Chapter 807: Know Someone Long Enough and They’re an Old Acquaintance — Even One Meeting Counts!

Chapter 807: Chapter 807: Know Someone Long Enough and They’re an Old Acquaintance — Even One Meeting Counts!

Southern Zhanbu Continent, Yuzhou City.

Yuankong stood motionless before the pagoda that housed Yuanjing’s relics.

Of the ten thousand thoughts swirling through his mind, it was reluctance that tormented him most.

Perhaps it was simply because he’d once had something that he couldn’t get used to its absence.

"Old monk, you held out on me back then too. You never taught me how to let go." Yuankong reached out and stroked the pagoda gently, feeling the rough grit of stone beneath his fingertips, his tone tinged with helplessness. "These days, being a genuine monk is the bitterest life there is."

"Wanting to be selfish, yet no way even to manage that — back then, you could’ve at least taught me a fake monk’s tricks."

With a sigh, Yuankong flicked his earthy-yellow monk’s robe —

"Still, I can’t put it all on you. After all, you died early. I hadn’t grown up yet back then, so naturally you couldn’t have gotten around to teaching me every truth in time."

"The trip I made, running all the way from the Eastern Divine Continent — it did burn quite a bit of my time, too."

"The special reason I came this stretch was mainly to tell you: most likely, there’ll be a long, long while before I come again."

"Of course, there was also the matter of chatting with you a little, to while away these feelings in my heart."

"And besides, Chanlin Temple is doing quite well these days. The way they manage it now beats the pants off how you ran it back in your day."

"So if I come again later, I hope you’ll still be here."

Having finished his say before the pagoda, Yuankong tucked up his sleeves and left nothing behind but an earthy-yellow retreating figure as he started down the steps.

Once his cultivation reached a certain height, the formerly dark-skinned monk had recovered his fair complexion, too.

The little monk who had once counted as decently handsome had grown up to be positively handsome, all things considered.

Yuankong walked out of Chanlin Temple in silence, then shut off his aura entirely and began strolling outward from the temple grounds.

Yuzhou City had changed too, though not all that much.

The Demon Suppression Bureau members he glimpsed on patrol now were all unfamiliar faces — who could say whether the old acquaintances he’d once known were still around?

Stepping once more onto the streets of memory always gave a man the feeling of falling back into old times.

Yuankong strolled slowly out through Yuzhou City’s great gate, then turned and looked back, a thousand emotions surging through his heart.

"Pretty?"

"Naturally — it’s my homeland."

Hearing that familiar voice, Yuankong answered as a matter of course, and only then did it dawn on him. His eyes swung toward the direction the voice had come from, terrified.

Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu were standing off to one side, also gazing out at Yuzhou City’s gate.

Yuankong’s jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?"

"Li Yingling sent me an urgent jade token — it had something to do with you." Chu Xingchen’s gaze shifted onto Yuankong. "I looked over my schedule and decided to deliver the message to you in person. Don’t worry, call it a fit of compassion on my house. I won’t charge you."

"Something to do with me?" Yuankong was utterly lost.

The corner of Chu Xingchen’s mouth lifted in a smile, but he said nothing — he simply tossed a jade token over to Yuankong.

Yuankong raised a hand, caught it, then sent his divine sense probing inside. The expression that crossed his face was quite a sight.

"I’m not offering any opinion," Chu Xingchen said, lolling into a lazy stretch before turning to leave. "It’s not hard for Tianyan Sect to keep a martial artist around — on your account, after all."

Yuankong clutched the jade token tight, his face a knot of conflict, then broke into a jog straight to Chu Xingchen’s side.

The road he’d walked these past years had taught him quite a few truths, hands-on.

When you were genuinely at a dead end with no leads, finding a senior to ask was an excellent option.

And Chu Xingchen was obviously a senior whose brains and whose logic for handling affairs beat Yuankong’s by a wide margin.

As for the favors he owed — he could never have repaid them anyway. Yuankong had long since made up his mind to genuinely go sweep the gates of Tianyan Sect if need be. Wasn’t it just a matter now of: every favor still owed was one earned for free?

"Senior Chu! Master Chu!" Yuankong glued himself to Chu Xingchen’s side, his tone fawning. "You know I’m a monk — what’s monastic life about but peace of heart? Could you please guide me with your vast and boundless thinking?"

Chu Xingchen’s mouth curled. "This is your private business. Whatever you do, you can make it sound reasonable — and whatever I say will be nonsense."

"Shifu!" Yuankong ground his teeth and dropped his voice. "You have to acknowledge a master-disciple bond you just made, right? By seniority, wouldn’t Qian Qing count as some sort of granddaughter to you? This is a private matter between master and disciple."

"Oh?" Chu Xingchen’s footsteps halted. He looked Yuankong up and down. "You’ve made great strides over these years. It still feels off hearing you call me Shifu — but your attitude’s decent, so your master will give you one tiny piece of advice."

Yuankong’s eyes gazed at him, hungry.

Chu Xingchen held up one finger. "Send Qian Qing a letter. Say you’re tied up for now, that pressing matters have you swamped, and once you’re free you’ll come back to see her."

Yuankong’s brow furrowed at that. He thought for a moment, factored in just how black-hearted Chu Xingchen could be, and then hazarded a small guess:

"And then string her along until she dies of old age? That’s... not great, is it?"

Chu Xingchen’s smile only grew gentler at this — and then, without the slightest hesitation, he brought his palm crashing down on Yuankong’s head, spirit wind swirling, force by no means light.

The head made a crisp sound when smacked. Not the hollow slap of an empty-headed fool.

Yuankong yelped in pain and hurriedly cradled his skull.

"She was the first person ever to reach the gates of Tianyan Sect as a mere martial artist," Chu Xingchen said, his voice level. "She passed the Three Trials of Life set by Daoxuan Temple three times over — just to find you."

"So before you make your decision, why not try a trip to Daoxuan Temple first, and see whether you — a great cultivator of perfected Golden Core — can actually walk out of those trials without using your cultivation at all."

Chu Xingchen reached out and hauled Yuankong to his feet:

"Respect everyone who puts in the effort. The decision you want to make isn’t necessarily a good one for her."

"As for what to actually do — you still get the final say."

"And that slap just now? That was your lesson on respecting your elders. When you’re sizing me up in your head, best bring the greatest goodwill you can manage — picture me as something close to a sage."

"This is the first class your Shifu gives you. No need to thank me."

Yuankong, still clutching his head, listened through the whole speech, then nodded with a grave expression:

"You write the letter — I’ll head to Daoxuan Temple right now."

With that, Yuankong was about to blast up from the ground and fly off toward Central Continent.

Chu Xingchen raised a hand and simply pressed him back down:

"See, there you go, rushing again. I said I was delivering your message in passing — which means I naturally have business with you too. Besides, you’ve got zero reputation right now. What possible reason would Daoxuan Temple have to let some Golden Core cultivator wander freely through their trials?"

Yuankong nodded in understanding — as expected, Chu Xingchen had no such thing as selfless good intentions.

"Go on then. What do you want me to do?"

"The Buddhist Sect and I have a collaboration lined up. I looked at their collaboration plan, and the way they’re treating me, I’d better get split into five pieces to cover it all. Well, you happen to be my disciple — and a Buddhist cultivator at that — so I’ll drag you into the collaboration for a round or two to build up your reputation. After that, you just build up their reputation for me. You know how it is — saving all living beings is stacked on my shoulders. When would I ever have the time?"

Yuankong was left momentarily speechless at that. "I’m just a Golden Core cultivator."

Chu Xingchen clapped him on the shoulder:

"Relax. We’re having you show your face, not shoulder the work. All you need to know is how to smile. I’ve already found your liaison — just do what he says. You know this one, too. An old acquaintance, practically. Once you’ve made the rounds until your face is familiar, when you go to Daoxuan Temple even the abbot will come out to greet you personally. Dignity guaranteed."

Yuankong couldn’t make head or tail of it. A Buddhist acquaintance?

His only two Buddhist acquaintances — the Radiant Buddha and Wukong — were both currently wanted by the Buddhist Sect.

"An acquaintance? Who?"

"The Honored Buddha Runan."