NEBM Chapter 58: Prelude

The bald monk hid behind Shen Zhixian. Now that he was being shielded by Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin, he seemed to feel a lot more relieved. He loudly yelled, “Honestly, I already told you. I didn’t do anything wrong this time. You can’t hit me!”

The cold-faced man named Chen Lie looked indifferently at him. With eyes thickly laced with frost, he asked coldly, “Where is Si Fei?”

The bald monk moved his neck back and refuted him, “I already told this child. You shouldn’t be bothered with A’fei. Our family A’fei is extremely good!”

Chen Lie stared at the bald monk for quite a while before he gave Shen Zhixian a slight nod and coldly said, “Right now, his words are not right. This person likes babbling nonsense and can’t distinguish between right or wrong.”

His phrase “babbling nonsense” was aimed at the bald monk and had nothing to do with Shen Zhixian.

Shen Zhixian had no opinions regarding his treatments of the bald monk; this was a private matter between the two of them. However, he did have an opinion on Chen Lie wanting to kill the bald monk…Therefore, he was happy to listen.

Shen Zhixian also wore an indifferent expression as he said, “Dare I ask who this person is…”

Chen Lie was accustomed to treating others with a kind of chilly arrogance. His long explanation just now was already very rare. At this time, he only said coldly, “Mingzhou, Chen Lie.”

Right after saying this, he got up to leave.

As he walked past Shen Zhixian’s table, he looked at the bald monk, his eyes showing a deep hatred. “Sooner or later, the day will come when I’ll destroy all that sin.”

The bald monk grinned at him. “It didn’t ask you or mess with you. Why do you chase after it?”

“A place that shelters evil cannot exist under the Heavens.”

After he left, the bald monk quietly mumbled, “Obtuse boy.”

“Who was that?”

“That man came from Mingzhou Sect. He’d vowed to punish evil, promote goodness, and rid the world of any defilements.” Although the bald monk spoke with a smile, there was a slight irony in his words. He sighed faintly. “He said that the Undead City is the most dirty place in the world, and sooner or later, it will be destroyed.”

Shen Zhixian lowered his eyes. “The Undead City overflows with thousands of demons and devils…so, it’s really like this. The Si Fei he’d mentioned…is a person from the Undead City?”

“He’s the Lord of the Undead City.” The bald monk chuckled. “In this world, there are too many things that may not be what they seem. It looks like this, but in fact…”

He stopped, shook his head, smiled and sighed again.

Shen Zhixian asked, “What is it actually?”

At that moment, the waiter shouted “Here it comes!” and put four baskets of meat buns on the table. The bald monk’s eyes immediately brightened and he rubbed his hands together. Too overeager, he grabbed a bun in each hand, not caring that they were still scalding hot. “He’s actually just like the bald monk. He looks like he loves steamed buns, but he actually really loves meat buns.”

He drooled as he looked at the two meat buns. “Ah, really fragrant! I love meat buns, ah!”

Shen Zhixian knew that he was deliberately changing the topic. He no longer asked and only said, “You always talk about steamed buns, so I thought you only eat steamed buns.”

“If I have money, would I be eating steamed buns everyday? Meat buns are really delicious!” The bald monk had already bitten off half of the bun and chewed quickly. “Mainly, it’s because there’s no money… I’m a penniless bald monk … ”

Shen Zhixian faintly rubbed his eyesbrows.

……

Ever since the restaurant, Chen Lie began to appear around them more frequently.

The bald monk cried bitterly, “This guy, he probably wants to follow us to the Undead City.” He sighed and sighed. “A’fei had just hidden the Undead City so he won’t find it again…A’fei is going to cut me bald. ”

“You’re already bald. What are you worried about?

The bald monk began to mutter restlessly, “He is jealous and hateful. He’d experienced some things before, causing him to especially hate devils and demons. Once he sees a demon, he’ll try to kill it. He doesn’t have any measurements about good or evil. When you see him later, avoid him. When this ice block goes crazy, no one can stop him. ”

Shen Zhixian thoughtfully said, “He deeply hates demons and devils, what does it have to do with us?”

The bald monk snorted suddenly. After a moment, he looked around casually and said, “Oh, where are we going? Wait a minute, I’ll think of a way…”

Shen Zhixian narrowed his eyes. “Why do I think that you’re always pointing your fingers randomly? What bad ideas are you thinking?”

“No, no. I’m an honest person,” the bald monk repeatedly denied. His pair of little eyes squinted hard, his fingers forgotten, as he looked for the right direction. “Go, this way.”

The group walked for another seven or eight days, sometimes bumping into Chen Lie. When this happens, the bald monk would speak some words in jest and laugh. Then, they would circle around Chen Lie and move on.

At first, the bald monk chattered a lot, speaking about random, useless things and never stopping. He would chatter idly all day, stuff his mouth with steamed buns, and then continue to talk. But, gradually, the longer they walked, the more quiet he became. As he rode on the civet cat, rubbing his hand over the fluff on the cat’s neck, he would become lost in thought for a long time. Shen Zhixian had to call him a few times before he could recover.

Shen Zhixian felt that he was being strange. “What’s wrong with you?”

The bald monk remained silent for a long time, then turned his head to look at Shen Zhixian. But he didn’t answer Shen Zhixian’s questions. “I have a question…”

“Yes?”

Shen Zhixian leaned back comfortably in Yan Jin’s arms. Yan Jin clenched his waist steadily, firmly guarding him.

After the civet cat was given to the bald monk, they simply bought a stronger and bigger pegasus that can be double-ridden. Shen Zhixian was too lazy and preferred riding with Yan Jin, relaxing in his arms and letting him erect a barrier against the wind. As a result, he simply rested leisurely.

The bald monk asked slowly, “If, I mean if, one day the person you love completely changed to something else, would you hate him?”

He said this to the two of them, without adding any names. Shen Zhixian couldn’t tell who he was asking about, but after just listening…Why did he feel so guilty?

Shen Zhixian gave a light cough and asked, “What do you mean by completely changing to something else?”

“For example, to change into something bad, like become a devil or something.”

This bald monk always mentioned divination, and occasionally, Shen Zhixian thought that he’d noticed was something wrong with him. But after hearing this, he realized that the monk wasn’t talking about Shen Zhixian himself, but about…Yan Jin?

Yan Jin had devil qi in his body. He repeatedly straddled on the edge of being a devil cultivator. Shen Zhixian knew this. He didn’t have any different views on this. Devil cultivation and immortal cultivation were just different cultivation methods. Shen Zhixuan had no opinion on devil cultivation. After all, only a small group of devil cultivators do evil.

Even if Yan Jin became a devil cultivator, as long as he doesn’t destroy the world, Shen Zhixian wouldn’t care.

He said, “No.”

The bald monk asked, “What if he became a devil and destroyed the world? Would you abandon him?”

Shen Zhixian was now certain that the bald monk was asking him. He didn’t respond and, after looking at the bald monk for a moment, he wondered, “Why are you asking this kind of example?”

“Aiya, don’t worry. I’m just randomly talking about it.” The bald monk turned his head and looked toward the west. He acted like he didn’t care, but his small eyes kept sneaking glances at Shen Zhixian.

Shen Zhixian’s intuition told him something was up, but he couldn’t guess what. He only said, “Our A’jin is very well-behaved. Even if he entered the devil’s path, he wouldn’t destroy the world.”

After saying this, he looked up at Yan Jin, who couldn’t help but tightened his hold in response. He called “Master” in a low, faintly anxious voice.

Shen Zhixian said, “Entering the devil’s path is just entering the devil’s path. The basis for devil and immortal cultivation is difficult to distinguish. Although there are devil cultivating fiends who are evil, they’re small in numbers. Even if there are devil cultivators who are deliberately malicious…one can also say there are also many evil-hearted immortal cultivators as well. The latter just placed themselves in a hypocritical shell and claimed it justice.”

He interlocked his and Yan Jin’s fingers, then he calmly said, “It’s impossible for me to hate Yan Jin just because he ended up following the devil’s path. It is even more impossible for me to abandon him.” His voice couldn’t help softening, “Our A’jin is not such a villain.”

His tone was full of confidence and trust, making Yan Jin smile faintly. The bad monk seemed to be a little moved, muttering, “What reasonable logic and rare insight. Unfortunately, there are many others who don’t always understand… What is that?”

He suddenly patted the civet cat, motioning for it to stop. The civet cat obediently stopped and landed on the ground with its four claws, its tail waving.

Yan Jin didn’t expect for him to suddenly stop. The pegasus was running too fast so they ended up surpassing the monk by quite some distance. After taking control of the pegasus, he pulled the pegasus around and they landed.

The monk’s face displayed his internal conflict and helpless guilt. He suddenly rolled over and fell to the ground. He looked deeply at them, taking a long time to get up. His guilt had fostered complex emotions within him, and he softly said, “I’m very sorry. But, I also want to ask you both to remember your words…Please take care of each other. Afterward, if you want to kill me or cut off my flesh as punishment, this bald monk will comply.”

Shen Zhixian looked at him in surprise and dismounted with Yan Jin. He didn’t immediately respond but wondered what the monk’s words meant. Suddenly, a gale rose up from the ground, tossing pieces of sands and stones about and obscuring the bald monk’s figure.

The ground began to tremble under their feet. The earth cracked open and from within its depths rose a cold wind that carried with it many vague and strange sounds, like the roar of thousands of demons and hundreds of ghosts.

They reacted very quickly and almost immediately ran toward the bald monk. But, the land under their feet seemed to change, shifting into quicksand that began sucking them down.

Yan Jin drew his sword, but he was too late. This powerful force far surpassed what they’d encountered before. Within moments, they were completely swallowed up, leaving a huge whole in the ground.

The bad monk took in a mouthful of air and fell to the ground with a loud thump, his body covered in cold sweat. He supported one hand with the other, which was badly trembling.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” His voice trembled. He choked back a mouthful of blood and pulled out a book with shaking hands.

The book was very old and thick. It seemed to have been opened numerous times, such that the edges became worn with use.

The bald monk spread the book on the ground, mouthed a few verses from a spell and silently opened the cover page. He flipped from pages to pages, as if searching for something, trying so hard that he forgot to be vigilant of his surroundings. As a result, he didn’t notice when someone approached.

“It’s here…” His eyes brightened. He was about to tear off the page off when a cold hand with a fiery red whip appeared and picked the book up first.

“—Hey ?!” The bald monk turned pale and rushed toward him, wanting to grab the old book back.

That book couldn’t be seen by others. The bald monk staked everything on one final effort of strength. But, unexpectedly, he’d managed to bump into Chen Lie after taking two steps. This caused Chen Lie to lose his grip on the book, which flew out of his hand and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

The bald monk no longer had any strengths left. He looked at the book not far away but had no energy to pick it up. He watched helplessly as Chen Lie took two steps forward and picked the book up again.

Fortunately, when the book landed, it landed closed. To unlock, the book required a secret spell. Without this spell, even if the book was opened, it would only display blank pages.

Chen Lie flipped through the book several times but to no avail. His cold eyes looked at the trembling bald monk, his voice almost congealed into ice as he said, “What is this thing?”

The bald monk looked at Chen Lie. He put down the worry in his heart, indifferently wiped away the blood on his mouth, and smiled. “It’s a collection of bad things done by the bald monk. Why? Want to see?”