Your Lives, This Humble Monk Shall Protect!

Li Liang had ten thousand profanities he wanted to scream out.

But he didn't dare.

This Xuanzang was simply a lunatic.

He wore a compassionate smile on his face while "stabbing" people.

Where in the world was there such a monk?

One could only say that he was still young, lacking in experience and perspective.

In truth, there were many such monks.

"Oh, so he is still tied up. Benefactor Zhou, please untie him," Tang Luo said, looking at Zhou Zhenguo with a look of sudden realization.

Zhou Zhenguo thought for a moment and chose to untie him ahead of schedule.

Li Liang retreated several steps and collapsed onto the ground, his face a mix of anger and terror.

"See? Still no resistance. It is confirmed that he is indeed himself," Tang Luo said.

This statement made even Li Liang feel the urge to vomit blood.

What kind of standard for judgment was this?

Weren't you afraid of encountering a master of acting who could endure humiliation?

Monk, is there something wrong with your brain?

Whether Li Liang was the real person or Jack the Ripper in disguise, to be honest, Tang Luo had no certainty.

He had no way to distinguish who was lying between Li Liang and Zhou Zhenguo.

He could only judge by the acquisition of Merit points that Li Liang was likely not Jack the Ripper.

And most importantly, Tang Luo didn't care at all whether "Little Li" was Jack the Ripper in disguise.

If he wasn't, then saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda, and everyone would be happy.

If he was...

Tang Luo said, "This Monk believes Benefactor Li is not Jack the Ripper, but if—"

He stepped forward, looking down at Li Liang, "If you truly are that Ripper and have deceived this Monk, then do not blame this Monk for smashing your dog head and subduing demons!"

If he was, that would be perfect.

He would have delivered himself to the door, saving the trouble of even having to search; just one punch to hammer him to death would suffice.

"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Li Liang delivered a triple denial.

Just now, when this Monk Xuanzang spoke to him, Li Liang found it even more terrifying than when Zhou Zhenguo smashed his head.

Shouldn't monks be compassionate and guide people toward goodness?

Wouldn't smashing a dog head violate the commandment against killing?

The world was degenerating, and people were not as they used to be.

Modern monks didn't just eat meat and take wives; they were even ready to break the commandment against killing.

Can't afford to provoke him, definitely can't!

"Benefactor, do not panic. This Monk believes you; I am merely stating the ugly truth upfront."

Tang Luo said, "Benefactors, what do you think? If Benefactor Li truly is Jack the Ripper, this Monk will bear the consequences alone."

"Uncle Zhou, could you have been deceived by some kind of hallucination?" Xiao Chu spoke up.

He felt that Li Liang was not necessarily a fake.

The reason was simple: he was too cowardly.

He didn't look like the dangerous boss everyone had in mind—Jack the Ripper.

"Yeah, maybe Jack the Ripper has some ability to cast illusions, making you hallucinate, Uncle Zhou, so that we would kill each other."

The high school student, Xiao Zhou, thought of a possibility.

"Not very likely."

Before Zhou Zhenguo could speak, Tang Luo offered a dissenting opinion, "If the Ripper had the ability to induce hallucinations and wanted to kill, why go through the trouble of making us kill each other? Wouldn't it be simpler to just cast an illusion and then kill us?"

Everyone, including Zhou Zhenguo, was speechless.

Was this monk suffering from a split personality?

"Could it be that the Ripper can only cast illusions and has no ability to kill?" Xiao Chu frowned.

"That is also not very likely."

Tang Luo still disagreed, "Since he is Jack the Ripper, yet he only knows illusions and cannot kill? How much of a chance do you think that is? If that were the case, it would be more appropriate to call the mission 'Finding Freddy'."

Zhou Zhenguo nodded.

"Whose side are you actually on, Monk?" Xiao Chu was starting to lose his mind.

He had saved Li Liang, yet he didn't believe Zhou Zhenguo had "a problem."

The "masterly demeanor" that had just formed in everyone's hearts vanished in an instant.

After breaking the rules, Tang Luo had become a monk once again.

Of course, strictly speaking, "Monk" was originally an honorific title; one had to possess certain "qualifications" to be worthy of teaching others to be called a monk.

Nowadays, people weren't so particular.

"Amitabha, this poor monk is merely saving a life."

"..."

"...Forget it." Zhou Zhenguo said, "Since that's the case, I won't kill him either, but we shall go our separate ways and complete the mission individually."

His decision left everyone except Tang Luo stunned.

They were splitting up just like that?

Shouldn't they be pulling together and overcoming all difficulties?

Splitting up like this was quite common in the God and Demon Game.

The God and Demon Game had no mechanisms for squads or the like; everyone was a lone wolf. What were they to do when a disagreement arose during a mission?

Naturally, they would split up.

Whether or not to cooperate to complete a mission was entirely up to the choice of the God and Demon Walker.

Sometimes, a team was not necessarily helpful for completing a mission.

Once, Zhou Zhenguo had encountered a ruthless individual who had almost single-handedly completed the mission.

The other God and Demon Walkers had just been along for the ride.

However, those who just went along for the ride found it very difficult to obtain rewards after the mission ended.

It simply didn't count as a "failure."

This time, it wasn't that Zhou Zhenguo wanted to be that ruthless individual himself.

He just didn't want to be dragged down.

Li Liang definitely had a problem!

Zhou Zhenguo was unwilling to keep a ticking time bomb by his side.

Leaving, or pretending to leave, was the best choice.

After saying this, Zhou Zhenguo turned and left the church; it was already daytime outside.

It didn't affect his movements in the slightest.

As for Xiao Chu and the others, they hesitated for a while, feeling it was better to follow Zhou Zhenguo, but by the time they chased after him, they had already lost his trail.

They could only return, crestfallen.

They glanced at Li Liang from time to time, their expressions filled with dissatisfaction.

"Please rest assured, benefactors; your lives shall be protected by this poor monk!"

Tang Luo promised grandly.

Tang Luo hadn't expected Zhou Zhenguo to propose splitting up.

However, he didn't care; he was used to such things as splitting up. It was no big deal.

"..."

Several hours later.

The expressions on the faces of Xiao Chu and the others were very grave.

"So, it's not London after all." Xiao Chu said.

After parting ways with Zhou Zhenguo, the group left the church. After some investigation, they discovered that this was not the Victorian-era London they had wishfully assumed it to be.

Instead, it was a Western Small City that was similar yet different.

It was populated mainly by white Europeans and Americans, and they used a language that was similar yet different from English.

Communication was actually not a problem at all.

As God and Demon Walkers, they possessed an innate "Language and Script Proficiency" ability upon entering a mission world.

Tang Luo and his group walked down the street, looking slightly conspicuous, but they didn't attract too much attention.

The mode of transportation on the streets was horse-drawn carriages.

Factory chimneys belched thick black smoke, and the sky was a hazy gray.

Since it wasn't London, the information regarding Jack the Ripper that everyone had racked their brains to recall had become useless.

The most urgent task was to determine a general direction.

Running around like headless flies would never lead them to Jack the Ripper.

Li Liang huddled on a park bench by the roadside, his face pale and his expression flickering with uncertainty.

Beyond the reason for his injuries, he also realized that something had most likely happened to him.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Zhou Zhenguo to suddenly pull a stunt like that.

If I had known, I wouldn't have gone looking for death, Li Liang lamented inwardly.

According to the laws of horror movies, a person going to the bathroom in the middle of the night is a classic act of courting death.

Why hadn't he thought of that at the time?

In truth, this couldn't be blamed on Li Liang.

Even Zhou Zhenguo hadn't expected the danger to arrive so quickly; even in a one or two-hour movie, there would at least be some foreshadowing.

"The Master is back."

"Master..."

As Li Liang sighed, Xiao Chu and the others spoke up and took a few steps forward.

Tang Luo walked into the small roadside park holding several newspapers and handed them out to the group.

Jack the Ripper Kills Again!

Police Receive Numerous Taunting Letters!

Incompetent Scotland Yard!

The newspapers used massive headlines to grab attention, reporting information related to Jack the Ripper.

This "legendary killer" had already made a name for himself in this Small City, killing 25 people in just two short months.

The number of cases committed had directly surpassed that of the historical Ripper.

Moreover, the victims were not limited to roles like prostitutes.

The victims spanned men, women, the old, and the young; it could be said to be completely indiscriminate, random killing.

It was madness to the extreme.

Every victim had been gutted and disemboweled.

In sharp contrast to the crazed Jack the Ripper was Scotland Yard (the police station), which had been unable to catch the Ripper.

They were suffering constant criticism.

After reading the relevant reports, the expressions of everyone in the group were not looking good.

The danger level of this Jack the Ripper far exceeded everyone's imagination.

"What do we do now?" Xiao Chu asked.

A group of people had arrived in a completely unfamiliar place, tasked with finding a serial killer who had the entire city in a state of panic.

For these young people who had not yet been beaten down by society, it was a daunting challenge.

After Zhou Zhenguo left, the backbone of the group naturally became Tang Luo.

"Let's eat first. Aren't you hungry?" Tang Luo said.

"..."

Reminded by Tang Luo, everyone realized they were indeed starving.

The group stood up, and just as they were about to move forward, Xiao Chu seemed to remember something and asked, "Master, do we have money? Just for food."

The only benefit these God and Demon Walkers had was the mastery of language and writing.

The "Gods and Demons" were not responsible for providing funds to facilitate the actions of the God and Demon Walkers.

"There is money. This poor monk met two kind-hearted people on the road and begged for alms." Tang Luo took a wallet out of his trouser pocket and opened it, revealing a thick stack of banknotes inside.

"Begged for alms?"

Xiao Chu and the others looked at Tang Luo's smile, their brows furrowing as they felt things were not that simple.

However, now was clearly not the time to quibble.

In a distant alleyway.

Two pickpockets lay on the ground unable to get up, their faces pained and trembling in fear.

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There is another chapter tonight.