Chapter 1447: Amitabah!
Chapter 1447: Amitabah!
The system contract trembled as Liam pulled on it, like a spider thread plucked in the dark. Somewhere far away in the multiverse, a man sneezed violently. At the same instant, a crystal ball shattered, a divination array exploded into smoke, and a very tired cultivator stared at the smoking ruins of his workshop with dead eyes.
"I knew it," he muttered hoarsely. "I knew I should've lied low today."
"Master, is everything alright?"
"Master, how could the divination array explode like this?"
"Master's divinations are always perfect. This is… this is… impossible!"
Several beauties rushed towards him, their silk sleeves fluttering as they crowded around the ruined table. One supported his arm, another hurriedly wiped soot from his cheek, while a third stared at the shattered crystal ball with her eyes wide.
The man opened his mouth, then closed it again. His lips twitched. How was he supposed to explain this? He forced out a hollow laugh. "It's nothing… merely an old friend clearing his throat." The beauties froze. Old friend? What old friend? Their master had never mentioned anyone like that before.
But it looked like their master had no mood to chit-chat with them today like he always did. He seemed extremely flustered and in a hurry to go somewhere. Unfortunately, before he could flee, the world twisted. Space folded inward like a closing fist, and he was yanked bodily through a screaming tunnel of light.
"Amitabah!" Only a scream was left behind as the person disappeared and reappeared. He landed face-first on cold stone, robes tangled, dignity in shambles. "Amitabah… " The man scrambled up, wild hair tied with talismans, eyes darting in every direction, filled with horror and dread as if expecting a terrible nightmarish creature.
"Please let it not be him. Please let it not be him."
And once again… it looked like the goddess of fate had decided to fuck with him today.
As he turned around, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, the familiar face he absolutely dreaded came into view, seated far too casually for someone who had just ripped him across the multiverse like a misplaced bookmark.
Liam rested one arm on his knee, fingers loosely interlaced, his expression calm to the point of being infuriating.
The diviner's knees nearly gave out. "A-Amitabah…" he croaked again, this time sounding less like a prayer and more like a plea bargain. In this vast, endless multiverse, how did this bastard once again find him?
Liam tilted his head slightly and smiled. "Relax," he said mildly. "Why do you look so stressed, my old friend? Aren't you happy to see me after all this time? Or have you forgotten me already?"
The monk laughed awkwardly, trying to salvage the situation. "Ah ha ha ha. Of course not, master. Why would I not be happy to see you? This poor soul is extremely indebted to you. Our karmic threads are so tightly intertwined that even the heavens get headaches trying to untangle them."
He clasped his hands together in a hurried salute, bowing a little too deeply, a little too fast. "This humble monk merely did not expect such an… auspicious reunion today. My joy was simply too overwhelming, that's all."
His smile twitched at the edges, eyes flicking around as if searching for an escape route that definitely did not exist.
"Cut the crap already." Liam chuckled coldly. "Listen well. Everything that happened in the past can stay in the past. I have no interest in forcing servitude on you. If you'd like, I can even release you from the system contract you signed."
"Amitabah!" The monk's eyes instantly widened in shock. "Your kindness knows no bounds. This monk did not expect this old friend to be so generous. I have indeed made a grave mistake. Please forgive this poor soul."
He bowed again, this time so deeply his forehead nearly struck the stone. "This monk has reflected deeply on his past arrogance," he said with solemn sincerity, voice trembling just enough to sound convincing.
"If Senior Brother is willing to sever the contract, then this life, no, ten lives of accumulated merit still wouldn't be enough to repay such benevolence." He straightened slowly, then froze, as if a delayed realization had struck him.
"…But," he added carefully, "a man as magnanimous as Senior Brother Liam would not summon this poor soul across the multiverse merely to offer freedom. This monk dares to ask, what task does Senior Brother wish me to perform before this great kindness is bestowed?"
Liam smiled. "Nothing too big. Just a bunch of small favors. A handful of divinations. Path to a handful of harmless places. Nothing too big at all."
The monk's face went stiff. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Anyone who knew Liam even a little understood that nothing too big translated to world-shaking consequences for everyone except him. Still, the monk forced a smile so serene it could have passed for enlightenment.
"Amitabah… of course, anything for you. A handful of divinations is nothing to this poor soul. The thing is… this poor soul is in the middle of a karmic yatra at the moment. If you can give me a few decades, I will be ready to assist you with my mind eye sharp and focused."
The monk spoke the words quickly, smoothly, like a well-practiced mantra, already preparing the excuse to sprout wings and flee across three layers of reality the moment Liam blinked.
Liam didn't blink. Instead, he sighed, long and patient, as if indulging a child who still believed time was negotiable. "Decades?" he repeated softly. "That's not gonna work for me. How about right now?"
"But Amitabah… I am in the middle of a karmic yatra! My powers are absolutely horrendous at the moment. I am utterly useless. I will only be a burden to you, especially if you ask me to accompany you to any of these places."
Liam chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I will protect you. And if the danger is too much, I wouldn't go there either. You really have nothing to fear." Liam smiled again, a very calm and gentle smile. However, that only made the monk shiver from top to bottom.
He gulped as he quickly did a mental divination for his fate for the next few months.
Glorious heavenly light.
For any other divination master, this would mean extremely good luck, best luck, or even heaven-defying luck. However, the monk's face only contorted into a constipated one on seeing this prediction.
Yup, he was fucked. Fully and truly fucked.