Chapter 155 - 154: Dark Clouds Looming

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Dark Clouds Looming

He Xiaotian was preparing to pull off something big. For the sake of his disciple, Shouyangzi could only grit his teeth and agree.

What else could he do? He was desperate!

If he disagreed, the man would just leave, leaving him with no hope at all.

That night, the two of them slept in the side hall.

The bed, of course, belonged to He Xiaotian, the distinguished guest.

The poor old Daoist could only sleep on the floor.

The next day, the sky began to lighten.

A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed into the side hall.

Then came a series of loud knocks on the main door.

"Master, something’s happened! Something terrible has happened!" Daoxuan’s voice drifted in from outside the bedroom. Shouyangzi yawned, waking up in a daze. He Xiaotian, however, shot out of bed and rushed toward the side hall.

CREAK!

The door opened, and Daoxuan said anxiously, "Mas—"

He trailed off, unable to continue.

"Scholar X?!"

Before Daoxuan could wrap his head around it, a disheveled Shouyangzi appeared right behind him.

"Disciple, what happened?"

"..."

Daoxuan’s mind was buzzing and completely blank.

’Scholar X... Master... two grown men, and one of them isn’t even fully dressed...’

’If anyone claimed nothing was going on, he’d be the first to disbelieve it!’

SMACK!

He Xiaotian slapped Daoxuan on the forehead and scolded with a laugh, "What in the world is going through that head of yours all day, you little Daoist? Your master and I talked for half the night and slept in our clothes. Besides, with old Yang’s off-putting mug, who’d be interested?"

’Now that I think about it, he’s right,’ Daoxuan thought.

’What kind of person would have such peculiar tastes?’

Shouyangzi: "..."

’You’d better make yourself clear! What part of this old Daoist’s honorable face is so off-putting?!’

"Disciple, what is it? Why are you in such a panic?"

SMACK! This time, Daoxuan slapped his own forehead. He said immediately, "When I got up this morning, one of my senior brothers was dead!!"

"???"

A moment later, Shouyangzi stared grimly at the body lying on the small path.

The man was a disciple of the temple, with the Daoist name Daozheng.

"Who was the first to find the body?"

"It was me!"

A chubby Daoist stepped forward and replied.

"Around what time?"

"A little after five. I was on my way to the latrine when I found Senior Brother Daozheng’s body on the path." As he said this, the chubby man couldn’t help but gag a little. The corpse was terrifying.

It’s worth noting that the Divine Void Temple used latrines.

There was a vegetable garden in the temple’s backyard, which used pure, natural fertilizer extracted from the latrines and dried in the sun.

While the two were talking, He Xiaotian stood beside the body, observing it carefully.

Daozheng’s neck looked as if it had been bitten through by a wild beast. A large pool of dark red blood, long since dried, had collected beneath the body.

His face seemed to have been gnawed on, exposing the white bone underneath.

His eyes stared at the sky, a look of infinite terror still lingering in them.

It looked less like he’d been killed by the bite and more like he’d simply been scared to death.

"Did no one hear anything last night?" He Xiaotian interjected.

Hearing this, every single person shook their heads.

"Report it to the police."

Seeing this, Shouyangzi realized he wasn’t going to get any answers, so he decided to hand it over to the police.

Half an hour later, police sirens wailed from the foot of the mountain.

As the true leader of the Divine Void Temple, the old Daoist naturally didn’t need to appear personally. Everything would be handled by the public-facing abbot.

During the morning’s vegetarian meal, everyone ate in a gloomy silence.

A living, breathing person, who had been laughing and joking with everyone just yesterday, was suddenly dead today.

For the most part, they still hadn’t recovered from the shock of their senior brother’s death.

The meal was tasteless and dull, with only He Xiaotian wolfing down the food.

「Divine Void Temple, side hall.」

"It must be the Otherworldly Fissure that’s about to open. It’s likely attracting some evil spirits or strange entities wandering the mortal world. The next few days are probably not going to be easy." Shouyangzi’s head throbbed at the thought of facing not only unknown extraordinary individuals but also having to guard against murderous evil spirits.

"X!"

A familiar voice sounded from outside the side hall. The two looked over and saw it was Captain Su.

"Here to pay me back?"

"..."

He Xiaotian’s opening remark made Captain Su choke on the words he was about to say.

"Don’t worry. We Cleaners never go back on our promises. It’s just that gathering eight hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals will take some time. They’ll be delivered within a week at the latest."

Captain Su explained helplessly. The last transaction on Huayang Road had completely emptied out their inventory and the pockets of the Vice-Minister and other higher-ups.

On such short notice, they really couldn’t scrape them together.

PFFT!

Shouyangzi, who was drinking tea, spat it all out the moment he heard "eight hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals."

’Only two words could express his feelings right now—Holy shit?!’

’Last time you squeezed five hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals out of that four-eyes Roger, and this time you’re getting another eight hundred. Are the Shanghai Cleaners your personal vault?’

’If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, he would have knelt down and begged to become his disciple!’

’To hell with the Otherworldly Fissure! If I could just learn He Xiaotian’s skills, I could roam the world freely!’

"As soon as Department 037 heard someone died at your Divine Void Temple, they transferred the case directly to us Cleaners. Everyone knows that the Divine Void Temple is Daoist League territory. If even you can’t solve it and need to call the police, ordinary people certainly can’t help!"

Captain Su said grimly. Seeing He Xiaotian now on site, he could only imagine how difficult this case must be.

"If you’re here to ask questions, you’re probably going to be disappointed. According to the disciples, there was nothing unusual last night. The two of us were staying in the side hall and didn’t notice anything out of place either," He Xiaotian said. His perception wasn’t nearly powerful enough to cover the entire Divine Void Temple.

The Divine Void Temple covered nearly 2,000 square meters; he couldn’t manage that even if he gave it his all!

"No, we have special detection equipment. I just came here to explain the Spiritual Energy Crystal situation to you. We need to transport the body back to Cleaner headquarters for further examination.

"As for tonight, with X holding down the fort at the Divine Void Temple, we won’t leave anyone behind. If even he can’t solve it, any team members we leave would just get in your way or even lead to unnecessary casualties."

With that, Captain Su waved his hand and turned to leave.

He Xiaotian: "..."

’I really can’t argue with that.’

Next, the old Daoist began to spread a rumor through his information channels that the Otherworldly Fissure would appear within five days.

The guy pulled a slick move: he actually posted this information on the black market.

To get the information, one had to pay fifteen Spiritual Energy Crystals.

The black market took a ten percent cut, and the remaining ninety percent was all his.

After hearing this, He Xiaotian was completely stunned.

Shouyangzi’s shamelessness and cunning were practically on par with his own!

[Experience Points: 162,800

Functions: Scan, Enhance, Store, Fuse.

Martial Art: "Secret Dream Observation Achievement Method - Dharma Eye Chapter" - 0/100,000+ (Outstanding: Spirit +20, Illusion Technique Resistance +20, Perception +20, Insight +20, Special Attribute - All-Seeing Eye +1.)]