Chapter 27: The Pepper Grove of Bingzi

With that, Yan Qing walked out of Anguo Temple without looking back, took off his yellow dog mask, and walked openly down Vermilion Bird Avenue.

Yaoshi Yuan followed closely behind.

Ying Rushi glanced at An Wu, then walked out, deep in thought.

Shang Xinlei, however, waved at An Wu and skipped along after them, carrying a large bag.

Once they had left, the nobles rushed out of the temple in a frantic swarm. They fled the most renowned temple in Chang'an as if escaping a catastrophe. Out under the brilliant sun, looking at the bustling streets and the boundless sky, someone began to sob, and soon the sound of weeping became contagious. These noble scions, who had always been so haughty and domineering, fell to their knees and wailed.

The monks who had escaped with them looked terrified, scurrying into alleys and disappearing like cockroaches exposed to the light.

After stepping outside, Xue Yan saw that An Wu was still counting down. "An Wu," he asked, "will you leave once you finish counting?"

An Wu ignored him, continuing his count: "Nine, eight, seven..."

"You saved us, and I want to invite you to my home as a guest. Don't worry, even if your injuries can't be healed, I can take care of you for the rest of your life!" Xue Yan insisted. "And it might not be incurable; I’ve heard that some messengers can bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh and bone..."

"Five, four, three, two, one."

When An Wu uttered the final number, Xue Yan felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. He grabbed An Wu by the shoulder. "You've finished counting, you can leave now. Go!"

Yet, no matter how hard Xue Yan pulled, An Wu’s body remained unmoved. Ignoring him, An Wu looked down at the candle by his feet—the candle he had protected so carefully, the one that had never gone out.

"Aren't you leaving? Do you want to die?"

At that moment, Xue Yan was suddenly dragged away. Turning, he saw it was Miss Yang the Third. "Let me go!" he cried out in desperation. "I have to carry him out, he—An Wu and An Liu saved us—"

"Then don't go throwing your life away as a martyr with them!" Miss Yang scolded. "Are you really so dense that you haven't realized it yet? They never intended to leave here alive from the very beginning!"

"But still... how could they be so reckless..." Xue Yan was becoming incoherent, his nose and eyes running as he sobbed. "Do they not value their own lives at all!?"

"I don't know..." Miss Yang’s eyes were red as well. "But don't you find it strange? They don't need to sleep, they don't eat, they don't fear pain... And he said, he only hoped the world would turn according to his will..."

"If there truly are gods in this world, then perhaps... they are just like this."

Those who had escaped and not yet gone far turned their heads to look at the figure inside the gate of Anguo Temple.

They saw An Wu sitting cross-legged, facing the gods and Buddhas, his back turned to the mortal world.

The red candle tipped over, igniting the lamp oil on his body, transforming him into a torch brighter than the sun.

Simultaneously, An Liu, An Qi, An Ba, and An Jiu sat down as well, using their own candles to ignite the oil on their bodies, which in turn set the pools of oil on the ground ablaze. In a mere instant, the entire Anguo Temple was engulfed in a raging inferno, thick smoke billowing upward as if the flames were consuming all sin.

***

Inside a noodle shop less than a hundred meters from Anguo Temple, Yan Qing finished the savory broth of his wonton noodles with satisfaction. He raised a hand to call the waiter over and produced a piece of spirit jade. "Is this enough to cover the bill?"

"Enough, more than enough!" The waiter gulped, not daring to reach for it. "Sir, this piece of jade could buy a hundred bowls of noodles. We can't provide change for this."

"Keep the change," Yan Qing said. "If anyone asks if you've seen us, just say—"

"I understand, there were too many people today, I don't remember!"

"No," Yan Qing said as he stood up, picking up the *Bingzi Jiaolin* blade and his sack. "Tell them we are from the House of Thieves."

The House of Thieves?

The waiter was stunned, but could only nod in agreement. Since they were paying so much, he would just do as they asked.

Yan Qing wasn't doing this to show off; he simply didn't want his actions to implicate others. He disliked causing trouble for others, and disliked it even more when others caused trouble for him. That was his rule of the game.

"Fire!"

"Anguo Temple is burning!"

Cries rang out around the noodle shop. The waiter looked up and saw that Anguo Temple was indeed ablaze.

He suddenly recalled that the group of guests at that table had just come from Anguo Temple, each carrying a large sack. It wasn't so much that they were picking things up, but rather...

However, when the waiter scanned Vermilion Bird Avenue, he couldn't find a trace of those guests.

Strange. Those four guests had been quite conspicuous; how could they have vanished in the blink of an eye?

***

House of Thieves.

By the time the messengers of Chang'an arrived at Anguo Temple to extinguish the fire and investigate, the four members of Yan Qing's group had already returned to their seats in the House of Thieves. Just as when they first arrived, they were unable to leave their seats, forced to wait for the House of Thieves to complete its process.

The sand table on the stone desk had vanished, replaced by a weapon floating in mid-air—none other than *Bingzi Jiaolin*!

Orange-red streams of light flowed and leaped around it like tiny fish, and rays of brilliant radiance surged into it as if the Creator were reshaping this long-dormant weapon. Yaoshi Yuan and the others stared in wide-eyed wonder at the transformation; it was the first time in their lives they had witnessed the creation of a Relic!

As the light faded and the brilliance retracted, *Bingzi Jiaolin* stood slowly in the air.

*Clang!*

*Bingzi Jiaolin* suddenly unsheathed itself, its breathtaking blade light forcing everyone to close their eyes, as if a supreme existence were baptizing it, completing its final legendary transformation.

When the radiance dispersed, they opened their eyes to see the Buddhist inscriptions on the blade glowing with the color of orange flames. On the left was engraved: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows"; on the right: "Like dew, like lightning, thus should you view them."

At the same time, the House of Thieves displayed the details of *Bingzi Jiaolin* on a light screen in the air, revealing its specifications to all four:

[Bingzi Jiaolin]
[Grade: First-Rank Legendary]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Base Attack: 15~25]
[Equipment Requirements: Vitality 10, Soul 10]
[Equipment Requirements: Basic Blade Mastery MAX]
[Weight: 2 jin 3 liang]
[Length: 3 chi 2 cun]

[Effect: Investiture - You can share the power of Bingzi Jiaolin with your allies. The invested weapon gains 50 points of damage bonus, expiring after 10 attacks (whether basic or Relic attacks). If the invested weapon is a blade and not a Relic, it will take on the appearance of Bingzi Jiaolin, and the bonus is doubled. Investiture requires a continuous consumption of 100 Spirit Power.]

[Effect: Pillar of State - Your allies' strength is your strength. For every ally within a 50-meter radius equipped with an invested weapon, Bingzi Jiaolin is strengthened, with base attack increasing by 30 points, up to a maximum of eight stacks. You can consume 20 Spirit Power to activate Pillar of State, granting the Investiture effect again to all weapons within 50 meters that have previously been invested. Cooldown: 60 minutes.]

[Effect: Overturning Heaven - Even alone, you can turn the world upside down!
You must consume all current Spirit Power to activate Overturning Heaven. Upon activation, all invested weapons within 50 meters are immediately destroyed. Your wounds are instantly healed, and you unleash a shockwave that knocks back surrounding enemies and projectiles.
Your attacks can unleash Overturning Heaven blade beams 3 to 30 meters long, with damage ranging from 10% to 70% of base damage—the further the distance, the lower the damage. You can adjust the length of the blade beams.
Overturning Heaven lasts for 10 seconds.
For every invested weapon destroyed, your base attack increases by an additional 50 points, and the duration of Overturning Heaven extends by 3 seconds.
Before the effect ends, you are in an "Unshakable" state; no displacement, stun, or interruption effects can affect you.]

[Evaluation: The thunder and the dew are all the Emperor's grace!]