Chapter 105: Greed

Chapter 105: Greed

Gazing at Bai Lingmiao before him, Li Huowang hesitated, unsure whether he should bring her along.

Her shamanic abilities could indeed aid him to some extent, yet he could not bear to put her in harm's way.

At this moment, the others began to chime in, "By the way, Senior Brother Li, let us tag along as well."

"We can lend a hand if something comes up. Didn't you say those nuns pose no danger?"

"Exactly, aside from anything else, if... if you have another episode, it's good to have someone around to look after you."

Gouwa's final words softened Li Huowang's resolve. "Baolu, go stable the carriage at the inn, and then we'll head up the mountain."

The hallucination-suppressing power of the Black Tai Sui was fading rapidly; he could fall into delusions at any moment, and he could not afford to be alone right now.

Hearing this, a faint smile instantly appeared on the others' faces, and they hurried to catch up.

The dirt path up the mountain was winding, but for Li Huowang and his companions, it was a well-trodden route.

After resting at the halfway point, they finally reached the mountain gate of the An Ci Nunnery just before nightfall.

Looking inward from here, the nunnery remained as dilapidated as before; weeds overgrew the crevices between the stone slabs, and the roofs of several distant temples still had holes that no one had bothered to patch.

Gazing at the Nüshu couplets on both sides of the mountain gate, Li Huowang's heart began to beat involuntarily.

He had risked life and limb just for this very day.

The mere thought of being rid of that bizarre master made it impossible for Li Huowang to contain his excitement.

Taking a deep breath where he stood, Li Huowang turned around and began to brief the others.

"It's filthy and messy inside the An Ci Nunnery, and the nuns are incredibly fat. Don't act shocked when we go in, understand?"

After receiving a firm confirmation from everyone, Li Huowang gripped the eye of the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month in one hand, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

No sooner had he passed the mountain gate than a wall of putrid stench hit him like a physical blow.

"What are these nuns doing? It smells even worse than before."

Frowning deeply, Li Huowang couldn't help but cover his nose with his hand, charging forward against the foul odor.

At this moment, the other medicinal lures began to feel a twinge of regret; there was no danger, sure, but this was worse than danger—it was unbearably foul.

Stepping into the first temple of the nunnery, Li Huowang's right foot instantly gave way, and as he quickly lifted it, he realized he had stepped on a soft, crumbly peach pastry.

"Watch your step; the people in here don't care much for tidying up."

Glancing up at the unchanged Dust Bodhisattva, Li Huowang circled the main hall to walk behind the statue.

As expected, behind the Bodhisattva lay a towering little mountain of flesh; the fat nun had a giant flatbread pulled over her head, eating and sleeping in a hazy daze.

"Good heavens, is that... is that a person?" The others following Li Huowang were instantly stunned by the sight.

Having learned from last time, Li Huowang had no intention of waking her; he doubted she could be roused anyway.

The group passed through a side door in the adjacent wall, officially entering the inner grounds of the An Ci Nunnery.

But they had barely taken a few steps inside before realizing there was nowhere to place their feet.

Looking around, the ground and roofs were covered with all manner of rotting food; to their right, a mountain of moldy steamed buns had piled up, with flies and white maggots crawling all over them.

Yet, despite reaching such a state, there was not a trace of meat among the provisions; it was all vegetarian.

Looking at these things, Li Huowang immediately understood; this was clearly what the gold he had delivered earlier had been exchanged for.

Upon getting the money, these nuns had immediately bought all sorts of food.

"Step over it." Li Huowang plunged his foot into the rotting food, advancing slowly as if wading through a swamp.

The others wore expressions of distress, especially the cleanliness-loving Bai Lingmiao.

But when she looked at the distant silhouette ahead, she gritted her teeth and followed.

"Why did these nuns buy so much only to let it rot? What a waste! It's a famine year; this food could save so many lives!"

As a former beggar, Yang Xiaohai found the sight truly unbearable and rarely spoke up.

Li Huowang glanced at the young Daoist boy, "Because they are greedy."

Yang Xiaohai pressed his lips together and said nothing more.

After walking for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Li Huowang led the others to the nuns' dining area and spotted the rest of the nuns.

"Ugh~" A fat nun was vomiting heavily right in front of Li Huowang, bringing everything in her stomach back up.

Sweating profusely from the retching, she didn't bother to wipe her face, instead using her belly as a table to continue her frantic feast.

"Master Miaoyin, how have you been?" Li Huowang greeted the obese nun.

As soon as Miaoyin opened her mouth, food remnants mixed with saliva sprayed toward Li Huowang's face. "It's you. Need a guide again? Prices are going up this time, at least one tael of gold."

"No need to trouble you. May I ask if Abbess Jingxin is still in her original room?" Li Huowang retreated as hard as he could, trying to stay out of her range.

Seeing there was no gold to be had, the extreme greed on Miaoxin's face quickly turned to disappointment. "Nonsense, she's so fat she can't even walk. Where else could she go?"

Li Huowang nodded and turned to continue along the previous path.

The others followed closely behind Li Huowang, continuing to wade through the swamp of rotting food, but when Yang Xiaohai, at the very back, reached the gluttonous nun, he simply couldn't hold back anymore.

"This is such a waste! Do you know how many people outside are starving, even dying of hunger? Do you know how awful it feels to have an empty stomach?"

Miaoyin replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Yes, so we can't waste it. Don't you see it's rotting? If we don't eat it now, we'll miss our chance."

With that, she turned her head, opened her mouth, and vomited up what she had just swallowed, her eyes gleaming with greed as she resumed her frantic feast.

Following the original route and passing through the pigsty, Li Huowang finally arrived in front of Abbess Jingxin's room; only in this relatively secluded spot was the ground free of so much rotting food.

Arriving here, they felt much better; the stench was still there, but they were gradually getting used to it.

Holding up a luminescent stone, Li Huowang had just stepped inside when he saw Abbess Jingxin stuffing something into the folds of her fat.

"Ah, it's you, kid. How did it go? Did you find the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month?"

With a solemn expression, Li Huowang nodded and opened the lacquer box in his hand.

Though she had no eyes, Abbess Jingxin seemed to sense something, and her sagging face instantly broke into a smile of extreme greed.

As the sagging, wrinkled flesh on Abbess Jingxin's body began to shift toward Li Huowang, the entire room seemed to tremble.

(End of Chapter)