The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

Lü Wenjun sprinted again: "Run!"

Chapter 22 Double Good Fortune! (Two chapters today too)

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The ancient cave resounded with continuous booming sounds, and the screams of the new students could be heard intermittently. On the second floor, just one level away, Fang Mo stared at the surveillance footage and laughed maniacally.

"Hahaha! I love seeing these gifted kids make a mess of things, Polly, you fucking did a great job!"

"Fine, Fang Mo, you really are a scumbag!"

Kano had slipped back at some point and gave him a thumbs up: "But didn't we agree to use alternate forms? Polly went straight in without changing her form, although her output was low because she was almost starving."

Fang Mo chuckled evilly: "Heh, I used my own words to stop short of getting to the point, but they refused to play with me and insisted on going upstairs to make trouble for themselves. What could I do?"

"You're so cheeky~" Kano clapped his hands. "Well then, I'll continue hanging out with the cute juniors. Come visit whenever you feel like it~"

He disappeared again, as if he had never been in the house in the first place.

Fang Mo poured himself another cup of tea and sneered, "Look at your senior, Kano. He's so afraid something might go wrong playing tag that he has to personally watch over him. How can someone who's so indecisive achieve anything great?"

The underling in black uniform fawned, "Boss, how can we achieve great things?"

The first special forces team was wiped out by Lü Wenjun, but Fang Mo still had plenty of men under his command. Right now, everyone still at headquarters has been mobilized by Fang Mo, and the area under the Millennium Cave building is completely surrounded by men in black uniforms. Even if Lü Wenjun manages to escape the maze, he will never be able to escape again.

"To accomplish great things, one must be courageous in making judgments, speak with authority at all times, and never doubt oneself," Fang Mo said smugly. "Your boss has these qualities; I am always decisive!"

Just then, a lookout entered and said, "Boss, we've found the runner-up this year! She's right at the door, and—"

Fang Mo was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking that he was about to take the first place winner into his cave, and now the second place winner had delivered himself to his door. His luck today was unprecedented.

He ripped open the curtains, placed one foot on the windowsill, pointed to the door, and laughed loudly: "Well, little girl! I haven't even caught you yet, and you've already walked right into my trap. You should already know the name of my Thousand-Year Cave. If you know what's good for you, kneel down and surrender now, and you might avoid some torture, hahahaha!"

Fang Mo was confident he wouldn't embarrass himself; his underlings were all gossip experts, their ability to recognize people was impeccable. The girl standing in front of the dormitory door had stunningly beautiful orange-red hair—who else could it be but Pershka?

However, he had acted on a whim, and his finger wasn't pointing precisely, but unfortunately, it pointed to another person next to the girl. That woman had rabbit ears and long chestnut hair that reached her waist; she looked... vaguely familiar...

"With Lord Mingxiao..." the underling behind him stammered, adding the second half of the sentence.

Fang Mo's face turned pale instantly, completely bloodless.

Pershka hid behind Mingxiao and laughed, "This gentleman seems to have a lot of opinions about you, Senior Mingxiao."

Fang Mo's mouth was practically begging him: "Quack! Mingxiao, you've misunderstood! I didn't expect this... I didn't... You, calm down... Don't be impulsive!"

Mingxiao was drinking cola. She seemed completely taken aback by these absurd words and stood there stunned for a full two seconds.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" she asked incredulously.

Her rabbit ears stood up like swords, and the cola can in her hand was slowly crushed. Then, amidst the terrified expressions of Fang Mo and the many people in black uniforms, golden fury ignited in Ming Xiao's eyes.

The rage burst forth with his gaze, burning fiercely beside Mingxiao, forming a solemn and serene golden human figure. Bearing flames on his back and holding a sharp sword and rope, he embodied the image of severing all afflictions—a wrathful Vajra, a hundred feet tall.

An overwhelming pressure was suddenly released, and all living things around the Thousand-Year Cave instantly froze. Monsters, trees, beasts, flying insects—whether wild animals or demons—all stopped moving, prostrating themselves on the ground under that immense pressure, like demons subdued by a divine king!

Legendary Manifestation: The True Form of Acala!

This is one of the deities who specialize in subduing demons and monsters, ranking first among the Five Vajras, namely "Acala". His power can bind all ghosts and gods, destroy all trees, cause birds in the sky to fall at his thought, and dry up dragon pools. He can also subdue evil people who are against the Tao.

Its mere presence rendered all those in black uniforms immobile with its immense power. Yet, Mingxiao hadn't even launched an attack yet; she clenched her fist and swung it, followed by the hundred-foot-tall Mingwang behind her. That massive fist, burning with fury, smashed into the school building, blasting a hole right through Fang Mo's lair!

"Caw! Lord Mingxiao is angry!" "The headquarters is going to be rebuilt again this month—" "I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" "Boss, please hold on—!"

Bricks and tiles crumbled, sand and stones flew everywhere. The Fist of the Bright King transformed into a burning magical snare, binding and dragging out the black-uniformed figures hiding in the school building, throwing them into the air. Fang Mo screamed and rolled away from the windowsill, narrowly avoiding the direct hit of the Fist of the Bright King. Before he could even get up, he felt a chill rush towards him; Ming Xiao was already standing in front of him!

Mingxiao turned her head to look into the distance, as if she suddenly understood something. She crossed her arms and nodded slowly.

"Alright, you lot," Mingxiao smiled. "You've already made your move on Lü Wenjun. If I hadn't come, were you planning to continue targeting Pershka?"

Fang Mo chuckled awkwardly, "How could that be? You've misunderstood. We've just been lonely for too long and wanted to play some games with our juniors."

The smile deepened on the night of Mingxiao.

"Do you even realize that I'm the one mentoring this year's freshmen?!"

As the King of Light's fist crashed down, Fang Mo scrambled and, seeing no way to dodge, quickly transformed into a stream of water and dispersed. The water, deep in color like ocean currents, incredibly agilely circumvented the King of Light's fury.

A strange tale unfolds: the Night Demon swims in the water.

Fang Mohua fled in a torrent, shouting, "Mingxiao, don't go too far! When I play with juniors, I always follow the rules and suppress them to the Otherworldly level. What kind of behavior is this, bullying the weak? If you have the guts, suppress your strength too, and we'll fight fairly as Otherworldly sorcerers!"

"Okay."

The words, though spoken from afar, were heard by Fang Mo right before his eyes. The enormous fist of the Ming King slammed down, and Ming Xiao, behind the Ming King, sneered, "Even if you exert all your strength to suppress the heretics, I will still fight you the same way!"

"Croak—!"

A bloodcurdling scream filled the air, followed by a series of explosions. Even those who had lost their strength could tell that a tragedy was unfolding within the Thousand-Year Cave!

Pershka watched with great interest from outside the building for a while, then took out a magazine from his bag, which was the "Magic Fashion Weekly" published by the printing factory.

The book's appendix thoughtfully includes tips for newcomers, with the first point prominently featuring the words "Mingxiao" (明宵), accompanied by a helpful annotation:

He is short-tempered, exceptionally capable, and unpredictable.

She's the top person in the academy right now, so don't mess with her!

"Mingxiao is surprisingly popular."

Pershka sighed and, accompanied by the beast witches, entered the main building, following the magazine's directions upwards.

The senior student who kept yelling earlier must be Fang Mo from the second floor, while her target is on the fifth floor, which means she'll have to cross another battlefield...

Pershka climbed to the third floor and felt a chaotic flow of magic accompanying the noise. She paused for a moment at the top of the stairs, just in time to see the two horse-riding duo galloping towards her.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Pershka?!" "What are you doing here?!" the two horse-riding duo cried out.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to disturb your rendezvous." She tried hard to suppress a laugh. "How about we just pretend I'm not here and continue? Or do you need any help?"

"Ah, I desperately need your help! Specifically, could you please use your supernatural powers as a witch to help me sort out this mess?" Lu Wenjun shouted.

Pershka tossed a strand of hair and stood majestically in the middle of the corridor.

"Well, I'll show you what a proper mage looks like—what is this?!"

"If only we had known!" Reiko exclaimed.

The witch's smile froze on her face.

She saw a strand of hair.

Countless strands of pink hair.

Brushing through the corridor, climbing the walls, and hanging down from the ceiling, endless strands of pink hair shot out from the depths of the corridor, growing, coiling, and twisting under the guidance of magic, becoming thick pink snakes as thick as tree trunks.

The source of the pink swarm of snakes was a spider of magical hair supported by six pillars of hair. The giant spider's head was Polly, who was hiding under the blankets. She was controlling the swarm of magical hair snakes, making them dance wildly, smashing through windows and crashing through floors as they charged towards the three of them!

Chapter 23 Magic is all about firepower!

Pershka immediately summoned the Beast Witch, whose three loyal servants wielded cleavers and pitchforks with incredible speed, cutting off all the approaching long hair.

Lu Wenjun braked behind her, finally catching his breath: "Nice witch! Thank you for your timely help!"

“Completely unpleasant. With such a huge difference in magic power, we can't hold out for long.” Pershka picked up a tuft of pink hair that had been cut off. “What's going on now?”

The beast witches' defenses were impenetrable, yet as soon as one strand of their magic hair broke, three more would spring up, their attacks seemingly endless. In this situation, defeat was only a matter of time. Pershka looked behind her and realized that the stairs she had climbed earlier had turned into a wall.

"I've been trapped in a maze, and I can't get out even if I break the windows or the walls," said Lü Wenjun. "I'm glad to see that you've fallen for it too. Welcome to our group, Unlucky Number 3."

"What about the information on the spell?" Pershka pounded on the wall, unwilling to give up.

“Good question! We’ve discussed various possibilities before, and we believe this is a rare case of a magical shampoo going berserk,” said Lü Wenjun.

Linggong chimed in, "It's said that scalps that ingest too much hair-growth substance become possessed by the vengeful spirits of weeds..."

"What kind of ghost story is this about a middle-aged bald man?" Pershka sighed. "Seriously, I'm getting the vibe of a fairy tale. Could this be 'Rapunzel'?"

"Are you serious? This looks more like a lettuce Gatling gun!"

Rapunzel, also known as the Long-Haired Princess, is one of the most famous fairy tales in the Brothers Grimm. A girl with long hair is imprisoned in a tower by a witch. She uses her long hair to make a ladder, which the male protagonist climbs to reach the tower for a tryst.

Judging solely from the original text, this is a rather fantastical fairy tale, with the ending being nothing more than "they escaped the witch and lived happily ever after." However, here the witch's hair is swept and danced wildly like a swarm of snakes, making it impossible to associate it with the weak and helpless image in the original text.

If Rapunzel had such power, the witch would have been beaten to a pulp long ago!

“The prototype doesn’t represent the strength of the spell. With such immense magical power, even a dwarf could topple a skyscraper,” Pershka said. “We can’t hold on any longer, let’s retreat!”

The controller of the magic hair seemed to have figured out the beast witches' attack patterns. The thick, snake-like strands of hair dispersed into numerous small needles, raining down in a dense barrage. Even with their immense power, the beast witches struggled to defend themselves. Pershka left two beast witches to cover their retreat, while the tall, thin, raven-masked beast witch embraced her as they withdrew. Lü Wenjun, carrying the bell bow, followed.

However, the Beast Witch's speed was still far from that of her Spring-Legs transformation; the few strands of magical hair at the front could barely reach behind them. Before their defenses could completely collapse, Pershka would be overwhelmed by the magical hair!

“Miss Pershka, which do you prefer: to run away in embarrassment or to be defeated with grace?” Lü Wenjun presented the choice again.

Pershka rolled her eyes: "If you're a man, be decisive!"

Lu Wenjun silently spread his hands, tucking the box under his arm. The raven-faced witch carefully tossed Pershka into her arms, allowing her mistress to fall into Lu Wenjun's embrace. Before turning away, she glanced at him, as if to say, "I entrust the young lady to you," before running off resolutely towards the hairdresser—

It was then removed and retrieved by Pershka after the spell was broken.

“Your familiar is so intelligent,” Ling Gong said.

“If I could, I’d prefer they were a little more obedient,” Pershka glared. “And please, be serious, stop bowing your head all the time!”

Lu Wenjun was running frantically with his head down, his nose almost touching the girl's abdomen in his arms. Pershka angrily poked his chin, and he helplessly looked up, only to find the back of his head immediately sinking into a soft, warm embrace.

Ling Gong blushed: "Wen Jun, your head is tilted too high! And your evil aura has gotten even stronger..."

"It would be strange if there wasn't any evil energy in this situation!" Lu Wenjun said resentfully. "Please, both of you, have some consideration for me as the mount! I have a perfectly good head stuck on my neck, and I'm stuck here, not up, not down. What am I supposed to do?"

Pershka poked his forehead with her finger: "Since you've already gotten the better deal, just stop thinking about this and focus on the battle. Time is running out."

The three-story corridor seemed endless, with boundless magical energy flowing behind it, but the three new students' magical power was limited. Lü Wenjun's transformation wouldn't last long; in at most a minute and a half, they would be hand in hand, perishing together.

Lu Wenjun stopped joking and said seriously, "I have a terrible idea..."

Linggong sighed, "You've already come up with so many bad ideas today..."

"But we need Miss Persica's help to buy some time."

Pershka raised an eyebrow: "Are you really going to let those three idiots deal with the long-haired monster?"

"It's not the Beast Witch, it's your second spell!" Lu Wenjun spoke rapidly. "On the train, you explicitly stated that Spring Legs couldn't win, which means you've witnessed its super regenerative ability. And the Beast Witch's speed isn't enough to attack it, so you definitely... have another spell... to control Spring Legs!"

Lu Wenjun spoke haltingly, as Polly's magical hair suddenly lashed out like spears, forcing him to leap and dodge repeatedly. Pershka raised an eyebrow in surprise, then suddenly laughed, "What if I said you guessed wrong?"

“Then we’ll all have to become insects entangled in magic hair,” Ling Gong interjected. “Tomorrow’s school newspaper headline will be a close-up of the three of us in our cocoons, with the title ‘Shockingly Ugly Appearance, Three Freshmen Insects.’”

Lü Wenjun chimed in, "That sounds pretty good! I can use it as my forum avatar!"

"Let's skip that embarrassing thing!" Pershka shouted. "Create some distance, then turn around!"

Lu Wenjun leaped forward several times, then turned as if drifting, his excessive speed causing his shoes to leave a trail of curved sparks. Pershka stretched out her arm, her slender fingertips pointing directly at the swarm of snakes formed from demonic hair, a phantom-like white light shining on the knuckle of her middle finger.

“Ice wind,” she said.

The illusory light solidified, transforming into a ring crafted from ice crystals. Large swathes of white gauze were drawn from the ring, covering her arms and draping over her shoulders, like the aurora borealis falling in winter and becoming a cloak enveloping her.

She landed lightly, her cloak billowing high behind her. A wind had indeed come—a biting, frigid north wind. The wind brought snowflakes and ice crystals, leaving pure white marks on the corridor and walls.

A large amount of cold air blew towards the snakes, causing the demon's hair to freeze instantly, resembling a mountain of ice crystals!

The demonic serpents struggled within the ice crystals, their power as ferocious as giant snakes, yet they could not break free of the ice for the time being. It was an incredible power, the might of nature. The source of that power was a story of the gods, of a goddess who once brought snow and wind to a distant land, behind whom a cloak as pure white as snow fluttered.

A Different Perspective: Manifestation - The Winter Lady's Ice Cape!

“Winter, cold wind… Your surname is Holler… Is that right!” Lü Wenjun realized, “You are the goddess of winter, a descendant of Mrs. Holler!”

Lady Holler is the Germanic goddess of winter, said to cause snowflakes to fall from the sky as easily as shaking a bed. She is known for rewarding the diligent and helpful, and for leading women in winter carnivals and parades. Some say that the origin of the beast witches, "perchtenlaufen," is one of the legends originating from Lady Holler; considering Perschka's surname and magical practices, her identity is self-evident.

“Inquiring about someone’s identity is not gentlemanly behavior.” Pershka clenched his fist slightly. “You won’t be able to hold out much longer; you’d better start taking action as soon as possible!”

The scene was like a harsh winter descending upon a building, with the magic hairs like houses collapsing under the weight of the snow. New magic hairs kept pouring in, carving holes in the ice crystal walls, only to be frozen by the newly arriving icy winds. The tug-of-war between the two sides was evenly matched, the icy winds so fierce that even the spider-like form in the distance was affected.

A thin layer of ice covered the six hairpins supporting the quilt, and Polly shivered inside.

"Ugh, ugh, they even froze my hair!" Polly shrieked softly. "Don't go too far, you takeout thieves!"

Another wave of pink evil spirits appeared amidst screams, piercing through the light and charging towards the three. The incorporeal evil spirits were unaffected by the freezing wind, but at that moment, several arrows flew through the light, piercing the evil spirits with exquisite archery!

“We’ve seen this move before.” Ling Gong nocked a new batch of arrows. “Let’s see what your idea is, Wenjun?”

Lu Wenjun finally got rid of the two ladies in front of and behind him. He took out a wooden box, quickly carved a few words with the iron claws that were equipped with spring legs, and then bent down, assuming a sprinter's posture.