Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 173 Sleeping in the Temple
Jiang Jinyue was lying on the ground, still slightly tipsy from her small drink, and her expression was quite relaxed.

When she heard Han Wangzhi's words, Jiang Jinyue's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Seeing this, everyone gathered around to watch the commotion, but Li Fang quickly stepped forward and grabbed his apprentice's sleeve:

"Wang Zhi, how could you be so rude? Officer Jiang is your senior."

The young man named Han Wangzhi remained stubborn after hearing this: "The Six Doors have no rule against sparring. Constable Jiang has a great reputation and wants to learn how much I lack."

Li Fang wanted to say something more, but Jiang Jinyue stopped him by raising her hand.

She stood up and looked at the young man with great interest:
"We should have this spirit. Come on!"

Seeing that Jiang Jinyue agreed, Han Wangzhi's face clearly showed excitement.

The two stood on either side of each other, and Jiang Jinyue asked, swinging her wrist, "Weapons or fists?"

"The two are not much different."

"We can't hold back in a melee; let's use fists and feet for now."

Jiang Jinyue's knuckles cracked with a crisp sound.

Han Wangzhi straightened his back even more.

He had heard about Jiang Jinyue, the head constable, more than once. He was skilled in many martial arts and had reached the fifth level of the martial arts realm at a young age. He was a rare genius in the capital.

Another genius in the capital is the current director of the Casting Department, who is thirty-nine years old and at the sixth level of the Heavenly Realm. However, that person is not on the same path as Han Wangzhi, who cultivates the way of martial arts. No matter how high the other person's talent is, Han Wangzhi doesn't really have any interest in him.

But Jiang Jinyue is different.

They are all martial artists, so naturally they can be distinguished as superior or inferior.

He stomped his heel on the muddy ground, rushing towards the green figure with the wind in his wake.

In a short while, he was entangled in a fight with Jiang Jinyue.

Han Wangzhi's boxing style mainly uses swinging and smashing hammers, with each move being an aggressive attack.

Jiang Jinyue simply used the back of her hand to gently deflect Han Wangzhi's attack, easily parrying it away.

Little Ginseng looked inside Lin Jiang's sleeve and jumped for joy.

Previously, during Jiang Jinyue's duel with Bai Zifeng, the strong winds made it difficult to discern their moves. Now, although both are still highly skilled, their deliberate control of their energy makes every movement and counter-movement crystal clear.

Lin Jiang stared at the figures locked in combat and sighed inwardly.

He had at least some martial arts training and could tell the difference in skill level:

Currently, Jiang Jinyue's skills far surpass those of Han Wangzhi.

Han Wangzhi's fist technique was indeed powerful, but it was completely unable to penetrate Jiang Jinyue's defense.

Clearly, the young man had also noticed the problem. He frowned, suddenly swung his arm to create space, lowered his waist, clenched his fist, and prepared his strength.

Clearly, he has already used a technique that can only be activated once per major cycle.

"drink!"

This strike appeared unremarkable, yet the fist, carrying a vortex of air, hurtled through the air.

The Fourth Heaven is also quite extraordinary. If Han Wangzhi's move hits Chen Dajiang, Dajiang definitely won't be able to withstand it.

Upon seeing the fist carrying a strong gust of wind, Jiang Jinyue couldn't help but mutter:
"it is good!"

Jiang Jinyue flicked her wrist and spun it lightly, creating a vortex in her palm.

Han Wangzhi's punch landed directly in the water.

The force of that mountain-shattering punch was like sinking into mud; it vanished without a trace by the time it touched her palm.

The moment the force of the punch dissipated, Han Wangzhi's muscles and bones suddenly froze.

Jiang Jinyue slipped behind him and lightly tapped Han Wangzhi's neck with the edge of her palm.

The outcome has been decided.

"Your skills are good, but you're too hasty. This move of yours can indeed defeat an enemy in one strike, but the movement is too obvious. Anyone who is good at martial arts stances can probably tell it's a secret."

This punch had knocked down countless fourth-level martial artists, and even made fifth-level martial artists bleed. How could it be described as childish trickery in her mouth?

Ultimately, he swallowed his doubts.

The difference in their skill levels was simply too great.

He had heard before that Jiang Jinyue was actually close to entering the sixth level of the Heavenly Realm, but for various reasons she was stuck at the fifth level.

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Jiang Jinyue rubbed her wrist, feeling refreshed.

Her injury hadn't fully healed yet, but dealing with a little guy was no problem.

Playing around with this little guy is a good way to loosen up your muscles.

She gave Han Wangzhi a couple more pointers, and after adjusting his emotions, he mustered his spirits and listened attentively to everything Jiang Jinyue said.

After this matter was settled, Xiaoshan Shen went to Jiang Jinyue to discuss martial arts. Jiang Jinyue then talked about a lot of martial arts, and Lin Jiang, who was listening nearby, also benefited greatly.

As night fell, the people spread out their felt blankets and lay down on the ground.

The early summer night breeze, carrying dew on the grass, felt more comforting than the bedding in the inn.

Unfortunately, it's probably only this group of people who can do this. If other people lay in the wild without any protection, they would probably be covered in mosquito bites the size of fingernails by the next morning.

He then slept without any dreams.

Before dawn, Lin Jiang opened his eyes to find the sky obscured by clouds, and the earthy smell of the wind carried on the morning breeze.

It's going to rain.

Looking around, Lin Jiang saw everyone else lying down asleep. Just as he was about to lie down and go back to sleep, he saw Han Wangzhi throwing a punch under the locust tree.

The saying goes, "Rise at the crowing of the rooster," but these days it's actually earlier than the roosters wake up. Lin Jiang remembers that this young man used to get up quite early, but certainly not like this.

It's estimated that yesterday's events still had a significant impact on him.

Lin Jiang tossed and turned on the felt carpet for a while, then strolled over to the tree and crossed his arms to observe it.

After staring for a while, Han Wangzhi felt very uncomfortable. He stopped what he was doing, slowly walked to Lin Jiang's side, and sat down.

The two sat facing each other in silence.

After holding it in for most of the day, Han Wangzhi finally sighed:
"Hello."

"Hello."

"May I ask your name?" Han Wangzhi asked.

"I introduced myself when we first met," Lin Jiang smiled, but still said, "My name is Zhu Da."

"Zhu Da." Han Wangzhi pondered the name for a moment, and this time he must have truly memorized it. "The Dali Temple hires only extraordinary individuals, and you must be one of them."

"No, my skills aren't as high as yours," Lin Jiang said with a smile.

"That's alright, outsourcing has its own unique methods." Han Wangzhi did indeed have a lot of faith in the Dali Temple's field staff.

"You're quite impressive too," Lin Jiang said. "To have such high levels of skill at such a young age, most people can't compare to you."

"So what..." Han Wangzhi gave a bitter smile: "In the end, I'm still a level below the true masters."

"Martial arts are like building a tower; the foundation is the most important. Even if you are given steel bones and immense strength today, if your martial arts stance is insufficient, a skilled master will dismantle your stance." Lin Jiang felt this quite deeply.

He has only been practicing martial arts for a short time. If Bai Zifeng were to spar with him now, he would likely be at a disadvantage in terms of breaking down the moves.

Of course, this is only a martial arts stance. If Bai Zifeng were actually thrown in front of him, Lin Jiang would definitely spit out a breath of cold and heat energy before making any plans.

Just as Han Wangzhi was about to speak, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Turning around, they saw Li Fang, who had woken up, standing behind them without them noticing.

“What Young Master Zhu said makes sense. Only with a solid foundation can one have lasting strength. Although Xiao Han has made rapid progress, he still lacks practical experience. The reason I brought you along to take on this external assignment is because we are too hesitant to spar with our peers in the government office, while people in the martial arts world use all sorts of tricks. Seeing more of this will help us strengthen our resolve.”

Li Fang sat down next to the two men, and Han Wangzhi lowered his head and replied:

"understood."

Li Fang glanced at Lin Jiang again and said with a smile, "Thank you, young master."

"You're welcome."

As they chatted, everyone gradually woke up. While getting ready, Li Fang glanced at the sky:
"It's about to rain. Let's head up the mountain. There's a temple there. If it rains, we can take shelter there."

Everyone agreed to the suggestion.

As we walked along the official road to the foot of the mountain, we saw a range of peaks stretching across the sky like a gray curtain. The mountain mist, carrying the fresh scent of pine resin, permeated the peaks. This was due to the terrain of Lianfeng Mountain. However, the clouds and mist were thicker than usual at this moment.

As Lin Jiang followed the winding official road upwards, he noticed items resembling stalls scattered along the roadside, indicating that merchants had once gathered in the mountains.

"The mountain temple on the mountaintop is a branch temple of a large temple. Although there are not many worshippers, it has a good reputation in the area. If it rains later, it will be a good time to go into the temple to take shelter."

Li Fang was clearly quite familiar with the area, and he introduced it to the people around him as they walked.

Before the words were even finished, large raindrops began to fall from the sky.

After the raindrops hit the soil, the group quickened their pace.

As the rain intensified and the group's clothes became soaked, Gong Xuan suddenly pulled out several sheets of plain paper from his pocket and, as if by magic, folded them into paper umbrellas and distributed them to everyone.

Holding the umbrella, the group calmed down a bit.

As you walk up the stone steps, you soon see a mountain temple standing quietly on the mountaintop in the distance.

The temple gates were tightly closed, clearly indicating that it was not open today.

The temple gates were tightly closed. Li Zheng stepped forward and gently knocked:
Is your master here?

After a while, a young novice monk peeked out from the crack in the door, his cheeks flushed, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"Ah, gentlemen, are you here to take shelter from the rain?"

"Exactly."

Li Zheng felt something was off.

The young monk's tone was too slow, sounding as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"Please come in quickly, it's raining heavily outside the temple."

Seeing everyone nod, the little monk, his face flushed, pushed open half of the temple door.

The group filed in and entered the mountain temple.

Upon entering the temple, one sees winding corridors and pavilions. The young monk, his face flushed slightly with drunkenness, smiles as he looks at the group before him.
"It's raining heavily today, so the temple is closed and the abbot hasn't woken up yet. We can't accommodate you all. Please take shelter from the rain here."

After saying this, he actually climbed onto the bamboo bed to the side, lay down, and closed his eyes.

Fell asleep again.

The group exchanged glances.

"This temple looks strange." Han Wangzhi turned to his master: "Are you really sure it's a legitimate Zen temple?"

Li Fang raised his hand and wiped his forehead, it was hard to tell whether he was wiping away sweat or rainwater:
“When I came here two years ago, the monks were not like this at all.”

"Let's first inspect the temple. Perhaps it's been affected by some kind of spell." Gong Xuan first did some divination, but found no clues and could only shake his head and sigh.

Walking briskly along the covered corridor, we arrived at the main hall in no time.

When everyone stepped through the covered corridor into the hall, they were all taken aback.

On the blue brick floor, dozens of monks were fast asleep, curled up on their prayer mats.

Only the incense in front of the Buddha remained, still burning quietly.

(End of this chapter)