NHWSG chapter 93

Zhang Jian was in a state of confusion.

He had lost his five senses, unable to hear, see, or feel anything. He had only his brain left, functioning like an organ, but he couldn’t even tell where he was, let alone how much time had passed.

—This was a mistake. Zhang Jian sighed in his heart.

He thought that the Buddha’s light in the Self-Transcending Temple was flourishing, devoid of any demonic aura, so he relaxed his guard and entered the temple alone. Little did he know that before he even turned halfway, he fell into someone’s trap and ended up in the current situation where neither the sky nor the earth responded.

What’s more, he didn’t even realize what kind of detour he had taken. He hadn’t even seen the shadow of the mastermind behind the scenes. By the time he realized it, he had lost all his senses. He only had time to cross his legs and sit down, not able to think of anything else.

But he wasn’t too panicked. There were only a few factions of Taoist sects in the world, trapping people either with formations or illusions. One trapped the body, the other trapped the mind. There were no more tricks beyond that.

Ultimately, he wasn’t in a hurry — the mastermind behind the scenes couldn’t keep him trapped forever. But whether the intention was to kill him or to take his qi and blood cultivation, the other party would eventually reveal some clues.

If the other party showed up, with Zhang Jian’s ability, he could at least fight back, even if it meant mutual destruction. But if the other party refused to come out, then even if he struggled to make a move in this chaos, it would be in vain.

Fortunately, Zhang Jian had been meditating since he was a child. As long as he remained calm, sitting for two or three days was nothing to him.

As a direct disciple of the Longhu Mountain, his qualifications were naturally different from others’. Even when facing danger, he felt no anxiety. With his eyes slightly closed, he sat cross-legged and performed a meditation technique, gradually entering a state of relaxation.

He was in a dangerous situation, but his mind was calm and expansive. Initially, he only wanted to relax and meditate, but inexplicably, vivid scenes began to appear before him.

In the lush wild forest of midsummer, the cicadas chirped incessantly. Rabbits and wild chickens roamed around the woods, while an eleven or twelve-year-old boy lay on a large rock by a stream, staring unblinkingly at a grasshopper on the opposite stone.

Zhang Jian was initially startled, but then he realized—he had entered a trance, glimpsing into his past life.

For cultivators, the first step was to open the heavenly eyes. As one progressed in cultivation, they could gradually explore past lives and understand the secrets of fate.

Zhang Jian’s heavenly eyes opened early, and he had seen many demonic beings since childhood, catching glimpses of his past life as well. However, at that time, he was young and inexperienced in cultivation, his mind was unstable, and he couldn’t differentiate between past and present. Confused, he often mixed the two together, leading a confused and almost delusional life, nearly falling into the trap of illusions.

So later, his master intervened and sealed his spiritual intelligence in this regard, allowing him to grow up peacefully until now.

——Why was he suddenly seeing it again now? Zhang Jian wondered. Could it be that his cultivation had advanced at this moment?

The young boy in front of him was well-dressed, with a gold-inlaid jade longevity lock hanging from his neck and a long green jade ornament hanging from his waist.

The ornament seemed a bit too long for him, almost dragging to the ground, making it cumbersome.

Just by crossing the threshold, one could discern many things. Even though the child in front of him bore no resemblance to his current self, Zhang Jian recognized him at a glance as his past life.

He had seen this scene a few times when he was young, but his memories were fragmented, like a pile of incomplete puzzles. It wasn’t until now that he managed to piece together those fragments into a coherent narrative.

Accompanying his parents on a visit to the countryside, the playful Zhang Jian ran into the woods on a hot summer day to catch insects. As for the strange long ornament around his waist, he had won it in a bet with his cousin, who was several years older than him.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t good at holding onto things, and after a trip through the mountains and fields, he lost the jade ornament somewhere.

Now that Zhang Jian was older and had made some progress in cultivation, he wasn’t as absorbed in the illusory past life as he was when he was young. He remained rational.

In his past life, he was a spoiled little demon, born into a wealthy family but naive and unaware of the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth. He would spend money recklessly with his cousin in town, buying whatever seemed fun. His little purse was full of gold beads, and he was targeted by people as soon as he stepped out of the street.

There were often bandits in the deep mountains near the countryside. Seeing such a rich young master, how could they not be tempted? Without hesitation, they kidnapped the two children.

At this point, Zhang Jian frowned slightly — although the events of his past life were over, this kind of stupidity was still hard for him to accept.

He didn’t live long in his past life, but he remembered the remaining plot very clearly.

The bandits sent a letter to his family demanding ransom. To prevent the two children from escaping, they were separated and detained separately. The young master foolishly waited for his family to rescue him, but late that night, the bandit camp was engulfed in flames. Amidst the chaos, he heard cursing outside, saying that one of the brats had escaped from the guard and set fire to the camp.

His cousin’s escape was one thing, but setting fire to the camp while he was sleeping? Two or three bandits were burned to death. The remaining bandits, angered and ashamed, no longer cared about the value of the other young master. They dragged Zhang Jian out of the woodshed and killed him with a single blow.

Zhang Jian: “……”

This is — too reckless, Zhang Jian thought.

However, this time was different from the last. His death should have ended it all, but unexpectedly, Zhang Jian seemed to be inadvertently entangled by the soul of his past life, and he saw another glimpse.

——His cousin, who escaped from the bandit camp, was desperately running along a mountain path, with a shadow following him.

The green jade ornament lost by Zhang Jian was hanging from his waist, and it was hooked by a bush by the roadside.

Zhang Jian was slightly stunned.

……………………

At this moment, two hundred meters away from the outdoor parking lot restroom of the Self-Transcending Temple, Sheng Zhao had already changed into a new outfit from top to bottom.

The “Rescue Mission Showdown” planned by Hu Huanyang and Sheng Zhao seemed to be a bit more down-to-earth. After mumbling and discussing all day, they collectively realized that “if they wanted to avoid the attention of the mastermind behind the scenes, they must hide in plain sight and act like typical tourists”.

However— 

“Hu Huanyang,” Sheng Zhao said with a heavy heart, “is this really hiding in plain sight? Why do I feel like I’m even more conspicuous — with one glance, I look like a wild chicken that’s gone mad.”

Sheng Zhao was wearing a brightly colored oversized T-shirt, his hair was messy, and he had tucked the Taoist protective amulet necklace into his shirt collar. He also hung a DSLR camera around his neck to cover up.

His whole outfit was picked by Hu Huanyang. He had torn jeans with two or three holes, and a long metal chain tied around his waist. He wore a pair of canvas shoes painted with Martian script. At first glance, he seemed like an artistic youth, but to put it bluntly, he looked a bit mentally challenged.

“It’s the 21st century now,” Sheng Zhao said, “Hu Huanyang, young people in their twenties don’t dress like this anymore.”

“You don’t understand, Xiao Zhao,” Hu Huanyang said. “It’s best to look like you have a problem at first glance. That way, they won’t pay attention to you—after all, who knows what kind of people they’re after? What if they want someone who looks smart and capable? Then you’d be at a disadvantage.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao was strangely swayed by Hu Huanyang’s string of nonsense, and even nodded along, saying, “Yeah, that’s true.”

“Xiao Zhao, you have to be careful. If something happens, don’t be afraid. You have the chain and contract of the boss on you, and no monster would dare to mess with you.” Hu Huanyang, like a paranoid mother sending her son to school, held Sheng Zhao’s hand and babbled on, “Even if you find Zhang Jian, don’t rescue him. Get out first, otherwise, if you can’t save him and get yourself in trouble, it would be worse.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

“Do fox spirits nag like this?” Sheng Zhao wondered, or did Zhang Jian somehow trigger Hu Huanyang’s weird switch.

“Okay, okay, I got it.” Sheng Zhao said. “Think about what to do outside. Don’t just worry here.”

“I know, I know,” Hu Huanyang said, stuffing a small walkie-talkie into Sheng Zhao’s pocket, nervously saying, “So even if you find nothing, come out in half an hour, and we’ll figure something out.”

“What can I do in just half an hour?” Sheng Zhao rolled his eyes and said, “What’s wrong with you? I’m just a tourist. Can’t you get into character a bit?”

“No, Xiao Zhao, I’m still afraid,” Hu Huanyang said with a distressed face, looking like he was about to cry, “If something happens to you, I’ll be flayed alive by the boss to make a welcome carpet.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Wow, this ruthless snake demon, Xing Yingzhu, has really scared the kid.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” Sheng Zhao reassured. “I’ll handle it. Well, have trust in the family head.”

“But—”

Hu Huanyang wanted to say something else, but was stared down by Sheng Zhao’s gaze.

“If you keep nagging, the sky will darken soon.” Sheng Zhao threatened, “When that happens, with fewer people in the temple, I’ll be in even more danger.”

Hu Huanyang was frightened by his words, immediately covering his mouth with both hands and dared not speak.

Sheng Zhao patted his shoulder satisfactorily and said goodbye.

The opening hours of the Temple were uncertain; if it was late, it could be past seven o’clock, if early, it might not even be dawn yet. But the closing time at night was very regular, with the door being locked promptly at half past five, even if the richest entrepreneur came, they couldn’t catch the evening incense.

When Sheng Zhao arrived, it was a little past two in the afternoon, and the parking lot was still full of cars. He first bought a tourist ticket at the ticket office, then stood at the entrance for a while, seeing a bunch of people coming and going inside, before he relaxed and went in.

——He pretended to be calm in front of Hu Huanyang, but in reality, he was a little nervous. Before entering, he subconsciously touched his chest, making sure that Xing Yingzhu’s pendant was still hanging around his neck, then gritted his teeth and entered the door.

Behind the first and third doors of the temple, as soon as Sheng Zhao entered, a young woman came up to greet him.

“Hello.” The woman smiled and looked him over, naturally took the ticket from his hand and tore off a corner, and said in a gentle tone, “Are you here to burn incense?”

Sheng Zhao blinked and replied, “Yes.”

The woman smiled with her eyes bent and made a gesture of invitation, saying, “Then please follow me.”

Sheng Zhao scratched his head, feeling strange, not knowing why there was a woman at the door of the temple.

But if Hu Huanyang were present, he would have recognized the woman at once. It was none other than the innkeeper where he and Zhang Jian had booked their stay.