Chapter 22: Reaction
Translator: Christina Editor: Rundi
Previously, ng Qi had worried about not having the opportunity to leave the Chores Yard. Now that soone abruptly announced that he had been transferred to the Warrior-monk Yard, he had a feeling comparable to being hit by a diamond falling from the sky while he was simply standing on the road and doing nothing. He was not only confused, but also very astonished and happy. In fact, he felt way more astonishnt than happiness, and at the ti, he had a dull expression and didn’t know what to respond.
Xuan Chi wasn’t surprised at ng Qi’s reaction. He explained in a deep voice, “Zhang Yuanshan from Zhen Wu Sect and Jiang Zhiwei from Xi Jian Pavilion both talked to the big brother in charge of guest reception. They complinted on your politeness, your sense of propriety, your cultivated style of speaking, and your ability to restrain yourself. It is very rare that benefactors from other sects would give such complints to a Shaolin char monk. For this reason, we have decided to transfer you to the Warrior-monk yard and let you learn kungfu, so that in the future you can be a reception monk.”
To be a reception monk of a great kungfu sect, you must be relatively strong regarding kungfu to properly represent the sect.
“The, the only thing I did was to try my best to control myself.” ng Qi finally understood what happened. He felt grateful towards Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhiwei, and expressed all the joy in his heart.
“As a reception monk, the most important thing is to restrain yourself, control your anger, and thus protect the reputation of the sect.” Xuan Chi replied casually, and turned back and left. He walked majestically, not like a monk, but like a heroic master who had freely lived in Jianghu for many years.
Xuan Ku gave a deliberate glance at ng Qi and said, “After you enter the Warrior-monk Yard, always rember that trickery will be no use. Only by understanding Zen, calming your mind, and working hard, you will be on the right path. From this aspect, Zhen Hui is better than you.”
ng Qi knew what he was implying. He was suspecting ng Qi for being an apple-polisher who wanted to use Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, and other visitors to break away from the Chores Yard. In his eyes, ng Qi still used too much trickery.
“Is it okay to judge soone rely based on your guess and assumptions, and when you haven’t seen anything with your own eyes, or heard anything with your own ears? Uncle Xuan Ku, having this kind of obsession in your heart is like falling into the rimless hell.” ng Qi was never the kind of person that would silently endure unjust judgnts and wronged accusations. When there was nothing he needed to care for, he would fight back reasonably.
At first, he wanted to quote from Buddhist scriptures, but after the over half a year he had spent at Shaolin, he still hadn’t graduated from the studying of Sanskrit and the morning chants. As a result, he didn’t know any scriptures, and had to rebut using the language he was the most familiar with.
He also put his palms together on purpose and chanted with a solemn expression, “Namo Amitābha.”
“You!” Xuan Ku glared at ng Qi. Obviously, he didn’t expect ng Qi to satirize him. What made him the angriest was that what ng Qi said was very reasonable, and he had no idea how to refute back.
“Sigh, uncle Xuan Ku is too dogmatic and stubborn. It would be hard for him to avoid falling onto the evil path…” ng Qi thought. On the other hand, Xuan Ku walked very fast and had already disappeared from the square.
At this ti, Zhen Hui gripped tightly onto his broom and looked at ng Qi confusedly. “Big brother, are we going to the Warrior-monk Yard?”
“Of course. How long does it take for you to react?” ng Qi looked at Zhen Hui with astonishnt. He had talked for a while with Xuan Chi and Xuan Ku. Zhen Hui’s reaction speed was too shocking.
Zhen Hui showed an innocent and na?ve smile. “Nice, now I am one step closer to Buddha’s Palm.”
ng Qi had to admit that he could not follow this stupid boy’s thinking.
But he quickly adjusted himself and said to Zhen Hui joyfully, “Buddha’s Palm is still very far away from us. But after we achieve a great success in Qi-cultivation, we will be able to learn the 72 Ultimate Arts. By that ti, I must learn Flower-pinching Finger, Form Denial Finger, Cross Lake as One Reed, and other ultimate kungfu!”
“Why?” Zhen Hui looked at ng Qi puzzledly. He didn’t understand why ng Qi picked these three kungfu.
ng Qi answered in high spirit, “Because these kungfu are handso and cool! In the future…”
ng Qi wanted to say sothing like they could wear handso white clothes and fight with swords at the speed of lightning. But he imdiately noticed that they were at Shaolin, so he made so small changes to his “ideal future self”.
“Little brother, I’ve told you about the story of Monk Wu Hua, right? We need to achieve his level. Think about it, standing on a small rowboat that floats on the water, wearing a robe that is as white as snow, and holding a flower in your hand with a smile. How cool is that! We would look fantastic! Hehe, and when we et soone we dislike, we can say this to him: benefactor, the bitter sea of life has no bounds. It is never too late to change yourself and go back onto the right path…”
His sprit grew higher as he spoke, yet he suddenly thought about Iron Cloth and Blade Art of Five Tigers Cracking the Gate, and his enthusiasm gone away quickly.
“It’s no big deal. They are just for temporary use, and in the future, I will definitely follow a completely different route…” ng Qi comforted himself and retrieved his enthusiasm. But as he prepared to resu to his speech, Zhen Yan, who was standing beside them, suddenly interjected,
“Congratulations, little brother Zhen Ding and little brother Zhen Hui. Now you can break away from the Chores Yard and the endless suffering here. However, as your big brother, I have to remind you that the Warrior-monk Yard is not an Elysium. Even if you accomplish great success in Qi-cultivation, only disciples chosen by the teachers can learn the 72 Ultimate Arts. The other monks will have to stay in the Warrior-monk Yard and continue to practice the Dragon-subduing Staffsnship, and be a mber of the Arhat Formation. Therefore, you shall never be too optimistic.”
He made a smile while he spoke, but ng Qi could feel the reluctance and unwillingness behind his smile. His words also implied jealousy and sourness.
“Thank you, big brother.” ng Qi could understand Zhen Yan’s feeling. If it was him who had experienced three years of life as a char monk and always hoped to get into the Warrior-monk Yard but never succeeded, and in contrast, newcors around him easily broke away from the suffering he would continue to endure, his smile would be similarly reluctant and fake.
They returned to the Chores Yard without exchanging another word. The silence was only broken when Zhen Hui occasionally giggled foolishly.
ng Qi knew that everyone around him was pathetic people just like Zhen Yan and Zhen Ying, so he didn’t show off as he didn’t want to provoke them.
When it was ti for dinner, ng Qi particularly warned Zhen Hui not arbitrarily to speak about what happened today.
Clap clap clap. ng Qi was enjoying the at in front of him when the sound of applause ca from the doorway.
ng Qi turned around and saw monk Xuan Xin walking inside, who clapped his hands with a dazzling smile. “Special day, it is a special day for our Chores Yard! Finally, today there are two disciples chosen to be mbers of the Warrior-monk Yard!”
Imdiately, countless chopsticks fell onto tables and the floor at the sa ti. Except for ng Qi, Zhen Hui, and Zhen Yan, all other char monks froze in place as if ti had stopped to flow. A strange silence filled up the whole cafeteria.
“Zhen Ding, Zhen Hui, aren’t you going to say sothing to us?”
After this sentence, the char monks who had turned into sculptures beca alive again. They all turned their heads and stared at ng Qi and Zhen Hui. Their eyes were dark and gloomy, which made ng Qi a little frightened.
“Uncle Xuan Xin, thank you for making clean the ditation Yard.” ng Qi knew that he couldn’t hide the reason of his relocation from Xuan Xin, so he said so deliberately.
Xuan Xin laughed. “You should also say thanks to your cleverness and eloquence. I know you love to listen to Jianghu stories, so don’t forget about here in the future, all right? Eh, why are you staring at Zhen Ding and Zhen Hui? Shouldn’t you congratulate them?”
A char monk slowly stood up, and said with a smile that was even uglier than a crying face, “congratulations to little brother Zhen Ding and little brother Zhen Hui for becoming warrior monks.”
“Congratulations to little brother Zhen Ding and little brother Zhen Hui for becoming warrior monks.” The other char monks also stood up, and their different voices echoed in the cafeteria. So were self-pitying, so were bitter, so were resentful, so were painful, and so were jealous, and so on and so forth.
ng Qi sighed. “It’s just that I am blessed by Buddha. If big brothers sincerely respect Buddha, you will receive the sa blessing as well.”
“Big brothers will also enter the Warrior-monk Yard if you concentrate on sweeping, concentrate on eating, and concentrate on sleeping.” Zhen Hui said foolishly.
ng Qi knew what Zhen Hui said was the right way to do it. But from the char monks’ expressions, while so of them were sneering bitterly and so were glaring with hatred, none of the monks seed to have taken Zhen Hui’s words seriously. If it was not that they knew Zhen Hui was a sincere and dumb person, they might even think Zhen Hui was making fun of them.
Putting his palms together and chanting the na of Buddha, ng Qi dragged Zhen Hui to sit down with him and resud to eating. Dinner ti ended in awkward silence. So did Xuan Xin’s “storytelling corner” begin in such an atmosphere.
“Little brother Zhen Ding, little brother Zhen Hui, I knew there’s sothing special about you. After you co to the Warrior-monk Yard, let’s look after each other.” Zhen Yong, who ca to listen to the stories as usual, said joyfully.
ng Qi was pretty close to Zhen Yong so he said honestly, “big brother Zhen Yong, rember to take care of your little brother!”
Zhen Yong chuckled. “Actually, the big and little brothers of the Warrior-monk Yard all love Jianghu stories. But they are more prideful than I am, so they always wait for to go back and retell the stories. As a result, I am doing pretty well in the Yard. Hehe, if you often talk about similar stories, they won’t treat you bad either.”
“Well, that’s what I am good at.” ng Qi slightly nodded. Zhen Hui also nodded energetically. “I know a lot of stories, too!”
Xuan Xin made a cough to stop the whispers below him. “Regarding how we politely sent the visitor sects away today, you don’t need to take it seriously. It’s only that we Shaolin people put an emphasis on etiquettes, but not that we are afraid of these sects. Think about it, there are rely three Dharmakaya-level masters in the Great Jin Dynasty, and we Shaolin have one of them. How can the other sects contend against us?”
“Do you know what the most explosive news in Jianghu is in the past 10 years?”
“Well, this monk has a very strong sense of pride for Shaolin. Look at how he looks down upon the other sects…” ng Qi quietly shook his head, and answered loudly, “We don’t know what it is. Please teach us about it, uncle Xuan Xin.”
The other char monks also answered weakly that they didn’t know.
Xuan Xin didn’t care about their low spirits and continued complacently. “A few dozen years ago, a peerless genius appeared in Mie Tian Sect, one of the Nine Evil Paths. He successfully attained the Demon’s Body before the age of 50, which is nearly comparable to the Demon Emperor from the era of myths. His last na is Han and first na is Guang, and he calls himself the ‘Evil Master’. His na overawed the entire Jianghu, and among the sects of the evil powers nobody was able to disobey him. Nevertheless, perhaps it’s because the Evil Master conducted too much wrongdoings, he had his retributions. Less than a year after he attained the Demon’s Body, his whereabouts was exposed, and he was found by His Abbotship.”
“That battle nine years ago…Hmm, the earth cracked, the mountains burst apart, and everything between heaven and earth was covered by darkness. A large lake also erged as a result in the center of the Tai Yue Mountain Chain. Only His Abbotship walked out from the battlefield alive. Rumor says that the Evil Master has been killed or suppressed by His Abbotship.”
“After this battle, Shaolin’s reputation and fa completely overshadowed all the other sects!”
Xuan Xin ceaselessly boasted about how the various eminent monks of Shaolin domineered in Jianghu. Listening to these stories, ng Qi and the others beca very excited and enthusiastic, and really wanted to beco the monks themselves.
“How many days, months, and years later can I be as powerful and as strong?”
After the “storytelling corner” ended and they had returned to their rooms, Zhen Guan and Zhen Ying straightforwardly went to sleep and completely ignored ng Qi and Zhen Hui. On the other hand, Zhen Hui ditated crosslegged for a while, and went to sleep quickly as well.
ng Qi practiced Iron Cloth and tossed and turned for a long ti before he could restrain his excitent and go to sleep. From this aspect, he was a little jealous of Zhen Hui for being simple-minded and having little distracting thoughts.
Surrounded by darkness, ng Qi felt breathing was becoming increasingly difficult. His body also felt like it was pinned down by thick dirt.
“Is it a sleep paralysis?” In his sleep, ng Qi had a little consciousness. He struggled to wake up, only to find a distorted, hideous face before him.
Zhen Guan strangled ng Qi by the throat with both of his hands, and pinned ng Qi down with his body. His expression was ferocious and his voice sounded like balderdash.
“Go to hell, go to hell!”
“You took away my chance to get into the Warrior-monk Yard!”
“If I can’t get in, nobody can!”
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