Shouldering a Gun

The moonlight is often obscured by thick clouds.

In a harbor in Pingtan, green reeds provide shade.

Twenty or thirty boats of various sizes were moored there.

As the moonlight dimmed, more than a hundred figures rapidly approached from the reeds.

They wore light blue coarse cloth clothes and seemed to have been assimilated into the reeds, but their movements were agile and quick, like monkeys. Each of them carried a steel dagger and a wooden plank on their back.

The man on duty on the boat suddenly sensed something was wrong. He turned to look at the reeds swaying in the wind, stared for a moment, and opened his mouth to shout.

Despair!!

A single iron rosary bead struck the man in the throat.

Numerous planks flew out from the reeds and landed on the water. People used the planks for leverage and jumped onto the boats.

Shouts of battle suddenly rang out.

The members of the Giant Whale Gang were awakened from their sleep and fought back with their knives.

The sparks from the blades made the paper windows of the cabin flicker.

Blood splattered on the windows, and the body burst through the door.

In a matter of moments, almost all the members of the Giant Whale Gang's Pingtan branch were killed.

The branch leader was a one-eyed woman who wielded a Japanese sword, and her movements were swift, agile, and ruthless.

But when Zhao Yannian arrived, he immediately set his sights on her. He used the "Mighty Vajra Palm" technique with strict discipline, striking the back of the knife with his palm, parrying the hilt, and then directing the force of his palm towards her face.

Within three to five moves, he forced his opponent to wield his Japanese sword in a way that made it difficult for him to maneuver effectively.

Suddenly, a rosary bead shot out from Zhao Yannian's sleeve, blinding the opponent's only remaining eye.

As the leader groaned in pain, Zhao Yannian held the blade in his palms, twisted it backward, and the broken tip of the blade was already embedded in the man's neck.

The sounds of fighting and shouting outside gradually subsided.

A burly man with a gray face appeared at the cabin door. "Brother Zhao, are you alright?"

"Fine."

Zhao Yannian stepped forward and asked, "Are all the brothers outside alright?"

The gray-faced man said, "It's all fine. This time, we selected the best men from four nearby counties, and we caught this group off guard again."

His cheeks were a little tense from his fierce expression.

"We also found a group of women tied up inside the ship. Those bastards, they really are in the human trafficking business. My niece must have been kidnapped by them too!"

Zhao Yannian patted him on the shoulder, walked onto the deck, looked around, and saw that none of his brothers were in any danger.

A wiry young man shouted over, "Brother Zhao, that was really satisfying! The whole thing went pretty much exactly as you predicted!"

Many people exclaimed, "Brother Zhao is a brilliant strategist!"

Zhao Yannian shook his head and said, "I only have a good understanding of the area. I was able to gather everyone here thanks to my sect's permission."

The burly, gray-faced man said, "It seems the senior monks in the temple have finally come to their senses. In recent years, the disciples of Southern Shaolin have truly felt too aggrieved."

"Alright, everyone, quickly check these ships."

Zhao Yannian took charge, saying, "According to our sect, seizing these Giant Whale Gang ships will be extremely useful. Once we succeed here, the people our sect sends out will arrive very soon."

"What if there are cracks somewhere that haven't been detected yet, and then problems arise later!"

The crowd responded in agreement and began to act.

Zhao Yannian stood at the bow of the boat, took out several iron prayer beads from his sleeve, and rubbed and played with them in his right palm.

Although he commanded with composure, he was also quite excited.

In recent years, disciples of the Southern Shaolin have indeed faced numerous obstacles when traveling outside.

These gangs by the sea are becoming increasingly rampant. A few years ago, they still tried to conceal their pirate identities, but in the last two years, they've almost openly committed crimes.

Some of the Southern Shaolin disciples couldn't stand it, but they could only secretly take action behind their masks, engaging in minor skirmishes.

This is only morally unpleasant; it's emotionally upsetting.

What I hate even more is the setback in business.

Even Zhao Yannian's own escort agency has seen its business decline by more than half in the past two years compared to the better years.

If this continues, many of the escorts in the security company will probably have to be laid off.

Therefore, half a month ago, Chan Master Miaokong sent a secret letter, inquiring about his views on the business expansion of the Flowing Cloud Manor and the Japanese pirates.

Zhao Yannian picked up his brush and wrote a large character "kill".

After calming down for a few moments, he wrote another secret letter, using more tactful language.

He briefly mentioned the attitudes of the lay disciples he could come into contact with nearby, as well as the rumors circulating among the people.

As for his opinion on the Flowing Cloud Manor, he didn't have any particular opinion and didn't mention it much.

After receiving the reply, he examined the Zen master's writing and realized that the other party seemed to be focusing on the Flowing Cloud Manor, so he tried to inquire about it.

Just as he had gathered some information and was about to convey his displeasure, he received a new secret letter.

This time, the Zen master didn't mention Flowing Cloud Manor at all, only instructing him to keep an eye on the nearby gangs and pirate forces.

Are you really going to take action?

At this moment, Zhao Yannian looked at the thick clouds in the sky and was also making plans in his mind.

Following the temple's usual practice, after making a preliminary move, the next step would be to contact the government.

However, with the government so corrupt, even if there is contact, it's just a bunch of empty promises and empty words.

If we let them charge ahead, we have to worry that if they are routed, they might break through the Southern Shaolin forces' formation.

I wonder how the Zen masters would handle this, focusing on things like baggage trains?

It is said that military camps and garrisons in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region are willing to secretly sell their armor to martial arts forces, and Flowing Cloud Manor is a major buyer.

It would be great if the Southern Shaolin could also get some armor from the government.

At worst, they could create a name like "local militia monks" to appease the officials.

The group worked here for half the night, and some of them took the kidnapped women away first. They then used ropes to connect wooden boxes and planks to form a simple floating bridge, and rested directly on the boat.

After daybreak, a signal arrow was fired several miles away.

Ten breaths later, three whistles were fired in quick succession.

This was the pre-arranged code, and Zhao Yannian responded in kind.

Soon after, a large group of men dressed in coarse cloth and strong clothing parted the reeds and came looking for them.

At first glance, there were more than two hundred people, all wearing straw hats and carrying long bundles on their backs.

The leader was a short-bearded monk, none other than Miaokong.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yannian and the others hurriedly crossed the pontoon bridge to greet them.

"Master! Why have you come in person?"

Miaokong was the head of the Dharma Hall. Even lay disciples who were not formally disciples of him would mostly refer to him as their master.

"Amitabha Buddha, the Layman Tian wishes for this humble monk to accompany him, and this humble monk will naturally come along."

Miaokong laughed, "This matter is of utmost importance; I fear it will usher in an unprecedented upheaval for the Southern Shaolin in eight hundred years. Senior Brother Miaoyin, are you trying to compete with me for this opportunity?"

Chu Tianshu raised a finger, lifted his straw hat, and looked at the crowd in front of him.

As expected of the key personnel selected from several nearby counties, they are all very spirited.

Miaokong said, "Have you not yet met the Layman Tian?"

Everyone bowed to Chu Tianshu, but they all felt something was amiss.

A lay Buddhist is someone who practices Buddhism without leaving home.

The names of lay Buddhists often contain Zen connotations, or reveal a sentiment of finding solace in nature and a tranquil state of mind.

For example, the Hermit of Fragrant Hills and the Hermit of Su Dongpo.

This single word refers to the word "", which really doesn't look like a Buddhist.

Chu Tianshu smiled helplessly.

He originally intended to call himself "Layman Chu Tian," but these old monks felt that an ordinary title could not reflect his importance to the Southern Shaolin.

Miaokong simply omitted one word from his name.

The importance of something isn't just about its name; these monks are really just being formalistic.

"You're not monks, just call me Mr. Chu."

Chu Tianshu cut to the chase, saying, "I've heard that many of you are knowledgeable in navigation."

"Now that everyone is here, let's get on the boat and head out to sea, straight to Ox Mountain Island."

Zhao Yannian was startled. "Ox Mountain Island, right now?"

It is said that thousands of Japanese pirates are entrenched on Ox Mountain Island, and there are even real Japanese masters as their leaders.

Most of the Japanese swords sold overseas destined for Fujian were transshipped there.

There were only a little over three hundred people present, and the prospect of a naval attack on the island was extremely disadvantageous.

Even if a few skilled fighters managed to reach the island first, it would only force the Japanese pirates to scatter and flee by boat.

They are experienced in this area as well.

The attackers are unlikely to achieve much success.

Chan Master Miaokong smiled and said, "Hurry up and set sail!"

"With so many of us traveling this far, we're bound to attract attention. We need to hurry; we'll discuss the details with you on the way."

When Zhao Yannian heard this from the usually conservative Chan Master Miaokong, he had no choice but to suppress his doubts.

Chu Tianshu glanced back at the group of monks behind him, his heart filled with anticipation.

He hadn't expected to see results in just half a month.

Although the blacksmiths of the Southern Shaolin did their best to imitate it, the speed at which they produced the "Divine Fire Gun" was indeed very fast.

However, the subsequent production of ammunition is also quite difficult.

The group needs to use up a large amount of ammunition before they can practice shooting.

Unexpectedly, after the old monks, including Miaofan, personally tried it out, they felt that it wasn't necessary for everyone to expend ammunition to practice.

They were intimately familiar with all the unique skills of the Southern Shaolin, and could use their internal energy to mimic the feel of firing a gun, instructing their disciples on how to circulate their internal energy for precise control.

Over the past two weeks, only two hundred people were selected from more than a thousand martial monks in the entire temple.

Chu Tianshu randomly selected a few people for a check.

Despite having clearly never had any live-fire training before, they were surprisingly accurate once they got started.

You can hit a sparrow within a hundred paces.

At a distance of about 300 paces, if you're shooting at a target the size of an adult, you can almost always hit the torso.

After boarding the ship, Chu Tianshu threw off his straw hat, sat in the cabin, and took off the long bundle on his back to test its feel.

Zhao Yannian stared at the oddly shaped musket, still puzzled.

After half a month of adjustment, although Miaokong was still in excellent spirits, she no longer particularly enjoyed using the musket. She said, "Layman Tian, while the Divine Fire Gun is good, it's still not as good as the one used by a master like you..."

That's different.

Chu Tianshu aimed his gun at the target and laughed, "Since I have the chance, I have to try what it feels like to carry a gun and fight the Japanese."

(End of this chapter)