Chapter 57

They booked a nearby three-story restaurant.

Li Youyi wanted to order more food, but was politely declined by the white-clad lay practitioner, who said a bowl of vegetarian noodles per person was enough.

Nearly a hundred children filled the three floors, and even though they were only eating vegetarian noodles, they were extremely happy.

Although they were Rice People, they also had joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Li Youyi and Zhao Zhizhuo had long been hungry, and since everyone was eating vegetarian, how could they have a feast of fish and meat? So, they each ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodles and sat at a table by the window on the second floor, dining with the white-clad lay practitioner.

After Li Youyi drank a mouthful of hot noodle soup, he humbly asked, "Lay practitioner, what kind of Buddha is the Amitabha you chant?"

The white-clad lay practitioner put down her bowl and chopsticks, sat up straight, and said solemnly, "Amitabha is both the Buddha of Infinite Light and the Buddha of Infinite Life, representing light, lifespan, and space; he is the leader of the Pure Land Buddhist Kingdom in the infinitely distant beyond."

"His light can illuminate the Nether Realm."

"His lifespan is infinite."

"The Pure Land world transformed from his palm is the vastest Life Realm in the world. His magic power is infinite, and his divine powers are infinite."

The Amitabha of this world actually had many similarities with the one in Earth's myths and legends.

Afterward, the white-clad lay practitioner ate her vegetarian noodles quietly.

When eating noodles, everyone's eating style is usually not very elegant.

But she had neither the affectation of chewing slowly nor the ferocity of wolfing down food; although her appearance was plain, the way she ate had a kind of pleasing tranquility.

Li Youyi watched for a long time, forgetting what he wanted to continue asking.

After drinking all the noodle soup, she wiped her mouth clean, smiled slightly at Li Youyi, who had been staring at her, and said thank you.

A moment later, the white-clad lay practitioner gathered all the Rice Person children outside the restaurant. As she left, she looked up at Li Youyi, who was watching her from the second floor, her tone still as gentle as before: "I originally wanted to do a business deal on the side to earn money to raise the children, but since you treated me to noodles, I won't kill you today! Let's do it another day!"

Li Youyi had been immersed in her infectious, gentle smile, but suddenly hearing this, he felt as if he had fallen from a sunny mountain peak into a dark, cold ice cellar, the chill almost freezing him stiff.

It turns out she had been waiting for him by the moat earlier, or perhaps she had been preparing to kill him at the residence where he lived.

Zhao Zhizhuo was no better off, his face pale as he slapped his forehead: "I should have been alert earlier; besides Coffin Mountain, where are there any Buddhist practitioners in Lizhou? She must be an assassin from the Five Funerals Temple..."

The word "assassin" was spat out in an extremely low voice.

Coffin Mountain's Xu Fudu, one of the three great barbarian thieves of the Southern Region, is a behemoth that even the Jiuli tribe has to pay tribute to every year.

With one hundred thousand Buddha-degree thieves, who in the seven provinces of the Southern Region does not fear them?

Zhao Zhizhuo stared at the white-clad figure moving further and further away and whispered again: "The Five Funerals Temple is the most terrifying assassin organization in the underground Nether Market of Jiuli City; it is said that the force behind it is Coffin Mountain. I actually couldn't detect any magic power fluctuations on her; her cultivation must be far superior to ours."

"Luckily we were generous enough today, otherwise it would have been dangerous!"

Li Youyi's face changed again and again, and he quickly stood up and called out from afar: "Next time you beg for alms, come find me again; I'll treat you to noodles another day... all you can eat..."

The white-clad lay practitioner, who had already reached the wooden bridge, looked back at the second floor, just smiled, and then led the group of children toward the city.

At the city gate, unsurprisingly, she was stopped by four soldiers of the City Defense Battalion.

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

The next moment, the four City Defense Battalion soldiers were all cut in two by a red cassock.

Rushing blood continuously seeped from the gaps in the wooden bridge into the moat.

A nearly two-meter-tall monk with a thick beard put the red cassock back on and respectfully bowed to the white-clad lay practitioner: "Junior Uncle, your nephew was delayed by something; I should have come to the city gate to pick you up half an hour ago."

"It doesn't matter, I didn't wait long, just an extra bowl of noodles' time."

The white-clad lay practitioner and the big monk in the red cassock led nearly a hundred Rice Person children and walked swaggeringly into Jiuli City.

"Junior Uncle, something big happened in Burial Xianzhen; the news spread on a small scale last night, and by this morning it couldn't be suppressed at all. Many powerful figures have left the city and rushed over," the big monk reported in a low voice.

"Boom!"

A large group of City Defense Battalion soldiers rushed over, but when they saw the face of the big monk in the red cassock and met his cold, heavy gaze, the officer in the lead, riding a fire fox beast, lowered his head instead, not daring to look him in the eye.

In the end, the City Defense Battalion soldiers just went to collect the bodies.

Li Youyi no longer had any mood to eat noodles: "Someone must have placed an order at the Five Funerals Temple; it's either Yang Yun or the Zhanglin Gang."

"The month isn't even up yet, how dare they?"

Zhao Zhizhuo thought quickly and then stood up: "I'll go into the city now; no matter what, I must figure out the situation, and I will definitely be back before dark."

After Li Youyi parted ways with Zhao Zhizhuo, he returned to the residence.

Under the old Yang tree in the front courtyard, Cai Yutong was wearing a veil, her dress much lighter, a light spot flickering between her eyebrows, and she was using spiritual power to communicate with a spider, just like training a dog, using an index finger to command it to stand up and sit down.

She had extremely high talent in the spiritual divine path; she realized spiritual light in three days, opened the Yintang Spirit Realm in ten days, learned insect language in twenty-two days, subdued her first spider, and officially became an insect controller.

And Li Youyi, until now, had not yet produced his first ray of spiritual light.

According to the Senior Lingwei, he was not calm, thought about too many things, and had too many distracting thoughts in his heart, so the "flash of spiritual light" had yet to arrive.

"Senior Brother, tell everyone to pack their things quickly; before the city gate closes at dark, follow me into the city."

Li Youyi didn't know how many people's lives the Zhanglin Gang or Yang Yun had bought, nor did he know if those assassins would kill innocent people indiscriminately; now he could only take everyone to the Cangli clan school to avoid disaster.

But he was worried that they would be ambushed on the way.

If a top-hundred martial artist like Yao Zhengsheng were to strike, the consequences would be extremely severe.

Zhao Zhizhuo would definitely go find Li Songlin or Cang Li; if the Cangli tribe could send a group of experts to escort them, it would be much safer!

Everyone naturally realized that something big was wrong and immediately went to pack their luggage.

Time passed minute by minute, and the luggage was all packed onto the carriage.

Li Youyi sat on the courtyard wall, mobilizing the magic power in his body, moving it to his eyes, ears, and nose, his perception reaching its peak. Soon, in the wind, he smelled the scent of Shi Chuanyu, a flag leader of the Zhanglin Gang.

He couldn't see or hear him, but he was definitely nearby.

A moment later.

On the second floor of the Hugyue Building diagonally opposite, he caught a glimpse of Yao Zhengsheng's figure flashing by.

There were several other unusual, light footsteps mixed in the crowd on the street.

Fortunately, Zhao Meng, sitting in the courtyard, still had a deterrent effect.

Until the sun slanted to the west, Zhao Zhizhuo finally returned with a troop of white-clad cavalry; they were the personal guards of the young clan leader Cang Li, twenty riders in total. Their cultivation was not high, but they had symbolic significance, and not everyone dared to make a move.

Zhao Zhizhuo's expression was cold and heavy, worried: "After entering the city, I went to the clan school first, but it was empty. Then I went to the clan mansion and learned from the young clan leader that something big happened last night that shocked all the high-level officials of Jiuli City, and Senior Jia Shou had already left the city."

"The Five Funerals Temple's kill order was issued this morning and then quickly spread to all the cities in Lizhou; the reward is a Five Seas Pill. This is mostly Yang Yun's doing; only his news is that fast."

Li Youyi said, "No bounty for anyone else?"

Zhao Zhizhuo shook his head: "In my opinion, compared to the Zhanglin Gang's losses, Yang Yun cares more about the Fourth Young Lady's attitude toward you."

With definite news, Li Youyi felt a secret sigh of relief: "That's good, the reward is only one Five Seas Pill. Having startled that white-clad lay practitioner, I thought the Yang clan had issued a kill order. Do you think that white-clad lay practitioner is really a powerful figure?"

Zhao Zhizhuo's expression became solemn: "Brother Li, you must trust my judgment of people; I once reached the peak of the Five Seas Realm. To be able to fool me, that white-clad lay practitioner is definitely not an ordinary person."

"Don't be suspicious; in Yang Yun's eyes, you only have seven-spring cultivation, and being able to offer a Five Seas Pill as a reward is already a very high treatment."

"The appearance of that white-clad lay practitioner was purely an accident. She doesn't look like a normal person at all; one moment she is compassionate, the next she wants to kill. Treating her to a bowl of noodles made her not kill; this person has some problems!"

Zhao Meng said, "So are we going into the city or not?"

Zhao Zhizhuo said, "Everyone should go to the clan school to avoid disaster first; something big happened in Burial Xianzhen, and the young clan leader has to rush over immediately. With Jia Shou and the young clan leader away, it's too dangerous for us to stay in the suburbs."

"What big thing happened in Burial Xianzhen?"

Li Youyi thought of many things in an instant; after all, the strange things he encountered there a month ago were still fresh in his memory.

Zhao Zhizhuo shook his head, indicating that the young clan leader did not tell him the details.

Li Youyi sent everyone out of the residence, suddenly grabbed Zhao Zhizhuo's hand, and said solemnly: "Old Zhao, I entrust all my companions to you; take good care of them for me."

Zhao Zhizhuo's brows tightened: "You aren't coming with us?"

Li Youyi glanced toward the Hugyue Building and the backyard, and laughed with feigned ease: "I feel they won't let me enter the city; if I go to the clan school, where would they have a chance to make a move?"

"Youyi, you said it yourself, the two brothers should die together and live together," Zhao Meng said.

Although Cai Yutong didn't know what had happened, she turned back with Zhao Meng.

Li Youyi hardened his heart and said: "The Five Seas Pill is too attractive to them! If I accompany you on this road into the city, it won't benefit anyone. I will bring slaughter to you, and you will become a burden to me, making it impossible for me to even escape."

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, wait for me to return; by then, we will no longer fear anyone."

After Li Youyi dropped these words, he used his fastest speed to flash and escape along the route he had already planned in his mind, like a residual shadow, rushing toward the Sui River.

Almost in an instant, on the several streets around, many figures chased after him like arrows leaving the bow.

Some shuttled through the crowd, some flew on the rooftops.

There was even a golden carriage pulled by silver-horned elk, galloping on the street to intercept him.

Li Youyi had already discussed it with Senior Coffin; once Zhao Zhizhuo recovered his eight-spring cultivation, he would send Zhao Meng, Cai Yutong, and the others to the Jiuli clan school. Only then could he safely head to the Cang King's Tomb and take another, faster path to becoming a Divine Hidden Person.

Today's sudden situation forced him to advance all his plans.

At this moment, the setting sun was like blood.

At this moment, nightfall and murderous intent were approaching infinitely.

(End of Chapter)