Chapter 1303: Chapter 855: Invitation from an Old Acquaintance (Part 2)
After being cornered for the 7th time, Yang Xiao resisted the urge to flip the table, stood up abruptly with a flushed face, and argued, "This round doesn’t count! You cheated me, you must have played before!"
Seeing Yang Xiao unhappy, a younger girl among them consoled him, "Don’t be mad, we can let you take back a move, or even two if you’d like."
"I’m not playing anymore!" Yang Xiao decided that from now on, except for Qu Muzhi, he would never play chess with anyone else. The two of them were the only true adversaries who appreciated each other’s skills.
Nobody but Qu Muzhi understood Yang Xiao’s real chess skills.
Seeing Yang Xiao upset, the younger girl felt a bit scared. During their time together, they had developed a very good impression of Yang Xiao. Despite his noble status, he never put on airs; he was kind to those below him and never made things difficult for anyone.
"Or... you can teach us something else, we’ll let you win, okay?" the girl pleaded softly.
But before she could finish, another older girl nudged her with her elbow, then gave her significant looks, signaling her to keep quiet.
At this moment, Yang Xiao was sulking on the bed, turning his back to the two girls. After hearing their words, he was even more upset, almost brought to tears.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside. As Yang Xiao sat up, he saw a familiar face rush in—it was Sutana.
Beside Sutana stood two elders from the Esoteric Sect, with Elder Kunpa at the forefront.
This time, Sutana didn’t act aggressively; instead, she first bowed to Yang Xiao, then asked him to bring out the Mirror Ghost to play with her.
Yang Xiao was somewhat bewildered at that moment. After all, it was the first time Sutana had been so courteous, and he was indeed a bit unaccustomed to it.
When he summoned the Mirror Ghost, Sutana’s eyes lit up. She examined the Mirror Ghost from all angles, even leaned in to sniff it, until she confirmed it was indeed her friend.
Sutana then took the Mirror Ghost out to play, and the Mirror Ghost acted very docile in front of Sutana, not resisting even when having its hair braided.
After Sutana left, another elder immediately followed them, since Sutana was the treasured daughter of the Cannibal Buddha and nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
However, Elder Kunpa did not leave. He came over to Yang Xiao with a smile, and the two sat across the table.
Elder Kunpa first expressed concern about Yang Xiao’s health, inquiring about the effects of the secret medicine sent by the Esoteric Sect. Then, he switched topics to mention helping Yang Xiao handle an out-of-control magic artifact in the Mirror World not long ago.
Yang Xiao was a perceptive individual who understood immediately; Elder Kunpa’s underlying message was for Yang Xiao to keep his mouth shut.
Yang Xiao understood this well and straightforwardly expressed his gratitude towards the hospitality of the Esoteric Sect and also for Elder Kunpa’s assistance.
After gently reminding Yang Xiao, Elder Kunpa took his leave, promising that should Yang Xiao need anything in the future, he could come directly to him.
Once Kunpa left and Yang Xiao sat back down, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He was not a tattler; he knew perfectly well what things should or shouldn’t be spoken of.
However, today’s visit by Elder Kunpa also confirmed Sheng Yanlin’s words; it seemed the Cannibal Buddha would soon return.
To be honest, with the Cannibal Buddha not around, Yang Xiao felt a bit uneasy. After all, within the Esoteric Sect, he could only trust this one person.
The matter with Kunpa also sounded an alarm for Yang Xiao. Once everything was settled, they should leave as well.
Right now, there were two urgent matters: first was to hasten Bo Yetong’s alchemy, and second was to reforge the ring-headed saber hidden in the Esoteric Sect’s Treasure Room.
Both tasks required the intervention of the Cannibal Buddha, and neither was a small project.
As time ticked by, night fell. After dinner, Yang Xiao lay in bed, with the two girls nearby watching him intently.
Yang Xiao put on a fierce expression, glaring back at them. The two girls immediately dropped their heads in fear, clearly a bit scared.
For the past while, Yang Xiao had been very tense. With rare downtime, he called the girls over and chatted idly.
As drowsiness crept in, Yang Xiao drifted off to sleep while the girls lay on the thick blankets nearby, using Yang Xiao’s thick quilt.
Having expended a lot of spiritual power today, Yang Xiao slept soundly, but at some unknown time, he turned over in his sleep and was suddenly woken by a chill on his cheek.
Waking up, Yang Xiao found an extra stone on his pillow.
Calling it a stone wasn’t quite right; it was more like a small piece of broken glass or something resembling crystal.
It was about half the size of a goose egg stone, black, semi-transparent, with a textured feel, seemingly chipped off from a larger whole.
This thing wasn’t there before he slept, but Yang Xiao did not call out. His eyes slowly scanned the surroundings, which were unusually silent and still.
Recalling the day’s events, Yang Xiao’s first thought was that Elder Kunpa had come to kill him, but upon careful thought, it seemed unlikely; there was no necessity for it.
In the eyes of the Cannibal Buddha, Elder Kunpa was far more important than himself, and even if Kunpa hadn’t rescued him, nothing much would happen to him.
His eyes continued to slowly survey the room until they rested on the two girls, who were still there but unfortunately already dead.
Because the bodies pressing the blankets were no longer rising and falling; there were no more breaths.
Meanwhile, there was dead silence outside; it seemed the guards at the door had also been dealt with.
Yang Xiao didn’t understand what this implied; who on earth had the audacity to do such a thing on the grounds of the Esoteric Sect?
With a thought, Yang Xiao clutched the Human Bone Staff to probe the surroundings, but to his shock, there was nothing around—absolutely nothing.
Not only in this room, but even outside, there was no spiritual power fluctuation at all; within the range his spiritual power could detect, there was only dead silence.
This sensation induced unprecedented fear in Yang Xiao, as if all the Esoteric Sect’s experts outside were annihilated.
"Rustling sounds"
Suddenly, a noise emanated from the corner, and Yang Xiao immediately summoned the Ghost Lantern. The next second, a figure emerged from the dark corner.
With the green light illuminating the face of the person, Yang Xiao was initially shocked, then felt a tremor in his heart, almost dropping the Ghost Lantern in his hand.
"Amitabha Buddha, sir, this humble monk greets you." A young monk with exceptionally good looks halted his steps, clasping his hands together with a serene smile, respectfully saluting Yang Xiao.
"Life Demanding Monk!!" Yang Xiao’s scalp tingled with fear, never expecting it to be this guy.
Out of instinctive reaction, Yang Xiao hurriedly attempted to escape with the Soul-Capturing Mirror, but after several tries, he failed. It wasn’t an issue with the Soul-Capturing Mirror; rather, this area seemed sealed by some eerie force.
Failing to escape, Yang Xiao resorted to preparing the elixir, which was his final trump card.
Yet, as he clutched the elixir, Yang Xiao hesitated, because Monk Wukong just stood there, serenely watching him. His expression was naturally devout, showing neither aggression nor hostility.
Seeing Yang Xiao pause, Monk Wukong even raised his hand slightly, smilingly indicating for Yang Xiao to take the elixir, "Please, sir, take the elixir first. Afterward, when I speak further, you’ll be in a better position to listen."
After a moment of indecision, Yang Xiao awkwardly put the elixir back down, after all, this monk wasn’t just anyone; he was one of the world’s top-notch experts, stronger than the White Robe Dharma King of Cannibal Buddha Dharma Sect.
With the Cannibal Buddha absent, the entire Esoteric Camp probably didn’t even have one person capable of sparring with him. Even if Yang Xiao took ten pills, he wasn’t his match.
Rather than being beaten and then having to listen, it was wiser to comply now. In the beginning, their relationship in the side story was quite decent.
"Master Wukong, to what do we owe the pleasure of your late-night visit?" Yang Xiao cautiously inquired.
"There is a matter for you to decide," Monk Wukong said simply, retrieving a letter from his sleeve, the envelope adorned with a jet-black seal.
"Mr. Yang, the Black Buddha Mother has taken an interest in you, sensing you have supreme Buddha fate. She hopes to invite you to join the sect for a discussion and co-cultivate supreme compassion."
"Amitabha Buddha."
