Chapter 1 The Beginning

The night wind was bleak, crows cawed, a dilapidated temple on a desolate mountain.

Six people stood in different corners of the ruined temple.

Two beautiful women, dressed in pure white dresses, stood in the middle of the temple, ethereal and untouched by the mortal world.

A short, thin old man with a bamboo hat and raincoat squatted in a corner, weaving a bamboo basket.

A pale, thin scholar held incense sticks, closing his eyes and devoutly worshipping the broken statue.

A burly, bare-chested man leaned against a pillar, closing his eyes to rest. The alluring woman in his arms wore a luxurious fur coat and listlessly played with her hair.

"Say,"

The alluring woman opened her red lips, her voice charming and soft, intoxicating, "Xiao Scholar, what are you worshipping that broken statue for? Are you praying for a miracle, to guarantee you will be Zhuangyuan (Top Scholar) and be announced at Donghua Gate?"

"Heh, if I could get the Martial Virtue Guard to erase my criminal record, passing the imperial examination would be as easy as flipping my hand."

The youth known as Xiao Scholar merely smiled, not turning his head, and continued to bow to the statue. "I worship this temple simply because it is efficacious."

"Efficacious? I've never heard of it."

The alluring woman raised an eyebrow. "If it were truly efficacious, foolish men and women would have come to repair the temple long ago. How could it be so dilapidated?"

"You don't know the full story."

Xiao Scholar shook his head. "Twenty years ago, a traveling merchant who had been wandering afar returned with a year's savings. On his way home, he passed this temple, intending to rest for the night before setting off early the next morning to return to his hometown and reunite with his wife.

Homesickness made the merchant toss and turn, unable to sleep. In a daze, he heard a commotion. Opening his eyes, he saw several local ruffians chasing a woman into the ruined temple, forcing her into a corner, preparing to assault her.

The merchant saw that the ruffians were armed with short blades, while he was empty-handed.

If he rushed forward to stop them, he might simply lose his life in vain.

Hesitating, the merchant thought of his wife and daughters at home. If they were violated and no one helped them, what would they do?

Thinking of this, the merchant mustered his courage, picked up a piece of broken brick, and rushed forward, smashing it into the head of one of the ruffians with a bang.

Blood splattered instantly, and the ruffian fell to the ground.

The merchant, his eyes red, snatched a short blade and stabbed at the others, shouting for the woman to run quickly.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head. Opening his eyes, he found himself still lying on the ground of the ruined temple, the sky already turning white.

It turned out that everything just now was merely a strange dream he had last night."

Xiao Scholar paused, then continued, "The merchant wiped away a cold sweat, packed his things, and continued on his way. He finally returned to his hometown, only to see villagers gathered at his door, the village chief directing people to carry corpses out of his house.

Worried about his wife, the merchant pushed through the crowd and entered the house, only to see his wife cowering in a corner.

Upon questioning, he learned that several local ruffians had broken into the house today, attempting to violate his wife. Just as they were about to succeed, one of them suddenly vomited blood, his eyes wide open, and died.

The others were terrified and scrambled to flee, but before they could even run out the door, they all simultaneously vomited blood and died.

The villagers all said that the temple was efficacious, allowing the virtuous merchant to save his wife from afar.

After that, the villagers repaired the temple, until a sudden outbreak of plague and war broke out, and the temple was abandoned, becoming what it is today."

After speaking, Xiao Scholar patted the pillar with some disappointment and sighed, "In this world, good and evil deeds are up to you.

Throughout history, who has escaped the clutches of the underworld?

Accumulate virtue, accumulate virtue."

"Haha."

The alluring woman seemed to have heard something extremely amusing, laughing until tears came to her eyes, exaggeratedly punching the burly man's chest with her pink fist.

"I remember that you, Scholar, were unable to pass the imperial examinations due to your poor family, and you were unable to win the hand of a wealthy young lady. In your rage, you poisoned and murdered her entire family.

Since then, you have been forced to become a bandit, haven't you?

And now you're talking about accumulating virtue?"

"Put down the butcher knife, and you become a Buddha on the spot.

Sincerity brings efficacy."

Xiao Scholar smiled and shook his head, casually sticking the incense sticks onto the wooden table in front of the Buddha statue, and turned to say, "Why hasn't Ruan Tian arrived yet? Didn't he and his brother go to rescue Wu Hu?"

"A Daoist priest has arrived in Goose City, and the magistrate has sent him to guard the prison."

The alluring woman stretched lazily and said languidly, "I heard he was the one who killed Hu Wan."

"Oh? Although Hu Wan hasn't practiced the Devouring Body Technique for long, for someone to be able to kill him, that Daoist must have some skill."

Xiao Scholar nodded, his ears twitched, and he looked towards the door. "They're here."

Thump, thump, thump.

Hurried footsteps grew closer, and Ruan Tian, wearing night clothes and a gloomy expression, entered the ruined temple, clutching his waist.

Behind him were Ruan Di and Wu Hu.

The burly man, who had been silent all along, slowly opened his eyes, looked at Ruan Tian, and said in a deep voice, "You're injured?"

"Yes."

Ruan Tian nodded grimly. "The Daoist priest in charge of guarding the prison is a tough nut to crack. He doesn't seem to be from Dragon Tiger Mountain."

He glanced at the two female servants standing in the middle of the ruined temple, clenched his teeth, and swallowed the words that came to his lips.

The burly man continued to ask, "Is the Daoist priest chasing after you?"

"No."

Ruan Di took over the conversation. "I set up a puppet in the north of the city. He should have gone there.

What, do you want to plot to kill him?"

Ruan Di was quite eager to try. Both he and his brother were not willing to suffer losses.

He had almost died in the Goose City prison today, and he couldn't let it go.

If he could persuade the Sheng Bai Lian (Holy White Lotus) disciples in the ruined temple to take action together, not to mention a mere Daoist priest, they could even flatten Goose City for him.

Unfortunately, the female servant standing in the middle of the ruined temple interrupted his fantasies. "No need. You have more important things to do.

That Daoist priest, it's not too late to deal with him later."

The female servant was a personal maid of the Holy White Lotus Holy Son, and her status was extremely high. When she spoke, everyone in the ruined temple bowed their heads slightly to show their respect.

Even Ruan Tian carefully restrained his resentment, fearing that he would be reprimanded by the female servant.

"Lady Servant, what is the reason for summoning us?"

The short, thin old man with the bamboo hat cupped his hands and asked respectfully.

They were all members of the Sheng Bai Lian's Ren Zi (Human Character) branch, but for various reasons, their connection with the Lu Zhou branch to which they nominally belonged was not close, and they often acted independently.

"Summoning you is the Holy Son's intention."

The female servant said expressionlessly, coldly, "You should have heard that an Annam delegation going to the capital will pass through Lu Zhou in the coming days.

The delegation is preparing to present to the old Emperor a rare and exotic beast that speaks human language, understands mathematics, is skilled in witchcraft, and knows Yin and Yang.

The Holy Son requires you to ambush the Annam delegation in Lu Zhou City and seize that exotic beast."

"Since it's the Holy Son's intention, then why not let the Lu Zhou branch directly..."

Ruan Tian subconsciously asked, but when he caught sight of the female servant's expressionless face, he immediately shut his mouth, suddenly thinking of something.

The Holy Son and Holy Daughter had an extremely high status within the White Lotus Sect, and they were highly respected by the believers,

But in terms of real power and the private forces they controlled, they were not as good as the Left and Right Envoys and the Four Guardians.

Especially since the Sheng Bai Lian's leader had disappeared and his whereabouts were unknown, and he had not appeared in front of the world for a long time,

The annual celebration was often carried out by the Holy Daughter on his behalf.

Under such circumstances, rumors about the Sheng Bai Lian's inner circle naturally spread.

One theory was that the leader was already dead, and the Holy Son and Holy Daughter had been emptied of power, with the Left and Right Envoys and the Four Guardians taking over all the affairs of the sect...

Could it be that the female servant's appearance here was because the Holy Son was at a disadvantage in the high-level power struggle,

Hoping to use them, these stray soldiers, to bypass the Lu Zhou branch that was loyal to the Holy Bai Lian's Left Envoy, and make waves regarding the Annam delegation in Lu Zhou City?

The ruined temple fell silent for a time, and the disciples lowered their heads in silence, their minds racing, frantically thinking about the true meaning of the female servant's summons.

Except for one person.

"White Lotus Sect, my White Lotus God, have you heard of the words White Lotus? If you move my White Lotus people, we will surely take your soul!

Talking and laughing about life and death, wielding the Dragon Saber, the White Lotus's aura is higher than the sky!

Holy Son, fly with confidence, Wu Hu will always follow!

I want to offer my heart to the Holy Son!"

Wu Hu stepped forward, slammed his right fist into his chest, and shouted at the top of his lungs.