White-Robed Chief

Chu Li smiled earnestly. “Impossible to be subdued?”

“Impossible!” the two of them shook their heads in unison.

Fu Mengshan sighed. “Since ancient times, I’ve never heard of anyone who has successfully managed to cultivate the Asura Power Technique, and yet, obeyed or pledged allegiance to anyone!”

Chu Li frowned. “Asura has to have a leader too, right?”

“I heard that he does. But that its something that he was born into, the sense of subservience to this master is in their blood, it’s different from our case.” Fu Mengshan nodded.

Xu Huande added, “It’ll be better for you to drop that idea; unless you can cultivate the Asura Power Technique and become stronger than him, it is very unlikely that he will acknowledge you. However, even if that happens, there is still a chance that he will try to duel you – eventually leading to one of your destructions. As such, it’s best that you give up on the thought. It’s more important to think of a way to repress him.”

Chu Li pondered for a moment before nodding his head.

Fu Mengshan continued, “This fellow is such a nuisance!”

Chu Li suddenly piped up, “I have an idea though.”

“Spit it out!” Fu Mengshan said.

Chu Li said, “We send him to the Tempest Temple.”

Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande looked at Chu Li as though he was crazy.

Chu Li continued, “Let the Tempest Temple exchange items or a person for his return. Do we have any Secret Guardians who have fallen into the hands of the Tempest Temple?”

“That’s quite a good idea.” Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande looked at each other and nodded slowly.

They had always been competing with the Tempest Temple secretly. Either the Tempest Temple would beat up the Secret Guardians, or the Secret Guardians would sneak into the Tempest Temple. For years now, they had been trying to figure out ways to get a glimpse of what it was like on the inside of the temple.

Unfortunately, they had failed every time. They did not even know if the Secret Guardians that fell into the hand of the Tempest Temple were dead or alive.

The Tempest Temple even acted as if nothing had ever happened. In the past, when the House of Secret Guardians asked for their men in return, the Tempest Temple just ignored them and did not reply. After all, they knew that the House of Secret Guardians, could not just charge into Tempest Temple to snatch their men back.

“How many can we exchange in return? Elder Xu, how many of our men have fallen into their hands?” Fu Mengshan asked.

“Ten of them.” Xu Huande sighed.

“Ten… There has already been so many…” Fu Mengshan pouted and said helplessly.

Xu Huande nodded. “Unwittingly, we’ve already lost ten of them. After that, we didn’t dare send any of them over anymore.”

After Xu Huande said this, he shook his head and looked extremely disappointed.

Then he turned to look at Chu Li slowly. “How about we leave this matter to Chu Li?”

“Hmm, let us leave it to Young Chu then! Young Chu, you’ve dealt with Fa Yuan quite a number of times. Fa Yuan is the leader of the younger generation in the Tempest Temple, he has a high rank and his words carry a lot of weight. As soon as he gives the order, the Tempest Temple will most probably hand our men over.” Fu Mengshan nodded and said.

“They’re still alive? I’m just afraid that they’ve already…” Chu Li frowned.

“Probably not. Whatever the situation, they’re still Secret Guardians, it would be too much if they were killed; the Tempest Temple should have a sense of propriety in their actions. We didn’t send assassins over, they were just there to retrieve information, their sins were not so serious that it would cost them their lives,” Fu Mengshan remarked.

“… Alright, I’ll try. But one person in exchange for ten is quite a difficult deal. I’m just afraid that the Tempest Temple will figure out that we don’t want to keep Zhou Lingfeng and will hand him over to them sooner or later anyway.” Chu Li sighed.

“Indeed, this is quite a tricky matter.” Fu Mengshan had a forlorn expression on his face.

Xu Huande said, “If you’re able to exchange him for ten of our men, we’ll consider that an outstanding deed.”

“That’s right. I’ll change your courtyard into a bigger one and send you maids. I’ll even give you miraculous pills, what do you think?” Fu Mengshan quickly nodded and added on.

Chu Li asked, “Are the Grandmasters in the House of Secret Guardians nurtured in-house, or…?”

“They’re our own.” Fu Mengshan nodded. Chu Li heard this and had a sudden realization.

“What do you think if I use two of our Grandmasters?” Chu Li proposed.

“That’s not possible! The House of Secret Guardians only has a limited amount of Grandmasters; two more were just killed! … Ma Kun is a Grandmaster as well, that’ll be enough for you!” Fu Mengshan could not help but laugh.

Chu Li smiled. “Then let me try to talk with Fa Yuan.”

Chu Li lowered his head to look at Zhou Lingfeng, then he fired a few fingers at him to make sure he stayed dead.

—

Fa Yuan arrived at an ordinary-looking residence and placed his palms together.

Two young Protectors with swords frowned and looked at him.

One of the men shouted out in a hoarse voice, “Great Master, this is not a place for the disciples of Buddhism, you should leave!”

“May I ask, almsgiver, if this is the Verdant Cloud Brothel?” Fa Yuan placed his palms together once more and bowed politely.

The two youths looked at each other in confusion, it seemed like the monk had not ended up in the wrong place.

“That’s right, this is the Verdant Cloud Brothel.”

Fa Yuan took out an invitation from the sleeves of his cowl and passed it to the young Protector. “I was invited here.”

When the two of them saw the invitation, they knew that it was true, but they secretly laughed inwardly at the thought. Who would invite a monk to the Verdant Cloud Brothel? It was such a nasty thing to do.

The young Protector knocked on the door for him, whereby an elder opened the side door. The young Protector then passed him the invitation. When the elder took a look at the invitation, he opened the door and welcomed Fa Yuan in respectfully, “Young Master, please enter.”

Fa Yuan placed his palms together and greeted him, then he followed the elder into the courtyard.

The two of them passed by the two Moon Doors and arrived at a courtyard on the East side. The faint sounds of the harp could be heard coming from the inside.

Fa Yuan placed his palms together and shut his eyes slightly; his handsome face looked calm and peaceful.

“This is the Bi Lan Courtyard.” the elder knocked on the door of the courtyard.

A delicate and pretty maid opened the door and smiled as she saw Fa Yuan. She politely asked him, “Are you Great Master Fa Yuan?”

“That’s me.” Fa Yuan greeted her with his palms placed together.

“Please come in, Great Master Fa Yuan.” the dainty maid quickly led him inside.

The sound of the harp from the inside became more beautiful and clear as Fa Yuan started to near it.

The beautiful maid stood on the stairs as she called out, “Master Han, Master Chu, the Great Master Fa Yuan has arrived.”

“Fa Yuan, please come in!” Chu Li’s voice rang out.

“Amitabha…” Fa Yuan chanted the name of Buddha, then he paced into the living room slowly.

The living room was decorated in a simple yet delicate manner, there were four low tea-tables placed on the light blue carpet.

Three tea-tables had already been occupied. An elegant and pretty lady dressed in green clothing was playing the harp with her head lowered nearby. She was focused and quiet, her body was slim yet tall and slender, her fingers were plucking on the harp slowly, creating for a feast for both the eyes and the ears.

The two other men were watching on with amusement.

One of the handsome-looking men had his eyes slightly shut, he tapped on his knees gently as he immersed himself in the music, his rhythm was one with the harp.

Another youth smiled and looked at the monk.

Chu Li put his silver cup down and greeted Fa Yuan with his palms together. He smiled and said, “Fa Yuan, you don’t mind if we meet up here, do you?”

“Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is a form, there’s no harm in this,” Fa Yuan replied softly.

Chu Li nodded. “That’s good, this is a good friend of mine, Han Feo, or Brother Han. Whereas the one plucking the harp is his soulmate, Miss Bi Lan.”

Fa Yuan placed his palms together and greeted both Han Fei and Bi Lan, then he took a seat opposite of Chu Li.

Han Fei asked, “Should I step outside and let you two talk?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be heard by the others. It’s not a shady matter anyway.” Chu Li smiled.

“Almsgiver Chu, why did you invite me here, is there anything that I can help you with?” Fa Yuan asked gently.

“I know that the Tempest Temple has a number of Secret Guardians from the Imperial House locked up there. I have Zhou Lingfeng with me. I don’t want to hear any deceit on your part, let us be simple and get straight to the point, will you exchange the Guardians for him?” Chu Li waved his hand to interrupt Fa Yuan’s politeness.