Chapter Thirty-One: People of the Martial World

Today, Golden Mountain Temple was bustling with people, livelier than usual. The incense offerings had increased considerably, bringing a broad smile to the abbot’s face—he could finally save enough money to raise pigs behind the mountain again...

Yet just at this moment, ill tidings arrived from the north.

Night had fallen in the meditation hall. The abbot sat frowning over a letter in his hands. Elder Huiren, unable to contain his curiosity, craned his neck to look. The heading on the paper read: “Famine in the North, Corpses Strewn Across the Land.”

“This… Abbot…” Elder Huiren’s brow furrowed as he sighed and then spoke slowly, “Let’s postpone the repairs to the Hall of Arhats and donate all the funds instead.”

The abbot nodded, gritting his teeth. “Tell the other elders, starting tomorrow, all monks in Golden Mountain Temple will get only one vegetarian meal a day.”

“Understood,” Elder Huiren replied, nodding solemnly.

...

Chen Buqun was born into a renowned orthodox clan and had practiced martial arts in the Chen Sword Sect since childhood. At eighteen, he had reached the fifteenth level of internal energy cultivation and was famed as one of the Four Young Heroes of Golden Mountain.

Recently, he had planned to travel north with some silver. However, since he was already near Golden Mountain Temple and had heard that the infamous thief Da Vinci had suffered a setback there, he decided to climb the mountain and deal with Da Vinci first.

In fact, Chen Buqun and Da Vinci were mortal enemies; the Chen Sword Sect’s treasured manual, the “Chen Sword Technique,” had been stolen by Da Vinci. This event marked the beginning of the sect’s gradual decline. Thus, Chen Buqun was deeply grateful to the Fiery Cloud Devil and eager to witness this master’s prowess. If given the chance, he even hoped to become his disciple.

As a promising young man of his generation, Chen Buqun, like everyone else, wished to challenge Xiao Yan—after all, it was the perfect opportunity to make a name for himself.

With youthful confidence, Chen Buqun set off up the mountain, ready for another day of ostentatious exploits.

He had done his homework beforehand: Xiao Yan’s internal strength was only at the fifth level—such a weakling wasn’t even worthy of carrying his shoes. If Xiao Yan had managed to pass the temple’s challenges, it must have been pure luck.

If possible, Chen Buqun also wanted to try his hand at the Eighteen Arhat Formation to prove his abilities.

Lost in these thoughts, he strode through the temple gates. Immediately, he noticed several others with similar intentions, all inquiring about Xiao Yan’s whereabouts.

“Well, if it isn’t Chen Buqun, one of the Four Young Heroes of Golden Mountain! I didn’t expect to see you here,” an elderly man with graying hair greeted him.

At this, the others turned their heads in interest. The Four Young Heroes of Golden Mountain had quite the reputation. Take Li, their leader, for instance—only eighteen, yet already at the twentieth level of martial strength. Such terrifying talent was almost monstrous. Among them, Chen Buqun was considered the weakest, but even so, reaching the fifteenth level at eighteen was remarkable.

Even Master Yuantong, the temple’s top disciple, was called a genius for reaching the twelfth level at twenty. To ordinary martial artists, Chen Buqun was already a figure beyond reach.

“Yes, I heard that Xiao Yan, that villain, is still in the temple. I couldn’t stand the thought and had to come teach him a lesson—to rid the world of evil!” Chen Buqun spoke with a flourish of his sleeves, the very image of a chivalrous hero, his words refreshing all who heard them.

“Oh…”

The crowd instantly understood: so he, too, sought fame—righteous words indeed, befitting a man of noble birth.

But after his speech, Chen Buqun felt a bit uneasy—he had forgotten to bring a servant to support his act. Without a lackey to echo his words, he risked looking foolish rather than impressive.

“You’re absolutely right! We must rid the world of evil! Let’s unite and destroy the villain! Hero Chen, you are mighty!” A loud voice suddenly echoed in agreement.

Relieved, Chen Buqun glanced over and saw a chubby monk with a round face and drooping ears—a stranger.

“Little Master, may I ask who you are?” Chen Buqun inquired politely.

“Oh, I’m a monk of Golden Mountain Temple. You can call me Zhuge Yixiu. I’ve long been fed up with that idiot Xiao Yan. Let me take you to him! Follow me!” Zhuge the Fat Monk shook his fleshy arms, his face full of righteous indignation, though his bearing was no match for Chen Buqun’s.

“Excellent!” Chen Buqun hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly and immediately agreed.

And so…

A crowd followed Zhuge Yixiu in high spirits, full of bluster and momentum.

The monks of Golden Mountain Temple were alarmed, spreading the news throughout the monastery. Many monks trailed after to watch the commotion, swelling the group several times over.

“What’s going on here?”

“No idea…”

“Then why are you following?”

“For the excitement, of course…”

“Fair enough… Though I heard they’re looking for trouble with Xiao Yan.”

“Really, that many people?”

“Yes, and one of the Four Young Heroes is among them. This won’t be easy…”

“Then Xiao Yan is finished, isn’t he? By the way, does anyone know where Xiao Yan is?”

“No… I heard he took on a disciple to clean the latrines—loafs around all day…”

The crowd buzzed with excitement, their faces flushed. After all, it had been a while since Xiao Yan had made a fool of himself. Ever since he became Elder of the Latrines, no one knew what he did with his days.

Luckily, there were still plenty of challengers climbing the mountain, or the monks might have died of boredom.

As they walked, the martial artists chatted amongst themselves.

“Hero Chen, I hear Xiao Yan’s internal strength is just at the fifth level. With your abilities, you could defeat him in no time, right?”

“No, you flatter me, brother. I’ve just reached the fifteenth level—still far inferior to the elders present…” Chen Buqun replied modestly, though pride shone on his face.

He hadn’t expected that many of those present had internal strength no higher than the thirteenth level…

His words now sounded like a pointed insult.

He’d overdone the boasting this time.

Only Zhuge Yixiu seemed to watch the scene with an amused glint in his eye.

The group continued chatting as they walked.

About an hour later…

“Wait a moment… Master Zhuge? Why does this tree look so familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it several times already…” A bald hero scratched his head in confusion.

“I think so too… Are we walking in circles?” Chen Buqun frowned in doubt.

“Yes, just a warm-up. Trust me… To outwit Xiao Yan, you must first outwit yourself… Keep going… This is the way…” Zhuge Yixiu panted heavily as he spoke.

“…”

Another half hour passed…

“Hey… where’s that fat monk?”

“He was just here… gone?”

Some of the heroes were puzzled, but the quick-witted among them soon realized something was off.

“Could that bald fatty be in league with Xiao Yan?”

“Sounds likely… but what’s the point? Is he trying to wear us out? That’s underestimating us.”

“Exactly…”

“I can’t take it anymore—I need to use the privy after all this exercise…” one of the heroes announced.

“Me too…”

A chorus of agreement followed.

And so, Chen Buqun led the group to the latrines, preparing for a collective relief.

“Do you think we might run into that Xiao Yan character at the latrines? After all, I hear that’s his ‘little domain.’”

Everyone burst into laughter at the remark, the mockery clear.

But as they neared the latrines, they were dumbfounded.

A crowd had gathered—more people than at the temple’s main hall, the place was packed.

Curses and complaints rang out.

“Unbelievable! I’ve lived half my life and never heard of anything so absurd! This is outrageous!”