Blazing Fire

Facing the monk's plea for mercy, Shen Yi remained unmoved.

Tao Tao's beautiful eyes flashed with a playful light as she asked, "Brother, these few..."

"How should we deal with them?"

Shen Yi said calmly, "Since you, heroine, made the move,"

"The decision is naturally yours."

Tao Tao stood with her hands behind her back, raising an eyebrow.

"How about reporting it to the authorities?"

Upon hearing this, the monk's face lit up with joy. They were very familiar with the constables of Xiaoqing Town, and they would even invite them to participate in schemes to help women conceive.

In short, they were birds of a feather, colluding with each other.

If Tao Tao reported it to the authorities, it would be like returning to their own home, and they wouldn't have to worry about their lives being threatened.

Immediately, he caught sight of Shen Yi's gaze, as cold as an iceberg, and immediately realized something was wrong. He wailed and begged for mercy, "Heroine, please don't report it to the authorities!"

"Longshu Temple is the fruit of our labor; it can't be destroyed!"

The corners of Tao Tao's lips curled slightly.

"Brother Chen, what do you think?"

Shen Yi said, "To release a tiger back into the mountains."

"Then what do you say we should do?"

Tao Tao readily tossed the question back to him. This was her intention all along; she wanted to test Shen Yi's way of doing things.

Shen Yi also saw through Tao Tao's purpose.

But he didn't care. He didn't need to deliberately create a certain persona. He was who he was, acting as he pleased.

Clang!

Cold Night was drawn.

On the gleaming blade, the monk's terrified eyes flashed.

"If you ask me..."

"Execute the ringleader, burn the temple, and disperse the monks."

Decisive and ruthless, Tao Tao thought to herself. She then asked, "What about the evil deeds of Longshu Temple?"

"Should they be made public?"

Shen Yi shook his head.

"Not interested."

Tao Tao raised an eyebrow. Was Shen Yi really not interested?

She knew that once the scandalous affairs of Longshu Temple were announced, the fact that the purity of all the women who had sought fertility at Longshu Temple had been defiled would also be made public.

In this kind of ancient world, The consequences for ordinary women who were violated were unimaginable. Shen Yi had no interest in creating tragedy out of thin air.

A compassionate heart?

Tao Tao felt that Shen Yi still had some warmth in his heart.

At this moment, the monk, hearing Shen Yi's words, immediately kowtowed like a pestle, trying to win a chance of survival for himself.

However, When he looked up again, the blade was already upon him.

Blood splattered.

There was no system notification. Killing ordinary people who had never practiced martial arts yielded no increase in cultivation time.

But it didn't matter.

Shen Yi wasn't killing people for cultivation points.

He only killed those who deserved to be killed.

With a swift motion of his hand, All the monks in the secret chamber—the mastermind and his accomplices—had their necks slit by Shen Yi.

Afterward, Shen Yi beckoned Tao Tao to bring out the two women from the side room, and then he lit a torch in the basement.

Following the secret passage behind the main hall, they ascended.

Before long, the four of them emerged one after another from a hidden door behind the statue in the main hall.

They moved to the center of the main hall.

Shen Yi looked up at the golden Buddha statue on the lotus platform and murmured, "Within the clay sculpture lies a heart full of twists and turns."

"Keeping it serves no purpose."

Immediately, he gently tossed the torch.

It landed on the wooden altar, and the flames crackled as they began to burn and spread.

Shen Yi turned around, not looking back, and said:

"Let's go."

"Longshu Temple... I might as well find a tree in the mountains and sleep peacefully."

Tao Tao pursed her lips.

She smiled slightly, but said nothing.

Shen Yi and Tao Tao each supported a woman, taking them back to the monks' quarters. The main hall was already filled with fire and thick smoke.

Gradually, the monks were alarmed.

They called everyone to put out the fire.

However, the fire was already raging and had taken hold, swirling around the roofs of the halls like a monstrous beast, dyeing half the sky red.

No one could save it.

Adding to Shen Yi's efforts, all the side halls and annexes, except for the monks' living quarters, mysteriously caught fire.

The raging fire engulfed the entire Longshu Temple.

All the living monks and overnight guests retreated outside Longshu Temple, watching the flames devour the entire temple.

It was reduced to ruins.

Shen Yi stood in the crowd, watching the sea of fire soaring into the sky. His business here was done, and it was time to leave.

Tao Tao asked:

"Brother Chen, will you travel with us?"

Shen Yi was silent for a moment:

"We met by chance, and now that the fun is over, there's no need to travel together."

"Let's meet again someday."

With that, Shen Yi turned and strode away.

Tao Tao watched Shen Yi's departing figure, silent for a long time, then smiled and muttered to herself:

"Eighty-Eight Kirin, huh?"

"Interesting."

Shen Yi walked along the mountain road in the dark.

Fortunately, the road from Longshu Temple to Xiaoqing Town had been renovated by the monks at great expense, paved with bluestone and free of weeds.

It was wide enough for carriages to travel on, making it convenient for the wealthy people of the town to come to the temple to pray for blessings, but it would probably gradually become desolate afterward.

Shen Yi walked for a while.

The sky began to turn white.

Then, the morning light dawned, and golden rays fell on the ground.

A sound of footsteps and voices came from a distance. Shen Yi moved his feet, and Grass Treading Flight made him as light as a feather.

His figure darted into the roadside forest like lightning.

Only the shrubs and grass leaves trembled slightly.

Shortly after.

A group of constables wearing uniforms and long knives at their waists appeared. One of them complained:

"The captain is really something."

"Longshu Temple is on fire. Can't those monks put it out themselves? By the time we get there, it'll be too late."

Another scolded:

"Don't talk nonsense. The captain had a son in his middle age, which he got from praying at Longshu Temple. The captain is grateful to Longshu Temple and donates incense money every year. How could he not send people to check it out?"

"I think you should watch your words."

"Hey, what am I afraid of? I don't have a wife anyway."

"So I don't need to go to the temple to pray for a son."

The man remained stubborn, though his voice was much lower now.

After the group walked past and disappeared into the distance, Shen Yi emerged from the roadside bushes.

Shen Yi hated trouble.

That was why he avoided these officers; otherwise, if they saw him walking down the mountain path from Longshu Temple alone, they would inevitably subject him to questioning.

Let the officers handle the aftermath of the Longshu Temple incident; he didn't want to deal with it anymore.

After walking for another half hour, Shen Yi saw Xiaoqing Town.

It was morning, and the flow of people was gradually increasing.

The town wasn't as strict as a large city.

Entering and exiting didn't require questioning and inspection.

So, as long as Shen Yi slightly altered his hairstyle and kept a low profile, he most likely wouldn't be recognized as the wanted fugitive on the bounty posters.

He rubbed his stomach.

He was a little hungry.

He hadn't eaten anything good in the mountains for two days.

So, Shen Yi found a roadside breakfast stall and ordered two meat cakes and a large bowl of plain porridge.

He sat in the shade of a corner and began to eat heartily.

At this time, in a teahouse across the street, two jianghu travelers in ragged clothes were sitting with their legs spread wide, drinking tea.

The thinner one propped his chin up.

He listlessly poked at the peanuts in the dish with his chopsticks.

"Brother, isn't this Shen Yi at the Broken Blade Hall?"

"Why don't we just go and catch him there?"

The fatter man flicked the thin man's head, exasperated.

"Idiot."

"Once the Heaven's Mystery Rankings are out, Shen Yi of course knows his location is exposed. Why would he foolishly stay at the Broken Blade Hall!"

"Of course, he'd be blocked in the surrounding villages and towns!"

"This place is only separated from Dong Commandery by a mountain, but it's already across commanderies. If you were him, where would you run?"