Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Hiding Among the Porcelain Statues
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Li Tianqing's heart pounded wildly, but he quickly calmed down, utterly composed. He stood among the porcelain statues like one of them, eyes open, perfectly still.
Jin Hongying had originally planned to flee, but she knew her injuries were severe and her leg was lame—she simply couldn't run. Thus, she also stood among the porcelain statues.
One of her legs could bear weight, but the other could not, making her stance unsteady.
At her feet, Blackie Pot looked just like a porcelain dog: head thrust forward, left front leg raised as if mid-stride, tail tilted back—like it had been turned to porcelain in the midst of preparing to hunt. It was so lifelike that Jin Hongying couldn't help but admire it.
"Am I not even as good as a dog?"
She gritted her teeth and held firm.
The ground shook with increasing intensity as the Evil Bodhisattva drew nearer.
The three humans and one dog held their breath, hearts pounding to the extreme.
The Evil Bodhisattva lifted a massive leg, its enormous body passing directly over their heads.
Boom!
This evil demon arrived at the village center and sat down cross-legged, kicking up clouds of dust.
Even seated, it towered far higher than the houses.
In the past, the Kiln Works had harbored a Ghost God Domain, formed by this evil demon itself. But now, that Ghost God Domain had transformed into a demonic domain, affecting all living creatures within a hundred li radius—vastly larger than before.
Though its range had expanded, the expansion had diluted its influence.
That was why, when the Evil Bodhisattva passed by them, Chen Shi and the others hadn't been turned to porcelain.
However, if the Evil Bodhisattva noticed them, it could porcelainize them in an instant—as easily as it had done to the villagers!
The three humans and one dog grew even more cautious, not daring to make the slightest sound.
At that moment, a hissing friction came from the Evil Bodhisattva's belly. Then its navel parted like a round doorway, and a lanky Kiln Worker about ten feet tall crawled out, dragging a porcelain statue behind it.
The lanky Kiln Worker dragged the porcelain statue onto the street, positioned it neatly in front of the others, then returned to the Evil Bodhisattva's navel and hauled out another, placing it the same way.
It repeated this process over and over, endlessly dragging porcelain statues from the Evil Bodhisattva's belly and arranging them neatly. Only then did Chen Shi and the others realize why there were so many porcelain statues here—it was all this lanky Kiln Worker's doing.
What was it hauling out all these porcelain statues for?
Chen Shi recalled the Kiln Worker's act of repairing the Evil Bodhisattva's broken porcelain pieces and suddenly understood. He thought to himself, "It's planning to use these porcelain statues as raw material, remelt them, and repair the Evil Bodhisattva's body! Everyone here is just raw material!"
The lanky Kiln Worker finally emptied the Evil Bodhisattva's belly of porcelain statues. It moved among them, extending a finger to count each one, as if tallying their numbers.
"Oh no, it's counting!"
Cold sweat beaded on Chen Shi's forehead. Counting was an essential skill for Kiln Workers. But this lanky one was clearly no living person—just a fired ceramic figure—yet it knew how to count!
Moreover, since it could count, it was bound to notice the extra three humans and one dog!
That would spell disaster.
Sweat dripped from Li Tianqing and Jin Hongying's foreheads as well. Their positions didn't allow a clear view, so they strained their eyes to the side, trying to glimpse the Evil Bodhisattva's movements.
The Evil Bodhisattva sat upright, its four faces and eight eyes all closed, like an old Buddha deep in meditation—radiating a solemn holiness.
"If we suddenly bolted now, could we escape the Evil Bodhisattva's gaze and spell range?"
The thought crossed both their minds simultaneously.
They immediately dismissed it.
They could never make it out in time.
The Kiln Worker had counted up to them and continued onward.
After one full count, it stood in place, raising both hands and fiddling with its fingers—as if the numbers didn't add up, making it doubt its own memory.
It scratched its head, the sound scraping loudly, but couldn't figure out why.
It started toward the Evil Bodhisattva, but halfway there, it halted abruptly, turned back, and looked at the porcelain statues.
It approached again.
Cold sweat streamed down Jin Hongying's forehead, trickling down her neck and into her collar, crawling like ants—unbearably itchy.
Her body began to sway slightly, her injured leg trembling harder and harder.
The Kiln Worker seemed to notice her and headed straight for her.
Jin Hongying struggled to hold her posture, but she couldn't steady herself.
She clenched her teeth. From her sleeve, tiny paper figures quietly slid down her pants, tiptoeing toward the Kiln Worker. This Kiln Worker was the one specialized in repairing the Evil Bodhisattva. Back then, Jin Hongying, Young Master Xiao, and their two companions had nearly destroyed it, but the cunning Evil Bodhisattva had swallowed it into its belly, allowing the Kiln Worker to hide inside and mend its damage.
That battle had failed at the last moment—not because the four of them couldn't match the Evil Bodhisattva, but because of this Kiln Worker!
Jin Hongying steeled her resolve. Even if she died, she'd take this Kiln Worker down with her!
"Still, trading my life as a Shenji Battalion officer for a porcelain freak's—talk about a bad deal!"
Her paper figures had reached the Kiln Worker. They moved silently, and being ceramic, the Kiln Worker had eyes only sensitive to sound—its vision was poor and it didn't notice them.
The paper figures bit knives and swords in their mouths, climbing up its legs to its back, ready to strike.
By now, the lanky Kiln Worker had entered the cluster of porcelain statues and was leaning in to inspect Jin Hongying closely when a massive noise erupted behind it.
It turned to look. The Evil Bodhisattva raised its eight arms, cradling its own head and gently twisting it left and right. With a loud crack, it actually detached its head!
The Evil Bodhisattva remained perfectly seated and steady, setting its head aside.
The lanky Kiln Worker ignored Jin Hongying and the others. It grabbed two porcelain statues, one in each hand, and hurried toward the Evil Bodhisattva's severed head.
Only then did Chen Shi notice that where the Evil Bodhisattva had placed its head, there was a kiln cave—newly built, barely used.
The Kiln Worker shoved the two porcelain statues into the kiln cave, climbed atop the Evil Bodhisattva's head, and pried open one eyelid. Instantly, raging true fire erupted from the Evil Bodhisattva's eye, blazing fiercely and melting the two porcelain statues in moments!
The molten porcelain dripped into a clay pot below, filling it and glowing red.
The lanky Kiln Worker closed the Evil Bodhisattva's eyelid, slid down from the head, picked up the scorching clay pot, and went straight to the Evil Bodhisattva's torso navel, opening it and entering.
It was clearly planning to repair the Evil Bodhisattva's body from within.
Chen Shi blinked, thinking to himself, "Now the Evil Bodhisattva's head is set aside with eyes closed, and the Kiln Worker is inside its body—this is the perfect chance to slip away."
He quietly shifted his feet to Jin Hongying's side, supporting her as she swayed on the verge of collapse. He shot Li Tianqing a look; understanding dawned, and the three cautiously edged toward the village outskirts.
As for Blackie Pot, it had already taken the initiative, scouting ahead with feather-light steps that made no sound.
Porcelain statues surrounded them—they had to be utterly careful, or a single bump would clatter and awaken the Evil Bodhisattva!
Outside the village, water murmured soothingly amid idyllic scenery, indescribably beautiful.
Yet inside, the three were drenched in sweat, inching along bit by bit.
They were almost out of the village when—thud—the Evil Bodhisattva's navel opened again. The lanky Kiln Worker pushed open the doorway and emerged.
The three humans and one dog froze motionless once more.
The Kiln Worker came among the porcelain statues and dragged two more off to burn.
Just as those two melted, the lanky Kiln Worker seemed to recall something and turned toward where Jin Hongying had stood.
It was greatly puzzled—there had seemed to be a porcelain statue here before, so where had it gone?
Jin Hongying and Li Tianqing were tense to the breaking point. Jin Hongying couldn't hold back and was about to activate her paper figures when Chen Shi quietly pinched her hand. She started slightly and held off, enduring.
She had little contact with Kiln Workers, but Chen Shi frequented the Kiln Works and knew their traits.
These Kiln Workers weren't very intelligent—they could only detect moving objects. Stationary ones, they couldn't distinguish.
In the Kiln Works, refined jars and pots dodging Kiln Worker hunts would often hide motionless in corners. If startled into running, that was a death sentence.
Many times, Chen Shi had nearly been caught, surviving only by posing as a porcelain statue, perfectly still.
Moreover, Kiln Workers' minds were simple—they couldn't think deeply.
They could spot anomalies but couldn't fathom why they occurred.
Sure enough, failing to find Jin Hongying, the Kiln Worker withdrew its gaze, slid down from the Evil Bodhisattva's head, picked up the clay pot, and returned to its belly to continue repairs.
The three humans and one dog resumed edging toward the village outskirts. They finally exited, all secretly exhaling in relief.
Just then, Jin Hongying sensed something and glanced back—only to see one face on the Evil Bodhisattva's head had opened its eyes at some point, staring coldly at them!
"Oh no!"
Jin Hongying's scalp went numb. She shouted,
"Run!"
Chen Shi also spotted the Evil Bodhisattva's head. He scooped up Jin Hongying without a word and bolted outward, yelling,
"Hongying Jie, the paper figures!"
Held in his arms, Jin Hongying snapped to and immediately activated the paper figures inside the Evil Bodhisattva's belly.
These paper figures had been clinging silently to the lanky Kiln Worker's back. Now they sprang into action, slashing with knives and swords!
The lanky Kiln Worker wasn't helpless. Ambushed, it immediately splashed the hot liquid from its clay pot behind it.
Being ceramic, it feared not the heat, but the paper figures—cut from paper and empowered by Jin Hongying's magic—ignited instantly upon contact!
The other paper figures leaped aside, kicking off the Evil Bodhisattva's inner belly wall to launch themselves, weapons raised, at the lanky Kiln Worker.
Though their blades and swords were paper, they were razor-sharp: a slash pierced the Kiln Worker's hard ceramic skin, a thrust cracked it open!
As the Kiln Worker and paper figures clashed inside the Evil Bodhisattva's belly, the Evil Bodhisattva itself wasn't idle. Two arms reached out, grabbing for its head on the ground. The moment it seized it, its two massive legs powered up, propping its body as it slowly rose.
Slowly, that is, relative to itself—its huge frame made the motion seem sluggish, but it was actually swift.
At the same time, the head's four faces twisted into expressions of excitement, rage, brutality, and bloodlust. One face's eyes shot blazing true fire straight at Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and the others!
Li Tianqing instantly triggered the Galloping Horse Talismans hidden on his legs. Wind stirred at his feet as he sprinted desperately, trying to evade the Evil Bodhisattva's gaze.
But then, a black shadow shot past him—several times faster, whistling through the air like thunder.
Startled, he looked and saw it was Blackie Pot.
All four of the black dog's legs bore Galloping Horse Talismans, now activated—not just wind at its feet, it was practically flying!
And Chen Shi, carrying Jin Hongying, was even faster than him!
Li Tianqing recalled a joke from a book: A tiger chases two brothers running for their lives. One says, "Don't bother, we can't outrun it." The other replies, "I don't need to outrun the tiger—I just need to outrun you."
"I'm the slowest—probably the first the Evil Bodhisattva kills."
The thought had just crossed his mind when chaos erupted inside the Evil Bodhisattva's belly. Jin Hongying's paper figures seized the chance, severing the lanky Kiln Worker's neck and lopping off its head!
The paper figures hacked away inside—ping-pong clang—trying to wreck the Evil Bodhisattva from within!
The Evil Bodhisattva ignored pursuing Chen Shi and the others. It hoisted its head high; twin gazes fired blazing true fire down its neck into its body, incinerating every paper figure to ash.
But that brief delay allowed Chen Shi, Jin Hongying, Li Tianqing, and Blackie Pot to escape its line of sight.
Chen Shi's Galloping Horse Talisman activated too. He reached the stream before the village, stepping onto the water as a breeze lifted him. Holding Jin Hongying, he skimmed across the surface at breakneck speed.
Ahead, the dog paddled furiously, even faster, churning the river into explosive waves.