Chapter 188: Chain Quest (One)

A good night’s sleep cleared Xiao Fen’s head a lot. Of course, it also shortened the time limit for his Bhaisajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha quest. From now on, he had at most 14 hours to find this plug and then kill those Hell Creatures.

Considering that completing this quest still required a 2-hour maintenance time, the time Xiao Fen actually had to find this statue was less than 12 hours. This was a very tight schedule.

Although the Capital City was not as large as the later Imperial Capital, it was still the largest city in the world at that time. Not to mention searching the entire Capital City, even walking around the perimeter of the Capital City would probably take more than 12 hours.

However, Xiao Fen quickly experienced the benefits of increased Charisma, or rather, the benefits of increased reputation for completing various quests in the Trial World.

Lycaon, who had finished taking care of his sister, had just found Xiao Fen when an Agent outside the door said in a low voice: “Immortal Lin, there is a Monk outside who wants to see you. He says Daoist Yuan mentioned yesterday that he would take you to find some things today.”

This attitude was much better than the cold and perfunctory one Wei Zhongxian had shown when Xiao Fen asked for help two days ago. Hearing the Agent finish speaking, Xiao Fen hurriedly said: “Please ask that Monk to wait a moment. My friend and I will be right there.”

After the Agent left, Xiao Fen turned his head and asked Lycaon: “How much longer until your sister recovers?”

“After tonight, she will be able to fight again.”

Xiao Fen nodded and said: “Okay, I am looking forward to it. I am waiting for her to return those two bottles of Healing Potion.”

Lycaon was stunned for a moment and asked: “We seemed to have said that the necklace and the two bottles of medicine were even. Why would Callisto still owe you medicine?”

“Hey, listen, the necklace is indeed worth two bottles of medicine, but you didn’t say that the necklace was used to repay the debt, did you? What Callisto owes me and what I owe you are two different things, right?”

Looking at Xiao Fen’s smiling, teasing expression, Lycaon said in a low voice: “Palin, it is a pity you are not a politician.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You think I was complimenting you?”

“Even if not, as you said, I can ‘think’ it is a compliment.”

Lycaon laughed and said: “Alright, seeing that you are in such good spirits and can still joke, it means your physical fatigue has lessened, and the pressure in your heart has reduced a lot. It seems today’s mission should have a good ending.”

Xiao Fen nodded and said: “Of course, of course. As long as we are prepared, the mission can be completed. However, I believe if you could see the fighting style of these Ming Dynasty people, you would definitely, oh, how should I say it, you would definitely have your jaw drop.”

“XIADIOTAYA? What phrase is that? I’ve never heard it in English.”

“No, that is Chinese. Alright, anyway, let’s get out of here quickly. Regarding those quests, for every one we solve, we are one step closer to future victory.”

The two hurriedly walked out of the private courtyard and happened to see a bald Monk wearing a patchwork robe standing calmly in the sunlight, seemingly looking at something, or perhaps looking at nothing.

“How should we address this venerable one?”

“This poor Monk’s Dharma name is Jing Shanxin. I have come from the Great Xiangguo Temple in Chang’an. I just arrived here today. You two Immortals, I am not very clear about the statue you are looking for. Could you tell me again today? Amitabha.”

“I am looking for a Bhaisajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha. I only know that this statue was sent to the Capital City about 10 years ago and has been worshipped in a certain residence in the Capital City, but I know nothing about the specific location.”

Hearing Xiao Fen’s answer, the withered Monk smiled slightly and said: “No need to know, no need to know. If it is there, we will naturally see it. If it is not, we naturally will not. Let us go.”

Xiao Fen couldn’t help but want to ask something like “Don’t we need to check some information?”, but looking at this Monk whose age was indistinguishable, he decided to bury the words in his heart and see what the Monk had to say before making plans.

This Monk named Jing Shanxin seemed to know what Xiao Fen wanted to say. When they reached the side gate of the Eastern Depot and saw several Agents opening the side gate, with a carriage waiting outside for a long time, he suddenly said: “Actually, this statue is not hard to find. If the Eastern Depot were to do it, I fear they would have no way to start. But if I do it, finding the statue is just a snap of the fingers.”

Xiao Fen nodded slightly and said: “I am all ears.”

“Bhaisajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha is a Buddha of the past, also called the Lord of the Eastern Pure Land. In this Huaxia, very few people worship the Medicine Buddha alone. This statue has been around for ten years, so it is not troublesome to find.”

“Worshipped alone? Why?”

“If it is not worshipped alone, how could they cover people’s eyes? The statue has a suppressing effect on those Hell ghosts. Even an ordinary statue would show abnormal signs when ghosts walk around. Unless the White Lotus Sect members tampered with it secretly, there would be signs regarding the ghosts. If it were worshipped with other statues, it wouldn’t take ten years, just one year, and many differences would appear.”

Xiao Fen nodded. Indeed, every profession has its specialty. It was best to let the Monk handle matters regarding Buddha statues.

The group boarded the carriage. Jing Shanxin sat quietly in the carriage for a while, then said: “Go south. I will tell you when to stop.”

The carriage clattered along for a small half-hour. Jing Shanxin suddenly said: “It is here. Stop. Let us go.”

Just as Xiao Fen was about to get off, he suddenly heard someone shouting outside the carriage: “Who are you, daring to cause trouble in front of the Duke’s Manor? Do you seek death?”

Xiao Fen was slightly stunned and asked in a low voice: “Duke’s Manor?”

Lycaon was also stunned and asked: “Duke? Hey, that is a Duke. Although I haven’t seen the Emperor, I have at least seen a Duke. Coming to this Trial World is not bad, isn’t it?”

“You probably won’t see the Duke. This world is more troublesome than you or I imagined.”

As Xiao Fen spoke, he lifted the cloth curtain in front of the carriage, turned his head to look at the bailiff striding towards the carriage, and asked with a smile on his face but no trace of a smile in his eyes: “You came at the right time. Is there anyone in your family who worships the Buddha?”

That servant in blue cloth looked at Xiao Fen, snorted, and said: “You have some nerve, parking your carriage here without apologizing, and even asking if my family worships the Buddha. You are truly crazy. Don’t leave, don’t leave. Today I will surely beat you to death here.”

The smile on Xiao Fen’s face deepened. He suddenly jumped out of the carriage, grabbed the servant’s collar with one hand, and asked word by word: “Does your master’s family have anyone who worships the Buddha?”

The servant did not expect Xiao Fen to be so young and yet so fast and incredibly strong. Before he knew it, he was grabbed into the air. His body swayed left and right, unable to break free. He tried to push Xiao Fen away with his hands, but he couldn’t exert any force in the air. After struggling for a while, he shouted: “You bird of a thief, well done, well done! Do you dare to throw your grandfather on the ground to fight?”

Xiao Fen tossed the servant far away to the people from the Duke’s Manor who were catching up from behind. He stood there, watching these people holding knives and clubs, each looking fierce, about to come up and subdue Xiao Fen.

Xiao Fen said nothing more. He just looked at the steward behind those servants and asked: “I will ask again. Is there anyone in this residence who worships the Buddha?”

The servants sneered, just about to rush up, but the steward behind them heard Xiao Fen’s question from a distance and naturally had some doubts in his mind. While thinking, he couldn’t help but shudder. He hurriedly shouted: “Stop, all of you stop! That is an Immortal in front. You cannot fight, you cannot fight!”

Hearing this, everyone’s hands trembled. Thinking back to Xiao Fen’s question just now, it didn’t take a moment for them to recall the rumors in the streets. Thinking of this, and recalling the family of over a hundred people outside Dongzhi Gate who didn’t escape, various thoughts rushed in. Someone inevitably dropped their waist knife with a clang, bowed to the ground, and shouted: “Immortal, save us! Immortal, save us!”

Xiao Fen stared at that steward and didn’t ask if there was a Buddha statue anymore. Instead, he asked directly: “Has there been any disaster in the family recently?”

The steward heard this and no longer doubted. He hurriedly stepped forward to salute and said: “It really is an Immortal, it really is an Immortal. This matter cannot be hidden from the Immortal. My Master has been very worried about this recently. Now that the Immortal has come, we must open the main gate to welcome you. Immortal, please wait a moment. I have already sent the message in. It won’t be a moment.”

Xiao Fen turned his head to look at the Monk slowly walking out of the carriage and asked: “What does the Master think?”

Jing Shanxin raised his head, took one look, and sweat suddenly poured from his forehead like pulp. He said in a low voice: “I cannot look, I cannot look. Amitabha. There are many hindrances of karma here. It truly cannot be looked at.”

Before getting out of the carriage, Xiao Fen was already able to feel that the smell of blood in this courtyard was so strong it reeked, yet the people in the courtyard didn’t feel it. He felt something was wrong in his heart. Seeing Jing Shanxin get out of the carriage, he couldn’t help but ask.

Although Jing Shanxin was not an Awakened, he had practiced for many years, and what he saw was very different from the Mortal World. Hearing Xiao Fen’s question, he looked up and almost split his eyes with anger. His Zen mind shook. He spoke a few sentences, unable to control himself, and a stream of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing Jing Shanxin like this, Xiao Fen knew that this Duke’s Manor probably had quite a few problems. Thinking back to the first mission in the Buddha Hall, he was lucky to have Lux’s Gratitude. In the second mission, he had Daoist Yuan and Wei Zhongxian holding the fort. Every time, he was either seriously injured or his energy was exhausted. He wondered what the outcome of this current mission would be.

Lycaon jumped out of the carriage, took a look, and said: “Oh, is this the Duke’s residence? It looks even more luxurious than any Castle. The Huaxia people are truly the most enjoyment-loving race I have ever seen.”

Xiao Fen smiled slightly and said in a low voice: “That’s right, the best at enjoying themselves. That is why they are trapped in such an environment, unable to extricate themselves.”

Lycaon frowned and said: “This environment, if it is still as big as the residence we went to last time, then completing our mission might be even more difficult.”

Xiao Fen replied: “It is a pity. This house is bigger than the residence we went to last time. So big that you could get lost inside.”