Chapter 91

Qin Guangwang listened with growing curiosity, his mouth agape as he pointed at Xuankong, unable to speak.

Xuankong explained the entire script, then raised the wine pot to fill Qin Guangwang's cup with a fine wine, saying, "Brother Qin Guangwang, you did promise to help me with all your might! Besides, once I take in the young master of the Zhang family as my disciple, won't I naturally know what the Buddha Wu Tian wants the Zhang family to do for him?"

Qin Guangwang shook his head and smiled bitterly, "If you have your eye on something, how can it possibly escape?"

He sighed, "Well, well, anyway, what you need me to do is originally part of the duties of the Netherworld. It's no problem to cooperate with you. Just play your role well!"

Xuankong smiled when he heard Qin Guangwang agree, and he clasped his hands in a salute, "Alright, I'll set off now to bring Master Mila's soul to the Netherworld!"

Just as he was about to get up and leave, Qin Guangwang suddenly grabbed his sleeve, saying, "Did you forget to leave something behind?"

Xuankong "hmm"ed, looking at Qin Guangwang in confusion.

Qin Guangwang pointed at the wine pot tied to Xuankong's waist. Xuankong then remembered that he had promised to tell Qin Guangwang the method of brewing strong liquor. It's common sense not to forget to reward someone who helps you!

Xuankong chuckled and leaned in to whisper the steps of distilling strong liquor into Qin Guangwang's ear. Then he untied the wine pot from his waist and gave it to Qin Guangwang, saying, "We are good friends, and I can make more of these wine pots myself. This one can be left for Brother Qin Guangwang to enjoy on a regular basis."

Qin Guangwang finally let go of Xuankong and waved his sleeve, "If you had said you were going to give me this pot, I wouldn't have needed your brewing secret!"

Xuankong smiled bitterly, wondering if everyone who spent a lot of time with him would develop the habit of taking things. Qin Guangwang, having obtained the treasure pot that could turn water into wine, immediately ignored Xuankong and called for Wang Qi, Wang Jun, and the little fox to sit down in a side hall of the Xuanming Palace.

He instructed the Yin Judge to prepare a few dishes from the human world, and they began to eat and drink together.

As Qin Guangwang put it, "Little Brother Xuankong is no longer a child, and he won't lose himself. Besides, he carries the military token of the commander of the first palace of the Netherworld, the Xuanming Palace. He can't be unfamiliar with his own home, right?"

He was also at ease, letting Xuankong, who was entering the Netherworld for the first time, find his way back to the human world on his own.

Indeed, those who stay close to good people become good, and those who stay close to bad people become bad!

Xuankong returned to the human world along the same path, but he did not see Master Mila in the Zhang family's mansion. He wondered, "Could this little monk Mila have the power to foresee the future and know that I'm coming for him?"

He hid in the shadows and used his magic to knock out a group of Zhang family's night patrol guards.

He was somewhat amused and puzzled. It turned out that Master Mila had not seen through Xuankong's plan. Instead, this wine and meat monk was actually using the pretext of building a temple to "collect alms" at a casino.

This was similar to the abbot of a certain ancient temple on Mount Song in a previous life, who went to a brothel to "bless" the "fallen women"!

It seemed that the methods of these Buddhist scoundrels were somewhat similar. Knowing where Master Mila was, Xuankong let the Zhang family's guards go and even attached a spell of invisibility to their bodies.

One was to prevent his plan from being discovered prematurely, and the other was to protect these poor servants from the cold night wind.

Ninghai County was not a small town. Even in the dead of night, the Ruyi Casino, the best in the county, still had its sign hanging high.

A dozen burly men in uniform black cotton robes stood in two rows at the entrance of the Ruyi Casino. Xuankong, seeing this familiar scene, felt a strange sense of nostalgia and chuckled softly, "It seems that the members of such societies have always been the same, from ancient times to the present. These men look fierce and strong, much like the underlings I had in my previous life!"

Feeling at home in the casino, Xuankong chuckled and dispelled his invisibility spell, transforming his Taoist robe into a brocade robe.

He walked into the Ruyi Casino with great confidence.

The interior of the Ruyi Casino was quite elegant. Xuankong walked around the main hall but did not find Master Mila. He was not worried, as such a VIP would not mingle with ordinary people.

Xuankong smiled and started to head upstairs to the private rooms.

At the entrance to the stairs, some burly men stood guard, scrutinizing the guests with wary eyes. The upper floor was the most luxurious entertainment area in Ninghai County, frequented by wealthy and influential people.

Even the casino's owners did not want to offend these people, so the guards were on high alert. Occasionally, some down-and-out gamblers or thieves would be escorted away from the entrance.

They were all familiar faces in the county, and it was easy to distinguish the VIPs from the riffraff.

Seeing that Xuankong was a stranger trying to go upstairs, the guards exchanged glances, and one of them stepped forward, smiling, "Sir, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time in Ninghai County?"

Xuankong was not flustered. He pushed the guard's chest and said calmly, "What, is the upstairs not open for business today?" Although Xuankong was wearing plain clothes, they were finely woven, and he walked with a confident gait, giving off a strong presence that made the guards unsure of his background.

The guard was intimidated by Xuankong's calm demeanor and stepped back, saying, "Ruyi Casino is open to all, sir, please come in!"

He waved his hand to let Xuankong in but turned around and assigned two of his men to follow Xuankong. This was a common practice in casinos for dealing with strangers. Xuankong had noticed this but was not alarmed and walked upstairs with his head held high.

Upstairs, there was only one table in the private room, surrounded by wealthy guests in fine clothing, all of whom seemed to be quite wealthy.

Master Mila had been playing all night, his face flushed as he stared at the pai gow tiles. The other players had piles of silver in front of them. An official in a robe cleared his throat and said, "Master, are you short on funds?"

Master Mila was fully focused on the tiles and sighed dryly, "Hehe, when have I ever had enough?"

He complained half-jokingly, "My father passed away early, and my younger brother has been managing the family business. We've been suppressed by the Wang family recently. As for me, I am devoted to Buddhism and have made a vow to build a temple to honor the Buddha."

The official wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "So you came to us for help?"

Master Mila put down the tiles and clasped his hands together, "Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, I am here to collect alms, not to beg."

The official laughed, "Enough, we all know what kind of person the young master of the Zhang family is."