Chapter 82: Quiet Master Nun

Li Huowang couldn't help but stifle a laugh. He suddenly realized how absurd it was for him, a Taoist priest, to ask a Buddhist nun for help.

"Ahem, Masters, please stop laughing. My problem is truly urgent; if it's not resolved, it will cost me my life," said Li Huowang, who could barely contain his mirth but spoke of a serious matter.

"Come with me. We'll go ask the abbess. Oh, and bring two gold coins for the guidance fee."

A large, greasy hand extended towards Li Huowang.

Li Huowang wasn't afraid of nuns asking for money; anything that could be solved with money was not a problem.

He handed over two gold coins and followed the stout nun outside.

As he was about to leave the room, Li Huowang glanced back at the other nuns with a sense of fondness. He felt it would be quite pleasant to spend every day with their uninhibited company, and even the foul smell in the air seemed less offensive.

Back on the narrow path between the buildings, Li Huowang addressed the nun leading the way: "I am Xuanyang from Qingfeng Temple. May I ask your dharma name, Master?"

"Miaoyu," the stout nun with a fleshy face replied, picking her nose.

"Ahem, a fine name," Li Huowang managed to say, holding back his laughter with great effort. The name truly didn't suit her appearance in the slightest.

After walking for a while, a row of low-lying thatched huts appeared before them. The stout nun walked straight into one. "Wait here for a bit. I'm going to relieve myself."

"Alright. May Master Miaoyu have a smooth visit," Li Huowang said, cupping his hands in a respectful bow, struggling to suppress his laughter.

"Ah~ hehe." Li Huowang stood beside the hut, smiling and stretching lazily. He felt very at ease at that moment.

Everything made Li Huowang want to laugh; his surroundings felt so amusing.

Just as he recalled the recent events and was about to burst into laughter, he suddenly felt everything collapsing. White hospital walls began to replace his surroundings, and some illusory figures started to materialize.

The relaxed expression on Li Huowang's face instantly twisted into one of extreme distress. He clutched his head tightly with both hands, his face contorted.

"No, not now! Hold on a little longer, shush, shush!! Please help! I beg you, be quiet, quiet, shush~ shush~~~ shush…"

Li Huowang's pleas seemed to work. A moment later, everything around him quieted down again.

His face still looking dreadful, Li Huowang wiped the cold sweat from his face and stood up.

The effects of the Black Grand Commander were fading, and the hallucinations would soon return.

However, Li Huowang had to push these thoughts aside for now. In the face of life and death, hallucinations were minor concerns.

His mood significantly worsened, Li Huowang recalled the recent events but found he couldn't cheer up at all.

"Sigh…" Li Huowang let out a heavy sigh.

Just then, he heard a sound and walked towards the back of the latrine.

He was genuinely shocked by the sight behind it.

Behind the outhouse, there was a bamboo enclosure containing some black-skinned, long-haired pigs.

Inside were yellowish excrement being expelled and a few grunting black pigs.

This scene instinctively made Li Huowang feel extremely nauseated.

He had heard before that the nuns of Anchi Convent raised pigs, but he had no idea they used this particular method to feed them!

Watching the pigs, Li Huowang's impression of Anchi Convent steadily declined. The nuns here were all strange, very strange.

As the black pigs grunted and scattered, Miaoyu emerged from the outhouse. Seeing Li Huowang standing by the pigsty, she said nothing and led him further on.

"Let's go quickly. I need to take a nap soon."

"Do you eat the pigs raised this way yourselves?" Li Huowang suddenly asked.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Can't you see we're nuns? We believe in the Bodhisattva! We can't eat meat. And you call yourself a Taoist priest, yet you don't even know this?"

Miaoyu's tone was filled with disdain, but then she changed the subject, becoming somewhat dispirited.

"Ah, we don't want to feed pigs either. But with no one burning incense or making offerings, we have to do something to earn money for food, don't we? One can't simply live on thin air."

"Indeed, indeed," Li Huowang casually agreed, following behind her as they continued forward.

After a winding path, Miaoyu stopped Li Huowang in front of a building.

"The abbess is inside. I won't go in. To be honest, I'm a bit scared of her. Oh, by the way, the abbess's dharma name is Jingxin."

Without waiting for Li Huowang to reply, she turned and left.

After a glance at her retreating back, Li Huowang chuckled softly and walked inside.

The room was very dark, filled with the sound of someone swallowing food and an even more intense foul odor. All these anomalies made Li Huowang instinctively reach for the bamboo slips on his back.

Just as Li Huowang lifted his right foot to step into the darkness, he felt something shriveled underfoot and quickly withdrew his foot.

"Light a lamp. I'm blind; I don't need one," an aged voice came from the darkness.

"Alright, Abbess." Li Huowang took out a luminous stone and threw it in the direction he had just stepped. Instantly, he was startled by the bizarre sight within.

It was an extremely obese and ancient woman wearing a nun's hat. Her eyes were hollow, just two black holes. The loose skin on her face was pulled downwards by the fat on her neck, as if it could rip off at any moment.

This appearance in the dim room was undoubtedly terrifying.

However, her face wasn't the most striking part; it was her body.

Her entire corpulent body nearly filled the room. Her filthy, obese flesh was covered in blood-caked, festering acne. Something seemed to be wriggling within the acne!

Such a woman was holding a large basin, her hands shoveling greasy food into her mouth.

"Heh heh, how rare. It's unusual for a Xin Su to seek me out," the terrifying old nun said through her toothless mouth, then continued eating.

Although her appearance was extraordinarily horrifying, her voice was surprisingly kind. If the lights were off, one would likely mistake her for a gentle elderly woman.

However, Li Huowang had no time to ponder this. The moment he heard her mention "Xin Su," his heart instantly tensed to the extreme, ready to retreat at any moment.

"Why are you panicking, you little brat who clearly knows nothing? When has Anchi Convent ever needed outside materials? We're too lazy to bother. Besides, my son is also a Xin Su."

"Oh?" Li Huowang perked up. "Then, Abbess Jingxin, where is your son now?" This was the first time Li Huowang had heard of another Xin Su.

"He went mad. Xin Su usually meet tragic ends, and going mad is considered a relatively good outcome."

Abbess Jingxin's voice became somewhat somber as she spoke of her son's story.