Master into Lover

Chapter 2 Seeking a master

Xu Shu's thoughts were interrupted by the scarred man's curses: "Don't push me! Your father brought this upon himself. We didn't kill those people from Niujia Village. You're slandering us!"

The handsome man, darting through the air, cursed back: "How ridiculous! During the fight in the woods just now, you said that anyone from Niujia Village who dared to report to the authorities would be killed. Now that a great monk is here, you're denying your guilt? Do you want monks to help you?"

"You are lying! Did you see us kill people from Niujia Village? Where's your proof?"

The man suddenly pulled up short at the threshold and flung a bloodied sleeve fragment at the monks:

"High monks of White Horse Temple, look at this! Torn from the mouth of a Niujia Village corpse—see if the youngest among these five lacks a piece of his sleeve!"

"Oh!It's a match!" the monks cried out almost in unison.

"Now I demand you answer for the fifty lives of my father and Niujia Village!"

The man swiftly drew his sword again, feinting at the scarred man. As the scarred man raised his sword to defend himself, the man's sword suddenly swung around in a reverse arc, and pierced the square-faced man's heart—the one who had flipped the coin earlier.

A hoarse scream pierced the air, and arterial blood gushed out like a fountain. The square-faced man's eyes widened as he quickly collapsed to the ground, dead!

The sight of blood splattering across the temple filled the monks with horror. They clutched their prayer beads tightly and chanted sutras to atone for their sins. Only the abbot sat cross-legged, his eyes like stone doors, still tightly closed, shutting out the world's chaos.

Xu Shu's heart constricted in awe: "This man's battlefield instincts are razor-sharp! He sized up their defenses in the blink of an eye, pinpointed the weakest link among them——and struck like a viper! His execution was masterclass material!"

Blood painted the sacred floor as blades carved through flesh in the Buddha's very presence. While younger monks clutched their prayer beads in horror, the abbot sat ensconced in lotus position - his eyelids like stone gates barring all worldly chaos.

Scarface, seeing one of his men dead, flew into a rage, sword raised, and attacked the man, cursing, "D*mn you! The deaths in your village have nothing to do with us. We in Liulin Fort never wanted to be your enemy."

“Hmph! Enough lies! I want you all dead!"

Their blades clashed with a thunderous bang. Scarface's explosive energy sent the man flying backward like a leaf in a storm, his sword falling to the ground.

Without his sword, The handsome man knew things were awry, and he quickly used his Qinggong to dash out the door. In the blink of an eye, he was atop his horse, whipping his horse and galloping.

"Chase! Don't let this man get away!"

Scarface cursed, grabbed a burning torch, and chased after him. The other four men each picked up a piece of firewood and followed Scarface.

They finally understood that realized the light gave them advantage.

The abbot stood up and walked toward the door, said "Follow me to guard the entrance. We cannot allow these criminals to enter the temple and start fighting and killing, disturbing the tranquility of Buddhism!"

Suddenly, Xu Shu was the only one left in the entire temple. He glanced at the body on the ground and felt a surge of joy—this man must have money.

With money, he could afford to leave the temple.

But when Xu Shu looked up in satisfaction, the vengeful gray-robed man suddenly materialized before him—his murderous gaze fixed, his raised hand frozen in mid-air, clearly hesitating over whether to kill Xu Shu.

Xu Shu was truly a quick thinker!

He immediately knelt and kowtowed（performed the ritual prostration of a disciple）,pleaded, "Master, please accept me as your disciple!"

"Puff!"

The tall man's anger instantly dissipated into laughter.

"What did you call me? Master? When did I become your master?"

"But I'm just an orphan here, and the monks won't teach me martial arts. Every day they make me sweep the floor, wash dishes, and do laundry. I feel like my life has no hope at all. Master, your Qinggong skills were truly amazing. If you're willing to accept me as your disciple, I'll follow you into the martial arts world（by your side）."

The swordsman, whose father had just died, felt a surge of sympathy and pity when he heard Xu Shu was an orphan. He gently lowered his right hand, which had been about to kill Xu Shu with a blow.

"Alright, stop calling me Master. We have nothing to do with each other now! My name is Fang Zhihai, and you can call me Fang Zhihai or Brother Zhihai. Also, if you can help me draw the attention of my enemies so I can kill them, I'll consider taking you on as my apprentice."

Fang Zhihai said this, picked up the dead man's sword, and leaped onto the beam.

In the darkness, his Taoist robe dissolved into the surroundings.

"Excellent Qinggong（lightfoot skill）, and very discreet." Xu Shu's admiration for Fang Zhihai grew even stronger.

Just then, the Scarface Man rang out from outside the door again:

"Master monks, I'm going in to carry my brother's body and leave now. I won't fight here again, I promise!"

After the voice fell, footsteps could be heard from the monks outside the door, probably clearing a path. Sure enough, the four men walked in again, just in time to see Xu Shu still crouching on the ground, reaching out to feel the dead man's breath.

"What are you doing?" Scarface cursed at Xu Shu, puzzled.

"He... he seems to be still alive."

Xu Shu stammered, stepping aside and slowly retreating. Finally, as the four men bent over to examine the body, he had already hidden under the Eight Immortals Table.

A sudden flash of sword light shone from the beams.

Before Scarface could react, Fang Zhihai stabbed him in the neck with a sword. He collapsed to the ground, dead before he could even lift his scarred face. The other three were no match for Fang Zhihai, and were all killed in just three or four strokes.

"Dad! Your son has avenged you!" Fang Zhihai, weeping yet smiling.

No one knows what he snatched from the dead man's arms, quickly broke the window and escaped before the monks came in.

Xu Shu was about to climb through the window to follow Fang Zhihai when he heard the monks outside running and shouting, "Hurry, hurry, surround this murderer!"

He thought, 'I don't know if the Master will take me as a disciple, but this money is mine now.

So he ransacked the pockets of the four corpses lying on the ground, seizing all the money pouches—not even sparing the valuable jade pendants and gold necklaces.

"I’m rich now!"

Xu Shu chuckled to himself, then picked up a dead man's sword and swaggered out of the temple gate.

Following the sounds of fighting outside and the glow of torches, Xu Shu easily found Fang Zhihai, surrounded by monks with swords drawn.

Xu Shu hid behind a rockery, observing surreptitiously.

In the center of the crowd, Fang Zhihai was engaged in combat. No matter how swift Fang Zhihai's sword, the abbot's sleeves unerringly parried it. The clash of sword and sleeve made a clanging sound, as if the sleeves themselves were made of metal.

"This abbot is truly a master!"

Xu Shu felt a growing anxiety. He silently prayed for Fang Zhihai, 'Fang Zhihai, you must not die—I just became your disciple! If you must go, teach me the Qing Gong techniques first.

But right now, Xu Shu could do nothing but pray.

Unable to win or escape, Fang Zhihai erupted in fury: 'Old monk! I'm avenging my father—what business is it of yours? By what right do you stop me?'

The abbot's voice was kind: "venerable guest, why are you doing this? I've already said that if you stay in the temple for two weeks, and I'm sure the people from Liulin Fort won't come for revenge, I'll let you go."

"Nonsense! Look, there's a Fire Peng Egg in your Buddhist temple. You must be trying to steal the Ding Yuan Pearl from me. You have ulterior motives!"

"My Huxian Fang family has raised Fire Peng for nine generations. How can retrieving the Dingyuan Pearl that was stolen by criminals be considered robbery? You stopped me from leaving and tried to take the Dingyuan Pearl. That's true robbery. Monk, you are so shameless!"

"If you were a good person, why didn't you just stop me from fighting them in the temple? Now, after I've orchestrated the murder of those men, you're out to uphold justice? Don't you think you're being hypocritical?"

"Amitabha, if that's what you think, I have nothing to say!"

"Snort! Why is there a child in your temple?Don't think you can fool me, that child almost 18—born in the first lunar month, with a Fire element.

Only by slaying an eighteen-year-old Fire Elemental boy and offering his blood to the divine egg can it hatch the strongest divine beast.

So, I was about to hit this boy. Am I right? Maybe you guys killed his parents too?

Xu Shu listened to the exchange of words and blows, initially indifferent. But when Fang Zhihai guessed his identity, his heart trembled. "Yes, this little body of mine is exactly 18 years old. Born in January, it just so happens that my five elements belong to fire. My birthday is in seven days... Uh, could it be that the White Horse Temple really has harmed my parents, or driven them away?"

The more Xu Shu thought about it, the more horrified he felt!

Suddenly, he remembered that there was a mute woman in the White Horse Temple who usually grew vegetables and raised horses. Sometimes she would deliver food to the stables—no, there must be someone imprisoned in the stables—was it my parents?

Xu Shu turned and ran towards the stables. When he reached the door, he saw the mute woman feeding the horses nocturnal forage. He drew his sword and pressed it directly to her throat.