Chapter 344: The Pawn’s Counterattack

“Could things really be that coincidental?”

“When I returned to the乱坟岗, all the spirits there vanished?”

Translation:

“When I returned to the乱坟岗, all the spirits there had vanished?”

(Note: “乱坟岗” is a Chinese term referring to a field full of scattered, unmarked graves or tombs. In English, it could be translated contextually, such as “field of scattered graves” or “windswept burial ground,” depending on the tone and setting. If you’d like a more polished or literary version, let me know!)

Polished version:

“When I returned to the windswept burial ground, all the spirits that once lingered there were gone.”

Please let me know if you’d like the translation adjusted for a specific tone, genre, or context!

“Just when I arrived at Jing’an Temple, the monk Lianghai I was looking for was about to be taken by the Ox-Head and Horse-Face?”

“There must be a conspiracy here! Someone is definitely trying to cover up the truth!”

Shui Miao’s mind raced as he desperately tried to unleash his immortal powers to leap forward, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t jump. In desperation, he quickly released his spirit-devouring energy, shooting it into the monk’s room to stop the Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

“Hmph! You’re too late!”

Seeing the spirit-devouring energy rushing in, Ox-Head suddenly emitted a wave of black mist. When the mist cleared, they had already disappeared.

Shui Miao rushed into Monk Lianghai’s room, but the monk’s soul had already been taken.

With his divine perception, Shui Miao immediately sensed that Ox-Head and Horse-Face had already carried Lianghai’s soul more than ten miles away.

“Xiaozhuo, Xiaochun, help me hide my physical body well. When I return, I’ll teach you martial arts. Now I must chase after Lianghai’s soul!” Shui Miao quickly turned around, spoke in haste, immediately sat cross-legged, projected his soul, activated his teleportation technique, and chased after them directly.

Shui Miao had learned soul projection and teleportation techniques from Bai Feng.

In this desperate situation, he surprisingly used them skillfully, teleporting dozens of miles in an instant.

“You think you can run away? Not so fast.”

Shui Miao quickly caught up to Ox-Head and Horse-Face and unleashed his spirit-devouring energy directly toward them.

“Shui Miao, how dare you attack the underworld’s enforcers? You’re declaring war against the entire netherworld!” Horse-Face shouted in panic.

Ox-Head, wielding an axe, charged directly at Shui Miao while yelling, “You go ahead! I’ll hold him off here!”

“You two are definitely not the real Ox-Head and Horse-Face!”

Confident in the power of natural Dao within him, Shui Miao ignored Ox-Head and unleashed his spirit-devouring energy straight at Horse-Face, aiming to retrieve Monk Lianghai’s soul. Seeing Shui Miao disregard him, Ox-Head became furious. His body trembled, and instantly he grew ten times larger, like a small building blocking Shui Miao’s path.

Shui Miao charged straight into him…

“Are you trying to die?!”

Ox-Head had intended to strike Shui Miao with his axe, but hesitated as he raised it, seemingly wary of something.

“The Dao of Nature, return to your original form!”

Shui Miao’s soul crashed into Ox-Head’s body, and torrents of green natural energy instantly transformed Ox-Head into a tiny black calf, motionless. With a touch, the calf crumbled into black mist, vanishing without a trace.

“You dared to kill my brother! I’ll destroy you!”

Seeing Ox-Head’s soul dissipate, Horse-Face flew into a rage. He shook his iron chain, disregarding Lianghai’s soul, and flung it toward Shui Miao’s neck. The chain seemed alive, and no matter how Shui Miao dodged, he couldn’t escape it. Eventually, it coiled around his neck.

“I don’t care who you are! Whoever kills my brother must die!”

Driven mad with fury, Horse-Face yanked the chain hard. It tightened abruptly, threatening to crush Shui Miao’s soul.

At the same time, Shui Miao’s spirit-devouring energy engulfed Horse-Face.

It was a mutual destruction tactic, a fight to the death.

Shui Miao felt dizzy and in mortal danger, but he fiercely thought: even if I die, I’ll drag Horse-Face down with me!

“Amitabha Buddha!”

Suddenly, Monk Lianghai uttered a Buddhist chant. He pointed a finger at the thick black chain, golden light flashing, snapping the chain.

Monk Lianghai was actually a hidden master!

Shui Miao was shocked and quickly removed the chain from his neck.

“Old monk, you dare ruin my plan! I’ll kill you!”

Horse-Face turned to attack Lianghai, but Lianghai struck him with a palm from afar, sending him flying.

After being thrown back, Horse-Face, knowing he had no chance of victory, roared in hatred, “Shui Miao, today my brother and I lost to you by a move. But don’t think you’ll ever get our memories. You’ll never know the truth!”

“Bang!”

Horse-Face then self-destructed his soul.

“Alas! I failed as well!”

Monk Lianghai sighed deeply and shook his head at Shui Miao, “Young man, you shouldn’t have saved me. I deliberately pretended to be weak, allowing them to take my soul.”

“Why?”

Shui Miao approached the monk, deeply puzzled.

“Because they weren’t real enforcers. I figured that out long ago. I just wanted to know why they were targeting me.” The monk was deeply disappointed; now the clue was lost, and it would be difficult to find the mastermind behind this group.

Shui Miao furrowed his brow, “Monk, actually, they were after me.”

“Oh? How so?”

Although old in age, Monk Lianghai possessed extremely profound cultivation and spoke with great strength.

“Well…” Shui Miao paused, then briefly told the monk his story.

After listening, Lianghai stroked his beard and sent Shui Miao a mental message, “Young practitioner, your problem is serious, with many mysteries. But if you calm down and think carefully, you’ll realize that someone is manipulating your inner self to carry out things they dare not do themselves. On the surface, they seem patient, letting you cultivate slowly, but in reality, they understand your nature well, knowing you can’t slow down. So I’ll give you some advice that might help.”

“What? What advice?”

Shui Miao felt the monk’s words made sense. Wasn’t his being manipulated precisely because they understood his personality? If he suddenly changed his behavior, going beyond their control, how could they still manipulate him?

Calmly and steadily, Lianghai responded through mental transmission, “Go with the flow, don’t rush, don’t worry, don’t think, don’t yearn. Live an ordinary life, day after day, year after year. You can wait, but they can’t. Over time, you can remain calm while they grow restless, reversing the situation. However, your cultivation must not stop. Hide your power, move secretly.”

Every word from Monk Lianghai struck a chord in Shui Miao’s heart.

Shui Miao’s thoughts raced, and suddenly he felt much lighter.

“Thank you, Master, for enlightening me!”

Shui Miao was deeply moved, kneeling to thank Monk Lianghai.

Lianghai helped him up, sending another message with deep meaning, “I’ve shown you a path, but how you walk it is entirely up to you.”

“I understand. Thank you for resolving my doubts.” Shui Miao paused, then couldn’t help his curiosity, asking, “Master, you’re a monk, but why do I feel you’re not like a typical monk?”

“That’s simple. Before I became a monk, I was a general who led armies. Strategy and planning are nothing new to me. Also, a true monk doesn’t stick rigidly to formality. Just go with the flow.” Lianghai answered readily.

Shui Miao nodded, then asked, “I have one more question, Master. If one day I have the power to kill those who tried to manipulate me, what should I do? Should I try to reform them with compassion, or should I kill them all?”

“Four words: Go with the flow.”

With those words, Monk Lianghai’s soul instantly returned to Jing’an Temple dozens of miles away. His soul re-entered his body, and he was alive again.

“I understand! From now on, I, as a pawn, will transform completely and reverse the situation entirely!”

Inspired by the monk’s guidance, Shui Miao’s mind became sharp, and he began constructing his own ideological framework.