Chapter 143: Holy Monk (End)
Chapter 143: Holy Monk (End)
Young Master Hu, who directly saw the scene of a murder, was greatly shocked.
He didn’t think that this person didn’t deserve to die. The evildoer had been committing numerous crimes for years, not only kidnapping and selling children, but also fatally beating the parents of the child he had taken after being discovered. Such a person, even if handed over to the authorities, would be sentenced to death.
Young Master Hu was conflicted about whether the master he was following was a renowned monk or a demonic monk.
Whenever something happened in the Jianghu, the bald-headed masters were always willing to help. But when it came to capturing someone and the crowd fervently demanded their execution, it was this group of masters who would plead for mercy on behalf of those evildoers, advocating for leniency.
Because of that, Young Master Hu had never been fond of the monks from Shaolin Temple.
If they spared the evildoers, who would spare the victims who had been cruelly harmed and killed by those evildoers?
If it weren’t for the fact that he had pushed open the door of his house and found that everyone in the village had vanished without a trace, and there was no news whatsoever in the Jianghu, Young Master Hu wouldn’t have come to seek the guidance from Master Shiheng as his follower.
He didn’t even look at the calm surface of the water, but squatted next to Lin Shiheng and asked, “Master, aren’t monks supposed to refrain from killing?”
“Amitabha Buddha.”
The monk with a jade-like face chanted the Buddha’s name with a calm and undisturbed tone. “This humble monk hasn’t taken a life.”
Young Master Hu:
I've seen it twice already, and yet no life was taken?
“This humble monk merely struck the empty air with a palm and kicked out with a foot. It was the person who collided into them. How can you blame this humble monk?”
Young Master Hu:
Alright, your martial arts skills are superior. Whatever you say is right.
After saving the child who had been taken as a hostage by the evildoer, Lin Shiheng also handed over 20 taels of silver as medical expenses. In today’s economy, 20 taels were enough to treat the child’s injuries and provide for their well-being until they became chubby and healthy.
After rescuing the child and “transforming” the evildoer, on the day of departure, the humble townsfolk rushed to the gate to bid farewell.
Their weathered faces were filled with gratitude towards the monk. Everyone knew that monks didn’t eat meat, so the villagers didn’t bring chickens, ducks, or fish. Instead, they carried fresh, clean, and vibrant vegetables.
Lin Shiheng politely declined.
Young Master Hu followed behind him, watching the simple-hearted people rejoicing for them, feeling a tinge of sourness in his heart.
When he left before, the townsfolk bid him farewell in the same way.
It’s just that after a few years, they had actually forgotten about him.
Even though he stood behind Master Shiheng, they didn't even spare him a glance.
Young Master Hu kept telling himself in his heart that it didn’t matter. He performed heroic acts and saved people not for their gratitude, but to have a clear conscience.
But what made him happy was that on that day, the child who had been used as a hostage by the evildoer also came. His hands and feet were still immobile, and he was carefully carried by adults.
The child still had scabs on his face, but his eyes were bright. Instead of looking at the white-robed monk like the adults, he stared straight at Young Master
Hu.
Rarely did someone not overlook him. Young Master Hu was delighted and waved his hand with a smile towards the child.
“Little one, you still remember me?”
“Brother Hu...”
“Oh! So nice!"
Young Master Hu left with the white-robed monk, and the townsfolk stood at the town gate watching them depart. The child’s parents, hearing their son murmuring ‘Brother Hu,’ became teary-eyed.
The child’s mother squatted down and spoke to her child, who was eagerly staring at the departing monk. “That’s not Brother Hu, that’s Master Shiheng.”
“It’s Brother Hu, I remember.”
Although the child’s hands and feet couldn’t move, his voice was loud. “Brother Hu is like that, wearing black clothes, a jade hairpin on his head, ith embroidered auspicious clouds on his shoes, and has a nice smile. I remember.”
The faces of the child’s parents instantly changed.
“Could this child have suffered a head injury?”Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“Yes, how can the master wear a hairpin?”
Unaware of the discussion happening behind him regarding whether a monk could wear a hairpin, Young Master Hu continued to follow Master Shiheng according to their agreement.
After leaving the small town, they started heading towards the bustling area.
Along the way, the two of them encountered many people—villains, martial artists, and simple commoners. Everything was no different from the Jianghu that Young Master Hu had traversed. However, Master Shiheng seemed to dislike interacting with others and always tried to walk towards sparsely populated areas.
It’s okay. People with great martial arts skills often have peculiarities, Young Master Hu expressed his understanding.
It’s just that, perhaps it’s a coincidence, their route always seemed to overlap with the places where Young Master Hu had once acted gallantly.
There was a dilapidated village at the bottom of the gorge. A woman had been abducted by bandits there. Young Master Hu studied the situation for several days and finally waited for the day when the bandits dispersed. He devised a plan, killed the bandits, and rescued the abducted women.
In a house by the water, the head of a family had an accident while fishing on a boat. His leg cramped, and he couldn’t get ashore by himself. Young Master Hu disregarded the danger and jumped into the water to save him.
The children were too young, and they ran slowly. One child got left behind, and after Young Master Hu noticed, he went back to find him, only to discover that the bandits were about to drive the child into the sea of fire.
He had been able to survive in the Jianghu for so long because of his exceptional ginggong skills. After all, no matter how skilled one was in martial arts, it was impossible to defeat a hundred opponents at once.
But he had no way out.
He could fly on his own, but he couldn’t carry others with him. If he left, the children would lose their lives.
Young Master Hu drew his sword and confronted them.
His martial arts skills were indeed formidable. He single-handedly killed all the bandits, but in the end, he himself was severely injured.
Young Master Hu could vaguely recall the sensations before his death.
His whole body turned cold, as if even his blood had grown cold. Only the wind, carrying the scent of blood, blew gently on his face, as if his departed mother was tenderly caressing him.
He only had time to say “don’t be afraid” to the crying child before losing consciousness.
Just before his consciousness disappeared, Young Master Hu looked at the sword that had been broken in two and thought, what a waste of such a good sword.
When he woke up again, he naturally regained his senses and suddenly felt a strong desire to go home and take a look.
However, when he returned home, he found that it was empty. Nothing had changed in the mansion—no dust, no disorder. It looked as if someone had tidied up.
But there was no one.
Not a single person.
He panicked and went down the mountain in an attempt to find out, but those people couldn’t hear or see him. It wasn’t until he overheard the conversation of passersby and made his way to the inn where the monk in white lived.
Under the moonlight, the monk in white took a sip of tea and turned his head to glance at him.
“Benefactor, is there something you need?”
Ignored by the mumbling lackey, the wicked person who couldn't see him, he walked all the way, and the common people he had helped before looking right through him...
Young Master Hu laughed foolishly.
As he laughed, he began to cry.
It turned out that he had already died long ago.
The first funeral Lin Shiheng conducted was for Young Master Hu, the young master of the Hu Clan.
The Young Master Hu, who died prematurely, fought against the bandits all day to protect the children. In the end, the bandits were all killed, but he himself exhausted his strength and died.
The Hu Clan elders were nearly blinded by tears when they saw that the Young Master Hu died so young. As Lin Shiheng had the ability to save the Five Evil Tigers, the Patriarch of the Hu Clan pleaded with him to help save his deceased son.
Master Shiheng always did good deeds regardless of their size, not to mention the fact that the owner also provided money.
So he went to the Hu Clan’s mansion, only to find that the soul of Young Master Hu wasn’t there.
Presumably, he was trapped. A good person like him, when strangers learned of his death, they would refuse to believe it and pray that it wasn’t true. The wishes of the living fell upon Young Master Hu, preventing him from leaving to the underworld.
Taking him through all the places where he had done good deeds, letting him see how well the people he had saved were living, would allow him to leave with peace of mind.
It was the first time Master Shiheng had done such a thing, so he was inevitably a bit unfamiliar. To alleviate this unfamiliarity, he didn’t hesitate to help and save people along the way.
After bringing Young Master Hu’s soul back to the Hu Clan, the reputation of Master Shiheng, the holy monk, spread throughout the entire martial arts world.
Only a few people knew that, if true holiness were to be compared, no one could surpass Young Master Hu, who had the heart of an innocent child and died so early.
And no one knew that three months after Young Master Hu’s death, a follower who was invisible to others started following Master Shiheng.
This follower always wore a solemn expression, probably because he had shaved his head and could no longer wear a hairpin.
Master Shiheng’s illustrious reputation had always been circulating in the martial arts world.
It was said that although he was young, his martial arts skills were extremely powerful, and he had a kind heart, aspiring to reform evil people throughout the world.
And indeed, Master Shiheng had the ability to do so.
Since his appearance in the Jianghu, some evildoers were influenced by him and surrendered themselves, while others chose to retire from the Jianghu and never appeared in public again. The Jianghu enjoyed a period of peace for some time.
Even hundreds of years after Master Shiheng’s passing, people were still talking about him.
How exactly did Master Shiheng reform those evildoers? What kind of pure goodness did he possess to influence so many extremely wicked people?
Upon hearing these words, it was inevitable for people to make a few sarcastic remarks, “If you were to know, how could Master Shiheng be called a holy monk?”
[Ding! Vacation world is over. Please choose: 1. Vacation, 2 Continue the tasks.]
“Continue the tasks.”
Lin Shiheng opened his eyes, and the first thing he smelled was the scent of medicine.
He carefully absorbed his memories.
An ancient peasant family?
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