Mutated Tao - Chapter 49

“Da, da, da…” The black donkey’s hooves kept pounding on the hard road, making crisp sounds. Other people looked a little panicked as they ran alongside the cart.

As they walked, they occasionally looked back, as if afraid of being caught up by something.

“Senior Brother Li, why do we have to leave in such a hurry?” Doggie asked while wiping his sweat with his hand.

“The fact that Zhengde Temple can stay so popular in the city center for so long, so do you think there is no reason why we must leave?” Li Huowang’s face was dark and terrifying.

After hearing Li Huowang’s question, Chun Xiaoman with black hair all over her body spoke up, “The fact that Zhengde Temple can coexist peacefully with the Imperial Palace for so long already shows that there is a problem. Whether it’s the rulers of Xijing City colluding with them or the Imperial Palace being infiltrated by Zhengde Temple, the authorities here cannot be trusted.”

Li Huowang nodded in agreement.

It may be reasonable for ordinary people to be deceived by them, but Li Huowang definitely did not believe that all the ruling classes in such a large place were fooled. There must be something shady going on between the Imperial Palace and Zhengde Temple.

“Anyway, we’ve had enough of this place. We’ve already given Zhao Fifth all the last words of our fallen brothers. Our original plan was to leave this state recent,” Li Huowang said.

He spread out a map on the cart, which could not be bought elsewhere but finally found in Xijing City, even though it was very rough.

Li Huowang’s fingertips slowly slid across the map, drawing a route for their journey.

Siqi State, Shu State, Cyan Mound State, and finally, their ultimate destination was Bai Lingmiao’s hometown, The Liang State.

“Hmm, let’s go to my hometown. There are no terrifying monks there, and the monks there are all very kind,” Bai Lingmiao said.

Li Huowang glanced at her then looking back at the map. To be honest, he didn’t trust anyone right now. He couldn’t tell whether the monks that Bai Lingmiao mentioned were truly kind or if they had deceptive tricks like Zhengde Temple.

They were just ordinary people, too passive when facing these mysterious guys.

They continued walking until it was almost dark, and finally stopped to rest.

Li Huowang looked at the campfire in front of him with some anxiety. Their speed was too slow.

He had enough money now, and he could even sell the jade pendant if necessary to get each of them a horse. But the problem was they didn’t know how to ride at all.

“This is not working. We can’t take the main road anymore. It’s too easy for us to be caught. Let’s go into the woods after we finish eating,” Li Huowang said.

“Senior Brother Li, here are your noodles. We need to keep moving, so I added a lot of pork fat,” Bai Linmiao said as she brought a steaming bowl of noodles to Li Huowang. Some minced meat floated up and down in the soup.

While sitting quietly beside Li Huowang and watching him slurping his noodles, Bai Lingmiao said, “Since the monks of Zhengde Temple are not good people, do you still want find monks for your matter? What about finding nuns instead?”

Li Huowang swallowed a mouthful of noodles forcefully, then blew gently on the bowl before taking a big sip of broth.

“It’s okay. It’s just a minor inconvenience. Compared to those monks chasing after us, this matter is nothing,” he replied.

Since those monks had deceived him, everything they said before became untrustworthy. Perhaps they couldn’t rid Dan Yang Tzu, or maybe Dan Yang Tzu wasn’t what they had described.

Therefore, the matter with Dan Yang Tzu could be put aside for now and addressed later.

“Is the noodles not enough? Do you want me to serve you some more? There’s still some left in the pot,” Bai Lingmiao asked.

Li Huowang shook his head, handed the bowl to Bai Lingmiao, and stood up. He walked over to Plonker and tapped his bald head with his hand, “Come on, let’s go to the woods together and take a pee.”

“Uh…”

In the woods, Li Huowang and Plonker stood side by side and peed on a small tree in front of them. Li Huowang turned his head and glanced at the campfire behind them, then whispered some instructions to Plonker.

As night fell, Zhengde Temple began to close its doors. All the monks started their evening classes, and the sound of chanting echoed throughout the temple.

Jian Dun turning his prayer beads and walked slowly through the temple. Soon, he arrived at the Five-Buddhas Hall and saw the abbot who was threading prayer beads with great concentration.

“Abbot, I just checked and found out that Alms Giver Xuan Yang has already left,” Jian Dun said.

Xin Hui sitting cross-legged on a cushion, lifted his prayer beads into the air to examine them. After a while, he put them back on the ground and picked up a baby from a nearby cradle.

The baby looked like she had just been born, with her lanugo still attached to her body. As soon as she felt someone holding her, she cried and stretched out her little red hands.

“Ah, poor child. If we hadn’t found you in time, your father would have drowned you,” he cooed to the baby as he held her gently.

“Abbot, Alms Giver Xuan Yang has already left.”

“I’m not deaf yet, no need to shout so loud. Start beating the wooden fish.”

“Ta Ta Ta Ta~” The sound of the wooden fish echoed throughout the Five-Buddhas Hall, making the whole place solemn.

Carefully, Xin Hui placed the baby on the ground and then gently wrapped the freshly made prayer beads around her.

With the accompaniment of the wooden fish, he began to recite something that was not a Buddhist scripture but something else entirely.

“The Jade Rabbit hides in the moon~ The crow hides in the sun~ The turtle and the snake are intertwined~ Ah~”

As he continued chanting, the prayer beads on the baby’s body came alive, tightening and pressing against her delicate skin, crushing her clothes.

Feeling the pain, the baby instinctively struggled and began to cry, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the wooden fish.

“Intertwined with each other, strong in life, planting golden lotus seeds in the fire~ Ah~”

The blood-stained prayer beads had completely sunk into the baby’s flesh. If it were an ordinary child, they would have died by now, but the baby still cried with all her strength.

Xin Hui made a Lotus Mudra with both hands and then pointed fiercely at the bloody baby.

（https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/626f9f6500000000010252ad）

Her crying gradually turned into laughter, which grew louder and even made the five enormous Buddhas in the hall laugh.

“Gather the Five Elements, reverse their use~ Ah~ Achieve success and fame, become a Buddha or immortal~”

The sound of the wooden fish gradually faded, and Xin Hui gently twisted the baby’s head with both hands, as if pulling a carrot out of the ground. He pulled the internal organs that were entangled with the prayer beads from under the baby’s neck.

Jian Dun quickly walked over and handed Xin Hui a vase that had already been prepared.

Like planting vegetables, Xin Hui planted the laughing baby in the vase filled with red water, creating a new vase girl.

After everything was done, Xin Hui picked up a thread and began threading prayer beads again. Dozens of babies lay quietly in front of him.

“Since he’s gone, go and bring him back.”

“I understand.”

“Be careful. Although he knows nothing about what’s going on, his potential shouldn’t be underestimated. That old bastard, Dan Yang Tzu, is so lucky to have found such a Soul-Origin.”