Chapter 183 - 182: [Shouyangzi: Where’s My Daoist Temple?!]

Chapter 183: Chapter 182: [Shouyangzi: Where’s My Daoist Temple?!]

Roger currently felt like someone who had gone through hell and high water, begging and pleading with everyone he knew, just to get his hands on a bunch of delightful "seeds."

After three sleepless days and nights, his computer humming as it furiously downloaded over twenty gigs of video, he eagerly drew the curtains and got the tissues ready. But when he opened the video, his speakers blared a dumbfounding tune: "? Calabash Brothers, Calabash Brothers, seven flowers on a single vine~~~ ?" That was more or less how he felt now.

And not only that, it was like when you suppress your rage, refuse to give up, and click past that video to the next one.

The speakers would then blast another song guaranteed to make you lose your mind: "? Pleasant Goat, Lazy Goat, Beautiful Goat, Boiling~~~ Don’t look down on me, I’m just a sheep~~~ ?"

Sheep my ass!

I’ve already dropped my pants, and this is what you fucking show me?!

Roger stared at He Xiaotian in the crater, who was grilling skewers so intensely that sparks were flying, and was almost overwhelmed by a rage that made him want to charge in and get his ass kicked.

Aside from the essential administrative staff needed to keep things running, the entire Cleaner headquarters had been mobilized.

Not only that, he had also called in the local garrison and brought out all sorts of terrifyingly powerful heavy weapons.

The missile systems were even locked onto Snake Mountain, ready for a last-ditch, mutually-assured-destruction scenario if they were outmatched.

All that righteous fury, all that passion, was utterly defeated by a couple of sparking metal skewers.

Behind him, the crowd of Cleaner team members watched their Deputy Chief, who looked like he wanted to charge down but was also holding back, clearly wary of something.

To a man, they were all utterly confused.

’As for this "X" he mentioned,’ they thought, ’what the hell does this have to do with that civilian prodigy?’

’Did you already forget the last time you were sucking up to him?’

As veterans, Lei Yang and Captain Su, who was beside him, parted the crowd and walked forward.

"?!"

The two of them stared at He Xiaotian—now back to his normal height of over two meters and cheerfully grilling skewers—and froze in unison.

’No wonder the Deputy Chief looked like he was about to explode with rage, yet didn’t dare go down there to argue.’

’So, it was X in the crater all along!’

’Wait, isn’t this the site of a Wolf-level disaster?’

’Why is X here?!’

’Could it be...’

The two of them scanned the massive crater, which spanned over a thousand square meters.

’Did X do this?’

He Xiaotian himself had heard Roger’s furious shout. He finished off the meat skewer in his hand and turned his head to look.

’Let’s see which blind bastard has come looking for trouble now!’

And then, three familiar faces came into view.

"Well, well! Isn’t this the renowned Deputy Chief of the Cleaners, the esteemed Roger? And Captain Lei and Captain Su, too. What’s up? Here to see me about something? Why don’t you come down for a bite? We can eat while we talk."

’Eat your grandma’s bony claws!’

This was the thought that simultaneously ran through all three of their minds.

’How could we possibly be in the mood to eat right now?!’

’You bastard, give us back our righteous fury!’

Behind the three of them, the team members looked at each other, confused.

’From the sound of it, they seem to know each other?’ they thought.

So, ignoring Roger’s orders, the group surged forward one by one.

They all stood there, mouths agape...

What was this situation?

What happened to the Wolf-level disaster? What happened to serving the nation? What happened to being buried with the national flag?!

Why was there a big dude down there grilling skewers?!

He Xiaotian: "???"

He was completely baffled. Why had so many people suddenly appeared?

’I’m just grilling some skewers, do you all have to be so dramatic?!’

"Ahem, X. May I ask what happened with this giant crater?" Seeing that all his team members had come forward, Roger cleared his throat and asked. He had originally intended to use an accusatory tone, but after seeing the two enormous, sinister-looking hammers at He Xiaotian’s feet, he opted for a gentler approach and used honorifics.

’This guy is a reckless brute. If he gets angry and charges over to beat me to a pulp, I’m not sure I could actually win.’

"Er..." He Xiaotian’s gaze toward Roger suddenly turned a little dangerous.

Don’t get the wrong idea; it wasn’t because he was about to rush over and beat him up.

It was just—could he really admit that he himself had created it with a single, full-power swing of his hammer?

If he did that, wouldn’t he be directly admitting that he was the one who destroyed the Divine Void Temple?

"The Papermen did it. You Cleaners should have a file on them." He Xiaotian’s eyes darted about as he gave the excuse he had prepared earlier. No matter who asked, blaming the Papermen was the right move.

"..."

’What the hell are you talking about?’

’If those funeral-wreath peddlers had this kind of power, they would have conquered the Evil Realm long ago.’

’They’re just bizarre, their methods are sinister, and their moods are erratic.’

’Unleashing the power of a Wolf-level disaster? Who are you trying to kid?’

"Don’t look at me like that. No matter how you look at it, the Papermen did this."

He Xiaotian, under the stare of a hundred pairs of disbelieving eyes, stubbornly stuck to his story.

"X, I have to make one thing clear," Roger said helplessly. "We Cleaners have had dealings with the Papermen; you could say we know them. All it takes is one phone call to find out what happened." An incident that triggered a Wolf-level disaster response had to be investigated thoroughly.

Otherwise, when the Chief returned, he would have hell to pay.

"If they hadn’t come looking for me for revenge, would this crater even exist? If they had just stood there obediently and taken their beating, would I have smashed the Divine Void Temple out of existence with a single blow? So if they weren’t responsible for this crater, who was?"

Seeing he was being pressed, He Xiaotian decided to just tell the truth.

Of course, the key was to pin the blame squarely on the Papermen’s heads and absolve himself first.

The Cleaners: "..."

’You make so much sense, we’re actually speechless.’

「At the foot of Snake Mountain.」

Three Daoists, with Divine Movement Talismans stuck to their legs, rushed over from a distance at incredible speed.

"Junior Brother, hurry! The Papermen might be besieging Scholar X right now!"

The Daoist beside him, whose hair and beard were completely red, rolled his eyes.

’Senior Brother, this is as fast as the Divine Movement Talismans go. I can’t get any faster.’

’I know you’re anxious, but being anxious is useless!’

"What’s going on here?"

The three of them were completely baffled when they saw the heavy blockade and all sorts of brutal-looking heavy weapons at the foot of the mountain.

"Halt! This is a restricted area. No one is allowed to approach."

Several soldiers holding steel rifles immediately blocked the three of them.

"Wait, I am the abbot of the Divine Void Temple on this mountain," Shouyangzi asked anxiously. "Excuse me, friend, what exactly happened?"

"The abbot? There was a Wolf-level disaster reaction at the summit. You shouldn’t go up for now." The soldier knew a little about the world of supernaturally gifted individuals. They had, of course, heard of the Daoist Alliance, so there was no need to hide the truth as they would from an ordinary person.

"Wolf-level?! Son of a bitch, those Papermen are ruthless. Did they bring their ancestors out for this? It was just the loss of one soul clone, was it necessary to raise such a fuss?! Junior Brother, when we get up there, I want you to help me waste them."

Shouyangzi was agitated. Hadn’t he just led X into a deathtrap?

"This is Roger. The Wolf-level disaster is canceled. I repeat, this is Roger. The Wolf-level disaster is canceled."

"Roger that."

Before the three Daoists could even try to argue, the personnel who received Roger’s order immediately began to withdraw.

All the heavy weapons were dismantled, loaded onto vehicles, and in less than ten minutes, they were gone like the wind.

Shouyangzi and the other two stood there in the night, their expressions a mess of confusion.

Weren’t they just dealing with a Wolf-level disaster, on high alert as if facing a great enemy?

How could they just up and leave like that?!

"Come on, let’s go up and see."

Shouyangzi led his junior brother and, of course, his disciple Daoxuan up the stone steps.

Along the way, his junior brother kept his brow furrowed.

"Senior Brother, there’s a heavy residue of sinister energy on the mountain path and in the woods. It was probably the Papermen. They love to pull that stunt where they swarm their enemy with overwhelming numbers. I’m afraid your friend is most likely done for,"

the red-bearded Daoist speculated.

Shouyangzi shot him a sidelong glance, telling him to shut his jinxing mouth.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When the three of them finally set foot on the summit...

"???"

The old Daoist craned his neck, looking around, confirming once again that this was indeed Snake Mountain and his Divine Void Temple should be just a hundred meters away.

But...

"Where’s my temple?!"