An Ziyang waited for a full hour in a room outside the Shaolin Scripture Repository, until dusk gradually fell and the sun set in the west, but he still hadn't seen Yongjie.
Fortunately, when it was time for dinner, Hengchang walked in again and apologized to him.
"The Abbot is in secluded cultivation and cannot spare himself at the moment. It was remiss of Shaolin to make Benefactor An wait all day, we have neglected a distinguished guest."
Hengchang gestured with his hand.
"Benefactor, please partake of some vegetarian food. After dinner, I will take you to the Abbot's sleeping quarters. You will be able to see him when he comes out of seclusion tonight."
What more could An Ziyang say when the Head of the Shaolin Disciplinary Hall lowered himself so much for a second-rate person like him? Naturally, he nodded in agreement.
Then An Ziyang experienced once again the feeling of visiting a temple like visiting a brothel.
Hengchang led him to dinner, and as soon as they arrived at the refectory, a crowd of monks swarmed around them, some shaking hands, some serving dishes, and some moving stools.
"Benefactor, sit! How is Li Daxia doing lately?"
"Benefactor, drink! Where is Li Daxia now?"
"Benefactor, eat! Has Li Daxia gained some weight?"
The group of monks' eyes gleamed. They usually only knew how to chant scriptures and practice martial arts, and had no idea how to please people, but they thoroughly exhausted An Ziyang.
Heaven help him, the Shaolin monks were not like the women in brothels who were accustomed to entertaining guests; their actions lacked any sense of gentleness.
The one who grabbed his hand, a practitioner of Dragon Claw Hand, squeezed so hard that An Ziyang's sleeve darts almost popped out.
And that pungent masculine smell... An Ziyang felt like he was suffocating.
"Everyone! Everyone!"
He shouted weakly, like a little white rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves.
"I'm just delivering a message for Li Daxia. We met by chance, I don't know his recent situation, nor do I know where he is now, please stop!"
Hearing him shout like that, Hengchang also spoke up.
"Everyone, retreat!"
Only then did the dozens of monks reluctantly step back, yet they didn't want to leave, just staring wide-eyed at An Ziyang.
An Ziyang sighed.
If dozens of young ladies were looking at him like this, he would undoubtedly be overjoyed. But these monks, with arms as thick as roof beams, muscles bulging, and chests like solid rock, could practically crush him in their embrace.
Being stared at by this group of burly men... An Ziyang felt his scalp tingle.
"Esteemed Masters, I just parted ways with Li Daxia a few days ago, and he is doing very well. I don't know much else, everyone, please let me eat."
An Ziyang even felt a little wronged.
Only then did the monks disperse, leaving only Hengchang to sit down and eat with him.
"Master Hengchang, what is Li Daxia's connection to Shaolin?"
An Ziyang asked.
After Li Miao left Shaolin, he immediately began killing people everywhere, and Xing Chi's funeral also took a few days. The martial artists who were present that day only left yesterday, so An Ziyang had not yet received news of what Li Miao did when Xing Chi passed away.
Hengchang said indifferently.
"Li Daxia has shown great kindness to my Shaolin. In a few days, news should spread throughout the martial arts world, so there's no need for this monk to elaborate. My disciples' cultivation is insufficient, and their words and actions were a bit out of line, which must have amused Benefactor An."
"Great kindness needs no words of thanks. Shaolin's only reply is to go through fire and water, without hesitation."
How much weight a monk's words carried... it was imaginable.
After An Ziyang finished his meal, Hengchang led him to a small courtyard.
It was the same small courtyard where Li Miao met Xing Chi when he came to Shaolin that day.
As soon as he entered the door, An Ziyang saw a little girl sitting at a stone table under a tree, writing and drawing on paper with a brush.
"!?"
He suddenly turned to look at Hengchang.
"Master Hengchang, this... are there other guests in the courtyard? Whose daughter is this?"
Hengchang shook his head.
"She is the Abbot's daughter."
"!!!?"
Oh my goodness!
Is anyone in charge? The Shaolin Abbot has a child!
In an instant, countless vulgar jokes like "monks can touch, but I can't," "bamboo shoots in the butt," and "monks jumping over walls" flooded his mind. An Ziyang felt that he probably couldn't leave this time.
Having met the Shaolin Abbot's daughter, did he still think he could leave?
Hengchang, however, didn't seem to mind. He simply led An Ziyang into the courtyard to sit down, then turned and instructed the little girl: "Ling'er, this is Li Daxia's friend, he's here to see the Abbot. Go get some fruit."
"Aye!"
The little girl responded crisply, then ran to the side room with a "thump-thump-thump."
Hengchang excused himself to An Ziyang and then left on his own, leaving An Ziyang to stare blankly.
A moment later, the little girl skipped back, placing the fruit she was holding onto the table.
"Big Brother, eat!"
The little girl called out, then sat on a chair, resting her chin on her two small hands, leaning on the table, and gazing expectantly at An Ziyang.
An Ziyang chuckled dryly: "You eat, I'm not hungry."
Only then did the little girl pick up a fruit, then hesitated, picking up one and placing it in front of An Ziyang.
Eat one, place one, half for each, fair to all.
An Ziyang pondered for a while, then turned to ask the little girl.
"Little Sister, are you called Ling'er?"
"Mm!"
"Is your father the Shaolin Abbot?"
"Only after Grandpa Xing Chi passed away."
"Oh... and your mother?"
"She died."
Ask one, one dies. This conversation had clearly reached its end.
No matter how much An Ziyang wanted to pry, he couldn't bring himself to keep asking a little girl about her painful memories. So he just sat there, waiting for Yongjie to arrive.
This wait lasted another hour and a half.
"Little Sister Ling'er, look!"
An Ziyang clenched his hand into a fist, then opened it, and a lifelike metal flower emerged from his hand.
"Big Brother An is so amazing!"
The little girl clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling, and her gaze towards An Ziyang was full of adoration.
It can only be said that she had been raised in a monastery since she was little, and she couldn't resist the coaxing of a playboy like An Ziyang. When it came to methods of pleasing women, An Ziyang was the ancestor of Shaolin. In just an hour and a half, the two had become familiar, and their way of addressing each other became more intimate.
The little girl was laughing, when she suddenly yawned.
"Big Brother An, I'm sleepy."
With that, she hopped into An Ziyang's arms on her own, leaned against his chest, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
An Ziyang held her, initially feeling a bit flustered. He was familiar with putting on an act with courtesans, but at this moment, he felt a little panicked.
Then, he chuckled softly, gently patted Ling'er's back, and began to sing.
He too had lost his mother at a young age and relied on his father, so his situation was similar to this little girl's. At this moment, he couldn't help but sing the song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child to lull him to sleep.
"My child, crying, not yet asleep in the deep night."
"In loving mother's embrace, heartstrings soothed."
"May my child sleep peacefully, not waking in dreams."
"Mother's gentle sway, child's heart gradually stills."
"My heart, so longingly, wishes my child always peaceful..."
An Ziyang gently swayed, Ling'er let out a soft snore, and the moonlight flowed like water into the courtyard from outside the window.
Yongjie walked into the room, suddenly stopped, his tiger-like eyes scanning An Ziyang up and down, his brows tightly furrowed.
Suddenly, he felt a bit annoyed looking at this kid.