Chapter 2: Qi Fortune Altar
"Heavenly Eye!"
"Qi Fortune Altar!"
"Sacrificing Qi Fortune can guide opportunities!"
"Cien Temple,"
Chen Yuan stood stiffly in place, and at this moment, under the infusion of that cool qi, he faintly saw the incomplete altar in his mind, covered with blood-colored patterns.
"It turns out... I have the Golden Finger!" Chen Yuan flashed this thought.
"Chen Yuan, well done!"
The arrest officer Huang Xing praised, walked forward, and patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder, bringing his consciousness back instantly. After that, he saw the fresh blood flowing down the blade onto his hand.
Tie Shou's eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe he had actually been killed by a mere government official.
The long sword was thrust into Tie Shou's left chest, half the blade embedded.
Chen Yuan gasped slightly, a trace of relief flashing through his heart.
Luckily, he had been clever enough to prepare a pack of lime powder concealed inside his chest.
Otherwise, seeing how Tie Shou sent Wang Ping flying with a palm strike, he would have not fared much better himself.
"Good lad, you even hid a pack of lime powder." Huang Xing didn't mind Chen Yuan's dazed expression.
He thought it was because of the pressure from Tie Shou that Chen Yuan hadn't snapped back to reality for a moment.
Chen Yuan squeezed out a thin smile, "In the end, I killed that evildoer!"
"When we return, I'll ask the County Magistrate to commend you for your achievement."
Huang Xing was very happy. Killing Tie Shou meant they had something to report back to the County Magistrate and the County Magistrate.
Although the arrest officer appeared to have an official status and the backing of the local influential Huang Family, if the County Magistrate became displeased, it would be quite unbearable for him.
"Uh... Uh..."
The faint voice of Wang Ping came from not far away. Chen Yuan quickly reacted, released the knife in his hand, and went to help Wang Ping up.
Without support, the corpse of Tie Shou collapsed to the ground with a thunderous sound.
"How is it... Can you still move?" Chen Yuan asked, supporting Wang Ping.
"Don't... don't move, it's... it's broken..."
"A few ribs are broken... Damn it, Tie Shou... was really ruthless!"
Wang Ping was drawing in breaths of cold air.
Huang Xing examined Tie Shou to be sure there were no issues and then turned to Wang Ping saying,
"You'll be credited for this incident, rest assured, there will be a reward."
"Thank... thank you, sir."
Huang Xing's gaze turned a bit somber as he swept his eyes over the White Servants and said flatly:
"Take Wang Ping to the medical clinic."
He didn't express much blame, as these White Servants were, after all, a form of corvée labor—good for doing chores and bullying common folk, but completely lacking courage when their lives were on the line.
...
...
Late at night.
Chen Yuan lay in bed, pondering the stream of consciousness that had entered his mind today.
Golden Finger!
He had a Golden Finger as well!
The only difference was that his Golden Finger was a bit special; it required absorbing Qi Fortune to be activated.
Otherwise, even if Chen Yuan followed the status quo his entire life, there would never be any reaction.
And today, it was by absorbing the mysterious Qi Fortune from Tie Shou.
That his Golden Finger had reacted.
His Golden Finger was called the Qi Fortune Altar, which could guide opportunities for him as long as it absorbed Qi Fortune.
And Qi Fortune seemed not to be possessed by everyone, nor was it associated with strong power.
It appeared more like a mysterious energy.
Named only for Qi Fortune.
After all, Tie Shou didn't quite resemble the protagonists of legend.
As for the Heavenly Eye...
It was a Pupil Skill that was transmitted to Chen Yuan's mind after the Qi Fortune Altar was activated.
By practicing this Pupil Skill, he would be able to sense individuals carrying Qi Fortune within a hundred meter radius.
Once he was killed, his Qi Fortune would be swallowed and absorbed by the Qi Fortune Altar.
Cien Temple, Diamond Sutra.
It was the opportunity guided by the Qi Fortune after absorbing Tie Shou's.
"Doesn't this mean I have to hunt down the children of Qi Fortune across the world!"
A wave of dread washed over Chen Yuan's mind.
He was embarking on the path of a great villain, and without a doubt, those imbued with Qi Fortune were probably geniuses with top-notch martial arts talents.
These geniuses all had powerful backers!
Such clichés of defeating the younger ones only to face their stronger seniors are rife in novels!
"And... today, I killed a man!"
Up close, as he stabbed Tie Shou in the chest, Tie Shou died with his eyes wide open.
But what really startled Chen Yuan was that he exhibited no unusual reaction; in fact... he was somewhat excited.
Bloodthirst.
This was a word that flashed through Chen Yuan's mind.
After a quarter of an hour of silence, Chen Yuan closed his eyes.
...
In the early morning, when all was still, a faint light began to break over the eastern horizon, delicately saturating the sky.
Ping'an County, North Gate.
A man dressed in the attire of a Government Official, riding a brown horse, left the town of Ping'an County.
This man was none other than Chen Yuan.
And his destination was guided by the information from the Qi Fortune Altar in his mind: Cien Temple, Diamond Sutra.
The whole world is vast, but not as immense as Golden Finger!
This was the enlightenment of an avid reader of a decade.
He did not sleep well last night, with the scene of himself stabbing Tie Shou to death playing over in his mind, along with the information that had entered his thoughts.
Therefore, as soon as the sky was dimly lit, he hurried to his intended destination.
Cien Temple, located ten miles north of Ping'an County, is a small temple that became widespread throughout the Great Jin Dynasty two hundred years ago when Buddhism spread from the Western Regions to the Central Plains.
Cien Temple is one of the more inconspicuous branches among them.
Though not significant in the grand scheme of things, the temple nevertheless saw a continuous flow of worshippers every day.
In the past, his predecessor would often follow his uncle to burn incense and pray to the Buddha, so Chen Yuan was not unfamiliar with the route.
Along the way, Chen Yuan pondered over the information conveyed by the broken altar in his mind, dwelling on words like Qi Fortune and opportunity.
After nearly an hour, Chen Yuan arrived at Cien Temple on horseback.
With disasters striking left and right, the common people were living in hardship, and fewer individuals were visiting Cien Temple to burn incense.
After entrusting his horse to the care of the monks and nuns, Chen Yuan found an acquaintance among the monks and expressed his intent to visit the Scripture Pavilion. The pavilion contained no Divine Skills and Secret Techniques, only Buddhist scriptures, so visitors were not prohibited from entering.
"Are these all the copies of the Diamond Sutra in the temple?" Chen Yuan asked, looking at the dozen or so scriptures before him.
The monk in the green robe nodded with a smile:
"All of the temple's copies of the Diamond Sutra are here. What does Chen Benefactor want to do with them?"
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Yuan explained:
"My uncle was very fond of the Diamond Sutra. In a few days, it will be the anniversary of his death. I would like to take all these scriptures to burn for my uncle. I hope that the master can..."
The monk frowned slightly and shook his head:
"Chen Benefactor, if you were only to take one copy of the Diamond Sutra, I could decide on my own, but for taking them all, I would need the Abbot's approval."
Chen Yuan smiled and handed over some silver.
"I hope the master, considering my filial piety, can be accommodating."
The monk looked around discreetly and slipped the silver into his sleeve, then brought his hands together and said:
"Old Benefactor Chen used to come and burn incense here often. I naturally wouldn't want to be unkind. I'm sure the Abbot would agree as well."
"Many thanks, Master."
Chen Yuan collected the scriptures, silently chuckling to himself.
The true fragrance principle never goes out of fashion.
Even monks are no exception!
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