Night fell. Cool moonlight filtered through the mountain branches, casting faint, shifting shadows over the ground. The place's eerie, ominous atmosphere certainly lived up to its name.
Gao Xu and Lin Yueru walked one behind the other in silence, though different expressions flickered across their faces.
One look at them was enough to tell who had won the second round of their earlier contest~
When Lin Yueru first met him, she had carried herself like a proud peacock, her eyes darting about with haughty confidence. After losing to Gao Xu in the battle at Hidden Dragon Cave, her gaze had sometimes flashed with stubborn competitiveness and defiance. Now, with her lips puckered as though she could hang an oil bottle from them, all that remained was her cuteness...
In truth, although Tai Zhuonan had ultimately died by Gao Xu's sword, Lin Yueru had already broken Tai Zhuonan's saber technique. Judging the contest solely by their long-distance exchange, Gao Xu had lost.
Of course, that was because Tai Zhuonan's instinct for self-preservation had gotten the better of him at the end. He had ignored Gao Xu's guidance and fled in panic, only to ram his fragile throat against the sharp edge of the Flying Rainbow Sword. Gao Xu had then swiftly slashed it open!!!
Thus, Lin Yueru's One Yang Finger had only pierced Tai Zhuonan's chest after his life had already faded. Though the difference had been no more than a breath, it was enough to make Gao Xu the winner!
By rights, Gao Xu had won this contest through sheer luck more than anything, but Lin Yueru accepted her defeat wholeheartedly.
Lin Tiannan had taught her that luck was part of one's strength. If she spent every day blaming other people's good luck and making excuses for her own failures, she would never succeed!
Besides, Gao Xu had used Tai Zhuonan to predict her attacks. Compared with their earlier battle at Hidden Dragon Cave, his skill had improved by more than a little. His insight was something Lin Yueru simply couldn't match, and she had finally begun to make room for Gao Xu in her heart.
In the original story, if Li Xiaoyao hadn't defeated Lin Yueru twice, the young lady wouldn't have fallen for him and stayed by his side through thick and thin. By contrast, Liu Jinyuan, who valued scholarship over martial arts, had fawned over her at every turn, yet Lin Yueru had always seen him as a spineless fool. That showed just what kind of person she was: only by thoroughly wearing down her pride could anyone get through to her. Without that, even the most beautiful and romantic moonlit tryst would be pointless~
Lin Yueru's favorability had risen to 75 points, which was naturally cause for celebration. But what surprised Gao Xu even more was that he had grasped a new passive skill in battle—Guidance!
Guidance: C-rank passive skill, low-tier. Discerns an enemy's weaknesses and offers guidance to allied units, allowing them to partially evade skill damage. Cannot cause a backlash effect. Requires an Insight skill of the same rank or higher to be possessed and activated; otherwise, this skill cannot take effect. The success rate also depends on the rank of the Insight skill. This skill can be upgraded. Status: Active.
With two pieces of good news at once, Gao Xu quickly dealt with the bandits and obtained the Ghost Shadow Flower. Then, with an energized Lin Yueru at his side, he decided to press on and head straight for the Jade Buddha Temple.
Before long, the temple came into view in the distance, its rows of halls faintly visible to them in the darkness.
Lin Yueru moved closer to Gao Xu and asked in a low voice, "This temple looks so solemn and sacred. Why did you say there were demons here?"
"When an obsession runs too deep, it can turn into demonic fixation..." Gao Xu sighed. If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to face the being in the Jade Buddha Temple.
The abbot of the Jade Buddha Temple, Master Zhixiu, was the incarnation of Little Stone, the jade Buddha bead held by the Buddha himself. Having misunderstood Buddhist teachings, he stubbornly believed that making people renounce the world was enough to save all living beings and earn immeasurable merit. This led him down the wrong path, until Zhao Ling'er finally pointed out his error and brought him to his senses.
Master Zhixiu had been one of the most popular bosses in Gao Xu's previous life. Countless Reincarnators had thrown themselves into the Sword and Fairy world just to defeat him and obtain the jade Buddha bead, an accessory that was at least dark gold grade!
But though the wish was beautiful, reality was cruel. Master Zhixiu's signature skill, Boundless Buddha Dharma, was bad enough. His strongest and most shameless skill was summoning martial monks!
No one knew how many martial monks in the Jade Buddha Temple he had brainwashed. Every one of them was strong, and none feared death. Once summoned by his call, they would all charge out at once. It was just like the Scarlet Monastery in World of Warcraft: if you didn't clear out the grunts before going after the couple, even the sturdiest tank would be swallowed up by the sheer numbers in an instant...
Gao Xu knew how to counter that move, but it required a special item from another world. Without it, even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice—success was simply impossible.
After briefly explaining the temple's situation to Lin Yueru, Gao Xu found that she was both intrigued and daunted. A numbers-based strategy could be the simplest tactic and the hardest to counter. Unless they had overwhelming strength, they really would be powerless.
Gao Xu had chosen to come at night because he knew they had to use their wits, not force. Apart from Abbot Zhixiu, the other monks were ordinary people who kept normal hours.
As they slowly approached the temple gate, Gao Xu spotted several monks patrolling at night. An idea struck him, and he turned his face toward Lin Yueru and whispered to her.
Gao Xu's warm breath brushed her earlobe, and Lin Yueru shrank her neck, her pretty face turning red. She hadn't quite reached the point of truly liking Gao Xu yet, but she didn't dislike this kind of slightly intimate gesture, either. In fact, it was already a rather "dangerous" sign~
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" After hearing Gao Xu's plan, Lin Yueru's eyes lit with eagerness. She patted her ample chest and assured him she would handle it.
Gao Xu watched her graceful figure disappear into the darkness and let out a breath. As her favorability rose, Lin Yueru's attitude had changed considerably. She seemed willful and spoiled, but was actually perceptive and considerate. Both tough and tender, clever and quick-witted, she truly was lovable.
Lin Yueru soon returned, dragging a plump monk who had been knocked unconscious. She dropped him in front of Gao Xu and grinned. "Mission accomplished!"
Seeing her panting, Gao Xu asked with concern, "Are you all right? Did you alert any of the other monks?"
Lin Yueru was touched that he had worried about her first and asked about the others second. She instinctively lifted her pretty chin, then quickly lowered her head a little and answered, "I'm fine. This monk was just so heavy that he wore me out~"
In fact, Lin Yueru had deep reserves of internal energy, so carrying a monk weighing several hundred pounds would have been no problem. She had simply never done anything so thrilling before, and the excitement and nerves had made her lose her composure a little.
Gao Xu waited patiently for a while. When nothing much happened in the temple, he picked up the fat monk and headed in the opposite direction.
Choosing a large tree, Gao Xu tore off a strip of cloth and first gagged the fat monk with it, then pressed his philtrum to wake him.
Lin Yueru hadn't held back, and it took quite some time for the fat monk to come around. When he saw the two figures before him, he began frantically waving his arms and muffled cries poured from his gag.
Gao Xu held him down with one hand. Though the man was covered in fat, he had very little strength; a mere six points of Strength were enough to pin him down. Gao Xu couldn't help forming a plan.
After struggling for a while, the fat monk seemed to realize that Gao Xu and Lin Yueru weren't monsters or demons. At last, he stopped. Gao Xu smiled and gave him a Buddhist salute. "Please forgive this discourtesy, Master. But once I've said what I'm about to say, I doubt you'll hold it against me!"
The fat monk blinked in confusion, unable to guess what Gao Xu was getting at. But before long, his expression stiffened, and then he began nodding furiously.
Gao Xu asked only two questions: "Master, do you not want to be a monk, yet can't remember anything from before? And would you like to leave the Jade Buddha Temple and return to a peaceful, comfortable life?"
The fact that he couldn't remember his past was naturally the work of Abbot Zhixiu. In the original story, one of the famous monks at the Jade Buddha Temple was Zhizhang. He had once been a butcher who couldn't go without meat, and after becoming a monk, he was driven nearly mad by nothing but vegetables. He had taken to hacking at anyone he saw.
The fat monk had fair skin and delicate hands. It was obvious he had once lived a life of comfort, and his situation was probably much like Zhizhang's. Gao Xu had struck right at the heart of the matter, so it was no wonder the monk was so agitated...
Before you continue