Stranger Danger

Chapter 1182: Turtle in a Jar

Ink Flute said smilingly, “How rude! Weren’t we friends, no, brothers who went through thick and thin together?”

A smile should be the most wonderful thing in the world, but on Ink Flute, all it elicited was a discomfiting, creepy sensation that crawled up one’s spine.

“As you said, were. Also, we have never gone through thick and thin together, and you are definitely not a brother of mine.”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain walked toward Ink Flute. Right before he would pass by Ink Flute, he said again, “You were just one of my many defeated foes. Nothing more.”

“Haha! Thirty years is enough time for good fengshui to shift from the east side of a river all the way to the west[1]. I may have lost back then, but that may not be true today.”

Ink Flute did not get angry despite the provocation. His smile simply grew wider and wider as he said, “Besides, I was the one who stayed behind back then. That makes me the ultimate victor, no?”

“Is that what you think?” Old Man of Snowy Mountain sneered without looking back. “No wonder you’re still a dog today.”

“Hahaha… interesting! How interesting!”

Ink Flute abruptly stopped spinning his bamboo flute and laughed. “The years have certainly given you a much sharper tongue than before, Brother Bai.”

Staring at Old Man of Snowy Mountain’s shrinking back, Ink Flute’s smile slowly faded into nothing. The mirthfulness in his eyes had also transformed into infinite chilliness and heavy bloodthirst.

“You will not escape, Bai Xuesong.”

Ink Flute narrowed his eyes slightly and smacked his flute lightly against his palm. The next moment, the unconscious people on the ground stopped breathing forever.

“Discard the bodies. We don’t need them dirtying the streets of Myriad Buddha Town,” Ink Flute instructed.

A few brocade shirt men immediately filed out of the restaurant Ink Flute emerged from earlier. They grabbed the bodies and began dragging them toward the exit.

Why does that Taoist look familiar?

Ink Flute was about to turn away and leave when he saw Yi Pin out of the corner of his eye. It was at this moment he recalled something.

Could it be… him?!

Ink Flute’s eyes widened as he stared firmly Ye Qing and Yi Pin’s back. His gaze kept darting back and forth between the duo as a look of pure delight sprung to his face.

A Taoist and a youngster who’s way stronger than he looks… is it really them?

Almost two weeks ago, the Brocade Shirt Marquis had suddenly ordered them to search for a youngster and an old Taoist. However, he was unable to provide them with any useful details such as their names or background. He only said that the youngster was exceptionally strong for his age; a Great Grandmaster to be exact.

The Brocade Shirt Marquis did provide them with a portrait of the youngster and the old Taoist, but only an idiot would trust such a thing. These days, you couldn’t call yourself a member of the jianghu if you did not know at least a trick or two to alter your appearance.

The Brocade Shirt Marquis was aware of this. That was why he ordered them to inform him as soon as they saw a powerful youngster and an old Taoist journeying together.

Because there were little to no leads to follow, the brocade shirt men quickly forgot about the matter after a few days of futile search. Ink Flute would not have recalled his task at all if he didn’t think that the old Taoist’s appearance and body shape seemed strangely familiar for some reason.

Ink Flute took a step forward intending to catch up to the group and stop them once more. It was at this moment the youngster suddenly turned his head and glanced at him.

“Hmm!”

Ink Flute let out a muffled groan and froze in his tracks. His body was trembling like a leaf, and his eyes grew unfocused. Large beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead and drenching his terrified-looking face.

A dozen or so breaths later, when Ye Qing’s group was long gone, Ink Flute’s eyes finally regained some slivers of vigor and focus. The shock and terror remained entrenched in his pupils, however.

Ink Flute lifted one foot as if he was planning to go after the group, but in the end, he did not do so not because he was incapable, but because he was afraid.

When he met the youngster’s eyes earlier, he saw something impossible. He saw the sun, moon and stars orbiting inside his eyes. He saw yin and yang circulating in a harmonious circle. He saw countless living beings living and dying in an eternal cycle. He saw himself among those living, feeble and miniscule.

The next moment, a pair of black and white pupils opened amidst the infinite expanse of stars and planets. One look at the pupils was enough to cause his mind to tremble, and his consciousness to plunge into chaos.

Although he was awake right now, the trauma and fear inflicted by the pupils were as deep as they were fresh. That was why he did not dare to go after the group and find out the truth.

“Good. Very good. You leave me no choice as to assume you are them, whatever the truth might be.”

A moment later, Ink Flute suddenly wore a strange smile as if a good idea just occurred to him. It was a smile that was both as warm as the spring wind and as cold as a knife’s edge at the same time.

If they really were who the Brocade Shirt Marquis was looking for, then he just landed a big score. He was pretty sure from the Brocade Shirt Marquis’ attitude that he wasn’t harboring pure intentions either. Knowing his superior’s character, the youngster, the old Taoist, and anyone related to them would die when all was said and done. Naturally, Old Man of Snowy Mountain was no exception.

By reporting this to the Brocade Shirt Marquis, he would be able to earn a huge favor and eliminate his hated foe, Old Man of Snowy Mountain. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Even if it turned out that the youngster and the old Taoist weren’t who the Brocade Shirt Marquis was looking for, he could still take out Old Man of Snowy Mountain via his hands. It was a win-win situation no matter what.

“You’re dead, Bai Xuesong.” Ink Flute muttered to himself before calling out, “Ink Slave!”

A gust of blue smoke blew over from somewhere and took the shape of a humanoid silhouette. “What are your orders, master?”

As the person was hidden within the blue smoke, it was impossible to say if they were male, female, or even human.

“I want you to—” Ink Flute began, but cut himself off at the last moment. “Never mind. You may withdraw.”

“Yes, master.” The humanoid silhouette responded before retreating into the shadows and vanishing.

Ink Flute was going to send some men to spy on Ye Qing’s group, but he abruptly remembered that Ye Qing was so strong that even he was no match for him, much less Ink Slave. If he had Ink Slave and his men spy on the group, it was very possible that he would only be alerting them to his intentions and putting them on high alert. No, it was better to ignore them completely.

Snowview City wasn’t far away from Myriad Buddha Town anyway. He only needed to message Brocade Shirt Marquis about this, and the man would show up in less than a day. He was sure that the group would not be leaving today, so that was enough time for the Brocade Shirt Marquis to show up.

Having made up his mind, Ink Flute finally began twirling his bamboo flute again and took his leave.

The turtle had entered the jar. All he needed to do now was wait for the feast to begin.

……

Myriad Buddha Restaurant was the biggest restaurant in Myriad Buddha Town. They mainly sold vegetarian dishes because of their name.

Of course, the vegetarian food they sold were no ordinary vegetarian food. They were strange cuisines cooked using plant-type Strangers by the hands of famous strange cooks. Therefore, the strange cuisines weren’t just appealing and tasty. They boasted all kinds of wonderful effects as well.

If you were visiting Myriad Buddha Market, you must give Myriad Buddha Restaurant’s vegetarian food a try.

Right now, Ye Qing, Yi Pin, and Old Man of Snowy Mountain were enjoying a meal inside a private room. Specifically, they were enjoying Myriad Buddha Restaurant’s signature feast known as the Arhat Feast.

They had parted ways with Xu Kailu a while ago. They were hardly close friends, and they had already done him their utmost benevolence by saving his life and rescuing him from Myriad Buddha Plains. It would be ridiculous to treat him to a free meal as well.

“Phew! This was awesome. The vegetarian cuisine of Myriad Buddha Restaurant deserves its fame.”

After a satisfying meal, Yi Pin took a sip of hot wine and rubbed his full belly with a satisfied look on his face.

“It is pretty good,” Ye Qing echoed in agreement.

“This is just the Arhat Feast. There are the higher grade Bodhisattva Feast and Myriad Buddha Feast as well. Of course, the Myriad Buddha Feast is the best of all of them.”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain suggested, “Unfortunately, both the Bodhisattva Feast and the Myriad Buddha Feast require prior booking to savor. If you want, you can stay at Myriad Buddha Town for a few more days.”

However, Ye Qing shook his head and said, “No, we’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Is it because of that Ink Flute?” Yi Pin said lazily.

1. Meaning what was true before may not be true now. ☜