Chapter 112

Tang Luo, male, age 25 on his surface ID, dharma name Xuanzang.

Skilled in consecration, healing wounds, and causing trouble, he was called a great villain by the purple gourd baby, that is, Baby Seven.

No need to elaborate on the reason—he ate one gourd baby and even took all the other gourd babies away.

"Wait, let me show you!" said the purple gourd baby, then made a strained "yi——" sound.

Shortly after, a purple aura emanated from him, forming a somewhat blurry image in midair.

In the image, a person with blurred facial features, only visible as a white-clad, white-haired individual, plucked a gourd.

After the image blurred for a moment, this person was seen crushing the gourd and seemingly eating a glowing part of it. Finally, the image showed this person plucking five gourds and leaving.

"……" Qin Menglan supported her forehead—indeed, it was Tang Luo!

Though his face was unclear, Qin Menglan recognized him at a glance!

"Heaven-defying atrocity!" Galen shouted loudly—someone actually crushed an unborn gourd baby and even ate it?

Are there really such wicked people in the world?

The righteous soul of Demacia began to blaze fiercely; such a person cannot be allowed to roam free.

"He took my brothers away." said Purple Gourd Baby Seven.

"Don't worry! We will definitely help you find the other gourd babies!" Galen declared earnestly—even if not for justice, even if just to save Grandpa, these gourd babies would certainly be needed.

This Galen here wants to become a partner of justice.

Others basically wore thoughtful expressions, looking at the purple gourd with a scrutinizing air.

In the earlier image, the "gourd fragment" eaten by the white-clad person gave the impression—how could it feel so much like a fate fragment?

Not having eaten pork but having seen pigs run— not everyone has personally seen fate fragments.

But that doesn't prevent them from knowing what fate fragments look like.

"Could it be that the seven gourd babies are respectively seven fate fragments?" Gu Feng whispered softly, "And we just happen to be seven people."

Is this mission a great distribution of fate fragments?

Or are there two paths for everyone to choose: one is to kill the unborn gourd babies to obtain fate fragments and enhance one's strength;

two is to let all the gourd babies be born, then everyone goes together to rescue Grandpa.

The former is undoubtedly a relatively long-term investment for the future, sacrificing present interests—without the help of gourd babies, rescuing Grandpa would certainly be much harder.

But with fate fragments, the enhancement to oneself is not small—even if just the fate fragments of gourd babies.

"Perhaps there are other fate fragment holders?" Gu Feng's thoughts diverged, suddenly thinking of a possibility, he abruptly looked up at the others.

Upon looking, he also noticed others were mutually sizing each other up—were they suspecting this point too?

Gu Feng could think of it, others could too—judging the people present, aside from the naive and sweet Galen, most likely there were other fate fragment holders.

After this mutual glance, every stranger seemed like a fate fragment holder.

Gu Feng could at most judge that he and Qin Menglan were not.

As for the others, it's hard to say…… but probably not many.

This mission surely cannot require five fate fragment holders plus two absolutely not weak demonic god wanderers, along with the gourd babies, to complete together, right?

"Where did that guy go, do you know?" Galen held up the purple gourd and asked.

"I don't know." said the purple gourd baby, "Are you really willing to help me?"

"Of course." Galen was just short of clenching his fist to show he was a justice partner.

Night fell, everyone placed the purple gourd in the room; a group of people didn't crowd into the small house to rest, but simply sat down in the small courtyard.

"I want fate fragments, what about you?" Gu Feng spoke his mind openly, without concealment.

"So that really was a fate fragment." Galen said, "Just like the one I've seen before."

This confirmed it—indeed, the gourds of the gourd babies contain fate fragments.

"I think helping the gourd babies would be more secure; this mission is not simple." Qin Menglan frowned.

What will Tang Luo's mission be? If he stands with the snake demoness, then it's bad.

If a normal demonic god wanderer crushed and took away the gourd babies, he's likely siding with the snake demoness, but Tang Luo—hard to say.

This is a man who makes people unable to fathom him.

"I want fate fragments." a relatively silent man spoke up—this man is Liu Jian, one of the three strangers.

"Me too." another man who calls himself Yunxiao Huan also wants fate fragments.

"I don't care." Li Qing expressed that he doesn't take sides.

"How can that be—we should be helping the gourd babies, shouldn't we?" Galen said, "I disagree."

The camps were quickly divided.

Qin Menglan and Galen do not plan to kill the gourd babies to take fate fragments; Li Qing is neutral; the other three chose fate fragments.

The six-person temporary team immediately faced disbanding.

Actually, in missions with more people, this is fairly common.

"How about this." said painter Gu Feng, "No matter what, at least we should take completing the mission as the ultimate goal—we can check the strength gap between the snake demoness and the gourd babies and us, avoid infighting here, and finally discover we can't fight the opponent at all—that would be laughable."

"First, finding that white-clad, white-haired person is the key." said Yunxiao Huan.

"Right." Gu Feng nodded, thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, why do I feel he seems somewhat familiar?"

Gu Feng and Tang Luo share a karmic connection; he has heard the great name of Monk Xuanzang, and has some impression of "white-haired violent monk who can consecrate."

"Could he be a demonic god wanderer?" Liu Jian said, "Look at him—he seems very practiced."

"Exactly!" Gu Feng slapped his thigh suddenly, "I know who he is!"

After being reminded like that, Gu Feng suddenly recalled who that somewhat familiar-looking white-haired man was.

"Who?" everyone looked toward Gu Feng.

Only Qin Menglan frowned, feeling not only a toothache, but now also a headache.

I always felt that things were heading in an unpredictable direction, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, galloping wildly and unable to be pulled back.

"He—"

"Cough, cough." Qin Menglan couldn't help but cough twice, reminding Gu Feng to pay attention—we're all colleagues who approach things scientifically, and you just sold someone out like that?

Gu Feng glanced at Qin Menglan and said, "Blue Sister, I know what you mean, but this is probably a faction confrontation mission, right? His mission and our conflict should make us enemies, not a time to worry about relationships."

"Faction missions are just different, not necessarily completely opposite—there's still room for cooperation." Qin Menglan said.

"Let's find someone first, let's find someone first, okay?" Gu Feng temporarily didn't want to confront Qin Menglan directly.

He recalled that this white-clothed, white-haired monk Xuanzang was brought into Approach Science by Qin Menglan, so he counts as Qin Menglan's person?

Qin Menglan didn't continue saying anything.

No matter what, finding Tang Luo is definitely the right thing to do—no one would oppose it.

"Does anyone here have tracking skills?" Gu Feng asked.

Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Sometimes I wish all skills were attack skills, but now I feel like without support skills, we're doomed.

"How about we wait until tomorrow?" Yunxiao Huan said, "Maybe that Seven Doll has a way to find the other gourd babies?"

"Yeah." Gu Feng nodded—this really is a viable option.

The next morning.

After resting all night, the group set out with the Seven Doll gourd, officially departing to search for Tang Luo's traces.

According to Seven Doll's explanation, if he's within a certain range of the other gourd babies, they can sense each other.

Now we're outside that range, so we can only search around first, and only when we get close can we determine the correct direction.

Seven Doll is temporarily being carried by Garen.

It's not that everyone believes this simple-minded sweetie won't hoard it all for himself—it's that Seven Doll insisted on being carried by Garen.

Though he acts like an innocent, naive child, he still has basic discernment—he found the safest, least threatening person among a group.

"Amitabha, sir, do you need help?"

The fallen, broken trees, a man-made clearing—Tang Luo looked at the man not far away and asked, a green gourd hanging from his waist.

The other gourds—no idea where they went.

The man he was speaking to, his attire and appearance clearly that of a modern person, yet from the mission world's background and the items inside the hut, this place belongs to ancient times—completely different aesthetics.

So, he's very likely a demon or god walking among mortals.

"A faction confrontation mission?" Tang Luo thought to himself.

"Where did this monk come from?" Gangjing furrowed his brow, his left hand hanging at his side, his arm showing an abnormal purplish-black color.

It seems he's been poisoned, and the key is that it's still spreading toward his shoulder—though slow, it's only a matter of time before it spreads throughout his body.

Beside Gangjing lay a giant toad demon smashed into a pulp.

Its exact appearance is hard to describe—simply put, just looking at it is enough to make someone unable to eat for three days and three nights.

"I am the monk Xuanzang, traveling westward all the way to subdue demons and eliminate evil. Passing through this place, I heard demons were lurking here, so I came specifically to subdue them." Tang Luo said with a smile.

"Oh." Gangjing responded, "Monk, do you have any hemostatic medicine?"

"Hemostatic medicine?"

"I've been poisoned—I can't hold out much longer." Gangjing said, "I'm planning to cut off my arm."

"……No problem." Tang Luo silently gave this demon/god walker a thumbs-up in his heart—what a tough guy, "This monk can perform enlightenment and detoxify for you."

"Then let's do it." Gangjing tore off his tattered, ragged undershirt.

Tang Luo said, "This monk performs enlightenment—no need to undress."

"I'm taking off my clothes not to make it easier for you to detoxify and heal." Gangjing said, "It's just that my clothes are too torn—absolutely not to show off my muscular build."

Thinking back, Gangjing used to be a man in suits and leather shoes, but after he started working out, his clothes just wouldn't fit anymore.

"……" Tang Luo walked up to Gangjing and extended his hand.

Gangjing grabbed Tang Luo's hand tightly, his face fierce as he said, "Monk, you'd better think clearly—are you really here to heal and detoxify me?"

Even though he didn't recognize Tang Luo's identity as a demon/god walker, in this remote, rarely visited deep mountain forest, the appearance of a white-clothed, white-haired monk would make anyone suspicious.

Gangjing also had no choice—either cut off his arm to save himself, or let this monk perform enlightenment and detoxify him.

Though this monk's appearance was strange, he also looked dignified and full of righteousness—seemed trustworthy enough.

If possible, who would want to cut off their arm?

"That's natural." Tang Luo easily pulled his hand free from Gangjing's grip, and without waiting for him to do anything, he placed his hand on Gangjing's shoulder.

Gangjing's body, which had been about to retreat, suddenly sank—his shoulder felt as if a mountain had suddenly pressed down, making it impossible to stand, and he half-kneeled to the ground.

His knee struck the ground, directly creating a shallow pit.

"You!"

Gangjing exploded in anger—turns out he's a demon monk!

Tang Luo wore a white, splendid monk's robe, completely able to pass off as a "local."