Chapter 67

With those words, the oppressive atmosphere in the foyer dissipated, and Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi heaved a slight sigh of relief, the sense of being watched by a hungry wolf gone.

The woman at the front desk narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the young couple separated by a desk, and subtly glanced outside the hotel.

"I understand. Please wait a moment, guests."

She withdrew her gaze, leaving the words coldly, and walked into the depths of the hotel, the sound of her high heels fading away.

Xie Lingxi exhaled, her face pale, and whispered, "Yuan Shige, I, I just remembered something."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her.

Xie Lingxi voiced her speculation, "We couldn't find any information on 'Master Wuhen.' Is it possible that it's not because he's unknown, but because our access level is too low?"

The front desk woman had such a terrifying presence; it was easy to imagine the level of Master Wuhen.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded solemnly, "I thought the same. That's why I was planning to escape just now, and I was confident I could."

"Ah?" Xie Lingxi was startled, her eyes wide open, "I was so scared my legs were shaking. I didn't even think of escaping; I just wanted to hide my head in your armpit."

That's why I was confident I could escape. I just need to run faster than my teammate, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. He spread his arms, tucking Xie Lingxi's head under his armpit, and asked, "Does this make you feel safer?"

"Yuan Shige, let me go, let me go, it's embarrassing," Xie Lingxi struggled.

She pulled her head out from under Zhang Yuanqing's armpit, adjusted her tilted headphones, and whispered, "Yuan Shige, my headphones are a prop; they can monitor all the sounds within a 500-meter radius."

She focused, and softly said, "The woman got into the elevator. The elevator stopped on the fourth floor. She opened the second door to the left of the elevator. She disappeared?!"

Xie Lingxi lifted her face, astonished, "She vanished."

Vanished? Is the room shielded from outside detection? Zhang Yuanqing patted the little girl's shoulder, signaling her to calm down.

The two waited silently. During this time, Xie Lingxi frequently looked outside the hotel, confirming that the bodyguards her family had sent were still watching over her, which gave her a slight sense of security.

About ten minutes later, she tilted her head and whispered, "She's coming out."

A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing heard the elevator "ding," and the cabin returned to the first floor. The sound of high heels echoed as the attractive aunt returned to the foyer, looking at them and said, "Follow me!"

Her cold gaze swept over the young people, and she added, "If you're afraid, you can turn back."

Zhang Yuanqing smiled, "Sister, you look kind and benevolent, you must be a good person. We're not afraid."

Xie Lingxi said softly, "Aunt, we just came to deliver a message; we have no ill intentions."

The woman's expression softened, and she nodded slightly, leading them to the fourth floor.

She stood in the corridor, looking at the second room to the left of the elevator, and said, "Go in."

Zhang Yuanqing saw the room number: 404!

What a name, his lips twitched. He pulled Xie Lingxi to the door and turned the doorknob.

"Click!"

The moment the lock clicked, a calm and powerful force seemed to envelop them, and the scene before their eyes changed rapidly.

The carpet in the corridor turned into simple blue porcelain, the white-painted walls became a structure of bricks and wood, and the fluorescent lights turned into flickering candlelight.

Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi looked around in shock. They were in a temple hall, with a seven-meter-high dome adorned with intricate patterns and depictions of deities.

Beneath the dome stood a five-meter-tall golden Buddha, holding a flower and looking down with an expression that seemed both compassionate, stern, and cold.

On the offering table, eighteen thick candles burned brightly.

Below the Buddha, on a prayer mat, sat a monk in a green robe, his figure towering. Even in a seated position, he was as tall as Xie Lingxi.

Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with fear and solemnity. One moment they were in the hotel corridor, the next they were in a strange temple.

If it weren't for the lack of a game prompt, they would have suspected they were in a spirit realm again.

This Master Wuhen is even more terrifying than I imagined. What level of spirit realm traveler must he be to have such power? Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, looking at the back of the monk in the green robe, and said respectfully, "Are you Master Wuhen?"

"Night Walker and Musician, are you from the official organization?"

A low, hoarse voice came, the tone strange, as if enduring some pain.

"Yes!"

Zhang Yuanqing didn't dare to hide.

The hall was silent for several seconds, and the low, hoarse voice echoed again, "What did the father who failed his child say before he died?"

Zhang Yuanqing's voice unconsciously lowered, "He asked me to tell the Master: I am very sorry, I still don't know if the mistake was mine or the world's."

As he said these words, he once again recalled the father's eyes at the moment of his death, filled with hatred and sorrow.

The hall fell into a long silence, making Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi uneasy.

Finally, Master Wuhen sighed, "I understand."

Xie Lingxi hesitated, then mustered the courage to ask softly, "Master, he saved my life. He wasn't a bad person. Why did he become an evil profession?"

The monk in the green robe slowly said, "He once had a daughter, very smart and well-behaved, with excellent academic performance from a young age. In college, she gradually changed, pursuing material things and competing blindly with her classmates. To support his daughter, the father worked day and night, earning money desperately, but he could never satisfy her needs. One day, he discovered that his daughter had borrowed a lot of money online and had been photographed in compromising situations.

"He couldn't repay the debts and felt ashamed of his daughter, thinking she disgraced the family. They had a big argument, and he threatened to cut ties with her. The father believed it was all her fault, that she had become materialistic, selfish, and unrecognizable.

"Later, the loan company controlled the girl, forcing her into prostitution, and brutally abused her. In despair, she jumped to her death.

"The father was devastated. He began to think it was his fault. If he could have provided a comfortable life for his daughter, if he could have paid off her debts, none of this would have happened. He regretted the argument many times, thinking that if he had comforted and supported her, things might have been different. He felt he had pushed his daughter into the abyss.

"After his daughter's death, he planned to sue the loan company and the people who had tortured and killed her, but the company was powerful, and he lost the case.

"He fell into a deep depression, realizing the fault was not his daughter's, but his and the world's. He believed that people cannot change their environment; they are influenced by it. When society constantly screams about materialism and money, you will be influenced, becoming materialistic and greedy, and no one is an exception.

"His daughter hadn't entered society, didn't understand the dangers, and was led into excessive consumption and borrowing, ultimately leading to her tragic end. The world was rotten, and he decided to take revenge for his daughter.

"He broke into the loan company, killed the people who had abused and killed her, and fled the scene. That act of killing gave him a role card, making him a Deceptive Demon."

"The father was a radical person, but he wasn't a bloodthirsty villain. However, once he became an evil profession, there was no turning back. He went further down this path, his level increasing, but his suffering deepened.

"One day, he met me and followed me in practice, hoping to resolve his inner anger and find redemption. But he was too radical. He didn't want to kill innocents, yet he stubbornly refused to reconcile with the world.

"Perhaps death was the best end for him."

No wonder he saved Xie Lingxi. His daughter was about the same age as her. He had regretted not helping his daughter many times. That leap to save Xie Lingxi was not for her but for his daughter who had jumped to her death. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the little girl, and Xie Lingxi was speechless, her eyes red.

He sighed silently, "Master, I think he has found redemption."

Master Wuhen, facing away from them, made no comment, lightly waving his sleeve. Two faint glows emerged and landed at Xie Lingxi and Zhang Yuanqing's feet.

They looked closely and saw two black jade stones, about the size of a palm, with black light swirling inside, forming various shapes, like a dream.

Just a few seconds of looking made Xie Lingxi and Zhang Yuanqing feel dizzy and disoriented.

"Thank you for bringing back his last words. This is called 'Dream Jade Talisman.' Crush it to contact me. If you are in danger, I will help you once. This is only effective in the real world, not in the spirit realm," Master Wuhen said coolly.

"Leave now."

The Buddha statue and candlelight distorted and shattered, and Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi found themselves back in the hotel, standing in front of an open door to a standard single room.

At their feet lay the two black jade stones.