No. 135 Moonlight surges like mountains

  As early summer approaches, the rain has been increasing gradually. In the morning, it's still sunny with floating clouds, but in the afternoon, it's a gentle drizzle. And as night falls, the temperature drops sharply by several degrees. It's unbearable outside, and even the strongest man can't withstand this kind of weather, with the cool wind and fine rain piercing through.

  So today there are very few people at the martial arts hall, except for Zhang Weiye and his little junior sister apprentice, only Xu Hu who is always present regardless of wind or rain remains.

  It's not bad to say that although Xu Hu's talent is a bit worse, he can't hold on to his perseverance and rely on this momentum to get through the first stage. He became one of the most powerful among his fellow apprentices in the same period, except for Zhang Weiye who had a good foundation. Wang Jian taught some basic long boxing and bow waist horse steps, but these things are actually the most difficult. High-end advancement requires talent, while this foundation requires great willpower.

  Xu Hu's perseverance is something that even Wang Jian finds astonishing. He can squat for four hours at a time and claims he can punch the sandbag 10,000 times without fail. In the first few days, he was so exhausted that he would often return home in a state of collapse, but in recent days, he has improved significantly, although his face still looks tired all the time.

  As for Zhang Weiye, he is currently undergoing dodgeball training and strives to achieve a good ranking in the upcoming competition to save face.

  Wang Jian sat alone in the corner, calculating accounts. After all, running a martial arts school costs money, and although he had taken out 30,000 yuan last time, after purchasing some equipment, there was hardly any left. Xu Hu's side was also almost empty, as he was just a high-level security guard, earning around 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per month, plus some miscellaneous expenses, totaling around 6,000 to 7,000 yuan, which was barely enough for rent, food, and raising children. Moreover, Wang Jian was quite generous, often treating people to drinks and meals, which added up quickly, leaving everyone with tight finances. The martial arts school had just started and wasn't yet on the right track, with renovation materials alone costing nearly 200,000 yuan, not counting the tuition fees that were being used as a deposit. Future advertising and promotion expenses hadn't even been accounted for, and if things continued like this, bankruptcy was only a matter of time.

  "This is not good." Wang Jian turned his head to Tianran Er, who was peeling his fingernails beside him: "There's also a hole of 50,000 yuan."

  "I'm giving it to you." Tian Ran said without thinking, and it slipped out of his mouth: "I want money but can't use it."

  "That's your dowry." Wang Jian smiled and shook his head, pinching Tian Ran Er's cheek: "I'll think of a way myself."

  She puffed out her chest, looked at Wang Jian, seemed to want to say something, but she forcibly suppressed the words, choking herself until her face turned bright red.

  "After I'm done with this mess, I'll get a tricycle and start selling stuff on the street. If the weather is good, I can make 400 or 500 yuan in one night. And if I become more familiar with the area later on, I can earn even more."

  "I'll go with you." Tian Ran's eyes were full of hope as he looked at Wang Jian: "I'll help you, and get paid! I love saving money the most."

  "Go ahead, but be prepared for hardship."

  He naturally flexed his arms, struck a pose and patted his own biceps: "I'm awesome!"

  "Alright alright." Wang Jian chuckled and playfully tapped Tian Ran Er's forehead: "You go rest early now."

  "I'm not going... I'm afraid of thunder." Tian Ran said with a hint of embarrassment: "I want to sleep with you today..."

  After she finished speaking, she herself felt that the meaning of her words was somewhat ambiguous, so she hurriedly explained: "Actually, when there's thunder, it's always my sister who comes to sleep with me. I couldn't sleep alone, you..."

  Wang Jian rubbed his nose: "This won't do, your reputation will be ruined. Go find Huanhuan instead, Huiming is also an option."

  "Oh..." She looked at Wang Jian with a hint of disappointment and continued: "I don't dare sleep with Huanhuan, she'll... Little Ming is so mean to me, definitely won't let me sleep with her."

  Just as Wang Jian was weighing whether to let Tian Er sleep in his own room, he suddenly discovered that there was a person standing outside the door, smiling at the people inside the house with a full face. His clothes were already soaked by the rainwater, but he didn't feel cold at all, and his complexion was ruddy with bright eyes. Wang Jian took a closer look and found out that this person was... a monk!

  He held a tin rod in his hand, standing at the door without entering, gently shaking the tin rod. At first, he shook it three times, and the second time he shook it five times. Just as he was about to shake it for the third time, Wang Jian hurriedly walked up and opened the door:

  "Hello, is there something I can help you with?"

  "I'm a passing monk, I've come here to beg for some vegetarian food in the evening. If you have any leftover dishes at home, could you spare some?"

  Wang Jian looked him up and down, finding that he was not very old, probably around twenty years old, wearing a worn-out gray cloth robe with patches, his complexion was gentle and his body was strong, and there was some high monk style between his eyebrows.

  "Then come in first." Wang Jian stepped aside and invited him in: "I'll go heat it up for you."

  "Good man, don't bother. Cold rice and cold dishes are enough." The monk bowed to Wang Jian: "I won't stick my feet in your doorway, I won't rely on your wealth, let alone ask you to exert yourself."

  Wang Jian shook his head: "Don't be so pretentious, come in. It's fine even if it's just to avoid the rain."

  "Excuse me."

  The monk entered the door, very particular, first took off his shoes, then put on a pair of clean cloth shoes, and brought a plastic sheet to sit in the corner, silently sitting there with his head down, not speaking or looking around. Quietly, as if he didn't exist at all.

  Wang Jian asked Tianran Er to pour a cup of hot water for the guest, and then he went to the kitchen to prepare a dish of raw vegetables and a dish of pan-fried tofu. He understood this rule: monks cannot eat pungent or meaty foods. Pungent refers to strong-tasting spices such as star anise, fennel, chili peppers, and garlic, while meaty refers to all kinds of meat. Although some monks nowadays even eat KFC, looking at how particular this monk was, if Wang Jian had prepared curry chicken nuggets for him, he would have definitely stormed off in disgust.

  After finishing preparing the dishes, Wang Jian packed them into a large lunch box. The monk was drinking water and saw Wang Jian coming, immediately stood up and bowed to him twice: "Thank you."

  "Don't be polite." Wang Jian chuckled and handed the dishes to him: "When I was a kid, there was a temple not far behind my house. I often went to play with the monks inside. The sweet potatoes I stole from their vegetable garden are countless, this is considered paying off my debt."

  After finishing speaking, Wang Jian smiled and asked the monk: "You know the Twelve Dragon Hand technique, don't you?"

  The monk was taken aback, looked up at Wang Jian and said: "This skill is a side door, just for self-entertainment."

  "From the calluses on your hands, it's clear you've been practicing for at least twenty years." Wang Jian sat across from the monk, pointing to the food: "Eat quickly, or it'll all go cold."

  The monk didn't show any emotion, poured the rice into his own bowl and ate it clean in three or two mouthfuls. Then he stood up: "Good man, you have a very heavy evil spirit on your body, you should calm down and quiet your mind."

  Wang Jian shrugged: "I'm much less arrogant now, let's have a match, I've got an itch for it."

  "Martial arts are not meant for fighting, if I were to fight you now, I would break my vow. Use it when necessary, don't use it when unnecessary." The monk waved his hand in refusal: "It's just a tool, relying too much on this tool will harm the energy of your body."

  Wang Jian rubbed his head: "It's okay if we don't fight, you rest for a while longer, let's go when the rain gets smaller."

  "It doesn't matter." The monk stood up, clasped his hands together in a natural gesture towards Wang Jian and Tian Ran: "If fate permits, we will meet again. I hope good people can always keep this true heart."

  After finishing speaking, the monk slowly walked out and bowed to Wang Jian through the glass door, then gradually disappeared into the windy and rainy night.

  Wang Jian was staring at his back in a daze, until Tianran Er slowly and foolishly approached him, that he finally came to himself.

  "What are you looking at?"

  "This guy is a real master." Wang Jian shook his head: "Extremely formidable."

  "How did you know?" Tian Ran's eyes sparkled with ignorance: "He didn't say anything."

  Wang Jian stretched out his hand: "His breath, the calluses on his hands, do you know what the temperature is outside?"

  "It's getting cooler, this weather is really strange. It's almost summer, but it's only 7 or 8 degrees."

  "Seventy or eighty degrees in temperature, raining outside, clothes soaked through, no shivering or chilliness, face rosy and voice full, what does this represent?"

  "Really?" Tian Ran blinked twice: "Just now when I gave him water, I touched his hand, it was hot!"

  "So I'm itching for a fight." Wang Jian patted the cushion: "Nowadays, there are very few monks like him."

  Lying for about ten minutes, Wang Jian suddenly sat up and looked at Tian Er's face: "I suddenly remembered something!"

  "Huh?"

  "During this time, I discovered quite a few amazing people, could it be because of that competition?"

  "It's very likely, I initially thought the martial arts world was fake." Tian Ran said with her hands supporting her cheeks: "Now I know that the martial arts world really exists."

  "There's always been, it's just not that exaggerated." Wang Jian furrowed his brow: "Let's assume for a moment, if the monk from earlier was also going to participate in that competition, what would be attracting him?"

  "Judging from his behavior and way of doing things, it's unlikely that he has the money. As for the others... I'm not a god, how would I know?"

  "I've always thought of you as a goddess." Wang Jian lay back down on the cushion, one hand playing with Tian Er's hair: "Even goddesses have off days, huh?"

  "Ugh!" Tianran slapped Wang Jian once: "Don't make fun of me."

  Just then, Wang Jian's phone suddenly rang. After answering it, Dawei's voice came from the other end: "Zhang Song's old man just contacted some local thugs, be careful."

  Wang Jian hummed and said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, you've already called me a lowly person."

  "Hey, this lowlife isn't the usual kind, it's a gangster type of scum, you know?"

  "It's okay, come over a bit earlier tomorrow and we'll take care of things in the morning. Let's try to make it to school before lunch, I'm worried."

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