Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 563 Death
Master Chongxu stood with his hands behind his back, calmly watching Uncle Chen perform the ceremony—from beginning to end, he never looked at the disciples behind him, only glancing sideways and speaking when Zhou You spoke.

"What business do you have during the sect's grand ceremony? Just sit quietly."

Zhou You did not listen, but instead lowered his head and spoke in a humble yet assertive manner.

"Master, it is indeed urgent. I need to perform the Chengming ceremony, and it is extremely pressing. I'm afraid I must go out."

Master Chongxu was taken aback.

"You ignorant fool, where did you hear about this obscure stuff? Oh, Lin Yunshao told you, didn't he?"

After saying that, he glanced at Lin Yunshao.

Lin Yunshao kept his head down and hid behind Zhou You.

Master Chongxu didn't seem to want to pursue the matter further. Instead, he waved his hand and said in a low voice.

"The so-called Ritual of Ascending to Enlightenment is a rule established by our patriarch. It states that when a disciple has an enlightenment, no matter when or where they are, they can tell their master and then go out to further their understanding. The original intention was to encourage the disciple's ambition, but you..."

He shook his head and sighed again.

"Alright, you can go now, but remember not to disturb anyone, and you must be back by the designated time, otherwise even I can't protect you."

Zhou You bowed his head and agreed.

Then, he stood up abruptly, ignoring the surprised looks around him, and ran out along the edge of the candlesticks.

Uncle Chen, who was reciting a blessing, raised his eyes but did not stop them. Only when passing by the giant did the man casually utter a sarcastic remark.

"So urgent, are you going to poop in your pocket?"

Zhou You ignored him and stepped out the door without looking back.

Two quarters of an hour, or thirty minutes, is generally the time it takes for an average person to go downstairs to a restaurant for a meal.

For Zhou You, this is now the limit where every second counts.

Zhou You had imbued himself with the Swiftness Talisman, Wind-Speed ​​Talisman, Lightness Spell, and everything else that could accelerate his speed. If anyone were to look at him at this moment, they would only see a vague and ethereal afterimage.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

He finally arrived at the place Wang Chongming had described.

It was a cluster of abandoned houses nestled in the mountains, their purpose unknown. It was quite far from the main road, so you wouldn't see any idlers coming to worship.

At this moment, several Taoist priests were already guarding the exit, and two others were lying on the ground, seemingly seriously injured. Upon seeing Zhou You, several of them immediately tried to draw their swords—but were quickly silenced by a shout.

"What are you doing? This is our backer! Put your weapons away!"

Seeing the Taoist priests obsequiously put away their weapons, Wang Chongming put on a fawning smile and spoke to Zhou You.

"Sir, we are so sorry, we are incompetent and have made you risk your life to come here."

Zhou You took a deep breath, adjusted his slightly rapid breathing, and then spoke.

"What about people?"

"He's inside. We deliberately lured him here. The house still has some remnants of its seal; unless he grows wings, there's no way he could fly out."

However, before he could finish speaking, Zhou You had already slipped inside.

Inside and outside, it was all ruins. Only from the details on the side branches could one tell that this place must have once been a place like a lecture hall.

At the far end of the room stood a disheveled man.

His Taoist robe was indeed in the style of Yun Zhongzi's school. One hand was dragging to one side, and it looked broken, while the other hand was holding a long sword that gleamed coldly. When he saw someone come in, he immediately frowned and said fiercely.

"I, Cang Erzi, have no grudge against you. Why did you suddenly attack me?! If my master finds out, he'll turn you all into human pills!"

Time was of the essence, and Zhou You didn't bother with any more pleasantries, so he stepped inside directly.

The next moment, Duan Xie had already risen into the air!

The man was taken aback, but instinctively raised his sword to meet the attack.

To be fair, his swordsmanship is indeed excellent, and his sword is also a fine one; it's just that those guys outside couldn't get in.

but.

With a single turn, Duan Xie penetrated the enemy's defenses at the very moment of their clash.

Then, a cold glint flashed.

In an instant, accompanied by a shrill scream, the opponent's longsword slipped from his hand and fell into the mud.

Zhou You's assessment of this was only one sentence.

"You dare to wield a sword?"

The man's face immediately turned a deep liver color, but upon seeing Zhou You's face, it instantly turned pale.

half an hour.

He then spoke, his voice trembling.

"The Heavenly Sword? Didn't you go to participate in the Grand Ceremony? What are you doing here? Wait, are you with them?"

Zhou You kicked him to the ground, then pointed the tip of his sword at his neck and said calmly.

"I just took a leave of absence, but judging from your reaction, it seems I've hit the nail on the head. What, do you know where my junior brother is?"

The man shuddered, ignoring his bloodied hands, and quickly said...

"How could that be? Senior Brother, you've misunderstood me. I haven't seen him at all these past few days."

"You're lying. Aqua was working as a doorman just a few days ago. How could you not have seen her?"

Upon hearing this, the man realized he had made a mistake and quickly tried to defend himself.

No, I mean...

But Zhou You didn't want to confront this guy.

He looked up, peered through the hole in the roof, glanced at the sky, and estimated the time. Then he pulled a cloth bag from his pocket—and when he unfolded it, he found dozens of long needles gleaming with silver light inside.

“When I was leading the Nine Schools, I learned some skills from people in the government. They were all kinds of torture methods to make prisoners talk, but the most effective of them was this needle torture—it is said that even the toughest man can't withstand it. Junior brother, I apologize.”

After saying this, he poured his magic into the long needle, then found a spot and gently pressed the needle tip in.

It wasn't very forceful; in fact, it could be described as gentle.

But the moment the long needle pierced his body, the man's eyes widened as if he were enduring some extreme pain—followed by a scream that resounded through the sky and was even inhuman!

The Taoist priests guarding outside all shuddered, exchanging terrified glances. After a dozen or so breaths, one of the bolder ones finally poked his head out, seemingly wanting to see what was happening inside.

Immediately, a hand pressed his head down and pushed him back down.

Wang Chongming waved his hand, shooing all those people aside.

"Go away, sir. No, Master Zhou is doing his work. What are you doing getting involved? If you disturb him, you'll be the next ones to suffer."

After dispersing everyone, Wang Chongming thought for a moment, then took out a small bell and carefully placed it in front of the door.

The next moment, as if a mute button had been pressed, all the screams instantly disappeared.

Only then did Wang Chongming nod in satisfaction, then put his hands behind his back, intending to continue taking care of the wounded.

Just as he took a step, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Is that the legendary Heavenly Sword? But even if he's powerful, he's only a fourth-generation disciple. Brother Wang, is he reliable?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongming turned his head and looked directly at the person who had asked the question. Only after the other person seemed somewhat flustered by his gaze did he smile and speak.

"Don't worry, I, Wang Chongming, may not be good at anything else, but I have an excellent eye for people. That gentleman is definitely going to do great things. Following him is the right thing to do."

Inside the house.

Zhou You has already inserted the fifth long needle.

The person from the government office had told him before that ordinary prisoners would wail and scream after one needle prick, while the more stubborn ones would be in tears after two. Even those so-called tough guys would have to confess the color of their mother's underwear after three or four needle pricks.

This guy, known as Cang Erzi, was certainly not a tough guy.

Now he had turned into a twitching lump of mud. When Zhou You pulled his head up, his face was covered in tears and snot, and he could only keep repeating three words.

"Spare me, spare me!"

Zhou You sighed, then spoke.

"I have a few questions for you now, and I wonder if you can answer them, brother?"

As if grasping at a straw, Cang Erzi hurriedly said...

"Senior Brother, please speak freely. I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability."

"My question is very simple—where did my junior brother go?"

Upon hearing this, Cang Erzi looked terrified, seemingly unwilling to speak no matter what.

Zhou You didn't make things difficult for him, but shook his head and picked up the sixth long needle.

In an instant, pain overcame fear, and the man immediately spoke.

"Senior Brother, I'll tell you everything—I truly don't know where your junior brother went, but I know that Master is currently refining a crucial batch of pills, and recently, quite a few fellow disciples have mysteriously disappeared. The last time they were seen was almost always in the alchemy room."

Zhou You's gaze gradually turned cold.

"You mean to say that my junior brother was refined into a human elixir?"

Cang Erzi hesitated for a long time before cautiously answering.

"Senior Brother, I'm afraid it's not as simple as a human pill. A human pill only uses flesh and blood as materials; once it's refined, that's it. But Master's..."

The words were not finished, but the meaning was already conveyed.

Zhou You pursed his lips, glanced at the sky, and finally turned and left.

Before leaving, he used a talisman to temporarily seal off the place, connecting it with the remaining restrictions in the room.

Upon seeing Zhou You emerge, Wang Chongming hurried over to greet him.

"Master, have you found out where Junior Brother Aqua is?"

Zhou You closed his eyes, exhaled, and then said.

"I didn't find it, but never mind, Brother Wang. Have you already completed all the preparations I asked you to make?"

Wang Chongming seemed to have a premonition of something, his smile gradually faded, and then he lowered his head and said.

"Are you ready—Master Zhou, is it Junior Brother Aqua?"

"—Don't worry about that for now, but your preparations might need some adjustments. Here, I'll give you some talismans; stick them on these key points."

Zhou You used the grass as paper, and with a slender hand, he made a few strokes on it, finally creating several dots.

The painting skills were not particularly good, but they were enough for Wang Chongming to understand—but he could understand the details but not the meaning, so he scratched his head and said.

"That's possible, but Master Zhou, why?"

"It's just a matter of preparing for both possibilities. After all, if something really happens to my junior brother, what am I supposed to do?"

"We must get justice for him."
-
When Zhou You returned to the Ancestral Hall, Uncle Chen was still reciting those blessings.

Unlike when he left, this time he deliberately sought out the shadows and quietly crept back to the place.

Master Chongxu did not turn around, but he knew of his arrival. He moved his lips slightly and uttered a sentence.

"You've managed to get back by the narrow margin, that's quite an achievement—so, you've finished your business?"

Zhou You lowered his head and said.

"Yes, disciple has finished."

However, this time Master Chongxu did not stop, but continued speaking.

"Ling Yuan."

"The disciple is here."

"Master, I am satisfied with everything else about you, but there is one thing I am extremely dissatisfied with. Do you know what it is?"

"This disciple does not know."

"You're too chivalrous. You always want to stand up for others over trivial matters. In reality, it's better to stay out of trouble. If you want to get involved, you'll inevitably get into trouble. Some things are best left unseen. What are your so-called justice, chivalry, and even family ties? When you're in a high position, you'll find that all of that is a joke."

It appears to be a lesson, but it is clearly implied.

Zhou You did not reply.

Master Chongxu didn't expect him to listen, he simply waved his hand, signaling him to sit back down.

At this moment, Uncle Chen's congratulatory speech finally came to an end.

"The crane descends upon the altar, its bells ringing; the dragon's mandate bestows the mandate, governing the profound principles; the scriptures of the Three Caverns transmit wondrous secrets; the phoenixes and cranes of the ten directions protect the Jade Palace!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud 'bang' and flames as tall as a person burst into flames on the altar in front of him!

At that moment, the old man behind the curtain suddenly spoke.

"Chen Wen."

Chen Bo did not answer, but instead raised his cloudy eyes and looked at the other person.

But the usually assertive old man seemed unsure of what to say, and after a long while, he finally sighed.

"In the end, I have let you down. For the sake of the survival of our lineage, even though I was extremely unwilling at the time, I had no choice but to comply."

Uncle Chen coughed twice, interrupting the old man's words.

Unlike before, as if in a final burst of energy, this time he spoke with exceptional fluency.

“Master—this is probably the first time in decades that I’ve called you that—now that we’re both going to die, I’ll tell you this: I’ve never hated you. According to those bald monks, every effect has a cause. Since we wanted to get our hands on things that were far beyond our capabilities, it was only natural that we would suffer this retribution.”

Before the old man could reply, he continued.

"But Master, you also bear the consequences of your actions, and these consequences are far heavier than ours. We have all suffered such retribution, so what about you, Master? What will your end be?"

After a long silence, the old man let out a bitter laugh.

"Yes, you are free now, but my retribution is imminent, and I'm afraid I can't escape it."

But Uncle Chen did not hear these words.

After he finished speaking, he took steady steps and walked into the flames.

With a flick of the emerald green flames, the mangled body was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)