Fantasy: I Am the Villain.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Matter Is Over (Part Five)

"Bai Ke greets the master. Just now, you were having a very lively conversation, and I did not want to interrupt you, so I hid here. Please forgive me."

Bai Ke's words are completely unreasonable. In fact, he was hiding outside, so how could he say he couldn't bear to come out and interrupt?

Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo looked at Bai Ke with displeasure, but perhaps because they felt guilty, they didn't say anything, only glaring fiercely at Bai Ke.

Bai Ke, who has experienced the intellectual storms of the 21st century, said that these were all trivial matters.

The reason is just a plausible excuse. People who make up reasons are trying to get away with it, and those who listen to the reasons only care about the person's attitude.

Even if he says he's hiding outside because he doesn't want to interrupt them, what can those people do to him even if they don't believe him?

Murong Bo was somewhat embarrassed that Bai Ke had exposed their secret scheme, but he had been in the martial arts world for decades after all.

After a slightly awkward moment, he recovered and instead smiled as he tried to persuade Bai Ke:

"Young brother, you see, we've become friends through a fight. They say heroes have always emerged from among the young. What do you think of our plans?"

Bai Ke glared at Murong Fu, who was looking at him nervously, with a half-smile. "If I agree to your request, wouldn't I have to work as Murong Fu's henchman?"

This scoundrel is a treacherous and fickle man. I've noticed he treats those close to him poorly, so he must be a cold-hearted person as well. Why should I bother getting involved in your mess?

Murong Fu's face stiffened, and he hurriedly said, "You brat, you're falsely accusing an innocent person! I, Murong Fu, have never gone back on my word or been fickle. Stop making a racket here!"

Murong Bo feigned anger, "Fu'er, you mustn't be so rude to this young man. You two are about the same age, but your martial arts skills are worlds apart. You should learn from this young man."

Bai Ke stared at the obsequious Murong Bo, bewildered. "This script is wrong. Murong Bo in the original novel didn't seem to be this shameless, did he?" Bai Ke thought to himself.

Little did they know that it was Bai Ke's earlier move that had completely shocked Murong Bo. As a descendant of the Great Yan, he had some understanding of the hidden forces in this world.

For example, the Xiaoyao Sect, to which Xiaoyaozi and his group belonged, was known only to some equally detached secular forces, such as the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Murong Bo was already quite suspicious of Bai Ke's profound cultivation at such a young age, especially since Bai Ke had been hiding behind them silently and listening to their conversation for so long.

This further solidified his belief that the world is never short of extraordinary encounters, just like the new master of Lingjiu Palace, Xuzhu.

But a fortuitous encounter and having the inheritance of a major sect are different things, just like Xu Zhu and Bai Ke.

Xu Zhu was originally an ordinary monk from Shaolin Temple. He accidentally broke the Zhenlong Chess Formation set up by Su Xinghe, and with a series of fortuitous encounters, he became who he is today.

However, his sudden rise in social status and martial arts skills did not significantly improve his character or his way of handling affairs.

Xu Zhu's actions in front of Shaoshi Mountain just now, besides revealing his childlike nature, also seemed quite naive.

As for Bai Ke, he's different. This kid has never suffered a loss since he appeared, and he always speaks to people with neither arrogance nor servility. He is clearly a well-educated young man from a prominent family.

This makes it even more terrifying. One can only imagine what a behemoth it must be to cultivate such a young and handsome man as Bai Ke. How could he dare to provoke him so casually?

Bai Ke chuckled and bowed to Qiao Feng, who was watching the situation from afar, saying, "Brother Qiao, I pay my respects."

Qiao Feng hurriedly returned the greeting, and without any formalities, went straight to the point and asked, "Brother Bai, why have you come here?"

Bai Ke smiled slightly and said, "I came here for two reasons. First, I want to persuade Brother Qiao and his son to leave as soon as possible, because the martial arts heroes are about to hunt you down."

"The other one..." Bai Ke drawled out his words, sounding somewhat embarrassed, as he spoke to the sweeping monk:

"Master, please forgive me. I have long admired Shaolin's martial arts as the best in the world and wished to see them here. I did not expect to run into you all discussing important matters."

A strange glint flashed in the old monk's eyes, but he didn't point out his discovery. Instead, he said to Bai Ke:

"It's alright. My Shaolin martial arts are right here, so I have no intention of keeping them to myself. If you have any questions, young benefactor, you are welcome to ask me."

Bai Ke remembers that in the original novel, at this moment, the Sweeper Monk should have killed Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo after failing to persuade them to sincerely worship Buddha, and used the fake death to convert their inner demons.

However, Bai Ke's intervention at this moment caused a slight change in the plot.

At this moment, the sweeping monk was mostly focused on Bai Ke, and he didn't pay as much attention to Xiao Yuanshan and the other person as before.

Bai Ke found this strange. He just wanted to test whether changing the plot would allow him to continue drawing prizes. He didn't want to completely ruin the main storyline of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

If Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo hadn't become monks, the story wouldn't have been able to continue.

Bai Ke considered the consequences of doing so but still didn't dare to take the risk. Although he was invincible in the world, there were too many things that could not be solved by force.

If Tian Ce Palace wants to completely rule this world in the future, it will need the cooperation of the locals. It can also take advantage of Bai Ke's familiarity with the plot.

Therefore, Bai Ke did not want to completely change the plot, but instead made slight adjustments at appropriate times to ensure that the plot would not deviate too much.

After a slight smile, Bai Ke asked the sweeping monk, "May I ask, Master, I have often heard that Shaolin martial arts must be used in conjunction with your temple's Buddhist scriptures to be truly effective. Is that true?"

Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo, upon hearing that Bai Ke's question was somewhat related to them, immediately perked up their ears to hear how the Sweeper Monk would answer.

The sweeping monk was slightly taken aback. This conclusion was drawn from his own years of cultivation. He wondered who else had such insight.

"Indeed, after years of study, I have discovered that my Shaolin martial arts must be used in conjunction with Buddhist scriptures to be completely free of side effects."

After saying that, he used Murong Bo, Xiao Yuanshan and Kumārajīva as examples to illustrate the drawbacks of only learning martial arts techniques without calmly studying Buddhist scriptures.

Xiao Yuanshan and the other two were shocked. They never imagined that they had been practicing the wrong thing all these years. What should they do?

At this point, the sweeping monk didn't mince words. Instead, he used the greater good of the nation and its people as a reason to persuade the two to enter the Buddhist order and purify their inner turmoil with Buddhist teachings.