"Whoa... whoa..." Just as Zen Master Mingyue performed his salute, the donkey cart not only failed to stop but actually sped up. Yuan Ya hurriedly grabbed the reins of the lame donkey and shouted loudly, trying to bring the cart to a halt! Yuan Ya was immensely strong. "Hee-haw..." The reins bit painfully into the lame donkey, making it rear up on its front legs and bray loudly. It sounded... almost as though it were answering Zen Master Mingyue's words.
The sudden advance and stop of the donkey cart had already thrown its passengers off balance. Xiao Jian staggered slightly atop the cart, then simply leaped down from it. After landing, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I wouldn't dare. This poor Daoist is merely a minor Daoist priest and cannot represent Daoism. Yet for the survival of our Daoist lineage today, this poor Daoist has boldly come to visit Little Gold Temple!"
Xiao Jian's voice was not soft, but amid the donkey's braying, it was difficult to hear clearly.
"Go to hell!" Seeing the lame donkey struggle desperately against the looped reins, Yuan Ya grew angry. He snapped the reins, leaped down from the cart first, and kicked the lame donkey squarely in the side of its rump.
Yuan Ya's kick was extremely powerful. "Hee-haw!" With a miserable cry, the lame donkey was actually kicked over onto the side of the mountain path, cart and all crashing down with it! Xiao Hua, who had been sitting cross-legged at the rear of the cart, also jumped down unhurriedly. His movements were nimble, but nothing about him stood out.
"Damn it!" Xiao Jian had just been behaving like an accomplished master, refined and courteous as he saluted Zen Master Mingyue. But at this sight, his expression changed drastically, and he