Deep within the northern yamen of Black Goose City.
Dancers swayed, beauties kept company, and fine dishes and wine filled the tables.
The entire scene reeked of extravagance.
"Saint Monk Wuchang, now that my Soul Manipulation Technique has reached great completion, you deserve much of the credit!"
Gao Wusheng picked up the wine pot and summoned a nearby beauty to pour the wine into her mouth.
The beauty then lowered her head, parted her vermilion lips, and fed the wine back into his mouth.
"Beauty Wine! Delicious! Delicious!"
He immediately burst into hearty laughter.
Seated opposite him was Wuchang the Monk, dressed in white monk's robes with handsome features.
Even now, Wuchang the Monk still observed the Buddhist precepts. No beauties touched his person, and no meat or wine entered his stomach.
"Not at all. This humble monk and Lord Gao merely take what we each need."
Gao Wusheng waved a hand and said with a sigh, "Since childhood, my innate physique has been poor. Even if my parents poured every resource they had into me, it was like throwing them into a bottomless pit—there was not the slightest response."
"Yet who would have thought that while I had no talent for the martial path of the fleshly body, I possessed considerable talent in the Soul Manipulation Technique?"
"Coupled with the Soul-Snatching Secret Art Saint Monk Wuchang delivered this time, after absorbing so many souls, it will be enough for my soul to transform and advance another step!"
As Gao Wusheng spoke, he raised another cup toward Wuchang the Monk. "Come! Saint Monk, this official offers you a toast!"
Wuchang the Monk smiled and nodded. He then picked up a cup of red liquid, raised it from afar toward Gao Wusheng, and tipped his head back to swallow it.
At once, an intense bloody stench erupted in his mouth.
Wuchang the Monk's cheeks flushed faintly, and a trace of satisfaction appeared on his face.
After savoring it for several breaths, he sighed. "Fresh Virgin Blood truly is exquisite."
He then looked at Gao Wusheng and continued, "After this matter, our Rebirth Temple will spread its teachings throughout Black Goose City. I hope Lord Gao will open more convenient doors for us."
"If so, this humble monk will be endlessly grateful."
Gao Wusheng waved dismissively. "What are you saying, Saint Monk Wuchang? Rebirth Temple spreading its teachings benefits the common people. Why would this official refuse?"
After saying that, the two exchanged a glance and both burst into laughter.
"Does your honored father and mother know that you came out this time, Saint Monk?"
Gao Wusheng continued.
Wuchang the Monk nodded at those words and replied, "Before I left, my mother had already spoken to all the lords. My lord, rest assured."
Gao Wusheng nodded. A faint drunkenness then surfaced on his face as he pulled the beauty beside him into his arms and began teasing her.
The beauty let out coquettish laughs and gasped repeatedly.
Wuchang the Monk also rose at the appropriate time, offered his thanks, and took his leave.
Advisor Liu, who had been waiting respectfully at the side for a long while, stepped forward and escorted Wuchang the Monk outside the yamen.
"Take care, Saint Monk."
Advisor Liu spoke with respectful warmth.
Wuchang the Monk turned and returned the courtesy, then headed toward his residence in Black Goose City.
By the time Advisor Liu returned, Magistrate Gao had already reached the end.
With a low roar, he flung the unconscious beauty aside and looked toward Advisor Liu.
"My lord, are we really not going to notify him?"
Advisor Liu asked.
"Don't concern yourself with so much. We only need to watch the show."
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Gao Wusheng's mouth as he spoke slowly.
Wuchang the Monk walked slowly through the night.
The place where he lived was a newly built temple in the north of Black Goose City.
Speaking of which, it was a temple Magistrate Gao had personally ordered built to welcome his arrival. Its location was secluded, its grounds vast, making it very convenient for him to conduct his affairs.
He had not eaten for an entire day. He wondered what sort of meat he would see upon returning this time.
Though Gao Wusheng was merely an inconspicuous descendant of the Quan Yang Gao Clan, he was seasoned in every aspect of conduct and dealings, leaving no fault for others to pick at.
As he walked, the signs of human habitation around him gradually thinned, and he drew ever closer to the temple.
But at that moment, he suddenly stopped.
A scent he knew well permeated the air.
And its source seemed to be the temple.
Could it be that Gao Wusheng had prepared another grand feast for him today?!
At that thought, Wuchang the Monk's eyes immediately lit up. He then headed toward the temple at even greater speed.
Bang!
When he impatiently pushed open the temple gates.
A thick, pungent smell of blood rushed straight at him.
Immediately afterward, a scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood entered his sight.
The temple courtyard was littered with headless corpses clad in white monk's robes.
Before the main hall stood a figure dressed in coarse hempen clothing, seated boldly and broadly, expressionlessly rubbing two sachets in his hands.
Beside him, a Ghost-Head Saber gleaming with cold light was plunged into the ground, its Killing Intent pressing upon the air.
The sight made his heart lurch.
"You finally returned."
Qin Zheng lifted his head and calmly looked at Wuchang the Monk, who had entered the temple.
After slaughtering his way to the temple where these false monks stayed, he had ultimately found what he least wished to find.
A pile of familiar ragged clothes, a bloodstained sachet, and a heap of broken bones.
They completely extinguished Qin Zheng's fantasies.
At the same time, they caused the violent fury in his heart to erupt without restraint.
Qin Zheng tucked the two sachets into his robes and reached out, wrenching the Ghost-Head Saber from the ground.
"Do you know who I am?"
Seeing him like this, Wuchang the Monk frowned and then barked coldly.
Qin Zheng shook his head.
Scenes from the ruined temple in the east of the city flashed endlessly through his mind.
There was the way the children's eyes had shone when they saw meat, yet they had insisted on letting him eat first.
There was the way, when meat rations ran short, the children had suppressed their appetites and pretended to be full, all so they could leave the meat for him.
There was the way they watched from the side with curious, longing little faces whenever he practiced martial arts.
And there was that figure always busy by the stove.
The way she always waited deep into the night for him to return, only putting her heart at ease once she saw him.
The way she worriedly reminded him of things every time he went out.
The way her cheeks would always redden unconsciously when she looked at him, before she quickly averted her gaze.
The way, at their final parting, she had wanted to speak but stopped herself, suppressing her feelings as she handed him the sachet containing a safety talisman.
At that time, there had already been light in their eyes!
They had already had hope for life!
But why had it still ended like this?!!
Qin Zheng let out an enraged roar in his heart.
All the images in his mind converged at that instant, transforming into the most dazzling blade-light!
"Beast, die!!!"
Qin Zheng roared sharply. The blade-light blazed brilliantly, as though it had scattered the darkness around them and illuminated all beneath heaven!
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