Killing Monks

Upon hearing Guangyuan mention "Old Deng," Chu Kuangjun opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.

He had just experienced firsthand Old Deng's cunning.

He remained silent for a long while before finally managing to say, "But... those two don't seem to be very skilled in martial arts."

"I possess the 'Basic Eye Technique' that can subdue them."

Guangyuan shook his head.

"An open attack is easy to dodge, but a hidden attack is hard to defend against."

"It's safer to stay here for a few days. The walls of the Lu residence are high; not just anyone can climb over them."

Chu Kuangjun thought about it and felt it made sense.

He was a little scared.

He's a man too, and he understands what those looks mean.

The pastries on the table were still slightly steaming. The osmanthus cakes were arranged neatly, and the icing sugar was sprinkled very evenly.

He suddenly felt hungry.

It's been almost noon since I arrived at the Lu residence, and I haven't eaten anything.

No wonder that old Taoist priest was always eating peanuts.

He picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and ate it.

"By the way," he mumbled, "what did you think of the mental cultivation technique the old Taoist priest just taught you?"

Guangyuan did not answer immediately.

He recalled the specific contents of that mental cultivation manual.

That was a practice method that explained the "virtue of water".

The highest good is like water.

Water benefits all things without striving.

Husbands do not fight, so the world cannot fight with them.

The old Taoist's oral instructions are unremarkable, and the literal meaning is quite simple at first glance, but the more you read, the more you find them worth pondering.

This is a cultivation technique without "constraints" or "rules," possessing infinite possibilities.

The conception of this technique is far superior to the "Karma Subduing Demon Technique" of Jinjia Temple, and even better than the "One Thought of Withering and Flourishing Sutra" taught to him by Monk Xinqiu.

Even the book "Guiding Demons and Observing the Mind" in "The Mirror of Karma" is much inferior.

Guangyuan remained silent for a long time.

So long that Chu Kuangjun thought he would never speak again.

"Water flows with the current, it goes with the flow," Guangyuan suddenly said, "How do we know that this 'current' isn't what it wants?"

This is his understanding of this exercise.

After finishing the osmanthus cake, Chu Kuangjun poured himself a cup of tea and said, "I think it's more like the ultimate truth. All the martial arts I've learned were taught to me by my master."

"Although they are all based on names, they are all very complex and difficult to practice."

"This cultivation method doesn't have as many twists and turns."

Two people read the same manual and interpreted it in two different ways.

This is perfectly normal.

A single line of poetry can be interpreted by some as romance and beauty, or by others as the rise and fall of dynasties.

For some, a dish is about the saltiness or blandness; for others, it's about the cooking time and temperature.

A martial arts manual, when in the hands of different people, is bound to take on different forms. If everyone practiced the same thing, the martial arts world would have lost its meaning long ago.

The two of them, over a pot of slowly clear tea, began to exchange martial arts techniques, one phrase at a time.

Guangyuan would say something, and Chu Kuangjun would reply with something else.

When Chu Kuangjun asked a question, Guangyuan returned to the same place.

Sometimes opinions differ, and neither side is willing to give in.

Lu Fei arrived two days later.

When he pushed open the door, he was carrying two jars of wine, and his servants brought other dishes and placed them on the table in the room.

"You're here," Guangyuan said, looking at him.

Lu Fei nodded, said nothing more, and slammed the wine jar onto the table.

It had only been a little over a month since the three of them parted ways in Qujiang County.

It's only been a month or so, but it feels like a long time.

Lu Fei broke the mud seal, and the aroma of the wine immediately filled the air.

He filled the bowls for the two of them, then poured one for himself, and picked up the bowl.

"I know the monk came out of righteousness." He looked at Guangyuan, then at Chu Kuangjun, "Brother Chu, you're here too..."

"It really touched me."

Chu Kuangjun, holding his wine bowl, paused for a moment.

He looked down at the shimmering wine in the bowl and gave a bitter smile.

"I'm just here to observe," he said. "There's nothing to thank me for."

He drank the wine.

Lu Fei didn't reply, but drank it too.

Guangyuan didn't touch the bowl.

He looked at Lu Fei and asked, "Is the Lu family's situation very troublesome?"

Lu Fei shook his head.

"It's no trouble at all."

Guangyuan did not look away.

"That's a real hassle," he said.

Lu Fei paused slightly as he poured the wine.

Guangyuan then asked, "Will you follow in your father's footsteps?"

Lu Fei put down the wine and shook his head.

"No," he said. "I won't be like him."

Guangyuan looked at him.

"Then he probably will too."

Lu Fei looked up, his brows furrowed. "I already said I won't!"

Guangyuan's tone was calm: "If you say no, then you will."

He paused, then said, "Because you haven't brought up the Lu family's affairs yet. You can't tell those secrets, and you don't want to."

"This clearly indicates that it's very troublesome."

Lu Fei opened his mouth.

I wanted to refute it, but found that I had no way to refute it.

He remained silent for a long while, then could only let out a low laugh.

It was a bitter smile.

"Monk," he said, "you're overthinking things."

"It's not hard to guess," Guangyuan said. "Everything in the Lu family originated from Black Knife."

"Would you be willing to tell us the secret of the Black Knife?"

Lu Fei looked at his two friends and said, "I don't want to."

Meanwhile, outside the high walls of the Lu residence.

The locust tree on the street corner has been growing for over a hundred years, its canopy spreading out a large, dense shade that completely covers half of the alley.

Two figures, one fat and one thin, were hidden in the shadows.

The skinny man stood against the wall, his gaze never leaving the direction of the Lu residence.

The fat man was beside him.

Unlike the skinny guy, he wasn't tense; his posture was relaxed, as if he were taking a break at the door of his own kitchen.

Holding a meat bun wrapped in oil paper in his hand, he ate it slowly and deliberately, one bite at a time.

Since the day they saw the woman controlled by "The Eye of God", they have been wandering around Luoqing County for quite some time.

This county town is neither too big nor too small.

Finding someone isn't easy.

So they bribed the city gate guards and learned that the person they were looking for had not left the city.

They hadn't left the city; they were still in the county.

The most important thing in Luoqing County these days is the Lu family's big day.

If Chu Kuangjun didn't leave, it's most likely related to the Lu family.

really.

They spotted him immediately among the crowd at the Lu family compound.

That face was too easy to recognize.

Although they had never met him before, they knew the moment they saw Chu Kuangjun that he was the person they were looking for.

"A man as outstanding as you, no matter where you hide, is like a firefly in the dark night, shining brightly and dazzlingly."

When the skinny man read this passage before, he always felt that the person who wrote the sutra was exaggerating.

Only after seeing the mad king of Chu did he realize that the person who copied the scriptures was a mediocre talent, and his writing skills were insufficient to describe the beauty of the leader.

The only pity was that they didn't get a chance to speak with the new leader before being cleared out by the Lu family.

Now, all they can do is wait here for Chu Kuangjun to come out.

But they waited for two days and didn't see a single person.

"Are you sure you can wait for him?" the skinny man asked.

"uncertain."

"Unsure, do we have to wait?" The skinny man raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any other ideas?" the fat man asked back.

The skinny man fell silent; he truly had no other options.

They could only wait.