Chapter 30

Surrounded on all sides by enemies, Meng Qi remained calm. He blocked the peddler's long sword with his broadsword, then crouched down, allowing the old man's dagger to pierce his back, but avoiding the vital spot, which was hit slightly above by the thin sword of the old man with the huqin.

The woman of the couple lost her voice and struck Meng Qi's chin, but the ground-rolling saber was not a problem, cutting directly into Meng Qi's legs.

Although the peddler in front did not succeed, a smug and cold smile involuntarily appeared on his face. He had deliberately exposed a flaw in his disguise to orchestrate this ambush!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, a series of sounds like arrows hitting leather rang out, and the peddler's smile froze on his face.

He saw his companions' weapons all hit something like iron, only penetrating slightly, with a few drops of blood. The little monk's broadsword retracted and then swung in a move called "Sweeping the World."

A head flew up, blood gushed like a waterfall, and the peddler saw the headless body of the woman in the couple sway and fall to the ground.

"He actually has such a body of hardened skills!" The peddler regretted it bitterly, never imagining that such a young monk could have such profound hardened skills!

Meng Qi ignored the old man with the huqin and the old man from the teahouse behind him, suddenly stepping diagonally forward, blocking the place where the ground-rolling saber man had retreated. He swung his broadsword down, and more blood spurted, splattering his white leg bindings.

Then, he slid his feet and strangely fell back, passing by the old man from the teahouse.

Heads flew, blood spurted, but Meng Qi only had a shallow wound on his chest.

Seeing this, the peddler was terrified, losing his usual composure, and hastily turned to flee, as if avoiding a demon.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he saw the handsome little monk blocking his path.

"Die!" He stabbed at Meng Qi's forehead in a panic, not daring to tangle with him.

Meng Qi, with a chin wound, gritted his teeth and smiled, looking particularly fierce. He raised his left hand and directly grabbed the peddler's long sword, ignoring the blood streaming from his palm, pulled it back forcefully, and swung his broadsword.

"No..." The peddler's scream was cut short, his throat spraying blood all over Meng Qi's face.

On the other side, the old man with the huqin trembled, let out a strange cry, and fled, leaving Meng Qi unable to catch him.

Is this trading a minor injury for a major one? After the battle, Meng Qi exhaled a deep breath, wiped the blood from his face, and walked toward the survivors in the teahouse.

The young master and his maids and guards stared in shock, not understanding what had happened until the blood spurted and heads fell. The monk, who seemed to have emerged from the bloody hell, stood before them, making them tremble in fear and kneel to beg for mercy.

"Master, Master, I have always been devout in my worship of the Buddha. Please spare this humble life," the young master wept.

"I am just asking for directions. How do I get to Shaohua Mountain?" Meng Qi smiled, but the blood on his face and body made the young master and others find his smile terrifying and fierce.

A guard barely suppressed his trembling and honestly told Meng Qi the information.

Meng Qi nodded slightly, a mischievous thought arising. "I see that you all have a connection with the Buddha..."

"No, Master! I don't want to meet the Buddha yet. I have an eighty-year-old grandmother and a three-year-old child. I will give you anything you want!" The young master cried in fear.

"I just want to borrow your horse. Would you be willing to form this good karma?" The more frightened they were, the more excited Meng Qi was to play the role of a "high monk."

The young master looked at the blood on Meng Qi's face and dared not refuse. "Master, I am more than willing to form this good karma. Please take the horse."

"I am not a bandit. This jade pendant is a pledge for the borrowed horse." Meng Qi, seeing the time was running out, stopped scaring them.

The young master immediately had tears streaming down his face. "Master, I offer it willingly! This is for worshipping the Buddha, how can I take your pledge!"

He frantically waved his hands, refusing to take the jade pendant, suspecting it was a test by the monk. If he really took it, he feared for his life.

Meng Qi was taken aback. "Amitabha, I thank you for your kindness."

The young master sighed in relief. "I should thank you for your enlightenment."

Meng Qi suddenly thought of a famous line and looked at the young master's luggage with a half-smile. "I see that your wealth also has a connection with the Buddha."

The young master's face fell, and he tried to look devout, handing over the money bag to Meng Qi. "Please use this to gild the Buddha's statue and enlighten the world."

He actually gave it... Is this what it feels like to collect alms? Meng Qi pursed his lips and said no more, calling Qi Zhengyan and the others over to check the bodies for food and water.

A moment later, Xiang Hui led four horses, tying the food and water to the saddles, and then looked at Meng Qi, who had just bandaged his wound, with a smile. "Divine monk, when do we leave? We only have three days, so we shouldn't delay..."

Meng Qi nodded slightly. "Let's leave now."

Honestly, Meng Qi thought that after witnessing the battle, Xiang Hui's attitude toward him would change significantly. After all, his strength was fully demonstrated, and he was just a Qi Xiaocheng with hardened skills, on the same level as Xiang Hui. Who knew, he still flattered and fawned.

Perhaps he felt he had no chance of defeating him?

Hearing Meng Qi's answer, Xiang Hui immediately mounted his horse, skillfully holding the reins, waiting to set off.

Meng Qi looked at the horse before him, a bit nervous. After all, he had never ridden a horse before, but with his martial arts, he was agile and quick, and he wasn't afraid of just traveling without fighting.

"Master, Master..." Suddenly, the young girl Xiao Zi spoke timidly.

Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan turned to look at her, saying nothing.

Xiao Zi, on the verge of tears, said, "Master, I, I don't know how to ride a horse."

This was a problem. Meng Qi frowned slightly, looking at Xiao Zi. She was just an ordinary girl and would not learn to ride a horse in a hurry.

At this moment, Meng Qi suddenly remembered the words Jiang Zhwei had suggested when she advised him to learn lightness skills first, finding them particularly reasonable. If you can't even keep up with others, how can they protect you in an emergency, even if they have a compassionate heart?

Seeing Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan frowning and silent, Xiao Zi suddenly became nervous, her voice trembling. "Master, I, I can learn to ride a horse, don't leave me behind!"

She was a stranger here and could only cling to Meng Qi, who seemed kind and compassionate, even though they had only known each other for a short time. Otherwise, if she was left behind, she would soon be captured and sold into brothels, with no way to resist.

Meng Qi looked her up and down, noticing the bloodstains on her clothes from checking the bodies as instructed.

Recalling how Xiao Zi, though terrified of the bodies, had gritted her teeth and completed the task, Meng Qi sighed inwardly. Heaven helps those who help themselves...

"Learning to ride a horse now might be too late, Miss Xiao Zi. If you don't mind, you can ride with me," Meng Qi deliberately recited a Buddhist chant to show his identity as a monk, so Xiao Zi wouldn't hesitate about propriety.

Though this way, Meng Qi felt he could leave her behind without guilt, but since he was being kind, he considered the details from the start.

Xiao Zi was stunned, then her black eyes misted over, and she clasped her hands. "Master, you have a compassionate heart. I thank you in advance."

Xiang Hui, behind Meng Qi, subconsciously sneered. In his view, such a weak girl should not be brought along, just for some fun and then left behind.

Qi Zhengyan did not stop Meng Qi's decision, still maintaining his serious expression, but nodded slightly when looking at Meng Qi.

"Miss Xiao Zi, you sit behind me, remember to hold onto my robe," Meng Qi helped her onto the horse.

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt uneasy about having an unfamiliar person behind him, so he changed his mind. "Miss Xiao Zi, you should sit in front. I'm worried you might fall off."

Xiao Zi had no objections, moving to the front of the saddle. Meng Qi mounted the horse, wrapping his arms around her to hold the reins.

Xiao Zi's face turned red, but she wasn't too shy, after all, Meng Qi was still a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy.

Qi Zhengyan rode one horse and led another, nodding slightly. "Little Brother Zhen, I was worried about your lack of experience in the world."

Meng Qi knew he was referring to his decision to let Xiao Zi sit in front. He laughed awkwardly. "Indeed, I lack experience. I was deceived by the peddler, but the biggest mistake wasn't that. It was asking for directions at the teahouse. If we had stopped random passersby on the road, we likely wouldn't have been ambushed..."

After the battle, he carefully reviewed the process, reflecting on his gains and losses, and realized many of his actions were naive.

Meng Qi clearly knew his talent couldn't match Jiang Zhwei or Zhang Yuanshan. If he didn't reflect and improve daily, his future would be bleak.

Listening quietly to Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan turned his head, looking ahead, and said softly, "I was also negligent."

Pfft, Meng Qi chuckled inwardly, saying nothing, took off his jade pendant, and threw it behind him, landing in the young master's arms.

Then, he spurred his horse forward, laughing loudly. "This is the payment for the horse."

The young master, stunned, caught the jade pendant, watching Meng Qi's gray robe disappear in the dust, muttering, "He actually gave the money..."

The jade pendant was translucent and warm, clearly very valuable.

He never thought that in such a situation, a monk who killed like grass would actually pay fairly!

Even ordinary people would have been greedy and taken it by force!

"Master, he seems more like a monk than the high monks who visit us regularly..." the beautiful maid was bewildered.

...

"Isn't this almsgiving?" Qi Zhengyan, seeing Meng Qi throw the jade pendant, was a bit surprised. "This is a cycle world, and we can act according to the situation."

After all, no one here knew them, and they would leave after completing the task.

Meng Qi put away his usual smile, speaking seriously. "If, in an unfamiliar place, you indulge your desires when no one is around, what's the difference from having no principles? In the cycle world, I think we should stick to our principles. Otherwise, after each task, we will eventually change our nature, becoming demons, and falling into eternal suffering."

He didn't have a fully formed, deep-seated idea, just feeling he should stick to his principles and not become someone he would hate to kill.

Besides, because of the small jade Buddha, he didn't want to keep the jade pendant.

Qi Zhengyan looked up, gazing at the road ahead, his tone slightly melancholy. "Can you stick to it? If the task given by the 'Master of the Six Realms' goes against your principles, and you will be eliminated if you don't complete it, would you sacrifice yourself for righteousness? Achieve Buddhahood instantly?"

"This..." Qi Zhengyan's extreme scenario made it hard for Meng Qi to answer, so he sighed. "I can't imagine it now. We can only see when the time comes... But we should also accumulate good karma to prevent deductions if we fail the task."

The hooves clattered, and dust flew. Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan fell silent again, focusing on the journey.

Two days later, the four were not far from Shaolin. They seemed to have shaken off the pursuers, avoiding any battles.

"At the next crossroads, we will abandon the horses and enter the mountains. Once we cross this forest, we will be there," Meng Qi told Xiang Hui and Xiao Zi about his and Qi Zhengyan's decision.

From the current signs, the pursuers seemed to have not expected them to move so quickly and had not caught up yet. However, Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan believed the pursuers would use long-distance communication methods to notify nearby experts to intercept them on the main roads, so they couldn't continue on the main road.

If they crossed the mountains, there would be many paths, and even if Duerzha had many experts, they couldn't completely block them. Even if his army arrived, it would be the same!

Xiao Zi and Xiang Hui had no objections to their decision.

It was now evening, and a heavy rain was pouring down, making the road almost invisible. Suddenly, Meng Qi felt his horse trip over something, flying into the air and throwing him and Xiao Zi off.

Then, dozens of white-feathered arrows whistled through the rain, shooting from the roadside forest toward Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan, and the others.