The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

Da da da da da da da.

Numerous, rapid footsteps sounded!

Lu Wenjun was shocked: "Hey! The army of spirits that have possessed us looks like they're sprinting a hundred meters, you bastard!!"

"You're already spirits, why are you in such a hurry? Slow down, okay?!"

"That's the one, I can't wait because I can smell the fresh flesh and blood."

Faris turned around: "That makes some sense. Why did you suddenly come up behind me?"

Lu Wenjun walked backwards at lightning speed: "Isn't this a game for the brave? I think you're braver than me, so you can go ahead."

"No, no, no, judging from your strength, you're the brave one! You should be the brave meat shield!"

"Then let's reach an agreement to retreat together, and no one should run away first, okay?"

Farisby gestured: "OK, brother, since we came together, we should live and die together."

"Okay, then I'll count to three and we'll run together. 3, 2..."

"1!"

At the moment of exit 1, Lü Wenjun unleashed a sharp low whip kick at Faris! At the same time, Faris delivered a swift low side kick to Lü Wenjun!

The ultimate moves, hastily used to hinder their comrades, clash in an ugly manner in the fog!

Lu Wenjun was shocked: "You're so despicable!"

Faris exclaimed in astonishment: "How shameless of you!"

"Stop showing your surprise. Who's really getting in the way of your companions?"

"You even used a whip kick and you still have the nerve to criticize me."

"Oh, it's because there are vengeful spirits under your feet, you bastard."

"I was trying to exorcise the spirit for you, you bastard!"

The two brothers, who had adventured together, clashed violently, beginning a merciless struggle! Their hideous faces caused even the surrounding spirits to retreat. But then, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly ceased…

—A row of human figures emerged from the mist! The brave ones let out courageous screams!

"They're here!! The army of possessing spirits is coming!!!"

"Damn it, my good brother is going to die hand in hand!!"

Chapter 49 What's uglier than ghosts and monsters is the human heart.

The army of possessing spirits slowly approached, revealing their true forms before the screaming brave souls. That was…

Wearing stylish clothes and with meticulously styled hair, these young men exude a dazzling aura, whether they're fashionistas or campus elites!

Lu Wenjun's eyes conveyed shock: (Why does this army of spirits look so much like social butterflies?)

(Is this a gathering of top spirits? Are we just lucky to have encountered a team-building event with elite spirits?)

(Wait, why does that guy look so familiar? The leader looks like...)

The leader of the spirit army was a stylish, handsome man with silver hair. He waved to the two of them and said, "Hey, you two are here to play the game of the brave too?"

Lu Wenjun gave a stiff smile: "Yes, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into Senior Chai Luo here."

This person was none other than Chai Luo, the president of the Magic Art Styling Club—the same terrifying troll who secretly used an alternate account to berate the club members. And those trendy, fashionable guys were, of course, the club members who beat him up at the dance.

Faris chuckled, "I didn't expect the seniors to play this too."

Chai Luo scratched the back of his head: "Oh dear, we were really embarrassed by those bastards from the Thousand-Year Cave before. Although the misunderstanding was cleared up later, we still want to do some team building to repair our relationships."

The members smiled too: "We've been waiting for this day for so long." "We had to come." "It had to end perfectly."

"If you don't mind, would you like to come along?"

"Really? We'd love to!"

Faris nodded hurriedly, turned around and pulled Lü Wenjun aside, whispering, "Don't you think their smiles are a little strange?"

Lu Wenjun's eyes darted around nervously: "It's more than just a little... Look closely at their luggage..."

The members of the Magic Art Styling Club mostly carried large backpacks and carried shovels, pickaxes, saws, waterproof tarpaulins, opaque black plastic bags, and other items whose purpose was unclear...

"This doesn't look like team building supplies at all..."

Faris had a sudden inspiration: "Could it be a recent trend? Is this... homeless corpse-collecting style outfit all the rage lately?"

"Something doesn't feel right. Look at their eyes again..."

Although the group members wore smiles, they were completely superficial smiles... because there was no smile in their eyes, and their cold eyes contained a "black" devoid of any emotion!

Faris shuddered. "This is bad. I remember now. I've seen a similar look before."

"You've actually played such a high-stakes, life-or-death match before?"

"That was killing intent! That silent, deathly killing intent, just like when my mother saw my father preparing to return to his old ways!"

Lu Wenjun couldn't hold back: "Your father really hasn't given up his wicked intentions!"

Faris clutched his head: "After that, what happened... Damn it, I can't remember... My head hurts so much..."

"Don't recall those memories anymore! Don't talk about anything that feels incredibly terrifying!"

Faris shook his head vigorously: "In short, one thing is for sure, these guys probably want to kill Chai Luo."

Lu Wenjun deeply agreed; his crisis radar was buzzing, like a famous detective arriving in a snow-covered mansion.

The members of the Magical Art Studio brought some logs and stones and were building a wooden hut on the spot. Chai Luo squatted alone to the side, tidying up ropes, looking completely ostracized. Lü Wenjun walked up to him and gave him an awkward smile: "By the way, senior, how did your club... eventually reconcile?"

Chai Luo was very cheerful: "I talked to everyone one-on-one, and finally everyone accepted the reality."

"Accept...accept reality?"

Chai Luo sighed: "After all, most of the works in our club are, to be honest, just a pile of shit!"

The murderous aura around them instantly intensified tenfold! Lu Wenjun and Faris's smiles froze on their faces!

Chai Luo said, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, "They say the Magic Art Styling Club is basically a shit-making club. From a professional point of view, they're all really terrible. After graduation, when they see their portfolios, they'll want to tear them up. But as the club president, I have to consider everyone's feelings, so I can only offer my opinions tactfully on the forum."

"After that, I reflected on my actions and realized that the pursuit of art should be more important than superficial social interactions. From now on, I will offer my criticisms more directly, and I hope everyone's artistic appreciation will improve in this new environment. Hahaha!"

Chai Luo laughed heartily, appearing self-assured that he had grown, completely ignoring the nakedly murderous gazes around him.

Faris's lips twitched: "Senior, may I ask what spells you brought today...?"

"As the club president, I have some responsibility, so I brought all my life-related spells for this team building event," Chai Luo laughed. "My self-spells are also creation-type, so I might as well serve everyone this time."

Oh no! These club members even prepared for the crime in advance! This idiot is definitely going to die!! I really want to just pretend I didn't see it, but my conscience is fighting me—what should I do?!

Just then, two members of the gang, carrying wood and stones, passed by behind Chai Luo. One of them, with fluid movements, activated a transformation technique, enlarging his right arm and smashing down two watermelon-sized stones!

"Oh no, senior, watch out!"

Ultimately, Lü Wenjun was driven by his conscience. With lightning speed, he kicked Chai Luo, sending him flying. The stone grazed Chai Luo's jeans and landed with a thud! Chai Luo rolled three times on the ground like a garbage bag before his head hit a pile of logs!

Faris shouted hurriedly, "Hey, that rock almost hit someone! How careless!"

Chai Luo looked up, about to yell a curse, but was shocked by the size of the rock: "How can there be such a big rock?!"

The boy who threw the stone was a short man with a watermelon-shaped haircut. He put his reinforced right hand behind his back and answered without changing his expression, "Oh, this is for artistic considerations. I think using this to decorate the wooden house gives it a more primitive feel."

Chai Luo scratched his head in anger: "I'm telling you, Vice President Chia, you're really something... These two things don't go together at all. There's a limit to messing around. You just can't find a balance in the use of themes, which is why you make those garbage sculptures, isn't it?"

Vice President Chia nodded slowly: "The president is right. I will learn from this experience. Well then, I'll go prepare..."

He had his back to the president, facing the two of them, his face revealing an extremely terrifying expression. He mouthed something very quietly:

—Don't get in my way, or I'll take you all down with me.

The two chuckled awkwardly as they watched the vice president leave. Faris whispered, "Suddenly I understand their murderous intent."

"There's nothing we can do about it. As the saying goes, 'In literature, there's no first place, but in martial arts, there's always a second.' Every artist has that arrogance of 'I'm the best in the world,'" Lu Wenjun muttered to himself. "It's one thing to criticize from behind the scenes, but if they call you trash to your face, then... it's understandable that they'd be tricked and killed..."

"I really regret posting on the forum. I'm completely caught in this mess and there's no escaping it..."

"If we run away now, the whole styling company will know we're cowards. Let's take it one step at a time... Besides, I have this feeling that if we leave it alone, someone might actually die..."

"Ah, we should still be a little careful. That's what I think too."

Lü Wenjun nodded: "Huh?"

“I agree with you,” Faris said.

Lu Wenjun turned his head and gave him an ambiguous look: "Hey Faris, what do you usually call yourself again?"

Faris looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about? It's not like you're Japanese and you're using all sorts of weird self-designations. I usually just call myself 'my'?"

"Uh-huh……"

Lu Wenjun stared at his buddy's face, which was as white as if he had applied foundation, his two slanted eyes, his teeth that had inexplicably grown longer, and the antler-like things that had suddenly grown out of nowhere.

"It has ascended..."

"What are you saying all of a sudden? Don't scare me, okay?"

"Anyway, Lord Morality, please stand still and don't move. If you move, I'll transform immediately. I'm going over there for a bit."

Lu Wenjun ran to Chai Luo's side and whispered, "Senior, when you guys encountered possessed guys in the Jumanji game, how did you handle it?"

"Possession?" Chai Luo thought for a moment. "Such incidents are rare. The spirits around Frost Smoke Lake are generally very gentle; only the more ferocious ones would attempt possession..."

"The one I just saw was the super ferocious type, he even called himself 'Laozi', 'Laozi' indeed."

“I used to make exorcism tools.” Chai Luo pulled a pair of boxing gloves out of his bag. “These are the exorcism boxers that can strike spirits.”

The boxing gloves come in pairs, one red and one blue. The blue gloves are painted with a demon, while the red gloves are painted with an angel. Although the gloves are small, the images are painted with extremely detailed detail, which is almost a waste.

"Wouldn't it be too much trouble to make it a disposable item...?"

"?" Chai Luo asked, puzzled. "This is a magic-supply type."

Lu Wenjun was taken aback: "Really? Senior, you can create and charge magical artifacts all by yourself?"

Magical tools, simply put, are items that seal in magical power. Because the amount of magic power sealed in them is limited, most of them can only be used once, such as bombs that ignite flames and powders that grant invisibility.

Rechargeable magical artifacts, on the other hand, can be replenished by the user for continuous use. These artifacts require a unique internal structure with corresponding spell formulas, making the design extremely complex and resulting in very limited production. Lu Wenjun's flying shoes, for example, belong to this category, and their price is so high that even Mingxiao felt the pinch.

“Charging magical artifacts are something that can be mastered with practice; even a novice can do it with a little practice. The next level, ‘divine machines,’ is what requires talent to design.” Chai Luo handed him the gauntlets. “Here, take these. Consider them a thank-you gift from the last ball; it’s all thanks to you guys for stepping up.”

"Ah, thank you so much..."

The moment Chai Luo spoke, resentful glances were clearly cast at him from those around him. Lü Wenjun, with his keen hearing, caught the whispers of the crowd.

"You dare to say that, you bastard!" "There's a limit to arrogance." "Let's take action now if we don't want to hear his filth." "Wait a minute, I'm thinking of a suitable reason..."

It's obvious that most people in the club couldn't make this! Chai Luo is such a genius that he's oblivious to the average person's level, has absolutely no social skills, and can't control his mouth. He deserves to end up like this!

Lu Wenjun picked up his gloves and turned away from the trouble, while Faris was licking his teeth in a disgusting way.

"Oh, you're back. I've been waiting for you to come back to me for ages."

"This possession process is really fast, huh?"

"Get closer so I can bite you... let me see your face clearly, you bastard!"

Lu Wenjun silently put on his boxing gloves: "By the way, Faris, what do you want for supper?"

The white-faced, antlered stag Faris roared, "Bloodstained flesh—Pfft!"

Lu Wenjun lunged forward and threw a straight uppercut aimed at Faris's chin! The sneak attack landed perfectly, and a terrifying phantom of a stag-horned monster appeared above Faris's head as his eyes rolled back! Without hesitation, Lu Wenjun threw another punch, his left fist slamming into Faris's abdomen!

"Take this, Friendship Exorcism Uppercut!" "Guwa!" "Friendship Exorcism Straight Punch!" "Aba!"

Faris, foaming at the mouth, collapsed, convulsing. The antlered vengeful spirit stood frozen in mid-air: "He...he wasn't he your friend? Why could he so readily kill his friend?"

Lu Wenjun laughed heartily: "We're all brothers, what's the big deal? Faris has always been indifferent!"

"You're vicious...we'll see..."

The antlered vengeful spirit retreated sullenly into the mist. Faris shakily raised his hand and grabbed Lü Wenjun's trouser leg.

"You and I……"

Lu Wenjun grasped his hand and said affectionately, "It's alright now, buddy. The vengeful spirit on you has been effectively expelled."

Faris nodded gratefully. Then he jumped up and headbutted him hard in the stomach.

"Exorcising Rocket Headbutt, you bastard!!"