Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 144 Shadow
"What? Leaving today?"

Lu Xiuyuan, who had just stepped out of the yamen, looked at Zhou You with astonishment.

"Master, this escort mission isn't in such a rush. Ci'en Temple has set a very generous timeframe; we can rest for a few more days."

Zhou You simply shook his head slightly.

"It's not about the delivery schedule, it's that something big might happen in Jianhu County, or even the surrounding areas. If we don't leave now, it might be too late."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Master, do you mean it's related to today's sermon?"

—As expected of a镖头 (bodyguard/escort) who has traveled all over the country for many years, he understands things instantly.

Zhou You glanced around at the bodyguards and then nodded almost imperceptibly.

Without needing to say more, Lu Xiuyuan immediately understood what he meant. His expression darkened, and then he suddenly raised his head and shouted to the people around him.

"Old Hu, go and pull the donkey out of the boarding shed. Old Wang, reload the goods. Yes, that's right, this rest day is canceled. I'll give everyone some money as compensation later. Now let's set off immediately. And Lu Ping, hurry up and buy some dry rations for the road. Buy whatever you can find, and prepare them as quickly as possible."

At Lu Xiuyuan's command, everyone around him sprang into action as quickly as possible. Only Zhou You, holding the Broken Evil sword that he had not yet put away, looked at the still-burning fireworks in the city with a somewhat somber expression.

Although he didn't know the name of the spell he had just used, a spell involving the entire city like this would certainly come at a high price. The people would lose several years of their lives, but the lama who cast the spell would also suffer a great loss of magical power, and might even regress in his cultivation level.

Paying such a price, just to search for someone.
Zhou You initially thought it was him—but he soon learned that the other party had someone else in mind.

That means this problem is bigger than yours.

--Yes.

This is probably a huge problem.
-
As dusk approached.

The lamas who had been preaching and performing rituals on the street returned to the front of the government office.

He was helped down from the palanquin, declined the offer of others to accompany him, and walked into the county government office alone.

It's almost time to rest, and everyone in the county government office is busy watering and sweeping, wrapping up the day's work.

The lama was so conspicuous that he should have attracted a lot of attention, but strangely, from the moment he entered through the front door, not a single person glanced at him.

Everyone was focused on their own work. No one spoke, no one communicated, and no one looked up. They were like puppets being manipulated, only knowing how to repeat predetermined actions, but not knowing how to make any reaction of their own.

Without even glancing at the people, he went straight to the back room. Once there, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

No one responded.

But the lama dared not disturb him any further. The bald man, who had been surrounded by thousands of people, now stood with his hands hanging down, just like a servant, respectfully waiting for the call from the people inside the house.

half an hour.

Only one voice came from inside the room.

"Cough cough cough, come in."

The lama's tense muscles relaxed slightly, and he first said reverently, "Yes, Master." Then he pushed open the door and entered.

A strong smell of blood immediately filled the air.

The lama, however, seemed to be used to it, with no unusual expression on his face. He simply closed the door behind him, keeping all the smells inside.

The furnishings inside were very simple, consisting of only a long table, a few candlesticks, and a Buddha statue of the Lord of the charnel ground.

A person was tied to the table, and an old monk was sitting next to the person, fiddling with something.

That's all.

After entering the room, the lama first knelt down devoutly and bowed to the Buddha statue before standing up.

At the same time, the old monk in the shadows inside the room slowly spoke.

"You used that ghost-sense technique to probe today?"

The lama clasped his hands in prayer and then respectfully replied, “Yes, Master, I performed the ritual six times in total, three times in the east and three times in the west.”

"Did you gain anything?"

His words were very ordinary, like a simple inquiry, but the lama seemed to be under a heavy burden, and cold sweat gradually dripped down his head.

"Reporting to the Master, I haven't yet."

But at this point, for some reason, the old monk stopped asking questions, picked up a knife, carefully inserted it into the human body on the table, and then peeled off a piece of flesh.

The flickering candlelight cast a faint glow on a corner of the room.

Then, a blood-soaked body appeared before the lama.

—The man's skin had been peeled off, leaving his muscles and fat completely exposed to the air—but he was not yet dead. Every time the old monk's knife fell, his whole body would tremble violently, his mouth opening to a point as if it were about to tear open, as if he wanted to scream desperately, but no sound came out of his throat.

The lama remained calm and composed.

The old monk made another cut, carving out another piece of flesh. Looking at the finally exposed white bone, he nodded in satisfaction, then put away his knife and continued speaking to the lama.

—But not the previous question, but a different topic.

"Hey Zhaba, do you know what the Five Dews are?"

The lama known as Zhaba paused for a moment, then immediately spoke.

"Reporting to the Guru, it is the great incense, the small incense, the brain marrow, and the red and white bodhi seeds. This is the most basic knowledge, which Zhaba recites day and night, never daring to forget."

The old monk then spoke calmly.

"These five nectars are the foundation of our outer esoteric practice, emphasizing seeing one's true nature through the defilements. The Dharma of the Lord of the charnel ground is the same, emphasizing seeing life through death."

Zaba finally couldn't help but speak up.

“Master, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”

The old monk sighed softly, shook his head, and continued with his work.

Zaba was left standing there, sweating profusely, wondering what he had done wrong.

After a long while, the old monk finally spoke again slowly.

"It's simple. You're too superficial. You think you're done after just using the Ghost Sense method to investigate six times? You and I both know that person's capabilities. Trying to catch him with this method alone is simply a pipe dream."

Zaba hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Please enlighten me, Master."

The old monk didn't even raise his head, but simply uttered a few words in a low voice.

"Blood Refining Technique".

Zaba stared in disbelief for a full ten seconds before hurriedly speaking.

“Master, the Blood Refining Technique requires the lives of hundreds of people. If I were to actually perform this technique, I certainly wouldn't be able to hide it from the authorities. Although our Tantric sect is the most powerful in Lizhou, if something this serious were to happen—”

However, the old monk refuted all his words with just one sentence.

“Zhaba, what instructions did I give you regarding this matter?”

Zaba paused for a moment, then answered.

"That's what you told me back then."

"at all costs."

Then he suddenly lowered his head forcefully.

“Zaba knows he was wrong. I’ll go right now, even if it costs the lives of everyone in the city.”

(End of this chapter)