Chapter 865

Five Contemplation Hall is also called the dining hall; plainly put, it's the cafeteria where monks eat in the temple. Although the Emperor came to Heavenly Dragon Temple to fast, it doesn't mean he will eat and lodge with those monks; this time he specially brought two imperial cooks from the palace to handle his meals for this month. As for the other Guards, they don't have that privilege; they can only eat the temple's communal stew together with the monks, and Hu Xiaotian's treatment is the same.

His current duty is to lead these twenty Guards in charge of the Emperor's meals; of course, they aren't to cook—the cooking is done by two imperial chefs who oversee the food's safety throughout. Hu Xiaotian split the twenty into two groups, taking turns on duty, ensuring no oversight. Actually, this side is the first checkpoint; once the food reaches Laohuangdi's side there is a second checkpoint, with layered supervision to guarantee absolute safety.

Heavenly Dragon Temple has over twenty thousand monks; the dining hall couldn't possibly be just one. The one provided for them is the West Courtyard dining hall, which previously was shared with the Sutra Pavilion. For safety, the connecting gates between the two have now been locked, and this dining hall is exclusively for their use. Beside the dining hall there are three meditation rooms, which are provided for these Guards as temporary lodging.

Although they had just settled in and it was almost the second watch, preparing the Emperor's breakfast now had to begin. The two from the Imperial Palace also brought plenty of ingredients; after familiarizing themselves with the kitchen, they immediately started the fire and cooked rice.

Since no assistant cooks came along, the firewood-chopping and stove-tending work had to be asked of these Guards; Hu Xiaotian assigned four Guards to help them, with another six standing by nearby, while the remaining ten went to rest first. Ten people for three meditation rooms—Hu Xiaotian certainly wouldn't miss the chance to use his position for personal gain; he picked the best-conditioned room and occupied it, leaving the other two for them. Anyway, these Guards didn't regard him as one of their own, so Hu Xiaotian couldn't be bothered to share weal and woe with them.

He returned alone to his room. Although it was the best-conditioned one, the conditions were still very crude: aside from a bed, a table, and a chair, there were only two futons; the sole decoration was a Buddha portrait hanging on the wall.

He pushed open the latticed window and happened to see the moon high in the night sky. Moonlight like water poured silently through the window onto the floor. Hu Xiaotian turned around, saw a Buddhist shadow cast on the ground, froze for a moment, then realized it was his own shadow, and subconsciously touched his bald head. A wry smile appeared on his face; he had thought returning to Kangdu would let him see Murong Feiyan, resume his fate with Baobao, and even stage a joyful reunion with Long Xi Yue, but everything had been messed up by Laohuangdi. Without any warning, he had set off for Heavenly Dragon Temple out of the blue, and not only that, he had made himself into this half-and-half state; it seems he will have to experience life in Heavenly Dragon Temple this month.

Hu Xiaotian leapt into the air, crossed his legs in mid‑space, and lightly landed on the futon. He put his palms together in a solemn gesture, truly bearing a hint of Buddha‑like appearance. After traveling all the way from Kangdu, he was somewhat fatigued and wanted to recover his condition quickly. He still had to rely on the Formless Divine Skill. Although Li Yuncong had just warned him that cultivating the Formless Divine Skill would face nine tribulations, Hu Xiaotian dismissed it, thinking Li Yuncong, old and scheming, might be deliberately alarming him; this Senior Eunuch was indeed crafty. Hu Xiaotian had set two conditions, yet Li Yuncong hadn't fulfilled even one—clearly he had promised to release Baobao, but up to today Hu Xiaotian still hadn't seen Baobao.

Recalling that Li Yuncong once said there was an innate master inside Heavenly Dragon Temple, Ji Feihua likely took the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing here to exchange for his healing; if Li Yuncong spoke the truth, Ji Feihua might also be in Heavenly Dragon Temple, but Hu Xiaotian deemed this possibility negligible. According to Li Yuncong, Ji Feihua was gravely wounded in the combined attack by him, Hong Beimo, and Mu Rongzhan—how could Ji Feihua, in that state, escape the Imperial City, break through layer after layer of blockade, and reach Heavenly Dragon Temple?

Hu Xiaotian cleared his mind of distractions and began anew cultivating the Formless Divine Skill. After two cycles of heavenly circulation, he felt his vitality unprecedentedly abundant. Idle as he was, he might as well think of some ways to give these disobedient subordinates a hard time.

He flung open the door and stepped outside, seeing several Guards there helping to split firewood. These people had all rushed from Kangdu a hundred li to Heavenly Dragon Temple, got no rest, and were assigned by Hu Xiaotian to keep night watch here; each was exhausted to the point of misery, and they harbored many complaints against this deputy commander.

Hu Xiaotian looked at how little firewood they had just split and couldn't help laughing: 'You lot are like women—haven't you eaten?'

'Commander Sir, we really haven't eaten, and we've been rushing all the way; dawn is about to break, and we haven't closed our eyes all night.' The speaker was a plump baldy—the very one who had earlier asked Hu Xiaotian in the palace whether there were any women in Heavenly Dragon Temple. His name was Zuo Tang, a junior brother of the Qi inner court. Relations among the palace Guards were also very complex; although Mu Rongzhan was their chief, his cold and aloof nature made him hard to approach, so day‑to‑day affairs were usually handed over to the Qi inner court, giving the Qi inner court great prestige among the Guards. Though he held no formal title, everyone regarded him as the second‑in‑command. Now a deputy commander had suddenly appeared, and many took issue with Hu Xiaotian.

Zuo Tang swung his axe, but failed to split the log.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'All that fat for nothing—no strength at all.'

Zuo Tang was rather unconvinced: 'Hu Sir, people aren't made of iron; we all get tired.'

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward, snatched the axe, raised the axe head at the log, and swung— the log split cleanly in half.

Only then did Zuo Tang realize this newly arrived commander possessed considerable strength, and from his axe stance he seemed to know martial arts. Hu Xiaotian coldly said: 'If you're useless, don't make excuses; also, remember this: His Majesty ordered us not to reveal our identities, so from now on in Heavenly Dragon Temple you will all call me Senior Brother!'

'What?' a bunch of Guards stood there stunned.

Hu Xiaotian resumed splitting firewood and swung the axe again—not because he wanted to work, but as he wielded the axe his inner power naturally flowed into his arms, and chopping the log produced an exhilarating, refreshing sensation. He hadn't expected splitting wood to feel so good, so he simply took off his monk's robe, wore only an undershirt and short shirt, and got to work. Leading by example, the Guards naturally dared not slack; each with a grimace continued splitting firewood, puzzled by this deputy commander—this guy obviously had excess energy.

By the time the fourth watch came, the firewood in the yard had all been split, and several Guards neatly stacked the split wood.

At that moment a young monk came to the Five Contemplation Hall; he was the former supervisor here, Ming Sheng. Although he had handed over the Five Contemplation Hall to these court officials, he still came by daily to check the situation and see if anything needed smoothing.

After Ming Sheng finished introducing himself, Hu Xiaotian smiled: 'Master Ming Sheng, we've just arrived and don't know the temple's rules; please, Master Ming Sheng, give us some guidance.'

Ming Sheng smiled: 'There's not much to point out; the abbot sent me over just to meet you benefactors…' Upon saying this he saw these Guards now dressed as monks, and couldn't help smiling—aside from lacking the ordination scars on their heads, they looked no different from the monks.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Master Ming Sheng, we'll do whatever you normally do.'

Ming Sheng asked: 'Really?'

Hu Xiaotian replied: 'Of course.'

Ming Sheng said: 'According to the past rules of the Five Contemplation Hall, it's time to fetch water now.'

'Fetch water?'

Ming Sheng said: 'There are water tubs in the rear courtyard; the water we draw partly serves the Five Contemplation Hall, and the rest is poured into the reservoir beside the vegetable plot—these were tasks the Five Contemplation Hall monks used to do, and now…'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'Now that we're here, we'll naturally take care of it.'

'Really?'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; behind him, a bunch of exhausted Guards heard him volunteer to fetch water, and instantly their faces fell as they cursed this deputy commander for being sick—always looking for work to do when there's nothing, forgetting they're here to protect the Emperor, not to serve as menials in Heavenly Dragon Temple.

Hu Xiaotian was simply taking the opportunity to straighten out these Guards—shutting me out, not obeying my orders—good, I'll take care of you one by one, first conquering your bodies, then your wills; within three days I'll make these brats submit to me completely.

Zuo Tang said: 'Sir…' His words changed under Hu Xiaotian's fierce glare: 'Senior Brother, dawn is breaking, the shift is about to change—should we switch the water‑fetching duty to those few?' The other nine Guards nodded in agreement.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Call them up to take over the watch, and we'll go fetch water.'

A bunch of Guards groaned endlessly, mentally cursing Hu Xiaotian's ancestors eight generations back, but since he was their leader and a higher rank crushed them, they could only obey his orders.

Monk Ming Sheng led them to the rear courtyard, where they saw a single large wooden tub set against the wall. The Guards stared in disbelief—this tub was twice the size of an ordinary water bucket, had no carrying pole, and worse, its base was pointed, meaning they had to lug it by hand with no chance to rest midway.

Hu Xiaotian had thought the water buckets in Heavenly Dragon Temple were iron like those in Lingyin Temple, but seeing these buckets the difficulty was actually lower than he'd imagined; still, it was enough to make these Guards suffer. Monk Ming Sheng stepped forward and lifted two buckets, Hu Xiaotian followed, and after two steps he saw the Guards still unmoving, sneered: 'Anyone who doesn't fall in will be punished for defying orders.'

A bunch of Guards felt stifled—when had the Emperor issued an edict ordering them to fetch water? This guy was basically forging an imperial decree, yet none dared to argue with Hu Xiaotian; they each picked up a bucket and followed him.

Hu Xiaotian wasn't unfamiliar with this way of fetching water; he'd seen it in movies as a child—Shaolin Temple monks fetch water like this.

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The update was moved from midnight to daytime, and the Monthly Ticket suddenly dropped by a lot—looks like you night owls are too many, really hard to please everyone, please give Monthly Tickets! (To be continued~^~)