I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 580 Strange Tales of the Pseudo-Human Zen Temple

"..." The meal was tasteless. Looking at Feng Xue's indifferent face, Chen Xuan suddenly wondered if he was being paranoid. After all, if Feng Xue wanted to trick him, she could do it anytime outside the city. There was no need for her to come all this way.

Moreover, given the attraction between different destinies, encountering a problematic Zen temple is indeed normal and there's no need to make a fuss about it!

As Chen Xuan mentally prepared himself, he arrived at the guest room of the Zen temple, led by a novice monk. Just as he put down his luggage, Feng Xue tried to pull him up.

"What is it now?" Chen Xuan, who was already tense, was startled by Feng Xue's action, but Feng Xue rolled her eyes and said:
"Are you stupid? Of course you should go see the headmaster! Elder Jinchi, after all!"

"Oh, right! But we don't have a cassock!" Chen Xuan suddenly remembered that they were missing an important item. Feng Xue rolled her eyes and pointed to his down jacket, saying:

"In this freezing weather, warm clothes are the most precious robes!"

"Is this...right?" Chen Xuan glanced at his clothes, his eyes twitched, and finally he sighed. He had chosen this path, so he had to keep going even if he was unlucky.

……

The meeting with the abbot went smoothly. Or rather, in a Zen monastery in this freezing weather, the abbot had little to do. Upon arriving at the meditation room, behind wisps of incense smoke, an old monk in a magnificent robe sat upright on a meditation cushion. His beard and eyebrows were snow-white, and his face was covered with wrinkles, giving him a kind and benevolent appearance.

But when he spoke, his white beard moved with the opening and closing of his lips, and the curve was a bit strange, like two soft brushes moving up and down in sync.

Chen Xuan, his neck stiff, had no idea what his mindset was when he finished the conversation. All he knew was that after the exchange, he finally lent the old monk his down jacket for one night...

Only after leaving the meditation room did Chen Xuan suddenly slap his forehead: "Wait, does such a big monastery need these clothes? Aren't all the monks in the monastery just wearing single-layered robes?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xue rolled her eyes and flicked Chen Xuan on the forehead, saying, "Are you stupid? Do you think you're the only one in the world who needs a destiny? Everyone else is born with one?"

"Huh?!" Chen Xuan finally realized what Feng Xue meant after hearing her words!
"Yeah! I was wondering what a coincidence to run into a Guanyin Temple. Is this some kind of place to change one's destiny? No wonder they all look like they've been through military training! So it really is their job! What are they after? To die quickly?"

Hearing Chen Xuan ask this, Feng Xue sighed and said:

"So can't you use your brain a little more? Elder Jinchi lived to be 270 years old before committing suicide. How old is the person who changes their destiny? How many more years of lifespan? Elder Jinchi's Buddhist cultivation is not bad. If he finds a way to change to a Buddhist destiny of cultivation within two hundred years, he might be able to live even longer!"

"Oh... so this is a sanatorium?"

Chen Xuan felt like he had seen the world, and suddenly realized that he, a poor guy stuck in Chang'an, was really ignorant. He didn't know that fate could be played like this.

"Yes, but only the wealthy can afford it. Otherwise, if each person had to use a temple, no normal person could afford to live any longer!"

Feng Xue shrugged, but Chen Xuan was surprised and said:

"It's really burning?"

"Otherwise what? Didn't you say it yourself? This temple is too new. Why don't you think about why it's so new?"

Feng Xue's expression was a half-smile, while Chen Xuan's face turned ugly.

"Brother... Great Sage! Could you lend me your fire-resistant shield?"

“ー_ー” “Can you borrow it?” He was completely stunned when he saw Feng Xue’s expressionless face.

(That's roughly the feeling)
For the rest of the time, Chen Xuan felt like he was sleepwalking. He was surrounded by a group of monks whose footsteps were perfectly synchronized as they toured every corner of the Zen temple before finally being taken back to his room to rest.

As soon as Feng Xue entered the room, she complained of being tired, collapsed onto the bed, and instantly "fell asleep," even emitting a snoring sound that was hard to distinguish from her own, which made Chen Xuan's eyes twitch.

His carefully lowered guard was instantly heightened again, and then, in the next moment, he suddenly shuddered—

"Wait! What if I'm the sacrifice that was brought here specifically?"

Chen Xuan's previous precarious mindset was based on the premise that "if you're going to scam someone, you should have done it earlier." But what if he, like Tang Sanzang, had to be sent to a specific place before he could scam someone?

Just like now, if we can afford to burn down a temple, what's wrong with burning down a small, invisible, unlucky ghost in hell?
Chen Xuan looked at Feng Xue, who seemed to be fast asleep, and felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to run out, but then he saw the monks patrolling outside the door like soldiers, and his heart sank even further.

"No, wait, calm down! It's not that bad yet!"

As if things had reached their extreme, Chen Xuan calmed down after panicking to the extreme.

"According to the original Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang wouldn't be burned to death. In other words, even if it's to use Elder Jinchi's life force to prolong my life, there's no need to actually burn me to death! There's still a way to survive! The worst-case scenario is that I can't leave before the fire starts. Once the fire starts, I can escape! Yes, that's fine!"

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan immediately took out a series of unparalleled lightness skill manuals from his bag, and then checked the contents he needed according to the table of contents. He had been quite diligent these past few days. In order to last longer when he encountered enemies next time, he specifically asked Feng Xue for a copy of all the lightness skills in the table of contents. Unfortunately, the skills that Tang Seng's fate matched were limited, and he could only rely on the strength of the skills themselves.

He had specifically learned footwork techniques for maneuvering when encountering enemies, but to run through a fire, explosive power is indeed necessary!

Chen Xuan followed the catalog, learning as he went, and before he knew it, it was late at night. Just as he was practicing his footwork in the open space of his guest room, he suddenly heard a series of high-pitched, monotone screams—

"It's water! It's water!"

The voice still lacked humanity, but Chen Xuan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. How to put it? It was like hearing the second shoe fall from upstairs. Instead of anger, he felt a strange sense of ease.

It was only then that he suddenly realized that compared to this inexplicable terror, his fate as a "hellish unlucky ghost" was actually quite endearing!
At least, the misfortune it brings is humane and down-to-earth!

"No, that's not right. Maybe I just had bad luck to run into this 'fake Zen temple'? Since it's about prolonging life, there should be quite a few Guanyin Zen temples along the way, right?"

As the screams outside grew increasingly piercing, Chen Xuan turned his head and was nearly startled by the face that suddenly loomed close to his—

"what!"

"What?! The fire's already started! Let's go!" Feng Xue grabbed Chen Xuan with one hand and their luggage with the other, then turned around and the two of them soared into the sky.

Chen Xuan lowered his head blankly, looking at the towering flames below, which illuminated the pale snowfields of the north and also reflected on his young face, which was filled with bewilderment, absurdity, and a strange sense of relief.

Just as he finally breathed a sigh of relief, a voice suddenly pierced his ears—

"Aaaaaaahh ...

(End of this chapter)