Chapter 706: The Little Monk Will See You Off

The prompt, as if outlined in blood, gradually disappeared. Su Xiao leaned down in the waist-deep weeds, and Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang also lay on the ground. Matou Sakura behind them didn't need to lean down at all; after all, her height was what it was.

In this way, Matou Kariya, with black smoke rising from his whole body, was particularly conspicuous. Su Xiao walked slowly to his side and kicked him down.

"Sakura, make him lean down."

Su Xiao looked at Matou Sakura. In the team, only Matou Sakura could control Matou Kariya.

"Squat down?"

Matou Sakura tilted her head. Matou Kariya, covered in black smoke, hesitated for a moment before finally choosing to squat down.

Having arrived near Rendong Temple, Su Xiao had to be cautious. Before he had even found Rendong Temple, he had actually felt malice coming from it, especially after contacting the old priest; this feeling was even more obvious.

Su Xiao leaned his body low in the weeds, his gaze fixed on Rendong Temple in the distance.

Rendong Temple was built on the top of a mountain, and Su Xiao's location was at the foot of the mountain. Because of the distance and the dim light, he could only vaguely see the main gate of Rendong Temple.

Two square lanterns hung in front of the main gate of Rendong Temple. Ordinary lanterns were white or red, but these two lanterns emitted a golden light, giving the entire temple a sense of holiness.

Su Xiao had seen the detailed map of Rendong Temple. After entering from the main gate, there was a semi-enclosed courtyard, somewhat similar to a quadrangle structure; this was the Great King Hall of Rendong Temple. Walking through the Great King Hall toward the depths of Rendong Temple was the Dharma Hall, which was equivalent to the center of Rendong Temple. Continuing backward was the Main Offering Hall, which was equivalent to the backyard of Rendong Temple.

Overall, Rendong Temple could be divided into three areas, from front to back: Great King Hall -> Dharma Hall -> Main Offering Hall.

Although it does not look large, the actual area of Ryudou Temple is as big as a soccer field, with dozens of buildings of various sizes added together. The three areas mentioned above are just the main areas of Ryudou Temple, and there are some smaller areas that are not open to the public, so Su Xiao cannot learn about those smaller areas.

If Ryudou Temple were not large, it would not have become a local historical site.

The purpose of Su Xiao's trip is to enter Ryudou Temple; whether to fight his way in openly or sneak in secretly depends on the content of the second ring of the Talent Awakening mission.

Just as Su Xiao was preparing to approach the high mountain where Ryudou Temple is located, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.

【Prompt: The Hunter has entered the barrier where Ryudou Temple is located, and the first ring of the Talent Awakening mission has been completed.】

【The second ring of the Talent Awakening mission has been activated.】

【Talent Awakening Mission (Second Ring): Soul Lamp】

Difficulty Level: lv. 21

Mission Brief: Enter the main offering hall in the deepest layer of Ryudou Temple and find the Soul Lamp within the main offering hall.

Mission Information: The main offering hall is located in the deepest part of Ryudou Temple and is heavily guarded.

Mission Deadline: 1 natural day

Mission Reward: None

Mission Penalty: Deduct one Talent Awakening opportunity; no further Talent Awakening missions can be accepted in this world.

"Soul Lamp?"

Su Xiao does not know what the Soul Lamp is. The mission information did not even provide a picture, only text information.

If it is a matter of finding a certain item, attacking Ryudou Temple head-on is clearly inappropriate; sneaking in secretly is the best way.

"Xiang Bubu, you take those two and wait at the foot of the mountain. If you are discovered by the enemy, you can choose to sacrifice one to save the other."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang gave a soft bark, meaning: "Master, received. If there is danger, I will sell out this blockhead Matou Kariya to save Matou Sakura. When the time comes, I will immediately take her to find you to sign the Heroic Spirit contract."

"En, that is exactly what I mean."

Su Xiao untied Zhan Long Shan from his waist and stored it in his storage space. After tightening his black windbreaker, he leaned into the night and approached the direction of Ryudou Temple.

Walking through the waist-deep wild grass, Su Xiao's gaze occasionally looked toward Ryudou Temple at the mountain peak. After a series of preparations, he finally arrived here, but arriving here is not the main point; he still has to find a way to sneak into Ryudou Temple.

Swish—

Several stalks of wild grass were trampled down, and a figure rushed out of the wild grass. Su Xiao arrived at the foot of the mountain where Ryudou Temple is located.

A staircase leading directly to the top of the mountain appeared. This is for tourists to climb to Ryudou Temple. If it were in the past, there would be no problem walking here, but nowadays, Su Xiao would absolutely not go up the mountain from this mountain staircase.

Just as Su Xiao was preparing to bypass this mountain staircase and go up the mountain from the side using the cover of trees, a young monk wearing gray cloth clothes walked down from the mountain staircase.

The gray cloth clothes worn by this young monk were somewhat tattered, with the knee area being the most severely worn, and grass clippings stained by mud could still be seen on them.

Just as Su Xiao wanted to dodge into the wild grass, the young monk suddenly turned his head to look at Su Xiao.

Their eyes met, and the young monk was clearly stunned, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. But after a moment, the cold light disappeared, and the young monk seemed somewhat puzzled, his expression becoming kind.

"Donor, it is already this hour, and it is very dangerous in the wilderness. There are wild animals on this mountain; they do not appear during the day, but they often come out to forage at night."

The young monk's tone was gentle, but what puzzled Su Xiao was that there were simply too many incense scars on the other's head.

Su Xiao is not very knowledgeable about incense scars, but there were at least a dozen incense scars near the other's forehead, densely packed. This does not even count those on the top of the head. A rough estimate is that there are at least dozens of incense scars on this monk's head.

Moreover, these incense scars were red and faintly glowing in the night. Although this 'monk' was smiling gently, Su Xiao felt that this kind of smile could only be described as eerie.

"Donor? Donor?"

The young monk discovered that Su Xiao did not speak, so he walked slowly down from the mountain staircase.

"Donor must be lost. Ryudou Temple is not open to the public right now, as an internal ceremony is being held. Donor, please return; it will be open to the public after some time."

While speaking, the young monk had already walked down the mountain staircase. This would normally be nothing, but just a few seconds ago, the young monk and Su Xiao were at least tens of meters apart.

"Is Ryudou Issei not here? He should live at Ryudou Temple, right?"

Su Xiao spoke. Hearing Su Xiao's question, the young monk nodded.

"So the donor is here to find Issei. He already left Ryudou Temple a month ago. Since the donor is a friend of Issei, this little monk will escort the donor back to Fuyuki City."

At this time, the young monk had already approached within ten meters of Su Xiao and was still continuously approaching.

"Many thanks, but I know the way down the mountain, so there is no need to trouble yourself."

Su Xiao turned around and was about to enter the wild grass. The moment he turned around, the corners of the young monk's mouth curled up.

Puchi.

A bone spur broke through the flesh from the incense scars on the top of the young monk's head. Blood streaks could still be seen on the pale white bone spur.

"No, this little monk must see the donor off. The road back to Fuyuki City is too far; why not go to the Pool of Eternal Life instead."

Puchi, puchi, puchi...

Bone spurs shot out one by one from the incense scars on the top of the young monk's head, and blood flowed down the young monk's cheeks. What kind of monk is this? Calling him a monster would not be an exaggeration. No, even if a monster saw the appearance of this 'monk', it would be scared and turn to flee.