Outside the small town, the young Taoist priest held his little black pig and gazed at the white clouds on the horizon with a silly grin. As for whether there would be flatbread to eat, Xu Yan never bothered to think much about it.

His goal was to be a pig that ate its fill and slept, slept its fill and ate. Whether the next meal would bring an empty stomach or a butcher’s knife, pigs don’t think too much about such things.

Think too much, and you’re no longer a pig.

The fierce ghost had already broken free from its cage, but it was imprisoned again—or rather, it was squeezed back by the pig in Xu Yan’s heart. After all, his heart wasn’t that big, and housing one pig was already crowded enough.

The original Taoist temple had become a deep, gaping pit. Fortunately, the area around the temple was rather deserted, and early in the morning there weren’t many passersby. Apart from all the people from the Taiqing Sect dying, no innocent people were harmed. A few unlucky souls did get their heads bloodied by falling debris, but they could only blame their bad luck.

The tremendous noise completely shocked the people of Linshan Town. For a long time, no one dared to leave their houses. Almost everyone thought it was an earth dragon turning over, and they all hid under beds or in water vats, trembling like frightened livestock.

Faced with natural disasters, the common people felt only deep fear. Of course, some recognized what that explosive sound actually represented.

“Divine Martial Cannon!”

After several days of preparation, the Cheng family had already prepared their carriages and horses in the courtyard. When that thunderous sound came, all the horses were startled, neighing and backing away continuously, while from the main hall came the low roar of an old man.

“How could a Divine Martial Cannon possibly appear in Linshan Town?” Cheng Yu, who was about to leave, had an expression that shifted between light and dark.

The Divine Martial Cannon was a weapon that even the Great Pu military couldn’t easily deploy. It was controlled by the royal family, not only extremely precious but also possessed the power to kill cultivators. It was truly one of the royal family’s trump cards. Even the constant border wars between the Qi and Pu nations hadn’t seen its use—how could it possibly appear in this tiny Linshan Town?

The old man, about to depart, suppressed the restlessness in his heart and strode out with countless doubts.

He wanted to confirm with his own eyes whether the sound just now was really from a Divine Martial Cannon. Several servants saw the old man leave and immediately followed.

With departure imminent, these servants became even more cautious. Right now, Cheng Yu was still a commoner, but once he returned to the imperial capital, the old man would become a prime minister.

In Linshan Town, the first person to walk out of their door was actually Cheng Yu. Accompanied by his servants, the old man soon arrived at the Chengyun Temple.

Looking at the vanished temple and the huge pit in the ground, the old man pondered in silence. It wasn’t until much later that some bold townspeople gradually gathered around, chattering and discussing this strange incident with various opinions.

Some said the mountain god was angry, that Xu Daoyuan had provoked him, and so thunder was sent down to destroy Chengyun Temple. Others said it was an earth dragon turning over that happened to collapse the temple. Still others claimed that the three-zhang-deep sinkhole was an auspicious sign from heaven—a pit was a nest, and a nest was a home, so heaven was hinting that every household in Linshan Town would be safe and sound…

All these various idle chatter sounded like buzzing mosquitoes and flies in Cheng Yu’s ears.

The old man’s already puzzled mood became increasingly heavy. He shook his head and walked toward his residence. Soon after, two fully loaded carriages left the small courtyard where Cheng Yu had lived for six years, taking the old man’s family away from Linshan Town.

“Little Black, are you hungry?”

On the official road outside town, the young Taoist priest and the little black pig walked side by side. Xu Yan rubbed his deflated stomach with a listless expression.

Xu Yan didn’t return to Linshan Town because Chengyun Temple was gone, and so was his home. Rather than begging for food in town, it was better to leave this place of sorrow. When he left, no one saw him off, and no one knew. Perhaps Tiezhu and the others still thought this young Taoist priest had been buried deep in the pit like those Taiqing Sect Taoists, never to climb out again in this lifetime.

Pigs are indeed ignorant and stupid, but not necessarily foolish.

Xu Yan’s lifelong goal was to be a qualified pig, but when faced with such major events, he was still quite decisive.

With one hundred and three lives on his hands, once people found out, not only would the authorities hunt him down, but the Taiqing Sect wouldn’t let him go either. If he didn’t take this opportunity to fake his death, that wouldn’t be a pig—that would be a stupid pig.

Snort, snort.

The little black pig responding to Xu Yan walked on its four short legs, its belly also rumbling with hunger. Its two big ears drooped down, looking just as spiritless as its master.

“Little Black, are you cold?”

Wrapping his Taoist robe tighter, Xu Yan sniffled. The morning breeze was cool, and the thin robe was hardly enough to keep one warm.

Snort, snort.

The little black pig, also sniffling, made sympathetic snorting sounds. Its two small pig eyes looked back at the increasingly distant Linshan Town with deep reluctance.

If the price of freedom was an empty stomach, the little black pig would still prefer to live in a pigsty—at least it wouldn’t go hungry.

“So hungry…” The young Taoist’s murmur faded as the man and pig gradually moved away, circling around the barren hills toward an unknown distance.

A malicious voice could be heard faintly from behind the hills: “Little Black, want some pork?”

Snort… snort! Snort! Snort! Snort!

The little black pig didn’t like eating pork, but it could certainly enjoy rabbit meat.

At noon, in a grove more than twenty li away from Linshan Town, Xu Yan and the little black pig were eating a wild rabbit they had just caught. They had built a campfire right by the roadside forest, and the rabbit meat was roasted golden brown, looking crispy and delicious.

“Master really understood me,” Xu Yan said to the little black pig while eating the rabbit meat. “He knew I was most afraid of hunger, so he made me practice stone-throwing skills from childhood. Look, if we couldn’t catch prey, we’d both have to go hungry.”

Snort! Snort!

The little black pig, eating with grease dripping from its mouth, responded enthusiastically, its short tail wagging frantically. After all, they were the same kind, and only the same kind could truly understand each other.

Making a pig go hungry—that would be the greatest suffering.

“Giddyup!”

At the end of the official road, carriages approached—two of them. The drivers were cracking their whips and calling out softly.

Seeing that the carriages were coming from the direction of Linshan Town, Xu Yan, who was eating rabbit meat, turned around and faced his back toward the official road.

An ordinary young Taoist priest eating some wild game by the roadside—no one would pay attention.

The thundering of hooves gradually faded. The carriages were heavily loaded, probably carrying people and luggage. As the carriages passed by, Xu Yan continued eating his roasted meat at leisure.

Heaven and earth might be vast, but the stomach was the most important. For someone whose goal was to be a pig, how could eating be neglected?

“Whoa.”

Not far away, the two carriages stopped one after another. The driver’s shouts finally made Xu Yan furrow his brow.

“Young Taoist priest, my master asks where you’re going. Would you like a ride?”

The driver of the first carriage called out loudly. Only then did Xu Yan notice the man looked somewhat familiar. Before he could identify who it was, a kindly-faced old man had already lifted the carriage curtain.

Seeing that the old man was indeed the old master of the Cheng family, Xu Yan finally remembered that the driver was one of the Cheng family’s servants.

Linshan Town was just that small—the townspeople saw each other constantly. Even though he was a Cheng family servant, Xu Yan had seen him many times in town.

Blinking his eyes, Xu Yan thought briefly, then picked up the little black pig and walked toward the carriage. The little pig in his arms kept struggling, staring at the piece of rabbit meat left behind and snorting continuously.

“Master Cheng.”

Xu Yan bowed respectfully, though he didn’t address the man as “benefactor.” Having grown up in Linshan Town, he usually called these fellow townspeople uncle or aunt.

“Xu Yan, where are you heading? Come up, this old man will give you a ride.”

Cheng Yu said with a smile, not mentioning a word about the strange happenings at Chengyun Temple. Being able to see Xu Yan alive on the road back to the capital finally improved the old man’s mood somewhat.

“Grandfather, we don’t travel with stupid pigs!”

From inside the carriage, Cheng Linwan glanced at Xu Yan by the roadside and turned her face away, apparently still disdainful of Xu Yan’s street-sweeping for the Taiqing Sect people the day before.

Little did she know that the price of having Xu Yan clear the way was one hundred and three lives of Taiqing Sect Taoists.