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Chapter 474 Calculation
The thing was moving slowly along the road.

Honestly, although it may seem like a brainless gelatinous substance, it is actually intelligent.

As an apostle who preached the word for the Lord, it was neither the smartest nor the most foolish.

It also knows that what is blocking its way now is probably that legendary thing, but it doesn't matter.

Indeed, after being sealed for hundreds of years, his power had been reduced to almost nothing; his once magnificent body was now reduced to a mere fraction. But the same was true for his opponent—

The once boundless legacy has long been lost; he is the last of them all. Perhaps he cannot defeat him alone, but as long as his lord awakens…
Regardless, this world still belongs to them.
-
In his mind, the offspring he sent out had died one by one.

—But it doesn't matter, they're just consumables.

Unlike humans, what is called reproduction is merely a division process for it.

It's good to be alive.

It doesn't matter if I die.

Moreover, it knows that things are different now than before; nowadays, no ruler wants them, or anything like them, to be exposed to these mortals.

—Admittedly, this is a risk for it as well, but for that guy, the limitations will be greater.

Otherwise, how could I have come up with such a good idea to get that guy away from the sacrificial offering?
-
The light drizzle never stopped.

It was already night, but there was no light at all.

It was naturally unaware of the large-scale power outage and repairs; it only knew that the annoying lights had been greatly reduced, allowing it to travel unimpeded all the way.

There was no sign of anyone around, only the sound of myself slowly crawling on the ground.

And so, an unknown amount of time passed.

It eventually arrived at its destination.

The villa remained the same, swaying in the heavy rain, but no human presence could be seen within it. The entire complex seemed to have sunk into the rain, and no other sounds could be heard.

Having learned its lesson from the sorcerer, even though it was already close to the gate, it still trembled and sent out many spies to sneak into the manor one by one.

There are no spells.

No exception.

There were no ambushes.

That's strange. Did this guy just give up like that?

It thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out why someone would do such a thing.

Out of its cautious nature, it was willing to retreat directly, but considering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it finally decided to grit its teeth and go in to take a look first.

After all, given his nature, he might not be able to defeat that guy head-on, but at least he could run away.

However, the mountain villa is not like a main road or woodland. Given its size, it was really difficult to enter. So they could only remove the impurities and then squeeze in little by little.

Countless expensive pavilions and towers suffered damage during this time, but it didn't care at all. As its size decreased, the roads became more and more unobstructed.

It finally arrived in front of the small building when it shrank to about two meters.

The mark left by the sorcerer is right there, practically within reach.

However, he was not attacked at all from beginning to end.

Finally, it twisted its body and stepped through the door.

—Only silence.

The gelatinous body was really inconvenient, so he conjured hands and feet—it was bound to be a little uncomfortable at first, but after a while, he found a rhythm.

Then, a tall, thin ghostly figure staggered out, staggered up the stairs, and finally staggered open the door.

The offering was sitting on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, waiting for him, completely unharmed.

I finally felt relieved.

It walked over and placed its hand on the blanket.

No one understands the taste of imprisonment better than it, and no one knows better the torment of loneliness that has been brought about for thousands of years. Now that the opportunity to escape is right in front of it, it can't help but feel a little excited, similar to those five-cent monkeys.

Otherwise.

Just as its hand touched the soft cicada silk, it suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The thing inside isn't breathing.

After standing there for more than ten seconds, it grabbed the blanket and ripped it off.

—What came into view was a paper figure.

A paper figure with a few strands of hair tied to a sacrificial offering, crudely made and painted with bright red paint, looks like it's laughing heartily at itself!
At this moment, it finally realized it had been tricked and turned to retreat—but just then…

There was a knock on the door.

Turning my head, I saw a smiling person leaning against the door, gently knocking on the door again.

"Excuse me, friend, I've interrupted your good time. I hope you don't mind."

It was none other than Zhou You!
It held back for a long time before finally uttering a single sentence.

"How did you get here?"

Zhou You wasn't in a hurry, but instead smiled and asked a question in return.

"You've only been out of trouble for a short time. Just a few days ago you were stammering, like a foreigner who had just arrived in China. And now you can speak a complete sentence? It seems you have a really good learning ability."

Then, he continued speaking to himself.

"Actually, it's quite simple. After I wiped out your bunch of bastards, I came straight here and blocked your door. Surprised? Unexpected?"

"Impossible, I clearly felt you on my other side—"

"However, just like this girl, we split into two cars. The one that went out was a paper doll, while I took advantage of your inattention and secretly made my way out."

"That's impossible. I timed it perfectly. How could you possibly get here so quickly?"

Zhou You simply pointed to the sky.

“Modern technology, kid—I really couldn’t have made it here by car, but coincidentally, with Lin Chen’s wealth, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to get a helicopter that can fly in the rain and a pilot with the corresponding skills. And his family happens to have a helipad that can be used for take-off and landing. You just came in, and I’m right behind you.”

The thing remained silent.

But in the next second, its body suddenly swelled up, and in the blink of an eye, it was about to break through the roof and rush out of the house—

But Zhou You just kept smiling.

From beginning to end, he didn't even try to stop us in the slightest.

As the opponent grew larger and larger, its momentum suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

In fact, it has started to shrink back again.

Turning its head, a horrified expression appeared on its writhing face, belying its human form.

"What did you do?"

Zhou You just smiled. "It's nothing, really. Just remember, today is Qingming Festival."

"And this is the time for ancestor worship, the salvation of the deceased, and the holding of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly."

At the foot of the mountain, on the other side of the shade.

I don’t know when it started, but a huge shed has been erected here.

Due to time constraints, the shed wasn't very well made, but there was one thing about it.

This place is big enough.

Hundreds of monks and hundreds of Taoist priests sat on either side. Due to various reasons such as religious beliefs and business, the two sides did not fight each other much. However, under the power of money, although the atmosphere was tense, they eventually stopped at the level of glaring at each other.

Wen Tianyi stood on the platform in the very center, impeccably dressed and with a dignified air.

Honestly, ever since he took this job, he's always kept his head down and acted like a coward—not to mention Zhou You and that monster who could kill him at any moment, he couldn't even hold his head up in front of Lin Chen. For a while now, he felt like a ball that anyone could kick around.

But today, he finally regained some confidence.

—After all, these people were all gathered by the master!
Look at this, this is what face is!

Okay, there aren't many truly capable people among them, but at least they can make up for it with quantity.

Wen Tianyi cleared his throat and then spoke seriously.

The sound echoed through the microphone throughout the shed, momentarily drowning out the whispers of the flies below.

"Everyone, please be quiet! Please be quiet!"

Thanks to his membership in the council and the substantial donations he received from Buddhism, he possessed a certain degree of authority.

It's not very big, though.

Soon after, a Taoist priest spoke up.

"Director Wen, what are you trying to do by suddenly gathering so many people? And why are you in such a hurry to call them over, saying they have to arrive within two days—this is only because of you. If it were anyone else, I would have just yelled at them, and they certainly wouldn't have come all this way."

Wen Tianyi responded skillfully, first soothing the man gently, then thanking all the guests profusely, and finally revealing his purpose with a smile.

"Actually, this is a very simple matter. I just want to invite everyone to hold a water and land ritual."

However, saying this only made things worse, as it immediately drew criticism from some of the monks.

“Benefactor Wen, the Water and Land Dharma Assembly is a Buddhist event. Why did you bring a bunch of Taoist priests here? Besides, this isn't something you can just do by setting up a tent. You need to at least set up an inner and outer altar, and then make preparations for the food offering and the ordination.”

Wen Tianyi nodded in agreement, then chuckled and said.

"I'm sorry, but we're rushing to meet a deadline. The wealthy man above said we have to cooperate with the city's activities and finish today—besides, he himself doesn't know the procedures for this grand vegetarian festival and has always thought it was a joint event by Buddhism and Taoism."

Seeing the commotion erupt again from the audience, he immediately continued to laugh.

"Don't worry, everyone, this is just a formality. It will be done in an hour, and you will all receive the promised payment, plus your travel expenses!"

Upon hearing this, the two hundred or so people finally quieted down.

Why do people do this job?
It's all about eating.

But after the two leaders looked at each other for a while, they raised another question.

"But we've never done it this way before, so what's the next step?"

Wen Tianyi recalled someone's earlier greeting and then said confidently.

"Reciting scriptures."

"Then what scriptures should we recite?"

Wen Tianyi made a solemn vow.

"Any scripture will do, even the Bible!"
-
The rain has been falling.

Because of what had just happened, nearly half of the house had cracked, and rainwater poured down from the roof, quickly flooding the place beyond recognition.

Zhou You remained leaning against the door, showing no sign of urgency, and instead chatted away.

"Admittedly, most monks and Taoist priests nowadays are just empty shells, all good-for-nothings, almost obsessed with money. But in terms of faith and vows, they still have some ability."

The thing didn't react, or even maintain its human form. It moved step by step toward the door, each step feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The person continued speaking.

"And most importantly, it is Qingming Festival now."

He stretched out his hand and pointed down.

"During the Qingming Festival, the gates of hell open, a day for guiding wandering souls above and receiving demons below. Although the underworld is almost completely destroyed now, its powers and responsibilities remain. With these two combined, plus my rudimentary knowledge of Nuo opera, I can use a bunch of charlatans to carry out this method of suppression in this degenerate age."

Upon hearing this, the monster, which was almost back to its original form, hissed.

"They're just a bunch of low-class monkeys. Do you really think you can wipe them out with that?"

Who would have expected.

Surprisingly, Zhou You nodded in strong agreement.

"Indeed, this little bit of stuff can only prevent you from growing bigger. Let alone resealing it, it probably won't even weaken you much."

"then you--"

But, in the very next moment...

With a broad smile on his face, Zhou You suddenly brandished his long sword.

"The problem is, why should I let them weaken me?"

He just smiled as he stepped through the puddles and walked across the broken ground.

"Admittedly, my magic is not very advanced, and feng shui formations are mostly used for defense and restriction. As for funerals, I've only just begun to understand them. I usually use a sword far more than I perform magic."

It was a perfectly normal expression, yet for some reason, the creature felt a chill from the bottom of its heart, and its body involuntarily retreated.

However, Zhou You continued to speak.

"But the problem is, I just don't want to be in the public eye. They can limit your growth, that's enough."

The thing ground its teeth and spoke in a squeezing sound from between them.

"Are you treating me like a fish on a chopping board?"

Zhou You smiled and shook his head.

"No, no, no, you've got it wrong. I'm actually quite humble, but the question is, what's my status, and what's yours?"

His tone suddenly turned cold, filled with deep disdain.

"This trivial matter has caused so many deaths and wasted so many of my vacation days. To be honest, let me say something similar to 'Don't underestimate a young man's potential'—if you want me to take this seriously, at least someone of your master's level would be qualified."

"As for you, are you even worthy?"

The thing wanted to say something, but in the next second, Zhou You had already drawn his sword.

Then, step forward!
(End of this chapter)