The rain grew heavier.
Li Shiwuwu looked down at the still slightly beating, blood-soaked heart in the mud.
In a deep voice, he said, "You all leave."
"Oh... oh..." The young man with the sword, eyes wide with horror, fled in a panic.
"Master, you should leave too."
Seeing no response, Li Shiwuwu looked up.
The old monk in the yellow robe had already fled several miles away, having discarded his staff and hitched up his robes, revealing his hairy legs, looking as ridiculous as could be.
"Heh, it must be the master indeed."
Li Shiwuwu took a deep breath, his gaze dark and deep like an abyss.
"Friend, how should I address you?"
At this moment, the Monkey Aspect man was so close behind him, less than half a step away.
With a smile, he replied, "Ji Mo."
"Heh, if you're lonely, go visit a brothel. Why cling to me?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Mo just tilted his head slightly, his lips close to Li Shiwuwu's ear.
In a soft voice, he said, "Of course, to play you to death."
It was at this moment.
Liu Shaohu, the town protector, wearing a raincoat, hurried over through the rain.
Cheerfully, he said, "Immortal masters, I've prepared a feast to celebrate, just waiting for you."
"And today, a singer from outside has come, with a figure so delicate, like she could squeeze out water."
As he approached and took a closer look.
His expression turned awkward.
He saw Ji Mo so close behind Li Shiwuwu, their position and posture indeed suggestive.
"Li... Daoist Li, I didn't know you were into this!"
"Con... continue!"
With that, he turned and ran off.
Watching him leave.
Li Shiwuwu's eyes narrowed, "Monkey Aspect, Unreasonable Monkey, right."
"Today, I want to see what you're up to!"
With that, he strode forward.
A short while later.
Li Shiwuwu arrived at a small tavern by the street.
About seven or eight men, three to five elders, were warming themselves with wine, using the alcohol to share bawdy jokes.
Seeing the two of them enter, they couldn't help but spit out their wine, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Li Shiwuwu shouted, then, as if no one else was there, went to a window seat, pulled out a long bench, and sat down.
Behind him, Ji Mo spread his legs and sat close to him, from an outsider's perspective, it looked like two men embracing.
"Dao... Daoist, your wine."
The waiter placed down a pot of aged wine, filled the cup, and then left reluctantly.
Li Shiwuwu, without looking around, picked up the cup and drank.
But at this moment.
"Cough... ptooey!"
Ji Mo leaned his head over from behind, and a thick, egg-white-like saliva landed precisely in the cup.
"What do you mean by this?" Li Shiwuwu's brows furrowed, clearly on the verge of exploding, yet he was helpless against this one behind him.
"Just playing," Ji Mo maintained his playful, casual tone.
Li Shiwuwu forced himself to endure, picked up a clean cup, and just as he poured the wine.
"Cough... ptooey!"
"Heh, just playing!"
In the tavern.
The other patrons, seeing this scene, covered their eyes, as if unable to bear watching.
Muttering, "Tsk, this old Daoist sure plays wild."
Hearing the vulgar comments around him, Li Shiwuwu closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing.
He spoke, "Dayao state religion, Ten Aspects Sect."
"Monkey Aspect, Unreasonable Monkey."
"You cultivate the state religion's orthodoxy, is this how you deal with people?"
Hearing this, Ji Mo still looked indifferent.
He simply said, "You're just a mere mortal, what do you know."
"The so-called Unreasonable Monkey, is to do unreasonable things, make unreasonable demands."
"The ancient texts of the Ten Aspects Sect recorded that a predecessor of my Monkey Aspect lineage, before becoming immortal, entangled an immortal to death."
Li Shiwuwu's heart stirred, "Entangled an immortal to death, how?"
Ji Mo chuckled, "My predecessor couldn't defeat that immortal."
"Fortunately, the inheritance of my Monkey Aspect lineage is strange enough, he used Daoist techniques to entangle that immortal."
"Just like now, I'm entangling you."
"That immortal, despite his vast powers, couldn't shake off my predecessor, no matter what he tried."
Ji Mo cleared his throat, picked up the wine pot on the table, and poured it over Li Shiwuwu's head.
Then he said, "What happened next was interesting."
"Whether meditating, traveling, alchemy, or even seeking pleasure with a Daoist partner, my predecessor was always there, either causing trouble or pointing fingers..."
Hearing this, Li Shiwuwu felt a chill run from his back to his head.
He was already struggling with Ji Mo's brief entanglement.
He couldn't imagine how that immortal endured two hundred thousand years of it.
"You Monkey Aspect people are like a bunch of sticky plasters," he couldn't help but slam the table in anger.
Seeing him angry.
Ji Mo leaned close to his ear again, whispering, "Yes, we are a bunch of sticky plasters."
"Not just you, the whole Dayao says so."
"Once we latch on, unless you find a powerful elder to kill us, prepare to be entangled to death."
"Heh, entangling someone to death is our Monkey Aspect lineage's greatest pursuit and pleasure."
As he finished speaking.
Another customer entered the not-too-big tavern.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a Daoist crown, looking fierce and exuding a murderous aura.
But, a surprising scene unfolded.
Behind the middle-aged man, another figure was tightly attached, less than half a step away, like a piece of sticky plaster.
As they stepped into the tavern, they paused for a moment.
The fierce middle-aged man asked, "Old Daoist, you don't seem like a cultivator, how did you get entangled by this Monkey Aspect bastard?"
"By the way, how long have you been entangled?"
Li Shiwuwu thought for a moment, cupped his hands, and said, "I was just entangled today."
Hearing this, the fierce middle-aged man's temples throbbed.
"Heh, only a day, huh."
"But I've been entangled by this bastard behind me for a full sixty years."
Tears slipped from the middle-aged man's eyes, as if he had found someone to confide in.
"Do you know how I spent these sixty years? It's beyond words, beyond words!"
"This bastard, even when I take a dump or visit a brothel, he sticks close, saying I have kidney deficiency, saying the brothel girl looks like his deceased great-grandmother..."
On the other side.
The Monkey Aspect man behind the middle-aged man shook his head, "Young one, the target you chose is boring, better play him to death quickly."
Ji Mo shrugged, "Anyway, nothing else to do, just playing slowly."
Li Shiwuwu looked at the fierce middle-aged man, "Senior, are these Monkey Aspect cultivators really so lawless?"
The middle-aged man, hearing this, let out a long howl.
"The Ten Aspects Sect is the state religion of Dayao."
"And there are countless Monkey Aspect brats in the sect, kill one, and you'll provoke a swarm, so who dares to mess with them."