Chapter 410 - 365: Blood Handprint
Chapter 410: Chapter 365: Blood Handprint
At the foot of Kunshan.
A taxi pulled up outside an inn.
After paying the fare, Lin Yi grabbed his backpack and got out of the car.
He walked up to the inn’s entrance and sized up his surroundings.
The inn had an antique, traditional decor.
It truly had the style of ancient times.
Inside, however, the inn was quiet and deserted.
It wasn’t like the hotels and motels in the city, which were always bustling with people coming and going.
Lin Yi stepped inside the inn.
To his left was a counter, where a man in his early thirties sat.
He was playing on his computer.
"Hello!"
Lin Yi walked up to the counter and said with a faint smile.
Hearing him, the man stopped moving his mouse and glanced back at Lin Yi.
"Checking in?"
Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "I already have a reservation. The name’s Lin!"
"One moment!"
The man worked on his computer, searching the reservation list.
Soon, he asked, "Lin Yi, right?"
"That’s right!"
"Sky-grade room, 315. Here’s your key card!"
As he spoke, the man handed Lin Yi a key card.
Lin Yi took it, nodded, and walked straight toward the stairs.
The inn didn’t have an elevator; it was only three stories tall.
There were twenty rooms on each floor. Lin Yi went upstairs with his key card.
He quickly found Room 315.
With a soft BEEP, the door opened.
Lin Yi stepped into the room and looked around.
The room’s decor wasn’t entirely retro, differing greatly from the inn’s overall design.
The decorations and furnishings inside were very simple.
There were even a few modern home appliances.
However, the room was reasonably clean.
Standing by the window, he could see Kunshan behind the inn.
But Kunshan was quite high, and the inn was at its base.
As a result, he could only see up to the mountainside.
Anything higher was out of view.
There was a temple on Kunshan called Jinzhong Temple.
Every day, a steady stream of pilgrims came here to burn incense.
And Kunshan Inn’s main purpose was to provide lodging for those pilgrims.
Many pilgrims, after arriving, would choose to rest at the inn for a day.
They would either ascend the mountain in the middle of the night or early the next morning.
Therefore, Kunshan Inn’s business never dried up, as long as Jinzhong Temple was still there...
Lin Yi sat on the bed, took out his phone, and composed a message.
: Arrived at Kunshan.
After sending the message, Lin Yi sat down cross-legged.
He glanced out the window and saw a large, iridescent bird.
It flapped its wings and flew past the window.
Lin Yi gave it a faint smile before closing his eyes, entering the state of the Star River Qi Transformation Technique, and resuming his cultivation.
Outside, Xiaoqi landed on the windowsill.
Seeing that Lin Yi had begun cultivating inside, it flapped its wings.
It let out a clear cry and flew toward Kunshan.
Soon, behind Xiaoqi,
a flock of large birds followed, like a gang of little brothers.
They followed their big brother Xiaoqi and flew up the mountain...
Time passed, second by second. As the sun sank behind the western mountains, it cast a brilliant golden glow.
The entirety of Kunshan was dyed a golden yellow.
The trees, grass, rocks, and mountain paths all seemed to be plated in gold.
The pilgrims on the mountain began to head down one after another.
At that moment, Lin Yi left his room and had just come downstairs.
The same man was still behind the counter on the first floor.
He walked over and asked, "Boss, let me ask you, is Jinzhong Temple still receiving visitors?"
Hearing this, the man nodded.
"Of course they are. Here in Ancient Temple City, every temple and monastery is open twenty-four hours!"
"You can go up the mountain whenever you want. Hey, if you go up around this time, you can even catch a vegetarian meal in a little while. You should give it a try. I’m not just hyping it up—the vegetarian food at Jinzhong Temple is actually pretty good!"
The man seemed very enthusiastic, especially when talking about Jinzhong Temple.
He was practically gushing.
Lin Yi smiled, thanked him, and walked out of the inn.
He followed a path leading up the mountain.
Most people on the path were pilgrims coming down from the mountain.
Very few were heading up, like Lin Yi.
The Kunshan mountain range was vast, and its slopes were very steep.
Although the path up the mountain had been paved with steps,
some sections were still quite precipitous.
One could only imagine how treacherous the terrain was before the steps were laid.
Lin Yi’s steps were light, and his pace up the mountain was not slow.
In just a short while, he had already reached the halfway point.
Yet, his breathing was even, without the slightest hint of disorder.
After pausing for a moment, he continued his ascent.
A journey that would take an ordinary person two or three hours with several breaks in between,
Lin Yi completed in just over ten minutes.
And that was without using a Body Technique.
If he had used a Body Technique, he could have probably reached the summit in just two or three minutes.
When Lin Yi arrived in front of the temple,
he gazed at the solemn and magnificent structure before him.
Outside the entrance stood a bronze cauldron.
In front of the cauldron was an incense burner.
The incense within burned brightly, smoke curling up ceaselessly.
There were even some pilgrims kneeling before the bronze cauldron in worship.
Lin Yi walked past them with no intention of stopping.
He passed through the temple gates and entered.
Although some pilgrims were still devoutly kneeling in prayer,
it was much quieter compared to the daytime.
Lin Yi took out his backpack and put it on.
He passed by one hall entrance after another.
At each hall, Lin Yi would stop, press his palms together, and bow.
Gazing at the Buddha statues inside and their benevolent faces,
Lin Yi’s own expression grew increasingly devout.
He continued until he reached the main hall.
From within the hall came the sound of a wooden fish drum.
Several young monks sat inside, chanting scriptures while striking the wooden fish.
Some pilgrims who had come to pray also finished their devout bows.
They took out money and dropped it into the donation box.
Lin Yi stood outside, glancing at the enormous Buddha statue within the hall.
However, he had no intention of going inside.
He simply stood outside the hall entrance, gazing at the statue.
After a long time, an old monk in a kasaya robe walked over.
"Amitabha..."
Hearing the chant, Lin Yi quickly turned, pressed his palms together, and returned the gesture.
"This humble monk has been watching you, Benefactor, for a long time, and I am quite curious."
"Benefactor, you have come to the temple, yet you do not pay homage to the Buddha. What is the reason for this?"
After the old monk finished speaking,
Lin Yi smiled and said, "You must find me amusing, Master."
"Tell me, does the Buddha save the wicked, or the virtuous?"
"This..."
After Lin Yi finished, the old monk’s expression changed slightly.
He looked at Lin Yi with a slight frown.
Before he could answer, Lin Yi smiled and continued, "If a wicked person takes refuge under the Buddha’s protection, hiding behind the Buddha, would you say the Buddha is saving the wicked, or the virtuous?"
The old monk looked up at Lin Yi.
There was now a strange look in his eyes.
Lin Yi smiled again and continued, "Master, don’t misunderstand. I was just struck by a sudden thought and spoke some nonsense!"
"I’ve heard that the vegetarian meals at Jinzhong Temple are quite good!"
"I wonder if I might have the honor of trying your esteemed temple’s vegetarian food?"
The old monk pressed his palms together, bowed, and said, "Amitabha. Our temple’s vegetarian meals have always been provided free of charge to pilgrims. If you don’t mind, Benefactor, you are welcome to stay and try them!"
"Free of charge? That’s wonderful!"
"This way, Benefactor, please!"
After speaking, the old monk led the way.
Lin Yi followed behind him, heading toward the dining hall.
The place where pilgrims ate was not with the monks.
It was a separate, cafeteria-like area.
It was furnished with tables and benches, and monks were responsible for serving the food.
You could take as much as you could eat. They weren’t afraid of you eating too much, only that you would take too much and waste it.
After Lin Yi walked in,
he saw that only three or four tables were sparsely occupied.
In front of them all were vegetarian dishes.
Lin Yi picked up a tray and walked toward a few monks.
They pressed their palms together and first gave Lin Yi a deep bow.
Then they served him his food.
Two steamed buns, a serving of scrambled eggs with cucumber, a tofu dish, some small pickles, and a small bowl of egg drop soup.
After getting his food, Lin Yi found an empty table and sat down.
The moment he took a bite, Lin Yi’s eyes lit up.
He had to admit, the taste of this vegetarian meal was indeed excellent.
Content, Lin Yi lowered his head and began to eat.
「Meanwhile, in the back of the temple.」
In a certain room,
a person in a black robe hurried inside.
Inside, a middle-aged man, also in a black robe, was sitting cross-legged.
The moment the person entered, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Speak!"
"My lord, people from the Town Martial Department have appeared in Shanyang City, Helixi City, Pingjiang City, and Shiquan City!"
"And they’re going to make a move tonight!"
Hearing this, a faint smile crossed the middle-aged man’s face.
A chilling glint flashed in his eyes as he nodded. "Excellent. Since they’ve delivered themselves to our doorstep, we’ll just let them stay."
"By the way, is their newly appointed Lord General among them?"
At these words, the black-robed man shook his head.
"There’s no news of Lin Yi. As the General Director, he should be commanding from the rear, right?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man in black chuckled and shook his head.
"You don’t understand this Lin Yi. To become General Director at such a young age, he’s bound to be young and reckless!"
"Have him command from the rear? How could he be willing to do that!"
"Keep investigating. Find out which city he’s in. Once he’s found, send reinforcements to encircle and destroy him!"
"As long as he’s dead, our crisis will be solved!"
"And our plan can proceed smoothly!"
Hearing this, the black-robed man quickly nodded. "Yes, my lord!"
After saying that, he quietly retreated outside.
After the man left, the middle-aged man took off his black robe.
Underneath, he was a bald-headed monk.
He was still wearing monk’s robes. He stood up and walked outside.
He walked from the back courtyard all the way to the front of the temple,
and entered the dining hall where the pilgrims were eating their vegetarian meals.
Lin Yi glanced up at him.
[7-star Martial Artist Certification]
[Deviant by Nature (Purple): Lacks benevolent thoughts; harbors sinister intentions.]
[Born Rebel (Purple): An innately rebellious personality that has reached an incorrigible state.]
[Blood Handprint: A Heart Skill Seal from a certain organization or religion.]
After Lin Yi saw the talent entries of the man who had walked in,
the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile.
Ever since he had set foot on Kunshan, everyone from the man at the inn at the foot of the mountain,
had the [Blood Handprint] entry among their talents.
In other words, Lin Yi hadn’t come to the wrong place.
This Kunshan Jinzhong Temple was the headquarters of the Blood Handprint in the New District.
He only spared the middle-aged man a single glance.
Then he lowered his head and continued eating his meal.
The middle-aged man, after walking a lap around the hall, headed back outside.
Not long after Lin Yi finished his meal,
a young monk walked over to him.
"Benefactor, are you finished with your meal?"
Lin Yi nodded. "Yes, I’m finished. It was truly delicious!"
"In that case, please give your tray to this humble monk. I will take it to the back to be washed!"
"Oh... then I’ll have to trouble you, Little Master!"
Lin Yi didn’t argue, simply handing his used tray to him.
Then Lin Yi walked outside.
He planned to continue walking around the temple for a while longer.
After all, exploring the entirety of a place as large as Jinzhong Temple was not something that could be done in a single day.