Chapter 16: The Pig That Eats Tigers
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Chapter 16: The Pig That Eats Tigers
Dawn broke on the horizon, painting the sky with the first pale light. After locking the main hall doors from the inside, Xu Yan nimbly climbed out along the roof.
In the empty hall, a large bluestone brick—the kind used for paving roads—was missing from behind one of the statues. A transparent pearl lay quietly in the gap where the brick had been, while high above it, in the depths of the domed ceiling, hung a faint blue shadow.
The sun lazily climbed the edge of the sky. A ray of morning light fell on the upturned eaves of the hall’s roof, illuminating a red cord tied there, which gleamed blood-red in the sunlight.
Just as daylight broke, Xu Yan’s figure lingered for a moment outside the main hall doors. He left the wild ginseng he had dug up a few days earlier in front of the dilapidated entrance.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
In the vegetable garden, the rooster, finally freed from the red cord that had bound its beak, raised its head and crowed proudly. Human voices gradually emerged from the front courtyard.
“Little Black, time for us to go.”
After opening the pigsty and freeing the rooster, Xu Yan quickly scooped up Little Black Pig, climbed the courtyard wall, and tossed the pig over to the outside.
Enjoying its newfound freedom, the little pig tumbled once, got back on its feet, and ran off into the distance with excited grunts, looking full of energy.
Straddling the courtyard wall, Xu Yan held a stone that had been ground flat and sharp. A gentle smile played on the young boy’s lips. From a distance, the little Taoist of Chengyun Temple still looked foolishly simple—stupid enough to make people laugh. But no one knew that at this moment, Xu Yan had already unleashed all the demons in his heart.
‘Let them think I’m just a fool,’ he thought coldly. ‘They’ll learn the truth soon enough.’
After a night’s rest, the Taoists of the Taiqing Sect began emerging from their sleeping quarters.
“Brother Chen, are we really going to accept that little Taoist as one of our own?” a plump Taoist asked the scarred-faced Taoist. “His master just died, yet he could still eat with such gusto. I think there might be something wrong with that kid’s mind.”
“He’s a simpleton—everyone in Linshan Town knows that,” said a muscular man in casual clothes who was stretching his limbs nearby. He snickered, “I asked around yesterday. That little Taoist really is dumb as a rock. What normal person enjoys eating other people’s leftovers? He’s a Taoist, not a beggar.”
“The dumber, the better,” said the scarred-faced Taoist named Chen, a cold smile spreading across his face. “The more fools in this world, the more people willing to die for us. Don’t forget, our Taiqing Sect claims to be the leader of the righteous path, but we don’t have the wealth or power of the Money Sect, and the Ghost King Cult and other evil sects are even harder to deal with. Only by increasing our numbers can we expand our influence.”
‘Fools make the best followers,’ Chen thought to himself. ‘They never question orders, just blindly obey until their dying breath.’
In the current world, there were two factions: righteous and evil. The Pu Kingdom was led by the righteous path, while its neighboring country, the Qi Kingdom, was dominated by evil sects. The two countries had never been on good terms, with border conflicts occurring for many years, and the righteous and evil factions harbored deep grudges against each other.
The “Mountain God’s anger” was merely a trick to deceive the common people. Recruiting disciples was the real method to strengthen the sect. In the scarred-faced Taoist’s view, the more people willing to die for the Taiqing Sect, the more secure their position as a top-tier sect in the Pu Kingdom would be. And the sect’s standing in the martial world directly affected the National Preceptor’s prestige in the imperial court.
After Linshan Town, there was another border town. The scarred-faced Taoist was beginning to calculate his next move when suddenly someone cried out in surprise.
“Ginseng!”
“And it’s moving!”
The moving ginseng finally caught the attention of these Taiqing Sect masters. When the first Taoist discovered a moving ginseng at the main hall’s entrance, all eyes turned in that direction.
It was indeed a moving ginseng, slowly inching its way toward the hall doors. By the time the Taoists rushed over, the moving ginseng had just squeezed through a broken corner of the entrance.
“It’s a spirit ginseng! At least a hundred years old!”
“Only ginseng with a spirit would move like that. Catch it! Such a treasure is worth more than gold!”
“It escaped into the main hall. Who locked the doors? Are they sealed shut?”
“Where’s that little Taoist from yesterday? Is he inside? Open the doors, quick!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of pounding on the doors, shouting, and cursing all blended into a chaotic din that carried far and wide. Sitting astride the wall of the back courtyard, Xu Yan’s smile grew colder as he heard the commotion.
‘Master hasn’t gone far yet,’ he thought. ‘There’s still time…’
“Break down the doors!”
“Find a big log, hurry! Hurry!”
“Is that little brat locked inside? If you don’t open up, I’ll break your legs!”
“If you damage the spirit ginseng, it’ll cost you your life!”
“Here’s the log! Everyone come over! Let’s ram it open in one go!”
CRASH!
BANG!
BOOM!
The tall, weathered hall doors finally collapsed and shattered. Over a hundred figures rushed eagerly into the main hall. This was no ordinary ginseng—it was wild ginseng with a spirit. A single root could fetch ten thousand taels of silver, and even at that price, demand exceeded supply. For martial artists, it was an exceptional tonic.
Human nature is such that everyone’s eyes light up at the sight of treasure. No one wanted to miss this opportunity, so all hundred-plus members of the Taiqing Sect who had arrived in Linshan Town charged into the dark hall—and straight into this abyss of death.
WHOOSH!
In the back courtyard of Chengyun Temple, Xu Yan waited on the wall for a few breaths, then hurled the stone in his hand with all his might. Without looking back, he jumped outside the temple and ran with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The sharp stone cut through the morning breeze and severed the red cord tied to the eaves. In the sunlight, the broken cord split into dozens of strands, like tiny streaks of blood.
“Got it!”
“Worth at least ten thousand taels of silver—we’ve struck it rich this time!”
“Careful, don’t let the spirit escape. Look for the red cord!”
“There’s a red cord behind the statue, and a bluestone brick…”
Someone spotted the red cord hanging from above the statue and the bluestone brick falling rapidly from its end. As the Taoists’ eyes followed the plummeting brick, they finally noticed a strange pearl in a depression on the ground.
‘Could there be another treasure?’
This thought was the last one ever to cross the minds of the 103 disciples of the Taiqing Sect. In the next instant, an explosion that could tear through the air erupted before their eyes.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar shook the quiet town, making even the earth tremble. Some early risers witnessed a scene they could never have imagined.
Chengyun Temple, located at the edge of Linshan Town, truly “rode the clouds” as its name suggested—it rose into the air and then shattered into countless pieces, blasted into fine powder by a terrifying force!
The statues of the Three Pure Ones, the four courtyard walls, and the 103 Taiqing Sect masters in the main hall—all turned to dust in this earth-shattering explosion. Not even a single intact bone remained.
The old Taoist had been right: some pigs are destined to eat tigers, and when they open their mouths, they devour a hundred fierce tigers at once!
Outside the town, Xu Yan stopped to catch his breath and shouted toward the uninhabited hills.
“Master!”
Cupping his hands around his mouth, the little Taoist called out joyfully yet hoarsely, “Take your time! They’ve come to see you off!”
In the distance, white clouds drifted across the sky. One cloud looked like an elderly, kindly face. Xu Yan couldn’t see his master’s soul, but he was certain that his master was watching him from that cloud with a smile—a smile containing both resignation and joy.
‘You taught me well, Master,’ Xu Yan thought, gazing at the cloud. ‘I hope you can rest peacefully now.’
Everything has its price. In this world, all things have their specific value. Xu Yan had traded the thunder pearl he found in the mountain cave for the lives of 103 evil people. In his view, it was a fair exchange.
Oink, oink!
At his feet, Little Black Pig happily nuzzled against Xu Yan, drooling profusely—clearly hungry. After the massive explosion, every domestic animal in the entire town trembled with fear, except for Little Black Pig. Not only was it unafraid, but after running around in a big circle, the little pig was now begging its master for food, looking completely carefree.
“Oh no, I forgot about our flatbread…”
Xu Yan’s stomach growled loudly. He scratched his head and sighed helplessly. Now both he and his pig would have to go hungry.
