Chapter 23: Black Sheep and White Sheep

Chapter 23: Black Sheep and White Sheep

This was a test of his skills.

Without hesitation, Meng Yuan abandoned his bow and arrows, rushed forward a few steps, and leaped from the rooftop. With both hands gripping his sword, he slashed towards the white sheep.

The two sheep demons had already heard the commotion and were about to turn back to flee. However, the steel sword descended from above, and it was already too late to escape. The white sheep immediately raised its bone club to block the attack.

Meng Yuan's strength was already formidable, and this slash was a downward strike with all his might. The steel sword clashed with the bone club, and sparks flew in all directions. The bone club snapped in response, but Meng Yuan's sword momentum remained undiminished, and he managed to sever a portion of the white sheep's muscular arm.

"Oww!" The white sheep cried out in pain, its agonizing howl echoing through the night.

Scalding hot blood sprayed out, splattering Meng Yuan's face.

Meng Yuan paid no heed, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he immediately swung his sword diagonally upwards. Instantly, a massive wound appeared on the white sheep's chest. Without pausing, his sword momentum continued, and he clashed with the black sheep's descending bone club.

A loud bang sounded, and a powerful force transmitted to Meng Yuan, causing his arm to go numb. However, he quickly realized that the black sheep's strength was slightly superior to his own, but it lacked agility and its attacks lacked technique.

Just like Tie Niu during a street fight!

The white sheep was not yet dead, but it had already lost its fighting ability. The black sheep bleated twice and waved its bone club as it advanced.

The black sheep demon had a large and powerful physique, and its bone club swung so fast that only afterimages remained, creating gusts of wind.

Meng Yuan observed clearly that if he were hit by the bone club, he would be in trouble.

Seeing that he couldn't defeat them quickly, Meng Yuan retreated two steps and unleashed the Gale Blade Technique, making his sword movements as swift as wind and lightning. Utilizing his agile body technique, he used only half his strength to dodge and shift, occasionally adding a slash to the already severely wounded white sheep.

The advantage of the Gale Blade Technique was its speed, like wind and lightning. However, it lacked the thickness and power of horizontal slashes and downward chops.

In other words, the Gale Blade Technique aimed for a single fatal strike. If it didn't succeed, it would be like a blunt knife cutting flesh, gradually inflicting more wounds on the enemy.

As expected, after a quarter of an hour, the white sheep demon's blood covered the ground. The black sheep, unaware of the need to conserve energy, already showed signs of exhaustion.

Meng Yuan immediately used all his strength, circling around the black sheep and attacking from all sides.

In a short time, he inflicted several sword wounds on the black sheep, not fatal but enough to demoralize the enemy. If this continued, the black sheep would undoubtedly lose.

Plop!

Suddenly, the black sheep dropped its club and knelt down, pleading, "Spare my life, hero!"

Meng Yuan didn't believe it and retreated two steps, holding his sword horizontally in front of him.

Indeed, the black sheep had been kneeling and begging, but in an instant, it exerted tremendous force with its legs, and with its two horns, and rushed towards Meng Yuan like a comet attacking the moon.

In the blink of an eye, Meng Yuan knew he couldn't dodge, so he abandoned his sword and used both hands to forcefully push down the black sheep's horns while retreating.

Feeling the immense force, Meng Yuan continued to press down on the horns while retreating. After reducing the force by half, he immediately knelt on the black sheep's neck, pinning it down.

The black sheep struggled, but it couldn't resist. It bleated continuously, "Hero, I surrender this time!"

Meng Yuan paid no heed and increased his strength.

"Indeed, a castrator's origin, you have a way with animals." Nie Yinian laughed as he jumped down from the rooftop, waving his hand to signal Meng Yuan to stand up.

Meng Yuan remained silent, stood up, and wiped the bloody sweat and blood from his face. Seeing his dirty and torn clothes, and even the middle garment sent by Jiang Xiaojie stained with blood, he angrily kicked the sheep's head a few times.

"It's its blood, not mine," the black sheep complained.

Meng Yuan didn't care and continued kicking, "I'm kicking you!"

"What's your name?" Nie Yinian saw the black sheep still arguing while kneeling on the ground and stomped on its head.

"It's called Black Sheep," the dying white sheep said.

"Then you must be White Sheep, right?" Nie Yinian looked at the white sheep.

"How do you know?" The black sheep, still lying on the ground, asked in confusion.

"What kind of name is that! Where are you from?" Nie Yinian scolded with a smile.

"Peach Blossom Ridge," the black sheep answered honestly.

"Who killed the couple in the estate last night?" Nie Yinian asked.

"It was Wolf One," Black Sheep replied.

"Why did Wolf One kill them?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Wolf One said that those who commit adultery and have illicit affairs deserve to die," White Sheep explained.

"What a character! A hundred times better than me!" Nie Yinian laughed and asked, "Then why did you come to steal medicine and dogs?"

At this moment, Black Sheep was very obedient and quickly replied, "After the eggs were distributed, our companions stopped coming to the lectures. The Venerable asked us to get some meat to distribute before the Peach Blossom Assembly."

Well, well! Attracting people to lectures by distributing eggs, it sounds like a scam!

Meng Yuan wiped his sword with a piece of canvas cloth, thinking that these demons weren't all fools and had their own methods.

"Peach Blossom Assembly? What's that for?" Nie Yinian became interested and squatted down to ask.

"The Great Tail Venerable said that the Peach Blossom Assembly is a grand event to promote Buddhism and Taoism and save all living beings!" Black Sheep explained.

Nie Yinian stood up and remained silent. Meng Yuan also became more solemn, and Ren Debiao widened his eyes in surprise.

The Kingdom of Qing had always revered Confucianism and Taoism while disparaging Buddhism. Only in Ping'an Prefecture were there Buddhist monks, and that was because they had made great contributions during the founding of the kingdom.

In other places, Buddhist teachings and practices were strictly prohibited, and the establishment of Buddhist temples was forbidden.

At this moment, Black Sheep was talking about the Peach Blossom Buddhist Assembly, the Great Tail Venerable, and spreading Buddhism and Taoism. It was clear that this was no small matter.

"How did it involve bald donkeys again?" Nie Yanyan furrowed his brows, as if recalling past events.

Meng Yuan remained silent, and Ren Debiao also kept his head down without speaking.

Nie Yanyan gave a signal with his eyes, but as Meng Yuan was still confused, he kicked Black Sheep.

"Follow me," Meng Yuan said as he grabbed Black Sheep's horn.

They brought Black Sheep into the room, leaving White Sheep outside for separate interrogation.

After asking in detail about the Peach Blossom Buddhist Assembly, they compared the information and found that the two sheep demons' accounts were mostly accurate.

It turned out that the assembly was held at Peach Blossom Ridge, the hometown of Black Sheep and White Sheep, in the mountains south of the medicine estate, about ten miles deep.

As for the Great Tail Venerable, he was an old yellow-haired wolf. He had two attendants, also wolves named Wolf One and Wolf Two.

The three wolves came from an unknown place, but they occupied Peach Blossom Ridge, opened a forum to preach Buddhism, and even recruited Black Sheep and White Sheep as their henchmen.

The attendees of the lectures were mostly local wild spirits and creatures, most of whom had awakened their spiritual intelligence and could understand speech.

The number of spirits and creatures varied; there were around fifty or sixty during egg-laying season, but only thirty or forty during the lectures. However, they were mostly as clueless as Granny, and not very strong.

After consolidating the information, Meng Yuan remained silent. Whether to report this to the officials or handle it differently was a decision for Nie Yanyan to make.

Nie Yanyan spat on the ground and said, "According to the stupid sheep, if they don't return by morning, the Great Tail Venerable will become suspicious."

He was planning to disband the Peach Blossom Buddhist Assembly!

Based on Black Sheep and White Sheep's statements, the Great Tail Venerable had demonstrated Buddhist supernatural powers, indicating he was following the Buddhist path. As for Wolf One and Wolf Two, the attendants, they were likely martial warriors.

"Master Nie, should I go to the city gate and gather some people?" Ren Debiao asked.

Meng Yuan didn't want to get involved with the Venerable's affairs anymore. This trip had already been successful, and bringing back Jiang Laobo's grandson was a sure thing. They would even receive silver coins as a reward.

"The city gate only opens at dawn, and by the time we go back and forth, it'll be too late," Nie Yanyan smiled confidently. "It's just a seventh-rank Buddhist demon, plus two ninth-rank wolf demons. The other spirits and creatures are not a concern!"

The decision had been made.

Given this, Meng Yuan didn't think further. Anyway, attending the Buddhist assembly would be an eye-opening experience.

They tied up the black and white sheep, handed them over to the estate manager, and quickly ate some hot soup and bread before setting off.

The sky was just brightening at the horizon. They headed south from the medicine estate, and after two miles, they entered the mountains.

The mountain path was winding, covered with dry and decaying leaves. The trees had sprouted green, but they hadn't yet bloomed.

"This is Peach Blossom Ridge, and there's definitely something strange going on here," Nie Yanyan said with a cold smile. "In our Kingdom of Qing, people rarely see bald monks in their lifetime, but today, you two will witness something extraordinary!"

They hid and moved forward, entering the peach tree grove. In the distance, they could see vague figures and hear faint voices.

Meng Yuan was on guard for spirit beasts, but as they advanced, they didn't encounter a single one.

It seemed that those running this Buddhist assembly were just an amateur group.

As they cautiously moved forward, they saw a mountain stream ahead with many spirit beasts gathered on the other side.

There were deer, grizzly bears, moose, wild pheasants, wild donkeys, foxes, and more, totaling around forty to fifty. These spirit beasts were clearly not powerful enough to transform, but they had awakened their spiritual intelligence.

A dozen yards in front of the spirits stood a tall green stone platform with a wolf demon sitting cross-legged on top.

The wolf demon wore a black Buddhist monastic robe underneath and a tattered red robe on top. Around his neck hung a broken string of Buddhist beads, and he held a Bodhimanda in his hand, with a tall Zen staff beside him.

The wolf demon's body was massive, and even sitting cross-legged, he was six or seven feet tall. Although the robe concealed his figure, his muscular build was still evident.

However, the exposed wolf head had dry and sparse fur, giving him a leper-like appearance.

The Great Tail Venerable, with his wolf head, wore dirty and torn clothes, and his eyes carried a hint of compassion, giving him an air of an ascetic monk.

On both sides of the Venerable stood two large wolf demons with smooth and shiny fur, undoubtedly Wolf One and Wolf Two.

"Silence! The Venerable is about to teach!" Wolf One, standing next to the Venerable, spoke up.

The noisy crowd of spirits quieted down, but an old cow bellowed, "Wolf One, what kind of pills are you giving out today? My son has indigestion and keeps burping fire. He's been waiting for medicine!"

"Wait until after the lecture, and I guarantee your son's illness will be cured!" Wolf One replied.

With these words, the spirits began chattering again, but when Wolf One glared at them, they quieted down.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end