Chapter 1559: Plain Clothes in Brocade Embroidery

Of course, the Jin Xiu Grand Office wasn’t just going to stand by and do nothing. They dispatched their army and a massive number of elites in hopes of annihilating these riotous sects and

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factions in one go. This would allow them to restore the order of Jin Xiu and intimidate other villains.

However, things went completely against their expectations. When the ultimate clash happened, the

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factions who should be fighting for themselves suddenly came together as one to resist the government forces. Among them were many powerful elites including Great Truemen and Great Grandmasters such as the sect master of the Scarlet Practice Divine Sect, Lady Scarlet Practice; the Villa Lord of Seven Killing Villa, Seven Killing Shentu; the Nine-fingered Demon Old Man, the Lifetaking Scholar, the Fat Dragon and Thin Tiger, and more.

As a result, the government force was crushed by the

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factions and sustained massive damage.

Even the Half-Sage, Jin Xiu Grand Prince, had sustained heavy damage under the combined assault of the villainous champions and was supposedly on the brink of death.

In short, the Jin Xiu Grand Prince Office lost much of their strength and all of their reputation, while the villains and heretics were more rampant than ever before. Right now, Jin Xiu was basically taken over by various

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factions and overflowing with demons.

Every day, countless factions fought each other to the death over territory and profit.

Every day,

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people sought each other out for revenge and other matters. Their corpses littered the streets, and their bodies were left to rot in the open.

Every day, countless innocent people were robbed or humiliated. Many of them lost their homes and had no one to rely on.

......

However wonderful Jin Xiu was before, it was that much chaotic now. However prosperous Jin Xiu was before, it was that much bleaker now.

That said, there was one Taoist monastery that stood out among the chaotic city of Jin Xiu.

Every morning, the sounds of chanting and chime stones would come from the monastery.

Every noon, the Taoist monastery would open their gates and donate porridge and medicine to the poor and downtrodden.

And every night, the Taoist monastery would accept people who had lost their homes and had nowhere to go no matter who they were.

In a living hell where everyone was fighting for territory and profit and robbing others to their heart’s content, the Taoist monastery stood out to say the least.

It was like a blooming lotus that was born from mud, but wasn’t tainted by it.

The Taoist monastery did not have a name. It wasn’t big, and it didn’t enjoy much worship. It enshrined and worshiped a deity that no one had seen before.

The monastery head was a woman in her forties. She was wearing a plain Taoist robe weaved from coarse linen. She looked kind, dignified, and amiable.

She was the only one living in the monastery. She kept a white goat that couldn’t help her with her daily tasks, meaning that she had to do anything and everything. But no matter how much work she had to do, no matter how tired she was, she never wore her fatigue on her face or expressed her weariness. No matter who she ran into or what trouble she encountered, she could always face them with a smile and gentleness in abundance.

She was like a candle flame in the bitter storm, warm and bright. She was a tiny source of warmth and consolation to the suffering people of Jin Xiu.

Of course, some

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people had tried causing trouble in the monastery before. However, they had all been sent flying by the white goat. Some of them were elite warriors too.

However, the mountain goat only butted them away. He did not harm them.

Over time, no

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warrior dared to set foot in the Taoist monastery. They didn’t even dare to linger around the nearby streets.

Because of this, the people who lost their homes, had no one to rely on, or were powerless to protect themselves all chose to stay close to the Taoist monastery. They sought its protection.

Right now, this was probably the one and only land left in Jin Xiu that was unsullied by the

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conflicts.

Because of this, the people living in the area treated the woman like a deity.

The woman did not tell them their name. Because she wore plain clothes and saved lives, they called her Lady Suyi (Plain Clothes), and her goat the White Boy.

Although she was now famous and well-respected by the people, Lady Suyi did not change. She continued to chant the sutras, donate porridge and medicine, save the poor and downtrodden, and treat the people with kindness and respect.

Naturally, the people came to love her and respect her even more.

When they were free, the people who received her favor would visit her monastery to offer an incense stick, help her out with her duties, or generally do anything they could do to repay her, even if Lady Suyi herself had never asked for it.

A drop of favor should be repaid with a spring of gifts, and this wasn’t just a drop of favor she had given her. She had protected them and kept them alive. How could they not repay such a heavy favor?

They might not have money, influence, or power, but they still had a heart.

They knew what they should do, what they could do, what they must do.

Today was a little different from usual though. When they were burning incense and helping Lady Suyi out in her monastery, they could not find the White Boy anywhere.

It wasn’t just absent from its usual post, the entrance. It was nowhere to be found throughout the monastery.

“Lady, I can’t find the White Boy anywhere. Did something happen to it?” Someone hurriedly reported to her about White Boy’s disappearance.

“Oh, it’s nothing. White Boy temporarily went out to carry out some business for me. It should come back any moment now.”

Lady Suyi was kneeling in front of the nameless statue, chanting the sutra and tapping the chime stone. She replied smilingly, “Aunt Wu, Brother Chen, you should round up the others and go home. I can handle the affairs of the monastery myself. You have your own work to attend to, don’t you?”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief when they heard that White Boy was fine. When Lady Suyi told them to return, they replied smilingly, “It’s fine. It’s just a bit of work, and it wouldn’t take much time to finish. Don’t worry, lady.”

“Yes, just chant your sutra in peace, lady. Leave the grunt work to us!”

The crowd eventually left Lady Suyi alone and returned to their duties.

It was at this moment a white goat stepped through the entrance.

The goat was flawless white in color, strong and slender. The morning sunlight rippled like water when making contact with its soft fur.

“White Boy is back!”

“How are you doing, White Boy?”

“I have a fresh fruit for you, White Boy. Would you like to give it a taste?”

Everyone greeted the white goat when they saw it. The goat responded to them all with nods and sparkling, intelligent eyes. Once done, it entered the main hall where Lady Suyi was.

The white goat knelt on its knees like a human and reported, “Your disciple has returned, my lord.”

Still closing her eyes lightly and tapping the chime stone, Lady Suyi asked, “You have returned much later than anticipated. Did you encounter some trouble?”

“I have something I would like to report to you, my lord.”

The mountain goat pressed its forehead against the floor and said respectfully, “The construction of the altar is progressing slower than expected, but I have already rebuked the Night Bodhisattva. The altar will be completed in time. It will not delay your grand matter.”

The goat was, of course, the White Stone Gentleman. He had just returned from Nanjiang.