Chapter 20: An Ancient Version of a Honey Trap—The More Beautiful the Woman, the Better She Deceives

The butcher Hu was a genuine foodie at heart; otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen the profession of slaughtering pigs and selling meat, which had nurtured him into a man of considerable girth. At his age, many saw a stout figure as a sign of prosperity and wealth, and Hu the butcher took great pride in this, beaming with self-satisfaction.

Now, with wine and meat laid out before him, and having the blessing of his esteemed son-in-law, he found it impossible to hold back. He plopped down right beside the monk, swiftly shedding his jacket, baring his chest and belly, and began to feast ravenously.

From a distance, Fan Jin observed these two men, similar in age and build, their mannerisms in eating and drinking almost identical. He thought to himself, “They truly are kindred spirits; no wonder they became such close friends.”

Only after the two had eaten and drunk their fill did Fan Jin clear his throat softly. “Monk, what exactly did you mean earlier? How did this whole matter come about?” He wondered why, out of the blue, such trouble had arisen, forcing the monk to hide and avoid people day after day.

Wiping the grease from his mouth, Hu the Butcher also looked puzzled. “I’ve dealt with the Zhang family—the eldest branch in town. Though they’re stingy, they’re not unreasonable or tyrannical. Why must they insist on buying the field behind your house?” He added, “Besides, everything should be mutually agreed upon. If you don’t want to sell, how could they force you?”

His tone carried a hint of sympathy for the monk’s plight. Fan Jin secretly rolled his eyes; this thrifty father-in-law had many such schemes. The original story barely touched on this part, but the monk Hui had indeed gotten into legal trouble over the matter. It was only after Fan Jin submitted a petition to the county magistrate that the monk was freed.

Moreover, the temple was never short of monks, so why was the absence of Hui monk such a problem that the ritual could not be performed? Without Zhang the butcher, would they stop eating pork?

Fan Jin privately suspected that Hu the Butcher wanted to leverage his connection to his accomplished son-in-law to help rescue Hui monk.

“It’s not that simple,” the monk Hui tightened his robe and carefully organized his words. “I heard that the Zhang family in town, after listening to some shabby wandering fortune-teller, decided to move the coffin of their late great-grandfather, who died more than twenty years ago. The feng shui master claimed that the field behind my house was prime, blessed land…”

Fan Jin was stunned. This sounded remarkably like the tale of Old Master Ren in the Uncle Nine stories! As the saying goes, ‘When ancestors are upright in their burial, descendants surely prosper.’

Snapping back to reality, Fan Jin pressed, “And then?”

“The tenant of Zhang’s eldest household came to negotiate multiple times, offering to buy the field behind my house at market price,” Hui monk said angrily. “I was utterly unwilling. After being harassed repeatedly, I finally declared that if the Zhang family wanted to buy that field, they must buy my entire house as well!”

This was quite reasonable. Who would want a graveyard right behind their home? If it were for ordinary purposes, the monk Hui might have yielded to goodwill and sold the land. But buying that prime field just to turn it into a burial site was absolutely unacceptable.

Hu the Butcher frowned deeply. The monk Hui held a clerical position and often benefited from various occasions, such as organizing funerals for wealthy families in the county. Over the years, he had both house and land.

After some thought, Hu patted Hui monk’s shoulder and kindly advised, “Brother, from what I know, the Zhang family in town aren’t people to be trifled with. Behind closed doors, they’ve done many unsavory things. If it really can’t be helped, why not sacrifice some money and find another place to settle?”

Hui monk’s face turned bitter as he shook his head. “It’s too late!”

At this point, Hui monk no longer kept things vague and began to recount the harrowing experience from the previous night.

It turned out that the Zhang family, tired of Hui monk’s refusal and determined to seize the field behind his house, lost patience. Encouraged by slanderous whispers from malicious people, they concocted a plan to have Hui monk imprisoned and seize his property in one fell swoop.

The day before, Hui monk had performed a ritual for someone and partaken in some food and wine. Upon returning home, he dozed off in a daze.

Unexpectedly, the door suddenly opened.

A half-aged woman, dressed provocatively, barged in without a word. She untied her sash and pressed herself softly against Hui monk. He felt as if his innards were set ablaze, a rush of energy surging through his body like a raging river.

Before the dazed monk could react properly, seven or eight men burst in, armed with bamboo poles and wooden clubs, their faces fierce.

Seeing the woman and the monk engaged in such an indecent act, the men burst into loud laughter.

In unison, they exclaimed, “What a thrill! Monk and woman together—truly an eye-opener!”

They then moved to seize the pair and take them to the authorities.

The intruders surely didn’t expect Hui monk, though groggy and confused, to have fists as powerful as sandbags. Like the legendary Lu Zhishen uprooting willows, he swiftly knocked down all seven or eight assailants.

In moments, the men lay groaning and rolling on the ground, bruised and battered.

Realizing the trouble he’d caused, Hui monk hastily pulled up his trousers and escaped through a broken window.

Thus began the present predicament.

Fan Jin listened, wide-eyed and speechless, exclaiming, “Good heavens! So this was an ancient version of a honey trap?”

Indeed, a man must protect himself—not only when away from home but even within, for trouble may come unbidden.

Hu old man’s attention, however, took a different turn. He winked at Hui monk and asked, “So, how was it? Did you manage to sleep with her? Tell me, brother, what was it like?”

Hui monk wore a sour, bitter expression.

He was truly misunderstood! As a monk, though fond of wine and meat, women were absolutely off-limits. The senior monks at the temple had always warned him that women were like tigresses with three mouths. Even beautiful women were not to be trusted; the prettier they were, the more deceitful.

Unexpectedly, despite guarding his virginity for half his life, a single misstep led to this trap being sprung on him!

Besides, the woman from last night was a half-aged, heavily made-up woman, more like a monkey’s backside than a heavenly beauty.

Upon reflection, it was not that he had taken advantage; rather, he was the one taken advantage of.

In the end, Hui monk said with a mischievous grin, “Brother Hu, if you’re interested, I could arrange a marriage for you someday. It would be a sure thing. Though not perfect, it would be fitting and complementary.”

In Nanhai County, Hui monk was rarely absent from any wedding or funeral.

Hu the Butcher laughed awkwardly at the monk’s teasing expression. “Better not. I’m old and frail—I couldn’t handle it!”

Fan Jin twitched at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that Hu old man must have some odd misunderstanding about being frail.