Chapter 116: A Familiar Plea for Help

This impudent monk is named Juechen. He is a disciple of the same generation as them and a student of Master Wushi of the Nine Buddhas Temple.

Ji Yao had heard that in his youth, Master Wushi traveled the world, practicing the philosophy of engaging with the secular realm. He did not shun the red dust of life, upholding the belief that one cannot transcend the world without first entering it, which brought him quite a bit of trouble. It once reached the point where a fiery-tempered female cultivator tracked him all the way to the Nine Buddhas Temple to demand an explanation. Although the incident caused quite a stir, no one was ever able to fully explain what had happened. It remained a mystery why this female cultivator had felt so wronged that she would pursue him all the way to the temple.

Ji Yao watched the bald man seated in the flying vessel, engaged in an enthusiastic discussion about world-famous delicacies with Ling Ru. Had it not been for the occasional recitation of a Buddhist chant or his self-referential use of "this humble monk," Ji Yao would have mistaken him for a connoisseur of fine dining. Could this monk be following in his master’s footsteps? Ji Yao felt an inexplicable sense of unease, as if some misfortune were lying in wait for her further down the path.

As twilight gathered, the trio’s flying vessel finally arrived at a small town. The town was small, populated mostly by mortals, and lacked any protective arrays. It boasted only a single, ordinary inn. The sight of two women and a monk drew side-glances from the locals, but as all three were cultivators, they ignored the attention and entered the inn.

"Friend... Fellow Daoist Juechen, would you prefer to stay at the inn like us, or would you rather seek lodging with a local family?" Ji Yao had nearly blurted out "monk," but corrected herself just in time. After all, he was a member of the clergy, and perhaps he practiced the austerity of an ascetic—he was, after all, dressed in simple, coarse linen. She had no intention of paying for his stay on top of giving him a free ride.

Fortunately, the monk possessed some self-awareness. He raised his hands in a Buddhist salute, "Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist Ji. I am already embarrassed enough to be hitching a ride with you. To avoid delaying your journey, I shall stay at the inn with you both. Please allow me to cover the cost of today’s lodging."

He then placed two low-grade spirit stones on the counter and said to the innkeeper, "Please, sir, open two rooms for the three of us."

Ji Yao’s mouth twitched at this. She glanced at Ling Ru and found that her friend’s expression mirrored her own. Her mood improved slightly, and she decided not to quibble over Juechen’s presumptuousness. Naturally, of the two rooms, one was for Juechen, and the other was to be shared by Ji Yao and Ling Ru. With no desire to continue chatting with him, the two women went straight to their room, waiting only for dawn to depart.

"I actually thought you were so enchanted by Fellow Daoist Juechen’s looks that you were ready to abandon your junior sister!" Ji Yao said once she had set up a protective array in the room.

For once, Ling Ru looked embarrassed in front of Ji Yao, but she immediately retorted, "That monk’s face cannot compare to our sect’s Senior Brother, and even your senior brothers are better looking than him!"

Ji Yao raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You have high standards, then! If that monk grew some hair and changed his clothes, you might not be saying the same thing."

As if reminded of something, Ling Ru nodded quickly. "Right, right! He is a monk; he will never have hair in this lifetime, so he can never compare to the senior brothers."

"Enough, enough!" Ji Yao laughed until she was breathless. "Tell me the truth, are you just interested in the Nine Buddhas Temple’s vegetarian cuisine? Is that why you listened to the monk’s nonsense for the entire journey?"

Ji Yao had known since they first met that Ling Ru had a penchant for food. She always carried various seasonings, and with her grilling skills, she was a true foodie; using food to lure her always worked like a charm. However, it was also because the monk was indeed a disciple of the Nine Buddhas Temple that Ling Ru had ignored Ji Yao’s objections and agreed to his request.

Speaking of food, Ling Ru grew excited. "You don't know this, but the famous vegetarian meals at the Nine Buddhas Temple are never sold to outsiders. They are only available to a handful of disciples within the temple; ordinary people never get to taste them. Since this Juechen took the initiative to invite us, he must have the status to do so. Since he needs something from us now, why shouldn't we seize the opportunity?"

Ji Yao looked at Ling Ru with a helpless expression. "Fine, fine! I know it’s rare. Let’s get some rest now, and we’ll head to the Nine Buddhas Temple first thing tomorrow morning, alright?"

The night passed without further incident. At dawn the next day, as the three were checking out of the inn, a gaunt, emaciated figure stumbled through the door. The man looked up, caught sight of the trio, and suddenly, as if seeing someone of great importance, fell to his knees before them.

To be precise, he knelt before the monk Juechen, crawled forward a few paces, grabbed the monk’s legs, and began to wail.

"Master! I have finally found you again! Master, please, save me! I should never have been bewitched by that demoness. Now I have harmed others and myself. I can only think that you are the only one who can save me."

Ji Yao and Ling Ru instinctively stepped back, leaving the space at the entrance to the two men, waiting to see how the monk would handle this. Juechen recited a Buddhist chant with his hands pressed together, then forcibly pulled the man up. He scrutinized the man’s face before saying, "As you sow, so shall you reap. I warned you long ago, donor, that there is no such thing as an elixir that can grant immortality in a single day. You refused to believe me. Today’s outcome is entirely the result of your own delusions. There is little this humble monk can do."

Ji Yao, standing behind them, finally saw the man’s face clearly. Gauntness aside, the man’s face was covered in unnatural wrinkles that did not match the skin on his exposed arms. Although his arms were thin, the state of the skin suggested he was quite young, yet his face was a tapestry of deep furrows, like that of an eighty-year-old elder. It was truly eerie.

Looking at this face, Ji Yao felt a strange familiarity, as if she were suddenly transported back to the moment she first woke up in this world. A chill ran down her spine, and her hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched so tightly that she didn't even feel her nails digging into her palms.

Ling Ru, standing beside her, was the first to notice her distress. She grabbed Ji Yao’s clenched hand and realized that her skin was deathly cold, devoid of warmth, and her entire arm was trembling. Ling Ru quickly gripped Ji Yao’s pulse and infused a gentle fire-attributed spiritual energy into her meridians.

It was this warmth that brought Ji Yao back to her senses. She looked down at the source of the energy, relaxed slightly, and slowly opened her clenched palm. Following the arm that held her wrist, Ji Yao smiled at Ling Ru to signal that she was fine, then turned her gaze back to the two men.