Thirty Chapters of Shaolin's Hardships

  The two masters and apprentices left Zhuxian Town and saw that the north had been occupied by the Jin State, with a very heavy mood.

  "Master, if these officials return to the Jin State and report back, won't the Jin State's Wolf King send troops to attack Bianjing? Wouldn't that put our Song Dynasty in danger? Why don't we just get rid of those three officials and avoid future troubles?" Wang Ziyu said.

  "Amitabha, child, monks do not kill the innocent indiscriminately. Although those few Jin people deserved to be killed, they had no feud with us and how could we bring ourselves to do it? Moreover, even if we fought, our master and disciple might not necessarily win. This is the territory of the Jin country, how can we take action? Even if we succeeded, escaping would still be a problem. Child, you are still young and don't understand some things yet. If the Song Dynasty were to perish now, it would also be heaven's will. Your current priority should be to learn your skills well and contribute to the country in the future." said Master Zishan.

  Wang Zi Peng listened to his master's words and dispelled the idea of intercepting the Jin State officials.

  "Zi Peng, let's hurry up and get going! Shaolin Temple is almost here, don't cause any more trouble on the way," said Master Zishan, leading Zi Peng directly to Shaolin Temple.

  They arrived at Mount Song in Dengfeng, Henan, and saw the Golden Army appearing on the mountain. The two masters had to bypass the Golden Army and enter the Shaolin Temple.

  Outside the mountain gate, there was no one in sight, a desolate and bleak scene.

  "Master, I've heard that the Shaolin Temple is the largest temple in the world. Why does it look so desolate? We came up the mountain and didn't see a single Shaolin disciple along the way. Instead, we saw many Golden Soldiers. Did they massacre the Shaolin Temple? Did all the Shaolin disciples meet with disaster?" Wang Ziyu asked in confusion.

  "Old monk also feels suspicious. Zi Peng, let's observe for a while before going in," said Master Zishan.

  Zi Peng nodded in agreement.

  The master and apprentice found a secluded place to hide and quietly listened to the movements inside the temple.

  Suddenly, thick smoke billowed inside Shaolin Temple, with cries of killing and fighting sounds that never stopped.

  "Master, something's wrong at Shaolin Temple, what should we do?" asked Zi Peng.

  "Child, you stay here first, and let me go in to take a look." Master Zhi Shan said and walked out.

  "Master, wait for me, I also want to go in and take a look." Wang Zipeng said as he followed over.

  Master Zhishan had no choice but to take Zi Peng and enter the Shaolin Temple.

  Arrived at the middle gate of Shaolin Temple, saw a young monk rushing out with a flustered expression.

  The Great Master stopped Little Sha and asked with concern: "Amitabha Buddha, donor, where are you going?"

  Xiaoyi saw an old monk with a white beard and mustache bring a young man to the Shaolin Temple, shocked: "Who are you——?"

  "Amitabha Buddha, don't be afraid, benefactor. I have a junior fellow practitioner who has become a monk at Shaolin Temple. I've come specifically to visit him." said Master Zishan.

  "Venerable monk, you're quite old and must be a high-ranking person. To tell you the truth, Shaolin Temple is in great danger now. The four great masters from the Golden Kingdom are killing people and setting fires in the Mahavira Hall with many government soldiers. Many disciples have been killed. Those four great masters are the famous Four Golden Guardians, their kung fu skills are exceptional, we can't match them at all. I think it's best for you to leave here before they discover you, the farther away the better." The little monk said with concern.

  "Then where is your Abbot Zhi Cheng? And what about those martial monks of yours? Are they so vulnerable to defeat?" asked Master Zhao Shan with doubt.

  "Master, you also know our abbot? Are you the virtuous monk, Master Zhishan, whom our abbot often mentions?" asked Xia Shami.

  "Amitabha Buddha, that's right! I am a monk who wanders the nine provinces and is unrestrained in my travels." The Great Master of Ultimate Goodness joined his palms together and recited the Buddha's name.

  "Master, you've come! It's great! Shaolin is saved." Little monk said with delight.

  "Benefactor, I don't understand. Why did I come and Shaolin Temple was saved? I have no special skills, I only know how to heal and save people." said the Great Master Zishan.

  "Master, to be honest with you, before the Golden Army attacked Shaolin Temple, they poisoned the well in our temple. Hundreds of monks in our temple were poisoned. The abbot guessed it was the doing of the Golden Dog and made preparations beforehand. He and several elders decided to send all the Shaolin monks and the Eighteen Arhats into the Dharma Cave for treatment overnight. To paralyze the Golden Army, he and several elders stayed in the temple to preside over the situation. This morning, the Golden Army attacked us at dawn. The abbot told everyone to hide, but after the Golden Army entered, they came to the Mahavira Hall, spoke disrespectfully, and blasphemed against the gods. The abbot argued with them, but they tied him up in the courtyard and tortured him, saying they would burn him alive at noon. As Shaolin disciples, we have a responsibility to protect Shaolin, so we didn't want to surrender. We came out from hiding and fought the Golden Army, but because we were poisoned earlier, our bodies were numb and weak, and we lost our fighting ability. That's why the Golden Army easily defeated us. They set fire to the houses and slaughtered innocent people." Little Sha said.

  Master Zhishan listened, his heart extremely anxious: "Master Zhencheng will be burned to death at noon three quarters, must rush before noon three quarters, let the Shaolin monks and the Eighteen Arhats recover their combat strength, hurry up to deal with the Four Golden Strongmen, otherwise, the Shaolin Temple will really be destroyed in an instant. The old monk cannot let this centuries-old ancient temple be destroyed, must do his best to detoxify them." Master Zhishan thought of this, and hastily said: "Benefactor, time is running out, quickly take me to the Damo Cave."

  Xia Shami didn't say another word and took her master and apprentice directly to the Dahmo Cave.

  "Benefactor, how come you weren't poisoned?" asked Master Zhi Shan.

  "To be honest, I went down the mountain with a few fellow disciples last night and didn't return until dawn. When we got back, everyone in Shaolin Temple had been poisoned. It's said that it was because they drank water from the well that was poisoned, so we don't dare to drink anymore." The young monk said with embarrassment.

  "Everyone is in trouble, why are you hiding alone? Are you trying to slip out of the mountain gate?" Wang Zipeng asked puzzled.

  "It's true. I think that one person is powerless, so it's better to preserve my life first and then revive Shaolin later. As the saying goes: as long as the green mountain is there, we don't have to worry about firewood. That's what I think." Little monk said with a red face.

  "Zi Peng, don't blame Xiao Shami, he's also helpless." said Master Zhishan.

  “……”

  As they talked, they arrived at Damo Cave without realizing it.

  The great master arrived at the cave, first examined the patient's condition, asked about the feeling after poisoning and the various symptoms that appeared, then selected some medicine from the prepared pills and handed them to Zǐ Péng, instructing him to give one pill to each person.

  Wang Zipeng followed his master's instructions and distributed the medicine to these Shaolin monks, and also gave them one by one.

  The medicine of Master Zishan is truly miraculous, it takes effect immediately after a quarter of an hour.

  "Everyone, your Master Fangzheng will be burned alive by the Golden Army at noon, and now it's already past 11 am. Time is running out, let's all hold on and go rescue Master Fangzheng together with me. Don't worry, once we get there, your powers will mostly recover, and dealing with the Four Great Golden Guardians shouldn't be a problem. Although their kung fu isn't bad, those four people can't even handle Zhou Dang alone, in my opinion, they're nothing special." said Master Zishan.

  Everyone listened and their confidence doubled. They stood up one after another and followed the Great Master of Ultimate Goodness to rush to the Mahavira Hall of Shaolin Temple.

  They arrived at the scene outside the Dahong Hall, where they saw the Four Heavenly Kings and dozens of golden soldiers binding up all the monks, elders and disciples of Shaolin Temple with ropes, piling them together in one place, surrounded by stacks of firewood.

  The four great Vajras looked extremely pleased with themselves.

  "You all prepare here first, rest for a while, I'll go meet them, when I put my hands together and chant Buddha's name, you suddenly come out and kill them. Zishan Master said."

  Everyone nodded frequently.

  The Great Master arrived in front of the Four Heavenly Kings, holding a Zen stick. The Four Heavenly Kings saw that an old monk with a spirited and sharp appearance had suddenly appeared before them, and they were shocked beyond measure.