Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 397 Acquaintance
Zhou You's sword stance changed, and the two people opposite him were immediately taken aback.

Fortunately, the swordsman reacted immediately, blocking with his sword. Although he didn't intend to gamble with Zhou You, he maintained a steady stance with his longsword—so that no matter how fast Zhou You's sword attacked, he could at least keep his footing.

If the person next to you can also stay calm.

The man in short clothes stared at the sword pointing straight at his throat, and for a moment he even had a strange feeling.

This sword, once drawn, will surely attack; once it attacks, it will surely hit; once it hits, it will surely kill!

So, he withdrew.

It's very simple. He was hired by Yu Sanzhi only to get money and medicine, not to risk his life!

However, his retreat immediately shattered the tense pincer movement, causing the swordsman to curse out in anger.

"idiot!"

—He really is an idiot.

As soon as this person retreated, Zhou You was able to advance unimpeded—the swordsman still wanted to stop him, but the boy and girl who had been holding him back had already grabbed his feet.

Then, a copper coin was gently tossed into the air.

In an instant, everything around him seemed to slow down, and he could only watch helplessly as someone drew their sword, charged out, and then slashed down.

The man in the short-sleeved shirt didn't even put up any resistance; he just collapsed to the ground, spitting out blood.

However, Zhou You ignored him after killing one of them.

He simply flicked the blood off his sword, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and instantly continued charging towards the person from the divination gate!
After several exchanges, Zhou You roughly understood that these guys only had one backbone, and that was this seemingly frail old man—plus the Guamen's innate tracking ability, they had to take this guy down first no matter what!
however,
Facing the sword blade brimming with murderous intent, the person from the divination sect suddenly revealed a sinister smile.

The cane tapped the ground again, and a dull thud sounded once more.

However, this time it wasn't a divination array that was drawn.

The next moment, Zhou You felt his body suddenly freeze, as if his limbs were sinking into a swamp. In a daze, it seemed that something was lying on his body. When he turned his head, he suddenly saw a small, bluish-purple face.

A small face streaked with tears and snot, yet eerily sinister.

He had heard of this thing.

Zhou You roared in a low voice, as if squeezed out from between his teeth.

"You wailing baby, you son of a bitch, are you even human?!"

Although the white bone club was said to be an evil magic weapon, the materials used were not unusual. It only required the use of some recently deceased corpses. In peaceful times, one might have to look for such things properly, but under the rule of the 'Great Qing Dynasty', they were everywhere.

But the wailing of the infant is different. To refine this thing, one must find an infant born in a yin year and yin month, and then, about ten days before its birth, cut open its mother's belly while it is still alive. Then, instead of killing it in a hurry, torture it repeatedly, and refine a piece of yin bone when the resentment is at its strongest. Only after doing this eighteen times can one obtain the prototype of this thing.

As for the subsequent sculpting, countless lives were lost.

I never expected to encounter such a heinous creature here today!
The man from the divination sect laughed with an increasingly sinister smile.

"Young friend, are you joking? In this world, cannibalism is commonplace. I merely used some infants to refine magical artifacts. Compared to the atrocities committed by that Empress Dowager, it's like the light of a firefly compared to the sun and moon. What kind of thing is this?"

After saying that, he waved the end of his cane and winked at the swordsman.

“I’ve got this guy trapped. Go and cut off the head of that Feng family brat. Don’t worry about that Kuchan Temple successor. He’s exhausted now. Even if he could throw those two punches just now, he’s already used all his strength. He can’t stop you at all.”

Otherwise.

The swordsman simply stared coldly at the bluish-purple infant spirit without moving, his expression growing increasingly grim. Finally, he suddenly cupped his hands in greeting and spoke again.

"I'm sorry, although I was indeed hired by you, you never told me that I had to associate with such a filthy thing. I'll take my leave now. Do whatever you want with me. Consider this a wasted trip."

After saying this, the swordsman actually sheathed his sword, then darted into the forest in a few leaps and disappeared without looking back.

Although Zhou You was still entangled by several infant spirits and unable to move, he still managed to grin and say something.

"Hey old bastard, you've only been fighting for less than fifteen minutes, and you're already two dead and one fighting amongst yourself—what are you still holding on for? How about we make a deal? You raise your hands and surrender, and I'll give you a quick death, okay?"

The old man ignored him, instead waving his cane to command more infant spirits to entangle him. Then, looking in the direction the swordsman had left, he coldly uttered a sentence.

"They're so rich they don't even dare to take it when it's fallen into their laps. No wonder they're almost reduced to begging. Oh well, I still have a backup plan—Li Wen!"

Zhou You's expression hardened.

Originally, he only sensed five people: the man in short clothes, the swordsman, the fortune teller, the hunter, and the thief who had turned into a shadow—this was how he had laid out his plan.

But at that moment, within the perception of the Jing Shen's feeding incantation, a 'strange object' suddenly appeared.

The thing seemed to appear out of thin air with a 'whoosh,' abruptly existing in the forest.

Then came a coquettish remark.

"Okay, sir."

Despite being haunted by several infant spirits, Zhou You still struggled to turn his head away.

Then he saw a woman.

—Or rather, something resembling a woman.

Judging by its appearance alone, that thing was stunningly beautiful—only slightly less so than Tao Le'an. However, its skin was wrinkled, and every now and then something that looked like a worm would wriggle beneath it.

To be more specific, it's a complete monster disguised in a beautiful human skin.

At the same time, the one from the divination gate sighed.

“I didn’t want to use this trick, because I have to pay Mrs. Li a lot of money every time. But what goes around comes around, so this is the perfect time to use it—Li Wen, take care of that guy.”

The thing responded with a coquettish laugh, and then floated closer to Feng Qianlin. Zhou You frowned. He struggled several times, but the diviner seemed to have begun to fight for his life. As black blood gushed from his nose, the infant spirit became more and more numerous and dense, leaving him no space to release his evil energy.

He could only watch helplessly as it drew closer and closer—yet, for some reason, Feng Qianlin's expression remained calm.

They weren't even afraid.

Only when the thing was almost upon him did Feng Qianlin sigh and utter a completely unrelated remark.

Fortunately, we finally made it in time.

".What?"

Upon hearing this, the person from the divination sect seemed utterly bewildered—but soon, a piece of paper, nearly half-burnt, floated out.

—That was the paper Feng Qianlin had been writing on ever since he got off the bus. “The people at Kurong Temple are really slow. I didn’t even have high hopes, but I still made it in the end.”

At that moment, the pale hand was about to touch his body—but just then, several small knives suddenly shot out from the woods, forcing the thing back several steps.

The knife wasn't particularly sharp, and it didn't even have any magic attached to it, but the moment it was seen, the thing called 'Li Wen' suddenly let out a scream.

"Why is it you!"

Unlike her beautiful face, the voice suddenly became extremely shrill, like fingernails scraping against a blackboard—

The one in the forest did not answer. Instead, a thin figure descended from the treetops and approached Feng Qianlin before speaking in a low voice.

"Um...Master Feng, I'm so sorry I'm late. The master from Kuchan Temple is already waiting in the town at the foot of the mountain. Are you and Master Chen alright?"

His tone was steady, with a hint of timidity. But for some reason, Zhou You, who was entangled with the infant spirit, suddenly frowned.

Wait, that sound...
Why does that sound so familiar?
But he couldn't care less about that side. The moment the person appeared, the fortune teller's movements suddenly became chaotic—this guy didn't seem to have expected there would be reinforcements at this time—and in that brief moment, the movements of those several cyan-purple infant spirits suddenly stopped for less than half a second.

But even that short period of time was enough for Zhou You to break free from his constraints.

Duan Xie decisively transferred a bit of malevolent energy, which, through the Wanren Sword, suddenly transformed into a cloud of red mist.

The fortune teller finally realized what a serious mistake he had made—but before he could make amends, the sword had already silently slashed across his face.

And so, just like the man in the short-sleeved shirt, in the blink of an eye, this guy also clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, no longer moving—at the same time, the thing wearing human skin was also dragged back into the darkness of the forest with a scream.

After losing its manipulator, the infant spirits all vanished in the blink of an eye. Zhou You frowned as he looked at the cane that was disguised as the wailing of a grieving infant, then casually stomped on it.

In an instant, the bones shattered.

Only then did he exhale a breath of stale air, carrying his sword, and turn to walk towards Feng Qianlin, still complaining.

"Brother Feng, you really kept this from me for a long time—you should have told me sooner if you had any support, why did you make me go through all this trouble?"

Although Feng Qianlin's complexion wasn't good, he still managed a forced smile and explained.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have high hopes, so I didn't mention it. It wasn't until the red paper lit up just now that I realized the Kuchan Temple had actually sent someone."

"Never mind, if the result is good, everything is good, it's just..."

Zhou You waved casually, then turned to his savior, about to thank him, when he suddenly froze.

The other party was also taken aback.

Then, the two of them raised the same question.

"Holy crap, what are you doing here?!"

"Senior Brother Zhou, didn't you go after Li Zhangfan?!"
-
After a fierce battle with many twists and turns, we finally got some rest.

The porridge in the pot hadn't been finished yet, so we took it out of our backpacks, put it on the fire, added some water and food, and now it's bubbling away.

But nobody noticed this thing.

Feng Qianlin examined Chen Xun's injuries with a very heavy expression. It seemed that the two punches he had been forcing were not in good condition. Zhou You and the reinforcements who had come to help stared at each other, and finally sighed helplessly.

"Hey, aren't you from the Peach Clan? How did you get involved with the Kuchan Temple and end up here supporting Brother Feng?"

—That's right, the people who came this time were indeed acquaintances of his.

Her identity is that of the flower maiden's apprentice, a little girl named Hanlu.

She still looked as timid as ever, with three parts fear and seven parts awkwardness, but when faced with Zhou You's question, she still answered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"My master once owed a favor to the abbot of Kuchan Temple. He encountered them on the way and learned that they were short-handed and in a hurry to rescue people, so he sent me, who is quick on my feet, to lend a hand. But you, Senior Brother Zhou, weren't you rushing to the Ghost Market to meet up with Li Zhangfan? Why are you here fighting with people?"

Hearing this question, Zhou You was speechless for a moment.

After a long while, he shook his head and said.

"It's just a tragic fate, Brother Feng!"

Upon seeing Zhou You greet her, Feng Qianlin raised her head.

"what happened?"

Zhou You took out the Wine Immortal Gourd and pointed it at Chen Xun, whose face was pale.

"How's Master Chen's injury? Should I give him a few more sips of wine?"

Feng Qianlin hesitated for a few seconds, but finally shook his head.

"It's better not to. That wine pot is indeed miraculous, but the wine inside is made at the cost of one's life. Chen Xun is currently severely injured and is using his internal energy recklessly. If we give him any more strong medicine, it could easily damage his heart meridian."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Hanlu.

"Young lady, you mentioned earlier that the master from Kuchan Temple is already waiting in the town at the foot of the mountain, right?"

Hanlu seemed a little shy in response to this direct question, and her voice became even more subdued.

"Yes, Master is quite old and has difficulty walking, so he couldn't possibly make it up the mountain. That's why he sent me to lend a hand."

"In that case, let's put everything else aside for now and focus on getting Master Chen to town as soon as possible, handing him over to the Kuchan Temple for treatment, and then we can consider the rest."

Chen Xun, who was standing next to him, had almost vomited half a bowl of blood. He wanted to say something, but looking at his own appearance, he could only slump to the ground and silently acquiesce.

But suddenly, he raised his head and looked intently at Feng Qianlin.

"Shangjun."

"what?"

Chen Xun suddenly spoke with an extremely serious expression.

"To be honest, we've known each other for decades and I've long considered you a true brother—so I'll venture to say this: now that you've achieved most of your goal, why don't you let go and come back to Kuchan Temple with me? That place is isolated on the border and protected by several masters. Even with the power of the Buddha, it would be difficult for him to make a move. That way, at least your life can be saved."

Feng Qianlin remained silent for a long time before slowly uttering a sentence.

"Just focus on recovering. Don't worry, you said it."

"I will consider it."

(End of this chapter)