Chapter 65: The Deal

At this moment, I was a fool and understood what Lushan wanted to do. The drum must be Lushan’s trump card.

I felt a little sad, but at the same time I knew that this was the most critical moment. Whether Manrenba would turn his face away or not depended on this moment. When I thought of this, I suddenly turned off the car and got out of the car when no one else reacted.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, the cold air outside made me shiver uncontrollably. The rain was falling in a drizzle, so I pulled up the hood of my jacket and saw that Manrenba’s expression had become strange. It was the kind of expression that tried hard to pretend not to care, but could not stop the greedy expression in his eyes.

I leaned against the car and knew that Lushan had bet right, but I had no intention of getting in the car. Instead, I lit a cigarette and whispered to Lushan, “Buddy, there is no need to give up something so important to you. I will be sad and uneasy!”

Lu Shan stared at me and smiled, also speaking in a low voice: “Call me a buddy, don’t stop me, I believe in my choice.” In the meantime, he couldn’t help but caress the drum in his hand, and suddenly shouted to Man Ren Ba, “Let us pass, plus one question, I will give you this drum.”

I couldn’t say what I was feeling, so I just avoided Lushan’s gaze and turned to look at Manrenba. Manrenba’s face twitched involuntarily. That was the expression of wanting to have it to the limit and being unable to control one’s facial expressions. However, he obviously didn’t want to let Lushan go, so he didn’t speak for a while.

“If you don’t want to get the drum this way, then I’ll have to resort to desperate measures. I can’t be much of a threat to you, but my friends are willing to die for me. You understand? You’ll pay the price!” Lushan increased the stakes.

Manrenba stared at Lushan and said, “You’re right, you can die, but at the same time, I can kill you and still get the drum! Manrenba smiled cruelly and continued without waiting for Lushan to speak: “In my eyes, you are worthless trash. If it weren’t for the holy relic in your hand, I wouldn’t bother to come all this way to kill you. But I’m a lazy person after all. How about this? Hand over the drum in your hand, and you can go, and your friends can go, but he can’t go.”

When he said this, Manrenba stretched out his large hand like a fan and suddenly pointed at me with his carrot-like fingers.

I remained expressionless, took a deep breath, and thought to myself, “So that’s it. There is indeed collusion. What Jenny told me earlier has finally been confirmed!”

“No, there is no room for negotiation! You can get the drum by killing me, but I am also capable of completely destroying it before you kill me! Even if you stop me in time, don’t forget that there is also a life lamp in the secret room, and through that lamp, someone will naturally see my life and death.” Lushan said firmly.

“Life lamp?” Manrenba’s face showed a look of confusion for the first time, and then he looked at Lushan and said, “What are you trying to say?”

“I am alive, which means the drum is still on my body. The person who truly possesses it will be hidden. This is what I mean. Do you understand? Is the sacred vessel belonging to the temple the same as the sacred vessel belonging to you personally? Lushan’s tone had completely calmed down, and there was no longer any panic. After this incident, he had at least restrained his fear.

As soon as Lushan finished speaking, Manrenba’s expression changed, and his breathing became rapid. He was so big that his breathing was already heavy, and at this time, I could hear his breathing like a cow even though we were more than ten meters apart.

“Master Manrenba, as a high-ranking member of the temple, you must know the relationship between this sacred vessel and me. I have been recognized by the spirit of the sacred vessel, and I can easily communicate with it and destroy it. At the same time, I can also easily sever that connection and make the sacred vessel a brand new blank! Master Manrenba, this is also the second point. Even if you let me live, it will not help. Without the spirit of the sacred vessel, can it still be called a sacred vessel? This is also the reason why the temple has never chased me to the end. They are still trying to figure it out. But if you get such a holy vessel…” Lushan suddenly stopped talking at this point, looking at Manrenba.

Manrenba’s breathing became more and more rapid, and in the end he pointed at me and muttered, “But he is also very important? What should I do?”

Faced with Manrenba’s statement, I was not nervous at all. I exhaled a puff of smoke into the sky, then threw away the cigarette butt in my hand. With this action, Lushan’s voice also sounded: “Think about it yourself. As long as you use three years to nurture it, you can completely become your holy vessel. Is it important, or is it as important as you say he is? I don’t want to interfere with your choice at all. Think about it yourself. When you’ve made up your mind, call me, but don’t come over, not even with your wolf. I’m very sensitive and scared right now. If you come near, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist doing something impulsive with this sacred vessel.

After saying this, Lushan retreated into the car. I stood in the rain and looked at the really pensive Manba, and then turned and got into the car.

In the car, Lushan’s expression was calm, just like the person I first met, calm, full of cunning and wisdom. Instead, Tao Bai and Chengxin looked at Lushan with concern.

I took off my hat and rested my hands on the steering wheel. I didn’t look at Lushan, but just spoke to myself: “Lushan, if it hurts as much as cutting off a piece of flesh from your heart, then don’t continue this deal. We’ve gotten used to fighting all the way, but we’re not used to sacrificing friends.”

“No, it’s not a sacrifice, it’s a willingness! It’s just because I believe that within three years, you can get it back for me.” Lushan’s voice came from behind me.

“I’m not sure I can get it back,” I whispered. I would never lie to a friend for my own safety.

“But within three years, are you willing to try to get it back for me? Chengyi, you don’t have to answer me. I know that if you make a three-year promise, you will definitely do it.” Lushan leaned back and said, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t get it back. I will leave my hands and feet. In short, I can’t let ‘her’ become a tool for the Manba forever.

When Lushan said this, there was a determined light in his eyes. It wasn’t sad or heavy, just determined.

His hand unconsciously rested on Tao Bai’s head, and he said, “Come to think of it, this kid has grown up. He’s 18 years old.”

I felt an indescribable heaviness in my heart. Although Lushan was acting normally, I still said, “Within three years, I will definitely come back stronger and I will try to get this important thing back for you. Although I don’t know if I can succeed, I will do my best to do this.”

“That’s enough.” After saying this, Lushan closed his eyes and said no more. In the rain, Manrenba was still thinking about what he should do.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Some wolves lazily walked to the side of the road to take shelter from the rain. The female wolf, who looked like a calf, seemed to be tired of standing and wanted to lie down. Manjiba stopped her and took a piece of felt cloth out of his backpack and spread it on the ground before letting the female wolf lie down.

At this moment, Manjamba looked like a good person.

After about ten minutes, the rain had already soaked Manrenba’s monk’s robe, and he finally shouted at the top of his lungs, “Tsering Dengzhu!”

Lushan was not too excited, and after stretching, he asked me to open the skylight and stand up: “Master Manrenba, have you thought it through?”

“If I don’t catch him, I will be severely punished. You are also from the temple, you should know that,” Manrenba emphasized.

Lushan replied calmly, “I don’t want any nonsense, I just want results.”

Manjuba was silent for a second and said, “I want the sacred vessel. Only my mercy can make the sacred vessel work to its fullest potential and find the best owner! I will let you go, but I also said that if you don’t catch him, I will be punished severely. So you have to meet all the conditions you said, otherwise…”

Manjuba’s face turned gloomy. At that moment, an inexplicable gust of wind blew between heaven and earth, raising a light rain that pounded against the car window, and with Manjuba’s suddenly gloomy expression, it felt as if we were facing a devil!

“Naturally, we will fulfill all the conditions and give you a brand new, blank vessel, but we need to negotiate a deal because we don’t have any trust in each other!” After saying this, Lushan paused for a moment, then said, “Don’t forget my conditions. We still have a problem in the past. I’ll take a little deposit now and ask a question, okay?”

“I hope your question is within the scope of my answer. You know, don’t push me too hard.” Manba said in a low voice.

“Well, the question is very simple. How did you end up here, hunting him down?” Lushan finally asked his question. In the rain, Lushan’s finger pointed at me, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.