Chapter 359
Minting
At night, everything is silent.
Zhou Sheng transformed into a flying insect and quietly flew out of the mansion, heading towards the depths of the City of the Wrongfully Dead. At the same time, a new "Zhou Sheng" walked out of the room.
He wore the exact same clothes as Zhou Sheng, and did nothing but stroll around the courtyard, admiring the flowers, looking at the water, and rehearsing his lines.
And they were intentionally or unintentionally exposed to the sight of the maids and servants.
This person was naturally Tan Sheng. Zhou Sheng asked him to help him by pretending to be him for a period of time in order to provide an alibi.
Because tonight, he is very likely to cause quite a stir.
The maids and servants that the Dragon Girl left in this courtyard were both servants and eyes to monitor them, so they could be put to good use.
Tan Sheng tried his best to imitate Zhou Sheng, recalling Boss Long's every move in his mind, and became more and more into the role. With his carefully applied makeup and the cover of the night, he was almost 80 or 90 percent similar to Zhou Sheng.
It would be extremely difficult for anyone other than someone as familiar with Zhou Sheng as Yao Taifeng or Yu Zhensheng to discover the flaw.
hum~
Also under the cover of night, the flying insect that Zhou Sheng had transformed into had already crossed the streets of the City of the Wrongfully Dead and headed in a certain direction.
During the day, when he was looking around, specifically in this direction, the dragon girl immediately warned him.
Moreover, those apathetic wandering spirits also seemed to be heading in that direction.
The city was shrouded in mystery, as if it were trying to cover up some secret. Taking advantage of the Bodhisattva's seclusion, Zhou Sheng naturally had to do his best to find out.
Not long after he flew, he saw some numb, wandering spirits emerging from their homes and heading in a certain direction.
Zhou Sheng then landed on one of the men's shoulders and quietly followed.
A moment later, these wandering spirits arrived at a dry well and lined up to jump in.
The person hiding Zhou Sheng also jumped down. The dry well looked inconspicuous, but it was surprisingly deep, nearly a hundred feet deep.
The well is a network of interconnected underground tunnels.
There were no torches around, but Zhou Sheng felt a scorching heat wave; the temperature down in the well was completely different from that up.
These are all spirits, who prefer shade and dislike heat. Under such a heatwave, they clearly showed signs of restlessness, yet for some reason they still lined up and moved forward.
The underground tunnels were intricate and complex. As they walked, new wandering spirits kept joining them, and the group grew larger and larger.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the view suddenly opened up before us, and a raging heat wave surged forth, as if to roast us alive.
The wandering spirits' faces clearly showed pain, and their steps subconsciously slowed down.
But at that moment, several whips lashed out like lightning, tearing their skin and causing them to scream in agony.
"Don't delay any longer, get to work!"
"Hurry up, or you'll all get fifty lashes if you miss tonight's schedule!"
All around were fierce and malevolent ghost overseers wielding barbed steel whips, herding these wandering spirits like sheep.
They moved faster in fear, skillfully taking their positions and starting to work.
Zhou Sheng watched this scene in shock.
Because what they are doing is minting coins.
In the very center stood a huge furnace, about ten zhang long, burning with raging flames, its crimson walls radiating an astonishing temperature.
Above the furnace, someone was constantly throwing something in, which seemed to be the raw materials for smelting.
Upon closer inspection, Zhou Sheng discovered that what had been thrown into the furnace were actually bronze statues of various sacred deities and Buddhas. Moreover, they were not newly sculpted, but rather statues that had been enshrined in temples for some time, absorbing the power of incense offerings from all living beings, and thus possessing spirituality.
Among them are the Star Gods, the Thunder Marshal, the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave, the Five Elders of the Five Directions, and even the Three Pure Ones.
Of course, even the Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas of Buddhism were not spared.
These deities, once worshipped by all and symbolizing boundless supernatural powers, are now being thrown into the furnace like trash, crumbling and dissolving into magma-like liquid. The incense power contained within the bronze statues is also being dismantled and reforged.
The ghosts were mainly responsible for three things: first, to keep the furnace burning; second, to stand on top of the furnace and throw bronze statues of gods and Buddhas; and third, to pour the molten copper into the mold, and after it cooled and took shape, it would be a copper coin.
The copper coin had a strong incense smell and a lingering warmth.
"Incense money..."
Zhou Sheng silently uttered these three words in his heart, which had already caused a great uproar. He knew that he might have glimpsed the greatest secret of this city of the unjustly dead.
No wonder this place was hidden so well; it turns out that the Bodhisattva had been casting incense money in the City of the Unjustly Dead all along.
No wonder the treasure vault was almost overflowing with incense money, an inexhaustible supply.
Given the Bodhisattva's spiritual attainment, he shouldn't be short of money. So why did he cast so many incense money coins?
Zhou Sheng was a little confused, but he knew that the other party's actions must be brewing a bigger conspiracy.
After confirming that there was no one here who could threaten him, Zhou Sheng quietly approached the prepared incense money.
He inhaled one using his nasal passages.
As the copper coin transformed into wisps of broken incense energy that flowed into his body, he seemed to hear the devout prayers of believers.
"May the God of Literature bless my husband so that he may pass the imperial examination this year..."
Clearly, the incense offering for Wenchang Dijun made up the majority of this incense coin. Perhaps because it was newly made, Zhou Sheng heard it very clearly.
Those bronze statues were indeed extraordinary; they must have come from various temples and Taoist monasteries and had been enshrined there for some time.
Then the problem is coming...
Zhou Sheng's eyes flashed, and a chill ran through him.
How were these bronze statues of gods and Buddhas from all over the world transported to the City of the Unjustly Dead?
The minting of coins was not something that could be done overnight, and with such a huge quantity, the number of bronze statues of gods and Buddhas consumed was countless.
Didn't the temples and Taoist monasteries in various places notice anything at all?
There is probably only one reason: there is an invisible hand orchestrating everything and suppressing all dissenting voices.
In the Great Xuan Dynasty, there was only one place with this ability: the imperial court.
……
A residence within the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
The Dragon Girl appeared quietly, her face showing displeasure, and said indifferently, "We're running out of supplies. Why are there 30% fewer meat tickets than you brought this time?"
The second-in-command of the Baozhou Society said with a wry smile, "We encountered a vicious man on the road and fell into his trap. The ship was almost destroyed. It's already difficult enough that we managed to save 70% of it."
He paused and sighed, "When I passed by Guixu, I caught a young Longbo man, which I intended to offer as a sacrifice to the Bodhisattva, but I never expected to lose it."
The Dragon Girl glanced at him and said coldly, "I told you long ago, don't try to take advantage of the Dragon Lords. If someone is too greedy, they will die on this sooner or later."
"Isn't the business of our City of the Dead enough for you to make?"
The second-in-command gave a sullen smile.
"Alright, you and your men can stay here for the night. Tomorrow, transport that batch of new money out. Also, within ten days, send over another batch of hostages and bronze statues."
“The hostages are easy to deal with; those lowly common people are the least valuable. But isn’t it a bit too hasty to make the bronze statue? It’s been less than three months since the last one. I’m afraid those officials are going to start complaining.”
"complain?"
The Dragon Girl smiled faintly and said, "Then tell them that if any future transactions are canceled, and they experience any problems with their heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, hands, eyes, mouth, nose, or ears, they shouldn't complain of pain."
...(End of this chapter)