Chapter 152: Sweeping Monk

The ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

An Ziyang left the An residence and rode his horse.

Quanzhou Prefecture was not far from Shaolin, and by the afternoon of the same day, An Ziyang had arrived outside the Shaolin mountain gate.

Tying his horse, An Ziyang stepped forward and knocked on the mountain gate.

A moment later, a guest-receiving monk came over and bowed to him.

"This benefactor, I am truly sorry. Our temple suffered a disaster a few days ago, and many buildings in the temple were damaged. We are currently repairing them and are not convenient to receive pilgrims. If you are here to offer incense and worship Buddha, please return and come back another day."

The news of Shaolin's mountain gate being broken by the Ming Sect had spread after the death of Xingchi and the dispersal of the Jianghu people that day. Shaolin had no intention of hiding the news.

An Ziyang said to the guest-receiving monk.

"This master, I am not a pilgrim, I am entrusted by someone to find someone."

"Oh?"

The guest-receiving monk looked An Ziyang up and down.

Being able to be a guest-receiving monk at Shaolin, his martial arts were not bad, and his vision was even more superb. At a glance, he saw An Ziyang's martial arts foundation, and judging from his clothes, his family background was quite rich.

It was just looking at this complexion, it looked like a dissolute son wandering in the flowers, and his essence and blood were somewhat depleted—commonly known as kidney deficiency.

What kind of person was he looking for at Shaolin?

"I don't know who the benefactor was entrusted by, and who are you looking for?"

"It's not that the monk is getting to the bottom of it, it's just that it's my duty, and if I don't ask clearly, it's not easy to report."

An Ziyang pondered for a while.

He was also a bit unsure. Li Miao, an Embroidered Uniform Guard, asked him to find the new abbot of Shaolin... don't tell me he was planning to find trouble and use him to scout the way...

After thinking about it, he told the truth: "Entrusted by Hero Li Miao, I am here to find the temple's abbot, Master Yong Yong Jie."

Who knew, as soon as he said this, the guest-receiving monk's face changed instantly.

"Hero Li!?"

"Where is he now? Didn't he come with you?"

"Why didn't he come in person, is there any trouble?"

"Does he need Shaolin's help?"

The guest-receiving monk's series of questions stunned An Ziyang.

"No, it's just that Hero Li has some things he can't get away from, so he asked me to deliver a message to Master Yong Yong Jie. If it's not convenient for your temple, I can come back in a few days..."

"Convenient! Convenient!"

The guest-receiving monk's face revealed a smile that was a bit contrary to the precepts.

"Hero Li's business is Shaolin's business. At any time, it is convenient!"

"May I ask your name?"

"An Ziyang."

"Young Master An, since you are a friend of Hero Li, how could Shaolin treat you poorly? Please follow me inside."

With that, the guest-receiving monk reached out and grabbed An Ziyang's wrist, extremely enthusiastically leading him into the temple.

An Ziyang had a feeling of *déjà vu*.

When he went to visit the places of fireworks, the old madams all pulled him like this.

But this was Shaolin! And the one pulling him was a monk!

No matter how kind the Shaolin monks were, when facing Jianghu people, they would still reveal a kind of arrogance intentionally or unintentionally in their bones.

Like him, a person who was so kidney-deficient from whoring, even the monks of ordinary temples might not give him a good face. Being welcomed into Shaolin so enthusiastically really made him feel a bit of the anxiety of his first experience of human affairs.

Walking into the temple, An Ziyang looked around and couldn't help but sigh softly.

Shaolin had indeed suffered a great disaster, with broken walls everywhere, and it was currently being rebuilt with a *clanging* sound.

The guest-receiving monk led An Ziyang halfway, when he heard a low voice from one side.

"Hengshu, who is this benefactor? Where are you going?"

As he spoke, a tall monk walked over, dressed neatly, without a flaw, with broad shoulders and a round waist, a serious face, and two decree lines outlining a strong chin.

An Ziyang recognized him at a glance; this person was the head of the Shaolin Discipline Hall, Hengchang.

"Something's wrong. This person is the most serious and rigid, and the most loyal to Shaolin. If he finds out that the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent someone to find the new abbot, I'm afraid it will cause trouble!"

The guest-receiving monk smiled and said.

"Head, this Benefactor An is a friend of Hero Li, here to find the abbot."

"Hero Li?"

Hengchang asked in surprise.

"Where is he now? Why didn't he come himself, is there any trouble..."

The guest-receiving monk smiled: "Head, I have already asked these words. Hero Li just can't get away."

"I see."

Hengchang nodded: "You go busy yourself. The abbot is currently in the Scripture Pavilion in the back mountain, you can't get in. Since he is a friend of Hero Li, I will take him there."

The guest-receiving monk nodded and turned away.

"Benefactor An, please follow me."

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Shaolin, Scripture Pavilion.

Yong Yong Jie sat cross-legged on a cushion, already covered in cold sweat and trembling all over.

He could endure being "remodeled" by Li Miao that day, but now he was in a sorry state, as if he were undergoing unimaginable torture.

An old monk turned from the bookshelf, holding an old broom, sweeping as he walked behind Yong Yong Jie.

"Still not working."

"Although the methods of our Shaolin don't strictly require cutting off worldly ties, when practicing martial arts, it still requires purity. Your heart is a mess, how can you practice?"

Yong Yong Jie opened his eyes suddenly, panting, and sweat the size of soybeans kept dripping.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said.

"Unwilling, puzzled, resentful, the five aggregates are burning... the disciple is really hard to resolve."

The old monk shook his head.

"Our Buddhist martial arts are the easiest to fall into the devil, so from shallow to deep, you must have corresponding scriptural attainments before you can practice. You practice like this, it's just like rushing to get into the devil."

He sighed long.

"Forget it, if you have anything you want to ask, just say it."

Yong Yong Jie turned his head to look at the old monk, as if hesitating. But after a long while, he still gritted his teeth and asked urgently.

"When the Ming Sect broke into the mountain gate that day, why didn't you make a move?"

"With you here... why did my master need to use the temple's foundation, exhaust his life, and pass away?"

The old monk replied faintly.

"Because I didn't dare."

"Didn't dare!?" Yong Yong Jie was shocked.

"You... didn't dare to fight Ji Tianrui? So... you sat by and watched my master die!?"

"No."

The old monk waved his hand.

"I'm not afraid of Ji Tianrui, and Shaolin isn't afraid of the Ming Sect."

"But..."

He raised his finger and pointed to the sky.

"The Ming Sect just wanted a few things, not to destroy my Shaolin mountain gate."

"Xingchi didn't have to die, but he couldn't bear to see Shaolin disciples die, so he used his own life to exchange for Shaolin disciples to live a little longer."

"He's also a fool."

Speaking of this, the old monk sighed long.

"I am a person who must exist, but shouldn't exist."

"If I make a move and am seen, Shaolin will truly suffer a disaster."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 153 =====