Chapter 5: Your Lives Shall Be Guarded by This Pauper Monk!

Li Liang had ten thousand swear words he wanted to shout out.

But he didn't dare.

This Xuanzang is simply a lunatic.

One side wearing a compassionate smile, the other side stabbing people with a 'knife'.

Where in the world is there such a monk?

All we can say is that he's still young, lacking experience and insight.

Monks like this are actually quite common.

"Oh, he's still tied up; Zhou benefactor, please untie him." Tang Luo said to Zhou Zhen Guo, looking as if he'd just realized.

Zhou Zhen Guo thought for a moment and chose to untie him early.

Li Liang stepped back several steps, then suddenly sat on the ground, his face showing both anger and fear.

"Look, he still isn't resisting; it's definitely him, no doubt." Tang Luo said.

Saying that made even Li Liang himself feel like vomiting blood.

What kind of judgment standard is this?

Don't you fear encountering a long-suffering acting type?

Monk, do you have a hole in your brain?

Whether Li Liang is the real deal or Jack the Ripper in disguise, frankly, Tang Luo has no certainty.

He cannot tell whether Li Liang or Zhou Zhen Guo is lying.

Only by obtaining merit power can we judge; Li Liang is probably not Jack the Ripper.

And most importantly, Tang Luo simply doesn't care whether "Little Li" is Jack the Ripper in disguise.

If not, saving a life beats building a seven‑story pagoda; everyone would be happy.

If he is…

Tang Luo said: "The poor monk believes Benefactor Li is not Jack the Ripper, but if—"

He stepped forward, looking down at Li Liang: "Benefactor, if you really are that Jack the Ripper and have deceived the poor monk, don't blame me for smashing your dog's head and subduing demons!"

If he is, that's perfect.

Just deliver him to our door; no need to search—one punch and he's dead.

"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Li Liang came out with a triple denial.

When that Xuanzang monk was talking to him just now, Li Liang felt it was even more terrifying than when Zhou Zhen Guo smashed his head.

Shouldn't a monk be compassionate and guide people toward goodness?

Isn't smashing a dog's head breaking the precept against killing?

Morals deteriorate day by day; people's hearts are no longer ancient.

Nowadays monks not only eat meat and marry, they even break the precept against killing.

Can't afford to provoke, can't afford to provoke!

"Benefactor, don't panic; the poor monk believes you, but I'll say the unpleasant things first."

Tang Luo said, "Zhou benefactor, what do you think? If Benefactor Li really is Jack the Ripper, the poor monk will bear the consequences alone."

"Uncle Zhou, could you be deceived by some illusion?" Xiao Chu spoke up.

He felt Li Liang might not be pretending.

The reason is simple: he's too timid.

He doesn't at all resemble the dangerous boss everyone imagines—Jack the Ripper.

"Yeah, maybe Jack the Ripper has some illusion‑casting ability that makes Uncle Zhou hallucinate, so we end up killing each other."

High school student Xiao Zhou thought of a possibility.

"The likelihood isn't high."

Before Zhou Zhen Guo could speak, Tang Luo objected: "If Jack the Ripper can make people hallucinate and wants to kill, why go through the trouble of making us kill each other? Just cast the illusion and then kill—it would be far simpler."

Including Zhou Zhen Guo, everyone was speechless.

Is this monk schizophrenic?

"Maybe Jack the Ripper can only cast illusions and has no killing ability?" Xiao Chu frowned.

"The likelihood is similarly low."

Tang Luo still opposed: "If it's Jack the Ripper but he only knows illusions and can't kill, how likely is that? If so, the mission should be to find Freddy instead."

Zhou Zhen Guo nodded.

"Which side are you really on, monk?" Xiao Chu was nearly frantic.

He saved Li Liang, yet didn't think Zhou Zhen Guo "had a problem."

The "masterly demeanor" that had just arisen in a few people's hearts vanished instantly.

After breaking the norm, Tang Luo became a monk again.

Of course, strictly speaking, originally "he shang" was just a title of respect; one needed certain qualifications to be worthy of being called a monk.

Nowadays it's not so strict.

"Amitabha, the poor monk is merely saving people."

"……"

"……Forget it." Zhou Zhen Guo said, "Since that's the case, I won't kill him either, but we'll each go our own way and complete our tasks."

His decision left everyone except Tang Luo stunned for a moment.

Are we about to disband?

Shouldn't we be in the same boat and overcome all difficulties?

Such splitting up is quite common in the God and Demon game.

The God and Demon game has no team mechanism; everyone is a lone wolf. When a mission causes disagreement, what do we do?

Naturally, they split up.

Whether to cooperate to complete the mission depends entirely on the God and Demon Walker's own choice.

Sometimes, a team does not necessarily help in completing the mission.

Once, Zhou Zhen Guo encountered a ruthless person who could almost be said to have completed the mission alone.

The other God and Demon Walkers just played soy sauce.

However, God and Demon Walkers who just played soy sauce find it hard to get rewards after the mission ends.

It just doesn't count as a "failure count".

This time, Zhou Zhen Guo didn't actually want to be that ruthless person himself.

He just didn't want to be implicated.

Li Liang definitely has a problem!

Zhou Zhen Yuan is unwilling to have a time bomb beside him.

Leaving, or pretending to leave, is the best choice.

After saying that, Zhou Zhen Guo turned and left the church; outside it was already daytime.

It didn't affect his actions at all.

As for Xiao Chu and the others, they hesitated a moment, thinking it better to follow Zhou Zhen Guo, but by the time they chased out, they had lost his trail.

They could only return resentfully.

They occasionally glanced at Li Liang a few times, their expressions very dissatisfied.

"Several benefactors, please rest assured; your lives will be protected by this poor monk!"

Tang Luo boldly declared.

Zhou Zhen Guo proposed splitting up, but Tang Luo hadn't expected that.

However, he didn't care; splitting up is just a habit, no big deal.

"……"

A few hours later.

Xiao Chu and the others' faces were all solemn.

"It turns out this isn't London." Xiao Chu said.

After parting with Zhou Zhen Guo, a group left the church, investigated, and discovered this place was not the Victorian-era London they had naively assumed.

But rather a Western-like small town that is not quite authentic.

Mainly Euro-American whites, with a language and script that resembles English but isn't quite.

In terms of communication, there's actually no problem.

As God and Demon Walkers, upon entering the mission world, they inherently possess the ability to understand language and script.

Tang Luo and the group walked the streets, appearing somewhat eye-catching, but didn't attract much attention.

The transportation on the streets was horse-drawn carriages.

Factory smokestacks belched black smoke, the sky a hazy gray.

Since it wasn't London, everyone racked their brains, but not knowing if there was any valuable reference material on Jack the Ripper, it all became useless.

The urgent task is to determine a general direction.

Running around like a headless fly won't let you find Jack the Ripper.

Li Liang shrank onto a bench beside the road, his face pale, expression dazed and uncertain.

Besides the injury, he also realized that something had likely happened to him.

Otherwise, Zhou Zhen Guo would have no reason to suddenly pull this stunt.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have courted death." Li Liang lamented inwardly.

According to horror movie law, a person going to the bathroom in the middle of the night is a typical suicidal act.

How come I didn't think of that at the time?

Actually, this isn't really Li Liang's fault.

Even Zhou Zhen Guo didn't expect the danger to come so quickly; even a one- or two-hour movie would have some buildup beforehand.

"The master has returned."

"Master..."

While Li Liang was sighing, Xiao Chu and the others nearby spoke up and took a few steps.

Tang Luo held several newspapers, walked into this roadside small park, and handed the newspapers to everyone.

"Jack the Ripper Kills Another!"

"Police Receive Numerous Provocative Letters!"

"Incompetent Granfield!"

The newspapers used huge headlines to attract attention, reporting on information related to Jack the Ripper.

This "legendary killer" had already made a name in this small city, killing 25 people in just two months.

The number of crimes committed directly surpassed that of the historical Jack the Ripper.

Moreover, the victims were not limited to characters like female prostitutes.

Victims spanned men, women, old and young; it can be said to be completely indiscriminate random killing.

It reached the extreme of insanity.

Every victim was disemboweled.

In stark contrast to the mad Jack the Ripper, the Granfield police station never managed to catch the Ripper.

They endured rigorous questioning.

After reading the related reports, everyone's faces looked grim.

The danger posed by Jack the Ripper far exceeded everyone's imagination.

"What should we do now?" Xiao Chu asked.

A group of people arrived in a completely unfamiliar place, needing to find a serial killer who had the whole city in panic.

For young people who have never suffered society's beatings, it is an extremely daunting challenge.

After Zhou Zhen-guo left, the backbone naturally became Tang Luo.

"Let's eat first, aren't you hungry?" Tang Luo said.

"……"

After Tang Luo's reminder, everyone also realized they were starving.

The group stood up, just about to move forward, when Xiao Chu seemed to recall something and asked: "Master, do we have money? Just to eat."

The only benefit these god‑demon wanderers have is that they are versed in language and writing.

"God‑demon" does not take responsibility for providing supplies, to facilitate the god‑demon wanderers' activities.

"I have money; on the road the poor monk met two kind people and made an offering." Tang Luo took out his wallet from his trouser pocket, opened it, and inside was a thick stack of banknotes.

"Made an offering?"

Xiao Chu and the others looked at Tang Luo's smile, furrowed their brows, and felt things weren't that simple.

But now is obviously not the time to quibble.

In the distant alley.

Two pickpockets lay on the ground unable to get up, their faces pained, trembling.