Chapter Twelve: The Purple Cloud Pavilion

  Cheng Jun looked at the two people talking, standing aside, and felt someone behind him. Turning his head around, he saw a figure emerging from behind the mountain rocks, a girl wearing leather clothes and carrying a hunting knife, smiling at him.

  The girl, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, had a shiny big braid, a round face, and a smiling face with a pair of dimples. Her appearance was very sweet, but her eyes were a pair of upward-slanting phoenix eyes that revealed a few hints of playfulness.

  Cheng Jun smiled and nodded, the girl took a few steps forward, laughing: "Are you the one that Shi Tou and the others picked up? Are you from outside the mountain? You're really handsome, just like a big girl."

  Cheng Jun couldn't help but smile at that. The girl's words were straightforward, yet also naive and innocent. "It's me," she said.

  The girl said: "I am Xiao Shi Tou's sister. Our surname is Chai, and we live in that direction, Ma Wei Village. Come on, go to our house for a visit, my family has many delicious things." As she spoke, she pulled him along.

  Cheng Jun didn't expect her to be so enthusiastic, and was naturally pulled by her. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the girl's eyebrows raised, eyes wide open, and she turned around and scolded: "Two little rabbits, where are you escaping to?"

  Originally, the two little brats saw the girl and Cheng Jun talking, they thought it was a good opportunity to sneak away. The girl didn't give them a chance, she let go of Cheng Jun and ran over like a gust of wind, grabbing one with each hand, grabbing Xiao Hei's collar and Xiao Shi Tou's ear, pulling both of them several feet before dragging them back beside her. Her movements were so fierce that even Cheng Jun couldn't help but take a cold breath when he saw it.

  The little stone was pulled so hard it hurt and cried out: "Let me go, Chai Huo Niang!"

  That girl exerted her strength and twisted his ear, laughing: "You can say it again." Seeing Xiaoshi humming a few times, not daring to speak again, she laughed: "I bet you don't dare. We are surnamed Chai, others call me Chai Huo Niang, I'm happy about it. But you're not allowed, I'm your sister, and you can only call me sister. If you dare to call me anything else, watch me twist off your ear." She twisted a few more times before letting go, Xiaoshi covering his ear with a face full of grievance, looking at her with tearful eyes.

  That young girl finished counting the small stones, then turned her head and pulled the little monk, saying: "You've also become bolder, you and Xiao Shi didn't discuss anything with me, and even taught him to secretly take out my leather jacket without telling me what's going on. That child was frozen in the ice, shouldn't he be sleeping by a warm stove and eating some hot noodles? You put him in your small temple, it's really something you've done, thinking that I'm stingy all the time, and also stingy with guests, afraid of not being able to eat my food? In our mountain village, there's no rule about treating guests poorly, you two kids have disgraced us."

  The little monk glared at Little Shi Tou, who spread his hands and said: "He's tall, my clothes won't fit him. I saw the firewood... Sister's clothes are just right for me. Anyway, you can't tell male or female from a leather jacket, so I took one. Who knew it would be discovered as soon as I got back..."

  Cheng Jun lowered his head and indeed saw that the leather jacket on him had a somewhat feminine style, but it wasn't too obvious, and it still fit quite well. He remembered something and asked, "Is my previous set of clothes still here?" The original clothes had a ghostly symbol drawn on them, which wasn't very useful; for him, it was at most just a keepsake. He only casually asked, and if they were lost, then so be it.

  The little monk was quite fortunate to have opened up the topic, and quickly turned his head around, revealing a seemingly smiling yet not-quite-smiling expression. He said: "That piece of clothing...". After thinking for a moment, he continued: "I'm afraid it's trouble, so I didn't take it in."

  "What's wrong?"

  Xiao Heshang said, "When we thawed you out of the ice, a passing Daoist said that the things on your body are ghostly symbols, a kind of evil technique called 'Jiangshi Fu'. I was afraid it would harm you, so I threw them away."

  The little monk looked at the little stone and felt that his words were subtly different from what he had explained to himself, but he had always believed in the little monk, so he was only puzzled and didn't speak.

  Cheng Jun's expression was calm and collected as he said, "So that's how it is... Is there a Taoist temple around here?" He had been to Mount Wanma in his previous life, but didn't remember seeing any Taoist temples. After all, back then, the entire area of thousands of miles was all part of the Wanma Temple's domain, and even the Taoist sect couldn't gain a foothold. However, now that the Wanma Temple had fallen on hard times and only had one sign left, it wasn't surprising that several Taoist temples had squeezed into the space occupied by the Wanma Temple.

  The little monk intentionally mentioned the "Hua Shi Fu" which he also thought was unreliable, originally intending to see what Cheng Jun would say, but unexpectedly Cheng Jun completely ignored this sentence, and couldn't help but feel a bit depressed. Just as he was about to respond, he heard Chai Huo Niang say: "There is one, in the mountain valley over there, there's a Purple Cloud Temple, where Yue Hua Zhen Ren is a highly skilled and accomplished person." As she spoke, her expression was radiant and excited.

  The little stone originally pouted, but it was just a bit like a child throwing a tantrum. When he heard the three words "Purple Cloud Temple", he suddenly became vigilant, let out a heavy hum and said: "What's his skill? He has the skill of hooking up with others! Holding two iron swords and waving them around is also considered a skill. There are too many people in the world who have skills."

  Chai Huo Niang turned her head and said, "What's not capable? Anyone can hold that long sword, you've also held a knife before. Why don't I see you beheading the big worm with one sword like him? Since he arrived, our mountain has been peaceful and safe, without any more monsters or ghosts. Isn't it his credit?"

  "Has he been here for just a few years? I've grown up like this, and never seen any monsters or ghosts. Is that also his credit? Not to mention our mountain has always had good weather, we're all hunters, not farmers, what do we need with good weather?"

  The two glared at each other, a spark of gunpowder slowly igniting between them.

  Cheng Jun saw such a situation, secretly surprised. Chai Huo Niu was indeed reckless and Xiao Shi Tou was mischievous, but he could also see that the brother and sister relationship between them was very good. However, now it seemed like there was some intense conflict between the two of them, and they would explode as soon as they touched each other.

  The little monk coughed and said to Cheng Jun, "By the way, is that piece of clothing important to you? I'm still in the pit. If you want it, we can go find it together."

  Cheng Jun understood his meaning and said, "Alright, let's go find him then."

  The little monk pulled over a small stone and said, "Stone, where was that place again? I seem to have forgotten. Take us there." The small stone hummed and temporarily calmed down its anger, saying, "Follow me."

  Xiao Heshang turned his head and smiled: "Chai sister, let's follow him to the creek side and take a look, are you going?"

  "Go on, why don't you go? In a while I'll be inviting guests over to our place."

  All the way, Xiaoshi walked in the front, Chaihuo followed behind, both of them lowered their heads and didn't care about each other. Xiaoshi walked fast, but Chaihuo got slower and slower, finally fell far behind. Cheng Jun saw that his sister and brother were so awkward, he was puzzled for a moment - but didn't ask any questions. When people get old, they are not as curious as before.

  It was Xiao He Shang who rubbed his head and said, "This is really the case. Originally it was fine, but as soon as Yue Hua Lao Dao was mentioned, they would inevitably quarrel. This is still a small matter, when the time comes to give an answer after the new year, that will be a big deal."

  "What's wrong?"

  The little monk shook his head and said: "I also dare not say, Old Daoist Yuehua..."

  "Is he the master of your Taoist temple?"

  Xiao He Shang said, "He's the master of Ziyun Temple, and he's the only real Daoist there. The others are just Dao children. That old Dao... don't listen to Xiao Shi Tou scolding him, he really hates that old Daoist and intentionally says he's worthless. Actually, that old Daoist is very formidable."

  Cheng Jun nodded and said, "What's so fierce about it?"

  The little monk hummed and said: "Anyway, you should know - our Wan Ma Temple was originally built in the Wan Yun Valley over there. It's an ancient temple that's been around for 500 years. I was a young novice there, reciting scriptures, doing chores, and serving the elderly monks. Two years ago, one day, an old Taoist appeared out of nowhere at the entrance of the valley, carrying a wooden stake to block the temple gate. He shouted and scolded, saying he wanted to challenge our entire temple alone. If he lost, he would give us a lot of gold, silver, and treasures. But if he won, we would have to roll out of the Wan Yun Valley, and no bald-headed monks would be allowed to stay within a thousand miles."

  "Then you naturally lose."

  The little monk smiled wryly and said, "Don't say it so directly - okay, you've also seen the result. Our temple may not be big, but there are over a hundred monks inside, and for many years, the temple has been hiding Buddhist martial arts classics, and there are more than one or two monks who practice martial arts. Especially among them, there are eighteen masters of staff techniques who have practiced a set of bronze man formation methods, which can keep out ordinary people. When the elder saw that the old Taoist was holding a red wooden stick as thick as his arms, he knew it wasn't good to mess with him, so he immediately arranged for the bronze man formation to welcome the enemy. But unexpectedly, the old Taoist was not an ordinary person from the Jianghu world; he had a set of magical techniques in his hand and released a group of fireballs with one move, burning my fellow monks until they couldn't advance or retreat and were defeated. The other monks who went up next didn't last more than three moves. The old Taoist said that if we didn't leave, he would directly set the temple on fire; if we had the ability, we could die together with the temple. The abbot said that since this old Taoist knew magic techniques, he was a person from another world, and whoever went up to fight him would be looking for death. We couldn't defeat him, so in the end, the order was given: everyone leave together, first preserve our lives and then talk about it later."

  Cheng Jun listened and inferred the old Taoist's cultivation from his few words, asking: "Don't you have anyone in Wàn Mǎ Temple who knows magic?"

  Little monk said: "Before I met that old Taoist, I had never known that there was really magic in the world. Alas, before I became a monk, I also read books for a few days and read some strange stories written by officials, at that time I felt yearning in my heart, but thought it was just fantasy, if not seen with my own eyes that old Taoist, how would I know there are such things?"

  Cheng Jun thought to himself: "I remember that the Wan Ma Temple was once prosperous, and in its heyday, it was the number one force in Buddhism, producing many monks who had reached the sixth level of consciousness, and even some who had attained the level of Sarira. I didn't think that now it would be so precarious. The question is, what kind of opportunity did the Wan Ma Temple encounter over the past few hundred years to develop into what it became later on?

  However, since the Wan Ma Temple has moved away, there are no strong enemies in the Wan Yun Valley. I don't need to wait for several years, and this time I can get that thing, saving me from having to make another trip in the future. It's just that now my opponent is the Purple Cloud Pavilion. Listening to Little Monk's words, it seems that the old Taoist's cultivation and magic are nothing special either. When I go see the old Taoist, as long as he hasn't built a foundation, there will always be a way."

  He asked again: "Since the monks of Wan Ma Temple are not allowed to stay within a thousand miles, what are you doing here?"

  The little monk said: "The abbot said that we all left, fearing that the temple would be damaged too badly, so he took a picture of me staying behind to watch."

  Cheng Jun knew at once that this was bullying. With over a hundred monks in the temple, it was impossible to guard the temple grounds, and leaving a small novice monk to watch over things was useless. He secretly frowned, openly oppressing his own disciples - this really didn't befit a proper sect.

  Xiao Heshang said, "Although they took away the Buddha statue and the land deed, there are still many things in the temple. For example, that Buddhist bell is not only worthless but also heavy, it can't be taken away for the time being, let me move it into the temple to keep an eye on it."

  Cheng Jun said quietly: Not worth anything? Don't even mention the Buddha statue, what's a small piece of land deed compared to a Dharma instrument. He casually asked: "They didn't even drive you away?"

  The little monk raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying: "That's my skill. Everyone in the temple is afraid of the old Taoist priest, but I'm not." As he spoke, a hint of pride flashed beneath his calm demeanor. He furrowed his brow again and continued, "Although I'm not afraid of Yue Hua, the old Taoist priest, there are more people on that side now. When you were frozen in the ice, a Taoist priest passed by, who was also his disciple - the one with the ghostly symbol on your body. Although he didn't seem like a clever person, he had some abilities. With just one palm strike, he blasted the ice surface to smithereens. Later, you go take a look at that hole, and you'll see that even a stream was blown apart by him."

  Cheng Jun hummed and said: "The pit you mentioned, is it in front of us, where the three Taoist boys are standing?" As he spoke, his footsteps came to a halt.

  The little monk was taken aback, and the small stone in front of him suddenly stopped in his tracks. The little monk couldn't stop in time and almost collided with it. He passed over the shoulder of the small stone and saw that beside the original large pit, three people were already standing there, lowering their heads and pointing and discussing around the pit.