Chapter 234: Snowy Night Murder
The old man glanced over and nodded. "I've seen them. They came to me asking for directions."
Fear arose in the hearts of the other Daoists in the village. This old man stood right before them, yet they could not see his face. So close, his features were extremely blurry. Even using various heavenly eyes, they could not make him out clearly, as if he were not a living person.
The Dutian Demon King was also silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to speak.
This old man was an underworld emissary from Youdu, a deity under the command of Tubo. Such emissaries could be encountered in almost every world, each with different duties—some were responsible for guiding wandering souls from the yang world, some for ferrying the dead, and others for capturing those with great divine powers who tried to escape death.
The order of Youdu and the dead of the yang world was governed by them.
The Dutian World had once experienced a world-destroying war that nearly annihilated it entirely. At that time, corpses filled the fields, and bodies lay everywhere.
The sun of the Dutian World had gone out, leaving almost everything in darkness. But in the boundless gloom, countless points of light flickered, and beneath each light stood such an old man, coming to guide wandering souls.
Back then, the Dutian Demon King had survived the great war and become the Lord of Dutian. He was still young and full of passion. Seeing these emissaries come to guide the souls of Dutian's people, he immediately charged forward to fight—only to be severely wounded, nearly having his own soul taken as well.
Now, the Dutian Demon King still felt some fear when encountering these emissaries and dared not speak much.
Qin Mu bowed respectfully and asked, "May I ask where they went?"
The old man raised his hand, pointing into the darkness. "Carefree Village. But they cannot find it; they will only be trapped. Some emissaries are preparing to collect their souls."
The sound of splashing water came from the riverbank. From the Yong River, wet men and women emerged, their heads rising from the water. They slowly walked toward the village, their faces iron-gray, silent.
A paper boat flew out from the village. The men and women boarded it, and the boat drifted slowly into the darkness.
The other Daoists in the village were greatly shaken and quickly moved farther from the old man. Then they noticed that two of their companions had not moved but sat frozen in place.
On the paper boat that had already sailed into the darkness, they could faintly see the figures of those two.
The remaining three Daoists felt their hair stand on end. Long Jiaonan, also dressed as a Daoist, trembled in his legs, wanting to flee but not daring to, because outside the village lay the darkness.
"Lower your heads! Don't look at the old man!"
One of the older Daoists came to his senses and quickly said, "He is an underworld emissary! If your gaze meets his, your soul will be taken!"
Long Jiaonan and the other young Daoist quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet the old man's eyes.
Qin Mu's tone grew even more respectful. "May I ask you, elder brother, where exactly is Carefree Village?"
The old man still pointed into the darkness and said nothing more.
Qin Mu frowned. The direction the old man pointed was the realm of the dead within the darkness—another underworld, the location of Fengdu.
That time, he and the village chief had broken into that realm of the dead and barely escaped with their lives!
"That is not Carefree Village. May I ask, elder brother, where is the true Carefree Village?"
The old man shook his head, still pointing into the darkness.
Qin Mu asked again, but the old man no longer spoke.
Qin Mu was deeply troubled. He simply did not have the strength to cross the darkness. Moreover, aside from the village chief, even others in the village would find it difficult to cross unless they could carry the stone statues.
He fell silent. The village had no other sounds except for the snoring of the Dragon Qilin, who had fallen asleep.
After a long time, no corpses emerged from the river. The old man rose, boarded his small boat, and disappeared into the darkness.
Everything in the village returned to normal. The cold was gone, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only three Daoists remained in the village, along with Qin Mu, the Dutian Demon King, and the Dragon Qilin.
The broken stone statue emitted a faint glow, pushing back the surrounding darkness. Qin Mu felt a sudden insight and looked at the female Daoist. He smiled slightly and said to the other two Daoists, "You two masters have unfamiliar faces. Where is your immortal home?"
One of the Daoists, slightly older, said, "The Heavenly Demon Sect Leader inquires; we dare not hide anything. My master and disciple are from the Star Luo Heavenly Gate Sect. I am Red Cloud Daoist, and this is my unworthy disciple, Shao Yuan. The two just now were also my disciples, but unfortunately, they had bad luck and met the gaze of the underworld emissary, who took their souls."
Qin Mu showed respect and said, "So you are experts from the Star Luo Heavenly Gate Sect. The sect master of Star Luo Heavenly Gate is called Luo Xinghe, correct?"
"Master Luo was my teacher; he has passed away."
Red Cloud Daoist said gloomily, "That day, when the Heavenly Demon Sect moved the city mountain from Daxiang City, my teacher died at the hands of the Yan Guo National Teacher."
"I see." Qin Mu nodded.
Outside the village, the cold wind howled in the darkness, whistling. The few people in the village fell silent again, saying nothing. The two Daoists took down the sword cases from their backs and carefully wiped them. Long Jiaonan smiled faintly, gently touching the earring hanging from his earlobe.
Qin Mu reached into his Taotie pouch but did not take his hand out, still wearing a smile on his face.
A few crystalline snowflakes drifted through the sky, landing among them.
This night was not very peaceful. Unbeknownst to them, it had begun to snow.
The Dutian Demon King sensed the tense atmosphere and quietly kicked the Dragon Qilin. The Dragon Qilin woke up, looked around, found nothing unusual, and buried his head to sleep again.
The Dutian Demon King was furious. "This lazy beast! What's the point of keeping him?"
The snow grew heavier, and soon everyone was dusted with white.
Just then, a Buddhist chant suddenly came from the darkness. Everyone's hearts tightened. The chant came from the darkness. Qin Mu pulled his hand out of the Taotie pouch. Long Jiaonan also stopped touching his earring, and the two Daoists put down their sword cases.
Light shone from the darkness. A fat-headed, big-eared monk walked out of the darkness, looked around, and pressed his palms together. "Benefactors, I apologize for the intrusion."
Qin Mu did not dare to be careless and quickly stood up. "We are also travelers; it's no trouble."
Behind this big monk came a sturdy man, covered in black fur, with bulging muscles, sixteen feet tall, exuding a strong demonic aura like a humanoid violent ape, holding a monk's staff. He exclaimed in surprise, "Little one!"
Qin Mu was also astonished. He looked at the staff and recognized it as the Xiqiluo he had given to the demon ape. He blurted out, "Big guy! How did you get here? You've taken human form?"
This demonic-looking ape was both surprised and delighted. He came forward to greet Qin Mu, pointing at the fat monk. "Bald, small!"
The demon ape then pointed at himself and said in a deep voice, "Big, bald, teach. Bald, small, small!"
Qin Mu was dumbfounded. He ventured, "Are you saying that this big monk is from the Small Thunderclap Temple? A monk from the Great Thunderclap Temple found you, taught you skills, and then this monk from the Small Thunderclap Temple found you, told you he was from the Small Thunderclap Temple, and brought you back there?"
The demon ape nodded repeatedly.
Everyone in the village was stunned. The Dutian Demon King muttered, "How do you understand what he's saying..."
Qin Mu's heart tightened. Being able to walk through the darkness with the demon ape, this fat-headed monk was likely at the level of the Old Tathagata or the village chief!
A being like a god.
Long Jiaonan, Red Cloud Daoist, and Shao Yuan Daoist were terrified and quietly retreated, but any further retreat would take them into the darkness outside the village.
The three secretly lamented. First the underworld emissary, now the Small Tathagata of the Small Thunderclap Temple—both were acquaintances of Qin Mu. With just one word from Qin Mu, they could lose their lives!
Little did they know that Qin Mu was also extremely nervous. The Small Tathagata of the Small Thunderclap Temple was a demon cultivator, a great demon king who had defected from the Great Thunderclap Temple!
His understanding of Buddhism had taken an extreme path. He had once used a bronze Buddha on a sandbank in the Yong River to suppress the centipede fairy Xian Qing'er. That bronze Buddha had been toppled by Qin Mu using the power of the ice tide, freeing Xian Qing'er!
That fat-headed, big-eared Small Tathagata looked very much like a living Buddha, solemn and dignified. He glanced at Qin Mu and said, "So it's the young benefactor. Young benefactor, you ruined my merit. Do you remember?"
Long Jiaonan, Red Cloud Daoist, and the others brightened, a glimmer of hope rising in their hearts.
Qin Mu said, "I remember."
The demon ape stepped in front of Qin Mu, blocking him, and shouted loudly, "Bald, brother!"
The Small Tathagata looked at him and shook his head. "Don't worry. I have an enemy coming, so I won't kill him. My enemy has arrived. Stay here; I'll go meet him."
As his words fell, a laugh came from the darkness. "Small Tathagata, challenging me on a snowy night—quite interesting."
In the snowy night, an old man in a bamboo hat, covered in heavy snow, walked out of the darkness into this dilapidated village. Qin Mu was startled and blurted out, "Lingjing Daoist!"
The old man in the bamboo hat lifted his hat, his gaze falling on Qin Mu, and he smiled. "So it's the disciple of the old Sword God. You once borrowed two Fengdu coins from me. Do you have money to pay me back now?"
Qin Mu was embarrassed and honestly said, "Those two Fengdu coins have already been spent."
Long Jiaonan, Red Cloud Daoist, and Shao Yuan Daoist's faces stiffened. Another top-tier expert who could walk through the darkness had arrived, and he was also an acquaintance of Qin Mu, the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader!
Just how many god-like beings did this Heavenly Demon Sect Leader know?
"It doesn't matter; you can pay me back when you have money later."
Lingjing Daoist took off his bamboo hat and set it upright against the wall. He looked at the Small Tathagata and said leisurely, "Snowy night, dark sky—a good time for killing. Small Tathagata, let's go fight somewhere far away."
"Fine."
The two top-tier experts walked into the darkness one after the other. The village fell silent again. Qin Mu looked at Long Jiaonan and the others across from him. Long Jiaonan and the others also looked back at him. None of them moved.
The demon ape was puzzled. From afar came waves of terrifying tremors. Then the snow in the sky turned into a fine drizzle, falling steadily. That was the divine powers of Lingjing Daoist and the Small Tathagata melting the snow in the night, turning it into rain.
Sometimes snowflakes fell from the sky, sometimes drizzle. After who knows how long, suddenly a rooster's crow came from the darkness. The darkness rapidly retreated westward. At that moment, Qin Mu, Long Jiaonan, the Dutian Demon King, and the others suddenly sprang into action, attacking each other almost simultaneously, delivering lethal blows!
The Dragon Qilin roared, shook his body, revealed his true form, flames blazing around him. He raised his front paw to press down on the head of a red snake that lunged at him, smashing the snake's head into the ground. Qin Mu rushed to Red Cloud Daoist's side in an instant. Red Cloud Daoist's countless flying swords were all blocked by the Dutian Demon King, who stood behind Qin Mu.
The demon ape leaped from behind the Dutian Demon King, and the Xiqiluo slammed heavily onto Red Cloud Daoist's forehead.
Swish—
A sword light pierced through Red Cloud Daoist's chest. Qin Mu flicked his finger, and the sword light swept horizontally across the neck of the still-stunned Shao Yuan Daoist.
Long Jiaonan grabbed the tail of the great snake. The red snake shrank, and this woman soared into the air, vanishing in a flash.
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