Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 398 Parting
"--Then we'll accept it for now."

Facing Feng Qianlin, an old monk spoke slowly.

At this very moment, they were in a dilapidated temple in the town.

The temple has been abandoned for many years and is now deserted. Apart from a few townspeople using it as a toilet when they need to relieve themselves, almost no one else goes there specifically.

However, it also serves as a convenient and discreet meeting place.

While the old monk was speaking, Zhou You was also quietly observing him.

At first glance, this old monk was definitely very old. His whole body was wrinkled, and he looked like a legendary living Buddha. Even his limbs had all withered, but his eyes were as clear as glass.

This person is very dangerous, extremely dangerous.

Although it was their first meeting, Zhou You couldn't help but feel this way.

Seemingly sensing Zhou You's gaze, the old monk also glanced in this direction.

How to describe it? It was as if Zhou You was being stared at by the sunlight. In the blink of an eye, he felt like he had become a transparent piece of glass, with everything laid bare—his emotions from childhood to adulthood, his experiences along the way, and that black book.
The gaze abruptly ended.

The old monk let out a rather surprised "Eh," and then carefully examined Zhou You for a few more moments.

"Master, is there something wrong with me?"

Hearing the question asked by someone with a furrowed brow, the old monk, for some reason, suddenly shook his head and slowly said with a peaceful smile.

"It's nothing, I just noticed your affinity with Buddhism, so I took a second look."

After saying that, he ignored Zhou You and turned his head to look at Feng Qianlin.

“Hongzhi’s health is indeed not good, and he may find it difficult to walk in this mortal world. However, thanks to the benefactor’s Purple Gold Pill, his life is not in danger. I will take him back to the temple to meditate on life and death. Although it will take a long time, there is always hope for a full recovery.”

Feng Qianlin clasped his hands together and said respectfully.

"Then I'm very sorry, Master Bukong. It was indeed my fault that Master Chen suffered this calamity."

Although the old monk could hardly move, he still straightened up and returned the greeting in the same upright manner.

“Benefactor Feng, there is no need to blame yourself. This was originally Hongzhi’s destined calamity, and he was only able to survive thanks to your generosity.”

Seeing that the two were about to finish speaking, everyone else was fine, but Chen Xun, who was lying on the side, immediately became anxious.

"Shang Jun! Have you forgotten what you told me before? This is your last chance, you..."

But before he could finish speaking, the old monk sighed, then reached out his withered hand and gently stroked the top of his head.

In the blink of an eye, the tall man collapsed, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

But after this ordeal, the old monk still sighed and then spoke earnestly to Feng Qianlin.

“Benefactor Feng, although I know it’s pointless to say this, and I know it’s just a waste of breath, I still want to ask—Benefactor Feng, would you be willing to come with me?”

The old monk didn't say what he would help with, nor did he make any guarantees, but the moment he uttered those words, a certain thought inevitably arose in people's minds.

—As long as he is by her side, no one in the world can harm Feng Qianlin.

But after pondering for a long time, Feng Qianlin still slowly but resolutely shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I really can't accept this offer."

So the old monk sighed again, and then turned to travel around.

"And you, benefactor, would you be willing to leave this place with me?"

Zhou You simply looked calmly at the old monk, and in the end, he also smiled and rejected the idea.

"Well, I'm a very trustworthy person, and I would never do something like abandoning my employer halfway through."

After hearing this, the old monk stopped asking questions and instead spoke to Feng Qianlin.

"Then this trip may not be a final farewell—so that you may know that our Kuchan Temple has decided to close down and will not be involved in worldly affairs for the next few decades. We ask for your understanding."

Feng Qianlin was stunned for a moment.

Why the rush?

A wry smile appeared on the old monk's usually placid face.

"Some time ago, the Shuijing Sect obtained the final divination. In the next few decades, the Han land will suffer a great calamity that will shake the heavens and the earth, and our famous mountains and sects with intertwined fates will inevitably bear the brunt. As you know, benefactor, the Shuijing Sect has never made a mistake in divination in the past thousand years. In addition, all parties have indeed sensed that something is wrong. Therefore, in order to protect the sect's heritage, we have no choice but to close the mountains and temples and try to avoid this disaster."

Feng Qianlin asked, frowning.

"How many sects remain now?"

The old monk spoke slowly.

"As far as I know, the Zhengyi Sect and Shaolin Chan Sect were the first to close their doors, followed by the Quanzhen Sect and Lingbao Sect, and then the Songshan and Tiantai Sects. By the time I arrived, eight or nine out of ten of the major sects in the world had already closed down. Only the Maoshan and Shangqing sects were still holding on—but judging from the situation, they probably won't last much longer."

Feng Qianlin fell into a long silence, but in the end, he still made his final farewell.

"Then, I wish you a safe journey, Master."

"Similarly, I wish you all your wishes come true."

After saying this, the old monk called over the novice monks outside the door and lifted Chen Xun's large body onto the waiting carriage. However, before he was helped away, he suddenly turned his head.

But this time, he wasn't looking at either Zhou You or Feng Qianlin, but at Han Lu, who hadn't spoken a word from beginning to end.

“This lady, your noble family helped the temple a lot back then, so I’m here to give you some advice—stay away from these troublesome things if you can. For your clan, you must not get too involved in this secular world, otherwise you will only suffer in the end.”

Hanlu remained timid, seemingly at a loss for words.

But where no one could see, her lips seemed to move slightly, and she uttered a few words.

The old monk smiled wryly, then waved his hand and left without looking back.

—Only when the sound of the carriage faded into the distance did Zhou You finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Brother Feng, now that Master Chen has left, shall we continue towards the Ghost Market?"

Feng Qianlin stared at the direction the carriages had gone for a long time before answering in a low voice.

“Yes, Chen Xun is safe now, and it’s time to get going. But there’s no rush to get to the ghost market. I know some people in this town, so let’s get a horse first—after all, your roe deer can’t carry two people, and I’ll also see if I can get a few more helpers from him.”

However, just as the two were about to leave, a faint sound suddenly rang out.

"that."

Turning around, they found Hanlu staring at them expectantly.

Okay, its presence is indeed quite low.

Zhou You smiled and said, "Sorry, I still have to travel with Brother Feng for a while, but don't worry, I'll hurry back to my master after this is over—as for your work here, it's all done, so don't come with us, just go ahead."

However, Hanlu did not respond. Instead, she hesitated for a while before speaking.

"But Master also instructed us beforehand that if we saw Master Feng, we should take him into consideration. After all, he invested a lot of money in our Peach Clan back then, and Uncle owes him a huge favor."

Looking at that timid yet incredibly earnest little face, Zhou You spread his hands and said helplessly.

"Well, this journey has been quite dangerous, and if something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to your master."

But then, Feng Qianlin suddenly interrupted.

"Is your uncle named Dayou?"

"Yes."

Feng Qianlin was silent for a few seconds, then turned to Zhou You and said.

"Let her stay for a while. If she encounters any danger, just tell her to run away quickly—after all, people in the brothel have the best escape methods among all the nine classes, so there's no need to worry about us implicating her."

"But what about the side Yu San pointed to?"

Zhou You glanced at Feng Qianlin, then at the determined-looking girl who seemed determined to follow even if he refused, and could only helplessly agree.

"Fine. But I have to tell you in advance, if anything really happens, you have to get out of here right away, understand?"

Hanlu burst into laughter.

Although it was still that ordinary face, suddenly, Zhou You vaguely saw a dazzling light that had inadvertently shone through—

That's strange, is this girl really that pretty?
Zhou You looked closely, but found nothing more. It was still the same rustic attire and the same average-looking face.

Finally, only a clear and melodious voice came through.

"Okay, Senior Brother Zhou!"

The town isn't very big.

However, probably because it was close to the prefecture, the town was better off than other places; at least there weren't many corpses of people who had starved to death on the road.

The person Feng Qianlin was looking for lived on the east side of the town, and according to him, was one of the few trustworthy people in the area.

"This is one of my seniors. He joined the revolutionaries many years ago and has always done liaison and information work. His family was killed by the Qing government, so his loyalty is absolutely guaranteed. The main reason I made a special detour here is to find him."

Feng Qianlin briefly introduced the man's identity while leading the two on their way. After half an hour, they finally arrived at a herbal medicine shop.

The shop wasn't big, and business had probably been slow lately, as the door was locked and there was a thick layer of snow piled up in front of it, indicating that no one had walked by.

Feng Qianlin knocked on the door several times in a rhythm of two short knocks followed by one long knock. After a short while, a muffled voice spoke.

"Second Master?"

"it's me."

The door creaked open, and soon a man in a cloth robe with an ordinary face peeked out.

"This is not the place to talk outside. Please come in."

Zhou You looked around and, finding nothing amiss, nodded. Feng Qianlin and Chaolu then followed.

The room was much like an ordinary pharmacy, probably because there was a lot of stock, and even the air was filled with a strong smell of Chinese herbs. The man smiled apologetically, then lit an incense burner, poured a cup of tea for each of them, and then said in a low voice.

"I just received news recently that Second Master is planning to follow my path—time is of the essence, so let's skip the pleasantries. Second Master, is there anything I can help you with?"

Feng Qianlin carefully examined the man, and seeing that there was nothing unusual on his face, he slowly spoke.

"I need one, no, two fast horses, and some manpower support. I know it's inconvenient to mobilize manpower for this operation, but Yu Sanzhi has already broken his vow. In order to buy time, we have no choice but to take this risk."

The man nodded repeatedly and answered immediately after Feng Qianlin finished speaking.

"The horses are fine; they were prepared for you before you came. They're in the stables not far away now, but we need manpower."

Sensing the hesitation in the other person's words, Feng Qianlin frowned and asked.

What's wrong with manpower?

The man frowned and thought for a moment.

"It's not easy to get manpower. As you know, the Qing government has been heavily blocking the area recently, making it difficult for our revolutionaries to sneak into this place. However, if we take a detour through the mountains, it might be possible, but it will take a day or two."

Upon hearing this, Feng Qianlin looked at Zhou You.

Zhou You was frowning as he faced the incense burner, seemingly very uncomfortable with the smell, and sneezed several times in a row.

Only after the other person urged him again did he reluctantly wipe his nose and then speak.

"There's no rush. We just took care of that fortune teller not long ago. According to my master, they only assign one fortune teller per region, so we don't need to worry about Yu Sanzhi tracking us down again. If it only takes a day or two, there shouldn't be any problem."

Feng Qianlin nodded and then spoke to the man.

"Then let's do as you say. We'll leave in two days at the earliest."

"Alright, Second Master, where will you be staying?"

"You can arrange it."

After the three people had completely left, the man closed the door again and went back into the room.

He first took out paper and pen, dipped them in ink, and carefully wrote a letter requesting support. Then he put the letter in a bamboo bucket, tied it to a pigeon's leg, and let it fly with him. Without taking any rest, he immediately tidied up the house until he was sure that all traces of visitors had been covered up.

Just as he was about to extinguish the incense, for some reason, his head suddenly tilted to the side.

It seemed like just a minor accidental bump, nothing serious under normal circumstances, but for some reason, the angle of the head tilting kept increasing until it reached an unbelievable angle.

Then, his body, which had been hidden under his clothes, was revealed.

But it's not a normal person's neck.

Instead, it was a festering, bloody stain.

But this person seemed completely unaware, slowly straightening their head while muttering to themselves.

"We need to find a way out for Second Master. This mission must be completed. Second Master's life is of paramount importance and cannot be lost. Even if I die, I must protect Second Master and ensure that he is not harmed in the slightest."

The voice was firm, yet incredibly rigid.

It's as if
It's like an audio recording that's already been made.

(End of this chapter)