Chapter 164

After returning to his identity as a high monk, Tang Luo immediately sought out the old landlord.

He inquired about the house's history, such as whether anyone had died there and how they died.

The old landlord, speaking through a latticed iron door, initially had a very hostile attitude, possibly assuming Tang Luo wanted to terminate the lease, radiating an aura of "You can rent or not, but if you don't, get lost—I won't refund a single cent of rent or deposit."

Then, under the kind smile of Master Xuanzang and the "persuasion" of the master single-handedly dismantling the iron door, he spilled everything in full detail.

This house had indeed seen deaths, and not just one.

That Xin Tian was not the first person to die in that manner.

Before that, within approximately ten years, five others had died in the same way, becoming desiccated corpses.

Two of those cases were exposed; the other three, involving unemployed bachelors, were concealed by the landlord.

As for whether the deceased had heard a "dong dong dong" sound at the time of death, prior to last night, the answer was no.

But last night, the landlord had indeed heard such sounds, occurring before Xin Tian's death.

During that time, he also muttered excuses like "I'm this old widower—if I don't rent out the house, I'll starve to death; concealment is unavoidable."

"Don't report me—I'll give you free rent." The old landlord finally said.

Merely having deaths in a rental property wouldn't necessarily incur liability, but adding concealment of corpses changes things.

"Speaking of rent, keep a close watch on my room—don't let anyone in, including you. I'll come check anytime." Tang Luo said.

"Okay, okay, okay."

The old landlord naturally agreed wholeheartedly; after seeing Tang Luo's back disappear, he spat fiercely.

"Damn brat! These youngsters these days don't know how to respect elders! And damn profiteer! Still claiming the door absolutely can't be forced open by human strength!"

After all, it's a place where people often die, so the landlord still takes his own safety very seriously.

He'd spent no small amount on reinforcing the door, never expecting to be scammed.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got; the old landlord kicked up, striking the iron door on the ground.

The iron door naturally didn't budge an inch; his hunched body collapsed to the ground, letting out a mournful howl.

He'll likely have difficulty moving for the next few days.

Back in the car, An An stared at the celestial dog on Tang Luo's shoulder, her eyes lighting up—she had zero resistance to such a little kitten.

Chu Zhongtian turned back, unable to help asking: "Master, is this your gear? So cool." Their focus was clearly different.

He was referring to Tang Luo's monk robes, knowing Tang Luo wouldn't care about such things.

"Not really—I had it custom-made at Duoshou Mao." Tang Luo smiled.

"Cool! Haha, I'll get a set made when I go back!" Chu Zhongtian said, as a divine demon wanderer, what's wrong with dressing a bit flamboyantly?

Even in death, one should die handsomely.

"Is now really the time to chat about this?" An An seized the moment when the celestial dog wasn't paying attention—or thought she wasn't being noticed—and lunged forward.

Seeing the kitten offer no resistance, she began contentedly rubbing it, all while reminding everyone to get back to the point.

"Master, those two aren't here looking for us, are they?" Chu Zhongtian asked.

"No." Tang Luo said, "As for what happened at Shen Nai High School—how to put it? It's not as bad as we thought; the official response has been rather cold, which could also be described as concealment."

An An asked: "Why?"

"I don't know, it's not important." For Tang Luo, this question held no meaning.

What currently interests him more is that ghost—similar in appearance to himself and possessing considerable strength.

"Master, that corpse..." Chu Zhongtian asked.

"You brought back the cat but left the corpse behind? Forgot or...?"

In a sense, Master Xuanzang is both highly reliable and utterly unreliable—a contradictory synthesis.

Reliable, naturally, due to his unfathomable strength and miraculous consecration secret art—having such a thigh to cling to makes everything fine.

Unreliable, perhaps, because his overwhelming power leads him to adopt a nearly laissez-faire "go with the flow" attitude toward many matters.

This could allow dangers that should have been nipped in the bud to continually "expand and grow stronger."

"I left it in the room." Tang Luo said, "Someone died here."

"Died?"

"Yeah, a tenant died—his corpse is like a desiccated body. His right arm turned into a pile of wind-dried fragments. That guy from last night, before he disappeared, his right arm happened to be injured by me." Tang Luo said.

All three were stunned.

"Was that hallway evil spirit eliminated by you?" Li Suibian asked.

"No." Tang Luo said, "I have an idea."

Chu Zhongtian's body trembled, nearly bursting into tears: "Master, you finally have your own idea!"

"That ghost should be imitating me to some extent." Tang Luo said, "But for it to truly act and harm people, it probably still needs a vessel."

"You mean that tenant is the vessel?" Li Suibian asked.

"Yes, that's what I believe." Tang Luo nodded, "So I deliberately left the corpse there."

"Huh?" Chu Zhongtian widened his eyes.

"If it needs a new vessel, that corpse would be a good choice." Tang Luo said.

Chu Zhongtian remained in shock—better off not having had the idea at all!

Why is your idea so dangerous!

Aren't you afraid of two ghosts merging? Master, you definitely haven't watched *Sadako vs. Kayako*!

"Ah, so that's the reason? I understand now." Li Suibian murmured softly.

The four-person team centers on Tang Luo.

Both are fate-holders, both bear the mythological department fate (Tang Luo externally claims his fate is that of Tang Sanzang), and both are divine demon wanderers on the sixth mission—truly, it's impossible for Li Suibian to have initially been genuinely convinced and devoted to Tang Luo from the start.

The reason Tang Luo leads is partly because Li Suibian has a more easygoing nature, and partly because, at least regarding Tang Luo's consecration secret art, he is certainly convinced.

It's just like no one would offend a top doctor—Li Suibian couldn't possibly intentionally offend Tang Luo.

And last night's dream, Li Suibian truly realized the gap between them.

If An'an could recognize it, Li Suibian would certainly be able to recognize who the owner of those eyes in the sky was.

Now, Li Suibian suddenly understood why he had such a huge gap with this Tang Xuanzang.

He does not fear challenges and difficulties, and meets them head-on.

But Tang Xuanzang is someone who creates difficulties even when there are none—such a person not dying, how could they not become strong?

"Uncle, what did you suddenly realize?" Chu Zhongtian muttered inwardly, "You definitely haven't seen that movie either—humans all got wiped out in the end!"

"Wouldn't that be too dangerous?" An'an said.

Chu Zhongtian's sturdy frame trembled, good, there's someone who understands!

"But it does seem quite interesting." An'an continued.

Chu Zhongtian's sturdy frame trembled again, swapped person! Swapped person! I often feel out of place with you all because I'm not twisted enough.

"No wonder you're a master! This way we can solve two dangers at once—even if it doesn't work, we don't lose!" Chu Zhongtian turned his head, praising with a righteous expression.

"..."

"..."

"Just now looking at your expression, you clearly weren't thinking that, right?"

"Right." Chu Zhongtian promptly changed the subject, "Why did you use these two boards instead of a kitchen knife or something."

An'an still had the two cutting boards she had used placed beside her.

"If using a kitchen knife, wouldn't it be too bloody?" An'an said, she is a girl after all!

"Bloody?" Chu Zhongtian frowned.

Would being killed with a kitchen knife be bloodier than being smashed to death with a cutting board? I feel the latter is more serious.

The wound caused by a blunt weapon is definitely more grotesque than that from a sharp blade, and the injury is more severe and harder to recover from.

"Obviously a blunt weapon is bloodier, right?" Chu Zhongtian said.

An'an froze for a moment, seems like that's indeed the case, but the cutting board can be carried around while walking, a kitchen knife definitely cannot: "Never mind these, these aren't important."

If possible, she definitely hopes her fate is that of a magical girl or something, then just add some flashy skills later.

But her fate is the Black Whirlwind Li Kui—what difference would there be between cutting boards and kitchen knives?

Actually, using two bricks would also work.

"Meow!"

The Heavenly Howling Dog barked once, interrupting everyone's speech, its front paws stepping on An'an's abdomen.

Clearly having just eaten a very full meal half an hour ago, An'an's abdomen is still very flat, as if already fully digested.

"What's wrong with it?" An'an asked, holding the Heavenly Howling Dog.

"It wants to eat something." Tang Luo said, "Then let's have another meal."

"Okay." Having money, we can eat as many meals a day as we want.

After eating their fill, everyone sat in the car, heading to Chu Zhongtian's home.

Inserting the key into the keyhole and turning it slightly, Chu Zhongtian immediately let go and stepped back, saying: "Someone's inside."

Yesterday morning when he left for school, he had deliberately locked the door from outside, but now it's open directly.

"Your parents?" Li Suibian asked.

"I don't know, if they come back, they should call me." Chu Zhongtian took out his phone and glanced at it, saying, his parents are busy working away from home.

The matter at Shenai High School has been suppressed, so his parents might not know, and the possibility of them suddenly rushing back is not high.

Chu Zhongtian's phone doesn't have so many flashy functions, nor does he idle away playing with it for no reason—the battery is enough to last two or three days.

"Let's go in and check." Tang Luo said.

Normally, encountering such a situation would definitely mean retreating first, then planning long-term.

But can Master Xuanzang be someone who walks the ordinary path?

Only by going toward Tiger Mountain can one "not enter the tiger's den, how get the tiger's cub?" even if it's a survival task.

But everyone's mindset has actually changed somewhat—when facing possible danger, the first reaction is not avoidance or escape, but confronting it head-on.

Think about it carefully—such a survival task, confronting and even actively resolving crises, might bring benefits exceeding those of normal tasks.

An'an is a very good example.

At the entrance, a pair of dirty sports shoes was placed.

"Shoes." Chu Zhongtian frowned, realizing things weren't simple.

"Ah Chu, where did you go, hurry up and come!"

The boy sitting in the living room turned his head excitedly toward Chu Zhongtian's wave, "I got a copy of the legendary supernatural videotape, come watch it together!"

"..."

"Did you bring your cutting board?" Chu Zhongtian looked at An'an and asked softly.