"Alms-Seeking"

Enemies surrounded him from every direction, yet Meng Qi remained unhurried. He raised his saber and deflected the peddler's longsword, then lowered his body, allowing the old man's dagger to stab into his back while also causing the huqin-playing elder's thin sword to miss the vital point between his shoulder blades and strike slightly higher instead.

The woman among the couple thus lost her throat, while the man struck Meng Qi's chin. The Ground Stance Saber had no trouble at all, cleaving directly into both of Meng Qi's legs.

Although the peddler in front had failed to land his blow, a smug sneer involuntarily surfaced on his face. He had deliberately exposed a flaw in his disguise earlier, setting up this ambush!

Puff, puff, puff! A string of sounds like blows striking rotten leather rang out, and the peddler's smile froze on his face.

He saw that all his companions' weapons seemed to have stabbed iron blocks. They could penetrate only a little, drawing a few beads of blood. Meanwhile, the Little Monk withdrew his long saber and followed through with a move called Sweep the World.

A head flew into the air, blood surging upward like a waterfall. The peddler's vision turned scarlet. He saw the headless body of the woman from the couple sway before crumpling to the ground.

He actually has such an Iron Body Skill! The peddler was consumed by regret. He had never imagined that a monk so young could cultivate such profound body-hardening techniques!

Meng Qi ignored the huqin-playing elder and the old man from the tea stall behind him. He suddenly stepped diagonally forward, arriving precisely where the man with the Ground Stance Saber had retreated. His long saber swept down, spraying more blood and staining his white leg wrappings red.

Then his foot slid, and he strangely crashed backward, brushing past the old man from the tea stall.

A head flew sideways, blood spurted out, and Meng Qi bore only a shallow wound across his chest.

Seeing this, the peddler was scared witless. He lost his usual composure, spun around in panic, and fled as if escaping an evil ghost.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he saw the handsome Little Monk blocking his path.

"Die!" In his panic, he stabbed toward Meng Qi's brow, unwilling to become entangled with him.

Meng Qi, his chin wounded, gritted his teeth and smiled. The expression was exceptionally savage. He raised his left hand and seized the peddler's longsword directly. Ignoring the blade as it sliced his palm and sent blood streaming, he yanked it backward and swung his saber.

"No..." The peddler's shriek abruptly ceased, his throat spraying blood all over Meng Qi's head and face.

On the other side, the huqin-playing elder trembled all over, let out a strange cry, and fled at full speed, leaving Meng Qi unable to catch him.

So this is exchanging a small wound for a major one? After the battle ended, Meng Qi exhaled a breath of stale air, wiped the filthy blood from his face, and walked toward the survivors inside the tea stall.

The wealthy young master, his maid, and the guards stared at the scene in stupefaction, unable to comprehend what had happened. Only when streams of blood spurted out and heads fell one after another, when the monk who seemed to have walked out of the Blood Hell of Avici arrived before them, did they come to their senses. Trembling violently, they fell to their knees and begged for mercy.

"Great Master, Great Master, I have always been devout in worshipping Buddha. Please spare this wretched life," the wealthy young master pleaded, tears and mucus streaming down his face.

"I merely wanted to ask for directions. How does one reach Shaohua Mountain?" Meng Qi asked with a faint smile. Yet against the backdrop of blood covering his face and body, the wealthy young master and the others found that smile horrifyingly sinister.

One of the guards barely managed to suppress his trembling and honestly told Meng Qi what he knew.

Meng Qi nodded slightly, mischief surging in his heart. "This humble monk observes that all of you benefactors share a karmic affinity with my Buddha..."

"Please don't, Great Master! I don't want to go meet the Buddha yet! I have an eighty-year-old grandmother above me and a three-year-old child below me. I'll give you anything you want!" The wealthy young master burst into tears.

"This humble monk merely wishes to borrow your horses. Would you be willing to form this virtuous affinity?" The more terrified they became, the more enthusiastically Meng Qi played the role of a "holy monk."

The wealthy young master glanced at the blood on Meng Qi's face. How could he dare say no? "Since the Great Master wishes to form a virtuous affinity, I could ask for nothing better. Please take the horses."

"This humble monk is no bandit. Take this Jade Pendant as collateral for borrowing the horses." Seeing that it was getting late, Meng Qi stopped frightening them.

The wealthy young master immediately burst into tears again. "Great Master, I offer it willingly! This is an offering for worshipping Buddha. How could I possibly take your collateral?"

He waved his hands desperately, refusing to accept the Jade Pendant even if it cost him his life. He suspected this was a test by the monk. If he really accepted the pendant, he feared he would lose his head.

Meng Qi was stunned for a moment. "Amitabha Buddha. This humble monk thanks you for your kindness."

The wealthy young master let out a long sigh of relief. "I should be the one thanking the Great Master for enlightening me."

Meng Qi suddenly recalled a famous line. With a smile that was not quite a smile, he looked at the wealthy young master's luggage. "This humble monk observes that your wealth also shares a karmic affinity with my Buddha."

The wealthy young master pulled a long face, forced himself to look devout, and handed his money pouch to Meng Qi. "Please use this to powder your Golden Body and enlighten the common people."

He really gave it to me... So this is what alms-seeking feels like? Meng Qi curled his lips. He said nothing more and called Qi Zhengyan and the others over. They split up to inspect the corpses and search for dried food and fresh water.

After a while, Xiang Hui led over four horses. He first tied the dried food and fresh water they had found to both sides of the saddles, then looked at Meng Qi, whose wounds had just been bandaged, with a beaming smile. "Divine Monk, when shall we set out? We have only three days. We cannot delay..."

Meng Qi nodded lightly. "We leave now."

To be honest, Meng Qi had always thought that after witnessing the battle, Xiang Hui's attitude toward him would change considerably. After all, the battle had fully displayed his strength. He was merely a Minor Qi Accumulation practitioner with an Iron Body Skill, yet he was at the same realm as Xiang Hui. Who would have thought that Xiang Hui would still fawn over him like this?

Perhaps he feels he has no confidence in defeating me?

Hearing Meng Qi's answer, Xiang Hui immediately mounted his horse, skillfully tightening the reins as he waited to depart.

Meng Qi looked at the horses before him, feeling somewhat apprehensive. He had never ridden a horse before, but he now possessed martial arts and nimble movements. Since he was only traveling and not riding into battle, he was not worried.

"G-Great Master..." Suddenly, the young Xiao Zi spoke timidly.

Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan turned to look at her without saying anything.

Xiao Zi looked mortified, as if on the verge of tears. "Great Master, I... I don't know how to ride a horse."

That was indeed a problem. Meng Qi frowned slightly as he sized up Xiao Zi. She was merely an ordinary girl. In such a short time, she probably would not be able to learn how to ride.

At that moment, Meng Qi suddenly recalled what Jiang Zhiwei had said when advising him to learn Lightness Skill first. He found it especially reasonable now. If you cannot even keep up with others, how can they protect you in an emergency? Even if they truly have a few drops of a Bodhisattva's compassion!

Seeing Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan frown in silence, Xiao Zi suddenly grew nervous. Her voice trembling, she said, "Great Master, I... I can learn to ride. Please don't abandon me!"

She was unfamiliar with everything here and could only cling tightly to Meng Qi, who seemed reasonably kind and compassionate. Although they had known each other for only a short while, if she were abandoned here, it would not be long before someone abducted her and sold her into places like brothels. She had no ability to resist at all.

Meng Qi looked her up and down and noticed quite a bit of blood on the front of her clothes. He realized it had gotten there when she had followed his instructions and inspected the corpses.

Remembering how Xiao Zi had been terrified of the corpses yet still gritted her teeth and worked hard to complete the task, Meng Qi sighed inwardly. Heaven helps those who help themselves...

"Learning to ride on short notice will probably take too long. Miss Xiao Zi, if you do not mind, ride with me." Meng Qi deliberately recited a Buddhist invocation to make his status as a monk clear, lest Xiao Zi hesitate over the propriety between men and women.

Although this meant Meng Qi felt he could abandon her later without a burden on his conscience, since he intended to be a good person, he should consider the details as much as possible from the start.

Xiao Zi froze for a moment. Then her dark, lacquer-black eyes misted over. Pressing her palms together, she said, "The Great Master has the heart of a Bodhisattva. I thank you in advance."

Behind Meng Qi, Xiang Hui subconsciously curled his lips. In his opinion, a powerless girl like this should never be brought along. He would have found somewhere to enjoy himself for a while, then simply abandoned her there.

Qi Zhengyan did not stop Meng Qi from making the decision. He still wore that solemn, unsmiling expression, though whenever he looked at Meng Qi, he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Miss Xiao Zi, sit behind me, and remember to hold my monk's robe tightly." Meng Qi lent her a hand and helped Xiao Zi onto the horse.

Before he had finished speaking, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart. Having someone he was not familiar with sitting behind him seemed a little too careless. He therefore changed his mind. "Miss Xiao Zi, you should sit in front instead. I am worried you might be thrown off."

Xiao Zi naturally had no objection. She moved to the front of the saddle. Meng Qi mounted behind her, wrapped both arms around her, and took hold of the reins.

Xiao Zi's face flushed crimson, but she was not overly bashful. After all, Meng Qi was still only a boy of twelve or thirteen.

Qi Zhengyan rode one horse while leading another and nodded slightly. "Junior Brother Zhending, I was worried that you lacked experience in the martial world."

Meng Qi knew he was referring to his decision to have Xiao Zi sit in front rather than behind him. He answered awkwardly, "I really do lack experience. I was actually deceived by that peddler earlier. But that wasn't the biggest mistake. The biggest mistake was asking for directions at the tea stall. If we had simply stopped a passerby along the road, we likely would not have encountered those pursuers..."

After the battle, he had carefully replayed the entire process in his mind, examining his gains and losses. He had discovered many childish flaws in his conduct.

Meng Qi knew clearly that his talent was certainly inferior to that of Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and the others. If he did not reflect on himself three times a day, making up for his deficiencies and improving himself, his prospects would be bleak.

After quietly listening to Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan turned his head toward the road ahead and said in a low voice, "I was careless too."

Pfft. Meng Qi laughed inwardly and said nothing more. He removed the Jade Pendant from his body and tossed it backward, sending it directly into the wealthy young master's arms.

Then he urged his horse forward and called out with a hearty laugh amid the clopping hooves, "That is payment for the horse!"

The wealthy young master caught the Jade Pendant blankly. He watched Meng Qi, clad in gray monk's robes, disappear into the distant road amid the billowing dust. Only after a long while did he mutter, "He actually paid..."

The Jade Pendant was translucent and warm, and anyone could tell it was worth a great deal.

He had never imagined that, in such circumstances, the Little Monk, who killed people as casually as cutting grass, would actually pay honestly and conduct a fair trade!

Not to mention monks who were constantly begging for alms—even an ordinary person would surely have grown greedy and taken it by force!

"Master, he seems even more like a monk than the eminent abbots who usually come here..." The beautiful maid looked just as bewildered.

"Was that not alms-seeking?" Qi Zhengyan asked, somewhat surprised, as he watched Meng Qi toss away the Jade Pendant. "This is the Reincarnation World. In an emergency, one can act outside the ordinary rules."

After all, no one here knew them. Once they completed the mission, they would leave.

Meng Qi put away his usual smile and said very seriously, "If, when no one is watching and we are in an unfamiliar place, we indulge our desires and do things that violate our principles, then how are we any different from people without principles? In the Reincarnation World, I feel we should hold to ourselves even more. Otherwise, after one mission after another, our temperaments will eventually change completely. We will become asuras and fall forever into the Sea of Suffering."

His thoughts were not yet complete or deep-rooted. He merely felt that he should hold on to himself, lest he eventually become someone he himself would wish to kill.

Besides, because of the Small Jade Buddha, he had not wanted to carry that Jade Pendant on him anyway.

Qi Zhengyan raised his head and gazed at the road ahead, his tone tinged with melancholy. "Can you really hold on? If the missions issued by the Lord of Six Paths Samsara conflict with your bottom line, and failure means death, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself for righteousness? Attain Buddhahood on the spot?"

"This..." The extreme situation Qi Zhengyan described left Meng Qi unable to answer. He could only sigh. "There's no way to imagine it now. We'll know when the time comes... However, we also need to save up more Merit Points, in case they are deducted for failing a mission."

The horses' hooves moved, and dust billowed through the air. Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan fell silent once more, concentrating on their journey.

Two days later, the four of them were already not far from Shaolin. Since they had not spared the horses' strength, they seemed to have shaken off their pursuers and had encountered no battles.

"At the crossroads ahead, we'll abandon the horses and enter the mountains. We'll arrive once we cross this stretch of woodland." Meng Qi told Xiang Hui and Xiao Zi about the decision he and Qi Zhengyan had made.

From the signs so far, the pursuers had apparently not expected them to travel so quickly and had failed to catch up in time. However, Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan both believed the other side would have no shortage of carrier pigeons or other long-distance communication methods. They could easily warn nearby experts to intercept them at key routes, so they could no longer continue along the main road.

If they crossed the mountains instead, everywhere would become a "road." No matter how many experts Du'er Cha had under his command, they could not completely seal off the region. Even if his army arrived, the same would hold true!

Xiao Zi and Xiang Hui naturally had no objections to their decision.

It was now near dusk, and torrential rain poured down. The road ahead was almost impossible to see. Suddenly, Meng Qi felt the fine horse beneath him trip over something. It immediately leaped into the air, throwing both him and Xiao Zi off.

Then dozens of White Feather Arrows let out strange, mournful whistles. They pierced through the curtain of rain, shooting from the roadside woods straight toward Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan, and the others.