Chapter 101

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The night wind stirred the banners, causing them to billow and ripple. Soldiers patrolling the city walls clutched their weapons, exhaling warm breath into their hands as they rubbed them together for warmth.

“So cold…” “Look at the moon—tomorrow will be another clear day.”

“Another drought. It’s freezing at night, enough to kill a man. When will this ever end?” “Enough talk. One more round of patrol, and we can rest for a bit.”

A sudden gust of cold wind swept over the city walls, making the soldiers shiver as they gripped their weapons tightly. They raised their torches, sweeping them across the surroundings and down below the walls—nothing.

“Let’s go, let’s go. Nothing happened.”

The soldier leading the search turned back and motioned to his comrades. They continued their patrol.

The wind carried on into the city, rustling through dimly lit alleys. Two figures flashed by, their feet barely touching the rooftops before they descended lightly onto the ground.

“That Zhu Ziyi actually wants to use others to do his dirty work… But last time I was here, he seemed rather friendly.”

“That’s because you never meddled in his affairs. You didn’t disrupt his plans, so he had no reason to trouble you.”

“Heh, heh, heh… That just proves I know how to stay out of trouble.”

“Is that the same thing? The Earthly Fiend Yin Fire belongs to them—”

As they approached the inn just beyond the alleyway, Lu Liangsheng was in the middle of speaking when a voice called out from the darkness of a nearby alley.

“This way… this way…” It was the voice of the Toad Daoist.

“Young Master… over here.”

Lu Liangsheng halted, grabbing the Daoist’s sleeve as he turned toward the source of the voice. In the dim alley, an old donkey swished its tail, tilting its head to look their way. Perched atop the donkey’s back, the Toad Daoist waved them over.

“Young Master.”

From atop the courtyard wall, Nie Honglian floated down gracefully, landing before the scholar. Her captivating eyes flickered toward the street before she spoke first.

“A group of cultivators broke into the inn’s rooms. Fortunately, Master Toad sensed them ahead of time and left before they arrived.”

“Hehe, now do you see how formidable your master is?”

Atop the old donkey’s head, the Toad Daoist sat with his black-patterned gourd strapped to his back, crossing his webbed hands over his chest. “In my younger days, I had countless enemies, yet I always escaped unscathed. All thanks to my keen instincts! And now, a few mere juniors dare to flaunt their meager skills before me? Hah! If my cultivation were restored, a single sneeze from me could bring a torrential downpour upon the entire northwest!”

Seeing the old toad start boasting again, the Daoist quickly stepped aside and pulled out a yellow silk pouch. He began counting the dwindling supply of yellow talismans inside—he had completely forgotten to replenish them after arriving here. Now, only a few dozen remained.

“This is bad… If that fat monk gets into a fight with them later, I won’t have enough to use.”

Nie Honglian blinked at him, then at the Toad Daoist. “Who’s fighting? That group from earlier?”

But then, the Toad Daoist suddenly reacted, turning to his disciple.

“The Daoist mentioned a monk—was it the one we encountered last time?”

“Yes. His Buddhist name is Fajing, a cultivator from Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. But he has already left the temple to travel on his own.”

Lu Liangsheng took hold of the old donkey’s reins, leading it to a safer hiding place. As they walked, he explained the situation in detail.

“…That monk’s master is called Zhenhai. I don’t know if he’s the same old monk you once spoke of, Master.”

Turning a corner, they stopped at the back entrance of a small courtyard. The Toad Daoist, still sprawled over the donkey’s head, twitched the corner of his mouth before hurriedly waving his webbed hands.

“No, no, don’t overthink it.”

Hearing that, Lu Liangsheng also let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good. By the way, Master…”

At this point, the scholar recalled the term Fajing had mentioned—Earthly Fiend Earthly Fire. Though the Toad Daoist was full of exaggerated tales, his knowledge was undeniable.

“Earthly Fiend Yin Fire??”

The Toad Daoist stood up on the donkey’s head, rubbing his chin with his webbed hands. His bulging frog eyes turned upward, gazing at the night sky.

“…I do recall something about it. Seems to be nothing more than a minor technique.”

“Then, Master, do you have a way to break it? That monk said the great drought plaguing the northwest is caused by this formation.”

Hearing his master speak so lightly of it, a sliver of hope rose in Lu Liangsheng’s heart. He, too, wished for stability in this land, for fewer lives to be lost.

But the Toad Daoist, his expression tightening, shook his head.

“Though it may be a small formation, once it has been expanded to cover all of Heliang Prefecture, how could it be so easily undone? The one who set this up, now they are truly formidable. To think of using such a method to create chaos and seize people under its cover…”

Damn it all… The Earthly Fiends Yin Fire Formation—as far as I recall, I’m the only one who knows it… No, no, that’s not right…

As the Toad Daoist fell into deep thought, Lu Liangsheng also lapsed into silence, staring unblinkingly at a scroll on the bookshelf.

Nearby, the female ghost Honglian, growing bored of watching the two lost in thought, glanced at the Daoist squatting in the corner, tidying up his belongings. With a graceful drift, she floated to the stone steps by the back door, gathered her skirts, and sat down, resting her chin in her hands with a sigh.

……..

The cold wind swept across withered grass, rolling over the cracked, parched earth. Within the city, the creaking of wooden wheels echoed through the streets.

A line of horse-drawn carriages moved slowly through the city roads. Talismans drawn with cinnabar fluttered along the sides of each carriage, rising and falling with the motion. In mere moments, they approached the city gates. Yet, the soldiers stationed atop the walls and by the entrance stood as if blind to them, allowing the carriages to pass through the tightly shut city gates as though they did not exist.

Six carriages in total departed the city. Each was driven at a sluggish pace, but in the blink of an eye, they had already covered several dozen feet.

Far away, among the withered trees on a hill opposite the Rain-Prayer Altar, a plump figure rose from a boulder. Narrow eyes peered toward the towering, shadowed altar in the darkness before the man clasped his hands in a respectful Buddhist bow.

A place once meant for delivering the suffering from their misery—now nothing more than a facade for wicked deeds.

Fajing straightened his body, the string of Buddhist prayer beads around his neck sliding down slowly. Then, he suddenly stomped the ground, and with a powerful kick, he shot downward toward the road below.

The wooden yokes of the carriages carved deep tracks into the dirt as the heavy compartments swayed. The driver of the lead carriage seemed to sense something and abruptly pulled on the reins.

A figure crashed onto the ground from the sky, sending dust flying in all directions.

Neighhh—!

The horses screamed in fright, rearing up on their hind legs. The sudden movement jerked the reins violently, causing the cultivator atop the carriage to be yanked off and thrown to the ground. Behind them, the remaining five carriages came to an abrupt halt.

Rip!

Bang——!

The carriage doors were torn open, and some roofs even burst apart as figures leaped out one after another, landing on the ground. At the center of them all stood a man—his longsword glowing with a faint red light. With a soft hum, he swung it slightly, letting the tip hover just above the ground.

“Finally, you’ve come.”

It was Zhu Ziyi. He tilted his head slightly, glancing past the monk to either side.

“And where is that fool of a scholar and the Daoist? Too scared to show up?”

Standing before him was a towering figure, Fajing, his monk’s robes billowing in the wind. His stance was like that of Maitreya, his expression calm as he lifted his face. He pressed his palms together in the Fearless Mudra, offering a slight bow before stepping forward.

“Buddha’s compassion knows no bounds——”

His solemn Buddhist chant rippled outward like a tide.

Far and wide, outside the southern city gate, the sea of disaster victims—haggard and starving—suddenly stirred. Many, who had been lost in hunger, exhaustion, and numb despair, abruptly regained awareness, their eyes darting around in the darkness.

“Did you hear that just now?” “I did… It felt like a jolt of energy went through me.”

“It sounded like a monk’s voice.”

“A monk? You don’t think it’s that one who steals children, do you?”

Even the city’s garrison was thrown into alert. Archers on the walls tensed their bows, their wary gazes locking onto the refugees. Inside the yamen, the prefect was jolted awake. Fearing an uprising outside the city, he hurriedly dressed and rushed to the walls with his men, wary of any disturbances.

The streets erupted in movement—shouts, hoofbeats, the hurried clatter of armored patrols—chaotic yet orderly.

Meanwhile, in a dark alley, Lu Liangsheng stood beside his old donkey, watching the surge of city guards and soldiers rushing past. He quickly crossed the long street with the Daoist, he recognized the Buddhist chanting just now to be the voice of Monk Fajing.

Using a spell, the scholar passed through the city walls. As he squeezed the scroll in his hand, his spiritual energy surged into it in an instant. The soldiers atop the city, who had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly saw a massive beastly shadow rise into the sky, rising to their eye level.

A giant eyeball rolled slightly, turning to meet their gaze. Terrified, the soldiers tumbled to the ground, scrambling up in a panic, shrieking in horror.

Roar——

A foul wind roared and churned. The dozen or so cultivators surrounding the monk outside the city turned back, only to see a ferocious beast slowly approaching. Its sharp claws sank effortlessly into the ground, leaving deep gouges in its wake.

Roar!

Another earth-shaking bellow rang out.

Its form became clearer.

Green mane bristling like steel needles. A human-like face with a beast’s maw, densely packed with razor-sharp fangs. Its bloodstained jaws gaped wide, thick saliva dripping into the mud.