「One day later.」
Xu Lei stood opposite a robust, middle-aged monk named Wu Gui.
"Junior Brother Wu Tan, are you really leaving the mountain today?"
Wu Gui said, "In such a hurry? Is your esteemed master urging you on?"
"Indeed. My master conveyed his will to me in a dream."
Xu Lei nodded. "He wants me to enter the mortal world as soon as possible. Of course, he hasn't yet said when he will appear and find me."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Wu Gui said, "I have long heard of your master's renown, Junior Brother. What you have learned is but a ten-thousandth of his knowledge.
If I could truly meet such an eminent monk and seek his guidance, I would die without any regrets.
If Longyuan Temple didn't need someone to watch over it, I would want to go with you. But as it is, I can only have Hui Ming accompany you."
"Master Wu Tan, I would like to travel with you."
Just then, Hui Ming walked over and said, "I hope you don't mind.
Mainly, if I get to meet your esteemed master, I hope to properly seek his guidance.
Besides, with me along for the journey, you'll be a bit safer.
Traveling the world alone is a dangerous business, after all.
These days, ever since Wang Linfu's death, public resentment seems to be running high across the land…"
"Of course I don't mind."
Xu Lei smiled. "In that case, Nephew Hui Ming, if you're willing, we shall travel together and walk this path through the mortal world."
After all, this was Xu Lei's goal.
Now that his goal was accomplished, a genuine smile spread across his face.
This Wu Gui before him, though supposedly a middle-aged monk, only looked a few years older than Xu Lei.
Hui Ming, on the other hand, looked much younger than Xu Lei.
This was indeed a bit strange.
Back in the day, Wu Gui had been clearly much older than Xu Lei.
Hui Ming and Xu Lei had looked about the same age.
Yet now, after more than a decade, that had changed.
Xu Lei couldn't help but have some theories.
But Wu Gui and Hui Ming usually acted no differently than ordinary Martial Monks.
He really couldn't spot anything too out of the ordinary.
It was as if their explanation was true—that a vegetarian diet and Martial Arts Training simply kept their bodies in better shape.
And so they appeared younger than Xu Lei, who had toiled for years endlessly donating his seed.
But Xu Lei was still skeptical.
Because even though he had been continuously donating his seed all these years, he had also been diligently training his body.
After all, in the temple, he didn't need to worry about making a living.
After eating his fill, he would train.
After training, he would donate his seed at night.
At most, he managed some other miscellaneous tasks in the temple.
But that didn't consume much energy.
For the most part, Xu Lei was always training his body.
What's more, he secretly ate plenty of meat. So while he didn't look overly muscular, his body was still quite solid.
Of course, as far as he could tell, the ruler of this world was the Da Yu Dynasty.
And the Da Yu Dynasty's Former Saint had been just an ordinary person.
He had possessed no Divine Power and Magical Ability whatsoever.
Just a decrepit old man.
Now that the decrepit old man was gone, the new emperor on the throne was a young child.
Consort Li was also just an ordinary woman.
She was merely beautiful and had a good figure.
They were already the highest echelon of society, yet none of them possessed any Extraordinary abilities.
Furthermore, the foundation of the Da Yu Dynasty's rule was an army composed of ordinary people.
It was much like ancient times on Earth.
For that reason, Xu Lei had previously given up hope of finding anything Extraordinary in this world.
'But now that I think about it, Hui Ming and Wu Gui really are a bit unusual.'
Even though he had his suspicions, back at Longyuan Temple, both Hui Ming and Wu Gui were more senior than Xu Lei.
For example, they could directly contact the Head Temple and had deep connections there.
That's why Xu Lei knew he would never get anything out of them if he tried to test them at the temple.
So, he had to wait until after they left the mountain.
This was why Xu Lei had fabricated his mysterious, unfathomable master.
He wanted to lure them down the mountain with him.
Although for now, only Hui Ming was coming down the mountain with him and Wu Gui wasn't, he had still accomplished his goal.
'Of course, if Hui Ming and Wu Gui really are extraordinary, why are they so interested in this nonexistent master I cooked up?'
Thinking it over, Xu Lei found it a bit contradictory.
However, the idea of bringing Hui Ming or Wu Gui down the mountain to test them was just a secondary thought.
The main reason Xu Lei wanted to leave this time was that he truly wanted to go see the world for himself!
"Amitabha Buddha. So be it."
Wu Gui then intoned, "Junior Brother Wu Tan, Nephew Hui Ming, the road ahead is long. Be careful and take care of yourselves."
Xu Lei and Hui Ming naturally responded respectfully.
「A few hours later.」
Xu Lei and Hui Ming had already descended the mountain and were now sitting opposite each other in a large restaurant.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
Xu Lei was stuffing his face. "Nephew Hui Ming, you should eat too!
We've already left the mountain, and you're still not eating meat?
Does that mean I have to eat this all by myself?
Are these two plates of vegetarian dishes enough?
Should I order a couple more for you?"
"No need, Master. This is more than enough."
Hui Ming replied, "Amitabha Buddha. Master, your constant indulgence in wine and meat is a sin, a great sin.
But forget it. Now that we've left the temple and taken off our robes, I won't nag you about it."
After leaving the mountain and the temple, Xu Lei had led Hui Ming straight into a city.
There, he went straight to a clothier, spent ten taels of silver, and bought several sets of clothes.
After changing into brocade clothing and putting on hats, he led Hui Ming straight to this large restaurant.
And ordered many of the restaurant's signature dishes.
Because they were supposedly going to meet Xu Lei's eminent master, Xu Lei had successfully requested a full one thousand taels of silver from the temple for travel expenses.
The purchasing power of one tael of silver was equivalent to about two thousand yuan on Earth.
One thousand taels was therefore like two million yuan.
Taking two million yuan worth of silver notes down the mountain in one go was a first for Longyuan Temple.
This required the consent of all three key figures: Hui Ming, who managed the incense money; Wu Gui, who enforced the rules; and Xu Lei, the Host.
Although they had collected a fair amount of incense money over the years, most of it had been handed over to the Head Temple.
Of course, Xu Lei could have made money himself after entering the world by using some of his know-how from Earth.
But he certainly wasn't going to refuse two million yuan's worth of silver straight from the temple.
After all, the "traffic" he had generated for the temple—and the resulting incense money—from his contributions like the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse and potatoes far exceeded this small sum.
"Master Wu Tan, you're spending money like water. It's too much."
But Hui Ming couldn't help but advise, "If you keep this up, will this one thousand taels of silver even last until your master finds you? You have to be more frugal. Master Wu Gui said this is a one-time payment! There will be no more!"
"Relax."
Xu Lei laughed. "Nephew, I know what I'm doing."
「A few more hours later.」
Having eaten and drunk their fill at the restaurant, Xu Lei and Hui Ming were walking along a bustling street.
Suddenly, Xu Lei stopped in his tracks.
He saw a crowd not far ahead, gathered around a frail, beautiful young girl kneeling on the ground with a white cloth wrapped around her head.
In front of the girl was a corpse.
Beside her, four large characters were written on a sign: 'Sell Body, Bury Father'.
So Xu Lei said, "Nephew, hold on."
"Master, what is it?" Hui Ming asked, confused.
"I," Xu Lei said, "am about to break the precept against lust."
With that, Xu Lei walked straight up to the girl.
"I bid one hundred taels!" Xu Lei declared.
"..." Hui Ming watched, speechless.
'So much for knowing what you're doing,' Hui Ming thought, exasperated.
Of course, Xu Lei was being deliberately provocative.
He wanted to stir things up.
A number of men were already making bids for the girl.
Xu Lei's goal was to snatch the girl away from them.
Draw some aggro.
Start some trouble.
And see what Hui Ming was really made of.
'In any case, we're inside the city. It's not like I'll get killed over something like this.
Even if Hui Ming turns out to have no skills at all, the worst that could happen is that I get robbed and beaten up.
So I don't really care.'
Of course, aside from all that, Xu Lei was also genuinely captivated by the girl's beauty.
'Since I plan on enjoying the rest of my life, I can't just have fine food and wine. Beautiful women are essential, too.
Even if I can't draw the aggro of these men, and even if this whole "selling myself to bury my father" thing is a scam, maybe just a trick to get money, I don't care.'
He was dead serious about making a scene.
'Money is just an external possession. In an ancient world like this, I have other ways to get my hands on it.'
At that moment, many people were bidding ten or twenty taels.
But Xu Lei jumped the bid straight to one hundred taels!
The crowd was instantly stunned.
All eyes turned to him.
The girl also lifted her gaze. Her bright, limpid eyes—the kind unique to the young—looked toward Xu Lei, his reflection shimmering in her pupils.