Chapter 247
Rong Zhou missed Lu Er very much at this moment and wanted to bite him to death. He had never been so miserable before. He looked down at his charred and tattered shirt. If he hadn't covered his chest with his hands, it would have been exposed.
The core was taken away by Lu Er, and thrown out when he was at his weakest. The little energy in his body could only be used to condense some poison needles and for lightness skills. Was he going to fly into the sky in tatters and become a target in front of these hunters?
It would be great if it was Lu Er. Lu Er can be invisible and no one can see him. He can go wherever he wants and do anything without the risk of being exposed.
Rong Zhou wasn't suited to doing anything sneaky. He felt a faint melancholy, a matter of pride. His back pressed against the mottled brick wall, the sound of approaching footsteps and heavy breathing filling his ears. He glanced around, seeing figures swaying around him, now completely surrounding him.
The next moment, he tapped his toes lightly, and his figure rose silently like a willow catkin, gliding along the eaves to reach the crowd's heads. Only a barely perceptible breeze lingered in the air. Before anyone below could react, he had already landed in the shadows at the alley entrance, blending into the night like a drop of ink.
Outside Shanghai, the sky was a cold gray, and the weeds lining the road swayed in the wind. Rong Zhou glanced down at his clothes, which had been ripped to shreds by the explosion, a mixture of blood and dust. He looked as disheveled as a stray dog. On ordinary days, he wouldn't even bother looking in the mirror.
Rong Zhou stumbled into the wilderness. The road beneath his feet turned from dirt to gravel, and the trees on both sides became increasingly sparse, leaving only a few skinny shrubs shivering in the wind.
A dilapidated outline vaguely appeared in the distant valley. It was a long-abandoned Taoist temple.
A closer look revealed an even more dilapidated state. The vermilion gate's paint had largely peeled off, revealing the gray wood beneath. Several corners had collapsed, resembling a toothless mouth. The copper rings on the door were rusted, their patterns blurred. Pushing open the half-closed side door, it creaked, like an old man awakened from a long sleep, the dust rising in the air causing him to cough.
The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, nearly ankle-deep. A large hole had been broken in the roof of the main hall opposite the door, allowing the morning light to stream in through the hole, casting a hazy glow. The statues within the hall had long since vanished, leaving only an empty shrine, thickly covered in dust.
Rong Zhou looked around. Although this place was simple and run-down, it was a good place to stay temporarily while planning for the future. He looked down at his disheveled attire, and an unprecedented irritation welled up in his heart.
In the past, he had never worried about such trivial matters. Now, the only piece of clothing on his body had become like this, and he still couldn't get used to the state of being completely depleted of energy.
Rong Zhou was just about to sit cross-legged to meditate and recover his internal strength, but before he could close his eyes, a clear yet strange bell sound suddenly floated in from outside the Taoist temple.
The sound was soft and intermittent, as if torn by the wind, sometimes far away, sometimes near. It was not like the ordinary shouting in the market, nor the cry of animals in the mountains. It sounded in this dilapidated Taoist temple in the wilderness, revealing an indescribable strangeness.
The small road outside the Taoist temple was empty, with only the wind rustling the weeds, and the sound of the bell was getting closer and closer.
This familiar voice, even though I had lost all my abilities, I could only feel it when I was so close.
Just as he was wondering, two dirty but extremely lively little faces suddenly popped out from behind the threshold, intending to scare him, just like they used to pop out from a corner at home at any time and place.
"Owner!"
"We finally found you!"
It's the little bear and the little deer.
The two little guys' faces were full of joy. Just as they were about to pounce on him, they suddenly stopped, their eyes wide open, looking at Rong Zhou in surprise.
The man before them was a stark contrast to the well-dressed, meticulously dressed man they remembered. His clothes were torn in several places and stained with mud, and his long, straight black hair was slightly disheveled. He looked as disheveled as if he had crawled out of the mud.
"Master, how did you become like this?" The little bear asked first, his tone full of worry.
The deer nodded quickly, rummaging through the bag on his back as he spoke, "Yes, Master. Second Master was so worried when he saw you weren't coming back that he sent us out to look for you. He also sent us some change of clothes and weapons."
The clean and familiar black and purple robe and the commonly used Luohua Xianxin were handed to Rong Zhou one by one.
Looking at the two familiar lackeys, and rubbing his tattered clothes, Rong Zhou instantly found an outlet for the irritation he'd been feeling due to his embarrassment. He took the clothes, his tone tinged with a bit of "grievance," "It's all because of that Second Master of yours! If he hadn't thrown me out, would I have ended up in this mess?"
Seeing Rong Zhou's unhappy expression, Xiaolu quickly added cautiously, "Master, the Second Master also said that the commotion you made outside this time was too great, and it has already caused a repulsive force in this world. He said...he said that if you continue, you will be completely thrown out of this world."
"Oh."
Rong Zhou heard this and a sneer of disdain appeared on his lips. He casually threw his tattered clothes aside, his gesture carrying an undisguised mockery.
"Tell me to stop causing trouble?" He repeated in a low voice, as if he had heard some ridiculous joke. His previously calm eyes now revealed a hint of rebelliousness. "Did he ever hear what I said before?"
He paused, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the pen he had just retrieved, and his tone was filled with an almost stubborn rebelliousness: "Why should I listen to him now?"
The little bear scratched his ear and asked softly, "Master, then...then you won't go back?"
"Of course not," Rong Zhou said as he quickly changed into clean clothes, his movements smooth and effortless, as if the disheveled man just now wasn't him. He straightened his collar and said firmly, "There are more important things to do."
"But, but..." Xiaolu stamped his feet anxiously, his round eyes filled with anxiety, "Second Master...he will be worried about you!"
Hearing this, Rong Zhou's lips curled up in a playful and somewhat angry arc. He glanced at the two little guys, sneered, and said with a self-righteous tone:
"Oh, he should be worried."
He casually draped his clean outer robe over his shoulders, his fearless and self-willed look almost identical to the equally unruly Lu Er in his memory.
After saying this, he no longer paid attention to the two little followers who were looking at each other in bewilderment, and walked straight to the entrance of the Taoist temple. He looked at the endless wilderness outside with undisguised determination in his eyes.
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