The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 113 Savior of the Coward (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

One by one, iron-clad wooden boxes were carried out of Jixiang Temple and lined up in front of Wang Wen. They were opened one by one to reveal neatly arranged gold ingots inside!
Each gold ingot, the size of a fist, reflected a mesmerizing light in the flickering firelight…

Wang Wen glanced at the gold ingots, and for a moment his mind went blank.

He had lived two lives, that's true, but let alone so much gold, he had never seen so many cornbreads at once.

This stuff is the cure for most of the world's troubles and worries...

However, his mind only wavered for a moment. The moment a trace of greed arose in his heart, it was replaced by a faster and more intense pleasure.

That kind of pleasure is called... violence!
He finally understood why most superheroes in those superhero movies from his previous life wore tight-fitting bodysuits and had their faces covered.

He suddenly realized why the male and female leads in those adult films he secretly watched in his previous life could transform from well-dressed social elites into perverted monsters with heavy tastes simply by wearing masks that couldn't cover anything!
Masks... are simply the best savior of cowards and the perfect companion for criminals!
Things I wouldn't dare say in normal times, I dare to say after putting on a mask.

Things I wouldn't dare to do in normal times, I dare to do when I put on a mask.

This thing... is even more effective than the little blue pill.

The little blue pill can only release sperm...

But this thing can unleash the deepest, most suppressed animalistic desires in people's hearts!
Just like now, compared to this gold, he would rather go back on his word, grab these thieving bald men one by one, and crush them all!
Moreover, this desire wasn't something trivial; it was so intense that even he was horrified. He was filled with the shock of realizing, "I'm the pervert," and the fear of standing on the edge of an abyss, knowing that one wrong step would lead to utter destruction...

The little conscience and the little devil from the fairy tale had now materialized in his mind.

The little devil was frantically tempting him, grinning and saying things like, "Kill them all, and no one will ever know you did it," and "Only the dead can shut up; the living only talk too much."

His conscience was desperately trying to stop him, shouting things like, "Don't do anything reckless! Just because they're not human doesn't mean you have to be one too!" and "You can't even quit vaping, are you sure you can control this addiction?"

Wang Wen stood with his hands behind his back, his fists clenched tightly without saying a word, his palms sweating profusely.

The people around him, seeing him staring at the gold without saying a word, assumed he was tempted by it, unaware that their lives were already hanging by a thread...

The obese and foolish current abbot of Jixiang Temple, Abbot Nianxin, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly walked up to Wang Wen. He raised his palm and bowed, saying, "Reporting to Your Excellency, our small temple has a total of 146 monks and 146,000 taels of gold... Please inspect it, Your Excellency!"

As he spoke, he kept glancing at the row of gold behind him, his whole body trembling with pain, and his eyes almost unable to open.

"Reluctant?"

Wang Wen chuckled softly, but his voice was hoarse as if he had tonsillitis: "Why don't you take this gold back, set up your formation, and have another battle? I promise I'll wait until you're ready before we make a move, how about that?"

He had tried his best to suppress the surging murderous intent in his heart, but as soon as he spoke, the cautiousness in his words, as if he was afraid that Abbot Nianxin would not agree, still made Abbot Nianxin pause for a moment. When he came to his senses, a layer of cold sweat suddenly seeped out from his back.

"No...no need!"

The fat monk stammered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. His chubby face was paler than someone who had been dead for three days: "It's quite troublesome for the monks to clean out these worthless things. There's no need to go through all that trouble!"

"That's it..."

Wang Wen couldn't hide his disappointment: "That's such a pity!"

The fat monk lowered his head, not daring to look directly into his bloodshot eyes. The fear in his heart was like a tsunami, wave after wave eroding his soul.

"From now on, stop chanting Buddhist scriptures for now, and learn how to be a decent human being first!"

Wang Wen sighed and gently patted the fat monk's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Buddha must have it tough. He watches you rebellious disciples and grandchildren do all sorts of bad things under his name. He doesn't enjoy any benefits, but he can't escape the infamy. I'm afraid that even when he's asleep, he has to sit up and regret why he founded the Buddhist order back then."

The fat monk, hearing his audacious and rebellious words, was so angry that his chubby cheeks trembled incessantly.

But he didn't utter a sound until Wang Wen finished speaking.

Disappointed, Wang Wen withdrew his hand, no longer concealing his disgust and murderous intent as he waved it away: "Get out of here! If I ever hear another word about the infamy of your Jixiang Temple, even if you bring a mountain of gold, you won't be able to redeem your dog lives!"

"Yes Yes Yes……"

The fat monk nodded vigorously, as if granted a pardon: "This humble monk will close the mountain and the temple, reflect on his mistakes, and never again get involved in the power struggles of the mortal world."

He bowed and retreated swiftly, calling out to the surrounding monks to put out the fire and salvage the scriptures...

Looking at his fat, chubby back, Wang Wen had a vague feeling that this unassuming, overweight monk might actually be an extraordinary and virtuous master.

After getting rid of the annoying monks, Wang Wen turned his gaze to the group of timid and timid officials on the other side and said calmly in a low voice, "It's your turn."

A middle-aged scholar, dressed in a wide-sleeved, flowing robe of dark blue brocade, trembled as he approached Wang Wen, carrying a box filled with paper money and various gold and silver jewels. He bowed deeply and said, "Your Excellency, due to the haste, my men and I have been unable to gather enough cash. We can only offer our personal belongings as payment, which are of even greater value. Please forgive us and show mercy..."

Wang Wen glanced at the box, then looked up at one of the high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and said calmly, "There are enough for everyone else, but not enough for you!"

The group of high-ranking officials looked around in alarm, and finally, following Wang Wen's gaze, they turned their eyes to the youngest among them, a slick-haired, fair-faced man.

The young man was also looking around, and finally, under everyone's gaze, he confirmed that the person Wang Wen was talking about was him. His handsome face turned as white as if he had been shaving off several layers of white paint.

His legs trembled and he clenched his fists and bowed deeply, asking in a pitiful voice, "Please enlighten me, sir, why is it that they all have enough, but I alone do not..."

Wang Wen calmly replied, "None of them have a father who was a prefect, so they are eligible; you have a father who was a prefect, so you are not eligible."

When that old monk appeared, this pretty boy screamed the most pitifully, the loudest, and the most awful. It would be hard for him not to remember this guy.

Upon hearing this, the young man's face turned even paler; you could almost see the capillaries on his face...

Upon seeing this, Wang Wen clicked his tongue in amazement, thinking to himself, "Even the top courtesan of Lichun Courtyard isn't as fair-skinned as you, kid."

"Please, sir, enlighten me..."

The young man trembled and repeatedly bowed, asking, "How much ransom does the student need to pay?"

"Ten thousand taels."

Wang Wen laughed and said, "Isn't it said that a clean prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years? Spending your father 100,000 taels of silver to buy your life isn't too much to ask, is it?"

"No...not excessive..."

"That's good. Pay up, and you can leave!"

"Could you please grant me a little more time, sir? I will deliver the silver to you within half an hour."

Wang Wen looked at him in shock and laughed, "Ah? Your family really has 100,000 taels?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man's head exploded, and warm tofu dregs splattered all over the faces of the dignitaries on either side.

"Ah...ga!"

The sudden change startled these high-ranking officials and dignitaries, who screamed in unison.

But the next second, they were so frightened by Wang Wen's cold gaze that they covered their mouths tightly with their hands, and both men and women stared at Wang Wen with tears streaming down their faces.

Wang Wen tilted his head, looking at them with a puzzled expression: "What? You're not leaving? Are you expecting me to feed you?"

"what?"

"I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now..."

The group of high-ranking officials and nobles were stunned for a second, then turned around and staggered towards the carriages and sedan chairs not far away.

"Are you still taking a car?"

"No, no, no, let's keep walking, keep walking..."

A group of high-ranking officials and nobles, dressed in tall hats and flowing skirts, fled in a disheveled manner, their mere twenty or thirty people managing to create the imposing presence of over a hundred.

The grooms, sedan chair bearers, and guards who were standing around the carriages and sedan chairs wanted to follow the owners as they scrambled away, but they dared not move because of Wang Wen's cold gaze.

Only after the high-ranking officials and dignitaries had left and the gates of Jixiang Temple had been closed tightly did Wang Wencai slowly walk over. Under their trembling, terrified gazes, he said softly, "If you don't have money to pay, then work as ransom. Load all that gold and silver onto the carriage and come with me."

All the grooms, sedan chair carriers, and guards breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the sound.

They were terrified that this powerful man would walk over and kill them all without saying a word...

...Two hours later, the dark Hangzhou vegetable market was illuminated by a burst of firelight.

A dozen or so large, steaming iron pots are lined up along both sides of the street, each filled with fragrant meat and vegetable porridge.

More than a hundred grooms, sedan chair carriers, and guards gathered around these dozen or so large iron pots, some chopping wood with all their might, others cooking porridge with all their might...

They're not stupid; of course they know what this porridge is for.

Most of the time, poor guys are more empathetic towards each other.

Wang Wen didn't have time to deal with the dozen or so large iron pots. At this moment, he was holding a small notebook, standing in front of the mountain of supplies, and counting the supplies he had painstakingly bought one by one.

Two hours ago, he took more than twenty carts of gold and silver to the market and smashed up grain shops, butcher shops, and cloth shops one by one, buying up all the goods and forcing the owners to take all the goods to the market immediately.

The remaining gold and silver were all taken to the money exchange and exchanged for small silver coins, about the size of a finger. They filled forty or fifty rice-sized earthenware jars!
This is a huge project; even a slow-moving ordinary person might not be able to finish it in three to five days.

Fortunately, Wang Wen was neither short of money nor strength; when money couldn't speak for him, his fists always could.

The small business owners, faced with the choice between making money and becoming disabled, wholeheartedly chose the former, gathering their employees overnight to collect the supplies Wang Wen needed and deliver them.

In particular, the money exchange that Wang Wen approached, after Wang Wen agreed to a small loss, instantly went all out, frantically inviting all its counterparts in the city to join forces and buy up Wang Wen's batch of hard currency...

This feat, which can be described as a commercial miracle of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was accomplished in just two hours!
Soon, Wang Wen finished roughly counting the goods... He didn't have time to check the quality of each item, but the quantity was generally correct.

He closed the ledger, turned his head and shouted rudely at the entrance of the market, "You black-skinned dog outside, get in here!"

All the grooms, sedan chair carriers, and guards looked up towards the market entrance...

Even as they were shopping at the market, a large group of officers and soldiers appeared behind them.

They had hoped that these soldiers would rescue them, but they soon discovered that... these soldiers were even more afraid of this devil in hemp clothing than they were, and they didn't even dare to look him in the eye!

Before long, a large group of soldiers, dragging their weapons, slowly and inching their way into the execution ground.

Wang Wen glanced around... Wow, it's quite lively here!
Local militia, government troops, yamen runners...

Except for the Demon Suppression Guards, all the armed forces from Hangzhou were present.

"This hero..."

A military officer in chainmail stepped forward with a forced smile, clasped his hands in greeting, and spoke.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Wang Wen rudely interrupted his awkward greeting: "What I'm doing is obvious to everyone!"

"I'm right here, I'm not leaving. Bring on whatever tricks you want. Life and death are in our own hands, so no one should blame anyone else!"

"Now, I need you to bring all the refugees from Kuaiji in this city over here!"

"Whether it's a polite plea, a forced drive, or even being carried on a stretcher..."

"As long as they're not killed or maimed, bring them all over to me, one by one!"

"If anything goes wrong, you won't escape, and neither will those officials above you!"

"My word is my bond; if I say I'll kill someone's whole family, I will kill them!"

"If you're so stubborn, bring it on!"

He paused, staring at the garrison captain opposite him: "Have I made myself clear enough?"

The burly military captain, glared at by his piercing gaze, instinctively straightened up and loudly replied, "Clear enough!"

Wang Wen waved his hand: "Then get to work, I'll be waiting for you here!"

The garrison commander: "This humble general... uh, well, alright!"

He turned around and waved to the soldiers behind him as if fleeing, yelling, "Are you all deaf? Can't you hear what a hero is saying? Get moving!"

Upon hearing the sound, the officers and soldiers turned around and rushed out of the market in a chaotic rush, disappearing completely in an instant.

Wang Wen lowered his eyelids, letting out a long, weary breath, and muttered to himself, "Justice resides in the hearts of the people!"

However, just fifteen minutes later...

Outside Caishikou, a series of figures, as thin as bamboo poles, appeared. They dragged their heavy steps, turning their heads blankly as they walked into Caishikou from among the steaming iron pots.

No sound.

Apart from footsteps, there was no other sound.

Even the bubbling cauldrons filled with the aroma of meat couldn't entice them to utter a single word.

Under the cover of night, these refugees looked more like ghosts than humans...

'That's terrible.'

'The world shouldn't be like this...'

Wang Wen lowered his eyelids again, pursed his lips, and forced a crooked smile.

After a long while, he spoke softly: "If I were you, I would try my best to live, even if it meant being a slave or fighting with wild dogs for food. I would do everything in my power to survive, to preserve my body so that I could find those evil people who killed my relatives and friends and avenge them!"

"I will repay this debt of hatred in this life, the next life, and the life after that, until I die!"

"The porridge is in the pot, the cloth is behind me, and the silver is on both sides."

"The city gates will open shortly..."

"You can choose which path to take."

"This is all I can do."

His voice was soft, yet it rang clearly in the ears of every refugee from Kuaiji.

All the refugees from Kuaiji raised their heads and looked at him.

In the darkness, there seemed to be tiny specks of light...

That tiny glimmer of light was so faint, yet so bright.

Finally, a weak, broken voice shattered the silence inside the market.

"Grandpa, please have mercy and give me a bowl of porridge..."

Amidst the mountains of supplies, Wang Wen, with his eyes downcast, heard this voice and suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

Suffering is never something to be celebrated.

But the courage was worth it!

……

In a dilapidated temple outside the south city.

The young disciple of the Grand Canal Gang slowly awoke, staring blankly at the dark ceiling, lost in thought, pondering the three fundamental questions of life: 'Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?'

"Boom."

With a muffled thud, the young Cao Gang disciple, who had just opened his eyes, tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep again... Young people, they just need more sleep.

Black Ox gritted its teeth and chewed its cud, slowly retracting its large hooves. Gazing at the bright moonlight outside the window, it wondered, "Didn't Master say he'd be right back? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

(End of this chapter)