Zhao Ying's pretty face turned sour. She creased her brows and watched the shattered rock pieces, and then turned nervously to face Chu Li. "Senior, could the girls be in danger?"
Chu Li shook his head.
He had already looked inside with his "Omniscient Mirror" spell. All the 150 girls inside the cave were untouched. They were sitting at the grand hall, looking downwards, mumbling prayers with their palms held together.
He saw an old monk. He was wearing a grey cloak, and had a scar on the top of his head. He was big in size, and looked fearsome. He sat opposite to the group of girls, his mouth reciting the prayers too.
Through the "Omniscient Mirror", he could see that the old monk's veins were glowing. It was a sign that he was a very skilful pro, and his inner strength was cultivated close to the max. The monk's powers were vastly superior compared to his own. He would not be an easy opponent.
"Is that maestro inside?" Zhao Ying asked.
Chu Li gave a single nod.
Zhao Ying appeared worried, "He didn't do anything to hurt them, right?"
"Not as far as I can see... Come, let's go in." Chu Li took a big step into the cave, soon he was standing right in front of the magnificent Raging Tiger hideout.
The old monk suddenly opened his eyes, his vision as sharp as a blade. It would had sent a cold chill down a person's spine. His eyes glanced across the girls once, and then he walked outside towards the grand hall. When he reached the base of the mountain, he raised his head and saw Chu Li.
Chu Li stood at high ground and watched him. He held his fists together and said, "I wonder who you are, monk. Why did you trespass into this place?"
"I am an ordinary monk, with a kind soul." The old monk mumbled a word of prayer, and stared coldly at Chu Li, "It makes me wonder too, what are you two here for?"
Chu Li answered, "We are Scribes from the Yi Dynasty's Federal Government. We just happened to stumble upon this place by accident. We saw that there were a gang of criminals around here, hence we are here to carry out our duties. We will get rid of these baddies, and save the girls."
Once he knew this monk's identity, he pulled out the sophisticated government terms to make an excuse.
"It was you who made that big hole in front of Raging Tiger cave?" The monk's eyes beamed, as bright as an electrical pulse.
"Chu Li nodded, "Not bad."
"You're young but you already possess great power, I am truly impressed!" He said slowly. "This time around, I came by with the intention to advise them to stop advocating evil and start doing good. Too bad they are already gone with the wind, I was a few steps behind. What a shame!"
Chu Li smiled, "Sir you have great advices, but too bad they don't have the privilege to hear you out."
"If you excuse me, I sincerely think that they should be given a chance to rid their bad behaviours, and start fresh in life."
"Sir I believe I have to disagree. You say give them a chance, but had they ever given a chance for their victims to live? Such a great deal of evil, even God cannot forgive them!"
"Amitbha. Do you believe in karma or reincarnation? For every consequence, there is a cause."
"Do you mean that those victims who died deserved to die?... Then the same logic applies to those murderers!"
Zhao Ying cut them off impatiently. "My dear monk, please step aside. I need to see my sisters inside there."
The monk brought his palms together and smiled, "The girls have already repented to Buddha. They are purged of their sins and freed from their sufferings. It's all good news."
"I need to speak to them." Zhao Ying stressed.
"Please, go ahead------!" The monk swayed his robe lightly as he stepped out of the way.
Chu Li and Zhao Ying leaped down and landed on the lower ground gently. They walked pass the monk. Chu Li looked relaxed, but he was very determined and focused on their task at hand. He was ever ready should the monk decided to attack them.
This old monk clearly did not have good intentions. He was from the Temple of Tempest, one of the world's Big Four religious institutions. They even called themselves the world's best, so much that nobody dared to challenge their integrity.
Chu Li feared the Temple of Tempest, even after they moved out of the Federal territory.
The three made their way to the grand hall. A hundred and fifty girls sat on the futon, mumbling prayers. They looked solemn. Zhao Ying unnoticeably slowed down her footsteps.
Chu Li let out a cough, breaking the solemn atmosphere of the hall.
The group of girls raised their head towards the sound. Their faces lighted up with delight.
Zhao Ying followed suit and a warm smile etched out on her face too. She waved happily at the group of girls, and said "My sisters, I am here to free you all."
One of the more senior girls stood up, and asked "Where to, Sister Zhao?"
"Brother Chu had purchased a big house in Chong Lee Yuning town. All of you could move in to there and start a new life. In the future, the place would be turned into a restaurant. By then, you ladies could make a living out of it."
On hearing that, the girls seemed to hesitate.
Zhao Ying smiled and continued, "Senior Chu said, you all need to stand on your own feet, work hard and earn a living for yourselves. You could choose either staying inside the house to be a maid, or helping in the restaurant. Long story short, you could not stay there but do nothing."
The girls nodded in reply. They were more than willing to make a living out of their own hands. Not being able to do anything was an ordeal for them. By making themselves busy at work, they could take their minds off the other more complicated matters.
"Sister Zhao, what about those who choose to stay behind?"
"This place is not safe. Anybody could walk in at any moment. Take for example this monk, didn't he just walk in here like it's nobody's business?... Fortunately, he did not have bad intentions, if not, you all would be in grave danger."
"Saviour Zhao, these girls have already devoted themselves to the teachings of Buddha, I, as a humble monk, would be more than willing to bring them to the nunnery so they could begin their practice, to get rid of the sins of their present life." The monk said as he held his palms together.
Zhao Ying was shocked at his words, "A conversion?"
The monk gave her a single nod. "That's correct. They are touched by the ways of the Buddha, and they have chosen to be a follower."
"You spoke too soon, don't you think?" Zhao Ying raised an eyebrow, and took a quick glance across the girls, but they could only look back at her helplessly.
Zhao Ying dragged the girl who stood up out of the hall, and started whispering to her.
She made sure her voice was low enough, took one last glance back at the monk in the hall, and asked, "Sister, what's going on?"
Her name was Zhang Fu. She had a gentle temperament. She quickly shook her head at the question and whispered back, "He is an eminent monk of the Temple of Tempest. He has a deep understanding of dharma. We just felt that what he preached to us made a lot of sense. Our present life was already miserable enough, so we might as well start repenting for a better next life."
Zhao Ying looked uninterested at the topic and continued, "Just go to Chong Lee Yuning town and start a new life. Sister Zhang, there's still a lot left in our present lives!"
"Sister Zhao, we have brought disgrace to our own bodies, we are destined to not have a bright future."
"Nonsense! Senior Chu and I will not leave you all here. Actually, we are Scribes of the Federal Public House!"
"Federal House of the Yi Dynasty?"
Zhao Ying slowly nodded. "That's why there is no need to worry, we will take good care of all of you!"
Zhang Fu gazed at her. Zhao Ying smiled, "What's the matter, do we not look like one?"
"I'm just surprised, that you two are people from the Federal Public House!" Zhang Fu shook her head and sighed, "If I have known earlier, all of us wouldn't have to worry that much."
For outsiders, the Federal Public House holds a high place amongst society. They have great power, and garnered a lot of respect.
"Sister Zhang, why don't you go and advise your other girls. You all have a great life ahead of you, why bother being nuns? Live life to the fullest!"
"Alright, I will."
After the brief conversation, the two of them headed back to the hall. Zhang Fu lowered her voice and told the other girls what they had just discussed. The group of girls stared in awe towards Chu Li and Zhao Ying, seemingly delighted with what they heard.
The monk's face looked gloomy. He recited a word of prayer, shook his head and sighed, "There is no end to the sea of sufferings. Repent, dear girls, you are still confused about your mistakes. How sad, how wasteful!"
Chu Li laughed, "Monk, one must be sincere to devote oneself to the Buddha. It cannot be done by coercion."
"Saviour Chu, the leader of the Raging Tiger ravine, his blood is on your hands, right?"
"Not bad!"
"What kind of martial arts was he using?"
"Forgive me for my shallow knowledge, I did not recognise it."
"He was a traitor of the Temple!"
"Oh------?"
"Although he betrayed us, he was still one of our own in the past. He possessed great skills, but since you were able to defeat and kill him, I would like to witness for myself your great abilities."
Chu Li laughed, "Don't tell me, you want to avenge his death?"
"Utter gibberish, saviour Chu!" the monk shook his head, "The real reason I'm here, is too get rid of the traitor himself. But since he was already taken care of, I couldn't bear returning to the Temple empty-handed."
"Monk, what are you implying?" Chu Li laughed, "Don't tell me, that traitors from your temple, could only be dealt with by your own people, while outsiders like me, have no rights to deliver the punishment, is that so?"
"Amitbha..." The monk again held his palms together.
Chu Li gave a cold smirk, "What an arrogant Temple of Tempest!"
"Saviour Chu, this rule is not exclusive to our temple, the other religious institutions have the same rule as well!" The monk said defensively.
"Monk, you want to end my life?"
"Of course not!" the monk shook his head. "He is merely a traitor. You only need to defeat me, then I will not give you any more trouble."
"What if I lose?"
"Then you'll only need to cut off an arm or a leg!"
"Interesting!" Chu Li laughed. "The mighty Temple of Tempest! Enough talk, let's begin!"
"Let's begin------!" The monk started by holding his palms together to give respect to his opponent. "Please give me your all, saviour Chu, there's no room for mistakes!"
"Heh heh..." Chu Li let out a long laugh, and unsheathed his sword.
Zhao Ying heard the declare for battle and creased her eyebrows. She gave the monk a mean stare, "And I thought you're a monk, impostor!"
Chu Li could only manage to shake his head.
With the "Omniscient mirror" enchantment, he could directly see what was playing in his opponent's mind. The monk was very cruel in nature, he said that he only wanted an arm, but in truth, he could not wait to take his life. If he lost the battle, there would only be one ending, death!
He still could not believe his very eyes. It looked like he was just another innocent monk with a kind soul, but he was so ruthless at heart. It was true what they said, that even Buddha's teachings could not wipe away one's true character.
"You asked for it!" Chu Li let out a shout, and immediately struck his sword towards his opponent.
"Ding..." The sound of a palm deflecting a sword's blow. His sword was steered away, and a feeling of chills was conducted from the tip of the sword to his grip, which then crept into his heart.
Chu Li realised that the first stage powers of the Infinite Sea of Azure was not enough. He quickly added his efforts. Only after doubling his initial powers, the sinister force that was creeping towards him could be stopped from reaching the depths of his heart.
What a hell of a force from his palms! If that blow had landed on his heart, it would surely be fatal.
Chu Li staggered two steps behind, his face blushed. The powers of his Infinite Sea of Azure skill continued to increase in intensity. He mustered just enough strength to give his opponent another taste of his sword.
The monk smiled, as if he had anticipated the move. He gave it another hit of his almighty palm.
"Pom!" the sound of a dull hit. The monk's eyes widened as he took a step backwards.
He meticulously dissected the incoming inner strength directed at him from the blow. He was tricked by Chu Li. He thought Chu Li was struggling and could only manage a weak effort back at him, but he was wrong. He did not expect Chu Li's inner strength to be this strong.
Chu Li followed up quickly, as he waved his sword and struck the monk's shoulder.
"Ding..." it sounded like a metal hitting metal. The long sword could not make a way through his skin.
Chu Li raised an eyebrow in shock. At that moment, he realised, it was the Sentient Menace skill move!