Chapter 552: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

All of this is aimed at me and the child in my belly; this is certain, and I am not surprised.

On the contrary, the Copper Coin Person said the underground palace's divine temple is filled with Buddha-nature and spiritual qi, which makes me doubtful: "Apart from Buddha-nature and spiritual qi, have you sensed any other aura? Such as the great evil and wicked qi like that of the evil bones?"

So far, the Copper Coin Person should not yet have directly confronted the mother of Dìshì, that eagle, but if the eagle is present, given the Copper Coin Person's sensitivity, they should be able to sense it, right?

The result was that the Copper Coin Person said no.

I hissed involuntarily.

Eagle, are you present or not?

If not, it means the eagle is confined to the execution platform in Wǎngsǐ Chéng; in other words, the eagle's soul is fused with the shattered true form of Dìshì on that platform, and she cannot temporarily leave that shattered true form.

If it is present, the eagle's great evil and wicked aura could be concealed so completely—how mighty must the Buddha-nature of that divine temple in the underground palace be?

In that case, I would rather the eagle not be in Zàng Qū.

I told the Copper Coin Person about the eagle again; after listening, he merely nodded and said, "I will pay attention."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

The Copper Coin Person seemed to want to speak but held back.

I know, he is waiting for a definite word from me.

Although he warned me that approaching that underground palace could cause me to go into labor at any time, since I have already come here, I have long been mentally prepared for this.

He is not necessarily forbidding me from approaching the underground palace; rather, he wants to make preparations for the next step based on my decision.

After all, I carry the Dharma-body Buddha, he is the Reward-body Buddha; they say they ultimately come from the same source, and he cares deeply about this child.

He must ensure that this child comes to no harm.

Pull a single hair and the whole body moves.

Liu Junyan and the others have not returned yet, so I cannot hastily make a decision for now.

"Go!"

A Cheng suddenly spoke up, firmly saying: "Older sister, you have overlooked the power of the evil bones; this is their territory, which favors their control of the evil bones, and they might use the evil bones to control the timing of your delivery; rather than let them manipulate you, it would be better to go down first."

I started: "Does A Cheng mean to let me also enter the underground palace?"

After all, the Copper Coin Person has entered the underground palace before, guided by the Mysterious Cat, and the other side has not yet noticed; taking advantage of this time, could we strike unexpectedly?

But this idea was immediately rejected by me: "If they can control my delivery time through the evil bones, they can likewise use the evil bones to lock onto my position; entering the underground palace now would only make me easier to expose."

"No, the fact that they haven't moved you yet indicates that the optimal time for delivery has not arrived." A Cheng said, "We must seize this window; during this period I can use shamanic magic to temporarily seal the evil bones, guaranteeing that for at least six hours they cannot locate you via the evil bones."

"Okay."

As soon as A Cheng finished speaking, the Copper Coin Person immediately gave an affirmative reply.

I still felt somewhat undecided in my heart.

Li Qingying was even more restless, constantly looking outward; like me, without waiting for Liu Junyan to return, she felt uneasy.

"I must leave before Seventh Lord returns, otherwise I will easily be exposed; once exposed, I can no longer lead you into the underground palace." The Copper Coin Person said, "I will wait for you in the direction of nine o'clock behind the divine temple until midnight; if you do not come by midnight, it will mean you reject my earlier suggestion, and I will go to meet up with the Mysterious Cat."

He paused, then added: "There is one more thing—may I have that string of skull prayer beads first?"

The Copper Coin Person did not explain why he wanted the skull prayer beads, but that string of skull prayer beads is of great significance to the Mysterious Cat; his request might also be at the Mysterious Cat's behest.

I hesitated not, took out the skull prayer beads, and handed them to the Copper Coin Person.

The Copper Coin Person then left immediately.

After he left, A Cheng immediately asked me: "Older sister, do you not trust my abilities?"

"No, A Cheng." I explained, "The Copper Coin Person's focus is on the child, because this child concerns the future of the entire Zàng Qū Buddhist system; his starting point must be to prioritize the child, but our purpose in coming to Zàng Qū is greater and broader, and our next deployment must take the whole situation into account."

The Copper Coin Person has not yet been exposed because Fang Lao and Liu Junyan and the others have drawn the enemy's attention; this shows that Fang Lao was already exposed.

If I were to immediately go with the Copper Coin Person, that would mean Fang Lao's side would have to create a greater disturbance to draw attention, and Fang Lao's forces……are not suitable to take the vanguard.

Our opponent now is Dìshì, and moreover all the deployments Dìshì has made over the years in Zàng Qū; this is not something Fang Lao's people can shake.

The best arrangement is for us to take the vanguard, Fang Lao's people to provide external support and handle the mopping-up afterward, so as to keep casualties to a minimum.

Li Qingying sighed: "After all, we simply have too few usable hands; if we were in River City……"

Yeah, if we were in River City, we wouldn't be hampered everywhere.

That is our main battlefield.

And Zàng Qū is Dìshì's territory.

"Older sister, if we need manpower, you should first give birth to the child." A Cheng reminded, "Once delivered, free from the shackles of the evil bones, you will be able to exert greater power."

My heart gave a violent throb.

The little guy in my belly also seemed to sense it, moving vigorously a few times.

Just then, several eagle cries suddenly came from the sky outside, and A Cheng leapt out at once.

I was about to move when Li Qingying grabbed me: "Xiao Jiu, don't go out yet; A Cheng can handle those blue hawks."

Earlier in Wufu Town, we had witnessed A Cheng's abilities.

But the problem now is, these blue hawks have suddenly appeared here……a person's shadow silently appeared at the room's doorway.

Both I and Li Qingying were startled.

The visitor wore a monk's robe, held prayer beads in his hands, looked kind and benevolent, yet the moment I met his gaze, every hair on my body stood on end.

It was actually Empty Silence!

It turns out those few eagle cries just now were the "Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain" ploy.

A Cheng is hard to deal with; Empty Silence fighting him might not gain an advantage, so he first used the blue hawks to lure A Cheng away—he is here to find me!

I truly did not expect Empty Silence to appear suddenly; I struggled to stay calm, sitting in place without moving.

Empty Silence smiled, bowed to me, and said, "Namu Amida Buddha: Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, long time no see."

I also returned a smile: "Yes, since our parting at Lofty Mountain several months ago, has the Abbott Empty Silence, who wanders the world, already reached Zàng Qū?"

"Wherever I am needed, I will be there." Empty Silence said calmly, looking at me: "Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, on the verge of childbirth, you have suddenly come to Zàng Qū—are you intending to pray to the divine temple for the fetus in your womb?"

I'm getting a bit impatient.

Everyone's mind is as clear as a mirror; why bother being evasive?

This Empty Silence Abbott always puts on a pious front.

The calmer he is, the more it shows there are many ways outside to restrain A Cheng; I'm worried about A Cheng, so I can only open with: "Empty Silence Abbott, what brings you here so late at night?"

Empty Silence Abbott laughed: "Since you're praying for the blessing of the child in your womb, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui must have come with sincerity; I heard Xiao Jiu Zhanggui has newly acquired a string of Buddhist prayer beads…"