Chapter 37 Guarding the Stump Waiting for Rabbits

  "Be quiet, my injury will be fine after a while. Thanks for your hard work during this time!" In an abandoned brick kiln on the outskirts of Wudang Town, a man leaned against the wall and said to Bai Hu Wenjing. This man hiding in the brick kiln was none other than Han Bangzheng, who had been severely injured by Deng Cao that day.

  "Master's injury will heal soon, and we can return to the Yasukuni Shrine earlier. Tonight, I'll go find some supplements for Master again." The white fox calmly stroked her straight hair hanging on her chest, quietly speaking to Han Bang who was sitting cross-legged on the ground. And what she meant by "supplements" were actually those children who had gone missing recently.

  "Ah, good luck to you! However, with the continuous loss of children in the town, I think they will definitely strengthen their guard. So for the next few days, you must be extra careful when you act." Han Bang straightened his hand and grabbed a child who was unconscious, taking a deep breath. Until the child's soul slowly entered his mouth and nose, he slowly reminded Wen Jing to come.

  "I know, I'll go again tonight, and tomorrow I'll prepare to find a replacement for the master." Wen Jing sat down next to Han Bangzheng with her knees together, speaking very gently to him. Wen Jing was a fox spirit, a fox spirit who had taken a liking to Han Bangzheng.

  "Hurry up and rest, replenish your energy. You've been busy taking care of me for a while now, haven't you had time to cultivate? Once my injuries are healed, let's find a scenic spot with clear waters and lush mountains, and make up for the cultivation you've missed!" Han Bang said lovingly to Wen Jing beside him. After finishing speaking, he pulled out a hen from behind his back and handed it to Wen Jing, indicating for her to eat it.

  "Cluck, cluck, cluck!" The hen struggled and let out a few miserable cries before Wen Jing bit its neck off. Turning around, she sucked the fresh blood from the hen's body dry. Only then did Wen Jing wipe her mouth, looking somewhat bashful as she smiled at Han Bang.

  "You're so big now, but you still can't take care of yourself. From now on, every day, you must fill your own belly first, and only then are you allowed to go find supplements for me, did you hear?" Han Bangzheng raised his hand and gently stroked Wen Jing's cheek.

  "Hmm, I see!" Wen Jing was now in front of Han Bangzhuan, acting like a girl in love. So shy, so obedient. This was completely different from her behavior when she kidnapped the child at night.

  "Master, why do you only want those children to make the supplement? Wouldn't the souls of adults be more effective?" Wenjing asked hesitantly.

  "The souls of adults are indeed more condensed, but they also have a lot of negative emotions. And when I devour them, the resistance I encounter will be even stronger! The souls of children may not be as condensed as those of adults, but they have relatively fewer negative emotions and won't put up much resistance." Han Bangzheng explained patiently to Wen Jing's questioning gaze.

  "Understood!" Wen Jing nodded slightly dazedly there.

  "Have you forgotten what I told you? In China, we only speak Chinese." Han Bangzheng suddenly stood up and sternly scolded Wen Jing.

  "I'm sorry, master! I won't do it again! Please forgive me!" Seeing Han Bangzheng's anger, Wen Jing hastily bowed her head and apologized, somewhat flustered. In her eyes, this master was good in every way, but when he got angry, it was really frightening.

  "We have been entrusted by the shrine maiden of Yasukuni Shrine to venture into China in search of the necessary offerings for the awakening of Amaterasu. The journey is long and fraught with danger. One misstep could jeopardize the shrine's plans and undo all that the shrine maiden has worked towards these many years. So, Fumiko, we must be cautious at every turn!" Seemingly feeling he had been too harsh on Fumiko earlier, Han Bongji walked over to her and helped her up from the ground, speaking softly in her ear.

  "When the task is completed and we return to the shrine, I will definitely beg the miko to allow us to get married. By then, we can be together forever. Mujina, for the sake of the shrine, for our future, let's work hard! Please!" Han Bongji hugged Mujina into his arms, lightly kissing her earlobe, and painted a wonderful prospect for her in the future.

  "Yes, Wenjing will definitely work hard to help the master complete the task!" Wenjing's face was filled with longing for the future, and she even began to fantasize about what kind of wedding dress she would wear on the day she married Han Bangzheng.

  "Rest for now, in two days when my injuries have stabilized, we'll leave this place." Han Bang gently sat down with Wen Jing, letting her rest her head on his thigh as he spoke softly.

  "Hiss! I didn't expect that monk's Buddhist teachings to be so profound." After watching the calm and smiling face sink into a deep sleep, Han Bangzheng finally took a breath of cool air. He gently lifted the gauze wrapped around the wound, looking at the dark meridians rising and falling with the pulse inside.

  The demon-subduing cassock's divine ability struck Han Bangzhuan's body with a loud thud. At the time, Han Bangzhuan didn't feel anything out of place, but after she had taken Wen Jing and escaped from the scene, he suddenly realized that half of the meridians in his body had been severed by the cassock that had been conjured up.

  Moreover, the cassock not only cut off his meridians but also slowly eroded his body with the flow of blood. To be honest, Han Bangzhuan had no confidence in completely healing his own injuries. What he wanted to do now was to complete the task entrusted by the Holy Girl and then return to the shrine to seek help from that peerless beauty, the Holy Girl with unparalleled magical powers. As for the souls of those children, they could only delay the cassock's continued erosion of his body for a while.

  "Rōmō, Tōsō, I, Kameida Sanjūni, will not stand idly by against you!" Strongly enduring the pain brought about by the Buddhist law, Kameida Sanjūni, also known as Han Bongzhī, growled through gritted teeth.

  "Tonight, we'll stake out here. According to the villagers, the child snatchers usually appear around midnight. Let's do a stakeout and see who's behind the trouble with those kids." After spending the whole day gathering information from the villagers, I pieced together the time when the "child traffickers" would appear. At that time, I didn't know that the one kidnapping children was an acquaintance of mine, still thinking it was some ruthless child trafficker lurking around, targeting a specific location to abduct kids.

  "All right, let's get it over with, I also want to escape this suffering as soon as possible!" The "suffering" in Deng Cao's mouth refers to that helpless demoness! Hmm, who is none other than Bai Hu's Shifu Ying, the master and great aunt! This old woman has no idea she's already reached the point where people fear her at the mere sight of her, and even Buddhas detest her.

  "Indeed! If this evil is not eliminated, you and I will never have a peaceful day!" I said with deep sympathy. This time, if we don't catch the culprit who harmed the child, I'm afraid that after Lantern Grass and I return to the mountain, the outcome will be more bad than good.

  "Knock, knock! The weather is dry and the fire is burning brightly!" I and Lamp Grass crouched under a windowsill of a household, listening to the TV program being played inside, yawning listlessly. Why did I choose to come listen at this household's wall root? Because their front door faces the street directly. If there's any wind blowing or grass moving, we can discover it in the first time. And most importantly, among dozens of households nearby, only they have a baby who is just full moon old.

  "Waaah, waaah!" A burst of children's crying woke me and the lamp grass from our drowsy state. I lifted the sleeve of my Taoist robe to glance at my 5-yuan electronic watch; it was almost midnight.

  "Feed the kid a few mouthfuls of milk, I still have to go to work tomorrow, you're driving me crazy!" The male owner's slightly impatient voice came from inside the house.

  "Baby be good, baby don't cry! Come and Mommy will feed you milk!" A little later, a young woman's voice came out.

  "Bang!" Just then, a piece of tile fell from the roof into the courtyard and shattered on the ground with a crisp sound.

  "Husband, what's that noise outside?" came the slightly anxious voice of the young woman from inside the house.

  "Go to sleep, the roof tiles need to be replaced, they've been falling off these past few days. After I finish my night shifts for the next few days, I'll find someone to re-tile it." The master of the house softly comforted his wife.

  "Oh, go to sleep then! I'll turn off the TV."

  "Hmm!"

  The conversation between the young couple continued inside the house.

  "Here!" And I and Deng Cao patted each other's body, reminding each other in a low voice. On a windless night, how could the tiles fall by themselves? The only possibility is that there is someone on the roof. Deng Cao and I didn't move, we were waiting for the thief hiding on the roof to show up!

  A white shadow leaped down from the eaves, circled in mid-air and swiftly flew past me and Deng Cao into the house, stirring up a gust of wind!

  "Ah! My child, hurry up and wake up." A figure flashed inside the house, followed by the young woman's startled cry.

  "Where is that scoundrel going!?"

  "Where is the thief going?!"

  I and Dian Cao jumped out from the dark place one after another, rushing towards that white shadow!

  "Is that you?" Just as I and Deng Cao were about to sandwich the white figure under the street lamp emitting a warm orange glow, I finally made out that it was indeed Wen Jing! Looking at the panting fox demon, I asked in some surprise.

  "It's a narrow road for sworn enemies." The fox demon slung the infant on its back and let out a charming cry. With a flick of its wrist, it sent the two long silk ribbons wrapped around its arm flying towards me and Deng Cao.

  "Hahaha, I've been looking for you for a long time, today you'll have no return!" Just as I and Dengcao were about to go forward to welcome the battle, a pink figure suddenly jumped out from mid-air. Along with this loud and arrogant cry, she rushed ahead of us and entwined herself in a fierce battle with Huoyao Wenjing!

  "Master!" I rubbed my eyes, and only then was I certain that I wasn't hallucinating. The woman in pink clothes in front of me, if not a demoness, who else could she be?