Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

```

Although surprised at Jiang Liu's mastery of the Arhat Fist, he was, after all, guilty of secretly learning martial arts, so Senior Abbot Faming still imposed a mild punishment to serve as a severe warning. He assigned Jiang Liu the next few days' work of irrigating the fields.

Jiang Liu raised no objections to this punishment—he was well aware that Jinshan Temple was just a small temple with few people and thus had fewer rules. In other more popular temples, the punishment would definitely not have been so lenient.

As for the matter of bandit retaliation, naturally, Senior Abbot Faming and Xuankong had a brief discussion and decided to be on guard against the bandits' revenge in the coming days.

And as for Esquire Zhang from the foot of the mountain? He was just an ordinary person, after all. Once they dealt with these bandits, they would go down the mountain to seek a resolution.

Having reminded of what needed to be said, and with nothing else to attend to, Jiang Liu took his leave.

However, just as he stepped out of the abbot's Zen Room, Jiang Liu was only a few steps away when Senior Brother Xuankong stopped him.

"Liu'er, tell your senior brother honestly, have you really never practiced Arhat Fist before?" Xuankong asked seriously, holding Jiang Liu back.

Jiang Liu didn't answer, just looked back at him, keeping silent.

"Ah, all right. You'd better go and get busy," Xuankong said with a long sigh, after staring at Jiang Liu for quite a while and then waving his hand dismissively.

Xuankong knew his question was pointless; Jiang Liu had grown up in the temple from childhood to adulthood, so how could Xuankong not know whether he had secretly learned his Arhat Fist?

Besides, that night when he secretly taught Jiang Liu the Arhat Fist, it was clear that the boy had no foundation in martial arts whatsoever.

It was just that, even though he had practiced Arhat Fist for ten years, his decade of achievement couldn't compare to Jiang Liu's few days of cultivation. This fact was hard for him to accept.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xuankong, for your teaching," Jiang Liu said, his hands pressed together in a sign of gratitude as he bowed respectfully to Xuankong.

Perhaps the Arhat Fist might not mean much to him in the future, but at present, this skill was quite useful to him.

Of course, what weighed even more heavily was Senior Brother Xuankong's kindness and care for him.

"Well, no matter what, Liu'er, the fact that you have such a gift for martial arts is a reason to rejoice. I'm not worried anymore that you'll be bullied in the future," Xuankong said, visibly relieved after Jiang Liu earnestly thanked him. He helped Jiang Liu rise and then turned to leave.

Watching Senior Brother Xuankong walk away, still somewhat dispirited, Jiang Liu could roughly understand his feelings.

Turning back, he went to the kitchen, where he deftly prepared dinner as if it was routine for him.

Ordinarily, Senior Brother Xuankong didn't talk much, so neither Xuanwu nor Xuanming noticed anything unusual about him at the dinner table.

After supper, everyone went their separate ways. Jiang Liu tidied up the bowls and chopsticks and then returned to his own Zen Room.

He took out a cloth and sat quietly on his wooden bed, meticulously wiping an old ebony stick with the utmost care.

In contemplating his impending visit to Esquire Zhang's place to seek revenge, Jiang Liu's feelings were complicated—he was both eager for vengeance and fraught with trepidation.

If it were up to him, as someone from a modern, lawful society, he would prefer not to resort to violence to solve problems.

But having been transported to this uncivilized ancient world, where villagers would collude with bandits for profit and commit murder for wealth, he knew that showing weakness would only lead to being bullied in the future.

To endure might bring temporary calm, but such situations were, after all, the minority.

More often than not, enduring leads to further encroachment!

After all, even the Buddhist Sect, which always boasts kindness and compassion, has its moments of wrathful Vajra, doesn't it?

```

Devoid of any inkling of sleep and estimating that the time was about right, Jiang Liu securely fastened the sandalwood Buddha beads around his neck, tightly gripped his ebony stick, and carefully pushed open the door of the Zen Room, descending the mountain.

The hill where Jinshan Temple was located was but a minor peak. Following the faint moonlight, within a short half hour, he had already reached the foot of the mountain.

In the moonlight, a beautiful silhouette could be seen already waiting there—it was Gaoyang.

...

Down the mountain, resided Jinshan Village.

A small courtyard, belonging to Esquire Zhang, was set amidst the village, possibly the only home within Jinshan Village to boast a yard of its own.

The courtyard gate faced south, with living quarters and guest rooms on the east and west sides for accommodating guests and maids, while the main house sitting facing north was where Esquire Zhang and his family resided.

However, on this day, an unexpected visitor had come to Esquire Zhang's home—a novice monk, appearing to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a monastic robe the color of crescent moon white, holding a Demon-Subduing Pestle in his hand, and with a serene expression, he arrived at Esquire Zhang's place and lightly knocked on the courtyard door.

"Who's there? Who isn't sleeping in the middle of the night...", amidst the silent wilderness, accompanying the knock, a male voice sounded from within the courtyard; moments later, the door was opened, and a servant peeked out.

"Benefactor, this humble monk is from Daming Temple, here to attend the Incense Offering Ceremony at Great Buddha Temple and seeks shelter for the night," the young monk said politely with his hands clasped together.

"You wait here, little monk, while I go and inform the master of the house," the servant nodded, taking note of the monk's attire which seemed out of the ordinary, and then withdrew his head.

Shortly after, the courtyard door was opened again, and Esquire Zhang, dressed casually, stepped out.

After sizing up the monk, he shook his head and said, "Little monk, it's not that I am unwilling to shelter you, but I have women in my family, which really makes it inconvenient. You should try elsewhere, and, by the way, there is a Jinshan Temple on the mountain, you..."

However, before Esquire Zhang could finish, the young monk picked up a small stone from the corner of the wall.

With a slight exertion of his fingers, the stone instantly split into several fragments and fell: "Benefactor, please grant this accommodation, and you will surely receive blessings in the future."

"Hiss...", shocked by the little monk's finger strength, Esquire Zhang drew in a breath of cold air and quickly changed his tune: "Master, please come in. I will have a guest room prepared for you right away."

"Then I shall impose," the young monk casually threw away the stone and, still serene and polite, entered on the invitation of Esquire Zhang.

...

The night was deep.

Jiang Liu and Gaoyang walked hand in hand, entering into the midst of Jinshan Village. Although Jiang Liu had traveled through time and had not come down the mountain before, he knew that Esquire Zhang's house was the wealthiest in Jinshan Village.

In Jinshan Village of merely a hundred or so households, after a brief search, they found the best-looking house, which was presumably Esquire Zhang's home.

Since they had come to cause trouble, there was no reason to knock and enter. With a light leap, Gaoyang agilely vaulted over the walls of the courtyard and jumped inside. Then, he quietly opened the gate, and the two of them stealthily infiltrated the premises without making a sound.

Although a large dog in the yard was startled awake by their movements, before it could even bark, a cold light flashed.

Gaoyang's flying dagger accurately thrust into the dog's mouth, nailing it dead.

Notification: You have gained 10 Experience Points and 4 coins.

Ignoring the game system's notification, Jiang Liu and Gaoyang silently snuck into the main house.