Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

The vegetable garden of the monastery had been ravaged and destroyed by wild animals, a fact that Jiang Liu naturally reported to Senior Abbot Faming.

Before breakfast, everyone in Jinshan Temple, including Jiang Liu himself, all five of them went down to see the garden.

"Could it have been a wild boar?"

Looking at the chaos in the vegetable garden, the somewhat plump Xuanming speculated. Even ordinary wild beasts, merely sneaking in to nibble on some vegetables, wouldn't destroy the garden completely.

"Amitabha, Xuankong, I leave this matter for you to handle," seeing the disordered state of the garden, Senior Abbot Faming quietly chanted the Buddha's name before giving the task to the physically robust Xuankong.

"Master, I understand," said Xuankong, his face showing anger as he nodded firmly.

Most of the tasks in the monastery's vegetable garden and farmland were overseen by Senior Brother Xuankong, so much of his efforts were poured into the land. Seeing the garden destroyed, it was natural for Xuankong to become infuriated.

"Remember, as monks, we must hold compassion in our hearts. If you catch the culprit, just scare it off so it doesn't dare to return, but do not harm its life," noticing the anger on Xuankong's face, Senior Abbot Faming reminded him once more.

Though the situation in the garden did result in some losses, it was merely chaos caused by wild animals. After understanding the situation, everyone returned to the kitchen.

Each person had a large bowl of noodles with green vegetables and scallions. Even without any other dishes, everyone enjoyed their meal immensely.

Especially the somewhat overweight Senior Brother Xuanming, who couldn't resist praising Jiang Liu every time, especially his cooking, which never had a bitter taste.

At Senior Brother Xuanming's praise, Jiang Liu merely smiled faintly.

Having come to Jinshan Temple, whether due to the limitations of the era or because the temple was too poor, the salt used in the kitchen was very coarse. Though it was sufficient for supplementing dietary salt, it inevitably gave the dishes a bit of a bitter taste.

Therefore, Jiang Liu procured some equipment and purified the salt used in the kitchen.

"By the way, master, I need to go down the mountain today. There is unrest at the Esquire Zhang's residence at the base of the mountain, suspected to be due to lingering lost souls. He has offered two taels of silver for me to recite sutras and perform a ritual..." At the dining table, the usually quiet Senior Brother Xuanwu suddenly spoke up.

"Oh? Is that so? Then go and come back quickly," hearing this, Senior Abbot Faming's eyes brightened, and he nodded emphatically.

Jinshan Temple was indeed too poor. It was common to go three to five days without any temple visitors, let alone any incense money donations.

Performing rituals naturally brought in more than what was donated through incense money. Even if it were just a simple ritual for transcending lost souls.

"Two taels of silver? Esquire Zhang truly is a wealthy family known in Jinshan Village at the foot of the mountain. That is one thousand two hundred copper coins! One steamed bun costs two copper coins, six hundred steamed buns—how many days could I eat with that..." Senior Brother Xuankong murmured, counting on his fingers.

"All you know is to eat, eat, eat. Get yourself to the Buddha Hall quickly. It has been five days since any temple visitors came," Senior Abbot Faming spoke irritably upon hearing what Xuanming said.

As the Reception Monk of Jinshan Temple, Xuanming was responsible for welcoming temple visitors. It was common to have no visitors, so he was used to it.

But today, when Xuanwu had a ritual to perform and could get two taels of silver while Xuanming hadn't had any visitors in five days, the disparity was clear.

"Really?" Jiang Liu did not interrupt the conversation between the abbot and his senior brothers, but inside, he was silently contemplating.

Senior Brother Xuanwu was going down the mountain to recite sutras and transcend lost souls. So, were there truly demons, ghosts, and supernatural entities in this world?

Originally, Jiang Liu was very interested in these fantastical supernatural phenomena and had wanted to go down the mountain to see the world.

However, thinking of Senior Brother Xuanwu transcending lost souls and dealing with them made Jiang Liu shudder slightly. He immediately shook his head, and the idea vanished.

"Right, Xuanwu, after you get the silver, remember to buy some lamp oil and incense," after chatting for a while, Senior Abbot Faming suddenly reminded him.

"Also, we are running low on vegetable oil, salt, and soy sauce in the kitchen," Jiang Liu chimed in.

"My hoe has broken too, junior brother, please buy a new hoe for me on your way," Senior Brother Xuankong quickly added.

The temple was poverty-stricken, and as soon as they heard about the incoming silver coins totaling 1.2 tael, everyone voiced their own needs.

Xuanwu silently calculated that if they really were to replenish those items, at least half of the silver would be needed, and he shook his head in reluctant resignation.

After breakfast, their discussions had more or less concluded, leaving only Jiang Liu in the kitchen to wash the dishes, while the other senior brothers each busied themselves with their own tasks.

Senior Abbot Faming continued his scripture recitation in the Zen Room; Senior Brother Xuanwu tidied up a bit and went down the mountain to perform a ritual; Senior Brother Xuankong took his rest in the vegetable garden.

As for Senior Brother Xuanming? Well, he was sleeping in the main hall, as the Reception Monk.

With no pilgrims coming up the mountain to be received, he was the most relaxed person in the temple.

By evening, Xuanwu returned looking a bit weary, bringing back many items, and of course, the remaining five coins of silver.

An uneventful day passed without any significant happenings, for Jiang Liu, it was just another day closer to his Incense Offering Ceremony and a day closer to renouncing secular life.

That night, instead of returning to the Zen Room to rest as usual, Senior Brother Xuankong stayed to guard the vegetable garden.

After washing up, Jiang Liu thought it over, and instead of rushing to sleep, he decided to go over and sit beside Senior Brother Xuankong at the garden.

He said it was to keep him company and alleviate his boredom, but in reality, Jiang Liu also wanted to learn as much as possible about the world from him.

For instance, do demons, ghosts, and goblins really exist?

Or if there were cultivators and immortals on this planet...

"Demons, ghosts, and goblins have always existed; what's so unusual about that?"

"Immortals?"

Upon mentioning this, Senior Brother Xuankong's expression turned much more serious as he stared intently at Jiang Liu, "Of course, there are immortals and Bodhisattvas. Do you doubt that Bodhisattvas and Buddha are mere illusions? If you harbor such thoughts, you will not pass the Incense Offering Ceremony. Remember this!"

Seeing Senior Brother Xuankong so serious for the first time, Jiang Liu nodded, preparing to admit his mistake.

However, before he could speak, Senior Brother Xuankong suddenly covered Jiang Liu's mouth and made a silencing gesture.

Rustling...

In the moonlight, they could see a pristine white rabbit as big as a dog, with eyes red as blood, leaping several feet high, effortlessly jumping over the fence of the vegetable garden and wreaking havoc.

"What a huge rabbit!" Jiang Liu was secretly astonished upon seeing the rabbit.

He had never seen nor heard of such a large rabbit before.

"This white rabbit? Could it be..." As he looked at the unusually large rabbit, thoughts of what the girl Gaoyang had mentioned earlier flashed through Jiang Liu's mind.

Snow Rabbit Clan, there are supposed to be demons, and even a so-called Demon Marshal?

What level of demon a Demon Marshal was, Jiang Liu did not know, but it sounded quite formidable.

"Such a huge rabbit? It must be enchanted, huh? How dare it disturb the peace of Jinshan Temple!" As he watched the rabbit, big as a dog, destroy the neatly fixed garden, Xuankong showed no fear but was visibly upset.

As he spoke, Xuankong stood up, a faint golden glow emanating from his palms...

System prompt: Would you like to form a team? Team target—Xuankong.