Yuan Chongzhen listened in silence, but suddenly spread his hands apart and let out a strange cry. As he moved, the giant white ape roared with an earth-shaking howl. It immediately stopped entangling itself in the rings of pure energy emitted by Bizhen, leaped several zhang into the air to evade her attack, stretched out its arms, and lunged straight toward Bizhen, who was hiding behind her bangle.
Two whirlwinds of violent force accompanied this movement, their howling winds and thunderous sounds adding to the deadly atmosphere.
Yuan himself was not idle either. As the white ape attacked Bizhen, he flipped his hands and two small black snakes suddenly appeared around his wrists. Each snake was slightly more than half a foot long, coiling around his wrists like black bracelets.
As he clapped his hands together, the two tiny snakes intertwined and crossed over each other, forming a strange knot, then emitted two sharp, high-pitched cries.
“You little monkey, do you still dare to fight me?” asked Master Ku, facing Yuan, who was now fully prepared for battle. He did not appear angry, but instead spoke calmly.
After speaking, Master Ku suddenly raised his eyes and looked toward the rear of Yuan, his face revealing a faint mocking expression.
When Yuan heard Ku’s words, he had immediately acted without hesitation. Now, seeing Ku’s demeanor and aura, Yuan was momentarily stunned. He felt that although this monk’s face was calm, his presence was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss—an infinite depth compared to the fake smile of Xiaomile. Yuan secretly probed with his spiritual senses, but before reaching Ku, he felt as though struck by a heavy blow. The monk seemed to be enveloped in ten-thousandfold golden light, making any attempt at doubt or probing impossible. Yuan was greatly alarmed.
Where had this monk come from? And why did he claim that young girl was his disciple? Judging from the situation, this monk was likely beyond Yuan’s ability to handle.
As Yuan pondered, he quickly sent out his spiritual senses to consult with Xiaomile, only to find that his companion was nowhere in sight.
Stunned, Yuan took a moment to realize that Xiaomile had taken one look at the situation, decided to trick him into being the sacrificial pawn, then quietly slipped away and fled.
“Amituofo, since the gentleman has invited death upon himself, I cannot be blamed,” said Master Ku, his face filled with compassion, shaking his head at Yuan with deep regret.
Earlier, the monk had looked at Yuan with a mocking expression, clearly seeing through Yuan’s realization that Xiaomile had tricked him. Yuan had no time to feel anger at the betrayal before forcing a smile onto his face and calling out, “Wait—”
As he spoke, he recalled the white ape that had been attacking Bizhen, intending to explain himself to the monk.
However, when he looked up, he saw the monk’s face filled with compassion while his left sleeve gently swept toward Yuan.
To others, it seemed as though Master Ku had simply lightly waved his sleeve. But for Yuan, who stood within its path, the experience was completely different.
The monk’s compassionate expression seemed to lock Yuan’s gaze, making him feel as though he could sense Ku’s sorrow and pity, mixed with a faint sense of helplessness. Yet the sleeve moving toward him carried no such mercy—it radiated merciless and decisive killing intent.
This monk was truly strange.
As Yuan thought this, he clearly saw his own body disintegrate into drifting ashes, not a speck of which touched the monk’s immaculate yellow Buddhist robe.
Bizhen watched in stunned disbelief.
Master Ku had always appeared before everyone as a highly cultivated monk. Before he spoke, the clarity and compassion in his eyes made people unquestionably believe in his cultivation and virtue. After breaking his vow of silence, he spoke softly, occasionally revealing a childlike innocence, embodying the compassion of a Bodhisattva who “sweeps without harming ants and cherishes moths under lampshades.” It was hard to imagine this monk would actually kill someone.
Although Bizhen had suspected that the monk was not as harmless as he appeared upon learning his dharma name, the scene she had just witnessed was still difficult to accept.
Especially seeing his expression of serene compassion while silently taking a life with such cold efficiency, it was enough to send chills down one’s spine.
“Sigh, what a sin, what a sin. I have killed again,” Ku said after a moment of silence, still wearing his compassionate expression. He turned to Bizhen with a troubled face and said, “Karmic entanglements—killing is never good.”
“Um… Master,” Bizhen carefully chose her words, “would killing such a bad person really bring about bad karma?”
“What a sin, what a sin,” Ku said, channeling the spirit of Sun Busi today. “After all, it’s a life. Last time I was too hasty in eliminating a whole clan for their evil, I had to observe silence for years to resolve that karmic debt…”
Bizhen opened her mouth in shock for a long time, stammering, “But… Master… wiping out an entire family and then resolving the karma with a few years of silence—doesn’t that seem a bit too easy?”
“We are disciples of the Buddha, from a righteous sect. There are always some ways to maneuver within karmic law…”
“So, Master, how long are you planning to keep silent for this kill?”
“Didn’t you see me already being silent for quite a while after I killed him?”
Bizhen, who had been taught about karma since her cultivation began, found it difficult to wrap her mind around this. Killing someone and then simply being silent for a few blinks—wasn’t the gap between cause and effect too great?
Well, when something couldn’t be figured out, Bizhen simply stopped thinking about it. Having a master who dares to kill and dares to remain silent must be a good thing.
So now, Bizhen quickly shifted her attention to the white ape now held in Master Ku’s hand.
“How cute this white monkey is! In the capital city, I saw many monkey performers, but I’ve never seen one that can shoot gas like this!” Bizhen stared at the pitiful white ape with great interest. If Yuan Chongzhen had known that his painstakingly cultivated guardian beast was compared to a street performer’s monkey, he might have risen from the dead just to scold Bizhen for not recognizing its true value.
“True’er, this isn’t just a monkey. It’s a rare white ape from Kunwu, quite a treasure indeed. Unfortunately, since its master died, the bond between master and beast has been broken, and the ape has suffered greatly as well… Actually, keeping it is just a waste. I heard fresh monkey brains are very nourishing. The old Taoist will definitely like it. Maybe I can exchange it with him for something else fun…” Master Ku said regretfully.
Earlier, when Bizhen had fought the white ape, seeing its fierce and evil expression, she naturally disliked it. But now, seeing it looking so dejected, much smaller in size, and with its white fur drooping, she felt pity for it. Thinking that the greedy old Taoist master might挖 (dig) out its brain to go with wine, she couldn’t help but feel a great sense of compassion.
The white ape, having been cultivated by Yuan for many years and already possessing spiritual awareness, understood Master Ku’s words clearly. It was immediately terrified. With tear-filled eyes, it looked back and forth between Ku and Bizhen, then began bowing repeatedly to Bizhen while letting out pitiful cries. It even blinked hard and soon two large tears gushed from its big eyes.
“Master, look how pitiful this little thing is,” Bizhen immediately forgot all about the ape’s earlier ferocity: “Why don’t we spare its life and let me keep it as a companion?”
Master Ku shook his head: “What use would it be as a companion? You already have that young fellow Mei Qing keeping you company. This creature can’t carry anything or fight properly. Now that its old master is dead, its cultivation has greatly diminished. It’s more trouble than it’s worth to keep it. Better to just make a snack out of it.”
Having said this, Master Ku gazed affectionately at the white ape, even unconsciously sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, scaring the ape so much that it shut its eyes tightly and hurriedly nodded and bowed to Bizhen, showing its utmost loyalty.
“I like it!” Bizhen grabbed Master Ku’s sleeve and shook it: “This little monkey is much more fun than Mei Qing!”
“Well, Mei Qing may not be the best—but surely he’s better than this white ape—oh, fine, fine, stop shaking. I’ll give it to you,” Master Ku finally relented, seeing the danger of being shaken apart.
Master Ku then thought for a while and found a technique to pass on to Bizhen. It was a kind of spiritual binding method, directly imprinting a spiritual lock within the ape’s mind, making it regard Bizhen as its master, loyal and obedient, and allowing her to command it to attack or defend.
However, this kind of spiritual command was not as tightly connected as Yuan Chongzhen’s spiritual link. Although its power was far inferior, the advantage was that Bizhen didn’t have to spend any effort cultivating the ape—she simply had a bodyguard.
The two of them, master and apprentice, spent a long time teaching and learning, failing many times, until finally, with the white ape tearfully cooperating, Master Ku, with a dry throat, reluctantly, and Bizhen giggling happily, they succeeded.
The white ape, which had been two large creatures earlier, had now shrunk to the size of a palm, squatting on Bizhen’s shoulder, diligently giving her a shoulder massage.
Bizhen was overjoyed, playing for a while before finally remembering to thank Master Ku. Seeing Ku’s helpless and bitter smile, she felt a little embarrassed. After thinking for a long time, she changed the subject: “Oh, what about the old Taoist master?”
Hearing this, Master Ku’s face changed dramatically: “Oh no, I forgot—when I received your message earlier, I hurried over to help, leaving that old Taoist to hold off the nightmare spirit for a while, promising I’d come back soon…”
Just at that moment, the two of them heard Zhang Shisan’s hoarse and furious yelling from afar: “Old baldy! Stinking monk, you said you’d be right back! It’s already been eight meals’ worth of time, and you still haven’t returned, leaving me here holding the line… I knew monks were no good—they always run away when things get tough, leaving others to take the fall… Oh no, stinking skeleton, why is it so tough…”
Master Ku and Bizhen exchanged glances, both wearing mischievous smiles, then quickly pretended they hadn’t heard anything.
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