Upon hearing this, Ghost Night glanced at the bag filled to the brim with Sugar Beans hanging from Yuan Luàn’s waist. His face twitched slightly as he said, "You’re as cautious as ever."

"Of course. This Tai Lan Country has some interesting characters, after all. We can’t let our guard down. Besides, someone from Donghua might make a move. It’s just the two of us this time, which makes us everyone’s target. It’s only right to prepare a little extra stock."

Yuan Luàn said with a laugh, reaching down to zip his satchel closed.

"Heh, people from the Buddhist Sect? The Buddha of their lineage is a real piece of work—doesn’t know what’s good for him."

"Anyway, our mission isn’t to destroy the city. We just need to cause enough of a disturbance. We can leave the rest to those folks from the Starry Sky Country. No need for us to waste our energy on anything else."

"Well then, I’ll see you later. I need to find a spot and get started."

Ghost Night said, stretching his limbs.

"Try not to die."

Yuan Luàn said with a smile.

"You’re the one who should be careful... never mind. A guy like you can’t die anyway."

"I’m off."

After saying this, Ghost Night’s figure became like a phantom. With a light step, he pushed off the wall, effortlessly vaulted over the alley’s barrier, and vanished into the night.

After Ghost Night was long gone, Yuan Luàn finally turned around. He began walking toward the bustling street, casually eating a snack.

Before long, he had emerged from the alley.

"Hee hee, come and get me~"

Just as he stepped out of the alley, he heard the sound of children laughing and playing nearby.

A group of children was chasing each other, and two of the little boys were running so fast they didn’t notice him at the mouth of the alley. They crashed right into Yuan Luàn’s leg and tumbled to the ground.

The two boys looked up. Yuan Luàn’s tall frame blocked the light, obscuring his face. All they could see was a pair of eyes that shone brightly in the shadows, giving off a terrifying, dreadful aura.

"S-Sorry!"

The two little boys were so frightened they were on the verge of tears. They stammered out an apology to Yuan Luàn, their voices trembling. Their friends, seeing that the man was Caucasian, were too scared to even breathe.

Seeing this, a kind smile spread across Yuan Luàn’s ordinary face. He slowly squatted down, helped the two boys to their feet, and gently ruffled their messy hair.

The smile on his face instantly put the two boys at ease.

Keeping the smile on his face, Yuan Luàn slowly opened the satchel at his waist, revealing a bag of colorful Sugar Beans. He took out two and offered them to the boys.

"Be more careful next time. It’s alright. Here, have a Sugar Bean."

The two boys glanced at each other. They remembered their parents telling them never to take food from strangers and were about to refuse, but the words caught in their throats.

’It smells so good...’

They stared intently at the two Sugar Beans in Yuan Luàn’s palm, their eyes filled with an intense craving.

Their senses of taste, sight, and smell—every cell in their bodies—seemed to be screaming with desire.

"Thank you, Mister."

After a second’s pause, each boy snatched a Sugar Bean from Yuan Luàn’s hand and began to chew and swallow it frantically.

"Good boys."

Yuan Luàn smiled and patted the two boys on the head. Then he stood up, turned, and slowly walked back into the crowd, continuing to eat his own snack.

Once Yuan Luàn had walked away, the other children dared to gather around the two boys.

"Da Gu, Kuler, what did that man give you? It smells amazing! Is it good?"

The other children crowded around, chattering questions at the two boys.

But they noticed the two boys weren’t answering them.

They quickly realized something was wrong. The two boys kept their heads down, still chewing and swallowing incessantly. But such a tiny Sugar Bean should have been finished long ago.

DRIP! DRIP!

Then, they heard the sound of dripping on the ground. That’s when they saw that Da Gu and Kuler, heads still bowed, had thick, viscous saliva drooling from their mouths. It was disgusting.

"What’s wrong with you?!"

Terrified, the other children hurried to lift the two boys’ heads.

They were met with hideously contorted faces. The boys’ eyes had rolled back into their heads, their expressions were savage, and the veins on their faces were bulging as if about to burst.

AHH!!

The other children were terrified and let out ear-piercing screams that shattered the lively atmosphere of the street.

CRACK!

The next moment, something even more horrifying happened to Da Gu and Kuler. Their bones let out sickening cracks as their skin and muscles twisted violently, knotting together like thick rope. Their bodies began to proliferate and swell irregularly, with protrusions erupting from their skin like hideous tumors.

In less than a few seconds, they had transformed from innocent children into terrifying Demon Fiends.

The children’s ear-piercing screams of terror instantly drew the attention of the crowd on the street. Many people hurried over to see what was happening, just in time to witness the two boys’ transformation into Demon Fiends.

AHH!!

The screams spread like the most terrifying virus.

The next moment, the two children who had become Demon Fiends suddenly moved.

WHOOSH!!

Their once small and frail bodies now burst forth with terrifying speed. They moved like afterimages in the dark, pouncing on the other children.

Scratches appeared on the other children. With these wounds as the epicenter, their bodies began to twist and swell rapidly, a transformation identical to that of the two boys who had eaten the Sugar Beans.

The effect wasn’t limited to the two boys who ate the Sugar Beans; it was contagious.

Amidst the panic and screams, the effect of those two Sugar Beans spread like poison dropped into water.

The Demon Fiends were multiplying rapidly!

...

...

「Jade Buddha Temple, Jade Buddha Hall.」

Before the Jade Buddha statue, which was draped in a golden thread robe, Monk King Rajana sat cross-legged on a bright yellow meditation cushion. His eyes were tightly shut. The hall was shrouded in darkness, and in this gloom, the usually solemn statue took on a somewhat menacing appearance.

Although Rajana’s eyes were closed, a golden light shone from the center of his brow. From a distance, it looked as though a third eye had opened there.

A Buddhist Divine Power: the Celestial Eye.

At this very moment, Rajana was using this special method to perceive the world.

Suddenly, the golden, vertical eye on his brow trembled, as if it had sensed something.

And in the darkness, Rajana’s eyes snapped open.

There was no mercy in his eyes, only an unparalleled, sharp intensity.

When a Buddha opens his eyes, it is to slay evil!

A Buddha has a heart of compassion, but also the Power to vanquish Demons!

"They’re finally here."