Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 101: The Big and Little Foxes

“What so-called hundred ambushes? There are only fifty-eight snipers, plus those two cripples—exactly sixty people in total. This is barely enough to repay the ‘interest’ owed for the names of our three Shaolin disciples!” Chu Tianyu said arrogantly, imitating Han Ye’s contemptuous tone.
“Do you know why I kept your worthless lives?” Chu Tianyu continued calmly, staring at Han Ye, who was sweating profusely from pain.
At this moment, Han Ye was filled with regret. How could reality turn around so quickly? Just moments ago, he had been acting like a king, but in just a few seconds, the situation had completely reversed—his role from oppressor to oppressed!
The humiliation and pain in his heart were even worse than the intense agony in his leg.
Chu Tianyu didn’t wait for an answer and continued, “I know your plan to deal with Shaolin—using some influence to get hold of heavy military sniper guns to intimidate them first. Then, you weaklings rely on ambushes and your power to bully Shaolin disciples like Fang Zheng, who isn’t good at schemes, so as to lure me out, right?”
“And what if I’m lured out? Including this time, your ‘souls’ have fallen into my hands three times already. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”
“In a fistfight, none of you can match me. In terms of influence, with your little support from the military, I figured out the source of your weapons in just one day. By the next day, they were already in military court awaiting judgment! As for high-tech—every sniper position is now under my control. Those of your guns are child’s play. Now, let me show you what true high-tech is…”
Saying this, he took the remote control from Han Ye’s hand, pressed a button, and a crisp gunshot sound rang out. Without any warning, before Han Ye could react to Chu Tianyu’s words, his left leg went numb, followed by a wisp of smoke and a slight burnt smell.
Han Ye looked down in shock. He turned pale, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed unconscious.
It turned out that Han Ye’s left leg had broken at the knee for some unknown reason. The wound was clean, as if cut by a knife, with the upper part already charred from the intense heat. The detached lower leg glowed red at the break, like a round piece of red meat, slowly consuming the rest until it vanished into smoke, leaving no trace…

Such a vivid scene not only terrified Han Ye to the point of passing out but also caused the two men standing close to him to experience severe stomach cramps and vomit uncontrollably! The monks like Jing Wu also joined hands in prayer, with chants of “Amitabha…” echoing continuously. After a while, Han Ye let out a loud scream as the excruciating pain woke him up—probably because the numbness from the intense heat had finally subsided and he could feel again… Chu Tianyu paid no attention to his cries and pain, gathered his energy, and said in a deep voice, “Listen well! Don’t bother me again, and definitely don’t mess with Shaolin! I’m not part of the Buddhist sect, so I have no Buddhist compassion! If you keep causing trouble and even one hair of a Shaolin monk is lost, I’ll torture every last one of you to death! Don’t think you’re mysterious—finding you will be a piece of cake! I won’t pursue this matter now, otherwise those military figures wouldn’t have been able to get away so easily in military court! Alright, one last word for you—GET OUT!!!” Han Ye, filled with fear, anger, sorrow, and despair, couldn’t catch his breath again and fainted on the spot. Before losing consciousness, he mumbled, “Master, I swear to fuck your mother! Are you even human? To seek face by causing such trouble! I told you monks aren’t to be trifled with—prayers can kill you! And there are even such ruthless people backing them! Moreover, these ruthless people are completely unreasonable! Monks don’t have hair—there’s no need for such excuses to deal with us! Besides, you’ve broken both my legs—how am I supposed to ‘get out’? Ugh, this is just bullying…” … Ignoring the aftermath outside, Chu Tianyu brought the precious treasures and his senior brother Wu Jing to the abbot’s meditation room. Chu Tianyu removed his mask and first paid a great respect to his senior brother! Wu Jing quickly urged him to stand down, saying, “We’re peers, junior brother—there’s no need for such formalities!” Chu Tianyu stood up respectfully and said, “Senior brother, after all, you’re the current leader of Shaolin. How can I disregard these properities? Also, I apologize for acting on my own earlier, causing bloodshed within the Buddhist sect!” Wu Jing’s expression darkened, and he said, “The tree wishes to remain still, but the wind keeps blowing! I understand your intentions!” After a pause, he sighed and explained, “From today’s battle, it seems Shaolin is too rigid—it really needs to change! I know you’ve done this with great effort for Shaolin’s sake. After all, Shaolin is in the open while they operate in secret, plus there are thousands of external disciples—hard to guard against. Alas, it’s impossible to stay a thief forever without ever being caught!”

“Well, the junior brother also thinks the same way. He’s worried they might be plotting against Shaolin in secret, which is why this strategy was devised—first, find out something about their background, then swiftly eliminate all their armed forces, and leave a few of them alive to convey our message, to warn them and keep them from ever understanding our true strength. A powerful enemy isn’t scary, but a powerful opponent whose intentions are completely unknown makes one hesitate to act rashly!” Chu Tianyu added.

“That’s right. Only in this way can we fundamentally resolve the threats facing Shaolin!” Wu Jing nodded in approval.

The two brothers, having reached a consensus, exchanged knowing smiles, understanding each other’s intentions.

Chu Tianyu really started to like this senior brother now. He had originally thought the Shaolin abbot would be quite conservative. He wasn’t sure if his senior brother would understand what he was doing, but it seemed he had been overthinking it!

“Sigh, junior brother, you don’t know. Over the past few years, I’ve also tried to change the atmosphere at Shaolin. But do you know how difficult it is for monks to go down the mountain for training these days? They’re restricted everywhere. And in this era, for a monk to run around bareheaded with a staff isn’t proper at all! Not to mention training—everywhere they go, they become a spectacle!” Wu Jing said exaggeratingly.

Chu Tianyu smiled. Finding his senior brother’s words humorous, he replied, “Senior brother, you’re joking! Buddhism has advanced a lot now. As far as I know, there are plenty of doctors and masters in Buddhist academies!”

“Sigh, don’t even mention it. Those are all from Outer Shaolin. Inner Shaolin monks practice martial arts from a young age; they don’t have time for studies! Besides, Shaolin martial arts emphasize gradual progress and perseverance. After decades of practice, their minds become rigid, which leads to the current situation!”

“How about this, senior brother? Why don’t you pick a few young disciples and let me arrange for them to go somewhere for training—whether in management or technology, to expose them to those fields…”

Before Chu Tianyu could finish speaking, Wu Jing leaped forward, tightly grasped his hands, and said excitedly, “Oh, junior brother! I’ve been waiting for you to say this for so long! Haha, great! Come, sit down first, have some tea, and we’ll discuss it in detail!”

Chu Tianyu looked at his cunning senior brother, whose “scheme” had succeeded, and broke into a sweat, thinking to himself, “These days, even monks know how to deceive others?”

The two of them discussed the plans for the future, and Wu Jing explained that aside from those twelve disciples who were meant to be “given” to Chu Tianyu, no one else knew Chu Tianyu’s true appearance. They only knew he was the master disciple of Master Xuanchan and had deep ties with Shaolin. Chu Tianyu listened, sweating profusely—wow, this senior brother was truly “cunning,” having planned this all along. By having those twelve disciples seek him out first, they could build a relationship. Whether they found him or not, Chu Tianyu would still owe them a favor. With that favor, the rest would be easier! It turned out those disciples with the “Pu” surname were young elites from Shaolin, all from the Arhat Hall. No wonder they weren’t shy even in front of the abbot of the “Zhi” faction when they were at Shaolin! Looking at his smug senior brother Wu Jing, Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but feel admiration once again. But Chu Tianyu was no ordinary person—he had been trained by a brilliant radical scholar, so he wouldn’t suffer losses. Thus, he nodded calmly with a smile, took a sip of tea, and then casually said, “Senior brother! Tiancai and Tiabao are my nephews, which means they’re also your nephews. Are they behaving well in the monastery?” Wu Jing, who had just succeeded in his plan and was feeling pleased, replied without hesitation, “Yes, they’re fine and behave well.” As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Jing noticed Chu Tianyu’s sly smile and immediately had a badpremonition. Sure enough, before he could react, Chu Tianyu continued, “My two nephews are naturally ‘honest’ and ‘simple.’ They grew up in the mountains and have little exposure to the outside world. Besides, they got separated from my senior brother, and there are enemies out there searching for them. I’m still studying and have many responsibilities. Sometimes I can’t even take care of them. So, I’d like to ask you to take them in for a while. The environment and martial arts culture at Shaolin suit their personalities. What do you think, senior brother…” “Amitabha, Amitabha, of course… of course there’s no problem…” Wu Jing, who had just taken advantage of someone else, couldn’t refuse and agreed repeatedly, chanting Buddha’s name. But thinking of Tiancai and Tiabao stomping around the kitchen every day, causing other Shaolin disciples to go hungry lately, he felt a chill. His chanting of “Amitabha” grew louder as he felt deep remorse for those Shaolin disciples who still needed to lose weight…