eurekapd Chapter 341 The Moon Goddess Cult? They're nothing but a bunch of remnants!
Chapter 341 The Moon Goddess Cult? They're nothing but a bunch of remnants!
Qin Mu said nothing more, stepped into the back of the hall, and his moon-white figure disappeared behind the screen.
The courtiers stood motionless in the hall, gazing at the empty hall door and the golden morning light streaming in from outside. No one moved for a long time.
Li Si exhaled a long breath, which squeezed out of his chest, carrying a scalding, burning heat that had been suppressed for too long, condensing into a faint white mist in the morning light.
He turned around and walked step by step toward the palace gate.
The pace was slow and steady, like someone who had walked a long way in the dark and finally saw the lights in the distance. No longer in a hurry, they walked slowly and steadily.
Wang Ben followed behind him, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
His face was expressionless, but something gleamed faintly in his tiger-like eyes.
Zhou Bingwen walked at the very back, head down, looking at his toes.
His hands clenched slightly inside his sleeves, then relaxed, then clenched again, then relaxed again.
No one knows what he is thinking at this moment.
Chen Yanjing stood there, gazing in the direction where Qin Mu had disappeared, for a long time.
The heavy, suppressed worry on his aged face had not completely faded.
But beneath that worry, something was gradually brightening, like the sun hidden behind dark clouds, finally revealing a sliver of light.
He turned around and walked towards the palace gate.
His steps were quick and hurried, as if something was urging him on.
He must return as soon as possible, investigate the matter of the Moon Goddess Cult thoroughly, and bring those wicked people who bewitch others and leech off the people to justice.
He cannot betray His Majesty's trust.
After the court session, Qin Mu did not return to the inner palace, but went straight to the imperial study.
The Imperial Study is located on the east side of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and is a separate two-story building.
Several green bamboos grow in front of the building, most of their leaves have fallen, and the few remaining leaves rustle in the morning breeze, like someone whispering.
Above the door hangs a plaque with the three characters "Imperial Study" written by the late emperor. The strokes are vigorous, yet they convey an indescribable weariness.
The moment Qin Mu pushed open the door, a wave of accumulated dust hit him.
He frowned slightly, stood at the door for a moment, and waited for the aura to dissipate before stepping inside.
The Imperial Study was very large.
Three walls are lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the rosewood shelves carved with intricate cloud patterns, the lacquer already somewhat mottled, revealing the dark brown wood grain underneath.
The books on the bookshelf were not arranged neatly; some were upright, some were horizontal, and some were even leaning against the spines of the books next to them, as if they had been flipped through and then casually stuffed in, and no one had ever tidied them up again.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting interplay of light and shadow on the spines of the books, clearly illuminating the dust covering them.
The dust was fine and dense, like a thin layer of frost, settling on the top of every book, on every crossbeam of the bookshelf, on the large rosewood desk, and in the inkstone that had long since dried up.
Qin Mu walked behind the desk and sat down.
The desk was so large that an entire map could be laid out on it.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the rows of bookshelves.
His fingers tapped lightly twice on the desk, "tap, tap," the sound echoing in the empty study, like a pebble falling into a deep pool, without causing any response.
He stood up and walked to the bookshelf.
The books on the bookshelf are categorized into different subjects: astronomy, geography, calendar, agriculture, military strategy, and history, with each category occupying an entire wall.
Qin Mu's gaze swept over the labels and finally settled on the top shelf of the "History and Records" section.
There was a row of scrolls wrapped in yellow silk, the silk had faded and the edges were worn and frayed, revealing the dark yellow silk inside.
Those were secret archives compiled by historians throughout the Qin Dynasty, recording past events that were not convenient to be made public in the imperial court.
It's not official history, but those things that have been erased by official history, things that shouldn't be known to future generations, yet things that someone must remember.
Qin Mu raised his hand and took a scroll from the top layer.
The ribbons of the yellow silk were rotten and broke at the slightest touch, leaving fragments on his moon-white sleeves with faint yellow marks.
He placed the scroll on the desk and slowly unrolled it.
The silk was very thin and brittle, with some curled edges, requiring a paperweight to hold it down so that the writing on it could be seen clearly.
The characters are in tiny regular script, the ink has turned somewhat gray, but the strokes are still clear, each stroke carrying the rigor and restraint unique to historians.
"In the autumn of the twelfth year of Emperor Zhao of Qin, a demonic cult caused chaos on the southwestern border, calling itself the 'Taiyin Holy Cult.' This cult revered the Taiyin Star Lord and used the doctrine of 'attaining enlightenment through moon worship and physical ascension' to bewitch the people. The cult leader called himself the 'Taiyin True Lord,' and under him were four great protectors, positioned in the southeast, northwest, and southwest, each in charge of a region's followers..."
Qin Mu's gaze lingered on those lines of text for a moment, his fingers lightly tracing across the silk.
The Taiyin Holy Sect is not the Moon Goddess Sect.
However, the four characters "worshiping the moon to attain enlightenment" are exactly the same as the Moon God Sect's "those who believe in the moon god will attain eternal life" as presented by Chen Yanjing today.
Same routine, same rhetoric, same seductive tricks.
They changed the name and the leader, but the underlying structure remained exactly the same.
He continued reading.
"The four guardians are the Eastern Guardian 'Azure Wood,' the Western Guardian 'White Water,' the Southern Guardian 'Crimson Fire,' and the Northern Guardian 'Mysterious Earth.' All four are powerful cultivators at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, with the Northern Guardian 'Mysterious Earth' being the most outstanding. It is said that he has already stepped one foot into the realm of a terrestrial immortal. At its peak, the Taiyin Holy Sect had followers spread across the three prefectures and sixteen counties of the southwest, reaching a population of one hundred thousand. The sect had thirty-six altars, each guarded by a guardian disciple. Its power was comparable to that of a regional warlord."
Qin Mu's brow twitched slightly.
The four guardians are three at the Celestial Realm and one at the Half-Step Land Immortal level.
One hundred thousand believers, thirty-six altars.
Such a force, in any dynasty, would be a scourge capable of shaking the very foundations of the nation.
The twelfth year of Emperor Zhaozong of Qin was only a century ago.
His finger paused on the words "half-step terrestrial immortal".
Such a powerful figure existed a hundred years ago, yet a hundred years later, the history books of the Qin Dynasty contain almost no record of this annihilation.
He recalled the barely suppressed fear on the faces of the court officials when Chen Yanjing mentioned the Moon Goddess Sect earlier that day.
It wasn't fear of a newly emerging cult; it was an ingrained, generation-passed, instinctive fear of something.
They weren't afraid of the Moon Goddess Cult; they were afraid of the Taiyin Holy Cult, the behemoth that nearly dragged the Great Qin Dynasty into the abyss a hundred years ago.
It's back, with a new look and a new name, but it's still the same thing.
Qin Mu continued reading.
The latter half of the silk scroll records the process of the imperial court's suppression of the Taiyin Holy Sect. The handwriting is much more sloppy than the first half, and some parts have even been erased with ink, showing the hesitation and struggle of the historian when writing this history.
In the spring of the fourteenth year of Emperor Zhao's reign, the imperial court dispatched 50,000 troops, led by General Zhao Kuo, to suppress the Taiyin Holy Sect. However, the sect's sorcery was bizarre and the government army suffered repeated defeats, incurring heavy losses. Zhao Kuo was killed in battle, along with 37 other soldiers, including his deputy general, and more than 10,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. Emperor Zhao was furious and dispatched another 80,000 troops, led by General Zhou Yafu, to encircle and suppress the sect with the full force of the nation.
"In the autumn of the fifteenth year of Emperor Zhao's reign, the government army captured the main altar of the Taiyin Holy Sect. The Taiyin True Lord committed suicide by self-immolation, and three of the four great protectors were executed, except for the Northern Protector 'Xuan Tu,' whose whereabouts remain unknown. The followers were either killed or captured, and the altars were completely destroyed. This battle lasted two years, with more than 30,000 government troops killed or wounded, and countless civilians perished. On the southwestern border, white bones lay exposed in the wilderness, and for a thousand miles, not a rooster crowed."
Qin Mu's gaze lingered on the line "The Northern Protector 'Xuan Tu' is nowhere to be found" for a long time.
Whereabouts unknown.
A hundred years ago, they disappeared without a trace; a hundred years later, the Moon Goddess Cult has resurfaced in the same place.
What happened to the Taiyin Holy Sect, the Moon Goddess Sect, the moon worship, and the four guardian deities? He didn't know.
But he knew that there weren't that many coincidences in the world.
If the Northern Protector who escaped a hundred years ago were still alive, what realm would he be at now?
Above the level of a half-step terrestrial immortal, what else could it be?
He didn't think any further.
He slowly rolled up the silk and put it back on the bookshelf.
Then he took down another scroll, unfolded it, took down another scroll, and unfolded it again.
Volume after volume, he perused all the records related to the Taiyin Holy Sect, piecing together the fragments scattered across different scrolls bit by bit.
The origins of the Taiyin Holy Sect are unknown.
It seemed to have sprung up from the ground and took root in the southwestern border region overnight.
No one knows who the leader is, no one knows where the four protectors came from, and no one knows how they learned those bewitching sorcery techniques.
Historians used many words like "it is said," "rumored," and "or so it is said" in their records. Each word is a scar, and each scar says—we don't know.
All we know is that it came, all we know is that it is very strong, and all we know is that the Qin Dynasty shed enough blood to destroy it.
Qin Mu put the last volume back on the bookshelf and sat down at his desk.
The sunlight had moved from one end of the window to the other, spreading a pale golden, narrow patch of light across the floor.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and the fragments in his mind were gradually piecing together to form a complete and shocking picture.
A hundred years ago, the Taiyin Holy Sect.
A century later, the Moon Goddess Cult.
The same moon worship, the same seduction of people's hearts, all happening in the southwestern border region.
The difference is that a hundred years ago, the imperial court took two years and paid the price of more than 30,000 soldiers to wipe it out.
And now, it's back.
It thought that by changing its name, no one would recognize it anymore.
It thought that after a hundred years, the Qin Dynasty had forgotten that bloodshed.
It assumed that everyone in the court had forgotten the pain once the wounds had healed.
Qin Mu opened his eyes.
In those deep eyes, there was no languor, no smile, only a cold, deep light, like a thousand-year-old icy pool.
The light was very still, as still as the sky before a storm, with dark clouds hanging low, almost touching the ground, the air stagnant, and not even the wind daring to blow.
He thought of the soldiers who died in battle a hundred years ago, more than 30,000 lives.
He thought of the people who were displaced by the war, their bones exposed in the wilderness, and for miles there not a rooster crowing.
He thought of the Northern Protector who had disappeared without a trace. If he was still alive, if he was still hiding in some corner, like a venomous snake that had been dormant for a hundred years, waiting for the Qin Dynasty to be at its weakest, so that he could take another bite.
A slow smile curved Qin Mu's lips.
He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
Sunlight streamed in, illuminating his face and making his handsome features exceptionally clear.
His gaze passed over the palace walls, over the imperial city, and over the layers of palace rooftops, looking towards the southwest.
You can't see anything there, just a boundless, transparent blue sky.
But he knew that at the edge of that sky, in those vast mountains, something was lurking in the shadows, like a snake whose tail had been stepped on, coiled up, waiting, and when it thought it was safe, it would bite again.
"After the wedding, I'll have to deal with this religious sect properly."
He spoke very softly and casually, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.
But beneath that nonchalant exterior lies a chilling edge.
Outside the window, the bamboo leaves were still rustling, and the sunlight was still slowly shifting; nothing in the Imperial Study had changed.
Only in those deep eyes was something burning, like magma surging deep underground, burning quietly, silently, and irresistibly.
He turned around, walked back to his desk, took the small wolf-hair brush from the brush holder, dipped it in ink, and wrote a line on the Xuan paper: "Moon Goddess Cult, remnants of the Taiyin Holy Cult. Investigate the whereabouts of the Northern Protector 'Xuan Tu'."
Before the ink was dry, he folded the Xuan paper, put it into an envelope, sealed the opening with sealing wax, and stamped it with his personal seal.
Then he summoned Yunluan and gave her the letter.
"Send it to Chen Yanjing and have him investigate in this direction."
Yunluan took the letter, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment.
She saw the lingering coldness in his eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't say anything, just nodded, turned around, and disappeared out the door.
Qin Mu stood by the window, his hands behind his back.
The sunlight shone on him, making his moon-white figure stand out clearly.
He gazed southwest, at the clear blue sky, and the cold light in his eyes gradually faded, like a knife being sheathed.
But the knife is still there, the blade is still there, and its sharpness is still there.
It lay quietly in its sheath, waiting for someone to pull it out.