Xia Xiao was struggling, seemingly for a moment, but in fact he had anticipated various outcomes. If he told his plan to others, although Tanghua Temple was trustworthy, if the news leaked out, his whereabouts and plans would be exposed. The fat monk saw what he was thinking, turned his head and said to the little monk beside him:

"Don't listen, don't look."

The young monk made seals with his hands. Even though he did not close his eyes, his pupils had no color. He fell into a very deep state, a state of silence and emptiness, unable to see or hear anything. At this time, the fat monk asked:

"Hu Bugui sent you out, didn't he?"

Xia Xiao's eyes moved slightly, and the fat monk was sure that he was the one who came from afar in Ningshen Academy. Seeing the determination in the fat monk's eyes, Xia Xiao nodded helplessly. He saw it all, and no matter how he argued, it was useless. The monks sent out by Tanghua Temple to travel around the world are really strong!

"The senior is indeed a great monk."

"I don't deserve to be called a high monk. I'm far from being able to not be happy with things or sad with myself. I'm not even as rigorous as that old fellow Hu Bugui, otherwise I wouldn't have let the wolf demon escape twice."

"The wolf demon is cunning, and its surging vitality is contained in its flesh, so it has strong bones and it is normal for it to escape. If the junior reaches the senior's level, let alone let it escape, we can't even catch up with it."

Although Xia Xiao spoke from his heart, the fat monk still shook his head. He was not thoughtful enough in dealing with the wolf demon this time, so there was no point in making excuses.

"Are you here to carry out a mission this time?"

"Yes, it's a secret mission. Only Senior Hu Bugui and Senior Sister know about it in the entire academy."

The fat monk understood and said don't worry, he and the little monk will not tell anyone else. With this promise, Xia Xiao naturally felt relieved, monks would not tell lies.

"Since you are going to the Imperial Court, we will accompany you."

Xia Xiao didn't dare to agree and politely refused. Sitting on the ground, the fat monk explained:

"The people of the Goulongbang clan have a strange sense of self-esteem and superiority. To put it bluntly, they look down on the weak, and even more so on people from other countries. If you want to hide your identity, you will definitely be targeted when you go in. Rather than being caught in a dilemma and having difficulty in carrying out your mission, you might as well follow us in."

Xia Xiao thought deeply, then sat up and saluted.

"Then I'll trouble you, Senior."

"If you're worried, I'll talk to Hu Bugui."

The fat monk smiled, as if he was looking forward to this conversation. Xia Xiao understood, opened a scroll, and injected extremely pure vitality into the talisman array.

The fat monk looked at him and thought that this little guy was indeed a person who came from afar. Such pure vitality was not something that everyone could possess. Looking at his extraordinary bearing, it was indeed a good idea for him to practice in the academy. The fat monk actually didn't like the academy very much. He felt that the people in the academy were too lazy and enjoyed leisure alone in this chaotic world. But it must be said that they were indeed good at producing and cultivating strong people.

When Xia Xiao handed the talisman array in his hand to the fat monk, and when Hu Bugui's voice came from the side of the talisman array, the fat monk changed his previous friendly image and started to curse:

"Old man, you didn't expect it to be me, did you?"

In the college room, Hu Bugui heard the voice and immediately sat up with a surprised look on his face. But he quickly reacted and spoke with anger.

"You fat bald ass, how did you meet Xia Xiao?"

The fat monk laughed a few times and told Hu Bugui what had happened. When the latter heard it, he said disdainfully:

"You are still as careless as ever. If you continue like this, you will be punished by Tanghua Temple!"

"You are really talking without any concern. If I didn't care about the casualties of civilians, the wolf demon would have died when I first met it. But my vitality is more powerful than its. If I hurt civilians, wouldn't it be more harm than good?"

"Come on, stop making excuses for yourself."

"Fuck you!"

The fat monk's sweet words surprised Xia Xiao. This was different from the serious monk from Tanghua Temple he met last time. It was not strange for him to laugh, but it was wrong for him to swear. However, judging from what Senior Hu Bugui said, they had a close relationship.

"Bald donkey, I don't care about other things. If you can't bring Xia Xiao safely into the royal court, you can just wait to become a dead donkey!"

"roll!"

The fat monk crushed the talisman formation, and when he looked at Xia Xiao, his smiling face returned to normal.

"Don't mind, we've been like this since we met."

Xia Xiao became curious, but did not ask directly. Instead, he said in a roundabout way:

"It seems that the mutual respect between the strong is real. I didn't expect that the senior is so familiar with the people in the academy."

"There is only this one, and I am not considered a strong man. I am just good at talking. If we meet, I would not dare to say that to him. Don't look at Hu Bugui's old age. He was a powerful figure in his time, otherwise he would not be in charge of the foothills. Although the foothills are low, there are many people, and more people means more things. He is strong and can take care of all kinds of things, so he has the power to manage things. It is not because of his own low strength that he can only manage the foothills."

"Is this also the reason why Shanyao Steward respects him so much?"

"almost."

The fat monk habitually touched the flesh on his belly and recalled the past.

"The first time we met was also on the grassland of Goulong Bangshi. But at that time I was an accompanying monk, not a law enforcement monk. When I saw Hu Bugui, who was also on a mission outside, I thought he was a monster, so I dragged my master to fight him. As a result, my master scolded him in front of Hu Bugui. It was also that time that I truly understood the difference between monsters and wild beasts."

Thinking of that period, the fat monk's mouth corners curled up.

"Xia Xiao, I have some life advice for you."

"Please speak, senior."

"You may feel very tired and busy now, or even at the lowest point in your life. But you must cherish the people and things around you, otherwise you will go further and further away, and only memories will be left. We always go higher and higher on the road, but the higher we go, the more things we encounter. Although I am a law enforcement monk now, I am not as happy as the accompanying monk back then."

Xia Xiao nodded, indicating that he understood. But he gave the fat monk a feeling that he didn't speak well, so he asked Xia Xiao:

"Is there anything on your mind?"

Xia Xiao shook his head, but his face was expressionless.

"Senior, you are right. I am still a member of the academy. Although I have some things to do, they are not many. Maybe I will start to be really busy after I leave the academy."

Xia Xiao did not tell anyone about Shu Shuang. He was not the kind of person who would expose someone's scars every time he met them. He knew his own affairs. He would selectively tell others, but he would not be stupid enough to tell everyone. The fat monk saw some clues, but did not ask any more questions. Everyone is different. Some people like to talk about their secrets, while others do not. Xia Xiao belonged to the latter. The fat monk looked at him and tactfully did not ask any questions.

The fat monk moved his seat and touched the little monk's head. He immediately withdrew his seal and looked at the fat monk.

"Pull the pot and cook!"

"Yes, Master."

The young monk started to get busy. He was skinny, short and dark, and the sight of him carrying the black pot made people feel distressed. But Xia Xiao did not move. He knew that this was also part of the practice. But Ah Zhu rolled up his sleeves and said softly:

"Let me help you."

Xia Xiao grabbed her, and the fat monk said with a smile:

"It's okay, he can do it."

Azhu was pulled down by Xia Xiao and started to mutter.

"It's easy to bully people."

She didn't like the fat monk, even though he was her master's friend. When she said this, Ah Zhu raised her voice deliberately so that the fat monk could hear her. But he smiled and said nothing, not afraid of being misunderstood.

Xia Xiao knew that Ah Zhu felt that the way the fat monk asked the little monk to do things was a bit bossy, so he defended him to avoid embarrassment.

"This is part of the training. The more he does now, the more chances he will have to become stronger in the future."

"How can setting up a pot and cooking be considered as cultivation?"

"Then what kind of practice is reading and writing?"

Ah Zhu was choked up and couldn't speak, so Xia Xiao said:

"Practicing is not just one thing. Absorbing vital energy is practicing, reading and writing is also practicing, and eating and cooking is even more so. Absorbing vital energy is to become stronger, reading and writing is to calm the mind, to break through the shackles, and to comprehend one's own truth. In life, controlling the time for cooking and eating, and the order of doing things can save time..."

"So letting him cook alone now is also to save time?"

Xia Xiao was about to answer when he was interrupted. The fat monk looked at the little monk and said:

"You answer it."

The young monk did not stop what he was doing and went into the water to collect the rice without any delay.

"Raw rice sinks to the bottom of the water, while half-cooked rice will appear on the surface of the water as the water boils. When the rice is cooked, it will also be at the bottom of the water, but it won't sink so deeply."

Ah Zhu didn't understand, and she was a little unhappy because these three people were denying her. But when she saw the little monk put a handful of bacon into the white rice porridge, she became curious.

"Aren't monks allowed to eat meat?"

"Eating meat is not the criterion for being a monk."

The fat monk laughed and said profoundly:

"Eating meat does not mean a monk is vulgar, nor does it mean he has broken the precepts and has no Buddhist heart. Nor does it mean that eating meat is transcendental. Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart. But not eating meat does not mean a monk is good. The concept of good is vague..."

The fat monk talked for a long time, but Ah Zhu didn't understand a word. Although Xia Xiao had spoken for the fat monk before and Ah Zhu was a little angry, she still looked at him and asked what he meant.

"Traveling monks can eat meat, but they can only buy it and cannot kill it on their own. This is the temple rule of Tanghua Temple. It is designed to maintain the vitality of the body and help eliminate demons."

"How do you know everything?"

"Shu Shuang told me."

"Then how does she know everything?"

"Because she's smart."

Ah Zhu muttered, saying that there are people smarter than you? Xia Xiao nodded. There are many people smarter than him. But there are not so many smarter than Shu Shuang. Now that he thinks about it, the stupidest thing Shu Shuang has ever done is to stand in front of him. She was originally the most special existence in the world. If she continued to practice, she could reach the top of the cloud with a trace of spirit in her body, or even a higher realm. But she sacrificed herself for the identity of a long-term guardian.

Xia Xiao suddenly thought of the word "Long Protector", but Shu Shuang was willing to stand in front of Xia Xiao not because of that word, but because she loved him, nothing more.

In life, there are inevitably a few moments when you want to take on everything for the one you love, even if it means losing your life. The figure of someone standing in front of the one you love with arms raised is probably the most beautiful love statement that can be expressed more than time and companionship.