The Old Schemer's Calculation

As Fang Mu left the prison, the sky outside had already turned dark.

When Fang Mu arrived at the Demon Slayer Division's main hall, only seven or eight scattered people were there; everyone else had already gone home to sleep.

Tu Qing, Wen Xuan, and the others had also left long ago.

He greeted the seven or eight people in the hall and, along with his clone, headed to the Mortal Prison to find Master Huihai, the bald monk.

What made Fang Mu frown was that Huihai wasn't in the Mortal Prison's first-level dungeon. He truly had ulterior motives.

He had likely sent Fang Mu away earlier because he wanted to explore some place.

This made Fang Mu think of Shen Shi, and he began to doubt Huihai's identity.

"Amitabha, please wait here for a moment. This humble monk is truly sorry for the trouble."

At this moment, Huihai approached, leaning on his staff, and clasped his hands together, uttering a Buddhist chant as an apology.

"Master, you are too kind. Why didn't you get more rest?"

Fang Mu stepped forward with everyone else and asked with a smile.

"It's nothing! I've recovered quite a bit. I was feeling a bit bored, so I decided to walk around."

Fang Mu scoffed at Huihai's explanation. He had been pretending to be on the verge of death before, looking like anyone could kill him with a poke.

And now, after such a short time, the guy was full of life. He really was a cunning old fox.

"Envoy Fang, why are there only these few people? Are the others unavailable?"

"Master, it's late at night. Everyone else is tired from the day and has gone to rest. I didn't want to disturb them."

"These remaining people are all newcomers recruited from Qingliu Town. It's a good opportunity for them to learn more Buddhist teachings from Master and be enlightened."

Upon hearing Huihai's question, Fang Mu didn't hide anything and replied truthfully.

Afterward, he deliberately ran out of Qingliu Town, wanting to see if Huihai would react.

But he was disappointed. Huihai appeared very calm, showing no unusual expression on his face.

Huihai led everyone to an empty dungeon cell. After seating Fang Mu and the others, he began to explain some basic Buddhist teachings.

As Fang Mu listened intently, Huihai suddenly paused, patted his pockets, as if he had lost something.

"Envoy Fang, I've lost my storage bag. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to help me find it."

"Of course, I won't let Envoy help for nothing. My storage bag contains Essence Pills. I will give one to Envoy as a token of my gratitude."

"Master, you are too polite. I will go help you find your storage bag right now. Please wait, Master. I'll be back soon!"

Fang Mu quickly got up, bowed to Huihai, and headed out of the dungeon.

It was clear that Huihai intended to get rid of him, not wanting him to see or hear anything.

As for the dropped storage bag, it was likely something Huihai intentionally left behind, a lure to draw him away.

Fang Mu sneered inwardly, his suspicion about Huihai's identity growing even stronger.

Until he figured out the other party's intentions, Fang Mu had to pretend to know nothing and cooperate.

After circling the first-level dungeon, Fang Mu found no trace of the storage bag.

He checked the second and third levels without seeing it, and finally found the storage bag in an empty cell on the fourth level.

Fang Mu didn't delay after finding the storage bag and hurried back to the first-level dungeon.

As for what was inside the storage bag, although he was curious, he didn't rashly open it.

Soon, Fang Mu returned to the first-level dungeon. Huihai was still engrossed in explaining Buddhist teachings.

"Master! Your storage bag!" Fang Mu stepped forward and handed the storage bag to Huihai.

"Thank you! I forgot to warn Envoy earlier. I made some small adjustments to the storage bag. Fortunately, Envoy Fang is alright."

Looking at Huihai, who had a gentle smile that resembled an old chrysanthemum, Fang Mu felt a chill run down his spine. Damn it, he really was an old schemer. Fortunately, he hadn't messed with the storage bag.

"Envoy Fang, there's no need to be afraid. It's just some poisoned needles, bone-dissolving powder, and a few small cursed items."

"This is an Essence Pill. Envoy, please accept it."

Looking at Huihai, who was all smiles as he opened his storage bag and offered a pill, Fang Mu's scalp tingled. He hesitantly accepted the pill.

"Thank you for the medicine, Master!" Fang Mu said gratefully.

At this moment, Huihai said he was feeling a bit tired and that today's session would end here. He then invited everyone to leave with him.

The unaware Demon Slayers truly regarded Huihai as a living Buddha and enthusiastically surrounded him as they left.

After returning to the Demon Slayer Division's main hall, everyone dispersed.

After Huihai returned to his residence in the VIP building, Fang Mu secretly met with his clone.

From the clone's consciousness and memories, he learned that after he left, Huihai had inadvertently recited, "Outside Green Mountain Gate, facing the sky."

The clone had quickly responded, "A thousand miles of guests enter the gate."

Hui Hai chuckled, praising the clone's literary talent and affinity for Buddhism. After exchanging a look with the clone, he stopped speaking to it.

The secret password, "Outside Green Mountain Gate, facing the sky, a thousand miles of guests enter the gate," was given to Jiang Hai by Shen Shi. This meant Hui Hai was Shen Shi.

This made things tricky for Fang Mu, as that old schemer Hui Hai was not only insidious but also cautious and powerful.

Killing him wouldn't be easy. Fang Mu wasn't confident he could handle him yet and needed to plan carefully.

After giving the clone orders and instructions on how to respond to Hui Hai's inquiries, Fang Mu parted ways with it.

Fang Mu left the County Office and headed towards the Slums.

After a busy day, he was worried about Fang Jing's safety.

As Fang Mu arrived at the Slums and entered a dark alleyway, a shadow suddenly lunged out from the alley's entrance, attacking him.

The moment the shadow lunged, Fang Mu drew his sword to defend himself, slashing out.

With a clang, Fang Mu was sent flying by the immense force of the shadow's attack.

He landed on his feet, unharmed, and stared in disbelief at the snake person figure in the darkness.

With an irrational roar, the snake person lunged again.

This snake person was definitely at least rank three, possibly even rank two. Fang Mu's full-power attack couldn't defeat it.

Its speed was too great, and its scales were practically impervious to weapons.

Fang Mu's sword bent, but he couldn't even break off a single scale.

The snake person's bloody aura had intensified, as if it had absorbed a lot of Blood Essence, making its strength terrifyingly potent.

Fang Mu wanted to draw his Golden Sword and kill the snake person, but he feared its bright gleam would attract unwanted attention.

He managed to stab the snake person with a Bone Spur, blinding one of its eyes, but it didn't injure it.

Fang Mu decided not to fight further and sprinted into a dark alleyway on the side.

For some reason, the snake person could still lock onto his location.

Even when he used Void Transformation to conceal himself, the snake person easily found and attacked him.

"Damn it, the snake person shouldn't have any reason. How did it find me?" Fang Mu wondered, fleeing desperately.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He took out the pill Hui Hai had given him from his pocket.

Without hesitation, he tossed the pill into a dark corner opposite him.

Fang Mu hid in the darkness and watched as the pursuing snake person unhesitatingly lunged for the pill.

After swallowing the pill, the snake person seemed to go berserk, beginning to wildly destroy the surrounding buildings.

"You bastard, that old schemer is truly insidious!" Fang Mu cursed inwardly.

He felt a sense of lingering fear and luck, realizing how fortunate he was not to have rashly consumed the obviously problematic pill.

At that moment, the sound of breaking air came from a distance. Fang Mu dared not linger and quickly fled through the dark alleyway.