The Future Buddha’s words settled everything. Of course, the Future Buddha could not say anything else. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land could not repeatedly go back on their word before so many people.
“Amitābha!” the monks at the Hearing Buddha Hall’s entrance chanted in sorrow and rage.
The “Great Compassion Mantra” had severely injured one thousand arhats. The Heaven Blasting Cannon had shot Bodhisattva Zi Zhu, causing her to spew mouthfuls of blood. Ensnaring Performance’s song had driven Bodhisattva Jie Dong to madness. The Buddhist disciples at the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza were nearly completely wiped out. Despite the Future Buddha’s intervention, they still lost the beggar.
The monks chanted “Amitābha” with incredible sorrow and rage, looking at Gu Hai’s group with some hatred.
However, the world did not revolve around the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Gu Hai turned his head and looked at the monks coldly. Then, he turned his head to look at Long Shenwu.
“Prince Shenwu, many thanks for upholding justice!” Gu Hai said with a slight bow.
Long Shenwu nodded with a complicated expression. “Mister Gu has come from afar. Would you be willing to visit my residence as a distinguished guest?”
When Long Shenwu spoke, the Heavenly Mao City officials and citizens appeared curious. The third crown prince rarely issued invitations in person like this.
“Many thanks for Prince Shenwu’s kind intentions. I have just returned to Elite Hall, and there are still many things for me to handle. How about I come bother you when you are free in the future?” Gu Hai smiled.
The Heavenly Mao City Lord looked at Gu Hai in confusion. Receiving a personal invitation from the third crown prince is a great honor, yet you reject it?
“Hahaha! That’s fine. This prince’s residence will always welcome Mister Gu!” Long Shenwu laughed.
Gu Hai bowed slightly.
After a short conversation, Long Shenwu flew off with his army.
This left the Heavenly Mao City Lord and his guards looking at Gu Hai. However, he no longer dared to seek trouble for Gu Hai, no matter how bold he was.
Although this was a clash between Gu Hai and Bodhisattva Jie Dong, anyone with a modicum of intelligence could see that it had been elevated to a minor conflict between the Qian Heavenly Dynasty and the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Gu Hai represented the Qian Nation in defeating the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Even if the Qian Heavenly Emperor did not favor Gu Hai, he would at least have a good impression of Gu Hai. If the Heavenly Mao City Lord dared to seek trouble for Gu Hai, many officials would immediately oppose him, even without the Qian Heavenly Emperor saying anything. Furthermore, the surrounding citizens felt grateful to Gu Hai. Although the Heavenly Mao City Lord resented Gu Hai, he could not make enemies of the citizens.
“Alright. We should go back now,” Gu Hai said.
“Little Ming, come with me. We won’t be returning in the future,” Ensnaring Performance called out.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” The beggar could not speak, so he used his hands to sign something.
Gu Hai appeared a little confused.
“Master, Little Ming says he wants to say goodbye to his parents and grandparents,” Ensnaring Performance said.
Gu Hai: “…”
You can translate that?
“That’s fine.” Gu Hai nodded.
The flying ship left the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza with Zhengfa Ming leading the way.
After the flying ship left, the monks bit their lips, showing hatred on their faces. However, the citizens bowed respectfully to Gu Hai’s flying ship.
At the very least, the Buddhist practitioners felt incredibly grateful for Gu Hai’s “Great Compassion Mantra.” Furthermore, the citizens had come to their senses, no longer adoring the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. They sensed that Gu Hai had fought for their nation’s glory, which earned immense respect from them.
“This Elite Hall Master is truly incredible. Does anyone know anything about Gu Hai?”
“Previously, Elite Hall enjoyed great prestige in the Qian Nation only under Princess Xiaoyue’s leadership. After Princess Xiaoyue died, I thought that Elite Hall would disappear. Unexpectedly, a Hall Master Gu appeared!”
“Hall Master Gu is remarkable! Does anyone know about Hall Master Gu’s past?”
The citizens started seeking information out of curiosity.
At this moment, a group of people stood in a distant restaurant, staring at Gu Hai’s flying ship.
If Gu Hai saw the leader, he would immediately recognize the leader. That was Feng Tonglao, the midget from the Myriad Age Daoist Sect, the one who used the “Murderous Ballad of the Ferocious Birds” to attack the Silver Moon Mountain Manor. Later on, Gu Hai used the “A Hundred Birds’ Homage to the Phoenix” to save Silver Moon City. Before Gu Hai could pursue the matter, the Myriad Age Daoist Sect’s Xuan En had taken Feng Tonglao away.
At this moment, Feng Tonglao stood on a stool with a group of people standing behind him respectfully. All of them stared at Gu Hai’s departing flying ship.
“It is that beggar?” Desire flashed in Feng Tonglao’s eyes.
“Yes, Master, it is him. You saw it for yourself earlier, the Dao Devouring Physique. We found him after searching very hard. This disciple had also put in a lot of effort to bring about the current situation. Unexpectedly, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land snatched the initiative. However, that’s fine. Elite Hall managed to take him away. That person…,” a man with a black birthmark on his face said with a frown.
“That person? Gu Hai? Humph! I want to kill him too,” Feng Tonglao said coldly.
“However, Master, that beggar’s physique has already been exposed. The Qian Heavenly Emperor and the Future Buddha know about it. Should we still try to snatch him?” the birthmarked man asked with a frown.
“Snatch him. We must. Do you know how long have I waited for this day? I can only entrust my spiritual and physical souls to a Dao Devouring Physique. Midget! Midget! I hate being a midget! Because I am a midget, Waner never spared me a second glance. Even with my superb talent, she refused to look at me. Now, I have found it, the Dao Devouring Physique. He is right here, and you want me to give up?” Feng Tonglao looked at the birthmarked man coldly.
“No. I don’t dare. Master, please forgive me,” the birthmarked man said in fear.
“Humph! Just find this Dao Devouring Physique. From what I have seen, he will look quite handsome when he grows up. It shall be him. Find an opportunity and let me snatch his body!” Feng Tonglao said coldly.
“About that…Grandmaster said this was a sensitive time and told us to toe the line. He told me to…,” the birthmarked man said softly.
However, his words trailed off when Feng Tonglao turned a murderous glare at him.
“Yes, Master. I will listen to you,” the birthmarked man said with an unsightly expression.
“Humph!” Feng Tonglao snorted coldly.
Six hours later:
There was a small thatched hut beside what seemed to be a large garbage dump in a desolate area of Heavenly Mao City.
Four small grave mounds stood outside the thatched hut, lacking tombstones. This looked very bleak.
The beggar kowtowed repeatedly to the four grave mounds.
Gu Hai and the others waited outside, standing upright with their hands behind their backs.
Ao Shun stood beside Gu Hai. At this moment, Lin Shizi flew over.
“Crown Prince, Hall Master Gu, we have investigated it,” Lin Shizi said respectfully.
“Oh?” Ao Shun looked at Lin Shizi.
“We sent some people to ask around earlier and managed to figure it out. The beggar is twelve years old this year and has lived what is considered a hard life. When he was born, his mother died from a difficult labor. His father met bandits while rushing back and got killed. His grandparents raised him. His family used to be quite wealthy. However, after he was born, they moved to this rubbish zone,” Lin Shizi explained.
“Oh? His family was wealthy?” Gu Hai said, feeling confused.
“Yes. After his father and mother died, his grandfather did not conduct any funeral. He only gave the two a simple burial. Then, they moved here. All the family business met with unexpected calamities, being robbed or something. They lost everything. When the beggar was ten years old, his grandmother fell sick and died. His grandfather also fell sick and died last year. Left with nothing else to rely on, he wandered about and begged on the streets to survive,” Lin Shizi explained.
“They died one after another? They all died of sickness? To be wealthy in Heavenly Mao City, they must have reached a certain level of cultivation. Nonetheless, they died of illness?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows.
“Some people said that the beggar is born with a terrible fate, jinxing them to death,” Lin Shizi explained.
“The Dao Devouring Physique has no influence on one’s fate, right?” Ao Shun said with a frown.
“Hall Master, we have searched the beggar’s house, but there was nothing strange,” Lin Shizi said.
Gu Hai frowned at the four grave mounds.
“Open the coffins and check the corpses,” Gu Hai said.
“But they have been dead for a long time already.” Ao Shun felt startled.
“I feel that something is off with this. How could there be so many coincidences?” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” the Elite Hall disciples answered.
“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”
The beggar, who was kneeling before the graves, tried to stop the Elite Hall disciples to prevent them from destroying the graves.
“Little Ming, you are coming with me, so let’s move their graves. We can get them better coffins and then bury them at our place?” Ensnaring Performance persuaded.
The beggar remained silent for a while before nodding.
The Elite Hall disciples immediately started digging up the graves. Soon, they dug out a rotting coffin and opened it.
“Only bones are left after rotting for ten-odd years. This should be the beggar’s father, right?” Ao Shun frowned as he looked at the bones.
“Ah! Ah!”
The beggar kowtowed to the coffin, making some sounds with his mouth as though speaking to the bones.
“Your father’s?” Gu Hai asked.
The beggar nodded.
“Crown Prince, the skeleton’s hand is holding a pearl? Even for a wealthy family, it should be extremely precious,” Lin Shizi said with a frown.
“The beggar’s father ran into bandits? They killed his father but did not take the pearl in his father’s hand?” Gu Hai narrowed his eyes.
They carefully placed the bones in a new coffin. After that, they quickly dug up the other three graves.
“This is the beggar’s mother. Hall Master, look at the neck. There is a knife mark on the bones. Was she killed? Didn’t she die from a difficult labor?” Mu Chenfeng’s expression changed.
“This is the beggar’s grandmother. The bones around the neck have blackened, and some of the rotting flesh is also black. She was poisoned. Didn’t she die from illness?” Lin Shizi’s expression changed.
“The beggar’s grandfather was also poisoned to death. There is a strip of cloth in his hand. Quickly, take it out and look. Hall Master! There are words! There are words on the cloth!” Mu Chenfeng exclaimed in shock.
When they spread out the cloth, they saw a row of words on it, “Let my grandson off! I beg you!”
Let my grandson off! I beg you?
When they saw this cloth, they felt a chill in their hearts. They remained silent for quite a long time.
“Damn it! Someone is trying to harm Little Ming. They killed his entire family!” Ensnaring Performance roared.
