Heroes Return

"Who knows! The monsters in the game are all randomly assembled by the system! Even I, the developer, can't possibly know what kind of monsters will appear! Speaking of which, why are we encountering such a monstrous max-level monster so soon after we came out?" Xiao Zhan said to the others as he ran.

"I!! I can't go on!" the bespectacled guy gasped as he ran. "It's just a virtual game, it can't possibly hurt us in real life, so why are we running?!"

“But if we don’t run, one slap from this monster and our account quests will be wiped out! All the little sprites we caught along the way will be for nothing,” Thirteen said with difficulty.

"Damn it! This guy's still not done!" Lin Jie said unhappily, "If he had a physical body in reality, I would have smashed him down with a stick long ago."

At this moment, the following words were constantly scrolling across the four people's phones.

'Congratulations, player XXX, you have been chased by a Pokémon for 80 kilometers. You have defeated 99.99% of players worldwide. You have broken the world record for the longest time being chased by a Pokémon.'

"Refresh my ass! Xiao Zhan, what kind of ridiculous rules did you set at this time?! Why are the little sprites attacking on their own?! Seriously, are those really little sprites? They're not small at all!" Lin Jie cursed at Xiao Zhan beside him.

The four of them originally planned to play Xiao Zhan's newly developed **GO** while heading towards J City, but unexpectedly, they easily encountered a giant monster outside. Then, they were chased onto the highway leading to J City.

After a morning of running, the four people were finally detained by the traffic police in J City.

"You four are something else! I've been doing this for so many years, and I've caught countless seasoned drivers. But this is the first time I've seen someone get on the highway by running. To be honest, I don't even know how to issue you four tickets," a traffic officer said to them.

"Actually, we just want to get to the Bachelor Temple as soon as possible," Xiao Zhan said, scratching his head.

"I don't care what you say! But let me make it clear, I'm in charge of this road! So no one is allowed to speed on this road. Even if you're running, it's not allowed!" The traffic policeman said, taking off his helmet to reveal a glaring bald head.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a high-speed hovercar sped past them.

"I see a traffic policeman!!" the passenger in the front seat said to the driver.

"Don't worry! Even the most skilled traffic cop can't stop this veteran Chinese driver," the driver said confidently.

But the next moment, the entire chassis of the car suddenly exploded, and it was blown into the air and then rolled off the road.

"I've already said, no one is allowed to speed on this highway." The bald traffic policeman said, withdrawing his outstretched hand.

"No wonder it's J City, even the traffic police are so fierce!" Thirteen looked at the bald traffic policeman in front of him in surprise: "Are you from Guanggunsi?"

"In this J city, how many people aren't disciples of the Bachelor Temple?" The traffic policeman glanced at them.

Contrary to expectations, the group had planned to arrive in J City tonight, but no one expected that they would arrive in J City half a day early.

The deepest impression J City left on Lin Jie this time was that there were bald people everywhere.

It must be admitted that the crime rate in J City has indeed reached its lowest point in human history. Lin Jie could clearly see that when those bald men saw someone resembling a bad guy on the street, their eyes would light up with greed. It was as if they hadn't spotted a criminal suspect, but rather discovered a treasure.

"Why do all the bald guys here have green eyes when they see us?" The bespectacled guy looked around at the bald guys uncomfortably.

"Who knows!" Lin Jie said, "Let's hurry to Guanggun Temple! I don't know why, but I always feel that the people in this city look at us with a kind of inexplicable sleazy feeling."

"Let me check the map..." Thirteen said, taking out his phone.

And so, without even resting, the four of them arrived at the foot of a mountain. Before them lay a stone-paved path leading directly to the summit.

"I never imagined the mountain path in front of the Bachelor Temple would be so rudimentary," Thirteen remarked, looking around at the surrounding scenery.

Just as they were about to continue, an old beggar with disheveled hair sitting on the steps suddenly looked at the four of them and reached out to block their path.

"You four are foreign superheroes, aren't you!" the old beggar said, looking at Lin Jie and his companions. "Based on my observation, at least two of you four have some martial arts experience, right?"

"Huh? You saw right through me?" Xiao Zhan looked at the old beggar in surprise.

"Hmph, I can tell you've practiced martial arts just by listening to your breathing. It's a pity you have such good potential, yet you're practicing such rudimentary skills and haven't even focused on cultivating your internal energy. What a waste!" the old beggar said to Xiao Zhan.

"You mean I have good natural talent?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"That's right! It's just a pity!" The old beggar said, pulling out a martial arts manual. "Since we're destined to meet, I'll sell you this Yi Jin Jing! It'll only cost twenty yuan. I believe with your potential, you'll soon achieve unparalleled success with it!"

"Huh? You're going to sell me something this valuable?" Xiao Zhan said in surprise, "I'll buy it!"

"Buy my ass! You actually believed such a idiotic scam?!" the bespectacled man said angrily.

"Hmph! You dare say I'm a fraud? Buy it or don't, it's up to you! But let me warn you, if you miss this opportunity, there won't be another one." The old beggar immediately got angry upon hearing his words.

"He really is a fraud!" Just as the old beggar sneered, another old beggar walked out from the side alley and stood in front of Xiao Zhan: "This guy spends all day here with a printed copy of the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) and trying to fool people. Don't believe him!"

"Huh? Another old beggar has appeared!" Xiao Zhan looked at the suddenly appearing old beggar in surprise.

"You are indeed a martial arts prodigy, but he is also a fraud." The old beggar said, pulling out a book as well: "I have a copy of the Tathagata Palm here, only ten dollars..."

"Don't listen to him!" Just as Xiao Zhan was about to react, the third old beggar appeared in front of everyone: "Don't believe them, they're a bunch of swindlers! Buy my Dragon Elephant Prajna Kung Fu instead! It's only 9.8 yuan!"

Then, to Xiao Zhan's bewildered expression, the three old beggars started arguing. Not only that, their argument attracted seven or eight more old beggars! Each of them started trying to sell Xiao Zhan their peerless martial arts manuals!

"I mean, aren't there any city management officers involved in this situation?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

Who knew that the moment Lin Jie uttered the words "city management officer," it caused a commotion among these old beggars.

"What! The city management officers are here?" Someone shouted first, and then, to everyone's surprise, all the old beggars took off their hair and wiped it on their faces. They also put their clothes on backwards.

Suddenly, it turned into more than a dozen monks...

After these people became monks, they all started looking around to see where the city management officers were.

"Hey Thirteen! Are you sure the people here can help you?" Lin Jie looked at the monks in front of him with suspicion, then looked at Thirteen.

“But Master Wuneng’s talisman is really useful! Although it requires payment, I’m going to give it a try even if the people here are shameless!” Thirteen said to Lin Jie.

"Are you here to burn incense or to become disciples?" A monk approached Lin Jie and the others and asked. He was the same monk who had first tried to fool Xiao Zhan with the Yi Jin Jing.

"You actually have the nerve to talk to us!" Glasses said, looking at the monk.

"Don't worry about the details! By the way, where are the city management officers?" the monk asked the man with glasses.

"Don't care my ass! Are you really a monk?" Glasses shouted at the monk.

"We came to the mountain to find Master Wuneng. We heard he has returned." Thirteen didn't seem to care about what had happened before and spoke to the monk in front of him.

"Oh? Please follow me up the mountain, you four," the monk said to the four people, and then led the way up the mountain. By this time, having heard about the city management officers, all the other monks had disappeared.

The four of them followed the monk and headed up the mountain.

"Holy crap! You actually bought a copy!" the bespectacled man exclaimed, looking at the copy of the Nine Yang Divine Skill in Xiao Zhan's hand.

“That monk said that practicing this skill could cure my impotence,” Xiao Zhan said. “So no matter what, I have to try it.”

"Those monks who pretend to be wise are obviously just lying!" the bespectacled man said.

"Not necessarily," Lin Jie suddenly stepped forward and said, "I just glanced at the contents of this book, and based on my understanding of ancient martial arts, although it's a photocopy, the content is absolutely genuine!"

As he spoke, Lin Jie's gaze fell upon the monk walking in front.

"Is it really okay for you to sell real martial arts manuals for ten yuan a book at the mountain gate?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"There's no other way. The temple doesn't have any worshippers, so we have to earn our own money. We can only try to sell some martial arts manuals cheaply to people down the mountain." The monk in front suddenly turned around and said to the four people, "Welcome to the Bachelor Temple, esteemed benefactors."

Then, a very ancient-looking temple gate appeared before the four of them. It looked antique...if it weren't for the row of excavators parked at the entrance.

What truly caught the attention of the four people was a couplet at the entrance.

'Can offering incense absolve one of sins? Even Bodhisattvas accept bribes?'

'Can burning paper money buy life? Is the King of Hell greedy for money?'

Seeing these large characters, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder he said there was no incense offering."

chapter Five

"Now I finally understand why you said your temple isn't very popular," Lin Jie said, looking at the couplets in front of the door. "Are you sure it's appropriate to put up these kinds of couplets at the entrance of a temple?"

"This was personally inscribed by the founder of our Guanggun Temple, just to remind some benefactors who have done wrong things," the monk leading the way said to Lin Jie.

As he spoke, he stepped through the gate first.

In fact, the Guanggun Temple usually has a considerable flow of people, but perhaps because of the couplets at the entrance, there are not many people actually burning incense.

"Speaking of which, there aren't many people burning incense here," the bespectacled man remarked, glancing at the tourists in the Buddhist hall.

"Since Buddha is compassionate, and in the past Buddha was willing to cut off his own flesh to feed an eagle, do you think Buddha would really care about a little incense offering? And what do you think Buddha is?" the monk asked the man with eyes.

"Isn't Buddha one of those gods who are high above and worshipped by people?"

“Haha, you may not know this. Actually, my Guanggun Temple has a different view on this matter than you!” the monk said. “My ancestor once said something like this: Since we have left the world and become monks, why should we care about the amount of money we receive? To put it bluntly, the Buddha is more of a guidepost to lead people to goodness.”

"You really have the nerve to say that! Just now you were selling the Yi Jin Jing for ten yuan a copy at the door!" the bespectacled man couldn't help but say.

"Haha, don't worry about these details," the monk said. "Our patriarch said that the Buddha's purpose is to save all sentient beings. What does it mean to save all sentient beings? It simply means to make the world compassionate and virtuous. But to compare such a great vow with incense offerings is to insult the Buddha. In our view, incense offerings are not important. What is important is whether the Buddha truly lives in our hearts."

"So you went to the foot of the mountain to sell martial arts manuals?" Lin Jie asked the monk. "To be honest, aren't you afraid that bad people will learn the manuals you sell? That would be a lot of trouble, wouldn't it?"

"Benefactor, do you think there are more good people or bad people in this world?" the monk suddenly asked. "In our opinion, there are more good people! Our Guanggun Temple doesn't care at all if some evil person masters unparalleled martial arts and then goes around doing evil. In fact, this may not be a bad thing for us. Then we can openly 'guide him to goodness'."

The monk's words struck everyone present as quite strange.

"Um, then why are you guys still so obsessed with money?" Xiao Zhan asked.

“What I said were the words of our ancestors. We still need to eat,” the monk said directly. “Since our ancestors left us instructions not to deceive people into donating money for incense, then we can only think of other ways to make a living.”

"That's a really shameless answer."

As they talked, they arrived at a Buddhist temple.

"This is the main hall of the temple. You may wish to pay your respects here. I will take you to see Uncle Wuneng shortly, provided he has not yet been burned to death," the monk said.

"What the hell is 'burned to death'?" Xiao Zhan asked, puzzled.

"My incompetent uncle is corrupt and I heard he embezzled public funds to chase girls overseas. He's been caught and brought back by my speechless uncle."

While the group was talking, a beautiful woman who looked only eighteen or nineteen years old suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Lin Jie! Is that you?" the beautiful woman said excitedly to Lin Jie, "I never expected to meet you here!"

"Beautiful lady, who are you?" Lin Jie turned to look at the girl in front of him, somewhat puzzled. This girl always gave him a familiar feeling, but Lin Jie couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

Upon hearing Lin Jie's words, the girl immediately looked disappointed: "It's me, Tian Xiaoshu!"

"Huh?" Hearing her words, Lin Jie was shocked. A memory from his middle school days suddenly echoed in his mind. An introverted girl who seemed unremarkable and always covered her eyes with her bangs appeared in his mind.

"Are you really a little field mouse? You've changed so much! By the way, were you always this beautiful?" Lin Jie looked at the beautiful woman in front of him in surprise, knowing that she didn't look like this at all in the past.

“Yes, you’ve changed quite a bit too,” Tian Xiaoshu said to Lin Jie. “It’s been a long time. Can we talk alone?”

"Alright." Lin Jie said this to the people around him, and then he and Tian Xiaoshu walked out of the main hall.

The two stopped when they reached a shady spot where there were few people.

“Alright, now that we’re here, we can talk alone. Speaking of which, it’s been a long time! Almost six years, hasn’t it?” Lin Jie turned to the girl and said.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you again..." Tian Xiaoshu said, her face turning red and her voice growing softer.