Jing Zhe nodded and said, "That makes sense!"

"Heh, since you know that, why aren't you paying? Don't tell me you can't come up with five taels of silver; judging by your clothes, you're probably not short of money!"

The thin monk looked Jing Zhe up and down again and said.

"I'm not short of money, but I don't want to give it!"

"you--"

The thin monk was almost furious: "If you don't want to give it, then you can forget about ever entering Peach Blossom Temple! Oh, by the way, Miss Lin will also be attending the Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering today. Who knows when Miss Lin will be able to attend the poetry gathering again? This kind of opportunity is once in a lifetime, and once it's missed, it will never come again!"

"..."

While at the foot of the mountain, Jing Zhe had heard about Young Master Feng and Miss Lin many times, and most people came to the Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering because of Miss Lin. Now that the thin monk was saying the same thing, Jing Zhe became even more curious about Miss Lin.

Seeing Jing Zhe hesitate, the thin monk continued, "Miss Lin is recognized as the number one talented woman in Jiangling, and it is no exaggeration to say that she is the number one talented woman in Anguo! All the outsiders who come to Jiangling want to see Miss Lin's true face, but few of them have been able to do so!"

If you were to enter Peach Blossom Temple today to attend the poetry gathering, you would not only be able to see Miss Lin, but also hear her poems—something that no amount of money could buy!

"Oh? Is it really that difficult to meet this Miss Lin?"

"It's difficult, extremely difficult!"

It wasn't easy for the skinny monk to rip off a big customer, so he was very persistent in getting Jing Zhe to pay: "It used to be very difficult to see Miss Lin, but as long as there was a poetry gathering, I could at least see her. But ever since Miss Lin went out before the New Year and came back, she hasn't even participated in poetry gatherings anymore. It's as difficult as climbing to heaven to see her! This time she finally agreed to participate in the Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering. Do you think that's difficult or not?"

"rare."

Jing Zhe nodded and said earnestly.

"Hehe, since it's such a rare opportunity, why aren't you participating? Do you think it's a waste to spend some money to meet Miss Lin?"

The thin monk said smugly.

"Spending five taels of silver to meet the most talented woman in Anguo, and even hearing her compose a poem on the spot, is certainly not a bad deal."

Seeing that Jing Zhe was completely interested, the thin monk rolled his eyes and sneered, "Not five taels, but ten taels!"

"???"

Jing Zhe was completely confused: "What ten taels? Didn't you just say a stick of incense cost five taels of silver?"

"Didn't you say it yourself? That was just now! Just now, a stick of incense did cost five taels of silver, but now the price has gone up. A stick of incense costs ten taels of silver! Buy it if you want, or don't!"

The thin monk felt he had Jing Zhe under control, so he doubled the price of the incense again, and warned him, "This price is known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. Don't even think about telling anyone else, because no one will believe you! If I sue you for tarnishing the reputation of Buddhism, who do you think the authorities will arrest?"

"Will they arrest me?"

"Heh heh, then why don't you just hand over the money?"

The thin monk stretched out his hand again.

Jing Zhe glanced at the peach groves on both sides and asked, "You mean if the two of us did this here, they wouldn't find out, right?"

The thin monk nodded slightly and said smugly, "Of course! So after you leave, don't talk nonsense! Hurry up and give me the money!"

"Okay, take a look at this. Have you seen it before?"

As Jing Zhe spoke, he reached out his hand.

"What?"

The thin monk quickly leaned closer, thinking that Jing Zhe had taken out some silver, but he hadn't.

"A fist the size of a clay pot, have you ever seen one like that?"

"..."

The thin monk wanted to say something more, but unfortunately, he couldn't say anything. After he finished speaking, Jing Zhe's fist came flying towards his face, hitting him solidly. The thin monk didn't even have time to groan before he experienced a baby-like sleep and passed out.

Jing Zhe kicked him twice in the face, and when he didn't react, he muttered, "You think you can extort money from me?"

After saying that, he picked up the incense stick from the ground and walked out.

...

At this time, a long queue had already formed outside the Peach Blossom Temple.

Anyone who wants to enter the temple to participate in the Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering must buy incense. It's not that everyone really wants to pray to the gods and Buddhas, after all, they know that they are just here to watch the fun. How could they possibly win the first place in the poetry gathering?

However, buying incense to enter the temple has become a customary practice, so no one complained and everyone waited patiently to buy incense. When there were two monks at the entrance, the speed at which tourists entered the temple was normal. Now that only the fat monk was left at the entrance, the speed naturally slowed down, and a long queue formed outside, causing people in the crowd to complain.

The fat monk wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to reassure everyone while his eyes kept glancing in the direction the thin monk had left.

At this moment, perhaps hearing the commotion outside, a tall monk came out of the temple, asked the fat monk a couple of questions, and then stood at the door to help sell incense.

In this way, the speed returned to normal and even increased considerably. Before long, it was Jing Zhe's turn. As soon as the fat monk took out the short incense stick, Jing Zhe handed over the long incense stick and said with a smile, "High monk, I have already bought the long incense stick. Can I go directly into the temple now?"

Hearing the familiar voice, the fat monk suddenly looked up and, finding only Jing Zhe, was puzzled. He glanced to the side and saw the tall monk busy selling incense and had no time to look at anything else, so he whispered, "Why are you alone?"

"You mean that thinner monk? He sold my incense stick and then took the money and went down the mountain."

Jing Zhe lied to him.

"He went down the mountain? He's so busy today, how dare he go down the mountain at this time?"

The fat monk was visibly taken aback upon hearing this, and looked somewhat suspicious. However, he quickly realized the key point in Jing Zhe's words and asked, "How much silver did he sell you for this stick of incense?"

Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?

"..."

The fat monk was clearly taken aback. "Of course it's the truth—what, you're lying?"

She glanced at him with displeasure as she spoke.

"Originally there wasn't, but the thinner monk just told me that if you ask how much silver it sold for, he can't tell you the truth, so he has to tell a lie."

Upon hearing this, and recalling his companion's usual character, the fat monk immediately understood and asked, "Then how many lies did he make you tell me?"

"One tael of silver."

Jing Zhe said without changing his expression.

The fat monk nodded. They only sold a short incense stick for fifty coins, so it was reasonable for a long incense stick to sell for several hundred coins. The thin monk had pulled Jing Zhe aside, so naturally he would sell it for a price higher than several hundred coins. One tael of silver was also normal.

————