Chapter 13 Don't Move

"Okay!" Ye Qiutang agreed readily.

At the next fork in the road, hidden behind a courtyard wall and relatively secluded, especially with the poor visibility at night, Ye Qiutang and the others stopped and watched Jiangcheng Fatty chase after the left-hand path.

Once Huide and his group were close behind, Ye Qiutang and the others made a great show, leaving Huide with a glimpse of their backs as they hurriedly fled along the stone slab road on the right.

Jiangcheng Fatty pursued relentlessly. Gradually, the dozen or so monks ahead scattered, leaving only the figure of Monk Huicong faintly visible.

"Master Huicong, stop running, it's us!"

Fatty shouted, panting heavily. He couldn't understand how Monk Huicong, who appeared so frail, had such good stamina.

Moreover, the surrounding environment had become unfamiliar. He and the doctor had never been here before. The surrounding buildings loomed in the dim light, like giant monsters.

Finally, after turning past a courtyard gate, they completely lost track of Monk Huicong.

Jiangcheng immediately signaled Fatty to stop, and the two of them pricked up their ears to listen. It was very quiet nearby.

Sure enough, they heard a faint sound, like someone walking slowly on tiptoe.

They slowed their pace and moved towards the sound. Passing through a grove of trees, they saw an antique building.

The building exuded an extraordinary aura, but it was clearly very dilapidated. Yellowed leaves were scattered on the bluestone steps outside the door.

"There!" Fatty suddenly raised his hand excitedly, pointing in a direction.

Following his finger, Jiangcheng saw the side door of the building open just enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. Then, the gap was closed from the inside.

Someone!

Jiangcheng Fatty rushed over. The building was quiet and dark. Their feet crunched on the fallen leaves, a sound that was unnerving in this environment.

Gradually, they heard chaotic sounds coming from the direction they had come from, and a faint flickering light in the distance.

"Damn!" Fatty's heart sank. "Huide and the monks are catching up!"

There weren't many places to hide nearby. Jiangcheng gritted his teeth. "Let's go in."

He quickly reached the half-open door and pushed it open. The dilapidated vermilion threshold was high. Jiangcheng stepped in before Fatty, but Fatty, perhaps nervous or unable to see clearly, tripped over the threshold and fell inside. Jiangcheng subconsciously reached out to help him, but a scene in his peripheral vision made his blood run cold. Behind him and Fatty stood a blurry figure.

Jiangcheng immediately realized that Fatty hadn't tripped, but had been pushed in by this person!

The next moment, the person actually reached out to grab him, trying to drag him out. And the person grabbed his severed left hand.

The intense pain made him dizzy for a moment. The sound of footsteps and the flickering light outside were closer, about to pass through the grove of trees.

The person outside seemed to realize that he couldn't succeed, so he reached into his clothes with his left hand, then quickly made a sweeping motion in front of Jiangcheng's eyes.

The next moment, Jiangcheng couldn't see, and a sharp pain followed. Jiangcheng's first thought was that it was bad. The other party had probably thrown lime, a cheap trick that could ruin an opponent's eyes if successful.

But after a moment, he didn't feel a burning sensation. But he couldn't worry about that now. He heard the person running away, so he immediately got up and groped to close the door. At the same time, Fatty got up.

"Are you okay?" Jiangcheng asked in a low voice.

Fatty's voice was groggy, clearly indicating the fall was serious, "It hurts, I'm dizzy..."

"I can't open my eyes now. Hurry, we need to find a place to hide." The footsteps outside were getting closer and closer.

"It's too dark in here, I can't see clearly either. I'll help you walk inside." Fatty supported Jiangcheng, and the two of them tried to control their footsteps, limping slowly.

Then Fatty helped Jiangcheng sit down. Jiangcheng leaned against something curved. He felt it with his hand and confirmed that it was a pillar. Judging from the size of the pillar, the building was more magnificent than he had imagined.

At this moment, footsteps reached the outside of the building, stopping almost at the door Jiangcheng and Fatty had entered. "Where are they?" Monk Huide's exasperated voice rang out.

"No, Senior Brother Huide, we've searched all around." Huiming's voice followed. "Could they have... could they have gone around in a circle and sneaked back?"

"Let's go, we'll go back and look!"

"Remember, we need to capture them alive. These people are too disrespectful of our Abstinence Temple's rules. They must pay the price!"

"And Junior Brother Huicong, his inner demons are too strong. All the abbot's efforts for him have been wasted! We must make him accumulate enough merit!"

The chaotic footsteps gradually faded away until it was completely quiet nearby. Only then did Fatty dare to move his body slightly. "Doctor, they're gone. They were carrying torches, and the light is completely gone."

Jiangcheng was extremely uncomfortable in this position. He reached out his right hand, wanting Fatty to help him up, but the next moment, an old voice rang out in their ears.

"Don't move."

The voice was not loud, but it instantly sent a chill down Jiangcheng Fatty’s spines. There was more than just the two of them in this building!

"Who... who are you?" Fatty's voice trembled.

But this time, the other party didn't answer. And after this encounter, Jiangcheng Fatty really didn't dare to move anymore.

A few minutes later, voices suddenly came from outside the now-silent door, making Jiangcheng break out in a cold sweat. "Senior Brother Huide, it seems they really left. They're not here."

"Hmph! Let's go."

There were probably 5 or 6 people outside the door. Huide and Huiming were among them. It seemed that they had deliberately said they were leaving for them to hear, but in reality, the main force had left, and these few had quietly stayed behind, lying in wait outside the door.

If it hadn't been for the warning from that voice, they might have really been caught off guard this time.

After it was quiet outside, the old voice spoke again, this time with a sigh. "Get up, they're gone."

"Thank you for your help. May I ask who you are?" Jiangcheng had never heard this voice before, but it sounded like the speaker was very old.

"Amitabha, this poor monk is Foji, the abbot of this Abstinence Temple."

As the old voice chanted a Buddhist prayer, Fatty shuddered. "A... abbot..."