The Monk Who Came Riding on Light

"Hisssss!" While Fang Mu was shrouded in Buddha's light and rapidly recovering from his injuries, a hissing cry rang out.

A two-headed serpent poked its heads out from the main hall and hissed viciously at him and the little monk.

"Benefactor! Rest and recover properly. I'll go teach that beast a lesson!"

The moment the little monk finished speaking, Fang Mu saw a streak of golden light rush into the main hall. A powerful gust swept the two-headed serpent inside.

As the hall doors creaked shut, a series of thunderous clashes rang out from within.

Outside the hall, Fang Mu stared dumbfounded as golden light blazed from behind the tightly closed doors. The entire ground trembled violently, as though an earth dragon were rolling over beneath it.

Soon, cries of agony rang out, and spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground.

The sounds inside the hall abruptly ceased. Then, as the doors shattered into dust, the little monk—his entire body shrouded in golden light—slowly walked out through the ruined entrance.

"Bang!" Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass rang out.

The wall of light enveloping the temple suddenly broke apart, scattering into specks of starlight before vanishing.

Fang Mu jumped in fright. Seeing the darkness sweep toward him, he hurriedly activated the Golden Sword, transforming it into golden light that enveloped his entire body.

"Benefactor! This sword of yours resembles an object of the Buddhist Sect. Could you let me take a look?"

As the voice fell, Fang Mu discovered that the Golden Sword in his hand had suddenly disappeared and ended up in the little monk's hands nearby.

Fang Mu was greatly startled and was just about to snatch it back when the little monk voluntarily handed the Golden Sword back to him.

"Amitabha! Please don't take offense, Benefactor. Some time ago, the people of Shanfo Town were slaughtered."

"I was ordered to retrieve the Golden Buddha, a secret treasure of the Buddhist Sect, but discovered that it had been stolen."

"I sensed fragments of the Golden Buddha's aura, which was why I came here."

"You're saying my Golden Sword is your Golden Buddha?"

Fang Mu took back the Golden Sword, retreated a step, and questioned him warily.

"This..."

"To be honest, Benefactor, the aura of your Golden Sword is indeed extremely similar to that of the Golden Buddha."

"It's merely similar. Do you think my Golden Sword looks anything like your Golden Buddha?"

"If the Golden Buddha were forged into a Golden Sword, that wouldn't be impossible."

The little monk stared at the Golden Sword in Fang Mu's hand, his face filled with suspicion.

Damn! He's really not easy to fool! Fang Mu cursed inwardly and hurriedly questioned him, "Is your Golden Buddha made of ordinary gold? Is it easy to melt down?"

"Not at all. The Golden Buddha is a secret treasure of the Buddhist Sect. Its golden body is made from meteoric iron from beyond the heavens, mixed with several rare materials."

"It was personally forged by the Buddhist Sect's master artificer, who spent several months completing it."

The moment the little monk finished speaking, Fang Mu's eyes lit up. He retorted, "Exactly! Something that difficult to make—do you think I have the means to alter the Golden Buddha?"

"And your Golden Buddha only went missing recently, right?"

"This Golden Sword of mine is a family heirloom. It's been with me since I was a child. You can't seize it by force!"

"Kindness, kindness! Benefactor, don't misunderstand. I'm absolutely not a greedy man."

The little monk pressed his palms together and recited several lines of scripture. For a moment, he was bewildered as well, wondering whether he had truly sensed incorrectly.

"Roar! Roar!" Suddenly, one mournful howl after another rang out.

"Oh no!" Seeing darkness engulf the side hall, Fang Mu cried out and darted toward it.

A streak of golden light was faster than Fang Mu. In an instant, it rushed into the side hall, and the golden light suddenly blazed, illuminating the entire hall.

After sweeping into the side hall, Fang Mu flashed to the entrance of the cellar, moved aside the stone slabs, and hurriedly leaped down.

Fang Jing and the others inside the cellar were all unharmed, allowing Fang Mu to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

A treasured sword in Wen Xuan's hand radiated azure light, sheltering everyone inside and holding back the Darkness Invasion.

When he saw the Golden Sword radiating golden light in Fang Mu's hand, he couldn't help feeling surprised.

"Oh? What a coincidence! I never expected to encounter a senior brother from the academy here!"

The little monk suddenly appeared beside Fang Mu. He looked at Wen Xuan in surprise and greeted him with a smile.

Fang Mu had already grown accustomed to the little monk's coming and going like a ghost.

He looked at Wen Xuan curiously, wondering what kind of place the academy the little monk had mentioned was.

"So it's Senior Brother Fo Wuying. Wen Xuan pays his respects!"

Wen Xuan seemed to know the little monk. He rose and returned the salute.

"You know me?" The little monk asked Wen Xuan in surprise.

Wen Xuan merely smiled and nodded without explaining.

"This humble monk is Wuying. May I ask your name, Benefactor?"

At that moment, the little monk suddenly bowed to Fang Mu and asked.

"Fang Mu greets Master Wuying!"

"Good! I'll remember you. Leave this Golden Zen Staff with you for now. I'll come back for it later. Don't lose it."

Fang Mu stared dumbfounded at the astonishingly heavy Golden Zen Staff that had suddenly appeared in his hands, as well as the little monk, who had transformed into an afterimage and vanished.

"Hey, hey! Take your Golden Zen Staff with you!" Fang Mu shouted anxiously.

But the little monk ran faster than a rabbit. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished, disappearing from Fang Mu's range of perception.

Though the Golden Zen Staff dazzled with golden light, it was clearly a supreme treasure at a glance.

But Fang Mu was used to keeping a low profile. He didn't like becoming a firefly in the darkness, drawing the covetous attention of countless people.

More importantly, this thing wasn't even his. Guarding it with his life was completely meaningless.

"How about you take the Golden Zen Staff? You know the little monk anyway. You can return it to him later."

Fang Mu turned his gaze toward Wen Xuan and offered him a smile.

"No, no, no. I'm not taking this thing."

"That Golden Zen Staff looks incredibly heavy. I don't want it. Besides, it's far too valuable. If I lost it, the entire Buddhist Sect might hunt me down. I don't want it!"

"..."

"Damn! It's that dangerous?"

Fang Mu's face darkened as he watched Wen Xuan retreat repeatedly, waving his hands with an expression of absolute refusal. He grew somewhat irritated.

"How about I don't take it and just leave it here—or bury it?"

Hearing Fang Mu's question, Wen Xuan was stunned. He looked at Fang Mu speechlessly and warned him, "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"This Golden Zen Staff is incomparably precious. It's a supreme treasure of the Buddhist Sect, and it doesn't belong to Fo Wuying. If you lose it, hehe..."

"If you don't die, you'll probably still be dragged to the Buddhist Sect to eat vegetarian food and chant scriptures for the rest of your life."

"..."

Seeing that Wen Xuan wasn't joking, Fang Mu nearly burst into tears.

Damn it, this is truly disaster falling from the heavens! That wretched little monk was far too unscrupulous, tossing precious treasures around at random.

If you don't want it, throw it away yourself! What do you mean by giving it to me? Do you think I'm honest and easy to bully?

Fang Mu was furious, yet helpless. In the end, he could only sigh and accept reality.

However, he had certainly made a note of this grudge against the little monk.

He swore that once his strength grew, he would give the little monk a savage beating to vent his anger and ease the resentment in his heart.

With a loud bang, Fang Mu set the Golden Zen Staff against the ground, nearly throwing out his back from the effort.

The Golden Zen Staff really was extraordinarily heavy. With Fang Mu's current strength, holding it was like lifting a mountain, and it felt unbearably cumbersome.

"I'll leave it here for now. I'm going out to take care of something." After leaving the Golden Zen Staff behind with those instructions, Fang Mu flashed out of the cellar.

As he watched Fang Mu leave, Wen Xuan stared thoughtfully at the Golden Zen Staff. An unreadable look flickered through his eyes.

In the darkness outside the temple, two figures shrouded in light whispered to each other. "Why would the Buddhist Sect send someone to this remote place?"

"Could it be that the old head monk has divined some news?"

"Not sure! But we have to keep a low profile during this period and avoid attracting the Buddhist Sect's attention."

"Mm! What about that matter?"

"Just follow the original plan."

When their voices faded, the two figures disappeared into the darkness.