Chapter 107: Faith

Xing Shi and Bing He had just stepped forward when a sharp whistling sound came from above them, their clothes rustling loudly. They looked up to see a dark figure descending from the sky. Liu Liwa quickly retreated, glancing at the buildings on either side. Although they were single-story houses, they had high roofs and tall walls, the shortest being at least three to four meters. Jumping from such a height would be dangerous for fragile ankles!

But his worry was clearly unnecessary. The black-clad figure leaped down, landing right in front of the stunned Miss Zhao, shielding her. In the pitch-black surroundings, this person’s attire was more practical than what Liu Liwa and the others had—dressed entirely in black from head to toe, wearing a bamboo hat with a black veil covering the face. If not for the fluttering of the black veil and the faint glint of tightly clenched teeth, no one would have noticed a person standing there.

Xing Shi and Bing He immediately stood with Liu Liwa, listening to the continuous screams coming from the alley behind them. They recognized the voices of Yi Hui and Zi Long, occasionally punctuated by Young Master Ye’s shouts of “Serve justice on behalf of Heaven” and Third Miss Zhao’s cheers. It seemed the hero-saving-beauty drama they had planned was unfolding in the back alley. So, what was happening here?

Liu Liwa stared at the black-clad figure before him, finding the person oddly familiar. Suddenly, he remembered—this was the hero drawn by Third Miss Zhao! Moreover, it was the same person who had stepped forward yesterday to save a beauty. Why had they appeared again? Could they be a hero of the night, ears perked like antennas, eyes wide like bronze bells, monitoring every possible sound to bring peace to people’s lives…

“Miss, are you alright?” Seeing that Liu Liwa and the others weren’t moving, the black-clad figure shielded Miss Zhao with their body and asked using a classic line from Hong Kong and Taiwan dramas.

Only then did Miss Zhao snap out of it, recalling everything that had just happened. She burst into loud sobs. The black-clad figure grew furious, pointing at Liu Liwa and the other two and saying in a hoarse voice, “Bold villains! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, you dare to harass a common woman on the street? You are utterly audacious! However, considering Heaven’s virtue of sparing lives, the Buddha guides those with fate, the sea of suffering has no end but repentance is the shore, and if the four elements disperse, they return to emptiness—thus, form is emptiness. So, you should go to the Yamen and accept your punishment.”

They rambled on for a while, leaving everyone confused. Bing He nudged Xing Shi and said, “Boss, what are they saying?”

Xing Shi shook his head. “I don’t know. It sounds like chanting. Boss, do you understand what they’re saying?”

Liu Liwa scratched his head. “It seems they’re saying that although we harassed a woman, which is a great evil and a grave sin, it’s not unforgivable. The Buddha is willing to guide us and give us a chance to be good people, but only if we turn ourselves in at the Yamen.”

Before Bing He and the others could respond, the black-clad figure praised, “This fellow practitioner has great wisdom!”

Fellow practitioner? Liu Liwa and the other two were even more bewildered. First, they spouted Buddhist phrases about form being emptiness, and now they were calling them “fellow practitioners”? This person’s faith was too jumbled!

“The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name…” The black-clad figure recited the mantra. “Since you have wisdom and insight, fellow practitioner, why cause trouble here? Hurry to the Yamen and accept your punishment. If you can lay down your butcher’s knife, I am willing to guide you into our Buddhist sect!”

Liu Liwa felt like crying. This person was reciting famous Daoist lines but wanted to recruit Buddhist disciples? What did it mean? Had they dreamed of divine secrets and realized that Buddhism originated from Daoism?

“Boss, is this person sick? Let’s just leave,” Bing He whispered, clearly treating the faith-jumbled black-clad figure as a lunatic.

Liu Liwa nodded, unwilling to dwell on it further, and turned to leave. When Miss Zhao saw them going, she cried even louder. She felt deeply wronged—she had just been out drinking, gotten drunk, and encountered unwanted touching, and so many people had seen it. She was too ashamed to show her face.

Hearing Miss Zhao’s cries, the black-clad figure immediately called out to Liu Liwa and the others, “Are you going to turn yourselves in at the Yamen?”

“Turn in your head!” Bing He retorted angrily. “We didn’t do anything. Why should we go to the Yamen?”

“Yeah, are you crazy? Just because you see a woman crying in an alley doesn’t mean she was harassed. Couldn’t she be crying because she can’t get married and is feeling sorry for herself?” Xing Shi chimed in, twisting logic and arguing pointlessly—a specialty of playboys like them.

Their barrage left the black-clad figure speechless. Miss Zhao kept sobbing, but even if questioned, she would never admit that someone had grabbed her chest. The black-clad figure was puzzled—who were these three people? Yesterday, they had also encountered ruffians harassing a woman, but as soon as they appeared, those men told them to get lost and even cursed at them, clearly because they were guilty. Today, these three not only showed no guilt but acted righteously and even used idioms eloquently. Truly, ruffians weren’t scary; what was scary was ruffians with education.

Seeing the black-clad figure fall silent, Liu Liwa seized the chance to leave quickly. Bing He and the others knew when to quit while they were ahead. But just then, Miss Zhao suddenly spoke up, “Give me back my brooch.”

Huh? Everyone was stunned, not understanding why she had suddenly said that. They instinctively looked around, and eventually, Xing Shi noticed something emitting a soft glow in Liu Liwa’s hand. He gently poked Liu Liwa and said, “Seventh Brother, your hand…”

Liu Liwa raised his hand and saw a faint shimmer. Upon closer look, it appeared to be a butterfly made of gold thread, poised as if to take flight. Could this be the so-called brooch? He had been too immersed in the “greatness” earlier and hadn’t noticed!

“Good! The young lady’s ‘brooch’ is in your hand. Let’s see how you deny it now!” The black-clad figure jumped out excitedly, embodying the hero who served justice and punished evil. They pointed angrily at Liu Liwa and declared loudly, “I thought you had wisdom and urged you to improve, but I never expected you to be the real culprit. I won’t let you get away this time.”

Liu Liwa felt like crying—he hadn’t expected Miss Zhao to have so many tricks. A simple touch had left behind damning evidence. He was about to drop the brooch and run when he heard the black-clad figure, who devoutly followed Buddhism, called him a fellow practitioner, and had a jumbled faith, chant with utmost piety, “Almighty God, grant us the strength to resist evil, protect your people from wicked threats, spread your shining wings, and under your great glory, shatter that evil soul!”

Liu Liwa was shocked. Besides practicing both Buddhism and Daoism, was this person also cultivating magic?

Regardless of their ultimate faith, the figure lunged forward. In the dark alley, they charged like a hunting black eagle, bringing divine glory and unleashing a forbidden spell…