Jinzhou City, Southern City.
Liang Sheng looked at the man and woman in the room, feeling somewhat ashamed and angry. He almost became a scapegoat, but luckily, nothing happened that catered to his dirty thoughts.
"Flower Mother, you have suffered all these years."
The monk's voice was full of magnetism, and the woman called Flower Mother shook her head, "Master, I am not suffering at all. It is an honor to serve the church. Even if I die, I have no regrets."
Flower Mother then took out a large pile of silver notes from her close-fitting underwear and handed them to the monk, "Master, the old man only gave me this much money when he died. It was a waste for me to serve him all these years."
The monk took the silver notes, flipped through them casually, and estimated that there were about twenty thousand silvers. But for ordinary people, this was already a huge sum.
"Flower Mother, there is no need to blame yourself. This is not your fault. You have already done a great job. It's just that Liang Qiang was too cunning and didn't leave the inheritance to you.
Moreover, these twenty thousand silvers are already a large sum of money, which will greatly help the development of the church. Your efforts over the years have not been wasted."
Listening to this, Flower Mother's face was filled with excitement, "I swear to dedicate my life to the Virgin Mary until my death."
"By the way, did Liang Qiang tell you anything else before he died other than giving you money?"
Liang Sheng, who was hiding on the roof outside the house, thought to himself, "Did Second Uncle reveal anything to this woman?"
At the next moment, Liang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief because Flower Mother shook her head directly, "He didn't say anything.
He even hid his identity from me, saying that he was an ordinary businessman, but he didn't know that I already knew about his background."
Upon hearing this, the monk couldn't help but feel disappointed, but he soon adjusted his mood, "If that's the case, then you don't need to stay in Jinzhou City anymore. The church has other tasks for you."
"Alright, where should I go next, and what should I do? I will definitely carry out the church's trust in me."
At this moment, the monk suddenly looked towards the inner room. Flower Mother immediately understood his meaning, "Master, now that Liang Qiang is dead, this little beggar girl is useless. To prevent the leakage of information, she can only ascend to paradise early."
Flower Mother then entered the room, and with a direct palm strike on the little girl's temple, the little girl died instantly.
Next, the monk took out a jade bottle and sprinkled its contents onto the body. Liang Sheng knew what it was at a glance.
Corpse Dissolving Powder.
As expected, within a short while, the little girl's body completely vanished. After the two checked that no traces were left behind, they went their separate ways.
Flower Mother headed out of the city, while the monk walked towards Liang Qiang's mansion, as he still had to continue performing the funeral rites for Liang Qiang the next day.
It took a long while before there was no movement in the area, and Liang Sheng finally, with a frown, looked at the room where the little girl's body had vanished before sneaking away.
He had already remembered the monk's name, but his secret actions made him suspect that Jinshan Temple might indeed have a big secret.
Also, words such as 'early ascension to paradise' and 'church' mentioned by Flower Mother made Liang Sheng secretly vigilant. What exactly were they plotting?
...
Spring went, and autumn came, another ten years passed.
Jinzhou City had been extremely peaceful these ten years. After that night, there had been no movement from Jinshan Temple. Liang Sheng seemed to have just had a dream, and Flower Mother had never appeared again.
At this time, Liang Sheng was already showing some signs of aging. He was 47 years old and, for a commoner in this era, that meant being surrounded by children and grandchildren.
After Liang Qiang had inadvertently spoken about his youthful appearance, he managed to gradually control his facial appearance in the span of ten years.
During these ten years, since both the Golden Dragon Technique and Health Cultivation Method had reached the same level as his own realm, his cultivation progress was extremely slow despite having the Unmoving Ming King Seal. Therefore, he didn't break through to the Post-Natal "Eighth" Level.
...
Night.
Yichun Building.
A gorgeous lady nestled in Liang Sheng's arms, her face filled with affection, "Master, why don't you take me back to serve you? You've made me worry."
"Oh?"
Liang Sheng looked at the girl in his arms, then turned his head and shouted at the door, "Spring Lady..."
The girl's eyes flickered with delight upon hearing this. As soon as Madame Spring Lady approached, Liang Sheng pushed the girl out of his arms.
"Bring me another one..."
"Huh?"
The girl didn't have time to react before two burly men roughly dragged her out of the room, following Spring Lady.
Immediately, another little girl was sent in, and Liang Sheng's hand naturally reached out to touch her. Spring Lady carefully retreated from the room and closed the door.
"Train this girl well in the next few days, so she'll know better in the future..."
Having said that, Spring Lady didn't give another look to the already collapsed girl on the floor, whose mouth was gagged by a sour cloth. She couldn't help but sneer in her heart - did they really think Liang Family's "trash" was a truly devoted lover?
The next day, when Liang Sheng emerged from Yichun Building in high spirits, some onlookers couldn't help but snicker.
This Liang Family's trash, without a strong cultivation on his body and engaging in such debauchery, was likely walking in Liang Qiang's footsteps. However, no one dared to mock openly.
After all, regardless of how useless Liang Sheng was, he was still of the Liang surname. At this time in Jinzhou City, apart from the County Government Office, the two wealthy families, Liang and Wu, dominated everything else.
As for the government, it was too far removed from ordinary people; the influence of the Liang and Wu Families was much more palpable than that of the distant officials.
"My lord!"
Ma San's body had become more hunched than before, but he was still supporting Liang Sheng into the horse carriage, leisurely heading to the tavern.
When they arrived at the tavern, the regular patrons had become familiar with Liang Sheng. They greeted him one after another, some even joking with him.
"Boss Sheng, you still go to Yichun Building with that physique of yours?"
As these words came out, the whole room burst into laughter.
Liang Sheng didn't mind, "My body is quite robust, you don't need to worry about me. But you old drunkards, you should take it easy."
The atmosphere in the tavern grew even more lively, and Liang Sheng didn't hold back. He sat right down at an empty table.
"I'm just going to have a drink. No one has any objections, right?"
No one cared, and the patrons welcomed him delightedly. Everyone knew that Boss Sheng never let his customers lose out; they'd probably be getting free drinks today.
Liang Sheng was happy to be part of their merriment. Just as they were enjoying themselves, a clamor from outside disturbed the scene, attracting plenty of onlookers from the street.
"Seems like someone's dead again. Who knows who's bold enough to stir up trouble in Jinzhou City? Don't they fear death?"
The patrons were indignant. Anyone who could regularly come to Shengde Building for a drink must have a small fortune, after all.
They enjoyed their wealth and naturally didn't want any variables in their lives, which made them even more resentful.
At that moment, Zheng Wanchun strode in, and Liang Sheng hurriedly got up to greet him, wearing a smile.
"Sheriff Zheng, is it business as usual?"
Zheng Wanchun shook his head, "I won't be drinking today."
With that, he walked to the center of the tavern, glanced at the patrons, and the guests upstairs all turned their attention to him.
"Gentlemen, in the past few days, a series of murders have been committed outside the city. The victims were all from wealthy families. Everyone should be more careful in the future and try not to leave the city.
Last night, there was a massacre of fifty individuals from Bai Family Village outside the city. The murderer is extremely ruthless.
If any of you hear something or get any leads, please inform the County Government Office as soon as possible."
As soon as these words fell, the entire tavern started whispering amongst themselves. Zheng Wanchun paid them no mind and walked over to Liang Sheng.
"Boss Sheng, last night, a constable was also killed in the city. But the County Lord ordered me to maintain order in the city, so you'd better not go out at night."
Liang Sheng nodded quickly, not inquiring about the specifics, but merely indicating that he would be careful and cautious.
Even Zheng Wanchun was concerned, it seemed that something really serious had happened...