Chapter 138: Calculations All Around
Chapter 138: Calculations All Around
Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii
Outside Commoner Town, five Unity Stage powerhouses engaged in battle, which had already lasted for five days.
Four ancient Unity Stage masters controlled their domains to prevent the aftermath of the battle from leaking out, while Daoist Non-Speaker unleashed fierce attacks within his domain.
"Damn, why did we have to encounter the most difficult type of cultivator to deal with - a sword cultivator!" one of the Unity Stage frowned. Historically, sword cultivators have had the most powerful attacks. It was their first time dealing with a contemporary Unity Stage sword cultivator, and their luck couldn't have been worse.
All four were in the late or peak stages of Unity, forming a formidable team that had never met its match within the Unity Stage. Yet, they found themselves at a disadvantage against Daoist Non-Speaker, risking defeat if they were not careful.
This was partly because they were maintaining the rules of Commoner Town and had not fully awakened from their long slumber. Even so, it underscored the terror of Daoist Non-Speaker.
"Even in our era, Unity Stage sword cultivators were not of this level!" Another Unity Stage spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura fluctuating as he had been carelessly struck by a sword and needed to concentrate to heal his injury.
"Fortunately, there are four of us, and only one of him. Prolonged combat is in our favor. After another ten days, I refuse to believe he can still be so vigorous!"
"Is Commoner Town alright? If someone uses the rules to find a legitimate way to leave Commoner Town, we will be subject to backlash."
Daoist Non-Speaker, who was breaking through Commoner Town's rules with his sword energy, obviously did not fall within the "legitimate" category.
"What's there to worry about? The fifth among us is the town chief. Even though he's in a possessed body, those two youngsters wouldn't be able to deal with him."
"Right." With the thought of the fifth being in Commoner Town, the four felt at ease and continued to fight Daoist Non-Speaker.
Daoist Non-Speaker, hearing this, grew worried about Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
"I told them to stay put in Commoner Town; they should be obedient, right?"
Thinking of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou in Commoner Town, Daoist Non-Speaker considered them good, obedient kids and continued fighting the four.
Little Yun would surely be worried about leaving Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou behind. Given time, she would come looking for him.
"One sword transforms into ten thousand!" Daoist Non-Speaker shouted, intending to unleash his full power for a quick resolution, startling the four.
The technique of transforming one sword into ten thousand was well-known in ancient times, and they were naturally aware of this move.
Daoist Non-Speaker raised his arm high, and the golden sword energy shone like the sun. With a flick of the sword, ten thousand swords appeared, all seeming real and indistinguishable from the original.
As the ten thousand swords descended like a mountain tsunami, their power was unimaginable.
"Be careful, he's making a desperate move!" one of them warned.
Daoist Non-Speaker changed his sword technique again: "Unity of Man and Sword!"
He completely vanished, merging with the sword.
With tens of thousands of swords present, the four had no way of determining which sword Daoist Non-Speaker had merged with, rendering them unable to find him.
Frustrated to the point of wanting to spit blood, they had never heard of such a tactic for delaying time!
"You call yourself a sword cultivator!"
...
[Rules for the Commoner Town Constables]
[Rule 1: Those wearing black clothes are people of the official yamen, and once worn, the clothes cannot be taken off.]
(TL Note: Yamen is somewhat of a combination of a police station and a court of law, as they arrest and judge. I translated it as Government Office previously but i think sticking to yamen is better.)
[Rule 2: You can call out to anyone at will, and the necks of those you call out to will be twisted.]
[Rule 3: There are only fifty constables and one town chief in the official yamen. If you see anyone else, please ignore them.]
[Rule 4: From the hour of hai (9-11pm) to the hour of chen (7-9am), you must stay in the official yamen.]
[Rule 5: Your food is only meat buns. If you do not eat for three days, you will die.]
[Rule 6: The town chief only has one head and two arms.]
[Rule 7: If you feel dizzy, have blurred vision, or black hair grows on your arms, and it does not return to normal within one hour, you may ignore Rule 4 and immediately go to the ancestral shrine.]
[Rule 8: You will not see the town chief from the hour of hai to the hour of chen. If you do see him, firmly believe it is an illusion.]
[Rule 9: If one hundred people's necks are twisted because of you, you can choose to leave or not leave Commoner Town. After leaving Commoner Town, you will lose all memories of being there.]
[Rule 10: Without violating the above rules, you must obey the orders of the town chief.]
[Rule 11: In the center of the small town there is a 300-year-old catalpa tree. From the hour of hai to the hour of chen, the catalpa tree will become the ancestral shrine.]
"Finally, we know the location of the ancestral shrine."
Meng Jingzhou smiled, saying that originally they had planned to cause some trouble to find out the location of the ancestral shrine. Now, it had become much simpler; this was an unexpected joy.
Lu Yang was focused on another matter. After all, they had gone through a lot of effort to obtain the [Commoner Town Enforcers' Rule] specifically to learn the whereabouts of the town chief.
"It's a bit tricky," Lu Yang noted. "The rules state that [From the hour of hai (9-11pm) to the hour of chen (7-9am), you must stay in the official yamen.] and [You will not see the town chief from the hour of hai to the hour of chen. If you do see him, firmly believe it is an illusion.]. This suggests that the town chief is not in the government office during the Hai to Chen hours."
Not knowing the town chief's location means they could potentially encounter the town chief while heading to the ancestral shrine.
"We can't face the town chief lightly; his abilities shouldn't be limited to just one, and the extent of his power is unclear."
"We need to try to bypass him."
Suddenly, Lu Yang seemed to have realized something: "Did you notice? From the Hai hour to the Chen hour, the town chief is not in the government office, and during this time, the thatched cottages and the inn are safe. That leaves only the streets as dangerous!"
"What's on the streets, only monsters! It's very possible that the town chief is the monster!"
Meng Jingzhou frowned: "But look, the rules also say [Rule 6: The town chief only has one head and two arms.]. Does a monster look like that?"
Lu Yang nodded: "Do you remember the shadow we saw outside the window on our first night? It was as tall as two floors, with an upper body resembling a human's, which doesn't conflict with the description in the rules."
"The rules don't describe what the lower body looks like!"
Meng Jingzhou made a decision: "We won't return to the inn during the Hai hour; we'll stand next to the catalpa tree. As soon as it turns into the ancestral shrine, we'll rush in, smash the Buddha statue, throw the jade pendants in, and then split up to quickly return to the inn."
Splitting up meant that even if one of them encountered the monster, the other would be safe, ensuring that at least one of them would remain safe.
"The monster might not dare to eat us. Our lives are connected to the soul lamps. If we die, the lamps will go out, and people from our sect will come. These Unity Stages will surely die!" Lu Yang seemed to be speaking to Meng Jingzhou, but in reality, he was addressing the all-knowing town chief.
The two arrived at the catalpa tree in the center of the town, as time ticked away.
"The Hai hour has arrived—" Accompanied by the night watchman's shouts and the gong's sound, the space around the catalpa tree began to distort, gradually transforming into an old wooden ancestral shrine. Outside the shrine was written [Commoner Town Ancestral Shrine Rule].
Both were extremely nervous, instinctively reaching for the jade pendants at their waists, their expressions changing dramatically.
"Our jade pendants are gone!" they exclaimed simultaneously.
At that moment, a dull voice emanated from within the shrine: "Hehe, two naive children, if you could find the paper with the [Commoner Town Enforcers' Rule] amidst the chaos, couldn't I command the officers to steal your jade pendants during the confusion?"
[Commoner Town Enforcers' Rule 10: Without violating the above rules, you must obey the orders of the town chief.]
(End of the chapter)