Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 439-438 Encounters and Negotiations

Shunzi echoed viciously, "Who cares if it's evil or not? These heartless beasts will rob anyone who has anything good!"

As he spoke, Shunzi took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. He said to Feng Xiuhu, "The priest we just killed was just a nobody. He didn't even have a single copper bead on him. I reckon the good stuff is in the hands of the chief priest and the priest."

Feng Xiuhu looked down and saw a necklace and a leaf on the table.

He asked in astonishment, "When did you search me?"

Shunzi smiled sheepishly: "It was just something I did on the spur of the moment."

To be fair, Shunzi's professional skills are still top-notch.

The necklace was nothing special; the pendant was a rune of the Church of the Night—shaped like an eye, with a crescent moon as its pupil.

Without a doubt, this is a standard ritual implement of the priests of the Church of the Night.

As for that leaf, Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but take a second look at it.

The leaves are about the size of a palm, lush and green, as if they had just been picked.

The leaves looked ordinary, but there was something strange about them—why would a priest carry leaves with him?
Shunzi said, "It's strange, but when I had this leaf with me, I felt more energetic. Now that I've taken it out, that feeling has disappeared."

Fang Youliu became interested: "Could it be some kind of miraculous elixir?"

The moment he reached out and picked up the leaf, he froze.

Fang Youliu looked at Feng Xiuhu in astonishment: "My magic power has returned to normal."

Feng Xiuhu looked at Ye Zi, then at Shunzi.

Shunzi, that simpleton, no wonder he feels even more energetic—with the Mountain Moving Technique back in normal operation, isn't he even more energetic?
Fang Youliu reacted quickly: "So that's why temples and churches can cast spells normally."

He examined the leaf in his hand with great interest: "Unfortunately, I can't see much more from just one leaf. Perhaps you can capture someone alive and ask them."

Feng Xiuhu would have asked even without him saying it.

With everything prepared, the three of them left the cellar together.

Feng Xiuhu walked at the front, and as soon as he poked his head out from under the wooden plank, he immediately thought to himself, "Oh no."

I was careless again.

Feng Xiuhu completely forgot that their carriage was parked outside the house!

They were the only group of outsiders in the entire city, so they were incredibly easy to find.

By this time, several monks had surrounded the carriage and were searching it, seemingly ready to enter the house at any moment to look for the person inside.

Before he could think any further, Feng Xiuhu pressed Fang Youliu, who was about to peek out, back down: "Take Granny Song to a place to hide."

That leaf was of great benefit to the other party, so neither Feng Xiuhu nor Shunzi took it. Now, it has become very useful.

Fang Youliu knew the gravity of the situation and turned to crawl back inside.

Feng Xiuhu led Shunzi back into the inner room silently, and they stood on either side of the door to observe the outside.

Two monks, having searched the outer room without success, were preparing to enter the inner room.

Feng Xiuhu made a gesture to Shunzi, who nodded to indicate that he understood, and then turned and jumped out.

Boom!

Two gunshots rang out in succession, and the two cultivators were blasted in the face, collapsing to the ground without uttering a sound.

Feng Xiuhu cursed, "I told you not to fire!"

Shunzi was taken aback: "I thought you wanted me to go first."

It was too late to complain now. The cultivators outside had already rushed in after hearing the commotion, and Feng Xiuhu finally saw the weapons of the cultivators from Jingzhe Temple.

Those were three-pronged short forks, one pair for each person.

The cultivators had obviously practiced beforehand, and they all swung their short forks at each other. With a sharp clang, a net of electric arcs burst open inside the room and shot towards Shunzi in the center.

Without a second thought, Feng Xiuhu stepped forward: "Mist!"

Thick fog surged up from beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye, a large power bank materialized in front of Shunzi.

Feng Xiuhu was overthinking it; the fog was just an illusion, and the electric arc had no physical form. The electric arc passed directly through the counterfeit power bank and struck Shunzi.

Shunzi shuddered and exclaimed, "It's so numb!"

But there was no other reaction.

What a formidable group of mountain movers! What a remarkable method of moving mountains!
Feng Xiuhu was overjoyed: "Don't fight inside, let's fight our way out!"

The monks at Jingzhe Temple were equally shocked. Someone in the crowd shouted, "It's the Mist Church! Go and inform them immediately!"

“The monk may escape, but the temple cannot.”

Feng Xiuhu grinned maliciously and slammed his cane on the ground.

Countless sharp spikes rose from the ground in the mist, and the cultivators who had no time to react were all strung together like candied hawthorns.

The two men walked outside, and whenever they passed someone who was still breathing, Shunzi would immediately fire a shot.

Shunzi took out a few leaves and handed them to Feng Xiuhu: "They all have them on them."

"Why not take it if it's free?" Feng Xiuhu thought, and promptly tucked the bag into his pocket.

After clearing out the cultivators who had barged into the house, the people outside seemed to sense that things were not going well and had already dispersed.

Shunzi was puzzled: "Why are they all people from the Jingzhe Temple?"

Feng Xiuhu had also noticed that, despite killing so many, not a single member of the Night Church was among them.

In the fog, Shunzi could hardly tell which way to go and could only rely on Feng Xiuhu's command.

Feng Xiuhu's gaze pierced through the mist, landing on the distant tower—and the monks standing guard at the end of the street.

Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but chuckle: "They think we're priests from the Church of the Mist. It seems they want to negotiate first."

Shunzi asked, "Shall we talk?"

Feng Xiuhu licked his gleaming white teeth: "Talk, why not talk? Let's talk until everyone's happy, then we'll blow their heads off."

……

The two walked along the street at a slow pace.

To those at the end of the street, all they saw was the mist, like a crouching behemoth, slowly sweeping towards them.

The chief priest of the Jingzhe Temple, You Renjiao, had a somber expression. A master of ceremonies came to report: "Chief priest, Father Henry has arrived."

You Renjiao turned around and saw the crowd part to both sides, with Henry Wu leading a group of deacons of the Church of the Night out from the middle.

Yu Renjiao pointed to the approaching mist in the distance: "Father Henry, why are the people from the Church of the Mist here?"

Henry Wu's eyebrows furrowed: "I was unaware of this, but in any case, the Church of the Mist has overstepped its bounds."

He pulled a short cane from the sleeve of his priest's robe and nodded slightly to You Renjiao: "Give me some time, I'll go and talk to my colleagues in the Mist Church."

You Renjiao gestured for him to proceed.

Henry Wu's body sank into the shadow beneath his feet, and his shadow darted out like a fish.

Reaching the edge of the mist-shrouded area, the shadow on the ground stood up, transforming into a black outline: "Stop!"

The mist parted to both sides, and Feng Xiuhu emerged alone.

He approached the shadow and silently examined it.

The shadow spoke up, "This is the parish of the Church of the Night. Your Excellency from the Mist, you have come to the wrong place."

Feng Xiuhu performed a standard hand-to-chest salute, his tone neither humble nor arrogant: "The land shrouded in mist is all the divine kingdom of my lord."

Shadow's face showed no change in expression, but his silence suggested that he had never heard of this claim.

Henry Wu asked in confusion, "Where are you from, sir?"

Feng Xiuhu grinned: "Guess."

(End of this chapter)