“Who are you!!”
Ru Nan glared at Yan Shouyi, his eyes nearly spitting fire, but his anger was merely the struggle of a dying man, posing no threat to Yan Shouyi whatsoever.
Yan Shouyi held the Ancestral Dragon Sword, placing it calmly against Ru Nan’s neck. He said coldly:
“Your abbot brother has been subdued by me. However, if I don't eliminate you, this demonic monk, then Sidede Temple will never know peace. Therefore…”
*Poof!*
Yan Shouyi offered no further explanation, not even bothering to interrogate Ru Nan. He directly sliced through Ru Nan’s neck with the Ancestral Dragon Sword.
Blood sprayed out three meters high, splashing the abbot Haixin who was hiding in a corner.
Abbot Haixin turned pale with fright, muttering "Amitabha" repeatedly.
Committing murder within a temple was a grave sin. Moreover, Ru Nan's death was a consequence of Abbot Haixin seeking Yan Shouyi's help. For Abbot Haixin, who devoted his heart to Buddha, this was an unbearable guilt.
But Ru Nan was dead, and Sidede Temple would be safe from now on. Abbot Haixin felt a surge of happiness at the thought of continuing to be a proper monk in the future.
A martial monk couldn't help but ask Yan Shouyi, “Master, why didn’t you question Ru Nan a few times…”
“Heaven help us, boy, are you suicidal?!”
Abbot Haixin quickly covered his disciple's mouth, warning them not to question this harbinger of death.
Fortunately, Yan Shouyi was not an unreasonable person. He flicked the Ancestral Dragon Sword, shaking off the blood from the blade, and explained, “I simply didn’t want to do good with bad intentions. By killing Ru Nan, your Sidede Temple will not face retaliation. As for why Ru Nan was involved in those dealings with the abbot, I don’t have the time to find out.”
In simple terms, Yan Shouyi was currently occupied with important matters. While meddling, he didn't want to waste time.
Having said this, he turned to go wake up Brother Yang in his room. The matter was resolved, and they needed to continue their journey.
But at that very moment, an unforeseen change occurred.
Ru Nan, whose neck had just been severed by Yan Shouyi, actually trembled and stood up!
His face was bloodless, his features distorted, his mouth agape, breathing out air like a terrifying zombie.
Seeing this, Abbot Haixin quickly alerted Yan Shouyi, “Master! Ru Nan is alive again!”
Though frightened, the two martial monks each found a staff and stood protectively beside Abbot Haixin.
However, looking at Ru Nan’s ghastly appearance, the two had little confidence in their ability to defeat him, relying on the master to resolve the situation.
Yan Shouyi glanced back and then exclaimed, “Eh.”
He was certain Ru Nan was dead. Someone else was now controlling Ru Nan’s body… or perhaps it wasn’t human.
Ru Nan’s skin rapidly turned black. As if he knew he was seeking revenge against Yan Shouyi, he completely ignored Abbot Haixin and the others and lunged towards Yan Shouyi!
Yan Shouyi blocked with the Ancestral Dragon Sword. Ru Nan bit down on the blade. The confrontation lasted less than half a second before Yan Shouyi severed Ru Nan’s jaw.
With only half a mouth left, Ru Nan could no longer bite. More pitifully, both of Ru Nan’s hands had also been cut off by Yan Shouyi, rendering him incapable of using any human offensive limbs.
But this did not make Ru Nan give up!
He hunched over, his stomach undulating and trembling, and then spat out a human hand from his mouth!
With practiced ease, Ru Nan then crashed into a room in the temple's backyard. When he emerged again, the hand protruding from his throat was clutching a sharp sword!
The scene was incredibly bizarre. Abbot Haixin, with his vast experience, managed to remain calm, but the two martial monks were on the verge of wetting themselves from fear.
Yan Shouyi, however, showed no reaction, causing the three to marvel at his composure: “A master is indeed a master!”
Seeing the eerie Ru Nan lunge at him once more, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but laugh:
“I was wondering where you were hiding. So you were in Ru Nan’s belly! This is good, it saves me the trouble of looking for you!”
This time, Yan Shouyi took the initiative. He switched from the Ancestral Dragon Sword to the Soul Reaper Blade. The current Ru Nan was clearly no longer human, and Yan Shouyi intended to deal with the malevolent entity within Ru Nan's belly, hence the change to the Soul Reaper Blade.
*Swish!*
The Soul Reaper Blade blazed with fierce Li Fire. Yan Shouyi rushed in front of Ru Nan, easily batting away the opponent’s long sword. Then, with an upward slash, he severed the arm protruding from Ru Nan’s throat!
“Ah—!”
Ru Nan’s throat had been cut, and logically, he shouldn’t have been able to make a sound. Yet at this moment, Ru Nan let out a scream, but the scream originated from his belly.
“Let me see what you are!”
Yan Shouyi’s blade sliced open Ru Nan’s abdomen!
With a gush, Ru Nan’s internal organs began to spill out. The bloody spectacle made the two martial monks gag, while Abbot Haixin sped up his recitation of “Amitabha.”
“What a sin! What a sin!”
“May the Buddha forgive!”
Whatever was inside Ru Nan’s belly gushed out onto the ground. Yan Shouyi’s gaze was sharp, and he immediately spotted something within the mess that did not belong in a human body.
It was a dark wooden carving.
He kicked aside Ru Nan’s completely motionless body, disregarded the filth of the organs, and picked up the dark wooden carving.
The carving was covered in filth, making it difficult to discern what it was.
Fortunately, it had rained all day, and puddles had already formed in the courtyard. Yan Shouyi rinsed the carving in a puddle, finally revealing its true form.
It was a plump statue resembling Maitreya Buddha. However, unlike Maitreya Buddha’s benevolent smile, this Buddha’s smile was incredibly sinister and grotesque, resembling a vengeful spirit or a demon.
This thing exuded great malevolence.
Yan Shouyi frowned deeply. Ru Nan’s current state was entirely due to this object. The hand that had emerged from Ru Nan’s mouth earlier was also this object resisting.
Yan Shouyi attempted to scan the Buddha statue for any residing souls, but he regretfully found that the wood used to carve it was thousand-year-old spruce, whose characteristic was to prevent external probes.
Whether there were souls within the statue or not, even Yan Shouyi, a descendant of Lu Ban, could not directly ascertain.
Perhaps it was a delusion, but as Yan Shouyi observed the statue, he thought he saw its eyes move.
It seemed as if this thing was also observing him.
What made Yan Shouyi feel even more uncomfortable was that even though the statue had fallen into his hands, it seemed rather pleased…
“M-master, is Ru Nan really dead?”
Abbot Haixin tiptoed over from the cleanest spot in the yard, afraid of his monastic robes getting stained with blood.
Yan Shouyi snorted coldly, “He couldn’t be deader.”
“Amitabha, Buddha protect us, our Sidede Temple will finally escape this sea of suffering!” Abbot Haixin said with emotion.
Yan Shouyi said indifferently, “Ru Nan was killed by me. What does the Buddha have to do with it? You’re not thanking me, but thanking the Buddha?”
Abbot Haixin paused for a moment, then quickly said, “Amitabha, Master’s blessing…”