Chapter 335: The White-Robed Monk, Reincarnation of Buddha.

Chapter 335: The White-Robed Monk, Reincarnation of Buddha.

Twin Peaks Mountain.

The grand plaque of the Assembly Hall hung high, shimmering with golden light under the sun's rays.

Inside the hall, two monks sat.

One of them, a young monk in a white robe, had a clear brow and bright eyes, appearing to be sixteen or seventeen years old. His fair complexion was striking, but what drew the most attention was the twelve vow scars on his head.

Anyone with some knowledge of Buddhism would recognize the significance of these twelve scars.

The twelve scars were also known as the Bodhisattva Precepts.

In Buddhism, they symbolized a particular status.

Next to this young monk sat another man, round-faced with large ears and a sturdy build, resembling a tiger-backed bear.

His open robe revealed a thick growth of body hair.

"Junior Brother, want some wine?" The burly monk asked.

"Senior Brother, you've broken your vows!" The young monk smiled and shook his head.

"Hey! Haven't you heard this saying, Junior Brother? Wine and meat pass through the gut, Buddha remains in the heart. With Buddha in the heart, everywhere is Buddha!" After saying this, he picked up the wine jar and drank heartily, letting the wine flow down his face and onto his open robe.

However, the young monk in the white robe didn't show any anger at this sight. Instead, he smiled faintly.

The man before him wasn't his relative, but he treated him like family.

In this world, he had only this one family member.

He had long been aware of the burly monk's behavior.

Back at Vajra Temple, when the burly monk took care of him, he had already broken the wine vow.

He was even expelled from Vajra Temple for breaking the vow and being discovered by the abbot.

"Senior Brother, give it to me!" The young monk in the white robe extended his right hand.

"Junior Brother, what are you doing?" The burly monk's face changed color.

"Didn't I say it, Senior Brother?" The young monk in the white robe smiled and said, "Wine and meat pass through the gut, Buddha remains in the heart!!!"

"No, no, no!!!" The burly monk tightly hugged the wine jar, shaking his head vigorously. The wine on his face was immediately flung away, with a few drops landing on the white robe of the young monk.

He then said with a guilty conscience, "I was just playing with you, Junior Brother. You mustn't follow my example! You are the hope of Vajra Temple, and you will lead it to become the number one sect under heaven."

"What number one sect under heaven? I don't have such thoughts!" The young monk in the white robe replied nonchalantly.

"Junior Brother, your identity carries the responsibility of leading Vajra Temple to greatness!" The burly monk looked at his former junior brother with a sigh.

He never imagined that his momentary softness, when he picked up a little beggar from outside, would turn out to be the so-called reincarnation of Buddha.

Now, after receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts and with thirteen scars on his head, he found it unbelievable every time he thought about it.

"Junior Brother, you and that guy are both called the reincarnation of Buddha by the temple. Which one of you is the real one?"

"I don't know!" The young monk in the white robe showed no concern.

"Junior Brother, do you really believe your past life was the reincarnation of Buddha? Does such a reincarnation exist?" The burly monk asked again.

"It's real if you believe, and it's not if you don't!" The young monk in the white robe smiled, mimicking the gesture of plucking a flower.

"I hate all this spiritual mumbo-jumbo!" The burly monk looked sullen.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from outside the door.

The two monks looked up and saw a mountain bandit with disheveled hair like a bird's nest, wearing cloth shoes and carrying a golden cup cleaver, rushing towards them.

"What's going on? Didn't I say not to disturb me?" The burly monk frowned, his large body and coarse features naturally exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Seeing their king's anger, the mountain bandit's face turned tearful.

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"King, a trading team has arrived in the mountains! We've been hungry for an entire winter. It's time to take action!"

"A trading team?" The burly monk stood up immediately.

He stood tall like a standing brown bear.

"Junior Brother, how about waiting for me here? My brothers below haven't eaten for many days. I need to do something about it!"

"Wait!" The young monk in the white robe stood up. "Senior Brother, I'll go with you."

"Alright!" The burly monk glanced at his former junior brother and nodded heavily.

After leaving the fort, the young monk in the white robe walked barefoot through the forest, where thorns and brambles grew chaotically, as if he were walking on flat ground.

"Junior Brother!" The burly monk suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?" The young monk in the white robe turned to him.

"Do you suspect that I've broken the killing vow?"

"I did for a moment, but then I felt it was impossible!" The young monk in the white robe smiled.

"Your suspicion was correct, Junior Brother!"

"Really?" The young monk in the white robe was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

"Some people deserve to be killed. Killing one can save a hundred, or even a thousand. Don't you think they should be killed, Junior Brother?"

The burly monk's expression turned unusually calm.

Vajra Temple had many rules and regulations, one of which was the prohibition of killing.

This was one of the most strictly enforced rules in Vajra Temple, aside from the prohibition of sexual misconduct.

"Senior Brother," the white-robed young monk murmured, watching as his senior brother's tall figure strode away.

The next moment, he followed his senior brother again, his expression complex.

"Junior Brother, why are you following me again?"

"I believe in Senior Brother's character!" the young monk said calmly.

Then, he added, "Senior Brother, were the people you killed all deserving of death?"

"According to the laws of Xia, many of them wouldn't have been sentenced to death! But in my eyes, they deserved to die!" The burly monk continued as he walked, "Just like a flower thief who defiled the purity of over twenty virtuous women!"

"According to Xia's laws, the maximum sentence would be twenty years of imprisonment."

"But in my eyes, it's no different from killing the lives of over twenty young women."

"And what's the difference between those who kidnap and sell children and murderers?"

On the other side.

After the caravan rested, they entered the territory of Twin Peaks Mountain.

Twin Peaks Mountain was formed by two undulating peaks.

This was the easiest and most direct route.

If they chose any other path, they would have to detour around Twin Peaks Mountain, making the journey more difficult.

A year ago, even though the road was challenging, many caravans would still choose to take the detour.

This was because, a year ago, Twin Peaks Mountain was controlled by Double Wind Fort, which collected tolls from passing caravans.

If that was the only issue, caravans wouldn't have chosen to take the detour.

The main reason was that Double Wind Fort didn't follow the rules. When they saw a caravan with a beautiful woman, their lust would arise, and they would forcefully seize her.

Sometimes, if their words weren't heeded, blood would be shed.

This caused caravans to gradually avoid the area like snakes and scorpions, even though it was an official road, they didn't dare to travel through Twin Peaks Mountain.

However, this situation improved last year.

Because Twin Peaks Mountain had a new master.

A former outer sect disciple from Vajra Temple had cleared out the previous Double Wind Fort, established himself as the king of the mountain, and became the new mountain lord.

Although the toll charged by this former outer sect disciple from Vajra Temple was higher, he was very law-abiding.

As long as the toll was paid, he would let people pass.

This made caravans dare to travel on this official road.

After entering Twin Peaks Mountain.

Jiang Ning approached the driver's seat of the carriage where his older brother and sister-in-law were.

This place was the territory of the bandits.

No one knew if arrows would suddenly fly out from the forest.

So, to be safe, Jiang Ning first went to his older brother and sister-in-law's carriage and took over the reins, slowly driving the carriage forward.

Soon after entering Twin Peaks Mountain, Jiang Ning noticed several pairs of eyes in the dense forest on the slopes on both sides.

It was clear that those eyes belonged to the bandits keeping watch on Twin Peaks Mountain.

After a glance, Jiang Ning was slightly surprised.

These bandits were different from the ones he had seen before.

They all showed signs of martial arts training.

"No wonder the caravans ahead treat Twin Peaks Mountain with such seriousness!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

From the signs of martial arts training on these bandits, he knew that the former disciple of Vajra Temple was no ordinary person.

Martial arts training wasn't that simple; it wasn't just about learning a few farming techniques.

It required the refinement of qi and blood, and the body needed substantial nourishment.

For ordinary families, even filling their stomachs was a problem, let alone practicing martial arts.

For bandits who had turned to a life of crime, most of them were disaster victims or refugees, and their situation was even worse than ordinary families.

The idea of drinking and eating to one's heart's content was just a romanticized notion in books.

For ordinary bandits, being able to eat and dress warmly was already a dream come true.

However, on Twin Peaks Mountain, these ordinary bandits who had turned to a life of crime showed signs of martial arts training.

This was a considerable expense.

A moment later.

Flap, flap, flap!

A flock of partridges suddenly took flight from the distant forest.

"Stop!"

A loud and clear voice rang out from ahead.

From the powerful voice, one could tell that the speaker was no ordinary person.

Jiang Ning had learned about this person from his previous conversation with Manager Liu in the caravan.

He was a master escort named Jin from the Tiger Might Escort Agency, a strong seventh-rank sinew refiner.

He was a powerful escort specially invited by the caravan.

As Master Jin spoke, the caravan responded with the sound of horses being reined in.

In just a moment, the entire caravan came to a halt.

At this moment.

Master Jin, who was at the front of the caravan, couldn't help but clench his fists, easing the tension in his heart.

This was his first time visiting Twin Peaks Mountain in recent years.

So, he wasn't entirely sure if the rumors about Shuangyang Mountain were true or if the Vajra Temple's discarded monk had followed the rules. After all, to be discarded meant violating the Vajra Temple's monastic rules.

His heart was filled with tension.

Even though he knew that the Vajra Temple's monk was also a seventh-rank martial artist like himself, his anxiety didn't lessen in the slightest.

Family matters are best understood by the family.

Being of the same rank, the gap in strength could be immense.

Especially for someone like him, who had trained outside the system, there was a huge disparity in strength compared to the monks from the Vajra Temple.

The outer disciples learned martial arts from the Vajra School, with additional guidance from the temple's monks.

Their strength was on a completely different level from his.

Not to mention that he was getting older, and his qi and blood were already in a gradual decline, no longer in their peak state.

Just then, there was a commotion on both sides of the road, growing louder as it approached, like a tiger descending from the mountains.

"They're here!" The head of the escort agency called out to the escorts behind him.

They immediately fixed their eyes on the hillside to the right of Shuangyang Mountain.

The next moment, a figure suddenly leaped out from a steep slope in the forest, with a ten-meter drop.

The massive body seemed like a brown bear falling from above.

Boom!

As the figure landed, the ground shook, and dust flew into the air.

The head of the escort agency felt the slight tremor under his feet, and his heart grew heavier.

The monk before him was over two meters tall, with a waist as thick as a barrel. Such a physique gave him a significant advantage in close combat.

Just by looking at this monk, he knew he was no match.

With this physique, even if the monk wasn't from the Vajra Temple, but rather an outsider like himself, his innate physical advantage alone would allow him to dominate others of the same rank.

On the other side, the appearance of this monk also caught Jiang Ning's attention.

This physique was rarely seen.

At least, he hadn't seen anyone like this in Luoshui County.

The monk stood at around two meters and twenty to thirty centimeters tall.

His arms were thicker than ordinary people's thighs.

This muscular build was naturally suited for martial arts.

At the same rank, he was inherently stronger than ordinary martial artists.

Just as this monk with two vow scars on his head appeared, several figures emerged from the forest behind him, all holding brand-new weapons.

"Do you know the rules of Shuangyang Mountain?" The tall and sturdy monk asked.

"Tiger Might Escort Agency, Jinming City!" The head of the escort agency introduced himself.

"Don't play that game with me!" The sturdy monk waved his hand impatiently. "If you want to pass through here, just pay the toll!"

Hearing this, the head of the escort agency's face turned slightly unpleasant.

Even though he knew the monk was from the Vajra Temple, he still felt a bit displeased.

Usually, when he traveled in Dongling County, no matter which mountain he went to, people would show him some respect after he introduced himself.

After all, the owner of the Tiger Might Escort Agency was a well-known figure in Dongling County, having reached the fifth rank of martial power in his early years.

Jiang Ning stood quietly by the carriage, observing the scene before him.

At that moment, a woman's voice came from behind the head of the escort agency.

"Head, we've reached Master Xu's territory. I'm willing to follow Master Xu's rules!"

As the voice rang out, everyone's gaze turned towards the source, and they saw a well-proportioned woman, her age hidden behind a veil, stepping out of the carriage.

"Do you know Master Xu, little missy?" The sturdy monk asked.

"I've heard of Master Xu's heroic deeds," the woman replied. "He punched Xiao Baoshan of Chenliu County to death, publicly slapped Yi Hua, the scourge of two counties, and harmed countless virtuous women."

"Master Xu's righteousness and hatred for evil are truly admirable!"

Hearing this, the sturdy monk's expression softened slightly.

"You're quite observant, little missy, but trying to butter me up won't work. You still have to pay the toll!"

"I understand, sir. I've heard that Master Xu charges tolls based on the number of people and carriages. I wonder if five hundred taels would be enough for the people and carriages behind me?"

"I didn't expect you to be so generous, little missy!" The sturdy monk nodded. "Five hundred taels it is!"

"Master Xu, may I invite you to join the Su family and become one of us?"

"Don't be delusional!" The sturdy monk waved his hand.

"I apologize for my boldness, sir." Her voice was filled with sincerity.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end