Chapter 644: Self-Reliance

This was Shi Chan’s first experience with a patron requesting protection. As a monk, compassion was his guiding principle, so protecting people was a natural and proper duty.

He agreed but was unsure what preparations were needed or what dangers he should be guarding against.

Shi Chan believed his two senior brothers, who had journeyed through the martial world for years, would be far more experienced than himself, whose life had been spent slaughtering pigs. This was why he sought their advice.

Lu Yang looked down at the assassin.

He had initially planned to go across the street to inquire about a girl named Peacock, just in case the assassin was lying.

There was no need to inquire now.

Meng Jingzhou glanced at Lu Yang on his left, who had just performed a heroic rescue, then at Shi Chan on his right, who was capable of protecting a beautiful woman.

Why was it that he only encountered rogue cultivators?

"Rogue cultivator, why are you just hiding in my room? Go rob someone! How am I supposed to be a hero and save a damsel if you don't rob?"

The rogue cultivator hadn't actually entered the wrong room. He simply believed no new guests would arrive so late at night, so he had hidden in an unoccupied room, intending to steal the three-hundred-year-old Thunder Tribulation Ganoderma once Fuling was asleep.

Who could have predicted that three people would check in so late?

One could only say that, like Meng Jingzhou, they all had bad luck.

Shi Chan suddenly noticed Fuling and, greatly puzzled, asked, "Patron Peacock, why are you here?"

"Master, you've mistaken me for someone else," Fuling replied. "My name is Fuling."

"Senior Brother Shi Chan, what's happening?"

"Patron Fuling looks identical to Patron Peacock."

Lu Yang, greatly surprised, asked, "Miss, do you have any sisters?"

"No..." Fuling started to say, then a vague memory surged to her mind. "Yes, I have a twin sister, but she got lost when I was very young."

Lu Yang mentally reviewed the sequence of events, feeling he now understood. He told Shi Chan, "Go call Miss Peacock. Tell her the assassin has been caught."

Shi Chan was surprised. Was the person lying on the ground the assassin?

Indeed, those black clothes certainly didn't suggest he was a good person.

Miss Peacock, who had been hiding in Shi Chan's room, clutching the Buddhist beads he had left her, was overjoyed upon hearing that the assassin had been caught.

She had even been considering simply sharing Master Shi Chan's room for the night.

True to his reputation as a Master, he had apprehended the person so swiftly.

"Peacock thanks you, Master!"

Shi Chan recited a prayer. "Patron, there is no need to thank me," he said. "This is entirely the accomplishment of my two senior brothers. This humble monk contributed nothing to the matter."

Peacock, assuming he was merely being modest, handed Shi Chan a storage ring. "These are some spirit stones," she said. "Please accept them, Master."

Shi Chan gently shook his head. "Monks are to be compassionate," he explained. "Saving lives is this humble monk's duty. How could I accept payment?"

"This is not for you, Master," she clarified, "but incense money donated to the Buddha."

Shi Chan continued to refuse. "This humble monk *is* the Buddha," he stated.

"Huh?"

Peacock looked utterly bewildered by Shi Chan's statement. Shi Chan, however, offered no further explanation. Following Lu Yang's suggestion, he led Miss Peacock to Fuling's room.

The two young women saw each other and were speechless with surprise for a moment.

The air grew thick with anticipation.

Fuling was the first to break the silence. Her lips trembled, she stammered, and tears streamed down her face. "Sister?" she whispered.

"You... you're my younger sister?"

"Sister!"

"Sister!"

The two young women embraced, weeping profusely. Having been lost at two years old and reuniting eighteen years later, it was a truly moving scene.

"Sister, where did you go back then?" Fuling asked through her tears. "And why are you called Peacock now?"

Wiping her tears, Peacock sobbed, "After I got lost, my master found me. He took me all around the vicinity, but couldn't find any trace of you. So he brought me back to his monastery and raised me."

"I was too young to remember my own name, so my master named me Peacock."

Lu Yang realized that such a professional assassin should not have mistaken their target; there was indeed a reason for this.

Fuling's room was suddenly crowded: Lu Yang and his two companions, Fuling, Peacock, the assassin, and the rogue cultivator Meng Jingzhou had brought along.

All seven were now gathered in one room.

Lu Yang silently scanned the group: reunited sisters, an assassin with poor judgment, and a rogue cultivator intent on theft. He himself, Lu Yang mused, had only intended to check into the inn.

"I just entered the wrong room," he muttered. "How did so many things happen in the blink of an eye?"

Now that he knew the full story, Lu Yang felt it would be awkward to ask Fuling to take the assassin to the yamen herself.

Two newly reunited sisters, one dragging an assassin and the other a rogue cultivator, chatting and laughing on their way to the yamen to report a crime – the image simply felt wrong.

"Let's go," Lu Yang sighed, deciding to see their good deed through. "We'll take them to the yamen."

Besides, there was no escaping it. Even if they didn't go to the yamen, the constables would still come looking for him to take his testimony as a witness.

The seven of them noisily descended from the inn, leaving the owner completely stunned.

He couldn't recall so many people being upstairs.

Lu Yang explained the sequence of events to the owner, who was so shocked that cold sweat immediately beaded on his brow.

"Fortunately, the three young heroes were here," he exclaimed. "Otherwise, there would have been a murder in my inn! I can't even imagine what would have happened after that. Who would dare to stay in my inn then?"

The owner thanked them profusely, waived all charges for Lu Yang and his companions' food and lodging, and promised they could stay as long as they wished.

Since the two sisters had nearly faced danger in his inn, the owner, out of apology, also waived their fees and made the same promise.

The five of them, escorting the two captives, left the inn. They hadn't walked far when they encountered patrolling constables. After hearing their account, the constables promptly escorted all seven back to the yamen for a detailed report of the events.

The subsequent proceedings unfolded exactly as Lu Yang had anticipated. The assassin and the rogue cultivator were handed over to the yamen for processing. The three of them provided their testimonies as witnesses, and at the conclusion, each was awarded a banner for their courageous acts and a reward of spirit stones.

This time, Shi Chan did not decline the reward.

After all these exhausting events, the three of them were physically and mentally drained and finally able to return to the inn to rest. Only the two sisters, newly reunited, were bursting with energy.

After a night's rest, Lu Yang stretched, feeling completely comfortable and refreshed.

"Old Meng, time to get up!"

Lu Yang considerately knocked on the door to wake Meng Jingzhou.

Meng Jingzhou opened his door with an unpleased expression, glaring darkly at Lu Yang.

Lu Yang ignored Meng Jingzhou's glare.

Shi Chan emerged from his room, looking radiant and completely different from his exhausted state the previous night, clearly well-rested. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, good morning," he greeted.

"Where are we going today? Are we going to perform a ritual?"

"Indeed."

Lu Yang teased, "I thought you'd be taking the spirit stones the yamen rewarded you with last night to a brothel to temper your mind."

"Senior Brother, you jest," Shi Chan replied. "One should not accept rewards without merit. This humble monk did nothing yesterday; it is thanks to you two senior brothers that I received a good reputation for courageous acts. The spirit stones from the authorities were difficult to refuse, so I shall consider them a donation from the government to our sect. How could I use them for my personal benefit?"

"Would you like me to give you some spirit stones?" Meng Jingzhou offered with a chuckle.

Shi Chan shook his head in refusal. "If this humble monk were to use Senior Brother Meng's spirit stones to visit a brothel," he explained, "it would not be this humble monk going to the brothel, but Senior Brother Meng going. That would not achieve the desired tempering effect."

"My master always taught this humble monk to be self-reliant," he continued. "The spirit stones for me to visit a brothel must be earned through my own abilities."