The next morning, Wang Hao got up early to chop wood, and he was also assigned the task of fetching water.
Since this was a job that the stand-in had found earlier, he naturally had to continue it, at least until he attracted the attention of Shaomu Temple without revealing any flaws.
What Wang Hao didn't know was that while he was working, the innkeeper was already plotting how to get rid of him.
There was nothing they could do; the chores at their inn were limited, and even if the bald man did them exceptionally well, it wouldn't cover his food expenses.
After all, that's ten times the amount of food a normal person eats. It's fine in the short term, but it's a loss in the long term. Nobody would do something that loses money.
He had endured it for the past two weeks, and now he didn't want to endure it any longer.
Having made up his mind, he instructed the waiter early in the morning to keep an eye out for Shaomu Temple who came in for a meal and to inform him.
This city is located at the foot of Shaomu Temple Mountain. It is the closest city and the only road leading to Shaomu Temple, so there are quite a few monks traveling to and from it.
Soon a monk arrived with several lay disciples to buy vegetarian food. It just so happened that this monk was acquainted with the innkeeper and had eaten and stayed at the inn many times. When the waiter saw this man, he hurriedly ran to the back to report. A moment later, the innkeeper came out quickly.
" Grandmaster Daozheng, how have you been?"
The shopkeeper greeted him with a smile and a cupped-hand salute.
" Shopkeeper Qian, how have you been? Same as always!"
Daozheng replied with a smile. He was quite familiar with this Shopkeeper Qian. Over the years, he had often come here to sneak a drink when he was craving something sweet. Shopkeeper Qian was also a clever man who would cover for him, so the two had a pretty good relationship.
"Go and prepare a vegetarian meal suitable for Grandmaster Daozheng to eat on the road. Also, fill the pot of tea I just brewed for Grandmaster!"
Shopkeeper Qian casually instructed the waiter to prepare a vegetarian meal for Grandmaster Daozheng as soon as possible, and Grandmaster Daozheng's smile widened upon hearing the mention of the pot of tea.
He loves the tea at Shopkeeper Qian's place; it's really strong!
" Shopkeeper Qian, here are thirty copper coins, please take them!"
Grandmaster Daozheng handed over a money bag that had been prepared beforehand. Although they had bought quite a lot of food this time, it was not expensive because it was for their journey and it was vegetarian. Thirty copper coins would be enough.
Of course, while it was said to be thirty copper coins, there were actually at least fifty copper coins in the purse, since the so-called "tea" also had to be paid for.
" Grandmaster, I'd like to ask you something. Does your temple have Grandmaster with the Dharma name Saitama?"
As he reached out to take the money bag, the Shopkeeper Qian took the opportunity to ask questions.
" Saitama? What kind of Buddhist name is that? Not only does my Shaomu Temple not have a Buddhist name with such a sequence of characters, but no other Buddhist Order temple uses such a name either. You're not talking about his real name, are you?"
Grandmaster Daozheng was puzzled. He knew without even thinking that there was no such person in their Shaomu Temple.
The Dharma names of their Buddhist Order disciples are very particular, and they are ranked according to certain poems. However, the character "Qi" does not exist in the generational poems of their Shaomu Temple, and there is not even a homophone for it.
Not to mention their Shaomu Temple, no other Buddhist Order temple has this Dharma name or seniority.
"I don't know either. He said he became a monk out of some interest, and that he came here to wait for someone, but he's been waiting for half a month and no one has come, so he wanted to ask the Grandmaster."
"A monk who became a monk out of interest?"
Daozheng's thick eyebrows furrowed, clearly displeased with those words.
You must understand that the identity of a monk is very serious and cannot be taken lightly. Especially now that the concepts of Fortune Karmic Cause and Effect are widely spread, all Buddhist Order temples have become much stricter. How could there possibly be monks who become monks just out of interest?
Even blatant defiance of the law wouldn't be this brazen!
" Ahu, is there anyone among your lay disciples named Saitama?"
After thinking for a while, Daozheng still didn't have much of an impression of the name Saitama, Daozheng turned to ask the lay disciples following behind him.
He doesn't usually pay much attention to the lay disciples, and only knows a few people, so to find out the truth of this matter, he has to ask these few registered disciples.
"Master, none of us have ever heard of Saitama!"
The lay disciples exchanged glances, all looking somewhat bewildered, clearly having no recollection of the name.
"That's not right! That's exactly what Saitama said; he's been eating and drinking here for free for half a month!"
Shopkeeper Qian's expression turned rather unpleasant; this time, he wasn't faking it.
He had initially thought the man was a genuine monk, but it turned out he was an imposter who had been freeloading off him for so long.
These words made Daozheng and the others' expressions turn ugly; clearly, someone was trying to tarnish the reputation of them as monks!
"Master, have me deal with that scoundrel!"
The boy who had been called Huzi volunteered, a hint of ferocity on his face. He had just mastered the Tiger-Subduing Fist and was looking for a place to test its power!
"Well, don't rush into action. Assess their identity first. If possible, try to persuade them with words!"
Nodding slightly, Daozheng, for the sake of prudence, suggested that Huzi try a polite approach first, to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Understood, Master!"
With a chuckle, Huzi followed the waiter that Shopkeeper Qian had called and strode towards the back of the inn, arriving at the kitchen in no time.
You mean him?
Huzi glanced at the figure devouring a bucket of rice, especially at the other's shiny, gleaming forehead, and hesitated for a moment.
Judging by that shiny head, he must be a monk who has been in the monastery for many years. Even his master, Grandmaster Daozheng, is far less shiny.
So it seems this guy isn't an imposter after all.
"We don't ask for anything else, we just want to get rid of that guy. If he keeps eating like this, we'll have to close down sooner or later!"
The waiter said indignantly, clearly disliking the customer.
Huzi glanced at the enormous rice bucket Wang Hao was carrying and suddenly understood.
That's an excessively large amount of food.
Go find some pebbles!
Huzi thought for a moment and then gave instructions to the waiter.
Leaving aside Huzi Zi and Xiao Er who were plotting their scheme, Wang Hao, who was eating on the other side, was thinking about how to subtly attract Shaomu Temple's attention so that he could be discovered by the other party and then launch his grand plan of deception.
Just then, a burly young man strode over, carrying several steaming hot buns in his hands.
"I've heard you're a monk who's become one out of interest?"
The burly young man sat down opposite Wang Hao and asked with a smile.
"Yes!"
Lost in thought, Wang Hao didn't pay much attention and casually replied.
"May I ask which temple the Grandmaster entered into monastic life at, and which Buddha he reveres?"
The burly young man, Huzi, pressed for an answer.
"He became a monk in my home!"
Wang Hao casually replied, not taking the man seriously at all, and continued to ponder his grand plan.
These words added a sinister touch to Huzi's smile, confirming in his mind that the lazy fellow in front of him was nothing but a freeloader and imposter.
Who in the world becomes a monk in their own home? They can't even come up with a decent excuse. It's so unprofessional!
"That's good, that's wonderful! Meeting you is fate. Here are a few steamed buns for you!"
Smiling, she picked up the largest meat bun on top, took a bite, and pushed the rest towards Wang Hao.
Wang Hao, whose attention was elsewhere, didn't think much of it and took the bun to start eating.
Seeing this, Huzi's expression grew even more ferocious, with an added hint of mockery, but this expression froze on his face in the next instant.
Wang Hao grabbed a steamed bun and started munching on it, making loud crunching sounds, and occasionally sparks would fly out of his mouth.
It turns out that he had put pebbles in the bun earlier, intending to prank the kid, but who would have thought it would turn out like this.
Even as he was contemplating the crucial moment, Wang Hao wasn't focused on eating; he was simply instinctively nibbling away.
With his current teeth and strength, the stone was not much harder than a peanut in his eyes, so he didn't feel anything was wrong and just chewed it up and swallowed it.
He quickly devoured four large meat buns filled with various ingredients, leaving not a single stone behind.
This left Huzi and the waiter dumbfounded. The waiter glanced at the remaining pebble in his hand, and, refusing to believe it, bit down hard. But then he cried out in pain, his mouth gushing blood, and a broken tooth appeared in his palm.
Teeth are far inferior to stone, and since he wasn't a martial artist, trying to force his way into a stone with his teeth would naturally not end well.
"Who exactly are you?"
Huzi, who also witnessed this scene, became solemn and stared intently at the bald man in front of him.
Unfortunately, Wang Hao, who was lost in thought, paid no attention, which made Huzi somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. He immediately threw a Tiger-Subduing Fist at Wang Hao's cheek, wanting to teach him a lesson.
Even more unfortunately, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great. Although Wang Hao was distracted, his instincts as a strong person were still present. The Golden Bell Shield protective qi that he had just cultivated in his body rebounded instinctively when it was impacted.
Before Huzi could even show a hint of joy after the punch landed, an unimaginable force surged through his right arm, causing it to crack and twist beyond recognition.
That wasn't the end of it. Under that immense force, his entire body was sent flying, crashing from the back kitchen into the front hall, and landing on Shopkeeper Qian, who was talking to Daozheng.
This scene terrified Shopkeeper Qian. Before he could recover, Daozheng acted first, blocking the flying Huzi's body.
However, the power it carried far exceeded expectations. Caught off guard, Daozheng staggered back more than ten steps before his momentum finally subsided, leaving a series of deep footprints on the brick-paved ground, demonstrating just how immense that power was.
"Division..."
Huzi only managed to utter half a sound before he promptly and decisively lost consciousness.
Fortunately, the only obstacles along the way were fragile windows; they didn't hit any pillars, otherwise they would have died on the spot.
Even so, he was seriously injured, especially his right arm, whose bones were completely shattered. Even if it heals, he will never be able to practice martial arts again.
"What a vicious method! Today, this humble monk will deal with you!"
After inspecting Huzi's injuries, Daozheng flew into a rage and strode toward the kitchen.
Huzi was his nominal disciple. Although he didn't put much effort into teaching him because he was a lay disciple, they still had the status of master and disciple.
To cripple his disciple right in front of him was a blatant slap in the face, especially on their Shaomu Temple's territory. How could they tolerate that?