Chapter 735: Meeting at the Ancient Temple

The next morning, when Zhao Xin woke up from a dream, she was shocked to see Li Haitang, a stranger. Liu Xunyi hurriedly introduced her to Li Haitang, claiming that Li Haitang was his "friend" in the world, and that they met by chance in Yunya Town and came to his aid.

As for Li Haitang's true identity and the relationship between him and Liu Xunyi, Liu Xunyi did not explain too much to Zhao Xin so as not to cause her unnecessary trouble.

After learning that Li Haitang was a friend rather than an enemy, Zhao Xin finally felt relieved. After all, the turmoil in Yunya Town had made her very sensitive to strangers.

The appearance of Li Haitang undoubtedly brought a lot of convenience to Liu Xunyi, who was still injured, and Zhao Xin, who was weak. The three of them traveled together in the vast Qinling Mountains. In order to avoid being chased by the men in black, they did not dare to take the mountain road, but chose some remote paths to go north.

Because Liu Xunyi reminded him repeatedly last night, Li Haitang only told some irrelevant or absurd jokes in front of Zhao Xin today to make Zhao Xin happy. As for the Yunya Town bloody incident, Xu Guangsheng's rebellion and the tense situation between Song and Mongolia, he did not mention a word.

Li Haitang was very clever and good at observing people's expressions. He could find out in just a few words which topics would arouse the interest of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin and which topics would offend taboos.

In this trip, he was only ordered to protect Liu Xunyi and had no other purpose, so he had no bad intentions and would not give people the disgusting feeling of being sweet-mouthed but treacherous.

After a few interactions, the three people of similar age gradually became familiar with each other. Li Haitang even became the "happy fruit" of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, talking incessantly about some bizarre stories from the martial arts world from morning to night, which made Zhao Xin both surprised and curious, and she couldn't help but ask questions.

As long as Liu Xunyi could see Zhao Xin forgetting her worries and laughing heartily, he thought everything was worth it. As for Li Haitang's eloquent fabrication of some strange stories, he would not believe them, but he would not expose them either. Instead, he would be surprised, nervous, and laugh with Zhao Xin...

With his astonishing archery skills, Li Haitang could easily shoot birds and beasts in the mountains and forests, which not only feasted Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin's eyes but also their taste buds. Many of the game were the first time for them to taste.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Xin was deeply impressed by Li Haitang's amazing archery skills, so she often expressed her admiration for him in the jokes after eating and drinking. Liu Xunyi pretended to be "unconvinced" and insisted on competing with Li Haitang in archery in front of Zhao Xin. Although he also shot every arrow, compared with Li Haitang's "killing two birds with one arrow" or even "killing three birds with one arrow", Liu Xunyi's archery skills were far behind and pale in comparison.

Zhao Xin enthusiastically recorded the results of each arrow for the two and announced the winners and losers in a serious manner, which made Liu Xunyi very unwilling and he shouted that he wanted to compete with Li Haitang in other martial arts. Li Haitang saw that the situation was not good and pretended to be wronged and begged for mercy again and again.

The two's "pretentious" performance made Zhao Xin laugh so hard that she even clapped and cheered.

In the face of right and wrong, Zhao Xin can obey fate and even understand the greater good more than Liu Xunyi. But in her daily life, she is very simple despite her strict upbringing. Such unrestrained, undecent and unserious "playfulness" as today is simply unimaginable in her previous life.

Amid the red flowers and green willows, beside the clear water and green mountains, Liu Xunyi and the other two seemed carefree on a trip, laughing and talking happily, and seemed to be having a great time.

Unfortunately, the happier and more comfortable the days are, the faster they pass. On the contrary, the hard and difficult life is like a year, and every moment is unbearable.

Two days later, Liu Xunyi and his two companions finally got out of the Qinling Mountains after going through numerous twists and turns and a rugged and remote route, and successfully found the Horyu-ji Temple located at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains.

In the evening, when Liu Xunyi and the other two appeared outside the mountain gate, a young monk who was sweeping the floor in front of the temple was stunned. Then his eyes changed and he hurriedly threw down his broom and hurried towards them.

"Amitabha!" The young monk put his hands together politely, "May I ask if the three donors are from the south?"

With just this one sentence, Liu Xunyi guessed that Su He and Feng Tianba had already arrived at Horyuji Temple and informed the monks in the temple of their situation, so this is why I asked this question.

With this in mind, Liu Xunyi stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "We are from Yunya Town, and we have come here specially to visit Master Konghui."

Hearing this, the monk's pupils suddenly condensed, and then he looked up and down at Liu Xunyi and the other two, hesitantly said: "But Master said that there are only two donors coming from the south..."

"This is the friend we met on the way." Liu Xunyi pointed at Li Haitang and said, "Excuse me, little master, have Hero Su and the others arrived?"

"They are indeed Su's friends!" The little monk suddenly realized, and showed joy on his face, "Su and Feng have arrived at my humble temple this morning, and are now discussing Zen with the master in the temple. The three donors, please come in!"

Under the guidance of the young monk, Liu Xunyi and the other two walked into Horyuji Temple and went straight to the Zen room.

This is an ancient temple with a long history. Every brick, tile, bottle and jar in the temple exudes a simple and ancient charm. However, the temple is not large, with only two courtyards in the front and back, and a side courtyard on each side of the second courtyard. There are only a few Buddhist halls, meditation rooms, and monks' quarters, and there are only six monks from top to bottom.

"boom……"

"squeak!"

The monk was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, but it was suddenly opened. Then, Su He, who was full of joy, and Feng Tianba, who was covered in wounds, rushed out of the room one after another.

"I heard footsteps in the distance, and I guessed that you had arrived!"

Su He looked Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin up and down. When he saw that Zhao Xin was safe and sound, his slightly nervous expression gradually relaxed, and a deep sense of relief appeared in his eyes. He first bowed respectfully to Zhao Xin, and then cast a grateful look at Liu Xunyi, whispering: "Brother Liu, I really didn't make a mistake!"

Su He's words were full of profound meaning, which others could not understand, but Liu Xunyi understood.

Su He was not completely sure whether Liu Xunyi would take Zhao Xin away during the chaos. Therefore, when he saw Zhao Xin appear in front of him, he felt touched and ashamed. He was touched that Liu Xunyi kept his word and did not put himself in an unkind and unjust situation. He was ashamed that he had doubts about Liu Xunyi, even if there was only a slight doubt.

“If it weren’t for Brother Su who blocked those murderous pursuers for us, how could I have escaped so easily?” Liu Xunyi knew what Su He was thinking, so he gave him a knowing smile.

"The princess is safe and sound, it is a great honor for the Song Dynasty!" Su He looked at Zhao Xin with a complicated expression and couldn't help but sigh. At the same time, his peripheral vision inadvertently swept to the side of Li Haitang, and he was stunned and asked suspiciously: "This friend is..."

"Brother Su, this is Li Haitang, the one who secretly shot an arrow to save us in Yunya Town!"

"Li Haitang..." Su He frowned and muttered to himself, as if trying to recall something, "I seem to have heard of this name somewhere..."

"Hero Su may have heard my name from Lord Yan Ling." Li Haitang recommended himself, "The Lord of Longxiang Mountain is a friend of Lord Yan Ling. I once had the honor to visit Lord Yan Ling at Jiuzhou Inn with my master in Fengzhou. At that time, Hero Su was seriously injured in the battle of Qin Mansion in Hexi, so he was not present. I have also met many heroes in Mobei, such as Long Yu, Hu Zhen, Huo Biao, Qiu Zheng, etc. They are all great heroes with great reputations, but I have never had the opportunity to see the style of 'Mobei's First Swift Sword', which is really a great regret. Today, I have the honor to meet the leader among the heroes of Mobei. I am so lucky! Haha..."

"Yes." Su He suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly, "You are the direct disciple of 'Ghost Hand Rakshasa' Tang Xuan. The Lord of the Ridge has praised Brother Li more than once, saying that your archery skills are unparalleled in the world."

"Master Yan Ling, you are too kind to me. I am ashamed to accept your compliments."

"It turns out that the person who saved us in Yunya Town three days ago was Brother Li. At that time, I told Brother Liu that once we find this person, we must thank him for saving our lives. I never thought that God would be so kind to let me see you so soon." Having said this, Su He's expression changed, and then he clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Li Haitang, "Brother Li, please accept my greetings first..."

"Absolutely not!" Li Haitang was horrified, and hurriedly held Su He with both hands, saying humbly, "Master Su, I cannot bear your respect. I just... happened to pass by Yunya Town, and I saw injustice and helped."

Li Haitang did not tell Su He his true purpose. Firstly, it was unnecessary, and secondly, he did not want to cause any trouble.

Liu Xunyi naturally had no objection to this.

"What a great saying 'helping the weak when seeing injustice', Brother Li is really a true hero with chivalrous heart and heroic spirit!" Su He looked at Li Haitang with admiration and said seriously, "As the saying goes, 'a drop of water should be repaid with a spring of water', Brother Li's kindness will be remembered in my heart. If you need me in the future, please ask me. As long as it does not violate the moral code of the martial arts world, I will never refuse!"

"To be able to get the promise of Master Su and to make Liu Xunyi owe me a favor, I'm afraid there are not many people in the whole martial arts world who have this honor, right?"

"Ha ha……"

Following Li Haitang's teasing, Su He, Liu Xunyi and Feng Tianba couldn't help but look at each other and burst into laughter.

"There is no alcohol or meat in the Buddhist Pure Land, otherwise I would have gotten drunk with you guys tonight!" Su He said enthusiastically, "Come, I will introduce you to the abbot of the temple, Master Kong Hui. By the way! Brother Liu, two of your old friends just came to the temple!"

"Old friend?" Liu Xunyi was startled and asked hesitantly, "Who is it?"

"You'll find out once you go in!"

Accompanied by Su He's hearty laughter, the nervous Liu Xunyi followed Zhao Xin, Feng Tianba and Li Haitang slowly into the Zen room.

There was a dim candlelight in the Zen room. Two old monks were sitting cross-legged, and a young monk was waiting beside them.

The old monk sitting in the main seat was hunched over, with white eyebrows and beard, his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy and a little dull, and he looked very old. This person was the abbot of Horyuji Temple and also Su He's old friend, Master Konghui.

Sitting opposite Kong Hui was a monk with full spirit and dignified posture. From his long breath and deep, bright eyes, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he was a martial artist.

Standing at the side was a young monk with a sincere attitude and respectful behavior. He looked serious, cautious and humble, as if he was listening carefully to the teachings of the two elders.

According to Su He, Liu Xunyi’s “old friends” were the two monks other than Kong Hui.

One is Yuan Ku, the elder of Shaolin Bodhidharma Temple, and the other is Wu Chan, the top master of the younger generation of Shaolin.

……

(End of this chapter)