Chapter 48: The Notes to Help the Youkai Move Their Houses (3)

“Huang Laowu, I suggest that you don’t incite us to do anything stupid.” The wizened old man smiled coldly. “The mortals are nothing, but don’t forget the cultivation pract.i.tioners. The human imperial government has a lot of strong people. They all covetously stare at us barbarous youkai, waiting to find a good excuse to kill us all.”

“Humph, old man Chai, you know nothing because you’re already an old fuddy-duddy, and half of your body has been buried in a coffin.” The yellow-haired man who was named “Huang Laowu” stared at the old man with contempt. “The human imperial government was overturned a century ago, and those strong people have disappeared. Only cowards like you would worry so much. ”

Afterwards, he didn’t look at old man Chai’s resentful expression and spoke loudly to the youkai around them. “I will tell you the truth. Before I came here, I caused a large problem at a human construction site. But look, I’m still fine without any injuries! I tell you that the era of humans has pa.s.sed. It’s now the time for the world to be ran by us youkai!”

Oh, it was pretty unexpected for this youkai to be so ambitious.

Xu Shenxing frowned. He motioned Moli to cover him, squatted in the corner, and gave Xu Feng a call.

“Hey, my grandmaster, why’s the matter? Have you saved your tenant?”

“Nope. I will get even with you later, but now, you need to help me check out what happened in the development area beside the foot of Dan Xiao Mountain. Tell me how many people died.”

“What? You’re asking me for help, but your words are so aggressive. Don’t you care if I don’t help you?”

“You can do that. If you don’t care, then I will drop it and leave you alone.”

After all, Xu Feng was an official who officially dealt with these kinds of matters. Xu Shenxing was willing to deal with it because of his sense of responsibility. However, it was an unavoidable natural obligation for Xu Feng.

Though he didn’t know what Xu Shenxing was dealing with, however, viewing it from Xu Shenxing’s past experiences, apparently he was dealing with some supernatural events. Which ordinary people shouldn’t get involved in, but he had to lend a hand.

“All right, I will check it, but don’t have high expectations. After all, it is not an area under my jurisdiction.”

In the meanwhile, the quarrel between the Huang Family and Chai Family was becoming white-hot. Thanks to this, no one paid attention to Xu Shenxing since he was just a stranger squatting in a corner.

“You little beasts haven’t experienced being hunted by cultivation pract.i.tioners. You know nothing about them!” Old man Chai yelled himself hoa.r.s.e and pointed a trembling finger at Huang Laowu’s nose. Blue veins stood out on his wrinkled forehead. “Even if we put the other dangers aside and only consider the White-hart Taoist Temple, we would be in over our heads. You guys should know their power . . . Can’t they kill us? Yes, they just need to think that we don’t deserve to live anymore for them to move their fingers to start a ma.s.sacre!”

“Maybe they aren’t as terrible as they look . . .” Huang Laowu also felt a little frightened speaking of the White-har
t Taoist Temple. He said weakly, “After all, they have lived there in seclusion for over a hundred years.”

“Lived in seclusion? They just don’t think that we deserve any attention! They go to places over a hundred miles away to train their disciples!” Old man Chai found that he was finally overwhelming the yellow-haired youkai Huang Laowu. He pushed on and said, “Even if we ignore their disciples who are traveling around the world, the people currently in the temple aren’t people we can challenge! You guys all saw the main hall of the White-hart Taoist Temple flying into the sky, right? Obviously, they were trying to fly to the hardwind layer to collect hardwind in order to help their practice! Even if they didn’t achieve success in the end, can you guys tell me if any of us are able to fly to the hardwind layer other than Master Redleaf?”

The youkai looked at each other. Old man Chai’s words scared them.

While shielding Xu Shenxing calling Xu Feng, Qin Xingyan listened to the small youkais’ discussion with mixed feelings. Most of the small youkai felt scared and exclaimed that the White-hart Taoist Temple was unbeatable.

“What’s your suggestion? I tell you, I won’t move my house. And even if we move our houses, Master Redleaf can’t move himself. Are we going to watch the humans destroy Master Redleaf’s true body and do nothing?”

Huang Laowu felt frustrated, but he still argued.

“Master Redleaf’s true body is an acer rubrum. It’s that big tree we pa.s.sed through when we got here. He is a thousand years old, the oldest youkai on Dan Xiao Mountain.”

As a competent guide, Sister Wan’er explained. “We have seen the humans’ development plans. Master Redleaf’s true body is in their ‘cut off’ list.”

“Never mind, Benefactor Huang [1]. I have been here for one thousand three hundred and sixty-two years, plus seven months and thirteen days. I no longer have worries about life and death.” Sitting among them, Master Redleaf suddenly said, “I still remember that in the past, Benefactor Yun Guanyu wanted me to switch my faith from Buddhism to Taoism and help them protect the core of their sect’s Defence Nexus. I didn’t agree to help him, and he almost killed me from my body to my soul. Now, I just have to give up my true body. I don’t mind it . . . Maybe after having been freed from my body, I can advance myself in Buddhism. If so, why do we have to be involved in human matters?”

Though he didn’t say it clearly, Master Redleaf hinted that he hoped that none of the youkai would fight with the humans to avoid being killed, even if his true body was destroyed.

The small youkai all praised Master Redleaf for his understanding. Only Huang Laowu changed his facial expression several times before smashed his fist into the green granite table. The green granite table was hard because it had been engulfed in youkai spirit qi for countless years, but his fist made a hole in it.

“You ungrateful beasts! I don’t believe that you know the significance of a plant youkai like Master Redleaf having their true body destroyed! You guys should ask your consciences whether or not any of us ever got help from Master Redleaf! I’m not like you guys. If Master Redleaf didn’t help me, my Huang Family would had been eliminated from the world! Now, I tell you that even if I will die, I will fight with the White-hart Taoist Temple in order to protect Master Redleaf’s true body!”

In the end, Huang Laowu’s yellow-haired head turned into a yellow weasel’s head from his excitement. He couldn’t continue keeping himself in human form. He bowed to Master Redleaf and said, “If I don’t come back, Master Redleaf, please take care of my child, Huang Ying!”

After saying that, he jumped out of the hall, turned into a blast of yellow wind and disappeared from the yard.

“h.e.l.lo? Are you still listening?” Xu Feng came back and said over the phone, “I checked it. Yesterday something happened at the construction site. Multiple scaffoldings collapsed, and some problems arose with their excavators and hoists.”

“Oh, I see.” Looking at the sky, Xu Shenxing considered something.

“But it’s a little weird. Normally, dozens of people would die in this kind of event. Only one person broke his arm yesterday, and he had the worst injury. Other people just got a few scratches . . . You should know, the event didn’t happen during the quiet of the night, but suddenly during the workday. Many people fell down to the ground from the scaffolding, and it was about five or six floors high. However, none of them received severe injuries. They were just scared.”

“I see, I understand.”

“If you have no other questions, I’m gonna hang up the . . . Oh dammit, Antares! You can’t explode that . . . toot toot.”

Hearing the busy tone that came out from the phone, Xu Shenxing put down his old phone and sighed.

“What shall we do then?” Qin Xingyan softly asked as she saw that Xu Shenxing had hung up the phone.

“Let’s continue to stroll around the street.” Moli wriggled herself in and gave her advice.

Xu Shenxing put Moli, whose small face was stained with grilled fish sauce, away and said, “Let’s go back to the White-hart Taoist Temple to prepare something, then . . . Oh right, Qin Xingyan, do you have any experience in being a diviner?”

“ . . . What?”

[1] Benefactor: This is a proper noun from Buddhism. Monks call every ordinary person they are talking to as “Benefactor”.