At the same time, Ye Yang, who was hiding inside the factory, also felt that something was wrong. Weren’t these rogue cultivators supposed to make a big scene when they showed up? The deadline was approaching, yet everything was calm. Could the intelligence be wrong?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a message arrived from Xing Tian.
“Evacuate immediately!”
With a head full of question marks, Ye Yang and Chi Lian quickly left the factory.
The group gathered at their agreed-upon meeting point.
“What’s going on?”
Xing Tian’s face was grave. “This is my mistake. There’s more than one chemical plant in Can Mountain.”
He had just checked multiple sources. On paper, there was indeed only one chemical plant in Can Mountain. But Fuyuan City had an enclave—a piece of land located south of Can Mountain, completely surrounded by Can Mountain’s territory. In practical terms, this enclave was actually closer to downtown Can Mountain than the northern suburb where they currently were.
Tiancheng and Yuhe happened to be located on that enclave.
Rogue cultivators couldn’t care less about complicated, convoluted administrative boundaries…
“You can’t blame yourself entirely. Gathering intelligence before a mission is assigned isn’t our job. We couldn’t have known in advance what information we’d need, and time was extremely tight,” Chi Lian comforted him.
Xing Tian sighed. “Right now, there isn’t a single free reconnaissance team member left in all of Can Mountain. Everyone in the operations department, without exception, has been sent out.” Otherwise, how could such a big problem have slipped through?
Ye Yang looked left and right, then couldn’t help asking, “So what do we do now? Is there still time to get there?”
Wu Jie sighed and held up her phone screen to show them. “Look at this.”
It was a video taken by a netizen. The footage showed thick black smoke rising; the scene was hard to make out. In the background, someone was shouting, “An explosion!”
Comments were flooding in—seven or eight new ones every second—
“I’m telling you, something’s really wrong with Can Mountain lately. One disaster after another.”
“Which deity did they piss off?”
“Buddha protect us, Buddha protect us. Where is this?”
“Oh my god, a friend of mine lives near there!”
“Have the firefighters arrived yet?”
“Things have been seriously off lately. I’m getting out of here for a while. So many big incidents in Can Mountain.”
“What? What else happened?”
“Are you talking about the richest man’s organ transplant?”
“There’s big gossip—the person above, spill the details!”
Chi Lian had only read a few comments when the video suddenly disappeared.
Ye Yang looked up. “Then let’s hurry over there and rescue people!”
Xing Tian wanted to go too, but Wu Jie said, “No need. Someone’s already been assigned to rescue. We’re moving straight to the next mission.”
Only then did Ye Yang notice that he had just received a new mission briefing—
“Buddha statue at Dongru Temple, Dongru Peak, Can Mountain, may be contaminated. Needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.”
Everyone had received the same mission. Chi Lian looked confused. “What is this? Didn’t we come to Can Mountain to deal with rogue cultivators?” They had been hunting rogue cultivators for days. Now, out of nowhere, an unrelated mission popped up…
Ye Yang also noticed something off. “The wording of this mission is strange. It’s not the standard mission template. It says ‘needs to be dealt with as soon as possible,’ but there’s no urgent tag.”
“Can Mountain YCG is overwhelmed right now. The person who posted the mission was probably pulled in temporarily from another department,” Wu Jie said understandingly. “Otherwise, our previous mission wouldn’t have had such a huge oversight…”
That was a painful topic. No one wanted to dwell on it. Xing Tian waved his hand. “Alright, let’s look at the mission briefing.”
This mission’s briefing was actually quite detailed.
Can Mountain’s richest man, Qin Ruhai, had always been in good health. No one knew what happened, but three months ago, he suddenly fell gravely ill—multiple organ failure. He had less than two months to live.
But two months ago—within one month of falling ill—Qin Ruhai was incredibly fortunate to find a full set of matching organs. He was saved. So far, his recovery was going well.
At the time, Qin Ruhai’s sudden illness had been so urgent that news leaked out, drawing massive public attention. Ye Yang remembered it—he had seen related news coverage. Later, the fact that he had found organs and recovered couldn’t be hidden either. When it came to light, it sparked widespread public speculation.
Qin Ruhai’s reputation wasn’t very good to begin with, and many people suspected his organs came from illegal sources.
In particular, a young man filed a named report, firmly believing that Qin Ruhai must have used illegal means to obtain those organs.
The young man had no evidence, but the video of him holding his ID card and filing the named report had also trended on social media.
Later, somehow, YCG got involved in the matter.
They found out that the young man’s parents had had a conflict with Qin Ruhai’s real estate group over housing demolition. When his parents later died of illness one after another, the young man blamed Qin Ruhai entirely for their deaths.
He had heard that Dongru Temple had a remote side hall with a very efficacious Buddha statue inside. So he went to Dongru Temple and made a wish before the statue—that Qin Ruhai would contract an incurable disease.
The very next day, news broke that Qin Ruhai had suddenly fallen gravely ill.
That was far too efficacious. The young man was surprised, but more than that, he was overjoyed. He even went back to Dongru Temple to fulfill his vow, never once considering—what legitimate Buddha would grant such a malicious wish?
But not long after, he heard that Qin Ruhai had recovered. That, he couldn’t accept—and that was how the named report came about.
YCG naturally investigated Qin Ruhai as well. His organ sources turned out to be completely legitimate. However, they also discovered that Qin Ruhai’s family members had visited Dongru Temple multiple times and donated a huge sum of money to the temple.
Even more coincidentally, that large donation was specifically earmarked for the renovation of the side hall containing the Buddha statue.
And because of the renovation, the side hall had been closed to visitors ever since.
At present, all clues pointed to the Buddha statue at Dongru Temple.
Ye Yang frowned. “This mission briefing is way too detailed, and the difficulty doesn’t seem that high. Does it really require four people?”
Wu Jie said, “I asked around. This mission was posted a month ago. It’s not an urgent mission, and no one has picked it up.”
Chi Lian asked, “So why are we suddenly being assigned to it?”
“What else could it be? They’re bullying us outsiders because they’re afraid we’ll steal their credit,” Wu Jie said, her temper flaring. “If they’re so worried about us taking credit, they shouldn’t have asked Dongzhou for help in the first place!”
She had reason to think this way. Wu Jie, Chi Lian, and Brother Hui had never been particularly well-known in YCG before. But as soon as they arrived in Can Mountain, they’d caught several groups of rogue cultivators in a row—strong abilities, high efficiency. Sure enough, some people had started saying unpleasant things behind their backs.
“Don’t say that. We came here to help. Whether it’s catching rogue cultivators or doing something else, it’s all helping Can Mountain. There’s no difference.” Among this group of non-humans, it was Xing Tian—the one who had lived the longest and was expected to live for a very, very long time still—who took the broadest view.
“This Buddha statue sounds seriously sketchy. It might be some kind of cult,” Ye Yang said, stroking his chin. “What do you think—could Dongru Temple be connected to those rogue cultivators?”
“…That makes sense!” Wu Jie looked as if she’d just been enlightened. “This statue is definitely creepy. Come on, let’s go check it out.”
Only Chi Lian still seemed reluctant. “We’re running around like a headless chicken. When will this ever end?” He really wanted to go back to Dongzhou. He needed a rest!
Xing Tian comforted him. “Don’t worry. It’s just a few busy days. We’ll be able to go back soon.”
“How do you know, Brother Xing?” Ye Yang asked curiously.
Chi Lian said, “You came late, so you probably don’t know yet. After Luoyang City stirred up trouble, the human realm and demon realm simultaneously fell into chaos in three places—Can Mountain, Fuyuan, and Qianqin. These rogue cultivators, the demon cities, Luoyang City, and Yingzhao—they’re absolutely connected. I always feel there’s a huge conspiracy behind all this.”
Wu Jie nearly rolled her eyes. “You ‘feel’? Of course there’s a conspiracy. Yingzhao was never anything good to begin with.”
Xing Tian said, “I don’t think Yingzhao has the cunning or ability for this. There’s probably someone behind him.”
Ye Yang still didn’t get it. “So… why will we be able to go back soon?”
Wu Jie grabbed Ye Yang and messily ruffled his hair. “Oh, my little bunny baby, how can you be this adorable? Look—the situation in Can Mountain has blown up this big. Both the human and demon realms are in this state. Even the underworld might be affected. Do you think they’d let this continue forever?”
“So! Some big shot up above is probably about to make a move.”
Then she asked Ye Yang, “Get it now?”
Ye Yang, hair sticking up in all directions, had a sudden revelation. “So that’s how it is!”
Chi Lian wanted to protest but didn’t dare. He muttered quietly, “Why is she so much nicer to him than to me…”
·
Dongru Temple had always enjoyed robust incense offerings. Recently, with one accident after another in Can Mountain, even people who weren’t usually devout had come to pray, urged on by family and friends.
After a quick meal and a short rest, the four arrived at Dongru Temple.
It was now evening. The temple and surrounding attractions were closed for the day—which actually made things more convenient for them.
The side hall was easy to find. It was the only one surrounded by green netting and scaffolding.
The temple was quite modern, with surveillance cameras everywhere. But for this group of non-humans, that was no obstacle at all.
In just a few minutes, they were standing before the so-called “highly efficacious” Buddha statue.
“This definitely isn’t a legitimate Buddha statue.” That was Ye Yang’s first impression. What proper temple would enshrine something like this? Calling it a Buddha statue wasn’t even accurate anymore. You couldn’t just sit something cross-legged with its hands in a pose, put a cushion in front of it, and call it a Buddha.
Although its hands were pressed together in a compassionate gesture, the expression on the statue’s face had nothing to do with mercy. Its slanted eyes held something wicked—look at them too long, and they made you deeply uncomfortable.
Though the statue was draped in a monastic robe, Ye Yang immediately noticed that there were several legs underneath. He lifted the robe—
“Woah!” Chi Lian gasped in surprise.
Beneath the robe was a dense tangle of legs—long, short, thick, thin—twisted together in every conceivable contortion. Anyone with trypophobia would want to throw up at the sight.
Buddhist iconography certainly includes figures with multiple legs, arms, or eyes, but this thing felt utterly malevolent.
Wasn’t this just a straight-up monster?
Even Ye Yang found it baffling. “How could anyone pray to this statue? Is that normal?”
Xing Tian came around from the back door of the side hall. “It looks creepy now. But try draping the robe back over it and turning on the lights.”
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