６２

  Day and night, I finally arrived at the foot of the mountain. However, the mountain road had already been blocked by government soldiers. I knew something big must have happened. So I went forward to show my monk's certificate, but the soldiers said they didn't have the authority to let anyone in, no matter who it was, and that they needed to report to their superiors. I said, "Alright, then hurry up and report to your superiors."

  The little soldier immediately called a runner and said: Inform the leader that there is a senior Shaolin disciple who wants to take a look. Will he be allowed in or not?

  The errand boy ran away immediately. I asked Xiao Lou: What's wrong?

  Xiao Bing said: We all didn't manage to go up and take a look, probably something big happened.

  I said: Is everyone okay? Did you see someone being carried down?

  Xiao Bing said: No, your Shaolin martial arts are all so good, and you're also skilled in lightness kung fu. With one step, you can fly up, and with two steps, you can jump to Chang'an. What's there to be afraid of?

  I said: Okay. When can I go in and take a look?

  The little soldier said: Wait for the order from above.

  I said: Okay. Where is your leader?

  Little soldier said: Chang'an.

  I and Xile busily shook our heads, saying: This won't do, this won't do, it's too far.

  The little soldier said: Not far, not far, back and forth for a day, we are matched with new horses from the Western Regions.

  I said: That's too far away, my master and senior brothers are all up there, I'm in charge of big things inside, how can they not let me go up?

  Little soldier said: It's okay, the superior has ordered so, I have no way out. I support my family and they rely on my salary to eat. If I let you in, I'll lose my job. Why don't you two go to some place in town to rest for a while? I guarantee that nothing will happen to him, not even one person has been seen carrying him away.

  I felt much more at ease and decided to go into town to take a look around.

  Arrived at the town, it seems much quieter, most of the shops are closed. Xile said: We might as well go to that pawnshop and let it be open for a few more days, but we can come back too, we have some money, plus what that old man gave us——oh right, I didn't even look at how much money that old man gave me. Ah, quite a lot, feels heavy, didn't even bother to take a look, walked the whole way with a nervous heart, really tired.

  She said with joy, "How about it? There are twenty taels." When she opened it and took a look, she was shocked and exclaimed: "Wow, it's gold! How much silver is one tael of gold worth?"

  I still have things on my mind about the mountain, and I casually said: I don't know.

  Xi Le dug around and made a new discovery, took a look, and exclaimed: Wow, silver tickets! And there's a seal with the supervisor's signature. Two thousand taels! We can buy a house now.

  I said: That's impossible.

  Xi Le flashed a silver note in front of me and said, "Look." Then he pulled me towards the pawnshop.

  We passed by an inn, tired from the journey, and had to rest. Jile and I decided to go in for a short nap to refresh ourselves. We fell asleep immediately and left the inn when it was getting dark to head to the pawnshop.

  When we arrived at the pawnshop, we found that it had been looted and there was nothing left inside. Only the boss and the painter were there, looking bewildered.

  Xile busy asked: Where is our stuff?

  The boss scratched his head and said: It's all gone, it's all gone, nothing is left.

  Xile asked: Is that painting gone too?

  The boss shook his head and remained silent.

  Xǐlè shuō: péi wǒmen.

  Translation:

  Xi Le said: Compensate us.

  The boss cried and said: I've lost everything, the guests want things but I don't have any, the silver was also robbed, what can I use to compensate?

  Xile said: Fine, at least compensate us with a painting.

  The boss said: Alright, you're also a reasonable person. What's wrong with these people?!

  What's wrong with your store?

  The boss said: Wudang has come to avenge Shaolin and also robbed my store.

  I said: What, Wudang? How can Wudang's power rival Shaolin?

  The boss said: "Yes, it's possible that Wudang has come to take revenge on me and also seized Shaolin at the same time."

  I said: How's the situation? Haven't even entered the temple gate of Wudang yet?

  The boss said: I don't know, haven't you seen that the officials and soldiers are all guarding the road to the temple? However, people's hearts are in a state of panic, hearing that the situation is not good, Shaolin seems to have been slaughtered.

  We both exclaimed in surprise: How is this possible?

  The boss said: Everyone says so. Wudang that day went down as many people as there were on the mountain, and the swords were all bloody.

  I and Xi Le rushed down the mountain as soon as we finished listening. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, we were still blocked by government soldiers.

  I said: Let me go in and take a look.

  The officer said: "Oh, we've gone to ask for instructions. Look, I just got back and was told to bring your nameplate again for another round of instructions."

  I was about to erupt, and Xi Le pulled me straight up the mountain. The government soldiers chased after us, I stopped and shouted loudly: "I am the highest martial arts disciple here, who dares to come over? I will kill whoever comes to feed my treasured sword."

  After finishing, I tried to pull out the sword, but it was too dull and couldn't be pulled out after half a day. It felt like it had already rusted inside. However, my pose of holding the sword and wanting to pull it out shocked everyone. The officers and soldiers actually stopped in their tracks.

  I walked up the mountain with Xi Le in big strides, and the further we went, the more nervous I became. It seemed as if I could even smell the scent of fresh blood in the air.

  When I arrived in front of it, Jile and I were stunned because the temple gate was no longer there, blown open with a big hole.

  We stepped into the cave and suddenly felt suffocated. Inside were the corpses of thousands of Shaolin monks, not a single one was left alive.

  My mind was already numb and I had no thoughts, throwing my sword to the ground, searching for my master and Fangzhang among the countless corpses. Fangzhang could be confirmed not to be inside, possibly taken captive, as he was dressed in bright clothes, easily recognizable at a glance. My master and senior brother were harder to find. I searched one by one, all the dead had faces that were completely unrecognizable, apparently poisoned first then mutilated, some had already started to rot slightly, with black blood flowing out from the corners of their mouths when moved.