The heavy rain still poured down, and Yan Shouyi walked back after leaving the Shaxian Delicacy restaurant.
He guessed that Brother Yang should have finished burning incense by now.
However, when he returned to the truck with his umbrella, he found that Brother Yang had not returned.
Brother Yang, who always kept "time is money" on his lips, should not have been delayed for so long. Yan Shouyi keenly sensed that something might have gone wrong.
In fact, he had suspected Brother Yang, wondering if he was an informant from a prestigious sect. But after observing him for a day and a night, he had largely dismissed the possibility of Brother Yang being a spy.
Therefore, even though Yan Shouyi knew that Brother Yang had a spare key hidden in the car, he didn't have the thought of driving away first. Instead, he waited in the car for a while.
But no matter how long he waited, Brother Yang never returned. Yan Shouyi hesitated for a moment, staring at the temple, and finally got out of the car and walked into the Side Temple.
Compared to the scale of the small town, the scale of this Side Temple was even more disproportionate to its expected status. At the entrance stood a massive bronze incense burner. Beyond that was the main hall, where a reclining Maitreya Buddha was enshrined in the center. On the left and right sides were the gilded statues of the Eighteen Arhats, each statue half a person's height.
Looking up, the ceiling was painted with countless Buddhas, dazzling the eyes.
Three joss sticks were inserted into the incense burner, and they had already burned more than halfway, indicating that Brother Yang had indeed been here and offered incense and paid homage to the Buddha.
So why hadn't he come out yet?
Just as Yan Shouyi was about to walk further in, he saw an old monk in a yellow kasaya, accompanied by two tall and strong martial monks, coming out to greet him.
"Amitabha, may I ask if your visit to our humble temple is for blessings, to pray for a child, or do you have other wishes?"
The old monk looked benevolent and spoke in a gentle, approachable tone.
However, Yan Shouyi was not swayed by this. He said indifferently, "I'm looking for someone. My friend came in to burn incense earlier and then disappeared."
The old monk showed a look of sudden understanding and smiled, saying,
"Is your friend's surname Yang? What a coincidence, Donor Yang has just decided to shave his head and become a monk, dedicating himself to my Buddha."
Yan Shouyi: "???"
Why would Brother Yang suddenly want to become a monk?
He still had a daughter to raise; had he forgotten?
Even if he had truly seen through the vanity of the world, he shouldn't have just become a monk like this. Surely he would have had time to come out and say hello?
Yan Shouyi's eyes turned cold, and he stared at the old monk, saying,
"My friend wouldn't become a monk without reason. Please, Master, let me see him."
The old monk smiled and shook his head, "Monks have pure senses and should not be entangled with the past. Please, Benefactor, you may leave."
Yan Shouyi thought for a moment, took out a hundred yuan, and dropped it into the merit box, saying,
"The Buddha blesses those with affinity. I hope, Master, you can accommodate me. My friend still has relatives and friends. He must at least be allowed to send a message back."
The old monk's smile widened, but he continued to shake his head, "Benefactor, your Buddhist affinity is not enough. I am unable to help."
Damn it!
Is it because my Buddhist affinity is not enough? It's clearly because the money given isn't enough!
The Buddha blesses those with affinity, but not the poor; only VIPs, is that it? Yan Shouyi finally understood that this old bald donkey was definitely not a proper monk.
No wonder he brought out two martial monks; he was probably afraid of getting beaten.
And Brother Yang wasn't becoming a monk; he was most likely kidnapped, and these three scoundrels were here to demand a ransom!
Yan Shouyi was almost about to lose his temper again, but considering the special nature of the location, he forcibly suppressed his inner demons and reluctantly took out five hundred yuan from his pocket.
The weather had turned cold, and Yan Shouyi kept his satchel hidden inside his jacket. As for money, those external possessions were kept in his pockets.
Five hundred yuan was half of his entire fortune at the moment. He never would have imagined that after being a live-in son-in-law for a year, he was now living the same hand-to-mouth existence as when he wandered the jianghu in poverty, with no guarantee of his next meal.
"Master, do you think my Buddhist affinity is enough now?"
Yan Shouyi dropped the five hundred yuan into the merit box, his face contorted in pain.
His inner demons kept working, even simulating scenes in his mind where he beat the heads of the three fake monks.
"Amitabha!"
This chant was not from the old monk, but a pre-recorded voice from the merit box, similar to the "Welcome" from a sensor in a small supermarket.
The old monk's mouth was about to split to his ears. He still shook his head, "It's still not enough."
"Then, Master, how much more is needed?" Yan Shouyi asked in a low voice.
The old monk then put his palms together and said, "Amitabha, the temple is recently in need of an old ox for plowing. If your Buddhist heart is firm, why not donate money to buy a cow for the temple? An ox isn't expensive; thirty thousand yuan is enough."
This meant: give thirty thousand, and we'll release the person. As for whether this thirty thousand is used to buy an ox or for their own enjoyment, that's none of your business.
Yan Shouyi took a deep breath.
Thirty thousand yuan. If Lin Zitong were here, she probably would have given it without even a frown. But now, Yan Shouyi genuinely couldn't afford it.
Alas, a single coin can indeed stump a hero!
However, fortunately, Yan Shouyi had other means.
He extended his right hand and said to the old monk with a smile, "Master, I don't have money, but I have an heirloom here. It should be enough to fetch fifty thousand yuan."
The old monk's eyes lit up, and without Yan Shouyi needing to point it out, he leaned in, "Where is it?"
"Here!"
Yan Shouyi landed a punch directly on the old monk's face, sending him tumbling over and unable to get up.
This punch instantly turned one of the old monk's eyes into a panda eye. Affected by this, his nostrils were also gushing with blood.
Yan Shouyi snorted coldly and said,
"You ungrateful wretch! Release my friend quickly, or you can stop chanting sutras. Today, I'll send you to the Western Paradise to meet the Tathagata!"
The old monk, dazed and lying on the ground, still managed to shout,
"How dare you, a wicked villain, commit violence in a place of Buddhist purity! Guards! Seize him!!"
The two martial monks, ignoring the old monk's plight, lunged at Yan Shouyi, swinging their fists.
Given their physique, they were more than capable of dealing with ordinary people. But in front of Yan Shouyi, they seemed like child's play.
Their punches, in Yan Shouyi's eyes, were as slow as turtles.
He saw through their weaknesses at a glance and delivered two swift punches. Immediately after, the two martial monks were sent flying back even faster than they had arrived, landing unceremoniously beside the old monk.
When the old monk got up, he saw that the two martial monks had acquired the same panda eyes as him.
Yan Shouyi walked forward, grabbed the old monk, and grinned menacingly,
"Master, do you think my Buddhist affinity is enough now?"
"Enough! It's enough!!"
The old monk was terrified beyond measure. "Benefactor, violence is forbidden in the Buddhist temple. Let's discuss this reasonably!"
"Hmph, when I spoke reasonably, you acted like thugs. Now that I'm acting like a thug, you want to talk reasonably. Is there such a good thing in this world?"
Yan Shouyi, holding the old monk, took a few steps back and directly stuffed him into the incense burner!