan couldn’t wait to squeeze into the room, plopping himself down on a prayer cushion. After staring blankly at the young monk’s bald head for a moment, he asked: “Master, I heard news has come. Has news really come?”

If news didn’t come soon, he would suffocate to death in this place full of bald donkeys.