Chapter 190: Visiting Shaolin Temple

Master Leshi didn't forget Chen Yi He's instructions; he brought Nun Shang Rong and Hong Liang, and immediately passed through Song Mountain, ascending to Shaolin Temple.

Rather than saying they were to convey Chen Yi He's message, it's more accurate to say they had more important matters to discuss with Master Xibei and Master Aibei.

Shaolin Temple is the leader of the martial world; their decisions often change the landscape of the jianghu. Master Kushang has passed away, Master Leshi is off campaigning with the army, so now the administrators of Shaolin Temple are naturally Master Xibei and Master Aibei.

The two masters naturally awaited guests in the Mahavira Hall of Shaolin Temple.

The Mahavira Hall shone with gold and azure, dozens of towering Buddha statues stood within, looking down upon the mortals inside.

The ceaseless chanting of the Buddha's name, filled with devotion, seemed as if it were trying to awaken the Buddha statues.

Yet those Buddha statues remained solemn-faced, showing not a flicker of emotion.

"Namo Amitabha, good, good... Nun Shang Rong, long time no see," Master Xibei said, smiling as he placed his palms together and bowed to Nun Shang Rong, then turned to Hong Liang, again placing his palms together and bowing, "You must be the sect leader Hong Liang of the Hongmen, right?"

"I pay my respects to the two masters," Hong Liang hastily returned the salute. Although he had only just assumed the position of sect leader of the Hongmen, years of experience in the jianghu had made him smooth-talking. Moreover, whoever faced the high-ranking abbots and administrators of Shaolin Temple would be reverent.

Hong Liang never expected that Master Xibei and Master Aibei, without leaving their quarters, would already know he was the sect leader of the Hongmen.

"Hahaha... Unifying the divided Greater and Lesser Hongmen, which had been split for nearly a century, Sect Leader Hong, what a fine move!" Compared to the frowning, bitter Master Aibei, Master Xibei was always grinning, his words always carrying a smile.

Hong Liang could see that the two masters were immensely powerful, so he told himself not to be swayed by their expressions. "Not at all, not at all; the Hongmen share a common lineage, their merger and unification is an unstoppable trend, and I merely happened to catch this opportunity."

"Modest, modest..." Master Aibei's brows were forever knit together, as if they had never been apart.

Without waiting for Master Xibei's reply, Hong Liang turned to Nun Shang Rong and said, "It's been many years since we last met; time has left no trace on your face..."

Hong Liang speculated that if Master Xibei weren't a monk, he would certainly be a suave, charming young gentleman; such social skill made him unable not to admire.

"You talkative monk..." Nun Shang Rong rolled her eyes at Master Xibei in annoyance.

"Let's get down to business; have you two senior brothers seen the turmoil in the jianghu this time?" Master Leshi steered the conversation to the main point.

"Hmm... I never imagined the heavens would be torn open." Master Xibei replied, "Those three forces are unfathomably deep; they could involve the entire Tian'an Continent."

"It's not just possible involvement; it's certain." Master Leshi said to Master Xibei, "We have little time left; do you have any good suggestions, elder brother?"

"What suggestions? The hiding place of Zhang Huayu?"

Master Xibei's remark was astonishing. Master Leshi, Nun Shang Rong, and Hong Liang had not yet revealed to him that they were looking for Lord Zhang's whereabouts, yet Master Xibei, as if he had already calculated it, spoke it out before they could say a word.

"Yes."

"This is difficult indeed," Master Xibei sighed.

"In this world, there is nothing my elder brother doesn't know," Master Leshi affirmed to his elder brother.

Master Xibei first shook his head, then pondered, and said to everyone, "Zhang Huayu's cultivation, having reached the Seventh Heaven, can attain such a realm; his thoughts must surely differ from those of ordinary mortals."

From beginning to end, his plump hands kept turning the sandalwood prayer beads, never stopping for a moment.

"Master, do you mean his thoughts might be the opposite of ours?" Hong Liang asked.

Master Xibei cast an admiring glance at Hong Liang's extraordinary perceptiveness.

"Is that so?" Hong Liang pressed Master Xibei.

Master Xibei nodded.

Hong Liang thought to himself, "Master Xibei is truly remarkable; he actually managed to guess Zhang Huayu's hiding place—without a certain level of cultivation, how could he possess such ability?" He said to Master Xibei, "Please, Master, point us in the right direction."

"Namo Amitabha, the monk's words can go no further," Master Xibei's face remained perpetually in a half-smile, unaware whether his expression made people unable to grow angry.

However, that is not the case; on the contrary, such an expression only makes people angrier.

"Master Xibei, please just give us a clear direction; if it's just guessing, where would we end up?" Nun Shang Rong, always straightforward, detested those who beat around the bush.

Master Xibei gave no indication, his prayer beads still turning without cease.

It was actually Master Leshi who spoke, perhaps because he and Master Xibei had grown up together in Shaolin Temple from childhood, so he knew his senior brother's temperament: "Since the elder brother has said that, you and the monk should just rely on this line of thought."

"Hey! If you do this and we fail, letting the people of the Heavenly Dao succeed, then in the end it will be the common folk of the world who suffer!" Nun Shang Rong, unable to contain her anger, added another sentence.

"When are we supposed to figure this out? We don't even have the wisdom root!" Hong Liang also felt it was excessive, even thinking that this old monk's airs were utterly pretentious.

"Namo Amitabha, everything follows its destined course; the monk can only point this far." Having said that, Master Xibei ignored the angry visitors and departed with a grin.

Though he was a Buddhist, it seemed as if he had not placed all the world's beings in his heart!

"How can you be like this!" Nun Shang Rong exclaimed in anger, yet her fury received no response.

Master Aibei also left.

"His thoughts must surely differ from those of ordinary mortals?" Hong Liang muttered to himself, "Thoughts... mortals... are we considered mortals?"

"You two, rest with the monk at Shaolin Temple for a day, then set out together tomorrow morning." Master Leshi then instructed a few young novices to take care of the lodging for the two outsiders.

Immediately afterward, he himself left the Mahavira Hall and went to the northwest corner of Shaolin Temple, an extremely secluded spot.

"Nun, where do you think he said it is?" Hong Liang asked Nun Shang Rong.

Nun Shang Rong, usually well-informed, found herself at a loss today, helplessly saying, "How would I know?"

"I thought we'd have a clear clue, but in the end it came to nothing! This Song Mountain was just a wasted trip." Hong Liang plopped down on the mat, his back to the Buddha statue, and straightened his face again.