Chapter 55 Going to the Docks to Get Some Fries

Is Qiao Feng ready?

Of course he wasn't, but Zhang Chengyi didn't give him any room to react. After a brief chat about how to train for actual combat and requesting a practical combat manual, he quietly left one afternoon a few days later, taking along Su Xinghe, the Eight Freaks of Hangu, and the captured eminent monks of Tianlong Temple.

This matter could not be spread to the outside world.

Although he considered himself the strongest person in the city of Suzhou, two fists are no match for four hands. If ten thousand people were determined to run, he couldn't control everyone.

Zhang Chengyi, however, could.

The people whose destinies had been completely altered, whose lives had been saved, and who had been endowed with power, harbored a deep, instinctive fear of a "deity" that had transformed from a clay statue into a living person and seemed omnipotent.

Especially after someone caused trouble after gaining power, and Zhang Chengyi casually crushed that person to death in broad daylight, no one ever stepped out of line again.

Suzhou city still needed someone capable of holding down the fort for a short time, even if that person had already left.

After Zhang Chengyi's departure, Qiao Feng suddenly returned to the dashing spirit he had possessed as the chief of the Beggar Sect. He had private talks with the Beggar Sect disciples, bringing these former subordinates who had long wanted to follow him back under his command.

He replaced all the instructors of the poisoned victims in Suzhou city with Beggar Sect disciples, systematically clearing the Murong faction out of the center of power, abolishing the martial arts of those with notorious records, and leading people to deal with the garrison troops and imperial guards invited by high-ranking officials and nobles...

He did many things, changed the lives of countless people, and immediately prevented the vast majority of bewildered powerhouses from blindly charging into the martial arts world, which was no more than a small puddle.

Amidst so many changes, he was also being slowly transformed.

The world was so unjust; should one truly restrain oneself from using martial arts to change anything?

He did not know, but everything was quietly shifting. Many people vanished into the rolling torrent of the era, while even more appeared before him.

In midnight dreams many years later, he would always recall those final few words exchanged with Zhang Chengyi that night.

"What about you? What is it that you actually want?"

"Going to the docks to get some fries."

"..."

"Just kidding." After uttering this nonsense, Zhang Chengyi patted him on the shoulder and said, "What I want is probably much more than you can imagine. It's just that you all can't see my desires yet."

"Keep it up. I'm just a passerby, purely here for a bit of fun. Someday in the future, I'll be back."

"When I return, I hope I can still see a Hero Qiao."

Qiao Feng would always think of Zhang Chengyi's casual, indifferent gaze, and before long, he realized the truth—

[When you are bored and tearing up a flatbread to feed the ants, is there anything you would ever want to demand from the ants?]

---

Songshan Shaolin Temple, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The bell rang incessantly. Summoned by the tolling, hundreds of monks quickly gathered at the Great Heroes Hall, and before long, all the thousands of monks in the entire temple had arrived.

Of course, this only included the monks of senior ranking who practiced martial arts; other itinerant or non-practicing monks were not summoned by the bell.

The monks were arranged by seniority, everything in strict order. In the massive Great Heroes Hall, with so many monks present, not a single sound could be heard other than the bell, a testament to the rigorous discipline of the Shaolin monks.

"Well, is this a welcome for me?"

A slightly flippant voice drifted into the hall. Immediately following the sound, the speaker flew over the heads of the monks with the sound of sleeves tearing through the air, landing leisurely atop the Buddha statue.

The newcomer wore a grey martial arts suit, a man in his thirties with his hair casually tied up, loose strands hanging freely down both sides of his cheeks. His appearance was unremarkable, but his demeanor was unforgettable. His eyes, brimming with ease and amusement, practically had the words "defying all laws" carved onto his face.

He sat on the shoulder of the Buddha statue, wrapping one arm around its head and curiously reaching out to tap it.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

"Ha, it really is gold. If someone were to carry this back, wouldn't they make a fortune?" The voice echoed throughout the vast hall.

Most of the monks wore expressions of anger, but bound by discipline, none dared to speak out.

"Clang!"

With the final three tolls of the bell, Abbot Xuanci and five eminent monks of the "Xuan" generation emerged from the rear hall. Though they appeared unhurried, their strides were involuntarily lengthened.

There was no helping it; the distinguished guest was practically riding on the head of the Buddha statue.

"Namo Shakyamuni Tathagata Buddha!" The six Shaolin leaders chanted in unison.

"Namo Shakyamuni Tathagata Buddha!"

The thousands of monks then chanted the Buddhist honorific, just like a rehearsed drill, lagging behind by only half a second. The sound reverberated through the hall, making the scene appear utterly solemn and majestic.

It certainly felt like a show of force.

The man hugging the Buddha statue dug into his ear with a finger, then casually wiped his finger on the Buddha's head, saying, "Sorry, I didn't bring Qiao Feng and Murong Fu. The two of them are still in Suzhou city."

"Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo are over there too."

"Heh, since I've reunited both pairs of fathers and sons, do I get a ledger entry of merit? What do you say, Abbot Xuanci?"

Xuanci stared at the Buddha's head, unsure whether any filth had been wiped onto it. Years of mental cultivation could barely suppress his urge to snap, as he opened his mouth and said in a deep voice, "Benefactor Zhang, what major business brings you here today?"

Ever since the hero gathering at Jingfu Temple over half a year ago, where the other party had sent invitations, the Shaolin Temple had been making preparations.

Following that, major events occurred in Suzhou city, and the martial arts world was rife with conflicting rumors. Some said the Wanderer of Jinshan had rebelled against the imperial court alongside Qiao Feng; others rumored that the Murong clan were descendants of the Xianbei and had joined forces with the Xixia Yipin Tang to overthrow the Han domain; and still others claimed that the Old Monster of Xingxiu, Ding Chunqiu, had brewed a peerless poison that almost wiped out an entire city...

In short, everyone was saying something different. Suzhou city being taken over by the Beggar Sect and the Murong clan drew the attention of the court. Moreover, the deaths of numerous high-ranking nobles and government officials, along with the capture of over two thousand nearby imperial guards, directly prompted the court to issue a decision to suppress the rebellion.

As a result, a month ago, before the suppression army even reached the gates of Suzhou city, they had been captured by a few dozen people.

Such explosive news spread across the world instantly. Regardless of previous rumors, Suzhou city had now undeniably committed rebellion.

And so Zhang Chengyi, who was inextricably linked to Suzhou city, naturally became public enemy number one in the realm.

After all, everyone in Suzhou city worshipped this "deity."

Where the deity actually was, Xuanci did not know, but he knew one thing: the Shaolin Temple must absolutely avoid any association with the criminal standing before him.

"Where is Xuzhu? Which one is Xuzhu?"

Zhang Chengyi sat astride the Buddha statue like a giant macaque, looking around as he asked.

At these words, a stir rippled through the monks. Following that, in the several rows of the "Xu" generation, many eyes turned toward a young monk with thick eyebrows, a flat nose, large earlobes, and an ugly appearance.

This young monk uneasily pressed his palms together, lowering his head and closing his eyes.

"Ha, so you're Xuzhu?"

Zhang Chengyi watched with great interest. "Your parents are considered handsome and beautiful; how did it all go wrong with you? Tsk, could it be because your parents accumulated too much bad karma?"