The sky was darkening, caught between the lingering sunset and the rising crescent moon.
The temple fair at the dock was just coming to an end.
With a casual flick of his hand, the temple’s abbot plucked the smiling head of the flower-holding Buddha statue and placed it atop his own.
He turned to face the three figures behind him.
“Are you here to offer incense, or to pray for blessings?”
Upon hearing this, the one wearing a dragon-headed mask among the three stepped forward and spoke:
“Better to rely on oneself than to beg for divine favor.”
“You three have given me quite the pleasant surprise.”
“From today onward, you are members of the Drizzle Tower. You may take on assignments from the Shadow Hall.”
“Succeed in this task, and you’ll be promoted to Human Butchers as an exception.”
He stretched out his palm, revealing three copper Swallows of the Hall, resting in his massive hand.
For a fleeting moment, the swallows seemed alive, their wings fluttering as if imbued with a will of their own.
“No need to rush. Complete the task, and these Swallows will be yours.”
“May we ask what the task entails?”
The Three Evils of Huai Mountain exchanged glances before the dragon-masked man asked in a muffled voice.
The Laughing Buddha replied calmly:
“Escort a shipment downstream with me.”
“Remember, this is confidential. Not a word to anyone, lest the Qingyuan Sect catches wind and interferes.”
“If word leaks, no one can save you.”
And the Qingyuan Sect must never know?
The trio—Tiger, Dragon, and Leopard—exchanged glances and fell silent.
The Laughing Buddha mistook their hesitation for fear of the risks, unwilling to cross the Qingyuan Sect.
With another chuckle, he added:
“I’ve been the abbot of this dock temple for over a decade, watching fishermen haul in their catch every day. I’ve learned one thing.”
“The fiercer the waves, the more valuable the fish!”
“If you three aren’t willing to take risks, how will you ever rise to greatness?”
After a long silence, Li Mo concealed his surprise and pressed further:
“If you want us to take such a risk, at least tell us what we’re transporting.”
“Just delivering some children to a summoning outpost of the Demon Calling Sect.”
The Laughing Buddha answered patiently before asking again:
“You’re smart men. What’s your decision?”
As his words faded, faint Buddhist chants echoed through the small temple, soothing the mind and body.
The message was clear:
Now that you know the truth, this ship isn’t one you can simply step off.
The dragon-masked man clasped his hands in salute:
“We are at your service.”
The Laughing Buddha had barely relaxed when a dagger, hidden in the shadows, shot toward his back.
The strike was silent until the last moment, when a surge of killing intent erupted.
The Laughing Buddha, a Perception Realm cultivator, reacted with unnatural speed.
His body twisted like a slippery serpent, evading the fatal blow.
He spun around and caught the blade between his fingers.
Had he not trained in Buddhist arts, sharpening his awareness to break free from the killing aura, the strike might have wounded him gravely.
“What is the meaning of this!?”
The smile on his borrowed head twisted into the wrathful visage of a Ming King.
Instead, he was met with a mist of clouds, thick as an impending storm, filling every inch of space around him.
He quickly realized it only resembled one, lacking the pressure of an Inner Landscape martial artist.
Yet the icy chill seeped into his bones.
A gust of wind howled—
Pale cyan sword light and the silent dagger’s killing aura swirled together, shaking the bloody glow around him.
He thrust his palms forward, and two phantom handprints shattered the incoming blades.
But what followed were two gleaming swords—
One red, one blue, entwined like twin dragons of ice and fire.
The dazzling slash struck as if hitting metal.
He spat out a mouthful of burning ice shards.
That strike had nearly killed him. Had he been slower…
Strangely, his body bore no wounds, but the headless golden Buddha statue in the temple dimmed noticeably.
“Had I not spent over a decade building my foundation here, I’d have capsized in a ditch today!”
“Li Mo, you’ve delivered yourself to me—”
Before he could finish—
“No need to reason with demonic heretics. Attack together!”
“I’ll smash the statue—you cut him down!”
Li Mo summoned a hammer and barked orders.
He had seen through it: without destroying the Buddha statue, they couldn’t kill their foe quickly.
A mere Perception Realm cultivator, yet so troublesome.
The Laughing Buddha: “......”
He wanted to stop them—
But he couldn’t fight the other three at once.
Ying Bing was the real threat. The other two were little more than annoying flies he could swat aside with ease.
But this girl… she was terrifying.
Even one-on-one, with over a decade’s worth of accumulated prayer power, he’d likely be forced onto the defensive.
And now there was Li Mo too.
The intel he’d received said Li Mo used a sword—since when did he wield a hammer?!
Third Form of Settling Heaven and Earth: Thunder’s Judgment.
The hammer descended like a rolling storm, thunderous as the first strike of spring, shaking the world!
This was an Inner Breath cultivator?!
In sheer terror, the Laughing Buddha hurled a string of black prayer beads, hoping to block the blow.
But the beads shattered mid-air, their trapped souls wailing before dispersing into nothingness.
The decade’s worth of prayer power—
Under the true wrath of heaven, it crumbled like rotten wood.
A bell’s toll pierced metal and stone.
The golden statue cracked like a spider’s web, its layers peeling away to reveal bleached bones beneath.
At last, he could no longer resist the icy sword energy.
The frigid wind pierced through him—
The sword energy, sharp as needles through leaves, riddled his body with holes. Blood froze before it could even drip.
At Ling River Dock, a finely dressed young man paused mid-step as he questioned the locals.
“That’d be the Laughing Buddha Temple. We fishermen always pray there before setting sail.”
The old fisherman’s words struck Luo Yu like lightning.
The Laughing Buddha Temple?
Wasn’t that where children had vanished during the temple fair?
Without another thought, he shot toward the source of the disturbance like a startled swan.