"Wait a moment. Even if you don't believe me, I can at least tell you that, even if I die, the Lama Order still won't be able to solve its current predicament."
Zachary Lee raised his head, shaking it repeatedly.
"Whatever the problem is, keeping you around is just a disaster. Better to get rid of you sooner..."
I slapped Mona Ouyang on the shoulder. He turned his head, glaring at me with obvious annoyance.
"What are you doing, Rachel Lan?"
"Wait a second, what exactly is going on? At first, you appeared in my dreams to urge me to get the lamas out of here, but then you wanted to devour me."
Zachary Lee sighed.
"I had no choice, miss. At first, I wanted you to warn the lamas to leave, but then I realized there was something special about your power. Maybe if I devoured you, my illness would be cured."
I glared furiously at Zachary Lee, and he quickly gave a helpless smile.
"Is that your final message before you die?"
It was obvious that Mona Ouyang still held a grudge. Being forcibly ejected from the dream by Zachary Lee had humiliated him, and he was itching to kill Zachary Lee.
"Enough with the drama. That's enough."
Suddenly, John Chou's voice drifted from behind me. I stared in shock—he had appeared right behind us.
"So it's you, John Chou. Heh, this is my turf, and you don't get to call the shots here..."
John Chou ignored Mona Ouyang and went straight to Zachary Lee, crouching down and smiling coldly.
"I'll give you one chance. If you prove useful, I can take you out of the underground and even ease your suffering a bit."
Zachary Lee swallowed and nodded repeatedly.
"But if you're useless, the Hall of Bloodbane has no need for dead weight."
Zachary Lee replied, his face pale as death.
"If there's a way to get me out of here and ease my pain, I'll do whatever you say."
"Hey, hey, Yin Choujian, what are you trying to do?"
Yin Choujian slowly stood up and turned his head.
"The plan continues. Dead freak, if you still want..."
"I get it. I'll let him go back."
Ouyang Meng said, while I watched Yin Choujian suspiciously as he suddenly stood up, walked over, and folded his arms.
"What do you mean, Yin Choujian? Leaving me over there again."
"Didn't I tell that guy, Log, to stay with you?"
I shook my head.
"What exactly are you trying to do? At least tell me clearly."
"You'll know in a couple of days."
Before I could even ask, Yin Choujian vanished. I was furious, about to say something, when suddenly I woke up in bed.
"You people better remember this."
Apparently, Ouyang Meng didn't want to keep talking to me and just sent me back. I pinched my cheeks; the sky was still a dark gray, though faintly whitening. I could hear the lamas chanting in the square. Just as I was about to open the window to look, Log's big, round face appeared right in front of me. I jumped, nearly falling out of bed.
After a while, the horizon in the distance turned pale. Log and I went downstairs to a breakfast shop to eat, then I headed straight to the square. There were only half as many monks as yesterday, but many were still coming down the steps, rotating with those who had chanted all night so they could rest.
I took Log and went straight to Jinla Temple. He looked helpless, but I didn't care. As soon as we stepped through the gate, the lamas blocked us, repeatedly asking us to leave. No matter what I said, they ignored me.
We went back to a drink shop on the outskirts of the square. It looked like an overcast day, and I breathed a sigh of relief—without the scorching sun, my skin wouldn't suffer.
"What do they want, anyway? Good intentions treated like donkey liver and lungs."
I took an annoyed sip of coffee. Log smiled and shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it, let's just keep playing. No need to bother with them."
Suddenly, my eyes widened.