Chapter 80: Today I Finally Realize That I Am Myself
A burst of crying and shouting reached Wang Chen’s ears.
He climbed onto the wall of his house and looked in the direction from which the sounds came.
He saw, a hundred paces away at Old Sun’s doorstep, that dark-faced cultivator viciously kicking a woman on the ground.
He cursed and swore, “People fight to treat me to a meal in the city, taking your two chickens is a blessing for your family, and yet you dare resist? Tired of living, are you?”
The woman being kicked was Lady Li.
She protected a young man who was unconscious, allowing the other’s heavy kicks to land on her without dodging, while she pleaded bitterly, “Immortal Master, we know we were wrong, please spare us!”
The dark-faced cultivator spat a thick wad of phlegm.
He withdrew his foot, his lecherous gaze sweeping over the still-charming Lady Li, “I’ll let it go this time, but if it happens again and you fall into my hands, I’ll flay that old geezer inside first, then sell you to Ruyi Fang!”
At that, Lady Li didn’t even dare to cry out loud, cowering on the ground and trembling.
Ruyi Fang was one of Cloud Mountain City’s Courtesan Houses, where the women were driven into desperation and forced into a life of dismay, not to mention they were extremely cheap due to lack of outstanding beauty.
The dark-faced cultivator’s threat didn’t sound like a joke at all!
It was only after the man and his entourage had left that Lady Li struggled to get up and dragged the young man into the house.
Old Sun had not shown himself from beginning to end.
Even though there was a considerable distance and walls between them, Wang Chen could still hear Lady Li’s crying from inside the house.
He returned to his house with an expressionless face.
Heading to the secret chamber beneath through a tunnel.
Inside the chamber, Wang Chen took a mask out of the Storage Bag.
Thousand Mechanisms Changing!
Wang Chen had owned this mask for some time, yet had rarely used it.
It usually just sat at the bottom of his trunk.
This time he donned it on his face.
He began to disguise himself in front of a copper mirror!
In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Wang Chen had completely transformed his appearance.
A round face with large ears, straight nose, square mouth, thick eyebrows and piercing eyes, a beard like that of a raccoon at the sides of his face, exuding a fierce and resolute air.
One could say: Born with a face fit for devouring meat and fish, surely not one who recites scriptures or chants prayers!
He took a deep breath and stimulated the Mighty Strength Technique, which he had cultivated to the level of Great Achievement.
The Great Achievement level of the Mighty Strength Technique, which Wang Chen had recently advanced by spending 10 points of Human Virtue.
The enhancement could cover his entire body.
His body swelled up like it was being inflated, his bones rubbing together with crisp crackling sounds.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Chen’s height had shot up by nearly a foot.
Turning into a muscular giant with a broad back and a bear-like waist!
He then took out a Hemp-Thousand-Characters Top Headband, a Crescent Moon Headband, a Warrior’s Robe, and animal-skin boots.
As well as a Black Iron Shovel.
After putting on all these items.
The Wang Chen reflected in the mirror had turned into a Buddhist ascetic!
Ascetics are monks of the Buddhist Sect who travel outside, not required to shave their heads or beards, not abstaining from meat and killings, and are skilled in combat.
This was one pseudonym Wang Chen had prepared for himself.
He had prepared for the day when he could no longer mix in with the Cloud Sun Sect and would inevitably need an alias to escape.
Little did he expect that it would come in handy now!
Although Wang Chen kept telling himself to calm down, the rage in his heart was growing fiercer and fiercer.
Without venting this anger, he couldn’t clear his thoughts.
It might even turn into a demon in his heart!
Once he made sure his disguise had no flaws, Wang Chen quickly went down to the very bottom chamber.
He then escaped through the secret tunnel.
The tunnel’s exit was in a desolate area among the mountains, with no one around and in a very hidden location.
In recent months, Wang Chen had often practiced abilities like Shadowless Divine Traverse and other spells in this area.
So, he was very familiar with the environment.
He sprinted toward the southeast direction with shovel in hand, quickly scaling a low hill, and soon saw the long Chi Path.
At this moment, Wang Chen took out a cage to carry on his back and hung the Soul-Shaking Bell on the top rack of the cage.
Accompanied by the pleasant jingle of the bell, Wang Chen, disguised as an ascetic wanderer, slowly walked toward the intersection ahead.
This Chi Path was the essential route to the Yi Ten Defense Area.
The three dark-faced cultivators had finished collecting Spirit Stones from Wang Chen and Old Sun’s place and would surely pass by here on their way back.
What he intended to create was an “accidental encounter.”
Wang Chen walked very slowly and even stopped to rest by the roadside.
There were quite a few people coming and going on the Chi Path, and some Spiritual Plant Farmers were also tilling the land in the nearby Spirit Fields.
Some people noticed Wang Chen sitting by the roadside and cast curious glances at him.
In the lands of the Cloud Sun Sect, it was rare indeed to see a monk.
But nobody was nosy enough to interfere.
Wang Chen didn’t have to wait long; in just half a stick of incense’s time, he saw the dark-faced cultivator walking over with two disciples from the Spirit Planting Hall.
All three of them had smug expressions on their faces, chatting and laughing along the way.
Wang Chen immediately stood up and greeted them.
At first, the dark-faced cultivator and his companions didn’t pay much attention.
When they noticed Wang Chen, the distance between them was merely a dozen steps or so.
Wang Chen glared at the dark-faced cultivator with a murderous look in his eyes and suddenly roared in anger, “What are you looking at?”
His voice resonated loudly, attracting the attention of all the passersby and farmers around them.
The dark-faced cultivator was stunned.
He had absolutely no idea why this wanderer in front of him was yelling at him.
Subconsciously, his face darkened.
“Who’s that nobody, daring to be so disrespectful to me!”
Wang Chen didn’t give them a chance to react, suddenly quickening his pace and charging forward.
At the same time, he unleashed a thunderous roar, “Take this punch from Old Lu!”
Just at that moment, the Soul-Shaking Bell hanging on the top rack of the cage suddenly trembled violently.
The sound of the bell, mixed with Wang Chen’s roar, fiercely assaulted the Divine Souls of the dark-faced cultivator and his companions.
All three were simultaneously jolted, their minds went blank, and their souls seemed to transcend this world!
The next instant, a fist the size of a small vinegar bowl fiercely bombarded the dark-faced cultivator’s face.
The cultivator’s head burst open like a watermelon smashed by a heavy hammer.
Black, white, and red substances all burst out!
He perished instantly.
Wang Chen, with lightning speed, snatched the Storage Bag from the cultivator’s waist and put the corpse into his own Storage Bag, then kicked out his right leg at the chest of a nearby disciple from the Spirit Planting Hall.
The latter, like a kite with its string cut, was catapulted backwards, his body completely deformed from the countless broken bones, and was already a goner mid-air!
Wang Chen burst into loud laughter and leaped forward.
Catching the falling body, he skillfully swiped the Storage Bag.
After collecting the corpse, he did not stop but dashed off into the distance, turning into a speck of dust!
The nearby passersby and farmers were all dumbfounded.
The murder happened too fast, catching everyone unprepared.
Including another disciple from the Spirit Planting Hall, who had just regained consciousness.
They heard a heroic voice carrying from afar.
“In life, I neglected to cultivate virtue, only delighting in killing and arson. Suddenly I shatter my golden shackles, and here I break the jade locks. Hey! The tide from Qiantang River brings the news, today I finally know who I am!”
A poem about the profound realization, breaking from worldly ties, sung with the meaning of being freed from restraints, unrestrained between heaven and earth!
“The slayer is Lu Zhisen of Liangshan Temple!”
That was the last thing people heard.
Here’s the second update.