Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years
Chapter 155: Fake Monks, True Blessed Girl
Xie Mingxu pressed his fingers to his brow. "Do you think I’m some kind of glutton? Don’t misunderstand. I was looking at how this offering table is already covered in dust."
He wiped a finger across the surface and showed it to Shen Ningning.
Sure enough, his fingertip was stained gray-black.
Shen Ningning pouted. "That’s so weird..."
"You think it’s weird too, right?"
"Yeah. There’s food on the offering table, and everyone down the mountain is short on food. Why would the monk-uncles let all this food get dusty and go bad instead of eating it?" the little girl asked, confused.
Xie Mingxu’s gaze swept the area, his eyes dark. "That’s not the only thing I find suspicious. The monks in a temple are usually extremely reverent toward the Buddha, cleaning and making offerings every day. But look, even the Buddha’s shoulder is covered in a thick layer of dust."
Shen Ningning tilted her little head back to look, and it was just as he said.
But she was so short that she nearly fell flat on her bottom.
Fortunately, Xie Mingxu was standing behind her and caught her by her small arm, saving Shen Ningning from a tumble.
"Thank you, Big Brother," the little one said sweetly.
Suddenly, she sniffed the air. "Big Brother, do you smell that? It’s so fragrant!"
Xie Mingxu stepped out of the main hall and, sure enough, caught the scent of meat wafting through the air.
Shen Ningning followed him, her little nose sniffing again and again. She puffed out her milky-white cheeks as she made her judgment—
"It smells like roast pork. Mmm, from the smell, it should be almost ready."
Whenever her grandmother cooked for Langlang and the others, it smelled just like this.
"But why would a temple smell like meat?" Shen Ningning wondered.
A bad feeling suddenly washed over Xie Mingxu.
’The monks in this temple are probably all fakes!’
He recalled the sweeping monk he had just seen—there had been short, black hair visible under his cap.
Fashan Temple was located deep in the mountains. It wasn’t as famous as the National Temple, but because its Lady of Childbirth was said to be efficacious, it usually had a fair number of worshipers.
But when they arrived today, not only were there no worshipers, but even the monks were few and far between.
Moreover, this little girl had taken out about a hundred Shariputra, yet that sweeping monk hadn’t even recognized them, treating the Shariputra like common brown Buddha Beads and not even chanting a sutra.
In just a few moments, Xie Mingxu made his decision.
"Little girl, you should take your beads to the National Temple to have them strung. Fashan Temple may be effective, but the National Temple is much more popular. Besides, there’s a master monk there who’s an expert at stringing Buddha Beads. With his blessing, your beads will be even more powerful."
"Really?" Shen Ningning’s eyes lit up.
In truth, she couldn’t tell the difference between the National Temple and any other temple. The only reason she’d come to Fashan Temple was because it was close to Wolf Mountain.
Xiangyun Village was just over two mountain peaks from here.
"Really."
After Xie Mingxu’s reply, Shen Ningning couldn’t wait any longer. She ran back into the hall to retrieve her beads.
Once she had packed her things, she joyfully prepared to head down the mountain.
Suddenly, the little girl remembered to ask, "Big Brother, aren’t you leaving?"
"I want to offer a lamp. Besides, I’m acquainted with the abbot here and plan to catch up with him, so you should go on ahead."
Hearing this, Shen Ningning didn’t insist. She waved her little hand goodbye and skipped away.
Seeing her leave, Xie Mingxu drew the treasure sword from his waist, his expression turning cold and murderous.
He followed the scent of meat, lightening his steps, and found himself outside a kitchen behind the temple.
Through the half-open door, he saw seven or eight burly men in common clothes.
The sweeping monk who had received them earlier was among them, adding some kind of powder to two cups of tea.
He sneered, "We forgot to close the temple gate today, and two people actually came looking for death. In a bit, we’ll knock them out. We’ll eat the big one and sell the little one. She’s got such delicate skin, you can tell she’ll fetch a good price."
The other burly men couldn’t help but laugh.
Xie Mingxu kicked the kitchen door open.
CRACK!
All the men immediately shot to their feet, looking fierce. "Who’s there?!"
Xie Mingxu leveled his sword at them. "The one who’s come for you."
Shen Ningning hadn’t gone far when she suddenly stopped.
She puffed her pink cheeks in thought. ’I don’t think I saw Big Brother bring any water. What if he gets thirsty?’
’Mmm, he’s so nice, I should leave my waterskin for him!’ With that thought, the little girl turned and walked back to the temple.
Just as she reached the entrance, she heard the clang of clashing swords from within.
It was mixed with a man’s coarse, angry shouts. "Everyone, attack! This kid is skilled. Don’t let him get out of here alive, or we’re all finished!"
Shen Ningning peeked her little head in to see.
’What’s happening?’
After just a two-second glance, her face went pale with fright.
Xie Mingxu was wielding a longsword, fighting against a group of burly men. The courtyard was a storm of flashing blades!
Before Shen Ningning could even process it, the sweeping monk spotted her.
"Grab that little brat!"
At his command, two menacing-looking brutes with machetes charged toward Shen Ningning.
Xie Mingxu, distracted, glanced over and gritted his teeth. "Why did you come back? Run!"
But how could Shen Ningning’s two short little legs possibly outrun grown men?
She hadn’t gotten far before a hand seized her by the collar.
Shen Ningning shrieked, "Let go of me, you bad man!"
She flailed her little arms and legs wildly.
Xie Mingxu tried to go help her but was held back by the other men!
They wanted to capture the little girl to use as leverage against him.
Once these vicious bandits gained the upper hand, the situation would become dire.
The sweeping monk pressed his blade directly against Shen Ningning’s neck.
"Drop your sword, or I’ll kill her with one slice!"
"Big Brother, don’t mind me! Stab them all into meatballs!" Shen Ningning yelled defiantly, waving her little fists. She kicked the sweeping monk hard in the stomach with her small foot.
But to him, it was like a tickle—it didn’t hurt at all.
Instead, it infuriated the sweeping monk.
He roared, "You little brat, are you tired of living?!"
Suddenly.
He felt a foul stench wash over him from behind, seemingly accompanied by the sound of some great beast exhaling with its mouth wide open.
The sweeping monk froze. He looked up at his accomplices fighting Xie Mingxu and saw that every one of them had turned deathly pale.
They were staring at what was behind him as if they had seen a ghost.
Seeing everyone’s strange expressions, Shen Ningning tried to turn and look.
Xie Mingxu shouted urgently, "Don’t look back!"
Shen Ningning immediately shrank her neck, her large, watery eyes blinking with confusion.
The sweeping monk, however, did turn around.
What met his eyes was a huge, ferocious tiger!
Terrified, the sweeping monk shoved Shen Ningning toward it. "Eat her, not me!"
The little girl quickly covered her head, tumbling over and over on the ground until she rolled right under the massive tiger’s paw.
Xie Mingxu gritted his teeth, crying out in alarm. He raised his sword and dashed toward Shen Ningning!
The great tiger lowered its head and sniffed at Shen Ningning.
Its warm breath tickled the little girl’s cheek.
However, the tiger didn’t eat her. Instead, it let out a ferocious roar and leaped at the sweeping monk!