Chapter 30

Manor Lord, are you alright?

Outside the temple gate, Niu Ben anxiously stood by the carriage; seeing Niu Dingtian appear, his worried heart finally eased, and he hurried forward to ask.

Niu Ben, take Miss Han down the mountain first to rendezvous with the reinforcements!

Remember! No matter what, you must ensure Miss Han's safety; if absolutely necessary,

If that happens, the scriptures in the pack can be abandoned first!

Niu Dingtian saw Niu Ben and, without wasting words, gave the order directly.

Then he quickly put the dazed Han Xiao Ying into the carriage.

Young Master Niu, something happened!

After coming to, Han Xiao Ying realized something must have happened, and she asked anxiously with a worried expression.

Niu Dingtian didn't let her finish, raising his hand to stop her and speaking gently:

Miss Han, don't worry, it's just a mishap; go down the mountain with Niu Ben first—I'll be right behind!

Having said that, to reassure Han Xiao Ying, he gave a slight smile, reached out to tidy her forehead hair, and despite her anxious expression, he closed the carriage curtain.

Manor Lord, rest assured! I guarantee it with my life!

Manor Lord, be extremely careful too! I'll go ahead first!

Niu Ben knew the situation was urgent; after receiving the order, he didn't delay a moment, driving the carriage at full speed down Shaoshi Mountain.

Watching the carriage gradually disappear down the mountain path, Niu Dingtian's heart eased a little.

The purpose of this mountain trip has been fully achieved!

Next, it's time to let go and give it our all.

Three veteran masters!

Even if it's one of the Five Absolutes, I might not be able to win, but this is also a rare chance to fight.

Thinking of this, Niu Dingtian's heart even faintly felt excited.

「Squeak~」

A sound rang out, and the heavy gate of Shaolin Temple slowly opened.

Immediately after, accompanied by a series of uniform footsteps, countless staff-wielding monks swarmed out from inside the temple, layer upon layer surrounding Niu Dingtian who stood before the gate.

Afterward, Jue Zhen and Jue Xing stepped out of the gate, solemn and expressionless, standing before it.

Niu Dingtian wore a plain blue robe, hands hanging at his sides, standing before the temple.

At a glance, the old monk in hemp robes was nowhere to be seen.

He felt a slight surprise; the injury that old monk in hemp robes suffered wasn't serious, so he should have appeared by now.

"Amitabha, I've misjudged him; I never expected Layman Niu to hide his true abilities!"

The leading abbot Jue Zhen had a face as still as water; though no anger showed on his face, after uttering a Buddhist chant, the anger in his tone could no longer be concealed.

"Oh? Master Jue Zhen isn't hiding his abilities either, is he?"

Niu Dingtian stared straight into Jue Zhen's eyes, a half‑smile on his face, and said:

Upon hearing this, Jue Zhen's face twitched slightly unnatural; he remained silent, seeming to ponder how to speak, and after a moment spoke again:

"Please, Layman Niu, hand over the Seventy-two Supreme Techniques from our temple's Sutra Pavilion; as for the matter of injuring the sutra‑guarding monks,"

Jue Zhen paused here, closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, as if struggling to decide; after exhaling a breath of foul air, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze intimidating, and then shouted:

"Furthermore, Layman Niu, bind yourself before the Buddha to confess, face the wall for twenty years to reflect, and when the time comes we will release you!"

Jue Zhen wasn't so muddled as to forget; he made no mention of the earlier rescue, nor of the inconsistent promise he and Jue Xing had made.

After all, it was merely a money transaction; how could one speak of repaying kindness with enmity? If it weren't for his own greed in the face of great wealth, this present disaster would not have arisen.

At this very moment, to speak of this before the assembled monks would only damage the Buddha's dignity.

Niu Dingtian stood there, his expression as calm as water, not interrupting; he waited until Jue Zhen finished speaking, then opened his mouth softly and said in a low voice:

"Is this your temple's decision?"

In the end, a showdown is inevitable; more talk is useless. If Xu Zhu hadn't engaged in a fight, would the masters of the Thirty‑Six Caves and the Seventy‑Two Islands obey? If the sweeping monk hadn't fought, could Murong Bo, Xiao Yuan Shan, and Qiao Feng let go of their grudges?

That is the law of the jianghu!

Whether good or evil, once one steps into the jianghu, one cannot avoid encountering several such confrontations. From the moment he abandoned scholarly pursuits for martial arts and entered the jianghu, he deeply understood this principle.

Jianghu folk are like this; the Jin State and the Great Song are like this; thereafter the Mongol cavalry are even more so.

The outcome of any negotiation is decided by having fought beforehand. In the face of absolute strength, any talk is futile.

Moreover, rescuing people, obtaining scriptures, seizing techniques—these are all predetermined matters; even if I feel guilty, doesn't Jue Zhen harbor guilt in his heart as well? Everyone is merely acting for their own benefit; these things can be set aside.

The current situation is also within expectations. As long as the people down the mountain detect the signal and respond successfully, even if I cannot defeat this group, I have means to escape.

"Abbot Senior Brother! Why waste words on this demon? Just seize him, cripple his martial arts, imprison him in the temple to atone—better than letting him go to continue his evil!"

Jue Xing standing beside Jue Zhen had been suppressing his anger for a long time.

He had a fiery temper; seeing Niu Dingtian's indifferent expression, his anger flared instantly, surging from his viscera to his head, and he pointed at Niu Dingtian and shouted furiously.

"Oh?"

Hearing such wild words, Niu Dingtian couldn't help but narrow his eyes, his gaze sweeping over and settling on Jue Xing, then he softly laughed and said:

"It seems Master Jue Xing's hands are already longing for action, aren't they?"

"Just this morning I heard you boast that your Pluck‑Flower Finger could rival the Southern Emperor's One Yang Finger; I'd like to see firsthand whether those fingers of yours can still straighten when facing me!"

Jue Xing, upon hearing Niu Dingtian's humiliating words, had his eyes red with rage; even the surrounding staff‑wielding monks could not restrain themselves from wanting to step forward with their staffs.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian turned his gaze toward Jue Zhen and said teasingly:

"Hehe, Master Jue Zhen, have you thought it through? When we start fighting, I won't show mercy to anyone who moves against me."

"Master, if you don't want to needlessly increase casualties, it would be best for the two of you to act personally!"

He had little interest in fighting the staff‑wielding monks before him; although their staff formation was formidable, under his Lotus‑Step Micro‑step they could not trap him.

Wanting to defeat and kill them one by one is not difficult, but after seeing blood, the hatred with Shaolin Temple becomes truly impossible to resolve, which does not match the original intention.

Jue Zhen also seems to have some concerns; being able to injure the sutra protector, this level of skill—even if the staff monks form a formation—cannot do anything to this person before them; after some thought, he issued the order:

"All disciples, hear the order! Without the old monk's command, do not act on your own! Just surround him and do not let him escape!"

"Disciples obey the order!"

Although the surrounding staff monks were all resentful, they dared not disobey the abbot's command; after complying, they began to slowly move outward to make space, yet still surrounded Niu Dingtian in layers.

"Demon, take this move!"

Jue Xing could not hold back first; as soon as the space opened up, he directly leapt toward Niu Dingtian.

Before landing from the leap, his right hand gathered internal force, and the Buddhist bead in his hand shot forward with a sound of breaking air.

The Buddhist bead had not yet reached him,

Beside him, Jue Zhen grabbed his monk's robe from behind with a backhand, swung his palm to channel energy, pulling the robe into a swift turn; after building up force, the robe also flew toward Niu Dingtian at high speed with a sound of breaking air.

One before, one after, both carrying vigorous energy, in the blink of an eye they had already rushed in front of Niu Dingtian.

Sorry for the typos and messy sentences, thanks for the reminder.

(End of chapter)