My Wandering Swordsman

I was stunned, the monk was stunned, the skinny boy was stunned, and the noisy crowd was stunned too.

Everyone stared intently at the money on the ground.

A fraction of a second later, my mind went blank.

Damn it, we've run into a thief!

But I didn't have time to shout "Stop thief!" at that moment. A thousand dollars was a lot of money back then. I just picked up the money first.

So I instinctively lunged at the money.

The crowd realized what was happening and swarmed around them.

Why are you all crowding around? To pick up money!

Several middle-aged women quickly grabbed several bills and stuffed them into their arms.

"Don't touch my money."

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, I didn't care about anything else. I took down several middle-aged women with a low tackle, and then several burly men with a powerful back kick...

However, two fists can't fight four hands, and more and more people surrounded them.

I shouted urgently, "Everyone, step back!"

Nobody paid any attention to me.

Well, not entirely. The burly monk's eyes flickered a few times before he strode over.

The guy stopped abruptly in front of me and shouted sternly, "Amitabha, don't move! This is this benefactor's property."

As he spoke, he took a stance, blocking the way and carving out a clearing.

I took the opportunity to gather the banknotes together and haphazardly cover them with my clothes. When I looked up, the skinny thief was nowhere to be seen.

It is said that wealth should not be flaunted.

This guy really showed off all his wealth right there in the train station square!

I gathered my travel money, and the strong monk pulled me along, quickly squeezing out of the crowd.

We jogged all the way to the edge of the square and sat down on the steps, panting heavily. Only then did I begin to change my opinion of this burly monk.

Monks have the hearts of bodhisattvas; I'm lucky to have met a true master.

"Master, thank you so much for today! Thank you so much!"

The monk didn't react much, his eyes fixed on the banknotes in the bundle in my clothes.

"Master?" I called out again.

He then came to his senses and put his hands together in prayer, saying, "Brother, no, benefactor, please quickly count your money and see if anything is missing."

Yes, this is the important matter.

I quickly sorted out the cash and started counting it one bill at a time.

That's alright, out of a total of ten large tickets, only five remain.

To put it bluntly, I lost five hundred yuan before I even left the train station.

I was heartbroken. The old master in the village always said that people's hearts are treacherous, and only today did I truly understand the meaning of that saying.

"I only have 500 left, I'm 500 short," I said with a mournful face.

Upon hearing this, the monk's eyes lit up, but he immediately put on a compassionate expression: "Donor, you need not worry about it. Money is just an external thing."

He quickly changed the subject: "Judging from your nimble movements, I can tell you're quite skilled in martial arts?"

That's a very pertinent question.

Foshan is a place with a strong martial arts culture, and there are countless master martial artists in the community. In our village alone, there are several masters of Hung Kuen, Mok Family Fist, and Swaying Kick. When I was a kid, I was a bit of a troublemaker and didn't study, so I learned a little bit of everything.

Of course, the most famous Wing Chun master didn't let me touch it. He said that every man in the Ji family was a true man, and they wouldn't fight women.

I didn't hide anything and told the monk everything.

His eyes narrowed immediately: "Oh? It seems this humble monk was blind to your greatness. Never mind, let's not dwell on this. Since you've been frightened, why don't you come with me to get some food to calm down?"

I wanted to refuse, but I couldn't resist his enthusiasm.

The monk dragged me along, winding my way into a restaurant.

When I arrived, I was dumbfounded.

To the left of the storefront are grilled meat skewers, and to the right are freshly squeezed beer.

"Master, you...don't you need to eat vegetarian meals?"

"Hey, those who abstain from alcohol and meat are fake monks. We who truly cultivate ourselves believe that while alcohol and meat pass through our intestines, Buddha remains in our hearts."

As he spoke, he pulled me inside, calling out as we went:

"Boss, one plate of pork intestines, two bunches of pork kidneys, two bunches of lamb liver, and four bottles of draft beer."

"Does our temple serve such pungent food?"

He rolled his eyes at me and didn't reply.

Complaints aside, these things smell pungent, but they taste damn good! After the grand feast when my third aunt married into the family, I'd never seen anything like this before, so I rolled up my sleeves and got cooking.

"Eat slowly, benefactor." The monk smiled and poured me a glass of beer.

After finishing his meal, he quietly got up and paid the bill.

I sat there, feeling warm inside.

In the afternoon, we went to Shang K... no, karaoke.

To be honest, this is my first time in a place like this. The huge screen covering half a wall and the deafening sound system left me, a country boy, completely dumbfounded.

The monk grabbed the microphone, yelled a couple of times, and then beckoned to the waiter: "Three dozen beers."

"What?"

I was a little confused when they asked me to drink alcohol right after I finished eating.

The monk shushed him, saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

I gave a soft "oh," and secretly made a mental note of this rule—

When you go to karaoke, you have to drink...

A few hours later, after downing another five or six bottles of ice-cold beer, I felt dizzy and my vision was blurry.

The monks carried me out.

"Master, let's go back, I'm sleepy," I said, slurring my words.

He readily agreed: "Sure!"

I thought we could finally go to a hotel, but I was wrong again. We ended up at a bathhouse, a really high-end one.

I took a bath, had my back scrubbed, and finally changed into a bathrobe to lie down in the lounge.

After this whole process, the alcohol really took effect in my body.

I was curled up on the sofa, my eyelids barely open.

The monk glanced at me, took out a pack of Chuncheng cigarettes and handed it to me. I took it and put it in my mouth.

This master is a good person, but his personality is really unrestrained. He smokes, drinks, eats a lot of meat, and is damn bad at playing around with women.

Before the thought could subside, the monk spoke up: "Benefactor, please rest first. This humble monk will go out and call two young ladies to massage your feet."

After saying that, he got up and left.

What's going on?

Women don't have any taboos either!

I thought, "This won't do."

Eating, singing, and taking a bath are just daily expenses and don't cost much, but raising a girl requires a lot of money.

No, I can't let the monk brother pay for this anymore, I feel bad about it.

The last shred of dignity in the Ji family helped me stand up.

He walked out, trembling.

As soon as I turned the corner, I heard hushed voices coming from the cubicle:

"What's wrong with you? You spilled money just from touching it?" That was my monk brother's reaction.

Another voice chimed in, "Who knew he could fall like that? Now look what's happened, he's lost hundreds of dollars for nothing."

"It's alright, he still has a full 500 yuan. After he falls asleep, go and take the key from his wrist and put the money in the cabinet."

"Brother Hailong, why bother with him? Just rob him directly, that's all."

"Stop talking nonsense. That kid from Foshan has some martial arts skills. Let's play it safe, we can't go wrong."

"Understood, brother..."

I shuddered, and the alcohol instantly sobered me up considerably.

good good!

You good-for-nothing monk.

So, he was in cahoots with the petty thief from earlier that day.