Uncle Cai looked at Mo Ruyan and said nothing. He stopped next to her. The carriages continued moving forward, and each time they pa.s.sed by Mo Ruyan, people looked back. They knew what Mo Ruyan was looking at and what they were looking at. They had already left the small village and the inn, but she just wanted to remember.
"Uncle Cai, you really think we may meet him again someday while traveling the world?" asked Mo Ruyan after some time.
"Yes," said Uncle Cai nodding.
"Since it"s that way, I have to make a great effort. Otherwise, the next time we meet, he"ll be too strong, and I won"t be able to compete with him anymore. That"d be humiliating," said Mo Ruyan.
She smiled but no one knew why she was smiling. She looked charming thought like a woman in love.
"Master, what do you intend to do after this?" Chong Jiayi asked.
He looked at him in a respectful way. He didn"t look like he was forcing himself to act that way. It was as f he had already accepted his new situation.
"First, let"s go to your place. I need to rest for two days, " Mu Yi said indifferently.
He controlled Chong Jiayi"s soul, so he wasn"t worried. It was an aggressive method, but it was one that worked. Chong Jiayi listened to Mu Yi"s orders now. If he didn"t obey Mu Yi"s orders, Mu Yi would kill him.
Of course, being controlled also had advantages. As Mu Yi became stronger, he could help Chong Jiayi become stronger. Mu Yi"s experience became his own experience. That"s why Mu Yi told Chong Jiayi that he may have the opportunity to reach the second difficulty.
However, whether Chong Jiayi reached the second difficulty or not depended on his own body and talent. If he wasn"t motivated enough, then he wouldn"t be able to reach it. It wouldn"t be because of Mu Yi. Chong Jiayi probably understood that. One could only rely on himself when it came to cultivation. Getting help from other people had its limits.
"Roger!" said Chong Jiayi obediently.
The inn was empty now. Someday, someone would take it over and run it again. Everybody would forget the former managers. However, there were people would never forget that inn like Mo Ruyan, Uncle Cai, the armed escorts, and Mu Yi.
"Grandpa Chong, you"re back."
"Grandpa Chong!"
"Uncle Chong, you"re back."
"Uncle Chong, you have guests? I"ll send two chickens to you."
Mu Yi was surprised when he was brought to the place where Chong Jiayi lived. It was a small village by the Yellow River. There were about a dozen families in the village. It looked simple and unsophisticated. Even though people were scared when they saw Big Slave, they didn"t say anything because Chong Jiayi was there.
Mu Yi was most surprised by the warm welcome Chong Jiayi received. Mu Yi would have thought that such a person would be lonely. He hadn"t thought such a person could have friends or be respected. Apparently, he was wrong.
"Are you surprised, Master?" asked Chong Jiayi looking at Mu Yi"s expression.
"A little bit," said Mu Yi nodding.
"This is my village. Even if people think I"m evil outside, even if I"ve killed a lot of people, here, in this village, people think of me as an old doctor. When someone doesn"t feel well, they come to me, and I always do my best to help them," Chong Jiayi said with a smile as he looked around happily.
It was difficult to imagine that he was the same person who had slaughtered the managers of the inn. At the moment, Chong Jiayi looked like an ordinary old man. Sometimes, even evil people had a place in their heart which was clean and unpolluted. For Chong Jiayi, his village was a sanctuary to remain pure.
Was Chong Jiayi a good person? Definitely not. However, to the villagers he was. He was a benefactor.
Mu Yi followed Chong Jiayi to his house. There were different kinds of herbs in his garden. He grew them himself. The house looked simple if a bit dark. It was strange because Chong Jiayi could have had a better life, but he had chosen to live this way. Was he stupid?
"My humble home is crude. I"m sorry, Master," said Chong Jiayi opening the door.
He felt embarra.s.sed. When he was there alone he didn"t mind, but now he felt awkward to show his home to Mu Yi. He felt even more embarra.s.sed when Big Slave entered the house since he had to bend himself inside.
"It"s fine. I don"t have expensive tastes either. I"ve lived in many crude places," Mu Yi said with a smile.
He didn"t mind at all. Back when he moved into the temple, it was a wreck. He didn"t have expensive tastes. Mu Yi was being honest. Chong Jiayi knew that, at least, so he was relieved.
Mu Yi decided to rest for two days. It was the first time that he used the ghost slave control technique. He had succeeded, but he preferred to remain vigilant. He had to observe the effects of the technique. If he did a good job with Chong Jiayi, the latter would be extremely useful to him.
Mu Yi also needed to continue the sacrificial ritual for the Bamboo Tree of Life. Nian Nuer had used a lot of energy, so she was sound asleep. Mu Yi was a bit worried about her. Of course, watching Qu Yang wouldn"t be easy either. Mu Yi wouldn"t underestimate him.
During the two days, Mu Yi didn"t waste time. He continued the sacrificial ritual of the Bamboo Tree of Life and he discussed things with Chong Jiayi. He had an idea. He wanted to train Big Slave. Even though Big Slave was extremely strong, he was too slow. He couldn"t use his full strength against enemies because of his lack of speed.
If Big Slave had been fast enough, he would have been able to destroy the two hungry ghosts and the other one in the blink of an eye with ease. In order to train him, he needed to wait for Nian Nuer to wake up.
Chong Jiayi admired Mu Yi. Even though two days weren"t enough to become much stronger, he had hope again. Besides, since he was now under Mu Yi"s control, he trusted him more and more as time pa.s.sed.
In the afternoon, while Mu Yi was teaching Chong Jiayi, they suddenly heard a loud voice, "Is Mister Chong at home?"
The person sounded respectful and cautious. They didn"t speak like a villager.
"Wait for me, Master. I"ll go and see," Chong Jiayi said, standing up and leaving the house.
"Mister Chong, I"ve heard that you were back. My Master wants to see you," the person said when Chong Jiayi came out.
"Alright, go back and tell your suzerain I"ll come over tonight," Chong Jiayi said.
He used suzerain for Mu Yi"s benefit. Mu Yi immediately understood. The person outside had been sent by Qu Yang. Had that person noticed Mu Yi in the building? Mu Yi wasn"t sure, but he realized he had been careless.
After all, Chong Jiayi used to collaborate with Qu Yang. Chong Jiayi had stolen the key while Qu Yang and Mu Yi were fighting. Qu Yang had probably noticed. Even though Mu Yi had injured him with two evil spirit slaying charms, he couldn"t be sure he was dead.
Qu Yang was ready to do anything for the key. Therefore, Mu Yi wasn"t surprised that he had sent someone. If that was the case, maybe someone had been watching since Mu Yi had arrived in the village.
But why did Qu Yang send people? To spy on me or ?
Mu Yi didn"t understand. He could only wait for Chong Jiayi to come back to ask him a few questions.
"Master, that person was sent by Qu Yang. He wants us to meet tonight." Chong Jiayi said.
"Did they see me?" Mu Yi asked.
"No," Chong Jiayi said immediately, "I asked people from the village. They wouldn"t lie to me. Besides, that person had just arrived. Don"t worry."
When Mu Yi heard that, he nodded. He was relieved. He had just managed to make Chong Jiayi submit, he hoped Qu Yang wouldn"t notice him. Otherwise, things would get complicated.
Besides, without Chong Jiayi, Mu Yi couldn"t do much. Chong Jiayi was the perfect collaborator. He was close to Qu Yang, and if Li the Cripple came to get his revenge, Chong Jiayi would be able to inform Mu Yi quickly.
"Even though I"ve seen Qu Yang only once, I know that he"s evil and conniving, so be careful," Mu Yi warned.
"Thank you for your concern, Master," Chong Jiayi said, "I will be vigilant."
"Tonight, I"ll come with you," Mu Yi was worried, "If there"s anything suspicious, I may notice it. However, I won"t be able to help while you"re inside their village."
"Thank you very much, Master."
Even though he was convinced Qu Yang didn"t know that he was collaborating with Mu Yi, Chong Jiayi was still a little worried too. Mu Yi was also curious about the Qu Mortuary. According to Chong Jiayi, it was filled with living corpses. Apparently, it was extremely difficult to join them, even for very skilled people.
It seemed to be an extremely dangerous place but he wanted to understand their secrets. There was still some time until the evening. After careful consideration, Mu Yi decided to give the spirit protector"s walking stick to Chong Jiayi.
"Eh, that"s…?"
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