Chapter 339: Nine Lives Lost
The boundless Tanggula Mountains, the vast sea of ​​snow, the merging of heaven and earth, make one unable to see the end.

On the morning of the sixth day of the first lunar month, Jian Zhong, who had traveled through the hinterland of Tanggula Mountain for a whole day and night, arrived at a narrow and steep valley carrying the young monk on his back.

This valley extends over a thousand meters from north to south, with steep cliffs on both sides towering into the clouds. In the middle is a rugged mountain road covered with snow, about three meters wide.

At this moment, the mountain wind was howling, the snow was drifting, and the icy cold was like a knife, piercing through the skin and bones, captivating the heart.

The little monk in the bamboo basket had already woken up. He didn't cry or make a fuss, nor did he shout or scream. Although he had not eaten or drunk anything for several days, he was still energetic and in high spirits.

For the entire night, he sat cross-legged in a bamboo basket, his mind focused and he recited scriptures silently, as if he was praying for the souls of the dead, or washing away the sins of the filthy world.

"Little monk, are you really the reincarnated child of Buddha, the living Buddha?" Maybe it was because he was bored, Jian Zhong actually took the initiative to talk to the little monk.

"There is no Buddha in the world. Buddha is in our hearts." The monk replied cryptically, "Donor, put down your butcher knife and you will become a Buddha right now."

"So what if you become a Buddha?" Jian Zhong said contemptuously, "You are praised as a living Buddha by the world, but I still trapped you in a bamboo basket. As a Buddha, if you can't even escape from a small bamboo house, how can you jump out of the Three Realms and stay away from the Five Elements? How can you escape from the sea of ​​suffering and ascend to the Six Paths?"

"I am in a bamboo basket, so what is the difference between me and being somewhere else? This body is nothing but a skin bag to me. But from what you said, I think you are quite intelligent." The monk replied, "If I am right, you should have studied Buddhism in the past, and you are quite deep in Zen, so you have a deep affinity with me."

"Hmph!" Jian Zhong's eyes suddenly turned fierce at the monk's words, and he said in a cold voice, "If Buddha can't save people, what's the point of worshipping him? When we burn incense and pay our respects, he doesn't say a word, pretending to be profound. When our family is in trouble, he still turns a blind eye and stands by and watches. Tell me, what's the point of worshipping such a Buddha?"

"We?" The monk heard a clue from Jian Zhong's words and said thoughtfully, "Donor, it seems that what you said refers to something else?"

"So what?" Jian Zhong snorted, "My family has been officials for generations, and we are honest and upright. My mother practices Buddhism every day, and has been fasting and chanting for decades, but what is the result? Where was the Buddha when we were framed? Where was the Buddha when our property was confiscated and we were executed? Now that the deceased is gone, you are talking about cause and effect and everything is predetermined. It's simply nonsense. In my opinion, you evil monks are just misleading people and deceiving the world."

"What a sin! What a sin!" the monk sighed, "This life is full of sorrow and pain, I hope I can practice cultivation in the next life. It is because of the compassion of Buddha that I am willing to give up everything to save the world, hoping that all living beings can escape the suffering of reincarnation as soon as possible and avoid the nightmare of life and death. The donor's obsession is too deep, and the monk is in great pain. I don't blame the donor for slandering Buddha, I only blame myself for being incompetent and unable to eliminate the resentment in your heart."

Jian Zhong sneered at the monk's compassion and said, "If it is really fate, why didn't the heaven save you as a Tibetan living Buddha? Instead, it watched you fall into danger?"

"There is only one way to return to the origin, but there are many ways to get there conveniently." The monk replied calmly, neither happy nor sad, "I have a destiny with you and am destined to be with you. In your opinion, you are holding me hostage, but in my opinion, I am saving you."

"you……"

"Amitabha!"

Before Jian Zhong could speak, a hollow Buddhist chant suddenly came from the deep valley. Then, four purple-robed lamas descended from the sky and blocked his way.

Jian Zhong's face darkened, and he subconsciously took a half step back and shouted coldly: "Who are you?"

“I’m Nianxi, a lama from the Jokhang Temple. Please put the reincarnated soul boy down and let him go back with us to receive ordination and forgiveness.” The purple-robed lama at the head put his hands together in a humble manner, looking quite polite.

"Jokhang Temple?" Jian Zhong frowned slightly, and after a moment's thought, he suddenly realized what was going on. He said contemptuously, "It is rumored that there is a group of purple-robed masters in Jokhang Temple, comparable to the 'Dharma Temple' of Shaolin in the Central Plains. They usually stay at home and rarely go out. They are all highly skilled in martial arts and keep their skills hidden. Judging from your clothes, you must be purple-robed masters."

"It's just a false reputation. I'm sorry to make you laugh."

"Wait a minute!" Jian Zhong's expression suddenly changed, and he asked Nian Xi, "You speak Chinese so fluently, could it be that... you are Han Chinese?"

"Yes." Nian Xi nodded and said, "I was born in Yangzhou."

"If you are a Han Chinese, why should you help them?" Jian Zhong asked, "Can't you see that I am also a Han Chinese?"

"Whether they are Han or Tibetan, they are all disciples of Buddhism. How can there be any discrimination?" Nian Xi said, "Although the donor is Han, he also knows Tibetan and even knows a lot about Tubo."

Jian Zhong smiled and said, "I have served in the army and stationed in the Jinsha Camp for three years. I am already accustomed to the major and minor events of the Tibetan tribes. What is so difficult about Tibetan?"

"If that's the case, you should know how important the reincarnated soul boy is to Tubo," Nian Xi advised. "How dare you go against the will of heaven and take the soul boy away without permission?"

"You're just saying so much nonsense because you want to rescue him." Jian Zhong calmly put down the bamboo basket, slowly drew out the hidden knife from his waist, and said provocatively, "The reincarnated spirit boy is in the bamboo basket. If you have the guts, come and get it yourself. But first, you have to ask the knife in my hand if it agrees."

"Swords have no eyes, why do you insist on doing it?"

"Since you know that swords have no eyes, why don't you get out of the way quickly? Otherwise, you will lose your life in vain!"

"Since the donor is stubborn and unyielding, please do not blame me for being rude!"

With a loud shout, the four purple-robed lamas attacked together. They quickly separated and surrounded Jian Zhong in the blink of an eye.

Facing the four men, Jian Zhong's eyes were cold and calm. He responded calmly, swinging his sword left and right, dodging and moving swiftly. While carefully resisting the four men's attack, he was also testing their tactics.

"Clang clang clang!"

In a short moment, Jian Zhong was engaged in a fierce battle with the four lamas.

Jian Zhong's martial arts skills are extremely high. Not only does he have strong internal strength that is endless, but his moves are also tricky and strange, ever-changing, making it difficult to defend against.

After a short while, some of the four lamas were injured and retreated. Jian Zhong was fighting one against four, but he was still not at a disadvantage. He was worthy of being the famous "Nine Lives No Return" and the fourth place on the Dragon Elephant List.

"I thought the purple-robed master of the Jokhang Temple had great martial arts skills. It turns out that he is just a showman, not much different from those reckless men in the Tibetan arena." Jian Zhong became more and more confident as the fight went on. In a blink of an eye, he switched from defense to offense and took the initiative to pursue. Not only did he completely disrupt the formation of the four purple-robed lamas, he also forced them to retreat repeatedly. "Compared to the Bodhidharma Academy of Shaolin in the Central Plains, you are still far behind. You are not even much better than those bald monks in the Arhat Hall."

Jian Zhong was arrogant and conceited, and he was merciless in his sarcasm towards his opponents. With just a few words, he ridiculed the four purple-robed lamas as useless.

In a short while, the fight between the five people lasted for more than a hundred rounds. Although the martial arts of the four purple-robed lamas were not as good as Jian Zhong's, they were by no means as weak as Jian Zhong ridiculed them.

After a hundred rounds, both sides suffered injuries, but compared to Jian Zhong's superficial injuries, the injuries of the four lamas were much more serious.

Among them, two were seriously injured. One had his left hand chopped off by Jian Zhong, and the pain was excruciating. Another had his side ribs pierced by Jian Zhong's knife, and bleeding profusely. The other two were less seriously injured, but they were also covered in scars and were in a mess. "It is rumored that there are two Dharma protectors with unfathomable martial arts in the Jokhang Temple. Why don't they come?" Jian Zhong swam flexibly among the four lamas like a dragon entering the sea, and jokingly said, "You four are lucky. You can achieve the right result today and be reborn in paradise."

"You are so arrogant and boastful!"

Nian Xi was completely enraged and no longer cared about the dignity of a monk. His facial features were ferocious, his eyes were angry, and he roared as he rushed towards Jian Zhong.

At the same time, the other three lamas also endured the pain and attacked one after another, forcing Jian Zhongliang to leave his position and giving Nianxi a chance to kill him with one strike.

Facing attacks from all directions, Jian Zhong was not panicked at all. He snorted coldly, paused, and immediately soared into the sky, leaping several feet high.

In midair, Jian Zhong repeatedly swung the Tibetan knife in his hand. In an instant, sharp knife energy whizzed down, mixed in the blizzard, forming a series of terrifying energy turbulence, "swooshing" over the four lamas.

In a moment, the robes of the four lamas were tattered and torn into pieces, and their bodies were covered with wounds and blood.

Among them, two people who were seriously injured were unable to dodge in time. One had his throat cut by the blade, and the other had his internal organs shattered by the strong energy. The two of them didn't even have time to utter a scream before they died.

Seeing this, Nian Xi immediately became furious, filled with grief and indignation. He let out a loud shout, then exerted force with his feet and soared into the sky.

In mid-air, he swung his long sword wildly, creating a silver "net" made up of sword lights, which moved from bottom to top and rushed straight towards Jian Zhong who was falling from the sky.

"Hmph! A little trick!"

Jian Zhong's eyes were full of disdain. He turned upside down in the air, head down, and rushed out with his hidden knife, like a dragon entering the sea or a phoenix breaking through the sky, and went straight to meet Nian Xi's knife net.

Accompanied by a series of sharp "chi chi chi" sounds, Jian Zhong and Nian Xi came into close combat.

The two of them, one above and one below, confronted each other head-on, and fought each other for twenty rounds in a flash. The flashing of swords and the heavy shadows were dazzling and overwhelming.

Finally, when Nian Xi made a slight flaw, Jian Zhong seized the opportunity and acted with lightning speed. He used all his strength in one strike and with a light "puff" sound, Jian Zhong swung his knife and split Nian Xi's head in half along the center of his eyebrows.

In an instant, the brain burst and blood splattered. The scene was horrifying and terrifying.

Perhaps frightened by Jian Zhong's brutality, the surviving lama threw away his weapon, turned around and fled, running away in panic, leaving behind two sets of crooked footprints in the snow.

"You are a cowardly rat, afraid of death! Humph!"

It’s a pity that the Purple-Robed Lama wanted to escape, but Jian Zhong had no intention of leaving him a chance to live.

His body lightened and he leaped several feet high. Jian Zhong kicked forward with his right foot in the snow. A Tibetan knife covered by wind and snow suddenly rose up and, with a whoosh, shot straight at the purple-robed Lama who was fleeing in panic.

With a light "puff" sound, a knife pierced through his back, and the sharp tip of the knife protruded from his chest. The bright red hot blood gushed out along the blade like water, melting the large piece of ice and snow under his feet in an instant.

Everything may sound slow, but in reality it was as fast as lightning. In just one stick of incense, the four purple-robed masters of the Jokhang Temple had all died in the snow valley, tragically killed by the knife of "Nine Lives Without Return".

After this battle, although Jian Zhong was not seriously injured, he had severely depleted his energy.

He stared at the four corpses in the snow, turned around and walked slowly to the bamboo basket. Hearing the monk mumbling scriptures again, he couldn't help but sneer and said sarcastically: "Just now they were four living people talking and laughing, but in the blink of an eye they have turned into four cold corpses. May I ask the Living Buddha, is their fate determined by heaven? Or is it determined by the knife in my hand?"

"Good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be punished with evil. It's not that there is no reward, it's just that the time has not come yet." The monk's tone sounded quite sad.

"Wrong!" Jian Zhong shook his head fiercely, "Although you didn't kill Bo Ren, Bo Ren died because of you. If you are really a Buddha, then the resentment accumulated in you should be more than any mortal!"

"The law of nature is clear, and retribution will come. Benefactor, I advise you again to put down your butcher knife..."

"Shut up!"

As if completely enraged by the young monk's chattering, Jian Zhong suddenly shouted and scolded, "If you dare to say another word, I will cut off your tongue. What do you mean by 'put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot'? It's nonsense! Look at the corpses on the ground. They have put down their butcher knives, but have they become Buddhas? No! As a result, they have become resentful ghosts under my knife, and will never be reborn. If I had put down my butcher knife just now, I would have been the one to die. This is the reality of cause and effect, the reality of retribution, the paradise for the strong and the Avici hell for the weak. The greatest truth in the world is not 'put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot', but 'those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish'."

"If that is true, what will happen if the donor meets someone more vicious than himself?" the young monk asked in return.

"Either he dies or I die!" Jian Zhong's face was ferocious, and he gritted his teeth with every word he spoke.

"Donor, you..."

"Little monk, stop trying to persuade me! Because he is right!"

Before the monk could open his mouth, a cold voice suddenly came from the end of the canyon.

Then, in the midst of the snow and wind, a man wearing a straw hat, a raincoat, and holding a three-foot-long Tibetan knife came running.

Seeing this, Jian Zhong's face suddenly changed, and his slightly slack spirit tensed up again, and he asked cautiously: "Who are you?"

"The one who is about to be killed by you, or...the one who is about to kill you!"

Before he finished speaking, the man took off his hat, revealing a hideous, cruel and terrifying face.

The person who came was Liu Xunyi, who had fled to the plateau and survived a disaster.

……

(End of this chapter)