Seeing the girl following behind with a stuffed toy in her arms, Feng Yuan warned,
"Don’t cause us any trouble, of course, if you’re scared, you can stick with me. I’ll protect you."
The girl looked at Feng Yuan in confusion and pointed at the others. Feng Yuan said somewhat helplessly,
"They’re already unable to protect anyone else."
Hearing this, the girl laughed lightly and started walking beside Feng Yuan. The Dreaming Dragon Baby on Feng Yuan’s shoulder occasionally twisted its head to glance at the girl. Reaching the entrance, the plaque of E Hua Temple hung above the peculiar building’s main gate. Beyond the main gate was a majestic structure, and as soon as they stepped through the entrance, they could feel a strange aura wandering around. Feng Yuan suspiciously checked the surroundings and laid down a Crystal Barrier.
Feeling the strange aura gradually dissipate after laying down the Crystal Barrier, Feng Yuan whispered,
"Be careful, there seems to be something weird here."
The girl looked puzzled as she carefully pushed open the door of a main hall in front. As soon as they had entered, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed out from behind a pillar, concentrating a brown light in his hand and slamming it harshly onto the ground. The earth shook uncontrollably with his movements. Xiao Ji jumped down from its egg and spewed a dark blue flame at the man in mid-air. The man raised his hand, and an earthen barrier shot up from the ground, blocking Xiao Ji’s attack.
"Looking for death!"
Seeing the other party aiming for Xiao Ji in the air, Feng Yuan was enraged and swung his Greatsword fiercely at the assailant. A violent wind howled out of the Greatsword, blowing the man away. With a raise of his Greatsword, several white chains appeared from the void; one end connected to the void, the other end wrapped around the man, binding and immobilizing him.
"Aren’t you going to kill him?"
Seeing Feng Yuan signaling everyone to leave, the girl looked at him with a tilt of her head, somewhat puzzled. Feng Yuan glanced at her speechlessly and said reluctantly,
"Why kill him? I’m not that bloodthirsty, am I?"
"But if you kill him you could gain power. That’s what people do here."
Seeing the girl say this with an innocent face, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Feng Yuan looked speechlessly at the bound man and said,
"So you mean I have to think of a way to protect him now? Otherwise, the way he is, he might get secretly killed by someone else any moment."
The girl looked at Feng Yuan, uncomprehending. With a wave of his Greatsword, a dark semi-spherical Barrier covered the man. Feng Yuan turned and led the group away. Along the way, they encountered many people similar to that man—men and women, adults and teenagers comparable in age to Feng Yuan. After dealing with another attacker, Feng Yuan said with some confusion,
"What’s with these people? They’re acting like they’ve gone crazy."
Teacher Mu fell silent for a moment before saying,
"It seems like they’ve been bewitched."
"They are merely following their true nature." The girl said calmly, gently stroking the toy in her arms. Feng Yuan said with some disdain,
"True nature? I don’t believe that all these people are naturally murderous. Forget it, it’s none of our business; we’ll just leave it to the police to handle afterward."
Following the Light Bird through the labyrinth-like E Hua Temple, Feng Yuan chuckled at the provocative propaganda posters surrounding them,
"They call it E Hua Temple, but it doesn’t feel like a temple at all. Instead, it’s like some kind of cult, all obsessed with the promotion of power."
Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan speechlessly and said,
"Not everyone is like you, lacking the pursuit of strength. But, these promotional materials are indeed a bit over the top..."
"Careful!"
"Pei Qing! What are you doing!"
Pei Qing looked emotionless at them, a cruel smile on her face. Just as Pei Qing was about to make her move, Feng Yuan pointed his Greatsword and countless pristine chains shot out from the void towards her. She waved her hand, and a massive earthen barrier rose to block Feng Yuan’s attack. Ah Mu frantically summoned Magic Leaf Blades to strike at her. Realizing that the earthen barrier couldn’t completely stop the chains, Pei Qing turned and quickly retreated.
"Has she lost her mind?" Pei Yu’s mother said, struggling to believe it. Feng Yuan said furiously,
"Have the guts to show up in front of me again! See if I don’t take care of you next time! To think you’d try to kill someone right before my eyes!"
Qi Chen calmed down the raging Ah Mu in his arms. After seeing everyone’s reactions, the girl said,
"They all say this place is very dangerous; you should leave quickly."
"We’ll leave once we find the person... Eh? Pei Yu?"
Seeing Pei Yu walking in with a murderous look on his face, everyone couldn’t help but watch him with caution. Noticing the crowd, Pei Yu was taken aback and shouted in surprise,
"Didn’t I tell you to call the police! Why did you all come over!"
"Are you okay? That’s such a relief~"
Seeing Zhong Liuyan rush up to hug Pei Yu, Feng Yuan whispered to Qi Chen,
"Should we step aside at a time like this~"
"You shouldn’t be here! Leave now!"
Pei Yu ignored Zhong Liuyan and yelled at everyone. Feng Yuan looked at Pei Yu speechlessly and said,
"Alright, we’re here to find you. Since we’ve found you, let’s get going. Hopefully, we can still make it in time for bed."
"No! You go, I still have things to deal with!" Pei Yu said, his eyes revealing a bloodthirsty gleam. Zhong Liuyan held onto Pei Yu’s hand and said,
"Don’t be like this. It’s enough to have sufficient power, right? Look at Feng Yuan, isn’t he like that? Please, stop pursuing power excessively, okay?"
Pei Yu silently pushed Zhong Liuyan away. Seeing Pei Yu remain silent, no one knew how to persuade him. Xiao Ji, somewhat puzzled, prodded Feng Yuan with its little wings, then pointed at Pei Yu. A puzzled Feng Yuan carefully sensed Pei Yu.
"Where’s Duomeng! What on earth happened here!" Feng Yuan shouted with an ugly expression. Pei Yu sadly bowed his head and said with a choked voice,
"He’s dead..." Clutching his fists tightly, Pei Yu trembled as he said,
"He was killed by that bastard Pei Qing... to protect me!!!"
Raising his hand and looking at the floating clump of dirt in it, Pei Yu said softly,
"Before it died... it transferred its power to me... It must have wanted me to avenge it..."
Zhong Liuyan was trying to persuade Pei Yu, while Teacher Mu sighed softly under his breath. Qi Chen, in disbelief, glanced at Pei Yu and said to Feng Yuan in a low voice, "Duomeng... is really dead?" Feng Yuan, feeling helpless, nodded and said,
"Yes, there’s a scent of a broken contract on him. I remember he only had a contract with the Spirit Beast Duomeng... Therefore..." "How could this happen..." Watching Pei Yu push Zhong Liuyan away and determinedly walk away, Qi Chen, as if remembering something, asked Feng Yuan,
"Is there no way for you to revive Duomeng?"
"I can’t... The White Wolf Deity is not a Divine Beast that presides over life. And even if Nagna were to come, reviving Duomeng wouldn’t be easy. I’ve told you, the price of resurrection is enormous..."
As Feng Yuan said this, he drove his Greatsword fiercely into the ground. Qi Chen, holding Ah Mu, didn’t know what to say, while Pei Yu ignored the pleading of Zhong Liuyan and his mother and left resolutely.
"Why, though? We came here to pursue power, so why can’t you accept death~" Seeing the girl speak so innocently, Qi Chen, gathering strength from who knows where, grabbed the Greatsword Feng Yuan had plunged into the ground, gasping for breath, he pointed at the girl and said, "Was it you? Did you cause all this?"
"I didn’t do anything, you know, they just found out that killing each other inside E Hua Temple allows them to take all of the other’s powers. I didn’t say anything~" "It’s related to you nevertheless, isn’t it." The girl spoke naively, and Feng Yuan, taking the Greatsword from Qi Chen’s hand, pointed at the girl and said,

Comments

Loading...