Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 203 Strategy
Zhou You looked back and saw a monk in a drab gray robe standing at the door, his hands clasped in prayer.

Unlike the exhausted members of the escort agency, Zhengde seemed to be in good health. His face was as fair as ever, and his expression was humble yet compassionate—he even looked younger than when they parted.

"I am truly sorry. Just now, because I needed to operate the Vajra of Weide outside, even though I knew that Master Zhou had arrived, I was unable to notify everyone in the escort agency in time, and I almost caused you and Young Master Lu to fight. This was all my mistake, and I hope you can forgive me."

But Zhou You still frowned.

Then, he suddenly made a move and, with lightning speed, grabbed Zhengde's wrist.

Lu Xiuyuan, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment, and then immediately stood up in surprise.

"Master Zhou, Master Zhengde is not a bad person. I, Old Lu, can guarantee it with my life and fortune—"

However, Zhou You simply waved his hand casually, stopping him from speaking.

Faced with the sudden attack, Zhengde did not resist. He simply stood there, looking at the person with a calm expression.

After waiting for a full half-incense stick's time, Zhou You finally let go of his hand, his brows furrowed as he asked.

"What exactly is going on? When I first met you, your pure Buddhist cultivation was enough to barely suppress the miasma and maintain your balance. How come now that you clearly have the Arhat Relic, the miasma in your body is rising instead of falling—you're about to fall into demonic possession!"

In response to his questioning, Zhengde first chanted a Buddhist prayer before speaking.

"In my search for my master, I forcibly entered the esoteric path through Chan meditation, practicing dual cultivation simultaneously. It was inevitable that I would fall into demonic possession; it was only a matter of time. However, please rest assured, benefactor, as long as this Arhat relic is not completely destroyed, I will never take that final step."

Zhou You's brow remained furrowed.

...What Zhengde said is true, but the problem is that it shouldn't have happened so quickly no matter what.
however.

He suddenly felt something and looked at Lu Xiuyuan, who was still confused.

And so, everything was explained.

It turned out to be the case.

Zhou You exhaled, stood up, and then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to Zhengde.

"Thank you for your protection, Master. On behalf of my apprentice and everyone in the escort agency, I thank Master Zhengde for his great kindness."

The monk smiled and raised his hand to help Zhou You up, then said...

"Master Zhou, there's no need for such formalities. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to get to this point. In terms of gratitude, you are more to me than I am. But time is of the essence now, so let's skip the formalities and get down to business."

Zhou You didn't stand on ceremony. He first waved his hand, asking Lu Xiuyuan and Lu Ping to go outside and avoid the situation. After a brief moment of thought, he raised his first question.

"First of all, Master Zhengde, I would like to ask how long I have been separated from you? Is it possible that traveling through the underworld takes so long? How could things have changed so much in the blink of an eye?"

Upon hearing this, Zhengde's face immediately showed a bitter expression.

"So that the Daoist Master may know that you have been separated from us for nearly two months. As for traversing the Yin Road, that should not have been a problem. Even without an anchor point, it usually takes about a day. The reason why you have been trapped in the Yin Road for so long is due to that white bone dharma image—and, this thing's target was you from the beginning."

".What's the meaning?"

Zhengde sighed softly, and then said.

“At first, I also thought that the white bone form came for me—but who would have thought that after you, Daoist, stopped it and jumped into that Yin path, it would abandon our donkey cart and turn around to shatter its own form, forcibly imprisoning you between the Yin path and the mortal world—as a result, after we came out, you were trapped alive for so long.” Hearing this answer, Zhou You suddenly felt a little confused.

"Wait a minute, all I did before was kill one of their senior lamas and one of their masters, right? Even if you include that guy Liaochen, it shouldn't have caused such a huge grudge. Why would they go to such lengths to deal with me?"

However, Zhengde simply shook his head slightly.

"This humble monk does not know either, but what I am certain of is that there must be a great conspiracy involved."

Well, what you said is essentially meaningless.

Zhou You took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his doubts and unease—after all, he didn't have time to think about it now—then he took out an iron plaque from his pocket and threw it at Zhengde.

"Now let's talk about the second thing. I met a guy outside who called himself a Daoist Knight. He gave me this plaque and told me about his plan—but before I tell you, take a look and see if this thing is real?"

Although Cai Yuankui hadn't revealed any flaws, given Zhou You's personality, he naturally wouldn't easily believe everything.

If this badge is real, that's fine; if it's fake...
Zhou You suddenly revealed a smile that contained no real emotion.

After that, it was probably not just those demons and monsters who were plotted against.

Zhengde took the waist token, but did not look at the dragon carved on it. Instead, after searching for a while, he touched a hidden pattern on the token and pressed it down hard.

With a popping sound of a mechanism, the sign actually stood up in Zhengde's hand. The mechanism and gears inside moved automatically and quickly transformed into another shape.

That was a finger.

Seeing the look Zhou You gave him, Zhengde explained softly.

"The dragon on the outside of this sign is merely a disguise; the real identifier is inside. This is to let you know that the Evil Suppression Division is divided into twelve departments based on their respective duties, and the Finger Department is specifically dedicated to receiving and infiltrating."

As they were talking, Zhengde touched a certain mechanism, and the sign suddenly popped up again, revealing a small hole, in which hung a bloody human eye.

Zhengde pursed his lips, seemingly disliking the thing, but considering the current situation, he finally sighed helplessly and pinched it with his other hand.

A ripple-like pattern emanated from those eyes, and within it appeared the face of 'Cai Yuankui'.

The man opened his mouth and silently uttered a few words, and Zhengde nodded in response—but his expression grew increasingly grim.

Soon, the light screen faded, and Zhengde's face was contorted in a grimace. He hesitated for about ten seconds before finally seeming to make up his mind, pinching the eye, and then...
He swallowed it without hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, the miasma on Zhengde's body became extremely intense—but just when he was about to fall into demonic possession, the Buddha relic in his arms suddenly emitted a shimmering light, forcibly suppressing the miasma.

At this point, Zhengde finally caught his breath, but he didn't bother to rest and spoke directly to Zhou You.

"Master Zhou, that person's identity has been confirmed; he is indeed a member of the Daoist Knights. However, the Five Elements Pill he gave me has a limited lifespan. Please, Master Zhou, tell me quickly what his plan is..."

Zhou You looked at the increasingly youthful and fair face, his expression unreadable, and then spoke.

"The plan this man proposed is very simple; all it takes is Master Zhengde."

The sound was ethereal, and in the blink of an eye, it dissipated into nothingness in the night sky.

(End of this chapter)