"..."
"..."
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, dressed in tight black outfits with black cloths covering their faces so no one would recognize them, were fleeing in a desperate, headlong rush through the pitch-black forest.
In the darkness, neither of them said a word.
Aside from occasionally turning to look behind them and exchanging alarmed, frightened glances, they focused solely on escaping. They didn't dare—and had no time—to entertain any other thoughts.
They had been chased for half the night, ever since they left the Jingnian Monastery. It was now past the Hour of the Tiger.
This was the darkest time of the day, but the monks from Jingnian Monastery, acting under orders, showed no sign of giving up.
"Stop!"
"Stop right there!"
"Thieves, don't run!"
"You!"
"Over there!"
"Cut them off!"
"Understood!"
"You! Come with me!"
"This way!"
"Hurry!"
"We must stop those two little thieves!"
"..."
Holding torches aloft and carrying monk's staves, wooden clubs, and戒 knives, they continued to pursue the two men relentlessly. They even split into several groups to surround them as they ran, clearly intent on driving Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling into a dead end and giving them no chance to escape.
It wasn't really so strange, if you thought about it.
After all, they had received word that the Heirloom Seal, which Jingnian Monastery was responsible for safeguarding, had been stolen. Abbot Liaokong had even broken the twenty-year vow of silence to order them to capture the two thieves ahead.
Now that they knew what had happened and how serious it was, how could these warrior monks and guardian monks of the monastery dare slack off?
"Amitabha Buddha!"
"Two young benefactors, the sea of suffering has no shore. Turn back and you'll find salvation!"
"??"
"Hey!"
"You're still running?!"
After chasing for