The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 376

"Please wait here for a moment, I will inform the abbot of our temple."

Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong stood outside the courtyard waiting, while the monk entered the Zen temple.

Not long after, the monk reappeared.

"Please follow me, both of you."

After entering the Zen temple, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong were led into a meditation room, where an old monk was waiting for them.

"Esteemed benefactors, this is our abbot, Zen Master Lingxuan."

Master Lingxuan?

Jiang Ning glanced at the old monk.

Master Lingxuan was rather thin and looked to be around eighty years old, with a deeply lined face and a frail appearance.

"Amitabha."

Master Lingxuan looked at Jiang Ning and the other person with a smile on his face.

"This old monk is Lingxuan. A month and a half ago, I received a letter from your sect's headmaster Yue, saying that he would send his disciples to visit my Southern Shaolin. Now that I see you two in such high spirits, you are indeed worthy of being disciples of a great sect. May I ask how you two young heroes are addressed?"

When Yue Buqun wrote to the Putian Shaolin Temple, he did not specify who he wanted to send.

Linghu Chong quickly bowed and said, "This junior, Linghu Chong of the Huashan Sect, greets the Zen Master."

Jiang Ning also bowed.

"Jiang Ning, a junior, greets the Zen Master."

When Linghu Chong introduced himself, Zen Master Lingxuan remained calm and smiled. However, when Jiang Ning announced his name, Zen Master Lingxuan's expression clearly faltered, and he looked at Jiang Ning.

Who?

Who do you say you are?

Looking at the handsome young man before him, Master Lingxuan's cloudy eyes changed.

"Young hero, are you the world-renowned Jiang Ning, known in the martial arts world as King Ning the Yama?"

Jiang Ning laughed.

"Master, you flatter me. I am not famous in the martial arts world; I am merely a disciple of Mount Hua."

Looking at Jiang Ning's humble demeanor, those who didn't know better might think it was genuine, but those who truly understood him knew what the name "Ning Yanwang" represented.

Master Lingxuan remained expressionless, but his heart was filled with ripples.

He originally thought that the people from the Huashan Sect this time might be masters from Yue Buqun's generation, or some second-generation disciples, but he didn't expect Jiang Ning to come.

If Yue Buqun hadn't written a letter in advance to warn him, he would have thought that the Huashan Sect was about to start a war with his Southern Shaolin Temple.

"Amitabha."

Master Lingxuan couldn't help but chant a Buddhist prayer, gently suppressing his emotions before asking, "Have you two young heroes had a peaceful journey?"

When Yue Buqun wrote to Zen Master Lingxuan, he mentioned that the person he sent came down the mountain in early July. According to the journey, it should have taken two months to arrive. If the journey had been faster, it would have been in late August. However, Zen Master Lingxuan had been waiting since early September, and now it was already mid-to-late September, which was almost half a month. According to the journey, it shouldn't have taken this long.

Linghu Chong glanced at Jiang Ning but didn't speak. Jiang Ning then said, "My brother and I were indeed delayed on the road, and we apologize for keeping you waiting, Zen Master."

Zen Master Lingxuan chuckled and shook his head.

"It will come sooner or later."

Every word and phrase spoken by Zen Master Lingxuan was full of profound meaning.

"You two have come all the way from Shaanxi, and you must have had a long and tiring journey. Why don't you rest today, and I will discuss the scriptures and doctrines with you two young heroes tomorrow?"

Jiang Ning got up, and when Linghu Chong saw that Jiang Ning had gotten up, he quickly got up as well.

Jiang Ning cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll have to trouble your temple."

Besides exchanging feelings, another reason for this trip was to discuss martial arts, but neither Master Lingxuan nor Jiang Ning mentioned it today.

The discussion of martial arts is called a discussion, but in reality it is about sparring. How can you discuss martial arts if you don't spar?

Today is the first day, and it is not advisable to fight. Both sides understand this.

Lingxuan smiled gently and called out, and a young novice monk entered from outside the door.

"Please follow me, esteemed benefactors."

"Thank you for your help, young man."

Jiang Ning said something, and then he and Linghu Chong followed the young monk out.

The Putian Shaolin Temple was magnificent and covered a vast area. The young novice led Jiang Ning and his companion through many buildings until they finally arrived at a small courtyard.

This is the guest courtyard where Zen Master Lingxuan hosted them.

After thanking the young novice monk, the two entered the main hall. Linghu Chong finally relaxed and plopped down on a chair like a lump of mud.

"The abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple is also a highly accomplished monk."

Linghu Chong said something.

During their conversation, he felt that Master Lingxuan's every word and action exuded the air of a high-ranking monk.

"Ah."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"His martial arts skills are also quite good."

Jiang Ning had just observed that although Zen Master Lingxuan was old, his breathing was long and steady, clearly indicating that he was a master with accomplished internal strength. As for how powerful he was, Jiang Ning couldn't estimate, but he was definitely a master.

"Junior brother."

Linghu Chong then said, "Let me handle the martial arts sparring from now on."

Linghu Chong knew that the purpose of this trip was to exchange martial arts skills, so he volunteered.

It wasn't that he was belligerent or wanted to steal Jiang Ning's thunder, but rather that Jiang Ning's martial arts skills were too high. The other party clearly knew about Jiang Ning's exploits, and if Jiang Ning were to personally participate in the later sparring, the other party might think they were there to cause trouble. Linghu Chong, who was unaware of the purpose of their visit, did not want to escalate the relationship between the two sides, so he volunteered.

"Let's talk about that later."

Jiang Ning neither refused nor agreed; he wasn't particularly concerned about the matter.

He came to investigate the truth behind the sword energy dispute from back then; whether or not he would spar with the other was secondary.

It's getting late.

"Achoo~~"

Linghu Chong yawned, preparing to go to sleep and rest, but saw Jiang Ning getting up and heading outside.

"Huh? Junior brother, where are you going?"

Jiang Ning turned around and glanced at him.

"If you can't sleep, go for a walk. Senior Brother, you should go to sleep first."

Linghu Chong was taken aback.

What's the point of chatting so late at night?

Seeing Jiang Ning walk out, Linghu Chong didn't suspect anything and turned to walk towards his own room, stretching as he went.

After leaving the guest courtyard, Jiang Ning stealthily made his way under the cover of night, following the direction he had memorized during the day toward Master Lingxuan's Zen temple.

Chapter 503: Night Talk (Bonus Chapter 4/16 for Louis Likes Oranges)

Jiang Ning's figure disappeared into the darkness without making a sound.

We encountered many monks along the way, but none of them found Jiangning.

Following the direction of his memory, Jiang Ning arrived at the Zen temple he had visited during the day. He turned and entered the temple, avoiding the novice monks guarding the entrance, until he reached the Zen Master Lingxuan's meditation room.

The night was still and pitch black all around. In the meditation room, candlelight shone on the paper window, illuminating the silhouette of a person.

Jiang Ning approached the meditation room quietly, holding his breath.

The figure in the meditation room remained motionless.

Jiang Ning approached the window and peered through the crack.

The Zen Master Lingxuan, whom I had seen during the day, was now sitting quietly on the futon, his eyes closed and motionless, as if he were meditating.

But Jiang Ning noticed that Zen Master Lingxuan's brows were furrowed from time to time, clearly not meditating, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Jiang Ning observed for a while, but Zen Master Lingxuan remained completely still and made no discovery.

After finding nothing, Jiang Ning prepared to leave quietly, but just then a monk walked in from outside the temple. Judging from his robes, he was clearly a high-ranking monk from the Southern Shaolin Temple.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning concealed himself so that the other party would not see him.

The monk entered Master Lingxuan's monastery without needing to be announced by the novice monks, and gently knocked on the door.

"Master."

The monk knocked on the door and spoke softly.

"Are you free from confusion? Come in."

The voice of Zen Master Lingxuan could be heard coming from inside the meditation room.

"Yes, Master."

The monk, known as Bu Huo, pushed open the door and went inside, causing Jiang Ning, who had intended to leave, to stay.

Jiang Ning no longer peered through the crack to see what was happening inside; he only saw the candlelight illuminating two figures in the meditation room.

As Jiang Ning circulated his innate internal energy, his breathing slowed, his hearing amplified, and the voices inside became clear to his ears.

In the Zen room.

"Disciple has met the master."

Bu Huo respectfully bowed to Zen Master Lingxuan.

Zen Master Lingxuan opened his eyes, looked at him, and smiled gently.

"sit down."

After Bu Huo sat down, Zen Master Lingxuan asked, "What is it?"

With a serious expression, Bu Huo asked, "Master, have the people from the Huashan Sect arrived today?"

Master Lingxuan laughed.

"You are quite well informed."

"I heard it from other people in the temple."

"不惑" is an explanation.

Master Lingxuan smiled and said, "Indeed, two young heroes from the Huashan Sect have arrived at the temple today."

Bu Huo frowned.

“Master, please forgive my rudeness. I heard that the Huashan Sect came to visit my Shaolin Temple this time with a man named Linghu Chong and another man named Jiang Ning, who is also known as Ning Yanwang in the martial arts world.”

Bu Huo asked seriously, "Master, Linghu Chong is Headmaster Yue's eldest disciple, and Jiang Ning is Headmaster Yue's favorite disciple. Now that Headmaster Yue has sent the two of them here, is there any other meaning behind this move?"

"What do you mean?"

Zen Master Lingxuan smiled.

"If the Huashan Sect wants to visit my Shaolin Temple to strengthen our relationship, it's natural that they would send their best disciples. What's so strange about that?"

"That is precisely what I'm wondering about."

The monk frowned and said, "Our Southern Shaolin Temple did indeed have a friendly relationship with the Huashan Sect in the past, but that was many years ago. In the past few decades, the Huashan Sect and our Southern Shaolin Temple have had no interaction whatsoever. Now, they have suddenly sent these two people. I am worried that the Huashan Sect is coveting our Southern Shaolin Temple's martial arts again, and that they are using this visit as a pretext to spy on our temple's martial arts. After all, the Huashan Sect once..."

"Not confused".

Before he could finish speaking, Zen Master Lingxuan stopped Bu Huo from saying anything more.

"Let's not bring up the past. Back then, Yue and Cai from the Huashan Sect only saw the Sunflower Manual by chance when they came to my Shaolin Temple. The Sunflower Manual is indeed an extremely profound secret manual. We martial artists see a peerless secret manual as ordinary people see gold. If we don't see it, we don't care. But if we do see it, we must thoroughly understand it. This is just the obsession of us martial arts fanatics. Besides, so much time has passed. Let's not bring it up again. It will only increase the rift between my temple and the Huashan Sect."

Hearing his master's words, Bu Huo lowered his head.

"Yes, disciple is superficial."