Outside, the sky gradually darkened. Once the spectacle was over, the place returned to the way it had been.
Downstairs was no place to talk, so the monk dragged Zhou You straight to his room. He locked the door, checked once more that the Silencing Talisman was still working, and then told Zhou You what had happened to him.
But Zhou You found the whole thing baffling.
"Sounds like nothing went wrong. Why are you so rattled?"
Jing'en picked up the kettle on the table and gulped down several mouthfuls before answering.
"Simple. Everything was too normal. That's what made it strange."
"...What do you mean?"
Jing'en said,
"First, the temple sent us out on a secret mission, right?"
"...How would I know? But judging by your reaction, I'd say so."
"Second, the Ten-Thousand-Fathom Palace is hunting down everyone in the martial world, right?"
"That much is true. So what?" Jing'en took a deep breath, then said,
"Then why, when we're in such a dangerous position that we have to hide at every turn, were my fellow disciples so calm? They were even laughing and chatting with me."
At that, Zhou You sensed something was wrong too.
Even someone like him, who had no desire for that "treasure," had been treading carefully lately, afraid of stirring up needless trouble with the Ten-Thousand-Fathom Palace.
So how could those monks, who had come here with a purpose, be the ones taking everything in stride?
Still, he frowned and said,
"Maybe they're just laid-back. Some people get more relaxed the greater the danger..."
"One or two, maybe. But every last one of them?"
"..."
Before Zhou You could say anything else, Jing'en continued,
"Besides, there was another giveaway."
"What giveaway?" "Before we left, the temple specifically instructed us not to use our monastic