Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lu Lingzhu grabbed my hand and glanced behind me, her eyes widening in terror.

“Holy crap, Qiao Moyu, run!”

Countless bats had been struck by the lightning and fallen into the abyss, but even more giant bats were flapping their wings and surging up from the depths. They were so dense they looked like a dark cloud blotting out the sun.

Lu Lingzhu started tossing down Thirty-Six Thunder Talismans as if they cost nothing.

My chest tightened with physical pain at the sight. “Stop! You spendthrift!”

“Look at the time! Why are you still worrying about that? You money-grubber, just run!”

Lu Lingzhu dragged me forward. I could hear the clanking of high-level dharma treasures in her bag, and my eyes turned red with envy.

I truly envied a great sect like Maoshan. They had such deep foundations, and everyone in their sect was loaded. A fortune-telling session cost thousands, a talisman cost tens of thousands, and even lighting a stick of incense cost tens of thousands. Most importantly, they could keep the majority of their money; they didn’t have to follow the ‘Keep Not One in a Thousand’ rule.

In our line of work, the money we receive is tainted with karma. To protect ourselves from the ‘Five Lonelinesses and Three Deficiencies,’ people in the Daoist sects usually donate a portion of their earnings.

The percentage varies by sect, but donating ten percent is already considered a lot in the industry. It’s not like our Earth Master lineage, which is absolutely perverse. With the ‘Keep Not One in a Thousand’ rule, if I do a job for ten million, I can only keep 9,999.9. I don’t even dare to round it up to ten thousand. It’s like being a beggar without even a bowl to hold.

According to my master, the ancestors of the Qiao Family were once trapped in a tomb, pushed to the brink of death. In his final moments, the ancestor made a blood oath: if he were lucky enough to survive, his descendants would keep less than one-thousandth of their earnings, donating the rest to charity.

Well, he survived, but damn it, his descendants are all starving to death.

We sprinted up the stairs and ran head-on into the mummies.

Lu Lingzhu, that pay-to-win player, pulled two large bottles of mineral water from her backpack and started splashing the mummies with both hands.

My eyes turned red again.

“Is that how you’re supposed to use Yin-Yang Water?! You’re going too far!”

Lu Lingzhu lifted her chin triumphantly.

“Your reminder earlier just made me realize I brought so many treasures with me.”

“This stuff? My sect has plenty of it. Sigh, when a sect is large, the warehouse is just overflowing with things. We can’t even use it all. It’s such a hassle.”

Seeing Lu Lingzhu flaunt her wealth, I clenched my fists.

Does anyone understand? This truly hurts more than being killed.

After Lu Lingzhu finished off the mummies with her two bottles of water, I reminded her that there was still a vampire in the corridor. Lu Lingzhu pulled out another thunder talisman, but I quickly snatched it from her.

“I’ll do it! I’ll take care of it!”

Fearing she might change her mind, I stuffed the Thirty-Six Thunder Talisman into my bag and ran off.

“Hehe, I’m rich.”

I ran around outside for a bit and found the vampire hiding in a room.

I pulled the Seven Star Sword from my bag. I hadn’t felt anything before, but after comparing myself to Lu Lingzhu, I suddenly felt a bit pathetic.

“You beast, I’ll send you to the afterlife today!”

I vented all my pent-up fury on the vampire. Once the door was shut, I beat him until he wailed like a ghost.

“Qiao Moyu, are you okay?”

By the time Jiang Haoyan found me, the vampire was lying on the floor, unable to move. These things are similar to jiangshi-possessing immense strength-so taking it down required quite a bit of effort.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“I’m fine. Let’s go. How are we going to transport those mummies out?”

“Hey, there’s a mural on this wall-”

Jiang Haoyan suddenly stopped and pointed at the wall. I leaned in to look. The mural was vibrantly colored, depicting an abyss with a demon flying up from the bottom.

It was a very typical image of a Western demon: two horns on its head, a pitchfork in its hand, wings on its back, a green face, and protruding fangs.

I praised, “This demon is well-painted.”

Jiang Haoyan asked, “Why is there a painting of Chiyou here?”

“What did you say?”

I was struck with horror, but Jiang Haoyan pointed at the mural.

“Look. The ox horns, the tail, the wings, and the weapon in its hand… isn’t this exactly the same as the mural of Chiyou we saw before?”

We both fell silent. I felt the idea was too far-fetched, absurd to the point of being unbelievable.

Could it be that Western demons and our Chinese Chiyou have actually been the same race all along? Where did they come from? An alien civilization? Or the legendary people of the Inner Earth?

“Actually, there’s another legend about Houska Castle.”

“During World War II, the German army occupied this castle. It’s said that Hitler wanted to awaken the demon and use its power to rule the world, but they all failed.”

I forced a smile.

“If even the German army couldn’t awaken it, then the demon is probably just a legend.”