A single flame, no bigger than a bean, flickered faintly in the dim room, casting the shadows of three figures.
It was now late at night. A deep silence had fallen both inside and out; not even the chirping of insects could be heard.
But Yang An was ecstatic.
He had been wracking his brain for a reason to leave Jiunan Town with the two True Cultivators before him. And then, Pan Shi spoke up first, asking to travel together.
It was a godsend, an opportunity he couldn't have wished for.
However, Yang An didn't let his excitement show. His expression remained unchanged.
He knew he had to maintain the calm, unshakable demeanor expected of a Cultivator to look the part. Thus, he feigned indifference to Pan Shi's request.
A hint of hesitation appeared on his face. Yang An pretended to consider it for a moment before finally nodding.
"Then I will trouble you."
When Yang An showed that moment of hesitation, Pan Shi grew nervous as well.
He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Yang An nodded in agreement, his face immediately breaking into a joyful expression.
"Fellow Daoist Yang, you are too kind. My junior sister and I couldn't be happier to travel with you."
Nearby, a speechless Pan Yu pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Senior Brother, do you know what you look like right now?"
"What?"
"Like a suck-up!"
"..."
Although Pan Shi didn't know what "suck-up" meant, he was sure it wasn't a compliment. An awkward expression appeared on his face. He pretended not to hear, coughed twice in resignation, and shot her a glare.
Yang An gave Pan Yu a strange look. Though the room was too dim to make out her features clearly, he guessed she was quite attractive.
Of course, that wasn't the point.
What was strange was that Pan Yu had used a word like "suck-up."
'Isn't that a term from modern internet culture? How does it exist in this era?'
'Or maybe she meant something else, and the word just happened to sound like "suck-up"?'
"Fellow Daoist Yang, if you have no other business, why don't we set off right away? The Communal Feast is approaching, and if we're late, all the good things will be taken by others."
Just as Yang An was still puzzling over this, Pan Shi spoke up.
Since Yang An wasn't here to deal with the White Buddha Temple, it meant he could leave at any time. Setting off now would get them to the Xiyue River sooner, and they might even get a head start on finding some treasures.
Yang An couldn't have been happier with Pan Shi's proposal.
He was desperate to leave this place as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble.
So he nodded and readily agreed.
"Alright, let's leave now."
Yang An replied, turning to pack his clothes and whatever else might be useful. This included his meager savings; it wasn't much, but he would certainly need it to get by after leaving Jiunan Town.
No matter the era, you couldn't get anywhere without money.
But just as Yang An agreed and turned to start packing...
...the already dim light in the room suddenly went out.
The blood in the bowl had been completely consumed, and the flame naturally had nothing left to sustain it.
Yang An's body trembled. He knew the blood would eventually be used up, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
His body couldn't take any more strain. Even if he used more of his own blood to maintain the Lighting Technique, it would only make him weaker.
Without the mind-clearing and spirit-purifying effect of the Lighting Technique, his already weakened body lost its support. He had been relying entirely on the technique to stay conscious.
The moment the flame died, Yang An immediately felt a crushing weight descend upon his body. He was completely drained of strength, and his consciousness rapidly began to fade.
In the darkness, Yang An collapsed to the floor with a THUD.
In his last moment of consciousness, he struggled to glance toward Pan Shi and Pan Yu in the dark. All he could do was pray they wouldn't get any ideas about robbing and murdering him.
...
「Dawn arrived in the blink of an eye.」
The weather today was dreary and wet. Just as morning broke, a thick fog drifted over Jiunan Town.
A long, loud rooster's crow finally announced that the residents of Jiunan Town had survived another night.
In the main streets and back alleys, from one end of town to the other, people began to slowly push open their doors, only to glance out briefly before hastily shutting them again.
Only after someone dared to appear on the street did more people gradually emerge from their homes, beginning the search for which of their neighbors had fallen prey to a Demon Fiend last night.
"Old Zhang from the blacksmith shop is gone... I mean his head is literally gone..."
"Aunt Li's kid... sigh... I heard he was getting married soon. He's gone too."
"And that family by the east river bridge... all three of them..."
"That orphan from the Yang Family, poor thing... his name was Yang An, right? They couldn't even find his body. The room was full of black ash, and there was a Blood Bowl with the blood all burned dry. Such a pity."
"When will this ever end? Is there no way for us to survive?"
Too many had died in one night. On this rainy day, Jiunan Town was once again shrouded in gloom and despair.
「Meanwhile, at the White Buddha Temple.」
The White Buddha Temple was not large, consisting only of a rather grand main hall and a few small-to-medium-sized courtyards. However, there were quite a few Monks within its walls, dozens of them in fact.
Aside from the Monks who had been dispatched to guard the homes of wealthy families, only a dozen or so remained in the White Buddha Temple, currently conducting their morning prayers. A harmonious and tranquil sound of chanting slowly filled the air.
But just then, a Monk entered the main hall in a hurry, making his way to the very front.
"Abbot!"
The Monk called out softly.
Before him was an old Monk dressed in a vermilion Kasaya, meditating with his eyes closed and chanting sutras. His face was covered in age spots and wrinkles, and his eyebrows were a faded white.
The old Monk, addressed as the Abbot, slowly opened his eyes.
"What is it?"
The Monk who had entered glanced at the other Monks chanting and meditating below before leaning down to whisper in the old Monk's ear.
"This is terrible, Abbot! The four Saint Na Mo Bodhisattvas we released last night are gone! One of them had even formed a Holy Bone, and the Holy Bone is gone too!"
The old Monk, who had been the very picture of serenity, suddenly snapped his eyes wide open upon hearing the whisper, a fire of rage seeming to burn within them.
"Where were the remains of the Saint Bodhisattva found?"
"All in the same place, inside a house in the south of town. The Saint Na Mo Bodhisattvas have all been reduced to ash. Not even the Holy Bone was left behind."
"What about the household? Is the person still there?"
"I've already made inquiries. There was only one person living in that house, an orphan. But he's missing now. No body was found."
"The Saint Bodhisattvas have always treated all living beings equally. They would not fail to leave behind a corpse as a blessing without reason. If no body was found, it means this person must still be alive!"
The messenger Monk was shocked to hear this.
"Abbot, are you saying that orphan might be a Cultivator? That he destroyed the Saint Bodhisattva and fled out of guilt? But I asked around... he's just an ordinary mortal. Plenty of people in town know him."
"No!"
The old Monk shook his head.
"An outsider must have interfered. However, the clues for now might be found with that orphan. As long as he is alive, we must retrieve the Holy Bone and bring it back before the Saint Bodhisattva to atone!"
"Go at once. Take Guang Du and Guang Xian with you. No matter who interfered, since they dared to meddle in the affairs of my White Buddha Temple, they cannot be allowed to escape justice. We will make them suffer in the bitter sea of reincarnation, afflicted by Karmic Fire, and damned to an endless cycle of rebirth!"
"Yes!"
The Monk glanced at the old Monk with a hint of fear. The Abbot was truly enraged this time. He nodded hastily and quickly left the main hall.
"Amitabha..."
The old Monk pressed his palms together, his face returning to its serene state.