Free Web NovelChapter 1235: Chapter 821: Hidden Ailment
"Adila is a restless person; it was him who instigated the infighting in the other group today," Musa said honestly after Yang Xiao took the lead in expressing goodwill.
"The situation is still unclear, yet he dares to act like this. I wonder who gave him the courage," Yang Xiao sighed, shaking his head.
"Both foolish and bad," Musa defined.
"Bad for sure, but not necessarily foolish. This person has a keen eye, strong observational skills, and is physically the best among us. He knows some martial arts too, so keeping him around could be useful."
Yang Xiao, recalling his experiences, stated his judgment and offered his suggestion, "Let’s not alarm him for now. It’s more crucial to figure out the connection between ’River Immortal Village’ and Painted Woman. However, if he disrupts our plans repeatedly, he can’t stay."
"Alright, let’s do it your way," Musa agreed while nodding. "But it’s best if we don’t do it ourselves. Use others to do the dirty work, like Maria. She makes poisons, doesn’t she? We might also consider using those fake monks."
When these monks were mentioned, Yang Xiao understood Musa’s meaning. Based on their experience, once the Fierce Ghost matter was settled, those guys would likely turn on them, as they couldn’t let a few people tarnish the reputation of the High Monk.
The rule was clear to Yang Xiao, leave no witnesses.
While they were speaking, Yang Xiao had already sent Hafeez away, who wisely kept his distance from them.
He was still on the lookout for Yang Xiao.
After the "chanting" ended, the three left the Buddhist Hall. On the way, Yang Xiao found Hafeez and instructed him to keep today’s events a secret, or else...
Yang Xiao grinned, revealing the eerie smile he used when appearing as Emperor Ye Xiao. Hafeez, who had never seen this before, was instantly intimidated, hurriedly claiming Yang Xiao as his savior and promising never to speak ill of him.
He knew well that offending Yang Xiao also meant offending Musa. For a newcomer to offend both of them was almost akin to awaiting reincarnation.
After they left, they ran into four other people at the small square in front of the Outer Buddha Hall. They didn’t waste time talking and split into teams to complete their respective tasks.
Yang Xiao, Adila, Hafeez, and Musa left the temple and went to the town.
Based on the clues they obtained from Granny Aduo yesterday, they found the residence of the former tavern owner’s mother.
It was in a secluded alley on the northern side of town, called Ma Yi Lane. Upon arrival, Maria wrinkled her nose and covered her nose and mouth with her clothes, "Why does it smell so bad here?"
Compared to the alley they were assigned to distribute blessing scriptures the previous night, the environment here was much worse, much like the difference between a wealthy district and a slum.
The alley was particularly narrow at both ends, flanked by small, low, and exceedingly dilapidated houses, with piles of garbage left uncleared in the corners.
Taking advantage of Maria’s distraction, a rat scurried past her feet, causing her to jump in fright. freēwebnovel.com
"So it seems the Buddha doesn’t bless the poor. Why didn’t they distribute the blessing scriptures here? Is it that people here don’t want them?" Adila mused with a chuckle, "Seems like the news was right."
Yang Xiao sensed something was off. Although the Nightmare World had removed the language barrier, Adila’s way of speaking differed from the others. His phrasing and language habits were quite similar to his own.
He seemed like one of them. No, he appeared to be quite knowledgeable about Hua Country too.
Upon realizing this, Yang Xiao’s vigilance towards him rose a few notches.
When away from home, beware of fire, thieves, and compatriots.
Yang Xiao, having lived this long, learned his most painful lesson when he rented a house from someone claiming to be a compatriot, only to be scammed out of his deposit and compensation.
A total of over 2,000 bucks.
Though it didn’t sound severe, it was like a catastrophe to Yang Xiao, who was left with only 250 in his account after paying the compensation.
Yang Xiao thought to himself that this debt needed settling. He had been too busy after joining the Patrol Defense Office over the years, which somehow made him forget such an important matter.
"What are you thinking?" Suddenly, Adila nudged him with an elbow. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Snapping back to the present, Yang Xiao realized they had arrived. This was the third house on the right of Ma Yi Lane, where the mother of Meng Da Tavern’s shopkeeper resided.
Before them stood a low and dilapidated wooden door. On its slightly middle side, approximately at Yang Xiao’s waist height, were many tiny scratches.
Yang Xiao confirmed that this was indeed the place Granny Aduo had mentioned. The missing shopkeeper’s mother was blind, so she had to feel her way around, leaving these tiny scratches over the years.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Yang Xiao raised his hand to knock on the door, calling out, "Is anyone home? Is this Granny Mai Mu’s house?"
After two knocks, a sound came from inside, through the door. There was a shuffling sound, like someone dragging their feet along the floor, accompanied by the "thud thud" of a bamboo cane hitting the ground.
Soon, the sound slowly made its way to the door.
The next second, the door opened, but only by a third. Through the dim entrance stood a short, hunched figure.
It was indeed an elderly person, but the appearance was somewhat terrifying; skin dark, balding severely, eyes half-open, with dull eyeballs clouded by misty white.
Judging by appearance alone, it was impossible to discern the gender of the person before them. The most frightening part was the arms holding the navigation staff, covered in scaly rashes, layered upon each other, with many places scratched open, exposing bloody wounds.
