frightfiction Chapter 16 Every Cause Has an Effect
Chapter 16 Every Cause Has an Effect
Chapter Sixteen: Every Cause Has an Effect
On the barbecue street in the urban village, the ambulance took the injured away, and the police had finished collecting evidence and left. The barbecue street returned to its bustling state.
The shop owner, whose shop had been vandalized, squatted alone on the curb, tears streaming down his face: "My shop..."
The stall owners not far away all shook their heads.
"Boss, this is for you."
A man stood in front of him and handed him a black plastic bag containing something.
The boss looked up, his face instantly freezing: "You...you're not..."
"Consider this money as compensation for your losses. If you encounter any problems you can't handle in the future, call this number and I'll help you!"
The man handed him another note, then quickly left and disappeared into the crowd.
After a long while, the shop owner secretly opened the plastic bag and saw five bundles of bright red RMB inside. He was so excited that he almost shouted out loud.
"Fifty thousand yuan! That's more than my monthly revenue!"
The shop owner hurriedly put away the plastic bag and then took out the note to look at it again.
It had a number written on it, along with the words: "Cause and effect are cyclical, retribution is inevitable. What you do today will surely have its effect tomorrow. I owe you a debt of karma, and I'm repaying you with a request for help. Until we meet again!"
"A chance to ask for help?" The boss stared blankly for a long time, then carefully put the note away.
As an ordinary person, he was acutely aware of how important "a request for help" was.
After Zhuo Yang walked into the crowd, his clothes were suddenly tugged. He looked down and saw Xiao Diao grabbing his clothes.
"What are you doing? If you scratch me, I'll sell you and make you pay for my clothes!" Zhuo Yang said irritably.
Little Diao immediately put on a fawning expression, pitifully smoothing out her wrinkled clothes. Then, she pointed at the roadside barbecue with her little paws, looking like she was about to drool.
"Foodie!" Zhuo Yang said helplessly, patting Xiao Diao's head to comfort him. "We don't have much time. We need to go to Dazexiang. Cultivation is about competing with others for resources. Opportunities like this don't come often... Oh well, let's just eat a little to satisfy our cravings!"
There was nothing we could do; Little Diao's eyes looked so pitiful.
We bought a hundred skewers of mutton, and each of us, along with a mink, ate them as we walked. Most of them were eaten by our little darling.
Zhuo Yang rushed to buy a lot of outdoor equipment just as the mall was closing, and then rented a car overnight to head to Dazexiang.
……
When Zhuo Yang arrived in Dazexiang in his rented SUV, it was already dawn. There was an inexplicable traffic jam on the road, which made him bored halfway. So he used lightning and fire to refine the two throwing knives he had obtained from Liu Yimin.
Unfortunately, the throwing knife was made of ordinary material and contained little immortal iron. Even after refining, it was still only a low-grade magic weapon.
If Zhuo Yang had enough pure immortal iron, he could have forged two Immortal-Slaying Flying Knives with a control range of about ten kilometers!
Where is the ancient tomb?
There is only one road running through Daze Township. Zhuo Yang stopped the car, intending to ask the villagers for directions and grab a bite to eat at the only restaurant in the township.
But when he walked into the small restaurant, the corner of his mouth twitched.
The atmosphere inside the shop was strange. All five tables were occupied, but no one spoke. The twenty or so men, women, and children were divided into three groups, each wary of the other.
"Hey, here comes another one!"
"Do not talk!"
A guy with a pointed face and monkey-like features in the corner had just made a sarcastic remark when his companion grabbed his arm and stopped him with a look.
From this statement, Zhuo Yang was certain that everyone present was a cultivator who had come to search for treasure.
Using his demonic eyes to scan again, he found that everyone had fluctuations of vital energy, and their cultivation levels varied.
"Young man, there's an empty seat here."
A man stood up; he was easily two meters tall, his massive frame like an iron tower. His expression was calm, and his smile seemed genuine.
Zhuo Yang wouldn't easily trust any cultivator, so he nodded with a smile and walked over.
The burly man chuckled and invited Zhuo Yang to sit down, pouring tea as he said, "My name is Cui Yi. What is your surname, brother?"
Zhuo Yang gave his name and asked softly, "You are all aiming for the ancient tomb in Dazexiang, right?"
As soon as he spoke, the air in the small restaurant seemed to freeze instantly, and everyone stared at Zhuo Yang.
The more cultivators there are, the more chaotic things become—that's inevitable. Zhuo Yang understood this principle 20,000 years ago. Everyone wants to ascend, so anything that can improve cultivation is highly sought after.
Zhuo Yang brought this up now to see if these people were worth cooperating with.
Unfortunately, the situation is worrying.
“Brother Zhuoyang, we’re discussing this matter right now.” Cui Yi patted Zhuoyang on the shoulder familiarly. “As you probably know, there have been several ancient tombs and caves that have appeared in the last two months, but there are even more monsters, demons, and ghosts that accompany them. It’s impossible for one or two cultivators to complete the exploration, let alone seize the treasure.”
This was no lie. Zhuo Yang nodded and asked, "How did everyone's discussion go?"
"Tch, not much cultivation, but quite the big mouth!"
At the next table, a boy with blond hair and an extremely precocious, immature air about him spoke up with disdain.
Laughter followed immediately; people at the other tables were laughing, and some were laughing particularly wildly.
Zhuo Yang didn't care. His Dao heart was already stable, and he wouldn't be easily affected by others.
"Brother Zhuoyang, please don't take offense. He's my student, Meng Xiaojun. He's a bit too strong-willed," Cui Yi quickly tried to smooth things over.
He may seem like a tough guy, but he has a very good temper.
"Teacher Cui, I have a problem!"
The immature teenager Meng Xiaojun jumped up and pointed at Zhuo Yang, "Teacher, since we five awakened our Five Elements abilities, our cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, and we can even fight against demons and monsters. Look at this uncle, apart from being a bit good-looking, how does he look like a master?"
"If someone like that joins a treasure hunt team, what use would they be other than taking advantage of the situation?"
After speaking, he straightened his chest, raised his head, stared at Zhuo Yang with an expression that said "I am the only one who can do this," and his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) aura became even stronger.
"Uncle?" Zhuo Yang's face darkened.
Cultivators can sense each other's true essence fluctuations to judge their strength, but the immature teenager's strength is insufficient to sense them at all.
"Hey, you're still pretending you don't understand!" Meng Xiaojun looked down at Zhuo Yang: "Judging from your appearance, you only recently awakened your Five Elements abilities. Your cultivation isn't very good, yet you're trying to slack off. Believe me, I can kill you with one punch!"
Zhuo Yang was still not angry. He glanced at the boy and thought to himself that this was interesting.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the mortal realm is very low, and even with a large population, it is difficult for anyone to awaken the abilities of the five elements. Only in the immortal realm can even the most ordinary immortals awaken the abilities of the five elements at birth due to the nourishment of spiritual energy.
Due to the fluctuation of primordial energy, the concentration of primordial energy on Blue Star increased rapidly. The first group of people to awaken their abilities were absolutely gifted and had extremely high cultivation aptitude.
"Meng Xiaojun!"
At this moment, a pretty girl sitting next to Meng Xiaojun stood up and shielded Zhuo Yang behind her.
She said angrily, "Don't bully people. The teacher said that although we have all awakened our abilities, we can't act recklessly. We must keep a kind heart."
Meng Xiaojun was furious that his companion would defend an outsider instead of the other way around: "Su Hui, don't defend him just because he's handsome. The more handsome a man is, the more likely he is to deceive women!"
He glared at Zhuo Yang again, "When the youth are strong, the nation is strong! We youth are the strongest! This world has already been taken over by us youth. You old man should just hide!"