He was completely tricked.
When Xie Buchen heard Jianchou's last words, he already had a premonition, but the result was ten times worse than he expected!
She really wanted to plot against him.
The soul-searching of Huaijie was done by Jianchou.
Xie Buchen did not intervene, nor could he, so Jianchou knew a lot of things that he did not know. But when she was confronting Moga and others from the temple just now, she did not mention a word, and had no intention of taking advantage of them, or even fighting with them.
He had no choice but to come out to "save the situation".
Jianchou's style of doing things has always been slightly different from his.
On the surface, she seemed gentle, generous and tolerant, a person with a good temper who was not easily angered. She seemed quite similar to him, except that he was more calm and calm.
But that is not the case.
In Xie Buchen's understanding of her, although she considers the overall situation carefully, she prefers to take risks and will often choose to take a chance if she can.
And he won't.
Unless you have to, you will never do something without being completely sure.
So when confronting Moga and others just now, Jianchou would choose to attack without wasting time, while he chose to take advantage of the situation and make use of everything he had to make plans.
There won’t be any big problem with Jianchou’s choice.
Even if they alerted the enemy, as long as they were killed completely, no one would be able to trace them back to the two of them. If they wanted to investigate again, they could just change their identities.
As for his choice, it is safer and relatively less risky.
However…
When he came forward and talked to Moga using the words he had prepared in advance, Jianchou, who actually knew the situation best and knew the most about Huaijie himself, did not say a word from beginning to end.
Let him pretend to be Huaijie and let him tell lies!
She doesn't say anything, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have any plans.
But not speaking itself is a calculation against him!
Especially when she knew clearly that "three or five monks in Zhaohua Temple were on good terms with Huaijie."
If the other women chosen as consorts are now in Zhaohua Temple, Namaka and his party will go to Zhaohua Temple immediately after finishing their preparations in Sangyang, and then return to the temple with everyone.
This means that if they went to Zhaohua Temple, Xie Buchen’s identity as “Huaijie” would be immediately exposed!
Because, he was impersonating Huaijie and using his own face!
It's not that Xie Buchen had not thought of this before, but at that moment, he didn't know Huaijie very well, who had already died at the hands of Jianchou, and he was not allowed to reveal his flaws on the spot.
If he changed his appearance and became Huaijie, he would naturally not be suspected by Huaijie's old acquaintances.
But what about Sangyang
When entering the inn, the girl clearly saw him coming in with Jianchou, and obviously knew him. If he really turned into Huaijie, how to explain the sudden disappearance of "Xie Buchen"
This flaw is much bigger than if he himself came out to impersonate Huaijie.
If you are not careful, you will be found out on the spot. If you can't even get past Moga, how can you make amends
So from beginning to end, Xie Buchen actually had no second choice.
But I see sorrow.
At the very beginning, or during his conversation with Moga - but she chose to remain silent and watch the fire from the other side of the river, until the moment when the arrow was on the string, then she revealed the facts she knew!
Looking back, Xie Buchen was actually impressed by this patience.
He just stared at Jianchou, unable to hide the emotions in his eyes for a moment.
Only after three breaths had passed did he slowly step back, as if keeping a respectful distance from her, and then after looking at her deeply, he actually walked straight towards the room at the corner.
Didn't say another word to her.
The direction Xie Buchen was heading was Sang Yang's room. The girl should be packing her things in a hurry to leave as soon as possible.
Jianchou saw it, but he just stood there and watched.
Xie Buchen went in and came out after just a moment.
He walked past Jianchou, went downstairs with a calm face, and returned to the group of people in Mogana. The fat monk came up to him immediately and talked to him, seeming to want to know what he had said to Jianchou.
Xie Buchen responded with a few words in a good-tempered manner, then glanced upstairs and whispered a few words to Moga.
Not knowing what he said, Moga showed a thoughtful look on his face, then nodded and pointed to the fat monk who had just talked with Xie Buchen.
"That's right, it's indeed easier this way, just let him go with you."
So, Jianchou watched Xie Buchen stand up again and actually leave the inn with the fat monk.
She followed them out quietly with her spiritual consciousness, and found that the direction they were heading was the only temple in the town, which was also the temple where Master Di Yi and Huai Jie were originally.
Zhaohua Temple.
It's quite good.
When she withdrew her spiritual consciousness, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart. Then she turned around to look at Sang Yang's room, and she knew what tricks Xie Buchen was playing and what he had just said to Moga.
On the surface, Sang Yang was still busy packing things in the room.
But with Jianchou's current cultivation, as long as he concentrated, he could easily find that there was a trick in the room. The real Sangyang was now frozen, maintaining the movement when Xie Buchen entered the room, motionless.
She should have cleaned up as quickly as possible, but she couldn't do it "as quickly as possible".
From the time she informed me of the unexpected situation to the time I figured out a way to get to Sangyang's room, it was just a matter of taking a step back...
Xie Buchenji not only thought of it, but also thought of it so thoroughly!
This ability to adapt to changing circumstances and this mind that is so smart that it is almost demonic can be said to be terrifying.
First, he immobilized Sang Yang, and then used the formation to create a decoy, pretending that Sang Yang was still busy; then he went downstairs, and used the excuse that Sang Yang was still packing up, and asked to go to Zhaohua Temple to pick up Ming Fei, saying that it would save a lot of trouble if they met at the inn and set off together.
Given Moga's previous character, it was unlikely that he would refuse such courtesy offered by others.
Therefore, Xie Buchen had the opportunity to leave everyone behind and go to Zhaohua Temple to remedy the mistake he made in impersonating Huaijie.
But the thing is…
Jianchou thought of the fat monk who had just left with Xie Buchen, and couldn't help thinking: Is this extra companion in Xie Buchen's plan or outside of it
It would be fun if it was outside the plan.
"Tsk..."
The slender white fingers were raised, leisurely fell on the wooden armrest, and tapped lightly.
She looked into the distance, and suddenly she felt some different expectations in her heart.
What she had said to Xie Buchen just now about “three or five monks” did not mean “three or five monks”, but “three or five monks are fifteen people”.
I hope that Brother Xie, who is in charge of the overall situation, can be prepared.
Otherwise, one person against fifteen, with a fat monk who was not sure whether he was in the plan or not, the situation would be extremely difficult and regrettable.
Jianchou had already thought of eighteen different ways for Xie Buchen to die in his mind, and he was almost thinking about going to Zhaohua Temple to disrupt the situation and get some extra damage.
It’s a pity that she didn’t “disappoint” Xie Buchen just now, but Xie Buchen disappointed her.
In less than two quarters of an hour, the person came back.
Not only was he not dead, but he was accompanied by the fat monk who had gone out with him earlier. In addition, there were more than a dozen young girls. It was obvious at a glance that they were brought from Zhaohua Temple, and they were the concubines selected by Moga along the way.
Not only do they have to avoid the fat monk, but they also have to hide it from the monks of Zhaohua Temple...
Jianchou couldn't figure out how Xie Buchen did it, but when Xie Buchen returned to the inn and looked at her, she clearly saw that his face had turned slightly pale, and there was a deep coldness hidden in his eyes!
Then she burst out laughing.
Others naturally didn't understand why she was laughing, but Jianchou believed that Xie Buchen understood.
It seems that being able to overcome this difficulty and conceal the truth is not as easy as he appears to be - looking at his eyes, I'm afraid he must have suffered a lot of unexpected hardships
After all, the expected "three or five" turned into "three, five and fifteen", which would be a challenge for anyone.
Moga was completely unaware of the turbulent undercurrent between the two people upstairs and downstairs. When he saw Xie Buchen and the fat monk coming with their men, he completely dispelled the last bit of doubt about "Huaijie" in his subconscious mind and nodded with a smile.
"Now that everyone is here, we will set off after Sangyang has packed up, and will arrive at the Holy Mountain in about three days."
Most of those women were very young.
She can't even be considered a girl, she can only be considered a girl.
After hearing Moga say that they would be able to reach the holy mountain in three days, almost everyone showed expressions of surprise. However, it was not easy to show it too obviously in front of so many people, so they suppressed it a little and became "secretly happy."
The expressions of each of them were exactly the same as Sang Yang's before.
Seeing Chou watching coldly, he felt even colder in his heart.
Soon, Sang Yang, who was "busy" upstairs, finally finished cleaning up and walked down from upstairs with brisk steps. From her expression, it was obvious that she had no idea what she had experienced before.
Now, all the talents are gathered together.
Moga, with a group of twenty-four people, finally set out on the journey back to the temple.
Including the fake monk "Huaijie" Xie Buchen and the fake concubine "Qiaguosuba" Jianchou, there were a total of eight monks and fourteen concubines.
Because the consorts were all ordinary people and could not fly or use any equipment, they all took the Moga ferry.
It is an ordinary magic weapon, only used for flying and traveling.
Most cultivators have the ability to fly in the air, and they won't use this kind of thing. Obviously, it was because the purpose of this trip was Ming Fei that Moga brought this thing.
In this way, everyone is spared the trouble of walking, and the speed is naturally not slow.
It only took them two days to reach the core area of the snow region.
Although he had the convenience of flying on a ferry, Moga's cultivation was only at the late Jindan stage after all. His own strength was limited and he could not control the ferry for a long time.
So every few hours, he had to stop and find a place to rest.
The weather on this day was not very good.
After noon, the originally pure blue sky was covered with dark clouds and the cold wind was howling. The ferry was heading in the direction of the headwind, and even though Moga tried his best to hold on, he could only hold on until dusk.
Seeing that it was about to snow, he finally frowned and chose a nearby mountain to land on.
"It's getting late. Let's find a place to take shelter from the snow and rest for a night. We can continue our journey tomorrow morning when the snow stops." Moga frowned and calculated the time. "After passing this mountain, we will be truly in the core of the snowy area. We will definitely arrive before sunset tomorrow."
He has made the decision, so there is no reason for the rest of us not to follow it.
More than a dozen young girls were ordinary people without any foundation or practice. Although they had the protection of the ferry when they were rushing on the road in the afternoon, they were shivering with cold. Now they were relieved to know that they could rest.
Jianchou didn't feel anything and remained silent as usual, just following the monks in front of him.
They found a fairly wide stone cave near the hillside of the mountain. It should be the cave where people who practiced cultivation in the past had lived. There were also some incomplete lines carved on the ground, which should be a formation.
However, over the years, it has been worn out to the point where it is no longer visible and has no function anymore.
There were some hay piled inside, so Jianchou randomly chose a spot and sat down leaning against the wall.
Sang Yang was not familiar with the others, but because she was chosen together with Jianchou in the inn, she was particularly close to Jianchou. When she saw Jianchou sitting over, she also chose a seat not too far away from her and sat down.
The little girl loved cleanliness and put a clean embroidered handkerchief on top.
After sitting down, he smiled at Jianchou, but soon his gaze involuntarily turned towards the cave entrance.
The monks were all located outside the cave.
But in the past two days, Jianchou could clearly see that Sangyang was looking at Xie Buchen. Not only her, but also the other girls who were chosen as Ming concubines would look in his direction intentionally or unintentionally.
After all, Xie Buchen was truly the most handsome monk they had ever seen.
Yes, monk.
Who asked him to impersonate Huaijie
Pretending to be a monk has its own price.
Although he had read the books of sages and knew that "the body and hair are given by parents, and I dare not damage them", Xie Buchen was really bold and shaved off all his hair, which originally needed to be tied up with a green jade hairpin.
Jianchou has known him for so many years, but has never seen him like this. He always feels uncomfortable watching him.
But in fact, the tonsure did not affect his appearance.
On the contrary, without those three thousand strands of hair, his already outstanding features became even clearer and more angular, and his handsome facial features could be seen at a glance.
When the thin lips are slightly pursed, there is also a taboo that makes people tremble.
At this moment, it was snowing heavily outside and the sky had already darkened completely. A bonfire was lit in the cave, and the flickering dim light shone over, lengthening his already tall figure.
Xie Buchen stood at the entrance of the cave, talking to several other monks.
When Jianchou followed Sang Yang's gaze and looked at him, he happened to see him turning sideways and looking towards the snowy night sky.
One hand was behind his back and the other hand loosely held an umbrella across his body.
When he tilted his head slightly, his long eyebrows knitted a little, but the annoyance of the snow did not reach his eyes, which only looked indifferent. The flickering firelight left traces of light and dark on his body, and together with the snow outside that turned white in an instant, it outlined the clear outline of his profile.
The whole person exudes a sober and restrained coldness.
After all, he was the person she once loved.
Seeing Chou looking at him like this, his eyebrows raised slightly, but he didn't continue looking. He just slowly tilted his head back, leaned against the wall of the cave, and closed his eyes calmly.
But the sound of the conversation in the cave still reached her ears intermittently.
"how so… "
"All dead."
"Fifteen people, from the foundation-building stage to the golden elixir stage, none of them were spared. We found them the day we left. But we haven't found out the result yet..."
…
Jianchou's eyes, which had just been closed, suddenly opened again.
I blinked, but still felt a little empty.
It was not until a long while passed that she finally realized what the words she had just heard meant - all fifteen monks of Zhaohua Temple were dead.
At that moment, she felt a chill running up from her back which was pressed against the wall of the cave, and she shivered uncontrollably.
When I looked at the cave entrance again, Xie Buchen was no longer there.
Or because these "concubines" are ordinary people who need water and food every day, while monks do not need to eat and drink, but they do not carry these with them. So during the two days of rest, they took turns to go out to find water and food.
This time, it was Xie Buchen and the fat monk's turn.
They were out for a short time and came back in about two quarters of an hour.
The fat monk had a water bag and a bunch of fruits in front of his crimson robe. He put them down immediately after coming in, asked everyone to come and eat, then he brushed off the snow that was on his body.
In comparison, Xie Buchen looked much more relaxed.
Although it was snowing heavily outside, he was not covered with a single drop of snow. After coming in, he took a few fruits, held them in one hand and carried the water bag in the other, then walked towards Jianchou who was sitting against the wall in the cave.
Everyone has gotten used to it in the past two days.
The monks knew that they had a close relationship, so when they saw Xie Buchen, they took extra care of Jianchou. They would go over to talk to him during their breaks, but the monks didn't take it seriously and turned a blind eye.
Although the other girls were curious, they did not dare to ask more questions due to their status.
At this moment, seeing Xie Buchen walking towards Jianchou again, except for the fat monk who took a second look with great interest, no one else paid much attention.
When passing by Sangyang, Xie Buchen stopped for a moment.
Then he leaned over and placed a fruit in front of Sang Yang, smiled, and reminded her: "It's time to eat."
"Ah, ah, okay!"
Sang Yang was stunned. When she reacted slowly, her eyes were full of embarrassment and her cheeks were flushed. But she didn't dare to look at Xie Buchen and quickly buried her head.
Xie Buchen didn't seem to care much.
He stood up and walked towards Jianchou as if nothing had happened.
The undisguised sarcasm in Jianchou's eyes surfaced again when he looked at him.
During the two days on the way from the small town, he not only took good care of her, but also treated Sang Yang a little differently from others.
But he knew, and she knew—
All this was not because he really had any thoughts about Sang Yang, he just didn't want Sang Yang to have time to think about the only loophole they left.
When they first entered the inn, it was Jianchou who made the decision. If they calmed down and thought carefully, they would know that the relationship between them was definitely not the one they showed now.
This is not really an oversight.
It was only because of what happened later, because they decided to take advantage of the situation and sneak into the temple, that it became a mistake.
Xie Buchen was striving for perfection and was not willing to let anyone see through his plan. So even though Sang Yang was so innocent and the possibility of him thinking of this was extremely low, he had to cut off the possibility of this happening.
Jianchou knew him too well.
“Pah.”
Xie Buchen had already walked over and half-knelt in front of her. He put the water bag aside first, then took out two small bowls from the Sumeru Ring and placed them in front of her, and then put the remaining fruits into the bowl on the left.
It is a kind of sand apple that is unique to the snowy areas. Each one is small and bright red.
Jianchou knew at a glance that these fruits must have been picked by them from a very far place. After all, with the height and coldness of the nearby mountains, these fruits could not grow there.
But she didn't actually need to eat.
Xie Buchen brought the food over not for her to eat, but just to find a suitable time to talk and exchange the information he had learned from talking with other people.
Thinking of what he had just heard when he closed his eyes, Jianchou couldn't help but look at Xie Buchen's face. He looked at him for a long time before saying, "Those three or five monks in Zhaohua Temple all died on the day we left."
Xie Buchen didn't have any special reaction.
After putting the fruit away, he picked up the water bag, unscrewed it slowly, and then answered indifferently: "Really?"
It's like I just found out about this.
Jianchou sneered and said, "In terms of ruthlessness, I am not as good as you."
"Gulp..."
As the water bag was tilted, the spring water that had just been drawn flowed out and poured into the bowl bit by bit.
Xie Buchen poured the water at a moderate speed, and did not comment on Jianchou's evaluation. He only said, "Three-fifty-five, it's not easy to survive, and it's not easy to kill people either."
Killing is not easy
Thinking back, two days ago, Xie Buchen left the inn and went to Zhaohua Temple to bring people back. It took only two minutes at most. He was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, but he actually slaughtered fifteen people in such a short time!
Among them, I am afraid there are many monks at the same level as him.
This speed is not much slower than cutting melons and vegetables.
Therefore, Jianchou really couldn't agree with Xie Buchen's words. It wasn't that she had much sympathy for the monks in Xinmi, but her understanding of Xie Buchen suddenly deepened.
"Killing is not easy, and it is even harder to kill someone as powerful as you. So, does Brother Xie have any favorite way to die?"
The hand holding the water bag paused, and the bowl was already seven-tenths full of water.
He didn't continue to fall.
Jianchou added jokingly, "I just want you to think about it carefully. If he encounters something in the future, who knows, there might be a chance to help you."
Let him think about how he wants to die, so that he can fulfill his wish in the future
Xie Buchen was silent for a moment, as if thinking about it, but he still stuffed the water bag back into his hand. Then a bowl of water that was seven-tenths full was placed right in front of Jianchou.
He raised his eyes, looked at Jianchou, and smiled calmly: "Fellow Daoist Jianchou, you can also think about this question carefully."