Rainy Night, Two Men Vanish

"That really is the same caravan we saw a few days ago. Even the embroidery on their chests is in exactly the same place."

"Incredible."

After Ning Xiu called Ren Qianxing and the others over, they all stood in front of the wall and examined the mural.

From an artistic perspective, the mural was remarkably fine, so lifelike that it was obvious a master had painted it.

But its subject matter made them feel a chill crawl down their spines.

A caravan they had seen only a few days ago had appeared in a mural inside a century-old temple. Did that make any sense?

Smack, smack, smack!

Xia Yunsi drew her short baton and struck the mural a few times. The knocks sounded solid and dull; the wall clearly wasn't hollow inside.

Seeing this, Zhengwu took out his Buddhist prayer beads and began chanting scriptures. The scriptures could greatly disrupt Evil Spirits. Whenever a hidden Evil Spirit heard them, it would react in some way, usually thrashing about at least once or twice.

Yet Zhengwu chanted the scriptures two or three times, and the entire mural remained as still as before, without the slightest abnormality.

Unless something unexpected came to light, this was probably just an ordinary mural.

"How strange. There must be more to this than meets the eye. The Evil Spirit hidden in Jinzhao Temple must be quite capable." Ren Qianxing scratched his head, then asked Ning Xiu, who stood nearby, "Brother Ning, you're Martial Dao Fifth Rank. Any ideas?"

If the Evil Spirit were visible and at Fifth Rank, Ning Xiu would have gone straight at it with his hammer. Martial Dao cultivators were good at slaying demons and exorcising Evil Spirits, but tracking and investigating weren't their strengths.

And since even the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique couldn't reveal anything wrong with the mural, Ning Xiu could only shake his head helplessly. "I don't have any ideas. How about we smash the wall open and take a look?"

"That won't do," Ren Qianxing immediately protested. "The rain outside is coming down hard. If we open a hole in the wall, all that rain will blow straight in. We won't be able to stay dry."

Xia Yunsi nodded. "Then we'll have to wait until the rain stops."

One hour passed, then two...

By the time night had fallen completely, the downpour outside showed no sign of letting up. Everyone knew they were spending the night in Mahavira Hall.

Fortunately, Ren Qianxing had anticipated this and sent two puppets to gather plenty of firewood in advance. It would be just enough to get them through the night.

"I'd planned to have dinner in Shen Family Town and make my friend fork over a bit of money to give us a proper welcome. But the downpour trapped us in this old temple, so dinner's out. Luckily, I came prepared, so nobody needs to worry about going hungry."

After Ren Qianxing lit the firewood with a fire starter, he flashed a mysterious smile.

Ning Xiu had just been about to take out some rations from his pack, but he stopped and looked at Ren Qianxing curiously. "What did you prepare?"

On the way here from Chaotian Capital, whenever mealtime came around, they either bought food in nearby villages and towns or ate the dry rations they carried. Nothing unusual had ever come up.

From the way Ren Qianxing spoke, it seemed he had something up his sleeve.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two puppets standing behind Ren Qianxing began taking off their clothes. At last, they revealed their bodies, which were made entirely of wood.

With a sharp pop, the puppets' chests sprang open like double doors, exposing the storage compartments inside.

It was one thing not to know; seeing it was truly an eye-opener.

Their chests were packed with chicken, duck, fish, vegetables, and grains, all prepared and preserved in advance.

Dried fish, dried shrimp, potatoes, cucumbers, yellow chives, eggs, corn, chili peppers... They really were walking storage cupboards.

"Zhengwu, I know you don't eat meat. I brought these potatoes, corn, and cucumbers especially for you." Ren Qianxing pulled out two cucumbers, two ears of corn, and four or five potatoes from a puppet and handed them to Zhengwu.

Zhengwu accepted them without surprise. Clearly, this wasn't the first time he'd known Ren Qianxing had made such preparations.

"Sister, Brother Ning, come on, let's have some meat." Ren Qianxing took a prepared chicken from inside a puppet. He found a branch, threaded it through the chicken, and set it over the fire to roast.

"I... I didn't know you had this trick up your sleeve, Brother Ren. So puppets can be used like this. You've really opened my eyes," Ning Xiu said, sincerely impressed.

"It's nothing."

They said there were three thousand paths to the Great Dao, and every path had its own way of carrying supplies. But Ren Qianxing's use of the Puppet Path for storage was so simple and convenient that it truly opened Ning Xiu's eyes.

By contrast, Ning Xiu and Xia Yunsi were both of the Martial Dao. Their way of carrying belongings was to bring a pack, full of the flavor of wandering heroes.

"Brother Ren, since your puppets carry so much food, why didn't you take any out while we were traveling?"

"This food is for emergencies. Unless we're in a situation where we really need it, I don't usually touch it. Once it's used up, I have to replenish it, and preserving the food against rot and mold takes time and effort. If we're just traveling as usual, dry rations will do."

Ning Xiu nodded to show he understood.

Once Ren Qianxing had roasted the chicken and they'd eaten their fill, the group began their own cultivation.

For people like Ning Xiu and the others, cultivation could take the place of sleep. That meant nobody needed to stand watch.

If anything happened nearby, everyone would notice and wake at once. There was no chance an Evil Spirit could sneak up on them and attack.

The Iron Eater Beast, the black tiger, and the two Black Wind Beasts formed a circle around the group, using their bodies to shield them from the wind and make the area by the bonfire a little warmer.

In that atmosphere, everyone quickly settled into focused cultivation.

Deep in the night.

"Mm..." Zhengwu opened his eyes and glanced around. Seeing Ning Xiu and the other two still cultivating, he got up and headed outside the hall.

Everyone had their needs, and even those of Third Rank couldn't escape the laws of nature.

Zhengwu went outside and pressed his palms together in apology to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in every direction, explaining that he really had no choice. Then he lifted his monk's robe and relieved himself right by the doors of Mahavira Hall.

Even as a Buddhist Seventh Rank Demon Subduing Guard, Zhengwu knew that in the dead of night, one mustn't stray too far from one's companions in the wilderness, lest something happen while alone.

The arrogant and undisciplined had long since all died. So even though Zhengwu was a Buddhist monk, he didn't dare go into the garden, far from Mahavira Hall, to relieve himself. He could only commit this great impropriety.

Smack!

As the stream trickled, a figure suddenly brought a hand down hard on Zhengwu's shoulder.

His whole body jolted, and the stream wavered. In an instant, golden light flowed over Zhengwu's body. He turned around, glaring with Vajra's Wrathful Gaze.

Ren Qianxing stood behind him with a mischievous grin. He yawned and chuckled. "Don't panic. I came out to take a leak too. But, Zhengwu, your senses are no good. I walked right up behind you and you didn't notice. You're not alert enough. You'll have to train harder."

"If an Evil Spirit had come near, my Buddhist artifact would have reacted already. I knew it was you," Zhengwu replied calmly, his body returning to normal.

"Come on, that just proves you're not alert enough. Good thing it was me. What if it had been someone who wanted to kill you? Even with your golden body, you'd still have gotten stabbed." Ren Qianxing stepped over beside Zhengwu, took off his trousers, and got down to business.

Though the night was dim, he could still be seen sneaking a few glances downward. He chuckled. "Zhengwu, we've known each other since we were kids. I didn't expect you to change so much. Does Buddhist body cultivation and building a golden body affect that part too? You should teach me how to train mine. I've never been quite satisfied with my own."

Once he had pulled up his trousers, Zhengwu pressed his palms together and apologized in every direction. "Amitabha. Bodhisattvas, forgive me."

Then Zhengwu turned and went back into the hall.

"Men always want to make themselves more perfect," Ren Qianxing muttered. He quickly finished up and went back inside too.

The rain and cold wind outside were bitterly chilly. The bonfire inside was much warmer.

But just as Ren Qianxing was about to enter Mahavira Hall, the sight before him made him freeze in the doorway, his face full of shock.

Mahavira Hall was spacious, and there was nowhere along the path to the firewood pile where a grown man could hide.

By the bonfire not far away, he could see only Ning Xiu and Xia Yunsi sitting cross-legged in cultivation. There was no sign of a third person.

There was... no Zhengwu in the hall!

There was no way Zhengwu wouldn't have returned to cultivate after relieving himself. He wouldn't have gone wandering somewhere else in the middle of the night.

Ren Qianxing's scalp went numb, and goosebumps suddenly erupted across his skin.

There was definitely something very wrong with Mahavira Hall.

"Brother Ning, Sister! Zhengwu's gone!" Ren Qianxing immediately stepped through the doorway, ran into the hall, and shouted.

The instant they heard him, Ning Xiu opened his eyes and looked over. But there was no one in sight, only the lingering echo of a voice inside the hall.

Xia Yunsi, sitting beside him, frowned. "What happened?"

Ning Xiu and Xia Yunsi had noticed Zhengwu and Ren Qianxing getting up and going outside, one after the other. But they had no idea what happened after that.

Hearing Ren Qianxing's voice coming from outside the hall, Ning Xiu immediately rose and headed for the doors, intending to investigate.

Xia Yunsi followed close behind. At a time like this, the worst thing they could do was split up. If anything happened to someone else, they'd be in trouble.

They peered outside. There was no one there. Not only was Zhengwu gone, but Ren Qianxing had vanished too.

If Ning Xiu had been sleeping instead of cultivating, he might have thought he'd imagined the voice.

"Two grown men vanished just like that..." Ning Xiu stared out at the rainy night beyond the doorway and quickly used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique.

But everything was completely normal. There was nothing strange at all.