The old monk looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared before him, then lowered his head to look at Hou Tianlai's head.
"Amitabha. Does this benefactor bear any grudge against him?"
"You bald old donkey, I told you I'd be back."
"This benefactor... do we know each other?"
The old monk was somewhat puzzled, though the tone of the man before him did sound strangely familiar.
Li Xuanxiao flashed a wicked smile. "You don't need to know. You only need to know that this day next year will be the anniversary of your death."
The old monk took a step back.
He had already sensed that this man's aura was hostile, and his cultivation was no weaker than his own.
"Benefactor, this humble monk has never formed enmity with anyone. Why do you wish to strike against this humble monk?
"You have a grudge against Hou Tianlai and wish to kill him; that, this humble monk can understand.
"But why kill this humble monk after killing him? This humble monk has nothing to do with him."
Li Xuanxiao pressed a hand to his sword hilt. "Bald old donkey, have you forgotten what you said three days ago? Didn't you say the Buddha had guaranteed Hou Tianlai's life?"
The old monk's brows furrowed slightly. "You... you are..."
Repeatedly sheltering guilty people, harboring criminals, expanding the temple...
"Take my sword!"
Li Xuanxiao bent his legs slightly, his body sinking with the steady weight of a mountain, his right hand gripping the sword hilt.
The sword lay silently in its sheath, waiting to be awakened.
As Li Xuanxiao moved, the air around them grew heavy.
Though the blade had yet to leave its sheath, the sharp Sword Qi emanating from him had already hidden itself within the invisible.
The old monk