Urban Martial Saint

Upon seeing these two monks, both Shen Tianjun, Helian Tiehua, and Prince Nalan had a change in their expressions. Because the three of them were well aware of these two monks’ identities. Especially Prince Nalan, he was not just surprised but also carried a hint of resentment.

The two monks were none other than Shijia, who had deceived Ye Qing several times, and his junior brother, Joyous Monk.

When everyone hurried over, Shijia was mumbling, ”I told you this place was difficult to navigate, yet you insisted on dragging me in. Now look, we’re both stuck here, isn’t it embarrassing?”

”Senior brother, can you stop telling lies?” Joyous Monk immediately retorted unhappily, ”You were the one who wanted me to come in and try out this Eight Trigrams formation. I wasn’t even willing to come in at first. You insisted on having me try it, and now that I’m stuck, can you blame me?”

”Fine, you’re stuck, but why drag me down with you?” Shijia looked displeased and said, ”You’re really not loyal, are you? Knowing well that it’s near impossible to get out once inside, yet you still tricked me into coming. Now look, just one Eight Trigrams formation caught both of us brothers, how embarrassing would that be if it got out? You don’t care about face, but I do!”

”Oh, cut it out!” Joyous Monk pouted, ”You said it yourself, if I got stuck in here, you’d come right in to rescue me. But from the way you’re talking now, it seems you’ve got no intention of rescuing me at all. Lucky for me, I was clever and tricked you in too; otherwise, I’d be stuck here all alone! Loyal, huh? When you asked me to come try it out, where was your loyalty?”

Shijia immediately replied, ”Oh really, you’re talking about loyalty with me? I’ve been wanting to bring it up. I’m not loyal? I’m not loyal, and yet I managed to disguise myself and rush to the Capital to save you using this old face of mine; I’m not loyal, you would have had your head yanked off by that old geezer, Nalan Jingwei, long ago, if it weren’t for me, who would’ve saved you? You dare say I’m not loyal?”

Joyous Monk also immediately replied, ”You speak as though I’m afraid to die. I dared to look for that old fart Nalan Jingwei in the Capital, without any plan of leaving alive, if it weren’t for you, I was ready to fight him to the death. Hell, that old geezer’s so ancient, if I could just stall him a bit longer, he might run out of energy, and that would be my moment to shine no?”

Shijia: ”That old geezer isn’t here, of course you can say whatever you like, why don’t you also say you smacked him around like he’s your grandkid.”

Joyous Monk: ”I don’t have grandkids that old, alright?”

Shijia and Joyous Monk went back and forth, their voices neither loud nor soft, just enough for those who hurried over to hear clearly. Especially Prince Nalan here, whose face had turned maroon with fury. Standing right there, he was called a little old man, an old geezer, a grandkid by both Joyous Monk and Shijia, even if he had the best self-restraint, he was still boiling with anger right now.

Seeing Prince Nalan’s expression, Shen Tianjun realized that if Shijia and Joyous Monk continued, a fight would break out today. He quickly walked to the side of the Eight Trigrams Array and loudly said, ”I was unaware of the two masters’ visit, please forgive my lack of hospitality. Any oversight, I beg your pardon.”

Speaking, Shen Tianjun already stepped into the Eight Trigrams Array, and in a few steps, reached the side of Shijia and Joyous Monk.

”Oh, Little Shen.” Seeing Shen Tianjun, Shijia instantly became excited and said, ”Come, come, come, get us out of here first and then we’ll talk. I’m telling you, lucky you’re here, otherwise, I would have dismantled your stone pile!”

Shen Tianjun had a fair understanding of Shijia’s character, and he merely smiled faintly upon hearing this, saying, ”Please, follow me. Step where I step, and be sure not to misstep. The Eight Trigrams Array conceals the universe within, one wrong step, and it’s a world of difference.”

”I asked you to lead me out, and here you are talking about the sect’s rules. What Eight Trigrams Array hides the universe, the universe is just heaven and earth. Buddha holds heaven in one hand and earth in the other, pressing palms means universe.” Shijia smirked and said, ”Stop feeding me this nonsense, come on, let’s go.”

Shen Tianjun smiled calmly and indeed spoke no more, leading Shijia and Joyous Monk out of the Eight Trigrams Array.

Over here, everyone was staring at Shijia and Joyous Monk, though most didn’t recognize the two. But among them, some older folks had heard of Shijia and Joyous Monk’s reputations, though they had never seen them, naturally not linking them to the famously renowned monks.

Just as he entered Shen Family Manor, the first thing Shijia saw was Prince Nalan standing inside, and he immediately looked thrilled, waving towards Prince Nalan and saying, ”Nalan, long time no see, why are you here too? You didn’t even tell me beforehand so I could pay you a visit first.”

Prince Nalan had just been inside listening to Shijia and Joyous Monk talking about him in such a manner, and now with Shijia acting all familiar, it made Prince Nalan even more certain that Shijia was intentionally mocking him with Joyous Monk earlier. However, Prince Nalan’s city was profound enough. Despite the fact that Joyous Monk’s skills were not much impressive, only a bit stronger than Northern Martial Zen, Shijia’s skills could indeed be described as unfathomable. Therefore, although he harbored deep resentment towards Joyous Monk, he refrained from expressing much dissatisfaction.

”I intended to speak, but master was having such an engaging chat with your junior brother just now, I didn’t get a chance to interject,” Prince Nalan replied calmly, subtly implying to Shijia and Joyous Monk that he heard all their conversation just now, so there’s no need to pretend familiarity with him.

”Oh? Really?” Shijia showed no sign of embarrassment and said, ”Where did you start listening from?”

Prince Nalan opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to speak. Shijia was obviously teasing him, yet he didn’t know how to respond. If he said he had been there all along, then Shijia’s insults directed at him earlier would have been heard. This would be quite awkward if put bluntly.

Next to him, Northern Martial Zen and the others watched Prince Nalan, unable to respond to the Dirty Monk, all astonished, secretly wondering what kind of identity the monk really had.

Shen Tianjun noticed that Shijia was clearly targeting Prince Nalan and realized that if this continued, it would cause trouble. He quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: ”Master, it’s been a long time since you visited Shen Family Manor. What a pleasant surprise to have you here today?”

Shijia replied, ”Not so much of a surprise, just had some free time. I heard the Shen Family is holding some kind of matchmaking event, so I brought my junior brother over to have a look.”

”So, are both of you planning to participate in the matchmaking too?” Huang Yidao couldn’t help but tease: ”But, the two masters seem to be past the age for matchmaking. Besides, aren’t monks supposed to be detached from worldly desires? How could they engage in matchmaking? Or are you both planning to return to secular life?”

Huang Yidao was known for his outspoken personality. He had been causing trouble for Ye Qing in the hall earlier. Even now outside, he dared to challenge Shijia and the Joyous Monk. But it was mainly because he didn’t recognize these two, mistaking them for ordinary monks. After all, there weren’t many stronger than him; in the Five Uniques, there was only one monk, the Purple Robe Lama, and clearly, these two weren’t him. As for the Bloody Monk, he had come and gone last night. Any other monks, he simply didn’t regard.

Shen Tianjun frowned slightly, about to speak, but the Joyous Monk had already turned to him, glaring, ”Who the hell are you?”

The Joyous Monk wasn’t exactly a high monk, speaking even more harshly than the Bloody Monk, his words lacking any politeness from the start.

”Huang Yidao!” Huang Yidao said proudly, ”One Slice Two Halves, Huang Yidao!”

The four characters ”One Slice Two Halves” was the nickname given to Huang Yidao by those in Jianghu; it was his title. In Jianghu, those words represented Huang Yidao, a testament to his power and reputation.

”Never heard of it!” the Joyous Monk bluntly replied.

Huang Yidao’s face darkened, and he said in a cold tone, ”Hmph, even if my name isn’t as famous, it’s surely better than you two who don’t even dare to report your names. You monks, with impurities in your mind, imitating others for matchmaking, I see, seem not much at all!”

”Hey, why is your speech so unpleasant?” Shijia was displeased too and said, ”What’s wrong with monks? Monks can’t get married, but can’t they watch others getting married? Besides, I’m not here to get married or to watch the fun, I’m here to support my sworn brother, is that not allowed?”

”Sworn brother?” Shen Tianjun, Helian Tiehua, and Prince Nalan were all stunned. When did Shijia have a sworn brother? How old is Shijia? His sworn brother must be quite old too, right?

”Master has a sworn brother?” Shen Tianjun was astonished and said, ”I must admit I’m quite ignorant. I wonder if your sworn brother is here today?”

”Of course, he’s here!” Shijia said, his eyes looking directly at the group of young people behind, where Ye Qing was among them. Shijia’s gaze was focused solely on him.

Ye Qing immediately felt something was off. He had already suffered several losses to Shijia; this old monk staring at him again was surely no good omen. Ye Qing’s heart began to race, wondering if the old monk intended to trouble him again this time. Could the sworn brother he’s referring to be...?

Before Ye Qing could wrap his head around it, Shijia excitedly pointed at him, shouting, ”It’s him, it’s him! He is my sworn brother!”

”I...” Ye Qing almost spat blood; this old monk must be deliberate, right? When did we become sworn brothers?

The crowd was stunned; no one could process it. Especially the three who knew Shijia, none had expected that Shijia’s sworn brother was Ye Qing? What sort of century-old joke was this?