ragginovel Chapter 647 A Turtle in a Jar
Chapter 647 A Turtle in a Jar
Chapter 647 A Turtle in a Jar
Jiang Muchan guessed correctly; indeed, quite a few people had arrived in the courtyard outside.
The ones who led the crowd over were undoubtedly the few Shaolin disciples of the Zhen generation who had been entrusted by the abbot to "keep an eye on Chunxin".
These few... to be precise, these three, are truly honest and straightforward in their work...
Generally speaking, when a person on a surveillance mission loses sight of a target, their first reaction is usually to search carefully around the area where the target was last seen. It's not too late to report to their superiors once they're sure they can't find the target.
However, these three monks of the Zhen generation went to report to the abbot within two minutes of Chunxin's slip away.
What if Chunxin didn't sneak off to destroy evidence, but just quietly went to a grove of trees outside the main hall to urinate and came back in a couple of minutes? Wouldn't they have made a complete blunder?
This isn't over yet...
Logically speaking, you can report immediately, but at least take a look at who is in the room where the leader is, and consider the volume and manner of your speech before you speak.
Well, these three were just so honest. When they entered the room and saw that the abbot was idle (at this time, Master Jizhen and Headmaster Yao had already given up on using their internal energy to wake up Zheng Dongxi and Chun Kong, and they had also been adjusting their breathing for a while), they stepped forward without thinking. They started by saying "Amitabha" and then, in front of the group of Wudang leaders and many prominent figures in the martial arts world, they frankly admitted that they had failed to keep an eye on Chun Xin and that Uncle Chun Xin had slipped away. They even asked the abbot to punish them.
Ji Zhen blushed when she heard this.
In his view, this was a minor matter that was still uncertain and could be dealt with later. After all, Chunxin had only acted suspiciously during the day, and there was no real evidence to prove that he was definitely up to something. Therefore, when he gave the order, he used a rather vague word like "keep an eye on him" and did not make any definitive statements.
But right now, these three grandsons... no, I mean, Jizhen's three grand-disciples, said these words in front of so many fellow practitioners. Isn't that putting him, as the sect leader, on the hot seat?
If Master Jizhen were to adopt a evasive or dismissive attitude at this point, wouldn't others see it as a problem not with his disciple, but with him personally? Is it a daily pastime for a highly accomplished monk like himself to send people to monitor his direct disciples? Or do he harbor some unspeakable secret?
Therefore, at this point, Master Jizhen could only try to make a big deal out of a small matter—he had to deal with the problem openly, seriously, and even publicly, so that his behavior would not seem shameful.
"Amitabha... Do not panic. This matter is still unresolved. I think we should find the person first and then make a decision." After a moment, Jizhen deliberately raised his voice and said this, so that the others in the room could hear what he said to his disciples without needing to use their hearing skills.
After saying that, he quickly got up, as if he was going to personally accompany the three of them to find Chunxin.
Of course... he wouldn't actually just walk out the door like that.
"Sect Leader Yao, it is getting late. If I and my disciples wander around your sect, it may be inconvenient. I wonder if Wudang could send a few Taoist priests to accompany us, so that if anything happens, we can look out for each other."
Sure enough, before setting off, Ji Zhen came to Sect Leader Yao again. After putting his hands together and bowing slightly, he made this request.
In reality, everyone knows that saying it's "inconvenient" is nonsense. Let's not even talk about how long you monks have been living on the mountain, just look at how many random people are wandering around Wudang now... What's so inconvenient about that?
The real subtext of Ji Zhen's words was nothing more than: "Sect Leader Yao, could you send a few people to come and testify for me? I haven't done anything shameful."
Master Yao was quite perceptive. After hearing this, he only thought for two seconds before replying, "Then... how about I personally accompany you eminent monks on this trip?"
His decision... didn't have any special meaning or too many thoughts. To put it bluntly, the mess was already like this, and the main hall had become stinky after half a day, so Sect Leader Yao wanted to go out for some fresh air.
“Hey~ Masters, let’s go and take a look. We might be able to lend a hand if anything happens.” At this moment, another person from the group of other sects stood up and chimed in.
This person is none other than Hu Wenzhi.
Old Hu's reaction here was even faster than Di Bujuan's. When he thought of the conversation between Chunxin and Shuangxie during the day, he vaguely felt that there might be something strange about what was going on. So, he secretly patted Di Bujuan on the back and stood up to seize the opportunity to say something.
Before he could finish speaking, Di Bujuan, who had been reminded by him, also got up: "Ah...right, right, let me help too."
Although they had been mingling with a bunch of shady characters on the mountain during the day, they had already revealed their identities by now (after rescuing Chun Kong from Chun Xin, Di Bujuan's identity could no longer be hidden), otherwise they wouldn't have been in the back hall with these people of higher status.
Their statements at this moment did not arouse any suspicion, because the impression that Chief Di was now in the minds of his comrades was that "he was everywhere," so if he wanted to join in the fun, so be it.
To make a long story short, this team searching for Chunxin has been growing larger and larger without anyone noticing.
Besides Master Jizhen, Sect Leader Yao, Di Bujuan, and Hu Wenzhi, there were also three Shaolin disciples of the Zhen generation responsible for keeping watch, as well as eight senior disciples from Shaolin and Wudang; in addition, some wandering warriors from the front hall also came after seeing this, among whom were also assassins from Yuxiu Manor.
The first stop this large group of people set out to search was undoubtedly Chunxin's residence on Wudang Mountain.
While this scene may have been accidental, it was also a good thing in a way. With these people gone, the fighting force left behind at the Zhenwu Hall to guard Chun Kong was significantly weakened, which relieved some of the pressure on Yun Shili, Huang Donglai, and the Three-Character King.
"Damn it, it's not just people who've come, there are so many people they could chop us up and make dumplings!" Sun Yixie replied to Jiang Muchan in a low voice.
Clearly, Brother Sun and Ling Sheng'er realized that there were too many people, and strongly suspected that the three of them had already played the role of the "mantis" in some idiom, which is why they rushed into the house in a panic.
"Ah? This..." Jiang Muchan was starting to panic. As he spoke, he instinctively scanned the room. "This room is so small, there's nowhere to hide..."
Before he could finish speaking, on the other side... Ling Sheng'er had already grabbed the unconscious Chunxin, stripped him naked in a few quick movements, and thrown him onto the bed. Then she lay down on the bed herself, wrapped herself in a blanket, and started tearing off her clothes: "I'm pretending to be unconscious. You guys figure it out yourselves."
"Damn it!" Sun Yixie cursed, "You only care about yourself when it matters, huh?"
squeak--
While he was cursing, Jiang Muchan had already opened the only cabinet in the room not far away.
Unfortunately, although the cabinet was quite large, it had shelves inside and was already filled with many things, so it was obviously too small for anyone to fit inside.
"Is it only under the bed...?" Jiang Muchan closed the cabinet door and turned to crawl under the bed.
"Alright, alright, alright..." Sun Yixie stopped him immediately, "Aren't you just fooling yourself? What's the point of hiding down there?"
"Then... what should we do?" Jiang Muchan asked.
…………
A minute later, the large group of people who had come to search for Chunxin had gathered in front of the house.
Knock knock—
"Chunxin, is this your master? Are you inside?" Master Jizhen personally stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Although there were no lights on in the room, the people outside, especially those with higher martial arts skills, must have already heard breathing sounds inside. So, Master Jizhen's knocking was actually a gesture of respect for his disciple.
At least... he thought his apprentice still had some dignity.
"Hmph! Well done!" Unexpectedly, the next second, someone inside the house responded, and the speaker's voice was very distinctive. Many people recognized him immediately. "Since the master has come, then come in and see what your disciple has done!"
This whole situation left the people outside completely bewildered.
Most people, analyzing the situation logically, are wondering: Did Chunxin collude with the people of the Hunyuan Star Gate, or did the people of the Hunyuan Star Gate kill Chunxin?
Master Jizhen hesitated for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Sect Leader Yao before finally making up his mind and pushing open the door.
Because most of the people outside were carrying lanterns, the house was instantly illuminated once the door was opened.
In the glow of the lights, everyone turned to look inside the house...
The first thing that caught everyone's eye was a few pieces of clothing scattered on the ground.
Among these garments were monks' robes and women's skirts, the latter of which were all torn.
Looking further inside, you can see a bald man lying on the outer side of the bed against the wall, without even wearing underwear.
Although the bald man had his back to the door, anyone familiar with him could tell from his silhouette that he was Chunxin.
On the inside of the bed, the side against the wall, lay another person. Although that person was also facing the wall and their body was wrapped tightly in the blanket, it was clear from the back of their head and the contours of the blanket that they were a woman.
Of course, at this moment, there was not only someone in the bed, but also two people who looked like they had temporarily covered their faces with two pieces of cloth and were standing by the bed.
As for why this is so obvious... it's simple. People who cover their faces when they go out usually use black cloth that is cut to a suitable size, or black hoods with two holes. But Brother Sun and Xiao Jiang in front of us are using clothes that they just took out of Chunxin's wardrobe, torn up at random, and of random colors to cover their faces. It's hard for them not to be seen through.
However, this matter will not affect Sun Yixie's performance going forward.
Even with such a flimsy disguise, Brother Sun could still maintain a straight face and say, "Gentlemen, you are all righteous men, you must be our witnesses..." He paused, pointed to himself and Xiao Jiang beside him, "To tell you the truth, my brother and I are thieves. We heard that Wudang Mountain was bustling today, so we decided to sneak in tonight to stir up some trouble... But unexpectedly, we stumbled upon this lecherous monk committing such beastly acts inside the house. We thought we were doing justice for the people, but just as we successfully launched our attack, we heard someone coming from outside..."
If we don't consider who said it, his words might actually have some credibility, because the scenario described isn't entirely impossible.
However, with Sun Yixie's small eyes and his loud voice... plus the fact that the group of people outside the door had just seen him during the day and heard him sing "Shaolin Kung Fu is Good," how could they not recognize him?
Given that he is indeed Sun Yixie, what actually happened in the room is secondary; taking him down is the top priority.
“Amitabha…” Master Jizhen, who was standing at the front, was too lazy to respond to his words. After chanting the Buddha’s name, the master continued, “Esteemed benefactors, if you have anything to say, why don’t you show your true faces and come out to speak… how about it?”
"Hmph..." Sun Yixie snorted coldly, speaking in a familiar, street-smart rogue tone, "What 'how'? What do you mean? If we reveal our appearance in this situation... what if you, old monk, hold a grudge and come after us later?"
Ji Zhen's blood pressure spiked after hearing that. The old monk thought to himself, "Are you still pretending? Is there anyone here who doesn't know that you are Sun Yixie?"
"You scoundrel!" Just then, a Taoist priest in the crowd couldn't hold back any longer. This priest, surnamed Ma, was the junior brother of Master Yao. He was usually rather impatient, and seeing Sun Yixie acting like a rogue, he couldn't help but jump out and curse, "Master Jizhen is a highly respected and virtuous man, how could he be like what you say! As for you two little thieves, stop pretending! Can't you see that you can't escape? If you know what's good for you, come out and surrender, and then we'll slowly explain what happened..."
"Get the hell out of here!" Sun Yixie, the fishmonger, had no reason not to retaliate after being insulted. He interrupted before the other man could finish speaking, "Why did you, a Taoist priest, jump out when I was talking to a monk? Are you feeling guilty or have something to hide?" As he said this, he successfully conveyed the word "obnoxious" with just the upper half of his face, and continued, "Oh~ I see, I didn't realize it until you said it. How could there be women on this mountain full of Taoist priests... Hehe... So Wudang Mountain is actually a place that hides lewdness and filth!"
"shut up!"
No sooner had Sun Yixie finished speaking than a loud shout came from outside the door.
Who else could have shouted that but Yao Zhizu?
As the leader of Wudang Sect, he was bound to speak out when someone threatened the reputation of his entire sect.
However, to everyone's surprise, Master Yao's next sentence was: "We have already lent this courtyard to the high monks of Shaolin!"
Silence was the only language spoken by everyone for the next five seconds.
It must be admitted that what Master Yao said was true, but given his culture, emotional intelligence, and character... even if he wanted to refute the other party's accusations, he shouldn't have used such a direct method.
Of course, we can understand that Lao Yao's mentality was a little broken today. His tense nerves had endured so much under the dual torment of the stench and the pressure, so it is only natural that he couldn't hold on a little when faced with an unexpected situation.
Five seconds later...
“Uh…” Even Sun Yixie was silenced by Master Yao’s retort, but he was the first to recover. “…You’re right.” He paused, then actually laughed again, and changed his words, “Hahahaha~ Shaolin Temple, it turns out to be a place where lust and filth are hidden!”
This is Sun Yixie. In just ten seconds, he can make the leaders of the two oldest and most prestigious martial arts sects in the Central Plains want to kill him.
“Amitabha…” At this moment, Master Jizhen finally spoke again.
At this moment, his "Amitabha" was roughly equivalent to "I'll fuck your grandpa" in terms of tone and context, which was understood by most of the people present.
But his real threat was in the next sentence...
"You dare to mention Shaolin Temple?"
This may be the most ferocious sentence that Master Jizhen has ever spoken since he became a monk. Although it is just a short rhetorical question on the surface, the rhythm of each word he spoke and his extremely angry expression were just like a cold-faced Arhat or an angry Vajra... His aura was truly chilling.
After all, in Master Jizhen's view, the Hunyuan Interstellar Sect is still the prime suspect in the Shaoshi Mountain massacre. What they are doing now is equivalent to attacking your sect's reputation after attacking your mountain gate... Such a despicable act of killing and destroying one's spirit is something even a true Buddha would find hard to tolerate.
Therefore, Master Jizhen could not bear it any longer. After saying those seven words, he rushed into the room and immediately used a powerful grappling technique to capture Sun Yixie.