Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One
Chapter 177 - 161: Tremors of the Mind!

Chapter 177: Chapter 161: Tremors of the Mind!

These idlers and ruffians all stood by, making cold remarks that made Xie Wenren even more uncomfortable and utterly humiliated. Such a grand Taoist Cultivator, to be shamed by a mob of ruffians—Xie Wenren had truly brought disgrace upon the Flame Cloud Sect!

But Iron Staff Wang Lang didn’t care; he still wanted to continue scheming against Li Ping’an.

"Enough, enough, no more sneers. First, carry Immortal Xie back to the Cen Residence. I have important matters to attend to!"

Iron Staff Wang Lang grabbed his iron staff and was about to track Li Ping’an.

"Hmph! We’ve done all the hard and tiring work, yet you get off easy!"

A chorus of idlers and ruffians started throwing around cold remarks.

"Consider this Ten Taels of Silver my treat for drinks, my brothers. I hope you’ll do me this favor. I have urgent matters to attend to. You all go back and rest well. Tonight, we will perform another great deed!"

"Damn it, only because of the face of these Ten Taels of Silver are we listening to your nonsense, or else who would care!"

"Brothers, carry Immortal Xie back!"

And so, the crowd of idlers and ruffians carried Xie Wenren back to the Cen Residence, while Iron Staff Wang Lang secretly followed the path taken by Li Ping’an.

...

Li Ping’an had just picked up his sword from Niu Ji Blacksmith’s Shop and paid for it. It was already evening, yet he wasn’t hungry because he had eaten and drunk his fill at the Drunken Immortal Residence with the Defrocked Monk Mahaparinirvana earlier.

With the sky darkening, he thought it inconvenient to look for Zixia and, having no pressing matters, he slung the sword over his back and returned to the abandoned dwelling at Fallen Dragon Pit.

However, on his way back, he constantly felt as if eyes were following him like a shadow. Suddenly looking back, the person was nowhere to be seen!

Unable to locate the person, but still feeling followed, he intentionally took detours to shake off his pursuer.

Wandering through the lanes and streets, he saw the hustle and bustle of myriad lives. Such was the glory of the ever-prosperous Great Tang: some enjoyed gold cups and silver bowls of wine while others begged with broken bowls for food. And there were some who saw all this yet thought it only right and proper!

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He didn’t know whether it was the influence of Mahaparinirvana or his own awakening, but this time, he saw the same grandeur of the Great Tang that Mahaparinirvana had seen.

From his initial encounters in Chang’an City seeing the quiet lives of the wealthy and powerful and the common people’s burdensome toil, to what he saw today, including the words of Zhuge Weiwei, Li Ping’an had fully perceived the social reality of Chang’an in Great Tang—it was all about "money" and "power"!

In the society of Great Tang, apart from real Taoists and monks, money and power were the passes to life. If a person had money, rules could be bent; if a person had power, rules could serve that person. But if a person had neither money nor power, rules were tailor-made for that individual!

The common people at the bottom abided by the rules, those in the middle took advantage of the rules, while the elite at the top were the very definition of the rules—it truly was a case of the lower class working their bodies, the middle class working their brains, and the upper class exploiting others!

Compared to them, the Defrocked Monk Mahaparinirvana was an anomaly of this world. He wanted to break the rules, yet he struggled within them.

Altogether, Li Ping’an’s experiences along the way had left him unable to love this Great Tang and even filled him with some aversion!

After witnessing Mahaparinirvana’s uninhibited, heroic spirit today, Li Ping’an felt a certain stirring in his mind—to surpass the Futang Group and become someone who created the rules!

Yet such a thought was terrifying in this world, detrimental to Li Ping’an’s survival. But in his heart, he secretly vowed that if one day he gained the ability, he would create new rules for Great Tang and even for this world to allow everyone to experience two words: fairness. And three sentences: Fairness! Fairness! And damn it, fairness!

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That was the transformation Li Ping’an had undergone, a metamorphosis, from Five Finger Mountain County all the way to Chang’an. He had seen too much suffering and too many injustices. How could such a naturally kind-hearted person not be affected?

Today, a seed had been planted in his heart, to transform from a "selfish person" who only wanted to quietly develop, into a "great lover" with all beings in his heart. As long as he became strong enough, this seed would surely take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree!

After circling around for a long time, Li Ping’an still couldn’t find the person who was following him. He even began to wonder if he was being overly nervous and developing a persecution complex.

Eventually, he grew tired of the detours and simply headed towards the abandoned dwellings near the Fallen Dragon Pit, where no one dared to enter.

"What a fearless little brat, heading towards the abandoned dwellings of the Fallen Dragon Pit?"

Iron Staff Wang Lang, who was carefully trailing him, was hiding not too far away and was astonished to see Li Ping’an entering an area of Chang’an City that terrified the locals—how audacious!

"Since he’s fine, I guess I should be safe entering as well. I must find his hideout and inform Lord Cen; then I can kill him tonight!"

Iron Staff Wang Lang mustered his courage and followed him in, tracing the footprints on the ground.

After returning to the abandoned dwelling in the Fallen Dragon Pit, Li Ping’an leisurely took out the "Yellow Court Classic" to continue his studies. However, even after reading for a long time, the Attribute Template remained unchanged. As he had anticipated back in the real world of Dragon Capital City, he had reached a cultivation bottleneck. Reading Taoist texts to increase his cultivation had reached its limit—aside from biding his time, only a stroke of serendipity or tremendous fortune would help!

"So the scoundrel is hiding here! Boy, just wait, tonight will be your end!"

Fearing that Li Ping’an might notice him, Iron Staff Wang Lang stealthily positioned himself on a nearby rooftop, from where he could observe Li Ping’an reading inside the house. Confirmed of Li Ping’an’s hideout, Wang Lang did not dare linger and immediately returned to the Cen Residence.

Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Cen Wenjin’s mansion.

"Master Cen, I’ve found it! I’ve found it!"

An idle follower ran from outside the Cen Residence to the entrance of a side room. Cen Wenjin was standing at the doorway, while the house steward Cen San stood beside him with a cold expression, not daring to speak.

"You’ve found it and you’re not speaking quickly?"

The idle follower knelt before Cen Wenjin, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he excitedly replied:

"The vile monk did not lie; he is indeed a disciple of the Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk from the True Buddha Temple, a monk who came from Mount Wutai!"

After saying so, the idle follower still looked up with a smile, hoping for a reward, only to find that Cen Wenjin’s expression had turned even uglier:

"Dammit, the bald thief who injured my son is actually a man of Emperor Tathagata. How can I, in my official capacity, take revenge!"

The house steward Cen San quickly gave the idle follower a look, signaling him to stand to the side.

"Lord Cen, do you want to take revenge?"

Lying in bed inside the room, recuperating from his injuries, Xie Wenren heard Cen Wenjin’s complaints and suddenly chimed in.

Cen Wenjin looked in Xie Wenren’s direction with a face full of disdain, his mouth twisted in a bitter sneer:

"What now? Don’t tell me you, this disgraceful wretch, still think you can take revenge for me?"