CH 48

With a creaking sound, the wooden door slowly opened a crack, and Li Huowang looked out through the gap, alertly scanning the outside.

The gentle afternoon sunlight shone through the swaying leaves and cast scattered tree shadows on the ground.

At this moment, it was very quiet outside, except for the sweeping monk in the distance, there was nothing unusual.

However, in the eyes of Li Huowang, who had already fully understood the situation, this peaceful scene was completely different.

"Hmph! It's all a facade. They can't fool me! They're doing this to keep me here, to make me voluntarily participate in their so-called Pu Du Da Zhai!"

Just as he said this, a thought flashed through Li Huowang's mind.

"Wait, why are they doing this? I'm just an ordinary person, and they're so powerful. Why don't they just come after me directly?"

This question was destined to have no answer, but Li Huowang didn't need the answer now. He just wanted to leave this haunted place as soon as possible.

While Li Huowang was still guessing whether the sweeping monk in the distance was coming to monitor him, the other party picked up the broom and left when he saw that there were no fallen leaves on the ground.

"The monk of Zhengde Temple didn't notice anything abnormal. This is the only advantage I can use now." Li Huowang estimated silently in his heart.

There was no one outside now, but Li Huowang didn't leave. Instead, he waited quietly for something.

As time passed, Li Huowang's palms began to sweat gradually.

We are "pawread dot com", find us on google.

"Dang~ Dang~ Dang~" The dull bell rang throughout the entire Zhengde Temple, making Li Huowang shiver all over.

After staying here for so long, Li Huowang already knew that this bell represented the arrival of the You hour, which was also the announcement of the meal for all the monks in Zhengde Temple.

With a creaking sound, Li Huowang, with a calm expression, walked to his residence and went to the dining hall with the monks he met on the way.

It was reasonable for him to appear here now. In the past few days, he would go to eat like today.

Compared with his own residence, the dining hall was obviously closer to the main hall where the pilgrims gathered. Since the other party was using deception, they definitely didn't want ordinary people to see their terrifying and dark side.

On the way, Li Huowang noticed that many monks were secretly watching him and whispering something, as if they were still discussing what happened in the afternoon.

Their eyes were full of mockery, hostility, and curiosity.

But Li Huowang understood that all of this was fake. These monks were all pretending.

"They are all accomplices with Xin Hui. There is not a good person in the entire Zhengde Temple. They all want to harm me!!" Li Huowang confirmed decisively.

After walking for half an incense stick's worth of time, Li Huowang saw the bustling dining hall. He didn't run away directly, but followed the crowd and walked in.

Holding a wooden bowl of food, Li Huowang sat calmly on the stool and started eating the vegetarian food in front of him.

Today's dishes were taro soup, stir-fried oil tofu with konjac, oil-drenched baby bok choy, and potato stewed winter melon.

Although there was no meat, the taste was still not bad.

However, after experiencing that incident, Li Huowang had no appetite now.

In order to fool them, Li Huowang dared not have any abnormal behavior at this time and continued to eat heartily."A slap" on the shoulder made Li Huowang tremble. "Little Taoist, you're here too? Hey! Why were you running around in a panic earlier?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Li Huowang turned his head and saw the smiling face with a missing tooth without surprise.

It was the old monk he met on the road. If he hadn't dragged him to see some statue today, he wouldn't be in this situation now.

The old monk carried his own bowl of rice and squeezed next to Li Huowang, sitting down. "Let's eat together."

Li Huowang glanced around, seeing no abnormal monks, and continued to eat with his mouth full. "Whatever."

"Taoist, where are your other people? Tell them not to stay in the inn. Come eat with us. I'll tell you, eating here is free!" The clueless old monk still had that carefree personality.

But this time, Li Huowang, eager to leave, ignored him.

He finished his dinner at the usual speed, burped, and walked out of the dining hall.

Back on the stone path outside, the old monk followed him again. "Don't go. Let's chat. The monks here are so boring."

Li Huowang licked the food residue from his gums with his tongue and looked at him impatiently. "Stop following me. Go back and sleep."

"Sleep? It's not even that late yet. Let me tell you something--"

Before the old monk could finish his sentence, he saw the previously fine little Taoist's face turn very ugly.

Immediately, Li Huowang whispered to the old monk, "Run! The temple is dangerous!"

The next second, Li Huowang pushed off the ground with all his strength and ran towards the main hall.

His sudden sprint caught the attention of the other monks. They all looked over, but he ignored them and ran wildly.

Li Huowang's heart was pounding, and his mind was highly tense, constantly watching for where Xin Hui might appear.

Ten zhang! Five zhang! One zhang!

When Li Huowang rushed out of the side door, the surroundings exploded with sounds of footsteps, voices, and wooden fish strikes, all entering his ears at once.

At this moment, he had returned to the main hall where incense was flourishing, and the common people who came to worship shook him constantly.

Standing in the center of the noisy crowd, Li Huowang was stunned for a moment. The natural expressions on the faces around him seemed to be silently telling him something.

Breathing heavily, Li Huowang suddenly thought of something and turned his head to look at the previous side door.

It was empty, with no pursuers.

Whether it was the welcoming monk or the divination monk in the distance, no one looked over here.

To Li Huowang, everything seemed normal, but normal...seemed a bit abnormal.

"Could it be...? Were those really my illusions? Did I imagine those disgusting things?"

But Li Huowang quickly dismissed this absurd idea, shook his head hard, and strode out of the temple.

This was not something he could bet on, not even a little possibility.

Leaving the temple was as easy as when he came in.Li Huowang quickly arrived at the inn.

Seeing Li Huowang who they hadn't seen in a few days, the medicine men felt particularly close and rushed up.

"Senior Brother, why are you back? Is the temple business done?"

"No time for catching up, quickly pack up and let's go! We need to leave this place!"

"Okay, I'll go inform Master Lv."

"No need to wait for them! We're leaving now! Hurry!!"

"Senior Brother, where are we going?" Bai Lingmiao asked with a puzzled face.

"Leaving the border!"