Embers Ad Infinitum

The sudden appearance of such a monk and his baffling words made Long Yuehong suddenly tense up. At the same time, he felt a little puzzled and lost. What’s going on? Why is there another monk who believes in Subhuti? Is he crazy? Is he mentally unstable?

Long Yuehong subconsciously cast his gaze forward and saw from Jiang Baimian’s side profile that she had a rather solemn expression.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao had already rolled down the window, stuck his head out, and shouted, “Why don’t you use Ashlandic? The Red River language can’t fully express the charm and profundity!”

This fellow is being argumentative regarding the wrong aspect again… Long Yuehong once again didn’t know whether to praise Shang Jianyao’s courage or not.

To Long Yuehong’s surprise, the thin gray-robed monk answered.

He continued in the Red River language, “I’m not good at Ashlandic, but paying respect to Buddha is paying respect to one’s own consciousness. Talking about Buddhism is like explaining one’s true nature. No language will affect its essence.”

“Why are you in our way? Why do you say that the sea of bitterness is endless and that we need to repent?” Shang Jianyao’s thoughts skipped as he changed the topic.

Jiang Baimian didn’t stop him. She tried to use his unconventional approach to disrupt the gray-robed monk’s thought process and create an opportunity to pry into the truth or escape the current situation.

The gray-robed monk made a Buddhist proclamation again. “This Penniless Monk foresaw that a four-person team passing by this street today would affect First City’s stability and bring about chaos. Buddha is merciful and can’t bear to see suffering. I can only stop you and watch over you for a while.”

Jiang Baimian and the others looked at each other when they heard this answer. They felt like the other party was mentally ill.

This was an unexpected disaster!

The Old Task Force hadn’t done anything yet!

Shang Jianyao’s expression turned serious as he replied loudly, “It won’t be a four-person team that will bring chaos and affect stability. It can only be those nobles, Elders, and ambitionists who control the army. Zen Master, why don’t you take care of Beulis, Alexander, and Gaius? Believe me, this is the most effective way to eliminate any latent danger.”

Whoa, this debate level is rising… Jiang Baimian praised inwardly.

The gray-robed monk fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “This Penniless Monk will also make attempts on that, but I need to keep an eye on you first.”

His tone was calm, but it showed his determination.

At this moment, Bai Chen—who was driving—also stuck her head out. “Monk, what makes you so sure it’s us?”

Although there were no other people on this street, the prediction might be erroneous not because of the target, but the time and place.

“That’s right,” Shang Jianyao echoed. “Think about it—it’s common for prophecies to be interpreted wrongly. You definitely…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the gray-robed monk chanted another Buddhist proclamation. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti…”

His voice sounded in Jiang Baimian and the others’ ears like a loud bell, successfully suppressing Shang Jianyao’s subsequent words.

Then, without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to continue speaking, he calmly said, “Patron, don’t try to use your ability to influence This Penniless Monk’s logic and judgment. This Penniless Monk knows Mind Reading and knows what you are trying to do.”

F*ck… Long Yuehong couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Abilities like Mind Reading are too disgusting! Anything we want to do would be stopped before we can even get into position. How can we fight such an adversary? Furthermore, this monk is more than ten meters away from us, but his Mind Reading can hear us so clearly. This means that his level far exceeds Jingfa’s…

As Long Yuehong’s thoughts raced, the gray-robed monk spoke again. “Patron, don’t take out your speaker and portable recorder. You have already ‘told’ This Penniless Monk that certain sounds stored inside will bring about negative influence.”

Shang Jianyao listened to his advice, but he didn’t heed it completely. Although he didn’t take out the portable recorder and small speaker from his tactical backpack, he tried to press the switch and turn up the volume.

At the same time, Jiang Baimian—who had been maintaining her silence—suddenly drew her gun. She pushed the door open with her left palm and swung her right hand out, preparing to shoot at the gray-robed monk.

She didn’t expect it to succeed. She only wanted to use it to obstruct the other party, affect his ability, and create an opportunity for Shang Jianyao to play Xiaochong and Wu Meng’s recording.

Bai Chen also instantly reacted. She floored the accelerator, causing the rented heavy SUV to roar and charge forward.

At that moment, the gray-robed monk’s left hand spun the prayer beads.

Silently, Jiang Baimian felt unbearable pain as if she had fallen into a trap made of steel needles.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Her right hand reflexively retracted, and the bullet deviated in its path, hitting the stone slab beside the road.

Shang Jianyao seemed to have fallen into an endless sea of fire as his skin burned with pain. His body curled up, and he didn’t have the strength to press the switch.

Bai Chen felt like she had been thrown into boiling water—the intense pain almost made her faint. Due to this, she couldn’t help but release her right foot.

The car had only sped a few meters before it slowed down and moved forward slowly.

Long Yuehong felt like he had fallen into an ice cavern as he trembled uncontrollably. His body became stiff, and his thoughts seemed to freeze.

Six Realms of Rebirth and Existence—Hell realm!

Under an indescribable but invisible torture, the Old Task Force lost all ability to resist.

No, Jiang Baimian’s left hand was still moving. It ‘autonomously’ extended out of the car and threw out a metal coin held in its palm.

With a sizzling sound, silver lightning bloomed and wrapped around the coin, dragging out an obvious ‘blazing tail.’

It was like a violent cannonball blasting toward the gray-robed monk!

While Shang Jianyao conversed with the other party, Jiang Baimian was already preparing for the possible conflict that might happen next. Having interacted with many Awakened, she knew very well that as long as she didn’t encounter particular types of enemies, she could avoid most of the effects by relying on the actions preset in the auxiliary chip.

Unfortunately, the chip in her biological prosthetic limb was rather simple. It could only preset a few actions. If Genava were here, he could preset the complete radio gymnastics workout. Therefore, this could only be a desperate counterattack when there was no other way.

However, the gray-robed monk seemed to have expected this.

A stone slab flew over from the side of the road and blocked the metal coin.

Clang!

The stone slab was charred, and electric currents were tearing amok through the dielectric without going any further.

After all, Jiang Baimian had thrown the coin with her hand and relied on the high-voltage electric current for victory. It was impossible for her to achieve the effect of a railgun.

Hell realm was still maintained, and the pain nearly knocked out the Old Task Force members.

“Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti…” The gray-robed monk gave another Buddhist proclamation, and everything returned to normal.

Long Yuehong subconsciously looked at his body and didn’t find any damage. However, the cold and torture from before remained clear and vivid in his memories.

The cold sweat on his forehead and back also proved that something had happened.

“Patrons, meaningless resistance will only cause you pain,” said the gray-robed monk calmly. “It’s better if you accept my watch.”

As Jiang Baimian reprogrammed the auxiliary chip, she asked in a deep voice, “Zen Master, how long are you going to watch over us?”

“Ten days. I’ll let you leave after ten days,” the gray-robed monk replied simply.

He glanced at Jiang Baimian and didn’t stop her. He only said to Shang Jianyao, “You want me to become corny?”

Shang Jianyao smiled and spread his hands, indicating that he was just thinking and didn’t plan on putting it into practice.

“How should we address you, Zen Master?” he asked casually.

The gray-robed monk nodded slightly. “My Dharma name is Zennaga.”

The stone slab in front of him slowly flew back to the roadside and landed in its original position as if an invisible hand was controlling it.

This made Jiang Baimian and the others even more certain that the monk was an Awakened at the Mind Corridor level.

“Zen Master, which Church are you from?” Shang Jianyao asked further.

Zennaga’s green eyes swept across the crowd. “This isn’t the place to chat. Patrons, follow This Penniless Monk.”

“Zen Master, please lead the way.” Jiang Baimian knew that they couldn’t do anything and began seeking out other solutions. For example, she could designate a place to stay while being watched. Or she could also tell Zennaga that once a lonely and pitiful child were to lose the Old Task Force’s care, he wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep well. It was better to bring him over.

Jiang Baimian even considered inviting Zennaga to lead the way in the car. Otherwise, the monk strolling in front of them would be very conspicuous and would easily attract additional attention.

Zennaga didn’t want their lives, but the Hand of Order wanted them dead.

“Patrons, you are merciful.” Zennaga nodded his head in satisfaction. The next second, he waved his hand that wasn’t holding the prayer beads, and a dark black motorcycle flew over from the side of the road.

“Ah…” Long Yuehong was dumbfounded.

The gray-robed monk flipped over, raised his leg, got on the motorcycle, and floored the accelerator. With a vroom, Zennaga lowered his body and calmly said, “Patrons, just follow behind This Penniless Monk.”

At this moment, the monk, gray robes, bald heads, motorcycle, and exhaust formed an extremely visually impactful scene. Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen were slightly stunned.

Shang Jianyao curiously asked, “Zen Master, why don’t you drive a car?”

Zennaga kept the motorcycle stable as he replied frankly, “Cars are too heavy.”