Chapter 1325: I'm hungry

The square appeared chaotic, but in reality, the resistance army members never actually reached the viewing platform where the high-ranking individuals were located.

They also knew that in a real fight, they were no match for the chieftains and Sangha Monastery, so they merely took advantage of the Lord of the Charnel Ground's absence to quickly rescue their people and leave.

Zhang Yi watched the retreating resistance army with a smile but said nothing.

However, he was contemplating how the Snow Mountain Divine Eagle, who had lured away the Lord of the Charnel Ground, was faring at that moment.

That night, Zhang Yi had clearly sensed the Lord of the Charnel Ground's strength—capable of simultaneously confronting three Epsilon-level individuals like them, only being at a slight disadvantage.

While there was no life-or-death struggle, his power was definitely at the level of the 20,000+ point [Black Armored Vehicle].

The Snow Mountain Divine Eagle's strength, at most, was only around 13,000 points.

With such a massive disparity in power, even if he wasn't instantly killed, once the Lord of the Charnel Ground decided to kill, he would undoubtedly die.

"How did he dare?"

Zhang Yi was extremely curious in his heart.

But the person who could organize the resistance army definitely wasn't a fool; he must have had his own method to escape.

After a while, the Lord of the Charnel Ground returned, transformed into a streak of golden light.

He was spotless, still appearing solemn and dignified as ever.

Deji was currently furious. Seeing the Lord of the Charnel Ground return, he hurriedly went up to inquire.

"Lord of the Charnel Ground, did you execute that Demonic Eagle?"

His eyes burned with anger. The disruption of this Prayer Festival had dealt a severe blow to his dignity.

Coupled with the recent real failure against the Pagyi Family, he urgently needed something to demonstrate his authority at this moment.

Undoubtedly, if the Lord of the Charnel Ground had killed the Snow Mountain Divine Eagle, then the escape of a few resistance army members would be insignificant.

The Lord of the Charnel Ground chanted a Buddhist invocation, "Amitabha, when will the cycle of vengeance end? Killing is not a way to solve problems; it is the source of creating calamity. Khenpo, do not harbor thoughts of killing."

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately understood that the Lord of the Charnel Ground had not killed the Snow Mountain Divine Eagle.

A strange light flashed in Zhang Yi's eyes. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Is this Lord of the Charnel Ground truly compassionate enough to refrain from killing?"

Otherwise, he couldn't think of any reason why the Snow Mountain Divine Eagle could survive under his hands.

The Khenpo was so angry he was speechless, even forgetting his composure as he pointed a finger at him.

"You... with your strength, killing that rebel would be as easy as turning over your hand! Leaving him alive will cause who knows how many people to die because of him. How can you not understand this?"

The Lord of the Charnel Ground smiled faintly, "The Buddha taught people to use love to transform others. Even evildoers can 'lay down your butcher's knife and achieve instant Buddhahood.' My great vow is to educate people, to have everyone learn to lay down their weapons."

Deji swung his sleeve in grief and indignation.

The Lord of the Charnel Ground began studying Buddhist teachings at age eight and had spent over a decade keeping company with the solitary lamp and ancient Buddha.

This purity of heart made him an excellent Buddhist follower, but such a person was difficult to wield as a sharp blade in his hand.

"Forget it, let's finish conducting the Prayer Festival first! So many believers are watching."

Deji had no choice but to restrain his temper. Causing a scene here would only shake their image in the believers' minds.

Thus, the Lord of the Charnel Ground returned to sit upright on the dharma platform.

His gaze looked toward the distant sky, as if a defiant, untamed eagle was soaring and circling there.

"Amitabha, Luozhuo, I hope that one day, you will understand my good intentions. Killing is not the means to bring peace."

Deji stepped forward and, in the name of the Sangha Monastery Khenpo, declared that the evil Snow Mountain Demonic Eagle had been subdued by the Lord of the Charnel Ground.

However, following the Buddha's example of taming the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Lord of the Charnel Ground had given the Snow Mountain Demonic Eagle a chance to reform, wanting him to sincerely repent.

Upon hearing this, the believers naturally chose to believe.

After all, the resistance army usually didn't kill civilians, only opposing the four great chieftain families. So, deep down, they didn't harbor much hatred for the resistance army either.

"The ceremony continues!"

Deji called over the sky burial masters and said with reddened eyes, "Perform the sky burial ritual on the corpses of these rebel scoundrels!"

Pagyi Luodan nodded slightly and walked over with his set of knives.

The ground was littered with corpses—some from the resistance army, others from the chieftain families' private soldiers and monk soldiers.

People came to clean up the bodies, but because the battle was too intense and a large amount of explosives had been buried around the square, the corpses were basically all mangled beyond recognition, no longer whole.

There was no other way; they couldn't be picky, so they gathered them all up.

Luodan worked together with the sky burial masters, placing the corpses on the sky burial platform. After a solemn prayer, they began the sky burial.

In the freezing cold, these corpses had long lost their warmth and were stiff.

When cut, there was no blood, only chunks of frozen, pale flesh.

Luodan placed a piece of flesh on his palm and raised it toward the sky.

"Messengers of the Buddha! Carry the souls of the departed to the heavenly realm!"

Luodan and the sky burial masters prayed loudly.

However, there were no eagles in the sky, so after performing this ritual, they simply tossed the chunks of meat into a large, boiling pot nearby.

The ceremony proceeded unhurriedly.

While wielding his knife, Luodan skillfully went over to prepare the food.

Soon, an extremely rich aroma, accompanied by billowing steam, wafted throughout the square.

Zhang Yi was very familiar with this scent. Every time he smelled it, it felt as if a pair of hands were about to reach out from his throat to fiercely seize that deliciousness and stuff it into his stomach.

Zhang Yi stared at Luodan. This was the first time he had seen Luodan cook with his own eyes.

Indeed, he was using an ability. As he cooked, a strange crimson glow entered the pot with his stirring motions of the ladle.

This was the reason why the food he made was so delicious.

"This method should be adding some properties to the food, but it's not poisonous. Otherwise, the high-ranking individuals of the Snowy Plateau Region wouldn't have consistently let him be in charge of the cooking."

Zhang Yi frowned, suddenly feeling some interest in Luodan's ability.

He leaned close to Pagyi Gesang's ear and whispered, "Chief Pagyi, could you get me a bowl of soup later?"

Pagyi Gesang glanced back at Zhang Yi and then laughed, "Mr. A, as expected, you couldn't resist the temptation! To be honest, I was somewhat resistant to it at first too. But once you taste the first bite," his eyes gleamed with greed, "you can never stop!"

Zhang Yi smiled but said nothing.

He wanted the meat soup just to study what was so special about it that it possessed such immense demonic allure.

Pagyi Gesang, however, said, "We noble people don't eat such low-grade food; what we enjoy are the highest quality ingredients. If you like it, I'll have someone prepare it for you later."

Zhang Yi repeatedly waved his hand, "No need, this is fine!"

Seeing this, Pagyi Gesang didn't say more and immediately sent someone to fetch a bowl of soup.

Meanwhile, the aroma spread with the wind in all directions.

The believers kneeling on the ground smelled it, and their eyes all went straight.

They stretched their necks forward in disbelief, looking at the huge pot from which the fragrance was emanating.

"What is this smell? So fragrant, I've never smelled anything so delicious in my life!"

"Is that the smell of the Demonic People? So the Demonic People smell this fragrant, gulp—"

"I... I think I'm hungry."

...

Author's Note