Swallow Return

"Nonsense!" The fat monk's expression changed drastically. "Didn't I say last time that Master Zixuezhai would not easily meet with outsiders from now on? Are you a pig-brain who can't understand?"

The man in blue was verbally abused, but he could only meekly agree and dared not refute.

After finishing his tirade, the fat monk's expression softened slightly, and he asked, "What happened to that unpleasant guest?"

The man in blue said cautiously, "I saw that the man was somewhat skilled in martial arts, and fearing he would cause too much trouble, I made him pay twenty strings of cash and sent him away..."

Upon hearing this, the fat monk became even more enraged, throwing the small tea table away: "You bastard, how dare you! You offended Master Zixuezhai, and only paid twenty strings of cash before letting him go? What do you mean by that?"

The man in blue was hit in the face by the table, but he didn't dare to dodge. His face was instantly bruised and swollen. He forced a smile and said, "I was just afraid of making too much of a commotion and giving those old monks in the temple who are in charge of discipline a handle against me..."

"What are you afraid of!" the fat monk scoffed. "They're just a few pedantic old monks who've been sidelined! What power do they have? Who can they command? Only those idiots listen to the Demon Ninja! Now even the leader of the Demon Ninja team has been imprisoned for committing a crime, so what are you afraid of?"

Upon hearing this, the man in blue had no choice but to grit his teeth and make a firm decision, saying resolutely, "I reckon that scoundrel hasn't gone far yet. I'll go and capture him right now and hand him over to the master for judgment..."

The fat monk kicked a teapot away, interrupting, "Then why aren't you hurrying up?"

The man in blue retreated hesitantly.

Tea Master Zixuezhai's expression finally softened slightly, and he said in a low voice, "I can't count on anyone in the shop. Only Master Juehui can help me get revenge..."

The fat monk turned and saw the beauty, his expression instantly changing to a lewd smile as he said, "Would you like to express your gratitude, sir?"

Tea Master Zixuezhai blushed, but maintained a dignified and aloof demeanor, calmly nodding and saying, "If we catch this unpleasant guest tonight, I will have the master demonstrate all seven of his tea utensils on me. What do you say?"

The fat monk's face lit up with excitement, his mouth watering and his heart pounding. He clapped his hands and shouted, "Good, good, good!"

Tea master Zixuezhai remained aloof and unapproachable, truly embodying the serene elegance of a tea connoisseur.

After a while, the fat monk suddenly shook his head: "It's been several days since we last met. This humble monk really can't wait that long. Sir, please have mercy and give me a simple one first!"

Tea master Zixuezhai helplessly pointed to the ground: "The master was angry just now and overturned the table. Now that we have no tea utensils, we can only rely on words and talk on paper for the time being."

The fat monk said urgently, "That's good too, let's talk quickly!"

Tea Master Zixuezhai rolled his eyes in annoyance, unbuttoned his upper garment, bent down, and was about to display his skills when he suddenly looked up and asked, "You just said that you've locked up all the leaders of the Demon Ninjas?"

The fat monk said, "Yes! It's that stubborn and inflexible Igawa Asahi! That woman is both pedantic and obstinate, really difficult to deal with. Luckily, she slipped up this time! When the temple was discussing how to deal with the Oda clan, she spoke up for a newly promoted retainer of the Oda clan named 'Sasaki something-or-other,' saying that they couldn't pin the blame on him... Heh heh, it sounds high-sounding, but I think she's fallen for him and has rebellious intentions! That's what makes women so unreliable! That's why the temple ordered that her whole group be imprisoned."

Tea Master Zixuezhai said resentfully, "I've heard that all the demon ninjas are beautiful and charming women, and now they're in prison and have fallen into your hands, hmph..."

The fat monk quickly shook his head: "This humble monk has never been close to women, and only likes to deal with men like you! Don't you know that? Besides, there is Yagyu Suishinsai behind those demon ninjas. With this guy in charge, who would dare to mess around? It's called imprisonment, but at most it's just house arrest."

Tea master Zixuezhai nodded with feigned seriousness, then said sarcastically, "I almost forgot about your preferences, Master. Indeed, that Jinghe something-or-other isn't your cup of tea. But that Liusheng Shuixinzhai..."

The fat monk grinned lewdly and did not deny it: "Hehe, Liusheng Suixinzai is indeed... a fine man, not a vulgar woman, yet handsome and elegant. I really wanted to befriend him, but alas... his status and position make it impossible for me to succeed."

Tea master Zixuezhai snorted and turned his head away without saying a word.

The fat monk chuckled again, shamelessly leaning closer: "Of course, even Liusheng Shuixinzhai can't compare to our Zixuezhai!"

Tea master Zixuezhai spat out, "Who's yours?"

The fat monk stopped using words and instead used body language to clearly express his meaning.

(Several words omitted below)

Chapter Forty-Five: Entering the Dungeon Beneath the Stupa

Now, the fat monk, though he looked like a handsome and strong man, had never actually trained his body. His body had long been weakened by wine and women, and he couldn't last long. After only a short while, his body suddenly shuddered, as if something inside had been released. He slid off the tea master, panting, closed his eyes, and looked exhausted, entering a state of sage-like tranquility, listless and bored.

That's what "it's done" means.

Tea Master Zixuezhai, though subservient to others, showed little weakness or self-pity. After resting briefly, she calmly rose, slowly straightened her clothes, and wiped away the traces of the battle, maintaining her noble, aloof, dignified, and composed demeanor.

The fat monk couldn't stand this sight and immediately began to drool.

Unfortunately, he was willing but unable to do so. Helpless, he gritted his teeth, took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out a mysterious blue pill, put it in his mouth with the hot tea next to him, and swallowed it in one gulp.

His face flushed red, his blood surged, and he became eager to try again. His fighting spirit was rekindled, and he raised his half-soft weapon and launched a second attack.

But this momentum came quickly and went just as fast.

There was no difference from the first time, except that they lasted for three or five more rounds before calling a retreat and ceasing hostilities.

At this point, however, the mindset of a sage is no longer present.

He recalled what he heard when he picked up the medicine—

"Using this stuff is like adding more water to stop boiling water, or drinking poison to quench thirst. It may provide temporary relief, but it will deplete your foundation. I'm afraid you'll only get worse day by day."

However, there was nothing I could do; I had been using it for many years and couldn't stop.

With that thought in mind, the fat monk gritted his teeth, took two more pills, and roused himself to sing "Three Variations on Plum Blossom".

Then he finally collapsed completely onto the tatami mat, having exhausted all his breathing strength, unable to move even half a finger.

It only took less than 15 minutes.

Half a day later, the shopkeeper in blue robes requested an audience from a distance. After receiving permission, he approached and reported through the paper door, "The unpleasant guest who offended Master Zixuezhai has been apprehended and is awaiting punishment! However..."

The fat monk lazily said "Alright," then casually pointed and said, "What 'only'? What are you waiting for? Drag him away and give him a good beating so that Mr. Zixuezhai can vent his anger!"

"This—" The manager in blue hesitated, then explained, "I searched that guy's luggage and deduced that he's a merchant from Sakai Town, skilled in some martial arts, and has some connections. He forcibly dragged him out of the inn just now, causing quite a commotion..."

Zixuezhai said quietly, "After all, we are just doing business here. We need your help, Master, to deal with such an unpleasant guest."

The fat monk then sat up, snorted, and said irritably, "Alright, alright, just throw all the blame on me. I'll give you a token later. Just say that the monk Kakuei from Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei caught a pair of thieves who disrespected the gods and Buddhas, and you're just cooperating. Isn't that enough?"

The man in blue outside the door let out a long sigh and said, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master! Then I will continue with the instructions!"

After he finished speaking, a series of footsteps faded into the distance.

Tea master Zixuezhai then interjected, "Master Juehui, there's no need to take that fellow's life. Simply breaking one or two limbs, or knocking off his nose or ears, will suffice. It would be better than offending your virtue of cherishing life as a monk!"

The fat monk nodded knowingly: "Of course I understand, I'm used to being a jailer there. Speaking of which, do you know about the barrier on Mount Hiei? Whenever someone dies in the temple, a red light appears, which is hard to hide. So when we take action, we aim to save lives while inflicting enough suffering. Hehe, it really shows some benevolence."

Zixuezhai showed no interest, turned his head to look outside and said, "It's almost dawn."

The fat monk shook his head and sighed, a look of reluctance in his eyes: "Then I have to go back early. I have important business to attend to this afternoon and can't leave. Sigh, if you hadn't suddenly sent a carrier pigeon, I wasn't planning on going down the mountain this month."

Zixuezhai lowered his head sadly and said, "If the master doesn't come, some unpleasant guests will. The shop hasn't been able to avenge me yet..."

The fat monk cursed and frowned, saying, "The people in this shop are still unreliable. I think it would be best if you moved to the temple with me in the end."

After a moment of silence, the tea master Zixuezhai suddenly spoke up: "I haven't been up the mountain to worship Buddha for a long time. Why don't I go with you to the temple for a while? I've been feeling a bit unwell these past few days and need to rest properly."

The fat monk was overjoyed and immediately slapped his thigh, exclaiming "Good!" and bursting into laughter.

……

In the middle of the night, Liu Yun was in his inn when someone came to seek revenge. He pretended to resist and fought with more than twenty thugs for dozens of rounds, knocking down seven or eight of them. He made a commotion that was neither too big nor too small, but finally his hands were tied up and he was taken away.

His physique was extraordinary; while his body couldn't be described as indestructible, it was comparable to a wooden stake. Even if someone who hadn't trained tried to stab him with an awl, they wouldn't be able to penetrate very deeply.

Therefore, after being ganged up on by more than twenty people for most of the day, Liu Yun pretended to have suffered a loss and been beaten, but in reality, he had only been bitten by mosquitoes.

Outsiders assumed that the "unfriendly guest" had been beaten so badly that he dared not resist.

Then he was thrown into the woodshed and left alone for an hour or two.

When dawn broke, they were forced onto a donkey cart again.

There were no other people in the car, only a few wine barrels and food boxes, and a distinct smell of meat could be smelled.

The donkey cart creaked and groaned as it made its way up the mountain from the town.

When they passed through the temple gate, someone stopped them for questioning. But Liu Yun, who was in the carriage, only vaguely saw the driver show some kind of token and say, "It is Master Juehui's personal item," and then immediately let them pass.

Liu Yun had heard people in the town say that although the Buddhist community in Japan is generally not very strict in its precepts, the phenomenon of eating meat and marrying is only common in small, unruly temples at the bottom level. Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, as an old temple with a history of thousands of years, still adheres to the precepts.

In retrospect, it seems that this was probably just a superficial statement.

That makes perfect sense.

How could an organization that has been passed down for a thousand years not be corrupt?

It would be good enough if there were at least some superficial respect for etiquette.

Think about how many groups have deteriorated beyond repair after only a few decades...

After wandering around the mountain road for half a day, we finally arrived at an inconspicuous little pagoda.

Several monks carrying sticks came over with smiles, took wine barrels and food boxes from the cart, and then rudely drove Liuyun, whose hands were tied, into the tower.

Once you enter the temple gate, you can feel the effect of the protective barrier.

Although these monks weren't particularly skilled fighters, the blows from their sticks still caused Liu Yun considerable pain.

I estimate that the force was increased by at least two or three times.

An ordinary man who originally had only 70 or 80 pounds of strength, under the blessing of the barrier, becomes a muscular brute capable of withstanding 200 pounds... If he was already a muscular brute, he'd practically become a beast...

Therefore, unless this barrier is removed, even a lawless person like Oda Nobunaga would not dare to easily send troops to fight.

Liu Yun was taken to the basement of the pagoda.

This pagoda is only twenty steps wide and has only three stories; it is very small in scale.

But the basement was a completely different world, with a structure that appeared to be extremely wide and complex, like an anthill.

The basement level looked like a cellar for storing supplies, with lots of food and bedding stored there.

The second basement level appears to be the training ground and dormitory for the monk soldiers. There are wooden stakes and stone locks on the left and about ten rooms on the right.

The third basement level was where people were imprisoned, but only some elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and even women and children who were powerless to resist were locked up with wooden fences.

It looked like a normal prison; the air was somewhat circulating and didn't smell particularly bad.

Liu Yun was taken to the fourth basement level.

On this floor, you can see dozens or even hundreds of cages enclosed by iron bars and chains.

A strong stench of blood permeated the air, and the ground was covered in black mud. Yet, the monk who served as the jailer remained calmly drinking and eating meat at the table. The combined smells were truly indescribable.

Inside, all the prisoners were in single cells, and they were all strong and powerful young men. Although they were all covered in wounds and their skin was torn, many of them still had the energy to glare angrily at the monk soldiers and curse them.

Needless to say, a monk wielding a whip immediately came over to teach them a lesson.

However, the cursing continued unabated. Some people, even after being hit twenty or thirty times, could still stubbornly continue spewing vulgarities without showing the slightest sign of being out of breath.

For something to be so tenacious within the protective barrier of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, it's clear it's no ordinary creature.

With her sharp eyes, Liu Yun noticed that there were actually stairs leading down into the dungeon, perhaps even a fifth or sixth basement level, though she didn't know what they were for.

There weren't many empty cages on the fourth basement level. The monk soldiers escorted Liuyun a long way before finding one, pushing her inside, and locking the iron door.

Liu Yun pretended to have been defeated and lost his courage, and obediently huddled in the corner.