The village was noisy with people coming out of every household with hoes and axes in hand. Some people even brought their dogs with them. When they saw Lu Pan and his eight companions being knocked to the ground, they all started shouting in indignation.
"Where did this monk come from? How dare he beat up someone from our village!"
"Everyone, surround him, and quickly go to Beicun to call the head of the village—"
"Why call the head of the village? Just report it to the police. If this old bald donkey dares to hit someone, we will beat him too!"
"… That bald donkey is so powerful that Lu Pan and his men can't defeat him."
"What are you afraid of? We in Lujia Village rely on our numbers to bully the few. Go ahead!!"
The people in the mountains have always been tough. Someone shouted, and everyone picked up hoes and axes to surround the old monk. There was also a strong woman holding a stick, looking at the bald head, and measuring the strength.
There was a lot of noise, and several dogs on leashes were barking at the monks at their owner's feet.
Woof woof woof—
"Amitabha!"
Among the crowd, the old monk Zhenhai lowered his eyes, bowed to the villagers around him, chanted a Buddhist name, and slowly stood up holding the golden bowl.
"I know the severity of the situation. These eight people are not injured. They came to your village to subdue demons and bring peace and tranquility to you."
At this time, the Taoist's voice was heard from behind the crowd.
"All of you get out of the way, let me handle it!"
Hearing Sun Yingxian's voice, everyone knew that he was a cultivator like Liangsheng, so they stepped aside. The Taoist squeezed in, holding up his robe, and looked the other person up and down from a few steps away.
"Old bald donkey, why don't you stay in the temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures instead of coming here to cause trouble?"
The villagers around were also shouting and clamoring now that they had something to rely on.
"Yes, old bald donkey, there are no demons. Even if there are, we have Taoist priests in our village. We don't need you to help us exorcise the demons."
"Amitabha."
Zhenhai stood in the crowd, ignoring the noise of everyone talking. His eyes passed over the Taoist who was talking to him and fell directly on the fat black man.
"The demon is right here."
"Everyone, move aside!" the Taoist shouted again. The old monk on the opposite side must be very powerful. If they really started fighting, he was afraid of hurting the villagers. He turned around and said to Zhu Ganglie, "You protect them later..."
Looking back, there was no trace of the pig monster, but a fat and strong black man running madly in the other direction of the village.
"Hold on for now. I'm going to find a weapon that suits my needs and come back to avenge you!"
The Taoist looked at the back with half of the buttocks exposed, his mouth open in shock.
Before he could react, he saw a flash of golden light in his peripheral vision, flew past his ear, and went straight to Zhu Ganglie who was running far away. In a panic, the Taoist took out the talisman paper and threw it at the monk. He bit the tip of his other finger, and a drop of blood popped out, which turned into a red line and flew to the thatched house and old tree in front, connecting them and lying across the air.
The moment the golden bowl hit the red line and broke, its speed also slowed down and it failed to catch up with the pig monster.
The surrounding villagers were so frightened after seeing this bizarre scene that they shut their mouths. Even the family dog that had been barking non-stop now tucked its tail between its legs and whimpered as it shrank behind its owner.
"stop!!"
Lu Liangsheng was standing on the path leading to the fenced courtyard. In the moment of silence, the sound seemed surprising. When everyone looked, the old monk standing in the crowd suddenly shook and moved outside the crowd in the blink of an eye. In a few steps, his robe sleeves shook out and he grabbed the scholar with his skinny big hands.
The Taoist reacted very quickly and rushed towards the monk. The moment of contact, the invisible energy in the air rippled.
Bang!
The whole person was shaken and stumbled against a nearby wall, causing the mud to crack and cave in.
Lu Liangsheng also came to his senses at this time. He stretched out his hand to grab the hilt of the sword and pulled it out. However, a big palm stretched out from the opposite side slapped him and pressed the back of his hand to push the hilt back.
"Mr. Lu, please follow me!"
He flipped his hand and grabbed the scholar's collar, then leaped onto the roof, his robe fluttering in the wind. His beard fluttered as he glanced at the people below. He reached out to take back the golden bowl, and dragged Lu Liangsheng with him like a giant bird swooping into the forest, flying out of the village and disappearing into the sunlight.
The people standing in the village stared blankly at the two figures disappearing in mid-air. It took them a long time to come back to their senses from the sudden scene.
"This monk is here to exorcise demons, why is he arresting a good person?!"
"What are you talking about? Go and inform the head of the village to report to the county government!"
"Oh, go tell Aunt Jinhua!"
"Don't go, don't go. You're going to make her anxious to death!"
Amidst a burst of exclamations and shouts, the Taoist got up from the ground, holding his chest. He asked the villagers about the direction in which the monk and Lu Liangsheng had flown. He took out two magic talismans and hit them on his knees. Just as he was about to chase after them, two figures, one white and one black, floated down from the west entrance of the village.
Seeing the villagers screaming and shouting, and the injured Taoist priest, and not seeing Lu Liangsheng, he suddenly became a little anxious.
"Where is the young master (old demon)?" Hong Lian and Qi You looked at the faces around them and asked the Taoist in unison.
The Taoist priest was not actually seriously injured, he just had his breath pushed back by the other party. It was obvious that the monk had no intention of hurting anyone, but saw that there were too many people here and it was a bit inconvenient, so he took Lu Liangsheng away.
"He was captured by the old monk. I think he has something to ask."
Hong Lian and Qi You looked at each other and nodded without saying anything, then turned and ran out of the village, each using their own magic power to fly in different directions. The Taoist covered his messy hair, squeezed out the people who were blocking his way, and chased after them, shouting:
"Wait a minute, I can't fly!!"
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, he stamped his feet and called Lu Pan and eight other people, as well as men, women and children from the village, all of whom dispersed to Qixia Mountain to search inch by inch.
"The old monk doesn't even know where to take Liangsheng?!"
"Maybe he's still in Qixia Mountain. Liangsheng is no pushover, so he won't be able to get far!"
"Bring all your weapons with you, and shout loudly when you see that bald ass!"
Merchants and pilgrims traveling along the mountain path saw hundreds of people swarming out, and even people from another village came out to find out what was going on. They thought it was just an evil monk kidnapping people, so they all started shouting and cursing, and volunteered to help with the search.
…
The sun was gradually slanting, and the branches and leaves were swaying gently in the mountain breeze. A gust of wind blew by, carrying the accumulated raindrops and shaking them wildly.
A golden and red cassock fluttered with a rustling sound, and the old monk with a pale beard flashed and ran across the woods and rushed to a hilltop. It was like a gust of wind passing by, and the rolled-up dead leaves were still flying in the air. When he fell back to the ground, the passing figure had already gone down the other hillside, and patches of golden woods and rolling foothills were flying backwards in the field of vision.
Soon, the skinny figure that left a trail of afterimages stopped, and the flying vision also stopped in Lu Liangsheng's sight. His sight suddenly turned and then settled, and he found that he was already on the top of a mountain, and he could see the winding and undulating mountains in the distance.
"Amitabha!"
Under an old pine tree on the top of the mountain, an old monk in a cassock sat cross-legged, his beard gently stroking in the wind, and he closed his eyes and chanted the Buddha's name.
"Master Lu, there are many innocent people in this village. I have no choice but to bring you here. I apologize for the offense."
He raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked at the scholar who was looking at him.
"Please tell me where the sinful Purple Star Demon Daoist is."
Bang!
Lu Liangsheng inserted the Yuelong Sword and its scabbard into the crevice of the rock, sat down on a stone, and stared at the other person without blinking.
“I don’t know.”
Under the old pine tree, the old monk Zhenhai, with his beard standing up, brought down a palm on the bent knee.
"Stubborn!"
The huge sound was like the roar of a giant king. In an instant, the branches and leaves of the old pine tree behind him were shaking.