County Town Chapter 37: Golden Years

  The monks of the Temple of Return to the Origin got into a Santana and drove far away, only to come back and report to Monk Bin.

  "Master, how can you let that scoundrel come to our temple to cultivate? I observed this person's facial features and they are cold and sinister, definitely not a good kind of person." The leaf monk who had previously argued with Yi Tianxing in the courtyard said indignantly.

  "At first, seeing this young man break through the Great Mustard Array Gate of our temple and enter the rear garden's forbidden area, I thought he was a noble from the Upper Three Heavens. Our temple would naturally go all out to protect him as part of spreading Buddhist teachings. Who could have known it was just a misunderstanding? Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, past events are like dust, no need to bring them up again. The Buddha will save those who are destined to be saved; that young donor is someone with whom our temple has destiny, all of you must remember this."

  Bin Ku and Shang Su said solemnly, with a strong sense of justice surrounding his whole body. The monks of Zhongyuan Temple were deeply moved and nodded in agreement.

  After the monks retreated, Bin Kuang struggled to sit in meditation, and after counting his breaths, he spat out a mouthful of black blood. He looked towards the mountain valley in the back garden, which was shrouded in white mist, and said gloomily: "The Heavenly Robe can withstand the Nine Profound Heaven Fire, but now that you've taken away both the fire and the robe, how are we supposed to resist the demands of the Upper Three Heavens?" He then smiled faintly and said: "Since you're interested in this little monk, I'll let him come to the temple to cultivate. If something happens to him, you can't just stand by and do nothing, can you?"

  It turns out that this taciturn and compassionate monk is also a cunning strategist.

  Bin Ku Master clasped his hands together, silently chanting Buddhist scriptures. However, in his heart, he was thinking about the strange fire-spewing youth from earlier: "At such a young age, to have already achieved such cultivation... could it be that this is related to the transmission of our Buddha's teachings by that person?"

  ………………………………………

  Yitian didn't know that Bin Ku and the monk were thinking, sitting in the passenger seat of Santana, secretly pleased with himself. He thought to himself, it turned out that his luck wasn't bad, not every old man he met was as cunning as Old Master Gu. After all, this was his first encounter with such a mysterious battle, and after some reflection, he realized that he had actually held on quite well, even managing to extract some words from the monk before leaving, which made him feel rather proud of himself.

  But he immediately thought of the big cassock in the sky, and the last voice that shook himself into a coma, and couldn't help but feel some fear, his face turned pale. A single sound had such unpredictable power, it was really too frightening. With this sound protecting the temple, wouldn't Guanyuan Temple be afraid of what happened on the top three heavens? Wasn't the top three heavens even more formidable?

  He was lost in thought, and the driver Xiao Shao glanced at him sideways. Accompanying his own young master to visit the Temple of the Origin, how did he go in wearing a T-shirt and shorts, but come out wearing a cyan brown monk's robe? He felt even more mysterious and profound towards this young master, and admired him even more.

  Yitian Xing rubbed his own head, thinking to himself, why the old master had been searching for that voice for decades without any clue, while he himself had gained something as soon as he returned to the Yuanyuan Temple. He didn't feel any difficulty coming, and it was hard to imagine the old master's gloomy mood after searching for decades in vain. He rolled down the car window, looking at the beautiful tree shadows outside, chuckled twice, turned his head to Xiao Shao and said: "Is there a gathering today?"

  "Yes, young master." Xiao Shao gazed ahead, his voice very respectful.

  Yi Tianxing sighed and knew that he couldn't change the way these people addressed him, so he stopped bothering about it. He instructed, "Do you have any money on you?"

  "Yes, young master." Xiao Xiao looked at him with some surprise.

  "Go to a clothing store and buy some clothes to wear, the money I'll have Yuan Ye give you." Yi Tianxing was using the Gu family's wealth without any politeness.

  Xiao Xiao smiled and said: "Yes, young master."

  Yi Tianxing saw that the little guy was clever and joked: "Just now, the abbot of the Temple of Return to the Origin called me Old Master Shi. From now on, you can simply call me Old Yi."

  "Is the abbot of Huiyuan Temple?" Little Xiao exclaimed, "I've heard that the abbot is a high-ranking monk who never sees outsiders. Even during the annual provincial CPPCC conference, he only shows up at the opening ceremony. He's actually willing to see you? Young master, your face is really big!"

  Yi Tian Xing secretly smiled wryly to himself, thinking that if he let him experience his own life in the snow cellar for a while, he would understand where this face came from. He touched his nose and sighed softly: "Just being a university student for one day, I have to run around everywhere, coming and going in the water and snow, a lifetime of hard work, Old Yi is not easy."

  ………………………………………

  Xiao Xiao is a local of the provincial capital, and he knows where to find fine clothes and beautiful scenery. Yi Tian Xing had just returned from a great battle at Huiyuan Temple, his mind still in a daze, and was dragged by Xiao Xiao to various shopping malls and specialty stores, trying on and changing clothes, pants, shoes, and socks. However, after half an hour, when Yi Tian Xing saw his reflection in the mirror of the shopping mall, he couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

  "Who is that spirited young man inside?" Yi Tianxing asked with a pleased smile.

  Xiao Xiao nodded knowingly and replied, "Of course it's our Third Young Master."

  The two of them got on the bus, laughing and joking, heading towards the city's Qiyang Bridge.

  The Gu family's business in the provincial capital was complex, with most of their major dealings concentrated in Pengfei Industrial and Trading Company. The company was located in a large building next to Qiqiao Bridge, occupying three floors. However, since it was an underworld business, they didn't need such a large office space and personnel despite having a luxurious facade. So, one floor was left vacant and renovated into a Western-style restaurant called "Flowing Gold Years". It operated at night and became a private club for the brothers during the day. When there was nothing to do, the strong men would play cards and drink wine.

  The two went upstairs, and at the entrance of Liu Jin's residence, a group of people had already gathered, including old and young men, as well as several women. When they saw the two approaching, they gave them a cold glance before turning back to their conversation. Yi Tianxing immediately sensed the ominous aura on the faces of the crowd and knew they were not good people, furrowing his brow. Xiao recognized this group of people and was about to introduce them when he was stopped by Yi Tianxing with just one glance.

  He was originally deceived by the old master to get on this pirate ship, and he had some resistance in his heart. At first, he thought about playing along, but today's experience at the Temple of Return to the Origin had a huge impact on his mind, and his vision would no longer be limited to the mundane level. Now, looking at these black society figures who used to seem mysterious, he just felt that they were nothing special and not fun at all.

  The boundaries have gone, and people naturally become indifferent. Yi Tianxing looked at those people, revealing a sense of detachment from the mundane world. This feeling fell into the eyes of the black path, but only felt a thread of elusive oppression and discomfort.

  Some people felt a bit uneasy, stared at this strange young man for a moment, and asked: "Who are you? The club hasn't opened yet." Someone next to him whispered something in his ear, and the man scolded Xiao Xiao loudly: "You're so reckless, knowing that there's a big deal today, and still bringing friends here to drink!"

  Xiao Xiao's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes seemed to be gazing into the distance, but she didn't say a word.

  Yitian Xing glanced at him with the corner of his eye, and in his heart, he somewhat admired this little guy. Of course, he called others "little guy" in his heart, but didn't know that he himself was an even bigger little guy in other people's eyes.

  At this time, Yuan Ye finally came down from upstairs. He saw Xiao Xiao and a young man together from afar, and hastily ran over with his head bowed, standing in front of Yi Tian Xing, with his palms stuck to the outside of his thighs, and made a bow: "Young Master, you've arrived."

  "Uh-huh." Yi Tianxing responded lightly and followed him into the clubhouse.

  Xiao Qiang forced a smile and greeted the person who had just insulted him, following them out, leaving behind the group of underworld figures who were still in an uproar outside, unsure of what to say.