Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 34 "It's you!??"

The British Minister hurriedly negotiated with the Nationalist government, determined that a bloody fight must not occur within the British concession.

The British invasion of China was solely for the purpose of plundering wealth, unlike Japan's invasion.

They had colonies everywhere, and enough territory to not be interested in the ownership of this continent. But the rich lands were full of gold and silver, which made them envious. Their old habits relapsed, their true nature was exposed, and how could they not plunder?
Therefore, they do not want to see bloodshed and trouble, which would slow down the looting process.

But such things have happened many times before. The three most unsafe places in the entire north are Tianjin, Beijing, and Baoding.

From the time of the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China to the present day, countless talented individuals have organized resistance movements, including the Big Sword Society, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Red Lanterns. These groups frequently killed foreigners and staged rallies.

The invaders' logic was: "I've been here for so long, and the massacre happened so long ago, why are you still holding a grudge? You're just making trouble now, you're so immature!"

The Beiyang government was weak and easily bullied, accepting all unreasonable demands and even helping foreigners to suppress "rebellious parties"!

However, the accusations of the British Minister also slowed down the pursuit, and they were unable to find Chen Zhan's whereabouts. Gradually, they began to believe that he had escaped out of the city.

But it is also the most likely.

Once you leave Tianjin, where in the south can't you make your home?
Chen Zhan must be no fool to have mastered kung fu to such a high level.

All factions believed that Chen Zhan had left Tianjin and was enjoying a carefree life in the south.

But the person in question was suffering from hunger inside the room.

The dry rations he carried had long been gone. Although Chen Zhan deliberately reduced his energy consumption, his blood and qi were too vigorous. As a Grand Master who was close to the Transformation Realm, the quality of his flesh and bones was at least three times that of an ordinary person.

Natural consumption will also be high.

However, it's not unbearable. The Guanyin Grand Dharma Assembly is the day after tomorrow, and we can finish this job in one fell swoop.

Hmm, one vote left, and then he drifted away.

In the past few days, Chen Zhan observed through the cracks in the doors and windows that the entire Buddhist community had become busy, preparing vegetarian meals, offerings for the Buddhist hall, tools for copying scriptures, and even cleaning the dining hall and guest rooms so that dignitaries could stay overnight.

Today, Chen Zhan watched from the roof beam as the two young monks cleaned the room meticulously and thoroughly.

By the afternoon, the entire backyard had become noticeably quieter, with far fewer people walking around.

During the conversation with the young monks, Chen Zhan learned that most of the people had been sent out to buy offerings.

When holding a grand Dharma assembly, the Buddhist temple needs more offerings.

Offering incense, flowers, lamps, water, and fruit in front of a Buddha statue is called the "Five Offerings".

The rest is easy to say, but the "fruit" refers to fresh fruit, which needs to be purchased at the appropriate time to ensure its freshness.

Most people were sent out to buy fresh fruit.

The lower-ranking monks at this lay Buddhist center don't have an easy life either. They work during the day and go out to buy things at night, with extremely long hours of labor.

But it's normal.

The monks at the bottom of the social ladder are all adopted orphans or children from poor families who can't afford to live, so they send their children here. They have no money or salary, but they are provided with food and drink.

Those above that level are not positions for ordinary people; they are called "cadres," divided into general affairs cadres and religious affairs cadres, who manage the lower-level monks. They earn a few silver dollars a month, not including the money bestowed by nobles during various Dharma assemblies, rites of deliverance, and sacrifices.

Further up the ranks, the forest chief and deputy forest chief are both important figures.

Many of them are well-known figures to later generations.

The successor to the next forest chief was the renowned former commander-in-chief of the Five Provinces Allied Army.

Take advantage of the night.

With no one around, Chen Zhan stepped out of the room. He wasn't very familiar with the structure of the Buddhist community, and he couldn't tell what was inside from the outside.

I was just out looking for food and also wanted to get familiar with the area.

When the time comes to take action, we must know ourselves and our enemy.

Emerging from the detached house, to the left is the meditation hall where ordinary monks live, with a large communal sleeping area that stretches out in a long line, about seven or eight meters long.

Several monks were sleeping inside. Chen Zhan pushed the door open but did not enter. He waited until there was no response from inside the room, and their breathing rhythm did not change.

He went inside and took a monk's robe from the bedside. He changed into the robe and put on the hat. It didn't fit him perfectly; it was a little short, but it didn't matter. Most people wouldn't notice.

Strolling through the Lay Buddhist Association, from the back courtyard to the front, passing the side hall, corridor, and dining hall, and walking a few dozen feet further, you will reach the Mahavira Hall.

Some people worked through the night to tidy up inside the hall, and the oil lamps needed to be checked for oil levels and wicks to ensure they would not go out during the Dharma assembly.

Solemn offerings: Hang prayer flags and canopies, place incense burners, prepare incense ash and incense sticks in advance, and set up prayer cushions and prayer mats on both sides of the Buddha hall. Carpets on the ground need to be cleaned in advance.

He had excellent eyesight. Without getting too close, he could take in the layout of the hall clearly and memorize it.

Turning back to the backyard, in addition to the detached cottage, there was also a "large kitchen" connected to the dining hall.

This is the temple's kitchen, often referred to as "Daliao" in Buddhism.

Setting it here will make it easier to serve the best dishes to any distinguished guests who come to stay.

How could those people possibly dine with monks?

Over the past three days, Chen Zhan has seen a considerable amount of food delivered to the kitchen, all made from exquisite ingredients, to prepare a "vegetarian feast."

It's good to stock up on some. Martial arts practitioners can endure hardship, but they don't have to endure every kind of hardship.

There's no one in the kitchen late at night, and now that it's winter, there's no need to worry about food rotting.

The kitchen was large and dark, but his eyesight was good enough to see things nearby. He searched around and finally found the place where the ingredients were stored.

There was a lot of food piled up, but it was inedible. He couldn't very well cook it himself.

They could only choose some dry food, noodles, steamed cakes, etc., and stuff them into their arms.

A quick glance revealed a plate of cold dishes on the table—a vegetarian platter containing braised tofu, vegetarian ham, pickled cucumber, pickled radish, and fried peanuts. These were served in small dishes and arranged in the shape of a lotus flower, and were even garnished with mint leaves.

Chen Zhan's appetite was whetted, and with nimble fingers, he devoured the vegetarian platter in no time.

They weren't worried at all about being discovered tomorrow.

Even if the head monk who cooks the next day finds that there is a shortage of dry food and vegetables, he will just smile and think that his subordinates are greedy and will not blame them.

If the cook doesn't steal, the grains won't be harvested; these are unspoken rules that nobody cares about.

With a lot of dry food stuffed in his arms, Chen Zhan ate quite a bit. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes caught sight of the spot where he had just taken the food.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he opened all five senses, listening carefully to everything that was happening inside the room.

He clearly remembered that after he took them, there were five steamed cakes left, but when he came back after walking around, there were only three left.
The cook might be mistaken; he couldn't possibly be.

What kind of mouse is so strong?
Two perfectly square steamed cakes, each weighing about three ounces, were dragged away right under his nose?
It's become sentient, isn't it?
Chen Zhan remained motionless, but his expression gradually changed from playful to serious.

Because I discovered he's an expert!
If it were a young monk who came out to steal food in the middle of the night, how could he possibly hold his breath for several minutes with his keen hearing?

As soon as he took a breath, Chen Zhan could immediately pinpoint where the other person was hiding.

"Oh!"

Chen Zhan suddenly turned his head and slashed horizontally with one arm, colliding with his other arm.

Interrupt the opponent's sneak attack.

The man in black stumbled back two steps.

Chen Zhan took a step forward and quickly followed, pressing down with both hands in a ground-shaking motion. The man in black was thin and seemed to be injured, so he could use his strength to overpower him!
When their arms made contact, the opponent used a double-arm push-up technique.

With a forceful press, the man in black slightly hunched over.

Both of them tried their best to avoid making too much noise and tacitly refrained from any major confrontation.

The man in black was masked, only his eyes were visible, while Chen Zhan was dressed in a monk's robe, and his entire appearance could be seen.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and both of them showed surprise. They spoke in unison, whispering:
"It's you!"

"It's you!!"

(End of this chapter)