The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 33 Pursuit

This thing was brightly colored and covered with countless bumps, each covered with a thick layer of oily mucus. Although it was already lifeless, its terrifying appearance still sent chills down everyone's spines. They quickly asked Yuanzhi what kind of monster it was.

Yuanzhi had never seen this thing before, but he was convinced it must be that man-eating monster. Feeling reassured, he spouted some nonsense, saying it was a river salamander that had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon for five hundred years, and had already attained a high level of cultivation, able to summon wind and rain and transform into human form. "It's fortunate that this master intervened, otherwise who knows how much more trouble would have occurred."

After saying that, he didn't forget Xiao Yong, saying that this kid was a very filial son who helped me bravely fight off demons in order to avenge his parents.

Everyone was extremely grateful, practically praising Yuanzhi and Xiaoyong to the skies. Even Lao Biao's attitude changed drastically, and he looked at him with new respect.

Yuan Zhi was secretly pleased, but after glancing at the monster, he felt it was an ominous thing, so he ordered the villagers to drag it ashore, chop it up, and bury it.

When they opened the monster's stomach, everyone almost threw up their dinner from the night before. There was everything inside: meat, pork, dog, cow, as well as some tattered clothes and pots and pans.

By the time the monster was buried, it was already afternoon. The village held a funeral for Xiaoyong's mother and also set up a feast with more than ten tables, which could be considered as a celebration for the exorcism.

During the banquet, everyone took turns toasting Monk Yuanzhi. Monk Yuanzhi was in a good mood and accepted all the toasts. Before long, he was quite drunk and began to boast loudly. He said that he had been learning martial arts from his master since he was a child. After eighteen years of learning, he returned and said that catching monsters and exorcising demons was a piece of cake. He was proficient in all eighteen martial arts. His specialty was knowing five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future. He even knew exactly what color underwear the President of the United States' mother liked to wear...

Not knowing whether it was true or not, everyone gathered around and kept praising him. Yuanzhi was so flattered that he didn't even know how he got home that night. He vaguely remembered that he seemed to have vomited a lot and chatted nonsense with his cousin-in-law for a long time before calming down.

In the dead of night, Yuan Zhi was fast asleep when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his thigh, like being pricked by needles. He opened his eyes, half-drunk and half-awake, and broke out in a cold sweat, sobering up considerably.

There was a person standing in front of the bed, it was pitch black and he couldn't see who it was, and he was sticking a large steel needle into his left leg.

Monk Yuanzhi thought to himself, "Damn it! Could it be that I bragged too much today and someone is annoyed with me and is going to prick me with a needle in the middle of the night?"

"Which bastard dared to plot against your master?!"

He cursed and kicked the man in the stomach. The man groaned and fell to the ground, then got up and ran outside.

By the moonlight, Monk Yuanzhi took a look and was stunned to see that it was Xiao Yong!

Is this kid addicted to stabbing monsters? Is he going to try stabbing me tonight?

He glanced at his leg and saw it covered in needle marks and bloody stubble. He was instantly enraged. He thought to himself, "When have I ever suffered such a loss? I'll beat you until you beg for mercy today!" He got up and chased after the man.

It was midnight, and the village was pitch black and silent. Xiao Yong ran quickly ahead, leaving the village and heading straight into a dilapidated tile-roofed house at the village entrance, lit by a kerosene lamp.

Monk Yuanzhi found it strange. Why was this kid here instead of going home? He walked to the door of the tiled house and looked inside. He was taken aback. The room was empty, with no extra furniture. In the corner, there was a pile of wheat straw, and Xiao Yong was lying on it, fast asleep. On the wall next to him hung a small mirror, under which a kerosene lamp was lit, and under the lamp was a yellow paper talisman.

Are they really going to perform a ritual?

Monk Yuanzhi, somewhat confused, walked over and kicked him: "Get up!"

After being kicked three times, Xiao Yong groggily got up, rubbed his eyes, looked around, and said, "Master! How did I get here?"

"You have the nerve to ask me?" Monk Yuanzhi was furious, pointing at the mirror and kerosene lamp, "Tell me what's going on here? You even used it on me, huh? Did you enjoy being pricked with those little needles?"

Xiao Yong's face turned pale as he looked at it, and he hurriedly said, "I don't know! I didn't do it."

Monk Yuanzhi said, "Only the two of us know about this kind of magic. If you didn't do it, who did?"

Xiao Yong thought for a moment and said, "Oh! I remember now. I was keeping watch over my mother at home when a woman came in and asked if we had a kerosene lamp, a small mirror, yellow paper, and a large steel needle. I said we did, and then I don't remember anything else. Could she have done it?"

Monk Yuanzhi was stunned for a moment, his scalp tingling with unease. He quickly asked, "W-what kind of woman? From your village?"

Xiao Yong shook his head. "I don't know her. She has long hair, big eyes, and is quite pretty."

Monk Yuanzhi felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself, "This is bad! Some kind of evil spirit has come to the village again, as if it wants to bring me bad luck!" He quickly smashed the small mirror, tore up the yellow paper talisman, and dragged Xiaoyong back to the village.

The two of them ran for a while, and both felt a chill down their spines. As soon as they entered the village, they saw a girl with long, flowing hair hanging from a tree ahead of them.

Both of them were startled and quickly stopped.

Just then, the girl turned around unsteadily. Xiao Yong saw her and exclaimed, "It's Xiao Juan from the village chief's family!"

Before Yuanzhi could speak, he rushed forward and picked the girl up. The girl seemed to have been hanging there for only a short time and was not dead yet. She coughed a few times, regained her breath, and burst into tears.

The girl was pretty. Monk Yuanzhi had seen her a few times during the day and recognized her. He asked her what was bothering her. The girl squatted on the ground, covered her face, and didn't answer. She just kept crying.

Xiao Yong was anxious and said, "Master, I still have paper money burning at home. I'm entrusting Xiao Juan to you. I'm going back now." After saying that, he took off running and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Zhi was feeling down and impatient, so he casually offered a few words of comfort to the girl: "You're still young, there are so many wonderful things in this world, don't be so down, go home quickly."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Suddenly, the crying behind him stopped, replaced by a strange woman's eerie giggle: "Little monk, I'll make sure you die a horrible death within three days!"

Monk Yuanzhi broke out in a cold sweat and turned his head sharply to look around. It was pitch black all around, and there was no girl to be seen.

This woman is not Xiao Juan!

His heart was pounding. He ran back to his cousin's house, locked the door tightly, and didn't dare to sleep all night. He kept thinking about it but couldn't understand who that woman was or why she would suddenly come looking for him.

The next day, after breakfast, despite the family's attempts to persuade him to stay, Monk Yuanzhi packed his bags and left the village.

He planned to hide at Po Lin Monastery for a few days. The monastery was a sacred Buddhist site, upright and open, where evil spirits dared not enter.

The village was about 70 or 80 li away from Baolian Temple. There were not many villages or towns along the way, only fields and weeds. He walked along the path until noon. The sun was scorching hot, and because he was fat and afraid of the heat, he felt dizzy from the sun.

Suddenly, I noticed a woman following behind me. I didn't know where she came from. She was wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket and a headscarf in the hot weather, and she was carrying a small wooden bucket. She looked very strange.

Monk Yuanzhi glanced at her, but didn't think much of it and continued walking forward on his own.

The woman walked up behind him and asked with a smile, "Master, are you thirsty?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. Now, Monk Yuanzhi felt like his throat was about to burst. He had forgotten to bring a bottle of water when he left his cousin's house, but he didn't know what this woman did for a living. He shook his head and said, "I'm alright, not too thirsty."

The woman took out a flower-patterned bowl, scooped out a bowl of water from the small wooden bucket, and said, "Oh dear! Look at your chapped lips, have a bowl of cool water."

The woman had brought the bucket of water from who-knows-where; even from half a meter away, one could feel its coolness. Monk Yuanzhi couldn't resist taking the flower bowl, saying "thank you," and preparing to drink. However, when he put it to his lips, he smelled an unpleasant, fishy stench.

Monk Yuanzhi's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "Why does this smell a bit like the stench of a corpse?" He glanced at the woman again and saw that she was silently grinning maliciously.

He understood perfectly well what had happened. This woman was either the woman from last night who had transformed and come to claim his life, or a ghost from the wilderness that had followed him along the way and was ready to devour him because of his thick skin.

He smashed the bowl with a thud, yelling, "Where did this beast come from! Doesn't he know who his grandfather is?"

The woman gave a wicked laugh, then plunged into the nearby weeds and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Monk Yuanzhi froze for a few seconds, then felt a chill run down his spine despite the sweltering heat, and turned to run away.

As they were running, they heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves from behind.

As Monk Yuanzhi ran, he kept looking back. The sight made his heart tremble, and he didn't know how to describe his feelings.

Approaching was a magnificent horse, upon which sat a general in golden armor and iron helmet. His face was as black as charcoal, his back broad and his waist thick, and he looked like a theatrical performer. He pointed and shouted, "Hey! You traitor, don't run!"

Monk Yuanzhi cursed under his breath, "Damn it! I've become a traitor, and they've sent a general to hunt me down? What terrible luck did I have in my past life?" He took off running even faster!

"You bald monk, you've done something wrong and you think you can escape? Why don't you surrender obediently and come with me to see Grandma Flower Drum!"

The general immediately shouted a rebuke, took the bow and arrow from his back, raised the arrow, and shot!

Despite his large size, Monk Yuanzhi was ruthless when it came to escaping. He would run to places where horses couldn't go, and when he heard the sound of wind breaking, he would roll to the side to avoid it, then get up and keep running.

The two continued this back-and-forth, shooting and dodging, for half an hour. Monk Yuanzhi was nearing his limit, and the general behind him was also exhausted. He shouted, "If you can dodge this arrow, I'll let you go!"

Upon hearing this, Monk Yuanzhi wanted to retort with a curse to bolster his courage, but in the blink of an eye, a wobbly arrow landed on his buttocks, causing him excruciating pain.

The general laughed heartily, while Monk Yuanzhi felt a chill run down his spine, thinking, "It's over! I'm going to die here..."