Chapter 26: Burning My Broken Body (Seeking to Pursue)

Chapter 26: Burning My Broken Body (Seeking to Pursue)



Meng Yuan's hands were covered in blood, most of it belonging to Wolf One, but some of it was his own, and there was a wound on the back of his hand with bone fragments sticking out.

At this moment, as Meng Yuan calmed down, his mouth was dry, and he felt no fear, only the tension and excitement.

Sitting on the ground, he stabilized his breathing while cleaning the wounds on his hands.

This chase was truly perilous, even more so than the battle with the black and white sheep. Moreover, this time, there was no one to look after him, and one misstep could have meant his life.

After a brief rest, Meng Yuan stood up, but he didn't have the strength to carry Wolf One's body. He held his long sword and waist knife in one hand and grabbed Wolf One's long tail with the other, dragging it back.

At this moment, he still didn't know how Nie Shi was doing, but Meng Yuan guessed that Nie Shi's strength was superior to that of the Great Tail Venerable, and with his relaxed yet focused personality, it would be no trouble to defeat the Great Tail Venerable.

The spring rain pattered, and Meng Yuan stepped on the slippery ground, making his way back, leaving footprints with each step.

Before long, he saw the little yellow mongoose, soaked from head to toe, still hanging from the peach tree branch. Its body was long, and its limbs were short, and at this moment, it looked like a tightly drawn bow.

The little yellow mongoose swayed and muttered words of help. When it heard Meng Yuan's footsteps, it quickly looked over.

Not paying attention would have been fine, but when it saw a bloodstained person dragging Wolf One's tail, the little yellow mongoose was too scared to make a sound. It wanted to cover its mouth with its claws but couldn't move due to being tied up, and it was so anxious that it was about to cry.

The little yellow mongoose closed its eyes, hoping that the person wouldn't see it. But as the footsteps drew closer, the little yellow mongoose opened one eye and saw the person standing right in front of it. The person's face was covered in blood, but there was a hint of a smile.

"Auntie, don't you recognize me?" Meng Yuan stepped forward and tapped the little yellow mongoose's head.

"You are..." The little yellow mongoose was extremely confused. It sniffed hard and exclaimed, "Oh! You're Xiao Chuanjiang!"

Meng Yuan smiled and said, "Auntie, what kind of immortal technique are you practicing here?"

"I was hung up by a bad guy!" The little yellow mongoose didn't catch Meng Yuan's teasing and replied earnestly in a crisp voice, "Xiao Chuanjiang, your knowledge is lacking. If you go out into the world, you'll be at a disadvantage!"

At this point, don't act like a teacher!

"Then I'll be going." Meng Yuan said.

"No, no, no!" The little yellow mongoose quickly tried to stop him. "Xiao Chuanjiang, save me!"

"I'll ask you, what's your name, and where are you from?" Instead of rescuing it, Meng Yuan started asking questions.

"My name is Xiang Ling." The little yellow mongoose answered honestly. "I'm the Great Patrol Officer from the Old Turtle Pit of Great Head Mountain!"

"The Great Patrol Officer?" Meng Yuan became interested and asked, "Is there also a Small Patrol Officer? Who else is there?"

"Just me!" Xiang Ling stared with her big, round eyes, very seriously.

It's reasonable that you're the only one in the Old Turtle Pit, and you're the Great Patrol Officer!

Meng Yuan smiled and asked again, "I remember that before the New Year, you said you were going to celebrate your foster mother's birthday and go on a blind date. Did it work out?"

"It's almost done!" Xiang Ling, even while hanging, maintained an old and wise demeanor. Her tone was particularly proud, "The in-laws' family is very wealthy, and they're looking for a smart and capable housekeeper! As soon as the matchmaker saw me, she said I was perfect! Indeed, when the matchmaker went to the in-laws' house and mentioned me, she even brought back five eggs, saying that they really liked me!"

The more I listen, the more unbelievable it sounds. They liked me without even meeting? Meng Yuan asked again, "Then how did you end up here?"

Xiang Ling sighed again and said, "The matchmaker said the in-laws wanted to see my sincerity first. My foster mother and I took out all our savings and gave it to the matchmaker, asking her to help us. Then..."

"Wait a moment." Meng Yuan saw that Xiang Ling was about to continue, so he pinched her mouth with one hand and rubbed his forehead with the other, asking, "What kind of demonic creature is the matchmaker? And what kind of demonic creature is your foster mother?"

"The matchmaker is an old fox, and she's very kind! She knows a lot about city matters and even taught me how to dress up!" Xiang Ling had a great impression of the matchmaker, and as soon as she started talking about her, she couldn't help but praise her. She continued, "My foster mother is a moose, and she's so kind and lovely!"

Well, an old fox used five eggs to trick a silly moose and a silly yellow mongoose, and they haven't even realized it's a scam!

"Then how did you end up here?"

Meng Yuan asked again.

"My foster mother and I had no savings. We heard that we could get eggs by listening to the opera here, so we came." Xiang Ling's voice grew tearful as she spoke, "My foster mother wanted to earn some money so that she could have face when she returned to her husband's family. At first, Da Wei Zunzhe gave out eggs in the morning and then performed the opera. We would take the eggs and leave. Later, he performed the opera first and then gave out eggs, so we waited until the opera was over before coming to collect them. Waaah..."

How convenient! You two didn't listen to a single word, but you didn't miss out on any benefits! Taking advantage of Da Wei Zunzhe's wolf fur! No wonder he became a leper!

And here, they are clearly spreading Buddhist and Taoist teachings, but by the time it reaches you two, it becomes a grand opera performance!

"What happened after that?" Meng Yuan asked, intrigued.

"Waaah...after that..." Xiang Ling's two round, big eyes were filled with tears, which then streamed down her face, "My foster mother thought it was too troublesome to come every day to get eggs, so she talked to the white sheep who gave out the eggs. She suggested giving a month's worth of eggs at once to save the hassle. The white sheep knew my foster mother since they were young, and since she thought my foster mother's idea made sense, she gave us the eggs."

Meng Yuan felt that this was truly a case of meeting a talented person!

"Waaah...later, Wolf One found out about this. He made the black and white sheep go down the mountain to steal medicine, and he even caught and ate my foster mother!" Xiang Ling cried, "Da Wei Zunzhe said I had Buddhist nature, so he hung me up and said I had to endure five hundred years of wind and five hundred years of rain. Waaah...I just wanted to go home and bring some clothes, but he wouldn't let me."

So, the black and white sheep going down the mountain was also related to you two!

This was a sad story, but Meng Yuan still found it hilarious.

"Alright, stop crying. I'll save you." Meng Yuan was kind-hearted. Seeing that Xiang Ling had been deceived into a marriage, lost her foster mother, and was hung up for many days, and considering that Xiang Ling hadn't done anything wrong, he decided to rescue her.

He drew his sword and cut the ropes, freeing Xiang Ling from her bindings. The little yellow rat sniffled, "Xiao Chuanjiang, you're really something."

"Let's go quickly, and don't come here again," Meng Yuan said gently.

"Did you kill Wolf One? What about Da Wei Zunzhe?" Xiang Ling shook the rain off her body and timidly glanced at Wolf One's corpse.

"Don't ask more questions. Let's leave quickly," Meng Yuan said.

"Then I'll go." Xiang Ling opened her big round eyes and took a few steps forward, then turned back. She stood on her hind legs, clasped her front paws together in a bow, and then fled northwest in a puff of smoke.

Meng Yuan rested for a while before continuing to drag Wolf One's tail in search of Nie Yanian.

After walking three or four hundred steps, he saw Nie Yanian standing on the ground, unharmed.

Da Wei Zunzhe, on the other hand, was leaning against a withered peach tree, having lost his majestic aura. His black monastic robe was tattered, covered in blood, and his limbs seemed shattered. There were two huge sword wounds on his chest, revealing white bones and internal organs.

As for Ren Debiao, there was still no sign of him, probably still chasing after Wolf Two.

Nie Yanian ignored Meng Yuan and let out a cold laugh, staring at Da Wei Zunzhe as he asked sternly, "Big-tailed Wolf, tell me who your master is, and I'll spare your life!"

"Amitabha, what's the difference between life and death? It's just another cycle of reincarnation. Even if you break every bone in my body, it won't help," Da Wei Zunzhe said, his previous anger gone, and his tone now filled with compassion, giving him the air of a true venerable monk.

"In that case, I'll send you to the Demon Control Bureau. There are experts there who can extract the information you have!" Nie Yanian said.

"No problem, no problem," Da Wei Zunzhe replied weakly, raising his arms with no intact bones left, "With the karmic fire within me, this is how it should be."

As he spoke, a faint flame ignited in Da Wei Zunzhe's chest and abdomen, quickly growing larger until it engulfed his entire body.

Nie Yanian frowned but didn't intervene. His expression turned dark.

Da Wei Zunzhe, at the moment of his death, left behind a dharmic verse: "By chanting the Buddha's name, one sees the Buddha and reaches the Enlightenment Shore. With a broken body and fleeting life, one enters the cauldron's soup. Carrying one's karma, one is reborn in the Pure Land, finding eternal bliss."

His voice was calm, and there was no sign of the agony of being burned alive. Instead, his face revealed a mix of compassion, bitterness, resentment, and hatred, making it truly bizarre.

After a few breaths, Da Wei Zunzhe was reduced to mere ashes.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end