Zen Master Yinke

"You want to see the Abbot? Uh... the Abbot might not have time," the tall, thin monk said with a troubled expression.

"Monks should be..." Guo Ming stated the daily routine that monks should follow.

He had traveled to many famous mountains and ancient temples; how could he not know these things?

"The Abbot is busy with other matters," the tall, thin monk quickly added.

This made Guo Ming's expression even worse. If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better excuse.

They've already sealed off the mountain, what could he possibly be so busy with?

"You bald donkey, you really don't know what's good for you," Chu Danqing said with a laugh, pulling out a small silver ingot and tossing it to him. "Thank you for taking us in at your esteemed temple. I thought I'd offer some incense money."

"And have the Abbot copy two sets of scriptures for us to take back. Don't drag your feet on something so simple."

After the tall, thin monk caught the small silver ingot, he heard there was more money, and greed flashed in his eyes.

But then he thought about who their Abbot was, and his heart trembled.

"I... I'll go ask the Abbot," the tall, thin monk gritted his teeth. Anyone who doesn't take money is a fool.

Besides, he was confident he could persuade his 'Abbot' to meet these two.

With that, the tall, thin monk turned and left.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing and Guo Ming exchanged a look, a smile appearing on each of their faces.

The two of them played good cop and bad cop, then exploited the other's greed to break through.

About ten minutes later, the tall, thin monk returned to invite them, saying the Abbot wished to see them.

Under his guidance, they soon arrived at a room where a stove was burning, making it extremely warm.

They saw an old monk who looked kind and benevolent, stroking his prayer beads as if silently chanting scriptures.

"This is our Abbot, Zen Master Yinke," the tall, thin monk introduced.

Chu Danqing and Guo Ming sat directly in front of him. Da Bao stood behind Chu Danqing, ready to act at any moment.

"I heard you two benefactors wished to obtain two hand-copied scriptures. I am currently indisposed, so I can only offer scriptures from the Scripture Repository as a gift," Zen Master Yinke said slowly, opening his eyes.

"Such a generous gift from you, Zen Master. We are deeply grateful," Chu Danqing replied.

As they spoke, the Zen Master's head seemed to grow larger, looking extremely strange.

The two of them pretended not to notice and continued to chat with Zen Master Yinke.

At first, the conversation was superficial, and Zen Master Yinke could still handle it. As the topics deepened, Zen Master Yinke began to struggle.

Finally, he could only say: "I am tired today. I will speak with you two benefactors again after some time."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Da Bao.

Chu Danqing and Guo Ming posed no threat to him, but Da Bao was different and needed to be treated with caution.

"Then we shall take our leave," Chu Danqing said. As he stood up, he took the opportunity to use the Scrutiny Technique on Zen Master Yinke.

In an instant, Zen Master Yinke's gaze turned ferocious, and his lips curled into a grin, revealing sharp teeth.

Fortunately, he quickly regained control.

"My apologies, I caught a cold earlier, and my face is a bit stiff," Zen Master Yinke quickly made an excuse.

Chu Danqing's expression remained unchanged, and he immediately said, "Your Eminence should take better care of your body."

After speaking, the three of them left the room. Guo Ming wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "That was close, I was terrified."

He thought Zen Master Yinke was about to attack when he changed just now. Fortunately, the other party wasn't hungry, so he didn't act immediately.

The three of them didn't stop on the way back to their lodging. Only then did Chu Danqing have time to examine the other party's data.

[Zen Master Yinke]

[Attributes]

[HP: 10%]

[Mana: None]

[Strength: 1]

[Agility: 1]

[Constitution: 1]

[Spirit: 5]

[Perception: 5]

Chu Danqing looked at the attributes and felt something was wrong. Could this be the data for a Zhanji Tiger?

The name was wrong, the stats were low, and it didn't even have talents or skills.

"This Zhanji Tiger has truly become a spirit. Not only can it command Chang Gui, but it can now also disguise itself as a human. It's just that it's not proficient in this magic, which is why it was so flawed," Guo Ming said after gulping down a large amount of tea to calm his nerves.

Chu Danqing didn't dwell on how Guo Ming knew this for the moment and instead asked, "Does this ability to disguise itself as a human reduce the Zhanji Tiger's strength?"

"Of course not."

"However, this human skin is extremely fragile for a tiger. If one isn't careful, it could shatter, so we must proceed with utmost caution."

Guo Ming added, "The skin that has been peeled off is no ordinary object either."

"If it's worn by a fierce tiger for an extended period, it can also become a ghost. It might even transform into a Painted Skin Chang Gui."

At this point, Chu Danqing finally understood. The attributes he had detected were correct, but they belonged to the human skin, not the Zhanji Tiger.

The Zhanji Tiger's sudden outburst earlier wasn't caused by Chu Danqing's Scrutiny Technique. It happened when Chu Danqing was scrutinizing Zen Master Yinke's human skin, and the skin mutated. The Zhanji Tiger, mistaking this for a rebellion, warned the human skin.

Zen Master Yinke and the Zhanji Tiger were not a single entity.

"It's a shame we are trapped in the temple. These Chang Gui are extremely fond of sour things. If we could find some fresh plums, dried plums, or other sour items, it would be enough to lure the Chang Gui in the temple away," Guo Ming said with a sigh.

Hearing this, Chu Danqing quietly replied, "This... I have some."

As he spoke, Chu Danqing produced a bottle of vinegar and asked, "Is this enough?"

Guo Ming looked slightly surprised. "Sleeve Universe? That's unlikely. To possess such a magical art, Brother Chu's lineage must be quite profound."

"It's just Wild Fox Zen, nothing compared to yours," Chu Danqing replied.

"If there are only three or five Chang Gui, this bottle of vinegar should suffice, but it's a pity..." Guo Ming implied it wasn't enough.

As Chu Danqing spoke, he brought out a case of apple cider vinegar drinks and a considerable amount of sour fruits.

"Brother Chu, you carry these foods with you when you go out?" Guo Ming was somewhat taken aback.

"There was more originally, but Da Bao ate quite a bit of it," Chu Danqing said honestly.

Guo Ming glanced at Da Bao's physique and found it perfectly reasonable.

"Alright, we'll make our move tonight!" Guo Ming suddenly felt confident. "Eliminating the Chang Gui in the temple won't be difficult."

"Only the Zhanji Tiger..." Speaking of which, Guo Ming paused, a plan forming in his mind. "I remember there's a dry well in the Zhanji Tiger's courtyard."

"We'll work together to lure the Zhanji Tiger and push it into the well, then have Da Bao seal it with a large stone."

"A moment's delay will be enough."

Chu Danqing, however, didn't quite understand. "Why don't we just lure away the Chang Gui and kill the Zhanji Tiger directly? There's no need to deal with the Chang Gui first, right?"

"Brother Chu, you may not know this, but the Chang Gui are the tiger's strength. Killing them weakens it."

"Once all the Chang Gui are dead, the Zhanji Tiger will have lost at least thirty to forty percent of its strength. This also cuts off its possibility of recovering by devouring the Chang Gui," Guo Ming explained to Chu Danqing.

"I see." Chu Danqing suddenly understood, then said meaningfully, "Brother Guo, your background is extraordinary; your family's knowledge is truly profound."