Chapter 122: The Inn in the Underworld
"When Avalokitesvara practiced the profound Prajnaparamita, he saw that the five aggregates were empty and was able to overcome all suffering. Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form..."

At eight o'clock in the evening, Master Ikkyu was chanting and meditating as usual. Cheng Long, who was once again driven back by Tang Sai'er, glanced at Ikkyu who was chanting with his eyes closed, then lifted the curtain and walked into Jingjing's room.

Jingjing was also doing her homework at this time, but she was not reciting scriptures or chanting Buddha's name. Instead, she was sitting cross-legged to practice. Master Ikkyu gave her a method of practicing Qi. If she practiced to the highest level, she could enter the realm of transformation.

But Jingjing has been practicing for five years, and is still stuck in the initial stage of refining essence. It is hard to say whether she can cultivate to the stage of refining qi in this lifetime. She is afraid that she can only dream about the stage of transforming spirit. Everything happens in dreams.

midnight.

A gust of cool breeze blew over, and Jingjing, who was wearing cool clothes, subconsciously opened her eyes. She tightened her collar with her hands, and there was nothing inside. When the wind blew, goose bumps appeared on her snow-white skin.

There is a big temperature difference between day and night in the mountains.

She had lacked a sense of security since childhood, so she subconsciously wanted to hug something.

For example, Brother Long, who is sleeping on the ground, is tall and handsome, with well-defined muscles. He is a very good human-shaped pillow. If you can curl up in Brother Long's arms, or hold him in your arms, you can warm yourself and get happiness.

Just thinking about it makes me feel so happy.

"Brother Long is sleeping so deeply. If I quietly lie in his arms, he won't notice. When the sun comes up, I will immediately go back to bed. No one will know. Who will know that I slept with Brother Long in my arms?"

"But I am a girl after all. What if Brother Long suddenly wakes up and finds me in his arms? How can I face Brother Long in the future?"

Jingjing was extremely conflicted.

She was worried about the outcome for a long time and never dared to take action.

In fact, Cheng Long, who closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, was also very conflicted. With Jingjing's tender gaze at this moment, he only needed to hook his fingers and he could taste the peach as he wished.

But what happens after you pull up your pants?
What if I accidentally offend a big shot in the future and have to abandon Jingjing and run back to the world of Hong Kong variety shows? Will I be plagued by demons? I won't even be able to concentrate on my practice?

This is what Cheng Long fears the most.

Normally, I am worried that my temperament will suddenly change while I am practicing.

If you accidentally plant a demon in your heart, you never know when it will turn into a bloodthirsty demon!

Therefore, his ideal target for provoking now is actually a female ghost. With the soul-nourishing jade given by Taoist Qianhe, one or two are not too few, and ten or eight are not too many.

You can carry it with you anyway.

The more the merrier!
……

The night passed quietly.

The two people who had been struggling all night walked out of the bedroom one after another.

After Cheng Long washed up, he walked under the eaves, put away the clothes that Jingjing had helped him wash and dry yesterday, stuffed them into his suitcase, and came to Master Yixiu to say goodbye: "Master Yixiu, I have to go on a long journey, so I may not have time to drink the porridge."

"So urgent?"

"We have to travel 300 miles today. If we want to arrive before dark, we have to get up early..."

"Then I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you, Master. Please speak for Jingjing and me."

Cheng Long picked up his suitcase and left resolutely.

Ikkyu looked at the figure that was getting farther and farther away, his expression revealing a bit of loneliness and a barely perceptible sense of relief.

Aaron is gone.

This means that he doesn't have to worry about Jiale and be on guard against the other party at all times.

He was afraid that the female disciple he had taken in for several years would be abducted.

But on the other hand, he was reluctant to let Cheng Long leave. After all, this kid was talented and gifted. It would be of great benefit to him if he stayed by his side.

"Brother Long, it's time to drink porridge."

"Brother Long, where are you?"

"Brother Long..."

After a long time, Jingjing came out of the kitchen wrapped in an apron. She called out to everyone inside and outside the house, but got no response. So she walked up to her master and asked, "Master, where is Brother Long?"

"gone."

"Ah? Where did Brother Long go?"

Jingjing felt panicky.

"He didn't say where he was going, but he said he was going to travel 300 miles. I guess his destination is Queya Mountain. I heard that the wild mountain king there is very fierce, and every year several nearby villages have to sacrifice a pair of boys and girls."

Master Ikkyu originally didn't want to tell Cheng Long where he was going, but he really couldn't bear to see his disciple sad, so he was so sad that he burst into tears just by hearing Cheng Long leave without saying goodbye.

Hey!
There is definitely no hope for Jiale, this blockhead.

"Ah, what is Brother Long doing at Queya Mountain? There are several dens of monsters gathered there! It's too dangerous for him to go alone. No, I want to go too."

Jingjing originally wanted to spend more time with Brother Long while Jiale was away and no one was bothering her. Once the two of them got to know each other well, they could keep each other warm when it was cold at night.

I never thought that when I wasn't paying attention, Brother Long actually took the bag and left.

What I hate most is people leaving without saying goodbye.

"You are afraid of even the purple zombies. What can you do if you go? You are not allowed to go."

Master Ikkyu scolded with a stern face.

Subduing demons and monsters is not a child's game. Jingjing, a little girl in the early stage of refining essence, can only deal with three or five robbers. If she encounters zombies or ghosts, it is difficult for her to protect herself.

"If you don't want to go, then don't go. Why are you so fierce~~"

Jingjing lowered her head in disappointment, and as usual, she pouted and sulked.

Master Ikkyu thought that this time would be like the past and he would recover in a day or two. However, he disappeared soon after drinking the porridge.

At first, Ikkyu didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that Jingjing had gone to the stream to wash up, until she didn't come back until almost noon, then he realized something was wrong. He hurried into the room.

Sure enough, most of the girl's luggage was missing.

"This crazy girl, why can't I just be at peace with her?"

Ikkiu, who treated Jingjing as his daughter, hurriedly packed a package, took some dry food, locked the door, and rushed towards Queya Mountain.

……

buzzing...

A fully gas-filled off-road motorcycle sped through the dense forest, leaving a long rut on the muddy provincial road in the forest after the rain.

The 300-mile journey from Simu and Ikkyu Dojo to Queya Mountain requires a horse-drawn carriage to travel from morning to night to barely arrive. However, riding a modern off-road motorcycle, even on the winding official road, with Cheng Long's current reaction and control ability, he can still drive more than 100 miles per hour.

In other words, it would only take him two or three hours to reach the border of Queya Mountain.

It's about ten o'clock in the morning.

Cheng Long took out a container from the storage compartment in an uninhabited place, roughly cleaned the mud on the car, then pushed the off-road motorcycle into it, then took out a suitcase and walked unsteadily on the road.

After a while, an inn came into view.

There were four big characters written on the doorplate: "Inn of the Underworld".

The inn is located at the junction of three provinces, standing on a high ground. White lanterns are hung around the front yard. Less than a mile behind the inn is the famous mass grave.

The store owner's intention of opening an inn here is obvious.

——Don’t do business with ordinary people!

"Sir, how many people are there?"

As soon as Cheng Long entered the inn, the waiter came up to him and looked behind him. When he found that there were no zombies or coffin-carrying team following him, he looked slightly surprised.

"One."

"Sir, our store is a little special. If you..."

"Look carefully first."

Cheng Long waved his hand and interrupted forcefully.

The waiter was not angry. Anyone who dared to work in the Underworld Inn had some skills. Hearing Cheng Long's words, he subconsciously activated his magic power and focused his eyes.

What the hell!

Where did that light bulb come from!

The waiter who needed to use his magic power just now realized that Cheng Long was a fellow trader. He was frightened by the other party's surging magic power and lowered his head in fear and trepidation, saying, "Senior, I am sorry for offending you just now, I am sorry for offending you..."

"Find me a good spot."

"Okay, senior, please follow me."

Following the waiter into the inn, Cheng Long discovered that there were some guests dressed as Taoists or monks sitting in the hall. Most of them had low magical powers, not much higher than the waiter.

There are only a few people who have magical powers weaker than Simu and Ikkyu.

"Senior, my boss used to be a corpse-driver. Later, he got too old and couldn't do that anymore, so he opened an inn here to entertain fellow travelers. Occasionally, it would also serve as a charity cemetery to provide convenience for passers-by who died in a foreign land..." Noticing the confusion on Cheng Long's face, the waiter took the initiative to explain.

Charity houses that provide convenience to colleagues are common, but inns that specifically provide food and lodging for colleagues are not common. There are only a few of them in the whole of China. In modern society, this is an emerging industry full of opportunities.

But there are not many people who have the ability to open an inn in the underworld. The Taoists from famous and upright sects disdain to do so, and the smaller sects do not have that kind of prestige.

This also makes the Underworld Inn extremely rare, and even a large number of people have never heard of it.

"Have you heard? Someone went missing in Xiaoniu Village the day before yesterday. This is the eighth person this month. If this continues, I'm afraid no one will dare to stay in Xiaoniu Village."

"I don't care about these. I only care about how much money the people of Xiaoniu Village are willing to pay to solve this problem."

"It seems that no one has taken the lead yet."

"Humph, you are such a greedy person who doesn't even want to give a penny. You don't even want to give us anything, but you still want us to subdue demons and monsters. There is no such a cheap thing in the world."

"Haha, it's not that I look down on you, but that place is very close to Queya Mountain. Even if the people of Xiaoniu Village are willing to pay, do you have the ability to earn it?"

"..."

The inn was very lively. Those who came here to rest, even if they were not from the same industry, were at least like-minded. They gathered in groups of three or five to chat without any scruples.

Perhaps because there were so many people coming, the Underworld Inn gradually developed a hiring business. Whenever something happened in the villages or towns within a hundred or two hundred miles, and the Taoist priests and monks in the town were unable to solve the problem, someone would come here to hire someone to do the job.

The waiter invited Cheng Long to an empty table by the window on the second floor and greeted him warmly, "Senior, the most famous dish in our inn is the three-fresh chicken. Everyone who has eaten it says it's good. Would you like to have one?"

"Okay, bring two more side dishes."

"Okay, please wait a moment, senior."

After the waiter left, Cheng Long looked out the window casually. After a while, the conversation between the two corpse drivers downstairs piqued his interest.

"Well, the world is getting more and more chaotic, people are dying everywhere. I just went to Pucheng two days ago, and I didn't expect to have to go there again today."

"It's because Yuan Shikai had wild ideas and naively wanted to restore the monarchy. He took the throne by force and stepped down in less than three months. Now the entire Beiyang government is in chaos, warlords are ruling their own territories, and people are fighting for territory everywhere. Look, the northern warlord Cao Ying has come to our south and occupied Shitou City..."

"There are benefits to chaos. At least it's easier for us to make money."

"I'm not as cruel as you. I only care about my own business..."

Pucheng, Stone City, Cao Ying?
Isn’t this the plot of the movie Danger Zone?
When thinking of Cao Ying's son Cao Shaolin, the five words "I don't eat beef" emerged in Cheng Long's mind.

When he first came into contact with the magic skills, he was always worried that one day he would become a person like Cao Shaolin, who killed people based on his own preferences, regardless of whether they were women or children, and would kill them whenever he wanted, without any scruples.

I didn’t expect that we would meet so soon!

(End of this chapter)