The ultimate master in the city

Just as he finished cursing, a middle-aged monk in a yellow robe who was passing by sternly rebuked him: "Jingyi! Why are you speaking with anger?"

Zhang Shisan quickly lowered his head, clenched his fists defensively, and whispered, "The army is coming! I'm scared!"

The middle-aged monk snorted, turned and left, "Abbot Zhao Jing and those of the same generation, go to the Great Buddha Hall immediately!"

"Okay, okay!" Zhang Shisan nodded, watching the monk's retreating figure, and muttered under his breath, "Bald monk, acting all high and mighty."

The young novice monk blinked. "Senior Brother Jingyi, what are you talking about now?"

Zhou Fengchen quickly said, "They're chanting scriptures, all profound texts. What do you, a little monk, know? Hurry up and lead the way to that... Mahavira Hall!"

"Follow me." The young novice quickly led the two forward.

As Zhang Shisan walked, he touched his nose. "This painting is too exaggerated. The buildings and people are just like the real thing. But my name is Jingyi, which sounds better than your Jingyuan."

"Get out of here!" Zhou Fengchen spat and said, "This is an illusion. I don't know what Daoist Wu is up to. Let's see what this abbot is planning first, and be careful of our surroundings."

Zhang Shisan nodded and said, "Could this be the scene of the Tang Dynasty emperor's persecution of Buddhism? Is this where Master Wu died? Will we run into him later?"

"Impossible!" Zhou Fengchen said, "This illusion in the painting is definitely orchestrated by Daoist Wu. If he wants to use this to kill us, then he can't possibly be inside it."

As they were talking, they arrived at a large hall ahead. It was very spacious and looked very magnificent. Groups of monks were hurrying in from all directions.

The young novice monk stopped and clasped his hands together. "Brothers, this is the place! I am too low in seniority to be allowed in."

"Go, go!" Zhou Fengchen waved his hand, then glanced at Zhang Shisan, indicating that he should get ready.

Zhang Shisan made an OK sign.

The two cautiously entered the main hall and found it very spacious. At the far end stood a huge golden statue of Maitreya Buddha, with a row of old monks sitting below. The one in the middle looked to be eighty or ninety years old, looking down with a compassionate expression.

Below, two or three hundred monks were already sitting cross-legged, arranged in order of the color of their robes.

But neither the row of old monks nor the group of ordinary monks below showed the slightest hint of murderous intent, nor did they even glance at them.

Zhou Fengchen and his companion were a bit confused. Looking at their own clothes, which were all the wrong color, they found a corner to sit down and secretly observed the situation.

After a while, the monks had almost all arrived. The oldest monk at the head of the group had a sorrowful expression, his palms clasped together, and said, "Amitabha! A calamity has befallen Buddhism..."

The old monk mumbled a lot, the gist of which was that His Majesty the Emperor, misled by Taoist priests like Zhao Guizhen, wanted to exterminate Buddhism and kill monks—"Kill all Manichaean masters in the world, shave their heads, make them wear kasayas and pretend to be monks, and then kill them."

This temple, called "Puxian Temple," was ordered to close down, destroy Buddha statues, and force monks to return to secular life, or else a massacre would ensue.

The monks were naturally unwilling, so the army came to attack. The old monk was holding a mobilization meeting, urging everyone to swear to protect the Buddha to the death. He was quite stubborn.

After listening for a while, Zhou Fengchen and his companion only frowned slightly when they heard the name "Zhao Guizhen." The rest of the conversation didn't seem to concern them, so they couldn't help but wonder about Master Wu's intentions.

Just then, the old monk stopped speaking, and another old monk suddenly stood up and shouted, "Jingyi, Jingyuan!"

Zhou Fengchen and his companion didn't react at first, staring blankly at the ground, until the old monk shouted urgently and the nearby monks subtly exchanged glances. Only then did they realize, "Oh, he's calling for us."

The killer move is probably coming.

The two men stood up. "What?"

All the monks were stunned for a moment, as if they didn't understand why these two were talking in such a strange tone.

The old monk who had called out said, "His Majesty the Emperor said that fifty li ahead is the Sacred Heart Temple, where a wandering Daoist nun named Sanhua lives. She is a good friend of Zhao Guizhen. You two should go quickly and ask her to intercede on your behalf."

Scattering flowers...a Taoist nun?

Zhou Fengchen and the other man were both taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "Okay! Okay!"

As soon as they emerged from the main hall, Zhang Shisan couldn't hold back any longer. "What exactly does Master Wu mean? Is he telling us to go and fetch someone?"

Zhou Fengchen thought for a moment, "The Scattered Flower Daoist Nun is most likely the current Scattered Flower Ghost King. I suspect Master Wu..."

Zhang Shisan chimed in, "Oh, I see. Master Wu died on his way to invite the Scattering Flower Ghost King, and then his soul was summoned by the Scattering Flower Ghost King, so he followed the Scattering Flower Ghost King from then on."

Zhou Fengchen shook his head. "I don't know either. Forget it, don't guess. It's exhausting."

"Then... what should we do now? We can't really go and ask someone for help, can we?" Zhang Shisan asked.

Zhou Fengchen glanced at the approaching army below the mountain and said, "Let's find Yuanzhi and then figure out a way to get out! Do you remember which room Yuanzhi was in when we were outside the painting?"

Zhang Shisan scratched his head, looked around, and said, "Who would know? There are so many houses!"

"Let's look for him, I remember Yuanzhi is to our left!" Zhou Fengchen said, and ran to the left first.

The two searched through the side halls one by one, calling out Yuanzhi's name as they went. When they found the sixteenth hall, the door of the side hall in front of them creaked open.

The obese monk Yuanzhi came running out in a disheveled state. He grinned as if to complain when he saw the two, but upon seeing their appearance, he burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Our three Buddhist heroes have finally met again!"

Zhou Fengchen and the other man breathed a sigh of relief and laughed along. "Who said you're one of the Three Heroes of Buddhism? You've finally found your tribe! How have you been these past two days?"

"Gotcha my foot!" Monk Yuanzhi stopped laughing and complained, "I came to the Painting Soul Temple to stay overnight. Everything was fine at the front, but as soon as it got dark, the whole temple was deserted. I ran to the back hall to find the monks, and somehow I ended up here. At first, I thought I had transmigrated, but then I realized that no one here eats, and that's when it dawned on me. How did you guys get in here?"

Zhang Shisan chuckled, "You're on the mural, so we just touched it and got in."

Zhou Fengchen frowned and asked Monk Yuanzhi, "Have you thought of a way to get out these past two days?"

Monk Yuanzhi said, "I thought about it, I tried everything, I ran through the whole temple countless times, but I couldn't get out! Then I heard that the army was coming, and I thought I was going to die here."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shisan said, "Could it be... that Master Wu's killing move is to use the army to kill us?"

Zhou Fengchen thought for a moment, "No way, the army is an illusion, what ability could they possibly have to kill us?"

He looked around and pointed to the roof of a side hall, saying, "That's higher up, let's go up and see what's going on!"

The three of them ran over, climbed up the wall to the roof, and sat on the ridge to wait silently.

Before long, the army, with its golden armor and iron horses, surged forward in a dark mass. The monks in the main hall poured out like a swarm of bees, organizing the warrior monks to prepare for the battle.

The two groups were getting closer and closer.

Zhang Shisan squinted his small eyes and suddenly exclaimed, "I think I know what Master Wu is planning!"

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".