Chapter 127

Qin Menglan and the others exchanged glances.

Well, this time we can confirm that Bai She is truly a good person—no, a good demon.

Master Xuanzang is a complete villain; his mission is to suppress a good demon.

After all, it's impossible for the Fashan monks to be gilding their own enemies' faces, is it?

"What next?" Tang Luo asked.

"Next, villagers inadvertently discovered that this strange illness is related to Bai She," Fashan said.

"Huh?" someone raised an eyebrow.

Related to Bai She—could it be that Bai She caused the strange illness, intentionally or not?

"At least, on the surface, that seems to be the case." The old monk sold a clue before continuing, "But actually, the strange illness has nothing to do with Bai She; someone is secretly plotting." He said, glancing at Qin Menglan and the others.

Everyone isn't stupid—well, at least three people are capable of thought.

The secret plotting, combined with the old monk's inexplicable hostility, led them to consider a possibility.

Over a decade ago, did another group of gods and demons come here and cause trouble?

However, things are not as simple as Qin Menglan and the others guessed.

Fashan still remembers when he first arrived at this village, the first time he saw Bai She, he only felt this pregnant woman was extraordinarily weak, and didn't think of her as a demon.

Moreover, due to her constantly providing medicine, he held her in high regard.

As more and more clues appeared before him, intentionally or not, and villagers swore they had seen a huge white snake tail,

everything that followed became irreversible.

The number of sick villagers kept increasing, medicine couldn't keep up, and the villagers gradually shifted from initial gratitude to anger.

They had grown accustomed to Bai She's contributions, taking them for granted.

The news of the snake demon became the final spark.

Holding suspicion and anger at being deceived, Fashan led the villagers to Xu Xuan's home, seeking the truth.

But when he saw the woman weakened to the extreme, and sensed that faint, elusive demonic aura on her, Fashan suddenly realized……she is a demon, but absolutely not the one he was seeking!

He turned around, wanting to say something, but was shocked to discover it wasn't him leading the villagers behind him to seek the truth.

Rather, he had been dragged along by the villagers.

That night, under torchlight, the villagers' faces bore ferocity—they were like a mass of fury condensed.

It was beyond Fashan's influence, let alone making them disperse.

Fashan is an upright and kind monk. At this moment, he risked "violating the heavenly order," choosing to turn and block the villagers so Xu Xuan and his wife could escape first.

The villagers' anger instantly engulfed Fashan.

Fortunately, Fashan is a cultivated high monk with formidable strength; these villagers could surely not harm him.

That period of half a quarter-hour was undoubtedly a true trial of the heart in the mundane world.

There were those cursing, roaring, attacking, wailing, begging—every extreme emotion of humanity played out before Fashan.

Until someone produced a letter, indicating they had long prepared to lure the snake demon to the Flying Stone.

Many villagers scattered, going to cause trouble for Bai She.

Fashan knew Bai She was in a very weak state; even if he forcefully subdued these villagers, it would likely bring endless trouble.

Xu Xuan was merely an ordinary weak scholar, unable to tie up a chicken, let alone resist these villagers.

Moreover, Fashan is a kind person and does not wish to see any casualties.

In the following half-hour, Fashan knocked out the radical villagers, barely calming the situation.

But after all, there were many villagers, and Fashan does not kill, so some inevitably slipped through.

Thus, Fashan went toward the Flying Stone to see if he could find Bai She and her husband, preferably bringing them away from this place of right and wrong.

As for the villagers' strange illness, Fashan will still do his best to resolve it.

A kind, pedantic monk.

When he arrived near the Flying Stone, the monk saw what he absolutely did not want to see, and was also extremely shocked.

Setting aside the villagers' corpses for now,

several strangely dressed people appeared there, their attire and aura matching the style of Qin Menglan and the others.

Moreover, Xu Xuan, that weak scholar unable to tie up a chicken, stood cold-faced beside the Flying Stone, gazing at his desperate wife, too weak to stand steadily.

Indeed, things are not that simple.

The troublemakers are not only gods and demons walking the world, but also Bai She's weak-scholar-like husband—Xu Xuan!

He is the true mastermind!

The village's strange illness was Xu Xuan secretly "administering poison," so that illness could only be alleviated by Bai She's blood.

The news of Bai She being a demon was also "leaked" by him.

This Xu Xuan is not an ordinary person, but a cultivator, just like Fashan!

Bai She and the child in her womb are his targets.

Needless to say, such a demon's inner elixir is exceedingly precious, rare to encounter.

Even if encountered, whether one can defeat her is a question; even if victorious, one must guard against her self-detonating her demon elixir—gaining nothing while losing everything.

And now, facing Bai She weakened to the extreme, unable to defeat even an ordinary person, such a problem certainly won't arise.

As for the child……

Fashan initially didn't know what the other intended, but seeing the greed and malice about to overflow in his eyes, it must also be useful.

Alchemy? Weapon forging? Both are possible.

What followed became Fashan's lifelong pain.

He was defeated and severely wounded.

Xu Xuan walked step by step toward the white snake, smiling as he said, "Since you love me so much, isn't it only natural that you should sacrifice for me?" His tone was deep and affectionate, causing Fashan to tremble all over, and for the first time, an uncontrollable urge to kill arose in him.

Then Fashan saw the white snake being cut open, its unborn child taken from its belly and placed into a gourd.

"Seven?" Tang Luo interrupted Fashan's painful memory and asked.

"Yes, seven." Fashan said.

"Then what happened?" Tang Luo asked.

Fashan said: "I was overcome with rage, attacked my own heart, and fainted. When I woke up, I only saw the corpses of those people. Xu Xuan and the white snake had vanished, and only that gourd remained. Alas..."

"Alas, the children are already dead." Tang Luo finished Fashan's unfinished sentence: "And they are not merely 'dead'—their resentment is towering, and a seven-in-one vengeful spirit may yet be born."

"Yes." Fashan said, "So I took the gourd and found a place to settle. I replanted the gourd, tried every method, hoping to dispel the resentment. At least let those poor children have a normal childhood, even if only for a little while."

That little hut—this is where the cause of the 'Gourd Babies' birth was found.

The formation of the gourd was Fashan's 'effort,' and also a fragment of destiny formed by the gathering of power.

But there certainly weren't seven different destiny fragments to begin with—there might have been at first, but the Gourd Baby vengeful spirit absorbed part of them, and at the same time contaminated some.

This contamination might have a slight effect on other gods and demons walking the world, but for Tang Luo, it's completely negligible.

Of course, the shape of the formed gourd was certainly not what Fashan wanted to do—it was simply the natural result.

"Does the monk think this is useful?" Tang Luo asked.

Fashan gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

Useful? "Innate," deep-seated resentment in the marrow—even if he chanted sutras and prayed for ten thousand years during the Gourd Baby's growth, he could not dispel it.

At best, what is born is merely a vengeful ghost without such towering resentment.

But Fashan's idea is not entirely unfeasible—with him present, there is indeed a chance to let the Gourd Baby have a brief normal childhood.

Resentment cannot be dispelled, but at least it can be suppressed.

Alas, a few years later, before the gourd was fully formed, a towering resentment burst forth from this place.

Left with no choice, Fashan could only go there—little did he expect that this one walk—sitting before this nameless grave mound, he would sit for ten years!

He never again had the chance to leave.

Compared to the resentment here, the Gourd Baby's resentment is like a minor sorcerer facing a great one.

Fashan sat as if before the mouth of a volcano about to erupt, unable to move a muscle.

He spent ten years chanting sutras and praying day and night, constantly resisting, barely preventing the powerful vengeful spirit behind him from being born.

But after ten years, Fashan himself was exhausted, his oil lamp dry, death not far off.

If he dies, the vengeful spirit will be born, and the living will surely suffer.

Why did he tell this story to Tang Luo?

Naturally, he hopes this Tang Luo monk can help him.

The power of the Merit Jade Lotus gave Fashan hope.

Qin Menglan and the others said nothing—they hadn't expected this mission to have such a story behind it, let alone that a previous batch of gods and demons walking the world had participated and stirred things up.

"Does the monk want me to help?" Tang Luo asked.

Fashan said: "Yes." At this point, he no longer cared about so many things.

"I hope the Tang Luo monk can lend me some strength, so I can suppress it for a few more years, and also ask the monk to go to Jinshan Temple." Fashan said, "Please, my senior brother..."

"Fahai?" Tang Luo asked.

"Yes, does the Tang Luo monk know my senior brother?" Fashan asked.

"The Legend of the White Snake?" Zhao Gailun couldn't help but say.

"Not everyone named Fahai is related to the Legend of the White Snake." Li Qing reminded him, although the most famous Fahai is indeed the monk from the White Snake Legend, no mistake.

But the Gods and Demons game tells gods and demons walking the world through facts: young people, your understanding is too shallow and stereotypical.

"Alright." Zhao Gailun said.

Never mind whether he's the Fahai from the Legend of the White Snake—anyway, now everyone wants to go find Fahai to save people?

"I've heard a little." Tang Luo said, "But perhaps the monk doesn't know—this region has already been greatly affected."

Has the white snake vengeful spirit been born?

With Fashan suppressing it, naturally not—but she has at least half a foot stepped out.

The 'volcano' hasn't erupted, but the rolling thick smoke has caused an impact that cannot be called small.

The strange village, the earth-binding spirit villagers, the snake cave, and those toads—all are the work of the white snake vengeful spirit.

Without truly being born, it can already cause such 'damage'—if it truly were born, what then?

"Please, monk, hurry." Fashan said, although he has sat here withered, unaware of outside changes, but he can guess a little.

"No need." Tang Luo said, "I will send the monk out, and the white snake vengeful spirit—I will liberate it."

Although the task is to suppress, liberating the white snake vengeful spirit should also fulfill the task.

At worst, suppress first, then liberate—after all, the task doesn't require suppressing for how long.

It's impossible to really have Tang Luo sit here like Fashan.

Kill it and bury it—from a certain meaning, that also counts as suppression.

"No!" Fashan said, "Too dangerous."

"Please, monk, rest assured—I am quite strong." Tang Luo stood up, full of confidence, "And besides... uh, helpers."

These helpers were said in a way that lacked sincerity, leaving Qin Menglan and the others unsure how to respond.