Step Back! Master is Here! - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Mutual Sabotage

“You don’t seem like you know what happened.”

Tang Luo stopped the broom between two of his fingers like a vise clamp, holding it in place and stopping it from going forward any further.

What had happened?

Li Shufen indeed wasn’t very sure.

She had used the Inert Breathing Technique to enter a state of suspended animation.

Unless the enemy was crazy and perverse enough to dismember, mutilate, or cremate corpses, additional wounds, like being pierced by a spear or stabbed by a knife a few more times, didn’t pose a fatal risk.

At the same time, it was also extremely difficult for others to realize that she was still alive.

In any case, no one had ever seen through Li Shufen’s Inert Breathing Technique all this time, be it people of the mission world or Employees of Gods and Demons.

However, when she was in the state of inert breathing, she was no different from a dead person and would be completely unaware of the ongoings outside.

Even if she were to die while in the state of inert breathing, she wouldn’t realize either and would die very peacefully.

Inert breathing was also a form of returning to paradise[1].

Li Shufen was very lucky. She had never run into trouble while using this move in the past.

Not only had she managed to survive in the Game of Gods And Demons, which was fraught with danger, but she was even surviving very well.

After all, who would be suspicious of a carefree, relatively friendly, and warmhearted middle-aged lady who entered a mission world wearing slippers, loungewear, and an apron?

Especially when the same middle-aged lady even died upon meeting with danger and became an intact corpse.

Even if she ran into shrewd people, they wouldn’t continue to be suspicious of dead bodies either. They would only think of themselves as being overly suspicious.

By the time they discovered Li Shufen’s true self, it would naturally be too late.

Dead men told no tales. Among the Employees of Gods and Demons, there was no such thing as official transaction halls.

Everything was self-initiated.

No one knew of Li Shufen’s secret.

That was, until this moment!

“Observe your surroundings before you ambush others next time. It’s easy to make mistakes if you’re too impatient,” said Tang Luo as he struck out with the palm that he was holding vertically upright in front of his chest.

She had no time to use any skills.

Li Shufen’s eyes widened dramatically, the hateful and indignant expression on her face freezing completely.

The aura of skills didn’t emanate from the corpse this time either.

She had indeed been anxious. This was because she didn’t know what time it currently was. The only thing she knew was that dawn had already broken, and the sky was turning bright.

If she didn’t hurry and strike, she might not be able to get her hands on the little monk’s equipment anymore.

At the same time, the role that she was taking on was a heavily injured person who had fortunately managed to escape from the jaws of death. Where was she supposed to get the energy to observe her surroundings closely and evaluate what exactly had happened?

Li Shufen had only cast a hurried sweeping glance around the area to confirm that the little monk wasn’t dead and that the gun she wanted was still there.

The relatively intense battle had already ended.

As for getting a more concrete understanding of the situation, she could evaluate it again after she killed and looted the other party.

Of course, Li Shufen had already lost the chance to do a reevaluation, forever.

Enlightening Li Shufen similarly gave Tang Luo some power of virtuous merits. It even exceeded the amount that he had received from the kind driver who had sent them to the terminal.

To be honest, Tang Luo hadn’t discovered anything amiss with Li Shufen. Neither had she given herself away.

At best, he was somewhat puzzled when she used her broom to crush the enemies’ heads.

He hadn’t taken any precautions against her in advance.

Well, neither did he need to.

Should he really meet with an ambush or a stab from the back and whatnot, he could just counterattack like what he had done earlier, and that would do.

Li Shufen’s biggest mistake wasn’t so much the fact that she had not observed her surroundings.

She had done a rough observation.

Her biggest mistake was that she was too greedy. She wasn’t able to control her greed.

“This is probably equipment.”

Tang Luo held the broom in his hand.

After a while, some information surfaced in his mind.

[Sweeper]

It looks like an ordinary broom. In truth, it is indeed a broom, just a little sturdier. But in actuality, it can crush rocks, as long as the user is strong enough.

Supplementary skills:

Skull-Crush (Passive): When it hits someone’s head, it will launch an additional burst of power.

Remarks: “The blood has already been fully cleaned as if it had never been stained in the first place.”

Everything was within Tang Luo’s expectations. This seemingly ordinary broom was indeed a piece of equipment. It even came with a passive skill called Skull-Crush.

From the Remarks section at the end, it seemed like this thing had crushed somebody’s head before?

Tang Luo held the broom and got up.

‘Hmm? I’ve become a sweeper monk all of a sudden?’ He suddenly thought to himself, ‘What a shame that it doesn’t come with the One Meter Wall of Energy[2] skill.’

A monk whose equipment was a broom—wasn’t that a sweeper monk?

Tang Luo returned to the room, took a seat, and placed Sweeper and Ill Omens in front of him.

To a typical Employee of Gods and Demons, Tang Luo’s gains were enough to drive them insane with jealousy.

But…

“There isn’t any equipment here that suits my identity though.”

Once again, Tang Luo uttered words worthy of an armchair quarterback.

Although he wasn’t a stickler for form and could put anything to use, having a piece of equipment that suited his identity would undoubtedly be better.

Was he supposed to hold a pistol in one hand and a broom in the other when he went to the next mission world?

His image of an eminent monk would be ruined.

Tang Luo wished he could ask the Gods and Demons something.

“Do you guys do trade-in services for unwanted secondhand equipment?”

The last bit of time passed in peace and stability.

In the end, the Feng Clan didn’t show up, causing Tang Luo to find it rather a pity.

A faint and indiscernible light beam shone down.

This time, there wasn’t any extra method of returning.

Tang Luo vanished amidst the light beam, leaving behind the chaotic and messy terminal.

It was the final destination of a lot of people, but it would never be Tang Luo’s.

This mission was much simpler than the first Jack the Ripper mission.

If the others didn’t create that much unnecessary trouble, even if Tang Luo had been a true beginner, should the three Employees of Gods and Demons equipped with skills combine their efforts, they might not necessarily lose to the corpse transporter who appeared at the end.

The Feng Clan’s pale-faced man had only appeared because K had asked for it and forcefully trespassed on his farm, while Tang Luo had also wrecked his trap.

If they had followed the standard routine of things and hadn’t created any trouble, they wouldn’t have attracted the attention of the pale-faced man at all.

From the newbies all the way to the veterans, all of them had been asking for it.

One had jumped off the bus, one had forcefully trespassed an abandoned house, one had sacrificed a comrade for her own sake, and one had pretended to be weak so that she could snatch the equipment of a companion.

These heavy casualties and fatalities undoubtedly proved one thing—if one sought death, then they would die.

But speaking of which, during the first mission, if they had chosen to do a thorough search of the church right from the start, things would have been different.

“It’s a skill again.”

Tang Luo appeared back in his home and glanced at the wall clock in the living room.

It was the same as when he had first left for the mission. Even the second hand of the clock hadn’t been in time to move yet.

The power of virtuous merits and equipment he unexpectedly obtained aside, this was a regular reward of an Employee of Gods and Demons.

It was naturally the skill that one would receive after mission completion.

At first, Tang Luo had wondered if the mission would be deemed incomplete because of them reaching the terminal late.

However, from the looks of things, the rules of this particular mission were rather lax.

Staying overnight wasn’t strictly defined as from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The skill Tang Luo received this time wasn’t an offensive one like the Airy Palm Hit.

Instead, it was a defensive skill.

[Withstand]

A barrier formed by an invisible power to block a possible incoming attack.

Level 1: Blocks attacks from the front. Lasts for two seconds. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Level 2: Blocks attacks from the front, left and right. Lasts for five seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Level 3: Blocks attacks from four directions—front, back, left, and right. Lasts for ten seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes.

Remarks: “Hit me if you can!”

Fortunately, the remarks were just purely remarks and not a prerequisite to activate the skill. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be Withstand anymore but Mocking.

Two missions resulted in two skills and two pieces of equipment in the end.

Tang Luo displayed Ill Omens and Sweeper properly, changed into loungewear, and happily made an order for food delivery.

Two days later…

The doorbell rang.

Tang Luo glanced through the peephole. Outside the door stood a young female stranger.

She was very attractive and very pretty. Her office-lady-dressing, together with her black hair and hip-hugging short skirt, easily made one’s imagination run wild.

Just a glance alone was enough for one to know that she was a Trojan Horse.

Tang Luo opened the door very calmly. He said, “I’m not selling the house, nor am I buying one. The lease contract only expires in half a year. Leave a business card. If the need arises, I’ll contact you.”

After becoming a landlord, Tang Luo would frequently receive phone calls and also meet quite a few young female middlemen, pretty or otherwise.

Thinking back about it now, it felt pretty nostalgic.

“Uhh…”

The young black-haired lady outside was stunned.

Why was he so practiced?

Tang Luo reached his arm out.

The young black-haired lady stared at Tang Luo’s hand.

‘This hand looks so good. The fingers are clean, slender and long with defined outlines.’

“Your business card.” Tang Luo reminded her.

Demonesses and female spirits had frequently looked at him with such looks in their eyes during his journey to the west. In fact, they had been even more direct and unabashed. He was already very used to it.

“Oh.”

Upon snapping back to reality, the young black-haired lady took a business card out of her bag and said, “I’m not a middleman sales agent.”

“No?” Tang Luo looked at the business card.

She really wasn’t a Trojan Horse middleman. Instead, she was a reporter named Qin Menglan.

“What business does Miss Qin have with me?” asked Tang Luo.

Qin Menglan glanced around before she lowered her voice and asked, “Do you know of that serial killer case in Xihang City?”

“No.” Tang Luo shook his head.

As a kind, lawful, and good citizen, he had already promised the police to keep it strictly a secret.

“Hehe.” Qin Menglan laughed, her expression somewhat mildly triumphant. “The fact that I can find my way here proves that I’ve already gotten my hands on information, so don’t bother lying to me.”

“Since you already have it, then why are you looking for me?” Tang Luo rebutted reasonably and justifiably.

“…”

Qin Menglan sank into silence. After a brief moment, she asked, “Don’t you want to know the truth of the case?”

“Isn’t it a case of the Dish God murdering people?” asked Tang Luo.

The master actor was in position now.

“Don’t you know that spirits are forbidden after the founding of the country? As if the Dish God exists!” replied Qin Menglan, just as reasonably and justifiably.

“Oh, then that means human factors cause it,” said Tang Luo.

“Aren’t you inviting me in? I have a few questions that I’d like to ask you. I can even tell you the truth, you know,” said Qin Menglan with a smile.

With a finger held to her lips, the feeling of a Trojan Horse was even more obvious now.

Nevertheless, was Master Xuanzang someone who was so easily deceived?

If he was, he’d have been sucked dry a long time ago during his journey to the west.

“Don’t feel like it.”

With an expression full of righteousness and justice, Tang Luo shut the door.

‘What’s going on? Is she purely a reporter who has really gotten some inside information? Or…’

“Tang Luo, open the door!”

Without waiting for Tang Luo to organize his thoughts, someone pounded loudly on the door.

Qin Menglan’s voice was very penetrative.

“You heartless man! How can you treat me like this!? I’m pregnant with your child!”

How unscrupulous of this woman!

Now, this was going too far.

It was the weekend today. All the neighbors were lazing around at home and resting up.

If this got out, Master Xuanzang’s reputation would be ruined.

How could that do?

He must counterattack.

“Open the door, open the door!”

Upon noticing that there were already people peeping and watching the show, Qin Menglan’s acting was pushed to the extreme. Right away, she was almost in tears.

The door opened, and Qin Menglan’s dainty little fist was caught in Tang Luo’s palm.

“You…”

Qin Menglan’s eyes widened.

“Don’t be silly! You’re my stepmother. It’s impossible between us!”

His resonant voice caused Qin Menglan’s little mouth to form an ‘O’ instantly.

‘Hmph, young people these days.’

“That’s right!”

One second later, Qin Menglan regained her senses. “That’s right, it’s only possible between you and your elder sister, isn’t it! While it’s impossible between the two of us! Just which part of me cannot compare to your sister!?”

‘Come on, let’s mutually sabotage each other! I don’t live here anyway.’

The sparse audience and listeners became excited at once.

To think that they could witness such a show even while they were resting at home! How exciting!

[1] The characters for both inert breathing and returning to paradise are read as gui xi, though written differently

[2] A skill that the Sweeper Monk character uses in ‘Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’, a famous Chinese wuxia novel written by popular novelist Jin Yong