Chapter 17

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Blood Sect’s Heretic Practitioner

The mountain road was difficult to walk on.

More than a dozen robbers were more or less injured.

When they finally arrived at the Heqing temple, they were almost half dead.

Nan Shan got off the horse and threw the end of the rope to the ground.

The robbers didnot have any intention of running away. They fell to the ground and breathed heavily. They all let out a sigh of relief.

“I wonder if the temple will accept this group of people.”

Nan Shan mumbled and went forward to knock on the door.

He had originally planned to send these bandits to the Yamen and let the secular officials deal with them.

Whether they were imprisoned or killed, it had nothing to do with him.

However, they would have to take a detour and might have to walk hundreds of miles, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Therefore, he simply brought these people to the temple and prepared to let them become monks. They could repent and make up for their mistakes in such a peaceful place of Buddhism.

Soon, there was a dull sound from the door, and it opened with a gap that was only as thick as an arm.

A cool breeze blew.

The fragrance of wildflowers mixed with a faint fishy smell entered Nan Shan’s nose.

He couldnot help but frown slightly and look inside with rapt attention.

Behind the crack stood a monk in a Kasaya, who looked like the abbot of Heqing temple.

He was quite young, and his energy was very good in all aspects. He was not the kind-looking old monk that Nan Shan had imagined.

However, it was a little strange to wear a hat on such a hot day.

“Amitabha.”

The abbot chanted the name of Buddha and slowly said, “The temple is closed today and no guests are allowed. Alms giver, please go back.”

Nan Shan took out an envelope and handed it over. “I am Nan Shan, a disciple of the Reliance Sect. I pay my respects to the abbot. I have come on orders from the sect to deliver this letter.”

When the abbot heard the words ‘Reliance Sect’, his eyes widened.

After thinking for a while, he reached out to take the envelope. He opened it and read it a few times, his face uncertain.

After a long time, he finally pushed open the temple door and smiled.

“So it’s fellow Daoist from the Reliance Sect. I’ve been impolite. How about you stay in the temple for today, and when you’re done recuperating, you can return to the sect tomorrow?”

“As soon as possible.”

Nan Shan still wanted to unsheathe the blade for the evil-swallowing beast, so he urged him.

The Abbot’s expression did not change. He maintained a smile and made way for Nan Shan to enter.

Nan Shan crossed the threshold, turned around, and cupped his fists. “Abbot, these are the bandits I caught on the road. They have done many evil things. I’m going to let them cultivate in the temple to atone for their sins. Is it convenient?”

“Of course it’s convenient,”

The Abbot’s eyes brightened slightly. He turned to look at the dozen robbers outside the door and nodded gently. He then chanted the name of Buddha, “The Buddha is merciful. He has put down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha immediately. I hope that all benefactors can wake up soon.”

The knife-scarred man’s face darkened.

Going up the mountain to cultivate… He could not touch women and couldnot eat meat. How bitter was that!

This was worse than killing him!

After that, the abbot led the way and took Nan Shan to the guest room. After a casual conversation, he left with the robbers, saying that he would shave their heads and chant sutras to get rid of their hostility.

Nan Shan didnot think much about it and turned around to stroll around the temple.

“Strange, why isn’t there anyone here?”

He was a little puzzled.

Although Heqing temple was not large, only a few people who had a slight understanding of Buddhism had cultivated to the Qi refining stage, which was even worse than a small sect.

However, it was still okay for the surrounding areas.

Logically speaking, there should be hundreds of monks cultivating here.

Why did he not see a single one after walking in circles for so long?

With this doubt.

Nan Shan began to observe more carefully.

Soon, he found even more strange things.

The main hall where the Buddha statues and bodhisattvas were enshrined was unguarded.

Not only that, there wasnot even a single lit incense.

Even the platform under the Buddha statue was covered in dust, as if no one had come to clean it for a long time.

Was this normal?

It was obviously abnormal!

This was an important place of Buddhism, a place of faith that could not be tainted by any filth.

As a monk, how could he just ignore it?

“Could it be that there’s a problem with the host?”

Nan Shan was careful.

After returning to his residence, he pretended to not know anything and started cultivating.

Time passed by slowly.

In the blink of an eye, the sun set and night fell.

The wind howled outside, and dark clouds covered the sun. Not a single ray of light could be seen.

Suddenly, a few black shadows that seemed to have blended in with the environment appeared outside the door.

His body was hunched as he hid under the corner of the wall.

One of them took out a self-made hollow bamboo stick, quietly stuck it into the window, and gently blew.

The white smoke instantly filled the air and rushed towards the bed.

“Kill!”

After waiting for a few seconds, they suddenly jumped up at the same time and rushed into the room, slashing at the bed with all kinds of weapons.

However, the expected sound of flesh being pierced did not come.

There was only the sound of wood breaking.

The candlelight lit up.

One of them lifted the quilt under the dim light and found that it was just a piece of wood.

“Are you guys looking for me?”

Nan Shan’s teasing voice sounded from above.

The few of them looked up.

There was no one on the beam!

“Not good, we’ve alerted the enemy, retreat!”

The five of them scattered like birds and beasts, hurriedly escaping from the house for fear of an ambush.

In the end, as soon as they came out, they saw Nan Shan leaning against the eaves of the roof and looking at them with a smile.

The few of them looked at each other and did not act rashly.

They had already lost the initiative, and they did not know the depth of Nan Shan’s cultivation. If they attacked blindly, it was easy for them to capsize in an easy task.

Nan Shan could not help but raise his eyebrows when he saw how well-trained they were.

“You’re not from Heqing temple, are you? Have you ever thought about the consequences of attacking me? ”

During the day, the person who Nan Shan had mistaken for the host had a dark look in his eyes and did not answer at all.

After making a hand gesture, they threw out the weapons in their hands.

Taking advantage of the time Nan Shan was blocking and dodging, the five of them quickly retreated and plunged into the darkness.

Nan Shan took a deep breath.

This matter was a little difficult to handle.

Now that he had returned to the sect, he couldnot give an explanation. He had to figure out the ins and outs of the matter.

“Heqing temple is only this big. Let’s see where you can hide!”

Nan Shan’s mind moved. He held the devouring evil in his hand and began to search through the various buildings in the temple to see if there were any secret rooms or secret passages.

The Abbot’s dormitory, no.

There was nothing in the side hall.

There was no one in the backyard.

There was nothing in the training room.

The sutra library didnot have any men either.

There was nothing in the front mountain. It seemed that they were not hiding here.

However, there was still the back mountain of the Heqing temple, where the terrain was complicated and the trees stood.

If it were him, there was a high probability that he would choose this place as his hiding place.

Soon, Nan Shan came to the alchemy room in the back mountain.

Before he even pushed open the door, the stench of blood from inside assaulted his nose.

“It smells like this during the day.”

He frowned and stepped in. In an instant, a terrifying scene entered his eyes.

The house was only about ten square meters, but there was a pool that occupied half of the area!

There was no water inside, but a small, broken body that was stained with blood!

At this moment, there were still a few pale heads placed neatly by the pool.

The pill furnace at the side was also operating.

He looked through the hole.

It was actually half of a head that had almost melted!

Dark red blood poured into it and evaporated under the heat, turning into a red fluorescent light and fusing with the skull.

Nan Shan instantly clenched his fists.

“Blood sect heretic practitioner!”