Chapter 138: Competition
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei had a constant feeling that Golden Roc Fort killers were hiding in the vicinity. It was only right that Supreme King would send personnel to keep an eye on a figure as important in Barren Sect as Kang Wenhui. However, not a single killer appeared as they made their way to the foot of the mountain on which Four Truths Temple was situated.
The four Barren Sect disciples took extreme caution. Kang Wenhui walked alongside the youth while the other three maintained at least ten steps’ distance away from each other to keep guard. If anything unexpected occurred, Gu Shenwei would be the first one to be killed.
It was already evening by the time they reached Leftslope Vihara. Gu Shenwei had been worried that the monks remained in the city to look for Maid Lotus, but he began to feel at ease when he saw two bald heads in the distance.
Kang Wenhui seemed to have some apprehension towards the temple, so she ordered her three disciples to hide nearby while she and the youth walked towards the huts.
Lianhua and Lianye were sitting facing each other on the grass outside the hut, with a huge dog crouched between them. Lianhua could be heard speaking rapidly, as though chanting a scripture. Lianye placed both palms together, while occasionally reaching a hand out to keep the dog still.
There was something bizarre about the scene. Upon closer observation, the two realized something even odder: the crouching dog was actually a gray wolf.
It was certainly not small in size. Whining, it scratched its front paws on the grass nervously and revealed its fiendish white teeth every now and then. However, it did not dare to sit up, and every time it turned its head back to look at Lianye, the latter would turn it back again.
Gu Shenwei could clearly hear the content of Lianhua’s chanting when he approached. It was, unquestionably, the more-than-ten-thousand-word-long Breaking Obsession .
The monks were, most surprisingly, trying to influence a wild wolf. Presumably, they were trying to emulate Master Tiger Monk’s taming of a tiger.
But according to what Gu Shenwei had heard, Master Tiger Monk had raised the tiger since it was young, whereas this wolf was a genuine wild beast.
When Lianye noticed that people were approaching, he simply ignored them and instead concentrated on restraining the gray wolf for his senior brother.
Kang Wenhui felt bewildered. She had never heard of monks trying to influence a wolf. Even more unexpectedly, the scripture which the monk was chanting seemed similar to – but contained a lot more content than – the secret manuscript she was after.
Kang Wenhui had imagined that there would be a bitter fight once they reached Four Truths Temple in order to obtain the entire scripture. On the contrary, anyone could listen freely to the chanting. The only problem was that the chanted scripture contained many differences with the scripture she was familiar with, and she could not ascertain which version was correct. Regardless, she became more trusting of Slave Huan’s words.
Gu Shenwei had no intention of letting Kang Wenhui listen to the entire scripture. Thus, he coughed a few times and spoke, “Master, Yang Huan is here to visit you.”
He had to repeat himself three times before Lianhua turned his head and smiled slightly. “Ah, the little benefactor is alive.”
“I’m indeed not dead, thanks to this senior who rescued me and gave me a few more years of life.”
Lianye turned his head and surveyed Kang Wenhui. “Gee, as a woman, your Internal Strength is stronger than mine? You were able to purge the evil force which I couldn’t?” He had previously attempted to heal Gu Shenwei without success, thereby explaining his current doubts.
While the two monks were distracted, the gray wolf found an opportunity to leap off the ground and run into the bushes with its tail between its legs.
Lianye was about to chase after it when Lianhua raised his hands to stop him. “Let it go. We don’t need a wild wolf now that we have this young benefactor.”
“What were you doing?” Kang Wenhui asked without responding to Lianye’s inquiry.
“Oh, we humble monks were enlightening a wild wolf, and have been chanting scripture to it for the whole day. The effect isn’t bad; the wolf’s killing desire has weakened a lot, a heart of goodness has been born in it, and it’s much more well-behaved than before. A pity you’ve scared it off.”
Gu Shenwei felt that the wolf’s improved behavior had, in all likelihood, nothing to do with the scripture but instead was a result of Lianye’s handling of it.
“I meant, what scripture were you chanting?” Despite many years of training as a killer, Kang Wenhui’s heart began to beat faster at this time.
Monk Lianhua’s eyes glimmered. “Lady benefactor has interest in Breaking Obsession as well? Your energetic spirit and murderous exterior tell me you’re most suitable to practice this scripture.”
Gu Shenwei hurriedly stepped forward, worried that the conversation between them would soon expose the truth. “Master, this senior’s purpose for being here is to listen to the full Exorcism Manuscript.”
Lianhua shook his head. “I only have a portion of, and not the complete, Exorcism Manuscript. However, if you’re willing to become a monk as well as my student, I can help you to distinguish the sounds, while Junior Brother Lianxin can share his notes with you. This won’t be difficult.”
Monk Lianhua was telling the truth. Master Tiger Monk had carefully observed the agreement with Maid Lotus and did not divulge the Death Scripture beyond a thousand words. But how could Kang Wenhui believe him when she had clearly heard him chanting the strange passage? As a killer, she naturally looked upon everyone with the eyes of one and suspected that the monk was lying.
Gu Shenwei turned and spoke softly to Kang Wenhui. “This particular monk yields only to a forceful approach. I’m afraid it’s time for Managing Master to show her hand. However, he doesn’t know any kungfu. It’s that big and tall monk who’ll be difficult to handle.”
Kang Wenhui humphed grimly and spoke toward the two monks. “Master, I feel that you’re unwilling to recite the entire scripture?”
“Lady benefactor wishes to listen to Breaking Obsession , right? Shanzai shanzai, we humble monks are only glad to help. Why would we be unwilling?”
Breaking Obsession was a more-than-ten-thousand-word long mantra created based on Death Scripture ‘s syllabic system. Kang Wenhui would certainly make no sense of the complex relationship between the two without the monk providing an explanation. Unfortunately, she simply felt that the monk was unwilling to tell the truth. “Breaking what? I want to listen to Wayless Book .”
The monks became deeply puzzled the instant she said that. Even Gu Shenwei was baffled; he had never heard of Wayless Book and wondered if this was another name for Death Scripture .
“We humble monks are practitioners of the way. Why would we have a book that teaches to abstain from the way? Lady benefactor must be kidding.”
“Wasn’t it you who taught this little fella the passage that he knows?”
Gu Shenwei hastily offered his explanation. “Before he died, Master Tiger Monk taught me a small section of the scripture but didn’t impart the rest. The only person in the world right now who has the ability to review this scripture is Monk Lianhua.”
” ‘Only’ is stretching it. In this temple, there are several senior and junior brothers who have also studied Nanke Goes Woodchopping .”
Kang Wenhui became ever more confused the more she listened, but she had no doubt that the monk was well-versed in the scripture which was vital to her. As a killer, she certainly did not know what fair play was and thought that if she planted the peripheral force in the monk’s body and made him feel a little pain, he would give her anything she wanted. Thus, with a sway of her figure, she appeared in front of Monk Lianhua.
Her pointed finger was only an inch away from Lianhua’s front chest when she felt a strong sense of danger from behind and quickly dodged away. It was Lianye who had come to the rescue.
The lady and the latter monk fought around Monk Lianhua. Kang Wenhui’s fingers were becoming increasingly red and made a hissing noise as they swept through the air. Although Lianye seemed clumsy and his movements were simple and plain, he was able to not only protect his senior brother but also strike back at her.
Within a short span of time, the two had already exchanged more than ten different movements between themselves. Monk Lianhua, who stood in between them, only began to open his mouth after their exchange. “Stop it, junior brother. You’ve broken precept once more.”
Lianye’s face changed color when he heard that. Repeating the phrase “no more fighting” to himself, he held on to his senior brother and fled.
Gu Shenwei, who was carefully observing from the side, felt that Kang Wenhui’s kungfu was not as good as he had imagined, and was, in fact, slightly inferior to Lianye’s. This gave him some much-needed assurance.
But the lady did not think she was losing. “It’s not up to you to decide whether or not to fight,” she shouted as she demonstrated her Lightness Skill, chasing behind the monks.
Seeing that their master had begun to fight, the other three Barren Sect disciples joined in. Like Golden Roc Fort, they understood that teamwork was more important than single combat. Taking up different positions, they helped Kang Wenhui to trap the monks.
Although Lianye was big and tall, his Lightness Skill was not weak. With his senior brother in his arms, he ran around several huts in such a manner that the four females were unable to hem them in.
This was a good opportunity for Gu Shenwei to escape, but knowing that his own Lightness Skill was merely average, he felt worried that he would be foiled the moment he was noticed. The safer way was still to incite the two parties into a fierce battle. It would not do for them to just be chasing and running like this.
“Stop it, all of you! I’ve got something to say!”
The two parties ran another two rounds around the huts before they stopped. Kang Wenhui was the first to do so, followed by her three disciples. At a safe distance away from the four females, Lianye placed his senior brother down, then stood with his palms together and silently chanted in confession.
“Aye, the four female benefactors will need to practice Breaking Obsession now.”
Kang Wenhui paid no attention to the pedantic monk and asked Gu Shenwei, “What did you want to say?”
He walked up to her before he replied, “I’ll persuade the monk to read out the scripture.” He then moved over to Monk Lianhua and said, “Master, I have a suggestion which I’m not sure how you’ll receive: allow Monk Lianye to engage in a fight with the lady benefactors. If he loses, I’ll have to trouble you to teach them the correct pronunciation of the entire scripture. But if they lose, I shall volunteer to shave my head, become a monk, and learn Breaking Obsession . I vow never to reincarnate if I don’t get rid of my killing desire.”
Gu Shenwei’s plan was that, if Kang Wenhui lost, he would claim that his killing desire was too great while he still had many secular matters to settle, and therefore that he needed a period of time before he could become a monk. As for how long this period continued for would be up to him to decide. In any case, with the two peripheral forces residing in his body, he would be near death by the time he acknowledged the monk as his teacher.
These calculations were certainly not bad, but unfortunately, Monk Lianhua shook his head. “That’s inappropriate. Whenever there’s a fight, there’s killing. Junior Brother Lianye’s concentration isn’t deep. If he accidentally kills a lady benefactor, his killing desire would subsequently be reignited, and his efforts over the past decade would be wiped out just like that. That certainly won’t do.”
As the two were speaking at a normal volume, Kang Wenhui was able to hear them clearly, and in response, she snorted contemptuously. She had yet to reveal her best move and was entirely sure that she would not be killed. She suddenly thought of an idea and raised it in a loud voice. “Don’t worry, I have a method for us to compete and decide a winner without killing each other.”
But Lianxin continued to shake his head. “How’s that possible? Whenever there’s fighting, there’s death.”
“Not necessarily. I just heard a while ago Monk Lianhe saying that his Internal Strength is a lot stronger than mine. We can compete about that without exchanging blows. We’ll compete to see who can purge the peripheral forces from Yang Huan’s body. This way, we’ll be saving a life instead of harming one.”
Lianhua did not know a lot about kungfu, but because the female benefactor had spoken well, he could not help but nod his head. “Have the things in the little one’s body not been cleansed yet?”
“To do so won’t be easy,” Kang Wenhui quickly responded.
Lianhua lowered his head and pondered, but Lianye was already eager to get going. Before he became a monk, kungfu was his life, and he rarely met anyone who was his match. The few moves he exchanged with Kang Wenhui earlier had made him itchy and restless. He had treated a disease for Gu Shenwei before and understood the strengths and weaknesses of the evil forces in the latter’s body. He believed that even if he was unable to completely remove the forces, he would still do better than the lady.
Only Gu Shenwei knew that the competition was unfair. Peripheral Forces were the trademark skill of Barren Sect. Although Kang Wenhui might not be able to completely remove the force implanted in his Xuanji acupoint by Mama Xue, she would certainly be able to remove the force in his Baihui acupoint, and therefore should defeat the monk in one aspect.
If Kang Wenhui was to win, Gu Shenwei would have to recite the entire scripture for Monk Lianhua to assess his pronunciation, and his lies would be completely exposed. However, with the force removed from his Baihui acupoint, he would at least not have to worry about two qigong deviations overlapping.
Gu Shenwei found himself in a dilemma.
