Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Frigid Sternness

There shouldn’t be any outsiders here, so the round-eyed monk was caught off guard. Suddenly subdued, he was startled, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Stabilizing his mind, he saw it was a young man in black who attacked him. About seventeen or eighteen years old, with stern eyebrows and eyes as sharp as a blade, his whole demeanor seemed to be carved from ice and snow, able to freeze a man’s very bones.

And the young man’s hands were incredibly strong.

When the monk struggled with all his might but couldn’t break free, it only made the young man’s gaze colder and his grip tighter. He could only open his mouth, sticking his tongue out, rolling his eyes like a dead fish, with hoarse “ka ka” sounds coming from his throat.

The sudden intrusion of Huangfu Jingchen shocked the women as well, but seeing that Huangfu Jingchen was dealing with the round-eyed monk, although they were frightened, they could only stare blankly, none of them screamed.

The round-eyed monk initially showed a fierce look, but now he was rolling his eyes, flailing his limbs, with a pleading look in his eyes.

Huangfu Jingchen stared coldly at the round-eyed monk, warning, “If you dare to shout, I’ll break your neck immediately. Understand?”

The round-eyed monk nodded quickly.

Huangfu Jingchen loosened his grip, and the round-eyed monk collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. But before he could catch his breath, a glint of savageness appeared in his eyes, and he lunged at Huangfu Jingchen.

Under the bright lights, Huangfu Jingchen was not very old, nor particularly sturdy like an ox. How could the round-eyed monk reconcile with being subdued by a young man? It was just a lapse of attention earlier. Now that he had a chance, he certainly had to fight back.

If his pounce could knock Huangfu Jingchen down, he could then strangle his opponent’s neck and beat him with his fists. With the boy’s small frame, two punches would be enough to deal with him.

However, even though the plan was good, and his action was unexpected, carrying immense force enough to knock down a bull, Huangfu Jingchen easily dodged it, seizing the momentum to strike his palm at the monk’s back.

The round-eyed monk felt as if his insides were shattered, pain causing him to open his mouth in a silent scream. In a flash, Huangfu Jingchen also conveniently hit his mute acupoint.

The monk spat out a mouthful of blood, writhing on the ground like a loach.

Huangfu Jingchen stood tall and coldly looked at him, saying, “Do you think you are indispensable to me?”

Ignoring the round-eyed monk, he turned to the five women huddled in the corner and asked, “Where are you from? How did you end up here?”

The women were panicked, and one of the braver ones tearfully answered, “I’m from Wutai Village, my name is Cui’er! I was kidnapped from my home while I was sleeping!”

“I’m from Shunning Village!”

“I’m from River Mouth Village!”

…

They were all from villages down the mountain.

This matched the clues that Huangfu Jingchen and Xia Wenjin were tracking earlier. Although these were only some of the missing women, there were more victims in other rooms. These women were indeed the missing ones, and they were not in some brothel but in the back mountains of Shian Temple.

This also confirmed that Shian Temple was indeed a place full of hidden crimes.

Huangfu Jingchen had a bad premonition. Since women were being kidnapped for pleasure here on the mountain, the Fertility Zen Room might not be so innocent either. Could Xia Wenjin be in danger too?

Thinking of this, Huangfu Jingchen, who initially wanted to wait for a chance to act, no longer wanted to wait.

If there is no opportunity, he would make one.

When Xia Wenjin and Ming Cheng arrived at the back mountain, the Supervisor was fighting intensely with Master Lu and his group of four.

Master Lu’s group had superior individual skills, but they were outnumbered. The Supervisor’s side couldn’t win in a one-on-one fight, but they had the numbers. The monk soldiers, personally trained by Ming Qing, formed an array, supporting each other.

With Master Lu’s group struggling to open a path for her, Sang Xuewei fled in a panic.

This was a real battle, blood and slaughter, a fight that terrified her.

She couldn’t help here, so she had to call for help.

Ming Cheng’s arrival made the Supervisor and his group jump. The Abbott had just gone to practice Suffer Zen and, by custom, would spend a minimum of three months to a maximum of half a year. Why had he emerged so soon? Unbeknownst to them, events had transpired at the front yard.

The Lame Monk was delighted and immediately shouted, “Master, these villains came to the back mountain to provoke us, injuring several of our brothers. Please, Master, give us justice!”

Master Lu’s group of four, hearing that reinforcements had arrived on the opposition’s side, secretly cursed their bad luck. All four were already injured, leaning against each other, feeling somewhat helpless.

But nobody had any intention of retreating. They were people of Jianghu, they were of the Xianglong Sword Sect. Death before dishonor!

This Evil Temple, it’s a pity it wasn’t set ablaze earlier.

But, the Lady had already left, she would inform the Sect Leader of the situation here, and the Sect Leader would avenge them!

Resolute in their determination to die, the eyes of the four were filled with blood red.

If they were to die, they would die on their terms, attacking instead of waiting to be killed.

Master Lu had always been brave and righteous. Now, taking Ming Cheng’s group as the Supervisor’s reinforcements, with the situation pressing, he didn’t expect to survive and only thought of taking one down with him, or two if possible.

The place they charged, like a cannonball, was towards Ming Cheng.

Their thoughts were simple: capture the ringleader to capture the bandits.

Moreover, Ming Cheng seemed the least threatening, as thin as a breath, just skin on bones. Besides, he held the title of Abbott — killing him would eliminate the evil head of this Evil Temple.

Events happened so quickly that there was no time to ask about the cause. Master Lu’s group of four had already reached Ming Cheng, all wielding their most lethal moves.

The Supervisor’s crowd rejoiced, thinking that they had indeed falsely accused others first, but they knew nothing about the Master, who practiced Suffer Zen solitary and rarely appeared for a year. Moreover, wondering whether these thin individuals might withstand the Jianghu warriors’ attacks.

However, it was those Jianghu warriors who initiated the attack on their Master. In the chaos, they could take the opportunity to destroy evidence unfavorable to them.

Earlier, Xia Wenjin saw the intense fight from afar and thought that Huangfu Jingchen had clashed with them. But upon coming closer, he found no sign of Huangfu Jingchen.

Strange, where did these Jianghu people come from? And where had Huangfu Jingchen gone?

As an intense force enveloped Ming Cheng, his skeletal frame moved with surprising agility, like a sparrow, swaying with the force, clearly about to be hit, yet somehow missing by a fraction. As they added more force, still, it missed by that tiny bit.

Ming Cheng’s body was like willow fluff, like floating duckweed, swayed by the wind, passing water — impossible to hit!

In an instant, five moves were exchanged.

Primarily, it was Master Lu’s group attacking and Ming Cheng dodging. By the eighth move, Ming Cheng struck, murmuring, “Amitabha, forgive me!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep