Chapter 195: The Evil Sorcerer

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　Qin Zhui flared up in anger. He raised his Tang knife and aimed it towards the red monkey Qian Ren. “Did you attack him?”

　　Head lama Rangjung shook his head. He stretched out his hand to block the Tang knife and spoke in a muffled voice, “This is no fault of his.” He lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood onto his palm, followed by a tooth.

　　The warriors from the epic, who were loyal to the immortal who had descended to this earth, had lost their pure hearts under the influence of evil energy and was then subdued by another entity?

　　The head lama was infuriated. He had clenched his jaw together so hard, he broke a tooth!

　　The head lama inhaled a deep breath before addressing the monkey in an infuriated tone, “Continue the story.”

　　Gu Xiaojun nodded hastily. “And do not leave out any details. Don’t make us chase you for all the answers, it’s driving us mad.”

　　Qian Ren merely chuckled at this. It nodded towards head lama Rangjung and said, “Please be patient.” The monkey had spent millenniums suffering from misfortune. Even though his temperament had been influenced by the Golden Monkey, his personal character was quite calm in nature. He disregarded head lama Rangjung’s rudeness. If it had been with Grand Master Chang Li, no one would have dared to speak to her in such a manner. She would have used her bare hands to tear that person to pieces.

　　With some effort, the monkey recalled the story and starting speaking slowly, “A few decades ago, I had already noticed that there was something wrong with the townspeople. They still appeared as stone cold as before but their hearts were agitated. Have you ever seen a wolf that has been trapped? They will run around the cage ceaselessly, refusing to rest for even a moment. It was like there were wolves trapped in their hearts.”

　　Qian Ren had used a metaphor frequently used on the highlands. Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui looked to one another in knowing. They recalled when they had first arrived in the small town of Tuer, Fei Fei’s comment on the town’s residents and the evil cult followers. She had said, ‘Wolves! Wolves that had a sip of blood but have yet to partake in the flesh!’

　　“I do not understand what kind of magic the people on the highland were cultivating but under the influence of the evil energy, the townspeople’s hearts never stopped struggling…” Qian Ren spoke in a monotonous tone. “Whether the town’s residents were divine troops descended from heaven or soul reapers from hell, it never concerned me. A dozen or so years ago, a herd of antelopes strayed from their path and galloped into the small town.”

　　Qin Zhui’s small eyes widened in great surprise, “You mean actual antelopes? Like the animal?”

　　The monkey Qian Ren nodded, its voice becoming even more detached. “Yes, like the animal.”

　　Without the slightest hint of hesitation, the small town’s residents chased the antelopes out but the animals refused to leave. They milled about the small town’s border and pleaded with the townspeople for help, tears running down their faces.

　　When night fell, a pack of hungry wolves arrive in the town and killed every single antelope. The howls of wolves echoed throughout the entire town.

　　Everyone was in disbelief. Head lama Rangjung frowned deeply, something was troubling him.

　　A few days later, the wolf pack returned to the town but this time, they were the ones being chased. They had now become the antelopes. They ran into the town, tail between their legs, hoping to find shelter.

　　The residents once again chased out the animals. Over a hundred wolves roamed at the edge of the town, howling bitterly and hissing in contempt. A she-wolf attempted to send its pups into the town but even they were chased out by the townspeople. A group of hunters wearing the traditional attire of the Tibetans arrived on horseback as night fell. The stench of wolf blood mingled with the reflection of their knives.

　　Head lama Rangjung heaved a heavy sigh. He raised his head and looked towards the monkey. “Did these hunters meet the same fate?”

　　The monkey Qian Ren nodded. “Just like the antelopes and the wolves from before, these hunters attempted to seek asylum in the village a few days later. They were being chased as well.”

　　The hunters were killed by a group of sorcerers.

　　The time though, the sorcerers did not leave after killing the hunters. They tossed their weapons into the sky and cast a demon-exorcising spell, intent on getting rid of the small town’s people. The townsfolk immediately launched a thunder-like counterattack. Qian Ren who had been watching the whole battle excitedly from beneath the seal. What he did not expect was this group of sorcerers, who had first shown threatening supernatural powers, did not even have time to retaliate. In the blink of an eye, the small town’s residents had slaughtered them all.

　　As they died though, they cried out. They sounded like small children!

　　Head lama Rangjung could not contain his anger. He roared in rage. “The nerve of those evildoers!” He raised his arms and balled up his fists, bringing them down on the ground beneath him, ferociously pounding away. He was filled with all the anger of Heaven and Earth and he could no other way to vent.

　　A red shadow flew past. The monkey who had been standing to the side suddenly appeared in front of the head lama. It stretched out a small claw and firmly held onto the lama’s fists that threw punch after punch. It sneered in contempt. “I know you’re very angry right now but is there any way you could not hurt me in the process?”

　　The lama’s eyes widened. “Since when did I…” He only got halfway through his sentence before he shut his mouth. The ground beneath their feet was not the soil of the earth but the body of the monkey. All the bones, the blood vessels, the muscles… They were all part of the monkey.

　　The monkey Qian Ren released the lama’s fists as it continued on with the story.

　　When these sorcerers had been killing the hunters, they showed great bravery. Sadly, upon being struck by the townspeople’s counterattack, they became as fragile as paper men. Their body was blown to bits and scattered.

　　Upon examination, they realized in astonishment that they were the bodies of children between three to five!

　　“A cloaking spell!” The monkey did not even wait for them to ask before answering. It then explained in a low voice, “A cloaking spell had been cast over these children. If they had not died, it would have been very difficult to tell that they were not adults. The children’s minds had been concealed. They were like puppets. The attacks that they launched and the treasured weapons that they had used did not belong to them. Somebody else had been controlling them from behind the scenes!”

　　The monkey took a deep breath, sneering as it continued. “The antelopes, the snow wolves, the hunters, and the child-sorcerers, they had all been sent by the other party.”

　　Qin Zhui frowned. “What happened? The wolves that fed on the antelopes, the hunters that killed the wolves, the evil children that had slaughtered the humans… Was it the work of Heaven and Earth’s… uh… power something…”

　　The monkey Qian Ren shook its head impatiently. “This may have seemed like an insignificant matter but the residents of the town, their hearts had been slowly been corrupted by the evil energy. Their hearts had been in turmoil. After having gone through a series of events that had led to the death of some many innocents, their hearts were already at the edge of breaking. When they accidentally killed the group of children, they parted ways with kindness and transformed into demons!”

　　The town’s residents turned into demons overnight. The pureness in their hearts had been completely destroyed by evil energy. As they had opted out of being reborn, they turned into wraiths and lonely ghosts. Then, under the watchful eye of the red monkey, an evil sorcerer entered the small town and enslaved the town’s residents.

　　The town’s residents destroyed the instruments that guarded the four corners of the mandala. They had been about to pull out the houses when they were stopped by the evil sorcerer. The red monkey Qian Ren shrugged then laughed. “I think he didn’t know what was being suppressed underneath the seal. He had more important matters at hand. So he did not wish to release a monster that might cause unwanted chaos.”

　　The town’s residents act of destroying the instruments could have been considered a ceremony. A ceremony to bid farewell to the ancient saint they once followed and goodbye to the pureness of their hearts.

　　From the evil sorcerer’s point of view, the instruments guarding the mandala had been destroyed but the mandala still remained. Even with its weakened state, it would take at least another century before the monster underneath could hope to break the seal. He didn’t know that since centuries ago, the true power holding the monster down was not the mandala but the beetles instead.

　　The evil sorcerer did not care for the creature sealed under that small town. His only aim was to recruit the group of disciples left behind by the highland master. The town’s residents obeyed his instructions to stay behind and continue masquerading as the walking dead. This had taken place a dozen years ago and the sorcerer had not been seen since then, up until a year ago.

　　Qian Ren shrugged helplessly at this point. “Since he had subdued the people of this town, he had no need for verbal communication with them. There was no need for him to gesture. When he arrived in the town, he merely stood in the centre of it while the townsfolk surrounded him. They stood around like tree stumps, standing there for a whole day. It was like a silent ceremony. I can never hope to understand it. Your group came to this town about a year from that incident.”

　　Qian Ren paused for a moment and pondered for a while, before nodding in confirmation “I have now told you everything that needs to be told,”

　　The monkey’s life story had been full of twists and turns. It had taken a long time to recount the whole story, stunning everyone into bewilderment and disbelief. The story of the town had been much simpler and could be easily explained in just a few sentences. To sum it up, an evil sorcerer is working from the shadows and the small town’s residents had been enslaved and recruited into the Devil Sect.

　　Wen Leyang and Gu Xiaojun were at a loss for words, Qin Zhui stared at the monkey with wide eyes. “That’s all? That is all you know about this matter?”

　　The monkey Qian Ren ignored Qin Zhui. It beamed with joy, gazing upon each and everyone’s faces. Qian Ren started checking off with his fingers. “I have returned the giant pangolin to you. I have already told you about my origins and my trials. I have also finished telling about the town’s recent happenings.” Qian Ren clasped his hands behind his back. “Shouldn’t you be preparing to kill the bugs?”

　　Qin Zhui replied, “Is it true, once all the bugs are gone, you will be able to break out of this seal?”

　　The monkey Qian Ren nodded with confidence. “That is true. Once all the bugs have been exterminated, the Dog-Headed Eagle will be restored to its unblemished state.”

　　A cautious expression, one that Wen Leyang had never seen before, appeared on Qin Zhui’s face. He squinted his eyes as he studied the monkey up and down. He spoke in a serious tone. “If you have no way to prove that you aren’t the Golden Monkey that had been suppressed by King Gesar, then we cannot help you-”

　　The monkey waved its hands at Qin Zhui, cutting him off. “This is not the time for you to speak, confused fool. Shut your mouth and stand aside.”

　　The dwarf Taoist priest finally saw an opportunity for revenge. He sneered as he commented., “Confused fool, did you just listen to the story and stopped using your brain? Maybe you don’t even have a brain to begin with!”

　　Qin Zhui was livid. He raised his Tang knife, pointing it at the priest’s nose. “When we get out of here, we ought to have a race!” He then paused for a moment before adding, “You’re not allowed to help him!” He waved his knife at the giant pangolin.

　　Head lama Rangjung shook his head and smiled tightly. He took a step and stood between Qin Zhui and the priest, who wanted to resolve their dispute right there and then. “If Sir Qian Ren had really been planning to trick us, he would never have told us the truth about those bugs holding him down.”

　　Qin Zhui was confused. ” What are you saying?”

　　Gu Xiaojun was growing impatient. He quickly explained, “If mon… Qian Ren had been planning to trick us, then he would not have told us that the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala is not useless in holding him back. He would not have revealed to us that it’s actually those bugs that are shackling him to this place, preventing him from escaping.” From Old Gu’s tone, he showed that he was on the monkey’s side.

　　Qin Zhui’s eyes lit up. His ugly face filled with understanding as he nodded wholeheartedly. “You’ve got a point there.”

　　Qian Ren was supposed to be a magic practitioner, practising hard to achieve mastery over the wood element. He had been framed by his friend and turned into a monkey, which had then been trapped in a void. He has suffered the agony of being chewed to nothingness by the dung beetles for millenniums. His life story was truly a piteous one. If Qin Zhui could help him in any way, he would gladly do so.

　　Head lama Rangjung sighed. “The Golden Monkey had gone on a killing spree which resulted in King Gesar capturing and sealing it away but the true blame of that lies in Kong Nuer. I have high hopes for you, Sir, after you are released…”

　　The monkey Qian Ren been tricked and trapped in this void for too many years. It had grown stubborn and tyrannical. The monkey finally had the opportunity to retell its story and let go of its burdens. Qian Ren felt rather grateful to these people. It was satisfied that everything was coming to a happy ending. It chuckled and nodded, “After the bugs have been exterminated and you do not dare face off with me, scram.”

　　Head lama Rangjung smiled widely. He turned around and looked towards Wen Leyang. “Then will you please proceed with the extermination?”

　　Wen Leyang looked at the faces around him, some were smiling affectionately, some were expectant, some even threw him an encouraging look. Wen Leyang’s face fell and he shook his head. “There are too many of them… How can… How can I kill all of them?”

　　Upon hearing his helpless cry, they all stood around dumbfounded like wooden chickens, including the red monkey and the giant pangolin.

　　Assuming there were over thousands of dung beetles in this bird’s body, the small number of ingredients Wen Leyang had on him wouldn’t be enough to kill all of them. There was also the problem of the bugs’ eggs hiding in between the bones.

　　Wen Leyang’s voice grew softer than the buzz of a mosquito. He stuttered as he tried to explain himself. “I had thought that Qian Ren was a demon who had committed uncountable evil deeds. I assumed we would fight him sooner or later, that’s why I made that promise…”

　　The monkey walked towards Wen Leyang, the entire Dog-Headed Eagle corpse shook with every step it took. He walked right up to Wen Leyang’s face and raised its head, asking in a low tone, “The items from earlier, the terrified heart bewitching eye enchanting soul and whatnot, does not work?”

　　Wen Leyang put on a long face, he answered frankly, “It does work but I the scale wouldn’t be big enough. It would have been enough for a hundred bugs, difficult against a thousand, but absolutely impossible against two thousand. However…” Wen Leyang spoke up, resolute and decisive. “Please give me a few months. I will prepare thoroughly and come back to exterminate all the bugs in one swift go!”

　　The monkey did not reply. It stood in front of Wen Leyang, hands clasped behind its back, staring at him in cold fury.

　　The atmosphere felt heavy as if the air had turned into ice. Even if you used all your strength, it would feel almost impossible to even take in a breath.

　　Gu Xiaojun suddenly laughed. His laughter was so dry feeling like sandpaper against one’s eardrums. “Little Wen does have a point. We will return again when we are well prepared and kill off those dung beetles in one go.”

　　The giant pangolin Po Tu dropped its divine demeanour. It played along and laughed with a strange expression on its face, “He does have a point, he does have a point.” The dwarf Taoist priest looked uncomfortable, as the usually majestic divine beast of the Immortal Sect stared at him with that ghastly smile. Po Tu glared. “What the hell you staring at? Smile!”

　　The cultivators… The divine beast… The leader of the secret service… Each one wearing a smile uglier than the last. It wasn’t that they were scared, they just felt really bad that after all the monkey had gone through, it now has to go through one more betrayal. They could see no other way to justify themselves and just smiled.

　　Gu Xiaojun had stated his point of view, while he raised his leg and kicked Qin Zhui. Only then did Qin Zhui react. He nodded in earnest, quickly agreeing with their discussion. “In my opinion, the most difficult part would be to find and destroy all the bug eggs. By the time Wen Leyang returns with a more effective recipe, your body will probably be chewed clean by then. The bugs would then have nowhere to hide-”

　　A raging howl suddenly exploded, drowning out Qin Zhui’s voice. The monkey was glaring at them, its smile sinister. “I will make sure that none of you will die for now. I will make sure that you watch as you get chewed into a skeleton by those bugs. Make sure you are alive as they eat the flesh off your face. None of you are allowed to die!”

　　Before the monkey’s voice had even faded, their vision was filled with streaks of red shadows. The sound of heavy blows rang out and moans echoed out after one another. One by one, they all slammed into the ground!

　　It had taken the monkey only a few seconds to bring everyone to the ground. It shouted in a rage, “Everyone! Stand up for the old father! Whoever stands up last, I will gouge out one of his eyeballs and force feed it to him!”

　　Wen Leyang’s group possessed unprecedented power. They could have wiped out the whole magical realm in one go if they had wanted to but before the monkey, they couldn’t even counterattack.

　　The monkey controlled its strength perfectly. The strongest in the group was the giant pangolin, who had been training for millenniums, while the weakest person was the person with no magic powers, Gu Xiaojun. The force the monkey had to exert in order to bring down Po Tu could have killed a hundred Gu Xiaojuns yet Gu Xiaojun survived.

　　Everyone suffered agonizing pain from the monkey’s attack but none of them died.

　　Wen Leyang cried out. He flipped over and jumped up. He roared. “If you want to punish someone, punish me alone. They are not-” He was cut short by his own scream. He fell over once again. The monkey struck him over and over, he didn’t have the chance to launch his Faulty Punch.

　　Qin Zhui jumped in and attempted to stop the monkey. With a loud explosion, he was thrown backwards and flew through the air like a dead fish. The monkey had seized his Tang knife and unceremoniously broke it into two!

　　The treasured weapon was destroyed and Qin Zhui was severely injured.

　　Gu Xiaojun was exasperated, he cried out, “Do not hesitate, subdue the monkey-” The monkey punched Gu Xiaojun in the throat. Old Gu felt his Adam’s apple was about to be squeezed out of his windpipe. A terrifying crack immediately followed after Gu Xiaojun’s shout.

　　The monkey sneered as it aimed a kick at the head lama, who had pounced forward to intercept it. Qian Ren then turned around and stretched out a hand, grabbing and crushing two of the priest’s ribs. It then caught the giant pangolin by the tail and swung it around. Only then it stretched out its hands once again and pinched Old Gu’s throat again to set the bones back. The monkey sniggered, “Don’t worry. I told you no one is dying today. In fact, no one is allowed to die!”

　　Gu Xiaojun’s face had turned into the colour of ash. He was inhaling mouthfuls of air like he had just survived a drowning. He could not say a word.

　　The monkey had not employed any supernatural powers, merely punching with its fists and kicking with its legs. In the blink of an eye, everyone was defeated a second time. It stood and looked grimly at the dwarf Taoist priest. “You were the last one to get up right?” As it said this, it pointed a claw at the priest’s eyeballs. “Left eye or right eye, I will let you choose.”

　　A ‘bah’ escaped the dwarf Taoist priest’s lips. He struggled to fight back, willing to risk his life but he couldn’t move. There was a heavy force holding him back from behind.

　　Wen Leyang’s left hand was holding onto Qin Zhui while he held the priest back with his right. His eyes were murderous as he glared at the monkey Qian Ren. The monkey stopped his barrage of attacks. It raised its chin, seeming to find amusement in Wen Leyang’s death stare.

　　This battle was full of resentment. Not only Wen Leyang but everyone, upon meeting the monkey earlier, had thought that they would end up in a violent battle in the end. No one had really put their heart into the deal. They had not expected to meet such an unfortunate man with a sorrowful past.

　　Qian Ren felt like it had been betrayed, it had trusted them. The monkey felt cheated. It was deranged. If there had only been him, Wen Leyang would have allowed the monkey to beat him up and vent out its anger. Wen Leyang would not have allowed it to kill him of course.

　　At this point, Qin Zhui and the dwarf Taoist priest were severely injured. Gu Xiaojun had just gone to hell and came back. The teachings of Wen Bucao did not produce dense disciples. The knife has been placed against his throat, Wen Leyang did not care who was right or wrong now. He held on to his two severely injured companions and glared at the monkey, he shouted hoarsely, “You’ve got me!”

　　The severely injured Qin Zhui cursed, “You have not got me!”

　　Gu Xiaojun stood behind Wen Leyang and waited for Wen Leyang to pull out his trump card. Old Gu’s eyes brightened. He had been present at the fierce battle of Painting Town. He knew that You’ve Got Me could summon the giant sword, The Molten Metal Fire Bell. That sword was left back in Painting Town, stabbed diagonally into the ground and wrapped in a huge carpet.

　　The monkey Qian Ren burst out laughing, its gaze was filled with wonderment as it looked towards Wen Leyang. “And here I thought you were an unyielding man-” Before it could finish its sentence, a loud pop was heard from Wen Leyang. A red-coloured bug squealed and shot out from his chest, trailing in a dazzling arc. It shot straight towards Qian Ren at lightning speed!

　　With a wave of Qian Ren’s hand, the bug and its trail vanished.

　　Wen Leyang had called on the bug who in turn would be able to summon the giant Molten Metal Fire Bell Sword. He had not expected the bug to pounce forward of its own accord.

　　You’ve Got Me was lucky that the monkey did not simply just crush it. The monkey clenched the bug in his palm as the hairs on the bug’s body stiffened. The bug kept buzzing about, turning in circles.

　　The monkey looked towards Wen Leyang in apprehension. It finally understood. “This bug here is called You’ve Got Me?” It then followed with another question, sounding quite upset. “So you were planning all along to use this creature to destroy me?”

　　Back in Shanghai, You’ve Got Me have spent a wild night out, partying way too hard in one of the clubs. The very next day in Painting Town that had been created by Leyang Tian, You’ve Got Me had summoned the giant Molten Metal Fire Bell sword. It had killed the Ning Jiao and rescued Wen Leyang. Leyang Tian’s witchcraft dimension had also sadly been destroyed by the giant sword’s power, causing Painting Town’s conjurer to perish along with the split body of the Taoist priest San Wei.

　　Ever since then, You’ve Got Me had been sleeping off its hangover. It laid still in Wen Leyang’s chest and barely moved. Every time Wen Leyang used his finger to tickle it, the bug would simply turn over in agitation and continue sleeping.

　　Wen Leyang had met the head lama Rangjung, the dwarf Taoist priest, and the Qilian disciples not long ago back in Tuer Town. The bug had chosen that moment to awaken. That was why Wen Leyang had cried out, startling Fei Fei, Xiao Sha, and the rest.

　　You’ve Got Me might be small but it had the might of the gigantic divine sword behind it. The Molten Metal Fire Bell had decapitated the Ning Jiao before it could retaliate.

　　That was when Wen Leyang had started taking on every challenge. He did not fear anything from then on, even as they descended into the seal. He had been steadfast and confident.

　　Despite feeling utmost pity towards the monkey Qian Ren, Wen Leyang could not just standby and watch as it injured his friends. He couldn’t allow the monkey to beat his friends senseless and fed them to the dung beetles. He then decided to call upon You’ve Got Me.

　　You’ve Got Me had obeyed his command in just a single try, to his great surprise but where was the Molten Metal Fire Bell?

　　The monkey Qian Ren held the bug in its fist. The smile on its face was turning sinister but the monkey suddenly frowned, rolling its eyes towards the sky and looking at something on the surface.

　　Wen Leyang was felt his nerves fray in anticipation. He turned around and passed his two severely injured companions to Gu Xiaojun. He was bracing for the monkey’s counterattack, which he predicted that the monkey would launch upon the appearance of the Molten Metal Fire Bell.

　　The divine sword did not appear though…

　　The monkey retracted its gaze. It opened up its palm and brought the bug up to its eyes, observing the bug closely. You’ve Got Me was elated that the darkness had been lifted. Its plump body assumed an impressive posture, coiling itself and aimed at the monkey’s golden eyes, ready to strike.

　　Wen Leyang whistled hastily, signalling to You’ve Got Me to stay calm. Wen Leyang knew that the bug was fast but it could have been no faster than the QSZ-92 bullet.

　　The Molten Metal Fire Bell still has not arrived. Wen Leyang realized with dawning horror, that perhaps the sword was incapable of entering this space.