Chapter 48 Escape

With a creak, the wooden door slowly opened a crack, and Li Huowang peered cautiously through the gap.

Soft afternoon sunlight filtered through the swaying leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

It was incredibly quiet outside, save for a sweeping monk in the distance with a broom, there were no signs of anything amiss.

However, to Li Huowang, who had now thoroughly understood the situation, this tranquil scene appeared completely different.

"Hmph! It's all an act; they can't fool me! They're just trying to steady me, trying to make me willingly participate in their so-called grand purgatorial fast!"

No sooner had he spoken these words than a thought flashed through Li Huowang's mind.

"Wait, why are they doing this? I'm just an ordinary person; if they're so powerful, why don't they just force me directly?"

He was destined to receive no answer to this question now, but Li Huowang didn't need one at this moment; his only wish was to get as far away from this damned place as possible.

While Li Huowang was still guessing whether the distant sweeping monk might be there to watch him, the monk saw there were no fallen leaves, picked up his broom, and turned to leave.

"The monks of Zhengde Temple haven't noticed my abnormality. This is the only advantage I have right now," Li Huowang estimated to himself.

There was no one outside anymore, but Li Huowang didn't leave; instead, he quietly waited for something.

Time slowly passed, and Li Huowang's palms began to sweat gradually.

"Dong~ Dong~ Dong~" The deep sound of the bell echoed throughout Zhengde Temple, jolting Li Huowang.

Having stayed here for so long, Li Huowang knew that the bell signified the hour of You, which also served as a dinner chime for the monks of Zhengde Temple.

With a creak, Li Huowang, looking calm, left his dwelling and joined the monks he encountered on the road towards the dining hall for mealtime.

His appearance here was perfectly reasonable, for he had been going to eat just like today for some days past.

Compared to where he stayed, the dining hall was noticeably closer to the main hall where the pilgrims gathered. Since the others relied on deceit, they definitely didn't want ordinary people to see their horrifying and dark side.

Along the way, Li Huowang noticed many monks stealthily watching him and whispering something, apparently discussing the events of the afternoon.

In their eyes was mockery, hostility, and curiosity.

But Li Huowang understood that all this was fake, these monks were just putting on an act.

"They're all in cahoots with Xinhui; there's not a single good person in Zhengde Temple, they all want to harm me!!" Li Huowang concluded decisively.

Not too fast or slow, after about half an incense stick's burning time, Li Huowang saw the bustling dining hall with monks' shaved heads converging. He didn't run away but followed the crowd inside.

With a wooden bowl filled with rice, Li Huowang calmly sat down on a stool and began to eat the vegetarian dishes before him.

Today's meal was taro soup, stir-fried konjac with oil bean curd, green vegetables drizzled with oil, and potatoes stewed with loofah.

Though meatless, the taste was fairly good.

However, after that incident, Li Huowang no longer had any appetite.

To deceive them, Li Huowang now dared not show any unusual behavior and continued to eat heartily.

A slap on the shoulder made Li Huowang shudder violently. "Little Taoist, you're here too? Hey! Why were you running around in such a panic earlier?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Li Huowang, with his cheeks bulging, turned his head and unsurprisingly saw that toothless smile.

It was the old monk he had met on the road who had forcibly dragged him to see some stone statues. If not for him, Li Huowang would not be in the current predicament.

The old monk, carrying his own bowl of rice, forcefully squeezed next to Li Huowang and sat down. "Let's eat together."

Li Huowang glanced covertly at the surrounding monks, who were showing no signs of abnormality. After chewing the food in his mouth, he continued to eat without looking up. "As you wish."

"Taoist, where are the other people who came with you earlier? Don't have them stay at the inn anymore, come over and dine together. I'll tell you, meals are free here!" the old monk, still oblivious, had his usual carefree personality.

But this time, Li Huowang, anxious to escape, couldn't be bothered with him.

He finished dinner at his regular pace, belched contentedly, and headed out of the dining hall.

Back on that stone-paved road outside, the old monk followed again. "Don't go, let's talk a bit more. The monks here are bored to death."

Li Huowang licked the food residue off his gums with his tongue and glanced impatiently at the monk. "Stop following me, go back and sleep."

"Sleep? What time is it anyway? I have something to tell you--"

The old monk had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he saw the previously fine Taoist's face turn extremely unsightly.

Then, Li Huowang whispered to the old monk in a very low voice, "Run! The faster, the better! This temple is very dangerous!"

The next second, Li Huowang's feet pushed hard against the ground, and he sprinted towards the main hall with all his might.

His running immediately caught the attention of the other monks. They all looked over, but he paid them no mind and began to bolt.

Li Huowang's heart was racing, and he was on high alert, constantly watching for Xinhui, that old geezer, to appear from somewhere.

Thirty feet! Fifteen feet! Three feet!!

As Li Huowang burst through the side door, the area around him exploded with sound--footsteps, voices, the beating of wooden fish--all cramming into his ears at once.

At that moment, he had returned to the bustling main hall, where the visiting commoners were jostling him incessantly.

Standing at the center of the noisy crowd, Li Huowang paused for a moment, as the natural expressions on the faces around him seemed to silently tell him something.

Gasping for air, Li Huowang suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the side door he had come through.

It was empty, with no pursuers in sight.

In the distance, neither the welcoming monks receiving guests nor the monks interpreting divination sticks were paying any attention to this side.

To Li Huowang, everything seemed so normal, too normal to the point of being ...abnormal.

"Could it be...? Were those really just illusions? Were those disgusting things all conjured up by my imagination?"

But Li Huowang quickly dismissed the ludicrous thought, shook his head forcefully, and started striding toward the exit of the temple.

He couldn't take any chances with something like this, not even the slightest possibility.

Leaving the temple was as easy as entering it had been.

Li Huowang reached the inn as quickly as possible.

Seeing Li Huowang for the first time in days, the Medicinal Guides were especially warm to him, quickly gathering around.

"Senior brother, why have you come back? Is everything taken care of at the temple?"

"No time to catch up, pack up quickly, go! We need to leave this place right away!"

"Alright, I'll go inform Band Leader Lv."

"We're not waiting for them! We leave now! Quick, quick, quick!!"

"Senior brother, where are we going?" Bai Lingmiao asked, full of confusion.

"Out of the pass!"