Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Having made up his mind, Zhao Guizhen crouched by the window and patiently spied on the situation.

The two people inside were extremely focused on their practice, their breaths flowing smoothly as they repeated their movements over and over again.

After more than half an hour, the two finally finished their practice and left the bedroom one after the other.

Soon, Zhao Guizhen heard the sound of "splashing" water.

The sound of water was continuous and exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Wait a minute! Where would this dilapidated house get running water?

Zhao Guizhen felt a mental alarm bell ring. Just as he was about to retreat, a gust of wind was already hitting the back of his head!

There was no time to dodge, so he could only hastily raise his arm to protect the back of his head and lean forward to try to deflect the force.

boom!

Click!

"Well…"

A tremendous force slammed down, accompanied by the cracking sound of bones breaking. Zhao Guizhen felt a sharp pain in his arm, followed by a dull ache in the back of his head. His vision went black, and his consciousness was instantly cut off.

Cheng Mo reached out in time and caught Zhao Guizhen's limp head, preventing it from hitting the wall and making a sound. Even if it wouldn't disturb the other villagers, it wouldn't be good to damage the corner of the wall.

"Little Taoist priest, you went too far!" Xia He exclaimed in a low voice, even using her special nickname.

"It's nothing," Cheng Mo checked him over. "A moderate concussion, which is considered a minor injury for an alien."

While practicing, the two noticed the malicious spying outside the window. After finishing their practice, they pretended to go out to wash up. Cheng Mo used a soaked towel to make a continuous noise while he and Xia He quietly went around to Zhao Guizhen's back.

As for why he launched the surprise attack so decisively—his intuition told Cheng Mo that this gaze was different from the one he saw last night; it was full of malice. Not only Cheng Mo, but Xia He also clearly sensed the hostility.

Cheng Mo patted Zhao Guizhen's neck again to make sure he was sleeping soundly before turning to Xia He and saying, "You go back to your room and rest. I'll take care of things."

"That won't do," Xia He immediately shook her head. "We're in cahoots. Whatever his purpose is, it's aimed at us. I need to know why."

"If someone comes looking for us later, you have to pretend we're both inside."

"You wouldn't be thinking of directly..." Xia He made a throat-slitting gesture, "...what if it's a misunderstanding?"

"It's not impossible, but I'll investigate thoroughly."

"Then I'll have to follow you even more closely," Xia He said, hands on her hips, "so you don't make a mistake."

Cheng Mo thought about it and realized that even if people found out that the two of them were not in the house in the middle of the night, it didn't seem to matter. Young men and women going out at night could have too many reasons to explain it.

"Alright, let's go." Cheng Mo picked up a shovel from the corner of the wall and handed a bucket to Xia He. "Take this."

Xia He was puzzled, but she still took the bucket.

He tucked the limp Zhao Guizhen under his arm and walked out with light steps.

Xia He quickly followed, her heart pounding, a mix of nervousness and excitement.

The two crossed the stream, ventured deep into the woods, and walked for quite a while before stopping, making sure no one would disturb them.

Cheng Mo put Zhao Guizhen on the ground and handed the shovel to Xia He: "Dig a hole."

Xia He took the shovel, put down the bucket, and looked bewildered: "Why are we digging a hole?"

"Bury them."

"You buried him before even interrogating him?" Xia He's voice changed. "This person just had a rather unfriendly look in his eyes. You wouldn't bury him alive before figuring things out, would you?"

"What are you thinking?" Cheng Mo snatched the shovel and poked the ground. "Dig the pit deeper, bury the body, just leave the head sticking out, it'll be easier to question them later. If it's a misunderstanding, dig them out, apologize, and pay some money. If this person deserves to die..."

He paused, then added, "That makes it even simpler; just bury them by the head."

Xia He stared at him and slowly took half a step back: "Little Taoist priest, I feel like there's something... off about you tonight."

Cheng Mo: "Hmm?" He glanced at Xia He, waved his hand, and said, "Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Without saying another word, he picked up a shovel and began digging. His movements were fluid and skillful, and dirt flew everywhere, showing that he was very experienced.

Xia He silently took half a step back, her voice a little weak: "Little Taoist priest, please don't do this, I'm scared."

Cheng Mo stopped what he was doing, looking completely bewildered: "No, I was just digging a hole, what are you afraid of?"

"You're too skilled," Xia He said, pointing to the deep pit that was already taking shape. "I'm afraid you might accidentally bury me in it too."

Cheng Mo: "...You've never farmed before?"

"You don't dig this deep to farm!" Xia He retorted.

Cheng Mo leaned on his shovel and thought for a moment: "Oh, right, this technique is used for digging graves. Hey, I didn't realize that at first."

Xia He immediately nudged the unconscious Zhao Guizhen toward Cheng Mo with her toes, then took a step back herself: "If you bury her, you can't bury me, okay?"

Cheng Mo's lips twitched: "...Don't do this, I'm scared."

Xia He: "...These are clearly my lyrics!"

Cheng Mo laughed: "Alright, stop joking around, go fetch a bucket of water."

Xia He felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly grabbed her bucket and ran to the stream. When she returned, Cheng Mo had already dug a pit about two meters deep.

He took the bucket, poured the water into the dug-out mud, and began to stir it, a process known as mixing mud.

He handed the empty bucket back to Xia He: "Go get another bucket."

Xia He blankly took the empty bucket and ran back again.

When she returned, she gasped – the pit had turned into a large hole, five meters deep and three meters in diameter!

Xia He's hands trembled slightly as she held the bucket. Looking at Cheng Mo, whose hands were covered in mud, she felt as if the air around him was tilting in some dangerous direction.

The young Taoist priest tonight is really acting very strangely.

Cheng Mo snatched the bucket from her hand and started mixing the mud until the water and mud became indistinguishable, turning into a sticky puddle.

Then, under Xia He's dazed gaze, he placed Zhao Guizhen upright at the bottom of the pit, found a thick tree branch to temporarily secure him, and began to pour thick mud into it to fill the pit.

Xia He reached out to grab Cheng Mo, but she couldn't reach him no matter what she did, as if Cheng Mo was getting further and further away from her.

Fortunately, Cheng Mo quickly interrupted her chaotic thoughts.

"Alright," Cheng Mo planted the shovel in the pit, patted the mud off his hands, "This is the first time I've mixed this water-to-mud ratio, I don't know how well it will fit the body. But with the two of us here watching, he can't escape even if he wants to, so we don't need to be too particular about the details."

Xia He snapped out of her daze and peered into the pit.

At the bottom of the pit, Zhao Guizhen was fast asleep, only his head sticking out, his cheeks pressed against the wet mud.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief: thankfully, the young Taoist priest still had some sense and spared the man's life.

Looking again, Cheng Mo was standing so high up that she was still a person's height above the top of the pit.

Xia He asked in confusion, "Why did you bury him so deep?"

"Didn't I just say," Cheng Mo looked up, the moonlight illuminating his calm face, "if this person is truly guilty of heinous crimes, then we'll save ourselves the trouble and just fill the hole with soil."

Xia He's heart skipped a beat: Oh no, the little Taoist priest is still not normal.

Cheng Mo waved to her: "Don't just stand there, come down and help."

Xia He sighed, resigned herself to her fate, and jumped down, stepping onto the soft mud.

Fine, I chose this person myself, so even if he's the villain, I'll play along.

As soon as she steadied herself, Cheng Mo leaned closer and whispered, "Later we'll do it like this... like this, and like this."

Xia He's eyes lit up as she listened, and she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! Like this again..."

Under the moonlight, in the deep pit, two heads huddled together, whispering and refining their plan.

A night breeze rustled through the woods.