Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 26 My nephew is truly exceptional.

"So, what happened to those people afterward?"

On the oxcart in the early morning, Lin Fan casually chatted with the dog-skinned Taoist priest with his eyes closed.

There were only the two of them on the oxcart, and no goods. The Taoist priest rented the oxcart from his third uncle at full price to take Lin Fan to the county town.

Lin Fan sighed once again, "Taoists are really rich."

“It’s nothing serious. Xiao Cui died, Ge Wudan and Ge Sichao died, and later Xu Yunxiao’s mother also died.”

"What about Xu Yunxiao? What happened to him? Did he become a Taoist priest?"

Lin Fan touched the new clothes his mother had sewn for him overnight. Some of the stitches were a bit rough, but the new clothes just felt more comfortable than the old ones.

“Naturally, he is dead too,” Yun Xiangzi replied calmly.

"Why do you think Xu Yunxiao did this?" Lin Fan asked casually, since he had nothing else to do.

"Kid, don't be so naive. There's nothing in this world that can't be traded, it's just a matter of whether it's worth it."

The dog-skinned Taoist priest seemed to have taken to lecturing, putting on an air of being an experienced person.

"If you were asked to kill a thousand people, you certainly wouldn't be willing. But what if killing those thousand people could grant you immortality or allow you to ascend to heaven? What if killing a thousand people could save all of humanity?"

The Taoist priest with the dog skin gave an example.

“I think Xu Yunxiao was unwilling too, but his mother’s Dao-seeking plague was not incurable. With money, she could live. Could he watch his mother die?”

"Xiao Cui gave her first time to Xu Yunxiao, so Xu Yunxiao will definitely not despise Xiao Cui because of this. Why not make such a good deal?"

"In the end, it's just a matter of closing your eyes and enduring it for a while, and that will pass. Enduring it for a while can save a life, what a great deed that would be!"

Lin Fan regretted asking him; after hearing his words, he felt even more disgusted by the dog-skinned Taoist priest in front of him.

"Alright, alright, I just asked casually, why do you have so much to say?"

After a moment of silence, Lin Fan felt that they had arrived at their destination.

"Third Uncle, stop up ahead." Lin Fan said to his third uncle who was driving the oxcart.

As soon as Uncle San came to a stop, Lin Fan jumped down with his hoe on his back.

"Third Uncle, please wait here for me for a while, I'll be right back."

"Alright, little Taoist priest, I'll be waiting for you." Uncle San said kindly to Lin Fan, but this friendly Uncle San was a stranger to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan frowned. "Third Uncle, I'm not yet."

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I've known since you were little that Xiao Fan's destiny is extraordinary. You're destined to cultivate immortality and seek the Dao."

Although my third uncle doesn't like Taoist priests and sorcerers, no one can guarantee that they won't need their help someday, so it's always good to be polite.

Lin Fan didn't want to explain anything and turned to walk towards the woods by the roadside.

"Xiao Fan, are you going to relieve yourself?"

"No, I have some personal matters to attend to."

Third Uncle looked at the desolate forest and thought to himself that these Taoist practitioners were strange. What could possibly happen in this remote wilderness? However, he never interfered in the affairs of these three religions, as asking too much would only cause trouble.

Seeing Lin Fan leave, the dog-skinned Taoist priest's eyes darted around, and he immediately followed after him.

"Nephew, is there anything you need me to do? Do you need my help?"

Although the Taoist priest felt that Lin Fan had no reason to run away, it was still safer to keep a close eye on him.

Lin Fan knew his purpose and nodded: "Okay, but take your iron sword with you."

"What? Are we going to suppress bandits?" the dog-skinned Taoist priest asked in confusion.

"An iron sword isn't just for killing people," Lin Fan chuckled. "Maybe it can also be used for digging."

"This is a sword, not a hoe!" the dog-skinned Taoist priest said unhappily.

A moment later, the dog-skinned Taoist priest, holding his iron sword, joined Lin Fan in digging a hole in the ground.

His iron sword wasn't the thin, long sword that young masters used; it was thick and had a wide blade. While it wasn't ideal for digging, it wasn't unusable.

The dog-skinned Taoist priest glanced at the three rotting corpses beside him. The stench of the dead was unbearable, even for a Taoist priest who was used to seeing dead people.

The dog-skinned Taoist priest covered his mouth and nose with a silk scarf and said while digging, "Nephew, I really underestimated you before. Your talent is truly unmatched by ordinary people. You even carelessly left such a huge karmic burden on the road."

Lin Fan couldn't stand the stench either, but he had his own solution.

Last night, while his mother was sewing, he also made some alterations to his clothes. Now, as long as he pulls the belt, the Soul-Suppressing Bead can be attached to the inside of his thigh.

This method is more discreet than holding it in your hand or swallowing it. The downside is that the Soul-Suppressing Bead may malfunction from time to time depending on your movements.

Anyway, it's not a life-threatening situation, so it's enough to intermittently help him get rid of the physical discomfort caused by the odor.

"I didn't kill him," Lin Fan argued.

"Don't worry, nephew. I didn't say you were the one who killed him. But if you weren't the one who killed him, why did you bury him?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment. If he didn't answer this question properly, the dog-skinned Taoist priest would definitely keep pressing him for an answer.

“I had some connection with these three people. A few nights ago, I observed the celestial phenomena and discovered that something had happened to them. I couldn’t bear to see their bodies left to rot in the wilderness, so I decided to come and send them off.”

The dog-skinned Taoist priest was taken aback. "What kind of nonsense do you know about observing the night sky? Hey, wait, are you mimicking me? You haven't even become a Taoist priest yet, and you're already learning these江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor among outlaws) tricks. You're not as good as me!"

Seeing that he had successfully diverted the attention, Lin Fan silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to relieve myself." People tend to need to urinate and defecate when they exercise, and the dog-skinned Taoist priest wanted to take the opportunity to rest. As he spoke, he carried his iron sword and walked towards the bushes in the distance.

Lin Fan ignored him and continued digging. He glanced at the already somewhat rotten family of three and thought to himself, "It seems that neither wild animals have eaten them nor have they been abused by humans these past few days."

This was a small consolation for Lin Fan.

"Ah!" came the cry of the dog-skinned Taoist priest from afar.

Lin Fan was startled and quickly picked up his hoe and hid behind a tree.

The incident involving the dog-skinned Taoist priest has nothing to do with him, but if something really attacked him, he should not act rashly until he understands the situation.

Before long, the dog-skinned Taoist priest, who hadn't even put on his pants yet, ran over here.

As he ran, he called out, "Nephew, nephew, are there a few others over there who are also destined to meet you? Do you want to go and check them out?"

The dog-skinned Taoist priest, with his bare, thin old legs, didn't see Lin Fan. His heart tightened, and he gripped his iron sword and started spinning in circles. "Nephew, nephew, don't joke with your uncle."

Lin Fan watched for a while, and seeing that the dog-skinned Taoist priest's flustered appearance didn't seem fake, he made sure that nothing was following him before stepping out from behind the tree.

The dog-skinned Taoist pulled up his pants and said irritably, "Sigh, my nephew really makes this old Taoist feel quite disheartened."

The dog-skinned Taoist priest led Lin Fan back to the spot where he had just relieved himself.

“Nephew, if I wasn’t very friendly to you before, I apologize in advance. Please don’t consider me a kindred spirit.” The dog-skinned Taoist said politely.

Not only the dog-skinned Taoist priest, but Lin Fan was also shocked by the scene before him. Broken limbs and body parts covered this small area.

With the Soul-Suppressing Pearl's reassurance, Lin Fan mustered his courage and flipped over one of the larger pieces, which also had a head.

This person has a large bruise on the left side of their face!

Lin Fan recognized him; this was the bandit with the green spots who had extorted him before. Lin Fan's heart pounded, overwhelmed by a euphoric joy that overwhelmed his fear.

However, his blue spots have now changed; half of them have turned into a portrait of a Taoist priest.

He didn't care that the rotting corpse was sticky and gooey; he reached into his pocket and pulled out his money pouch.

Inside were only copper coins. Lin Fan counted out thirty-eight coins, and the bag was almost empty. Lin Fan threw the rest of the money bag back.

"Nephew, you dare to take money from the dead? Aren't you afraid of incurring karmic consequences?"