Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 553 Talk
Master Chongxu slowly turned around.

Several months later, he still had the same cold and gloomy expression, but Zhou You could still detect from the subtle details that there seemed to be a hint of fatigue in the corners of his eyes—something he had never seen before.

However, upon seeing Zhou You, he still spoke up as always.

"you are late."

What nonsense is this old bastard spouting?
Zhou You frowned, then replied.

"Master, I have been keeping track of the time. There are still about seven or eight days left until the deadline, so how could I be late?"

However, Master Chongxu simply repeated it once more.

"you are late."

There was no blame or questioning in his voice, but it was absolutely certain, as if he were stating an established fact.

Zhou You was a smart man and quickly realized that the other party was not joking.

"Master, what do you mean?"

Master Chongxu said.

"Disciple, you haven't consulted any almanacs along the way, have you?"

"Because I was in a hurry, I really didn't have any."

"Didn't you ask others what day it was?"

"Indeed, not at all."

Then, Master Chongxu sighed.

"Well, that's not your fault. I just wanted you to know that it's been a full five months since you came down the mountain."

Zhou You's expression suddenly turned somewhat gloomy.

"—What? That's not right, I clearly remember."

Master Chongxu waved his hand.

"That's why I said it's not your fault. I never expected that bald-headed Hongyi would gamble away the entire temple's fate to achieve his long-cherished wish. During that period, the entire area within a hundred miles of Hanshan Temple was in chaos. You might think only ten days or so passed, but in reality, several months had gone by."

Zhou You didn't reply; he remained there with his brows furrowed.

Honestly, since the fall and winter seasons are not very pronounced in these two states, and we were new to the area and not familiar with it, we really didn't expect this to happen.

—This adds up to almost this much time. Putting aside everything else, my plans will probably be disrupted quite a bit.

Seeing him frowning, Master Chongxu assumed he was regretting being late and surprisingly offered words of comfort.

"You don't need to worry. When I set the deadline, I anticipated this kind of accident, so I left a lot of room. It's enough that you were able to come back before the grand festival."

At this point, the man shook his head again.

"That bald-headed Hongyi, I told him long ago that the Arhat he worshipped was no good, but he wouldn't believe me, and as a result, he ruined the entire temple. Oh right, I forgot to ask, what happened to Hanshan Temple? How did the entire temple disappear overnight?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou You temporarily put aside his thoughts, pondered for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"That's a long story. My disciple went down the mountain a few days ago..."

Zhou You explained it to Master Chongxu in the shortest possible language—of course, he tried to ignore the key and sensitive points, or used a mix of truth and falsehood to deceive him.

But Master Chongxu didn't care about these things.

Or perhaps he knew that his 'obedient disciple' would never tell him the truth, but his attention had already been drawn to two other things.

And surprisingly, the first question he asked was something that Zhou You thought was quite insignificant.

"You mean, the Tantric sect plans to take over Yizhou, and even plans to build a Buddhist temple there?"

"Yes, sir, is there a problem with this?"

Master Chongxu pondered for a long time, but in the end he just shook his head thoughtfully.

"No, it's nothing, or rather, this matter is not our concern for the time being. Let's move on to the next one. You mean, it was the Rashomon people who cut off Hongyi's bald head?"

"Yes, the abbot's plan was almost successful, but the sudden appearance of the Rashomon people caused him to lose everything."

Anyway, this credit wouldn't be of any use to Zhou You, so he didn't mind at least putting all the blame on the 'Sheng Yuan' to cover up his own shortcomings.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhou You thought for a moment and then asked another question.

"Master, I see that everyone is quite wary of Rashomon. What kind of sect are they, anyway?"

But Master Chongxu didn't seem to want to say more about this.

"They are a rather special one among the thirty-six sects. They usually make a living by assassination or intelligence gathering. They are also the only major sect without a fixed mountain gate, but their numbers are very small. Moreover, our sect used to have a relationship with them, so we don't usually have to deal with them. Therefore, you don't need to worry about them too much."

Having said all that, Zhou You wouldn't ask any more questions.

The atmosphere became subtly awkward.

After a while, Master Chongxu spoke again.

"Forget it, there's no point in saying all this. What about the thing I asked you to get? Did you get it?"

Seeing the barely concealed but clearly very nervous expression on his face, Zhou You smiled and then deftly pulled out a bone fragment.

—That was the reward given to him by the old monk Hongyi. Over time, it has become smaller and smaller. Originally the size of a fist, it is now only the size of a fingernail.

however.

The instant I saw it.

Master Chongxu's eyes immediately widened, and then he unconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to grasp the bone fragment in his hand.

"The very essence of a deity's obsession?! That bald-headed Master Hongyi actually gave this away! I originally thought he'd only offer scraps, but I never expected this. Quickly, bring it here so I can see it—"

Suddenly, the conversation stopped abruptly.

It's very simple. Just as he was about to grasp it, the other person withdrew their hand and looked at him with a smile.

Master Chongxu stood up instantly.

"Are you trying to rebel?"

But he quickly realized what was happening.

—Although they were nominally master and apprentice, they were more like collaborators in reality—and while it was indeed his territory now, he was 70% confident he could take someone down if a fight broke out, but the problem was…
If he really does that, then he can forget about competing for the position of sect leader.

Therefore, Master Chongxu could only suppress his anger and coldly say...

"What do you mean?"

Zhou You's smile remained gentle and refined.

"This disciple has no particular intention. I just thought that since the sect is in such a mess right now, it would be better to keep this here for safekeeping. But please rest assured, Master, when it is time to bring it out for the grand ceremony, this disciple will definitely present it with both hands."

Master Chongxu looked at Zhou You coldly.

Zhou You responded with a respectful yet polite smile.

In the end, it was Master Chongxu who gave in first.

"Fine, take it if you want, but remember, this is the final and most crucial point. It must be kept safe and absolutely cannot be lost!"

Zhou You answered with a smile.

"This disciple understands perfectly."

And so, both sides fell silent once again.

However, just as Master Chongxu was about to send them away, Zhou You suddenly spoke up. "Master, this disciple has another question to ask."

"what's up?"

"Master, you clearly had the upper hand before I left the mountain. How come the situation has changed so drastically in just over two months, no, it should be more like three months?"

The truth was revealed, but Master Chongxu was not angry. Instead, he raised his eyebrows.

"Did you notice?"

"I'm not blind, of course I noticed."

Master Chongxu sighed, and then, just as he had done when they first met, pointed to the stool.

"sit."

After Zhou You sat down, he took out two more cups.

"Tea or wine, which would you like?"

This time, Zhou You did not refuse.

"Tea."

"But I've heard you're a heavy drinker."

"I drank a bit too much before going up the mountain, so I'd like something light now."

Master Chongxu didn't say anything more. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea, sat down opposite him, and said...

"When you went up the mountain, you probably didn't meet many of the sect's seniors, right?"

Zhou You thought for a moment, then frowned and nodded.

"Indeed, I thought you had sent them out on another mission, Master."

Suddenly, Master Chongxu laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Let's stop with the nonsense and tell you the truth. A few days ago, due to some mistakes, most of my senior and capable disciples died."

"...Dead?"

"Yes."

"Not a single one left?"

"There are still a few left, like Li Chengfei, but they are mostly sent abroad, and they are all just a few big shots. I didn't even let them know about this."

Zhou You's expression suddenly changed, and he said incredulously.

"Master, are you sure you're not joking with me? That's the most crucial accumulation of knowledge in the entire sect. Even if Aunt Qingxia is incredibly skilled, she couldn't possibly kill them all like that."

Master Chongxu said calmly.

"It certainly wasn't your Aunt Qingxia's doing; to be more precise, it was an accident—the sect was plagued by a great anomaly some time ago. No, you should know by now, it was our guardian spirit beast that suddenly went berserk and attacked our sect. Although I went to great lengths, using all my most treasured resources, and finally managed to drive it back to the Ancestral Hall, in the same way, almost all of our core disciples were killed or wounded."

Zhou You said with a frown.

"It wasn't done by Aunt Qingxia?"

Master Chongxu suddenly burst out laughing.

“Disciple, you have been traveling around for many years, so you probably don’t know much about this. In our sect, we can scheme against each other, deceive each other, and even kill each other, but the only thing we can’t do is touch spirit beasts. If anyone dares to touch them, the sect leader will not hesitate to wipe out all those involved.”

"Just like your master?"

"How did you guess that?" Venerable Chongxu looked surprised, but then he said in a low voice, "That's right, it's not impossible to guess. You're right, my master and uncle did try to do something about this, which is why they were all slaughtered. So it's impossible that my junior sister Qingxia did it."

This time, Zhou You fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"Master, after this incident, how many allies do we still have?"

Master Chongxu raised the corners of his mouth.

"As expected of my disciple, he immediately grasped the key point. After hearing the news, my two senior brothers immediately sided with my junior sister Qingxia. There were two others who were hesitant, but rather than leaning towards me, they just wanted to sell me for a good price. Only Yun Zhongzi is still firmly bound to me because of the blood oath he has made."

Zhou You's interface.

"Then the birthday gift will win."

Master Chongxu shook his head.

"It's a pleasant surprise that you were able to bring this, but unfortunately, as far as I know, my junior sister also got her hands on a good thing. I've heard that it can even preserve one's spiritual intelligence when entering reincarnation. You know, people on the verge of death usually value this kind of thing."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You immediately drew a conclusion within half a minute.

Well, after some time, this once magnificent ship is now leaking from all sides and looks like it's about to sink.

so
Seemingly sensing Zhou You's thoughts, Master Chongxu fiddled with his teacup and then suddenly said something.

"But you can rest assured, disciple. I still have a trump card to win. The position of sect leader will eventually be mine."

Even after people came to your door to mock you, you're still so confident.

Zhou You remained noncommittal, as if he was about to say something more.

However, at this moment, Master Chongxu gently tapped his teacup.

next moment.

Zhou You suddenly felt something was wrong with his body.

As the sound spread, something he had long forgotten suddenly came to life.

—It was the cinnabar worm that had been planted when I first started learning.

Is this old man trying to make a threat?
but.

—It should be noted that the pill worm had already been suppressed to an extremely weak state by the Heavenly Dragon bloodline. Although it was activated by the sound, its jumping strength was still weak.
It's not much different from scratching an itch.

However, this also leads to the next problem.

—What should I do in this situation?
Looking into Chongxu Shangren's eyes, Zhou You pondered for less than two breaths, then slammed his hand on the table with an extremely ugly expression and suddenly stood up.

"Master, what do you mean by this?"

Seeing Zhou You's drastically changed expression, Master Chongxu shook his head and stopped what he was doing.

Then, mimicking Zhou You's tone, he said with a smile.

"It's nothing, just a reminder that you were born a disciple of my Chongxu Sect, and you will die a disciple of my Chongxu Sect, nothing more. Besides, if you don't think of yourself, you should at least think of your junior sister, right? She also took this Enlightenment Pill, and if..."

Zhou You stared at him for a long time, seemingly wanting to draw his sword and attack several times—but in the end, he gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and said.

"Master, I will not disturb your rest any longer. I will take my leave now."

Master Chongxu did not try to stop him, but before he left, he said something leisurely.

"There's one more thing you need to remember—I've been planning for this position of sect leader for decades, how could I possibly give it up so easily? As long as nothing goes wrong on your side, my becoming sect leader is a sure thing."

Zhou You didn't turn around, but pushed the door open and left, then slammed the door shut as if venting his anger.

When everything fell silent, Master Chongxu suddenly raised his head—at this moment, there was no trace of mockery or anger on his face—and simply spoke calmly to a shadowy spot.

"What a fine disciple! Don't you think so?"

"Junior Brother Yun Zhongzi?"

(End of this chapter)