Volume 1, Chapter 78 – Wu Ya

The little monk in front of her looked at most no older than fourteen. His face still had a bit of baby fat, his skin was fair and clean, and his features were quite handsome.

Although the little monk was talking to Shi Lan, his gaze kept drifting back to the roast meat not far away.

Shi Lan raised a brow, put away her halberd, and walked over to sit down by the fire.

The little monk rubbed his belly, shuffled over to the fire, sat down across from Shi Lan, and stared fixedly at the meat. The expression on his face said everything for him.

Shi Lan grabbed the roast meat, sliced off more than half, and used Innate true qi to support it as she passed it to the little monk.

The little monk looked a bit embarrassed. He clasped his hands toward Shi Lan and said, “Benefactor, you’re truly a good person. The Buddha will bless you.”

Watching the little monk wolf down the roast meat, Shi Lan’s eyes gleamed with even more interest. “Little monk, what’s your name?”

“This humble monk is Wu Ya.” The little monk lifted his head to reply.

“Does eating meat not break your vows?” Shi Lan asked with great interest.

“Master told me that people who don’t drink or eat meat live a very boring life,” the little monk shook his head and said with utter seriousness.

“Why are you out here alone in the middle of the night?”

The little monk wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and lifted his head. “Master got lost. I’m looking for him. I got a bit tired from walking, so I lay down in the forest and fell asleep.”

“Your master got lost?”

The little monk nodded. “My master is old. His mind doesn’t work so well anymore. He gets lost a lot.”

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“You don’t know how dangerous it is around here? What about your other elders? Why don’t you go back and get people to help you look for your master?”

“Leiyun Temple is too far from here. I can’t make it back alone. I have to find Master and have him take me back.”

“Do you have a lot of monks at your temple?” Shi Lan’s eyes lit up.

“I think you could say there are a lot. Anyway, I’ve never seen a temple bigger than Leiyun Temple,” the little monk nodded.

“I’ll send you back first, then. Or I can take you to find your master,” Shi Lan said as she stood up.

Sending this little monk back would definitely let her farm a huge amount of goodwill from the monks. Her reputation should rise quite a bit from that.

The little monk popped the last bite of roast meat into his mouth and shook his head. “Thank you, Benefactor, but I can find Master on my own. If he sees me together with you, he’ll get angry.”

Shi Lan paused. “Why would he get angry?”

The little monk let out a sigh.

“Master’s old and his mind doesn’t work so well. He keeps telling me that pretty women are all venomous vipers and savage beasts, and that I must stay far away from them. If he saw me with you, Benefactor, he’d break my legs.”

As the little monk spoke, he pulled a waterskin from his chest. The moment he opened it, Shi Lan caught the scent of wine.

“A woman as beautiful as you, Benefactor—how could you possibly be a venomous viper or savage beast? You must surely have a bodhisattva’s heart.”

After taking two swigs, the little monk narrowed his eyes in contentment, looking every bit a little drunkard.

“Then how about I at least send you back?”

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The little monk shook his head again. “Thank you for your kindness, Benefactor, but the temple is too far away. It would waste too much of your time.”

“It’s fine. Is it a few thousand li from here? Or tens of thousands?” Shi Lan waved her hand. At most it would cost her a dozen days or so—time she could spare.

Besides, she could still take the chance to help other people along the way.

“It’s not in the Chengtian Domain.”

Not in the Chengtian Domain…

Shi Lan rubbed her forehead. This was the border of the Chengtian Domain. Even getting to a neighboring domain would be a journey of several hundred thousand li.

That was a distance ordinary people wouldn’t cover in a lifetime of walking.

Clearly, this little monk’s master was no ordinary person.

Shi Lan wasn’t someone who liked meddling in others’ business. Seeing no profit in it, she quickly lost interest and said casually, “I’ll take you to the nearest city tomorrow. You can slowly look for your master from there.”

“Thank you, Benefactor. The Buddha will surely bless you,” Wu Ya said, bowing again.

Shi Lan gave a small shake of her head and slowly closed her eyes.

At dawn the next day, Shi Lan escorted Wu Ya to a nearby city.

“Benefactor, those with good hearts will surely receive good fortune. This humble monk wishes to form a good karmic bond with you.” Wu Ya spoke solemnly to Shi Lan, then took a string of prayer beads from his own wrist and held it out to her with both hands.

Shi Lan didn’t refuse and reached out to take the beads.

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“May you forever be under the Buddha’s protection and live a life of peace.”

Wu Ya chanted a Buddhist phrase, then turned and wandered into the city.

Shi Lan rubbed the beads once, then casually slipped them onto her own wrist. She didn’t believe in Buddhism, but people always liked hearing good words.

And Wu Ya’s words were pleasant to hear.

Shi Lan thought for a moment, then also entered the city, planning to find an inn to rest up a bit.

The atmosphere in the city was somewhat heavy. The pedestrians on the streets walked in a hurry, and only a handful of shops on either side had their doors open. The place felt rather desolate.

Shi Lan finally managed to find a restaurant that was open for business. It was deserted, with very few diners.

Shi Lan hadn’t even sat down when a group of people surged into the restaurant in a great clamor.

At their head was a burly man nearly seven feet tall, dressed in a short black outfit. The few men behind him were dressed more or less the same, all with rather domineering expressions.

The leader rapped his knuckles on a table and called toward the counter for the shopkeeper.

A well-built middle-aged man hurried out, holding a money pouch in his hands, which he presented to the man in front of him.

“This is for this month, Master Liu. Please, check that it’s all there.”

The man took the pouch and weighed it in his hand. Without even opening it, he nodded. “The amount’s not bad.”

Before the shopkeeper could speak, the man added, “From now on, we’ll switch to collecting once a year. You can skip the remaining months of this year and just hand over next year’s now.”

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The shopkeeper’s face darkened. He was silent for a long while before saying slowly, “You’re planning to grab one last haul and then run?”

The man’s expression changed. “I told you to pay, so pay. What’s with all the nonsense?” As he spoke, he reached out to grab the shopkeeper by the collar.

Seeing this, Shi Lan sat quietly without saying a word. First, she had no relations with this shopkeeper—no kinship, no friendship, not even an acquaintance. Second, she didn’t know who either side was or what their history was. It wasn’t appropriate to jump in blindly.

Watching for now, figuring out what was going on, then deciding whether to act—there was still time for that.

“Stop!”

A clear shout rang out.

Shi Lan lifted her eyes for a glance and, when she saw who had spoken, was a bit surprised.

It was a table of young people, all around twenty or so. They wore the same style of cyan-blue robes, each with a blade or sword at their waist—clearly martial artists.

The one who had spoken was a young woman. Her looks were fairly pretty, and her figure was graceful.

Seeing how this group was dressed, a hint of caution flickered in the leader’s eyes. He released the shopkeeper’s collar and clasped his hands. “May I ask where all of you are from? Please, report your esteemed names.”

The young woman was about to speak when the man beside her cut in first. “When traveling abroad, it’s inconvenient to flaunt our sect’s name. I hope you can understand.”

As he spoke, the man glanced at the young woman, signaling for her to sit back down.

The burly man in black was quick to latch onto the key point. At the word “sect,” his expression shifted slightly. He cleared his throat twice, then waved his hand. “We’re leaving.”