"Brother Qiming and Dongsheng Xiluo, why haven't they come up for so long? Did something happen?"
In the kitchen of Xiangyang Temple, a Taoist priest became suspicious when he saw that the fat Taoist priest and his two companions had not returned yet.
"Nanfeng, you are just worrying about nothing. Senior Brother Qiming is a martial arts expert. What could happen to him? He might just be itching to practice his boxing (beating people)." Another Taoist priest said indifferently.
"Beichen, you make sense." Nanfeng nodded.
A quarter of an hour passed.
"Strange, they've been down there for too long. How about...we go down and take a look?" Nanfeng suggested.
"Okay." Beichen also felt that something seemed wrong.
"Brothers, please watch here first, we will go down and take a look."
After giving instructions to the other ten or so Taoist priests waiting in the kitchen, Nanfeng and Beichen opened the secret passage covered with a basket and walked down the stairs.
When Nanfeng and Beichen reached the fork in the secret passage, they suddenly fell heavily to the ground. Then they felt a pain in their neck and lost consciousness.
"Dan Zuo, you are so smart!" Xia Qingyi praised sincerely.
"Miss Xia, there should be someone guarding up there. Let's tie them up first."
Shan Zuo picked up the rope that had tripped the two Taoists, tied their hands and feet, took off their socks, and stuffed them into their mouths.
"What should we do with these two people?" At this time, Xia Qingyi no longer regarded Shan Zuo as a nine-year-old child.
"It's 'tit for tat', of course. I know the best place for them to go."
Then, Shan Zuo and several older girls and boys dragged the two Taoists to the door of the "bitter melon" secret room. In order not to scare them, Shan Zuo sent them away before locking the two Taoists into the ice room filled with corpses and the smell of blood.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
"Strange, could it be that Nanfeng and Beichen have gone inside to slack off?" Another Taoist priest in the kitchen was also puzzled by the two people who had not returned yet.
Then, two more Taoists came down the secret passage. Shan Zuo and Xia Qingyi repeated the same trick, tripping them again, knocking them unconscious, and then locking them in the ice room.
…
Seeing that time passed by little by little, the dozen Taoists including the fat Taoist and Dongsheng Xiluo had no reaction since they went down the secret passage. One of the six remaining Taoists in the big kitchen went to the abbot's dormitory to report, and the other five decided to go down together to take a look.
"Dan Zuo, it seems that there are more than two people coming this time. What should we do?" Xia Qingyi said worriedly when she heard the footsteps approaching from afar.
"I think... the time is ripe. Let's rush out! I will deal with the remaining Taoist priests, and you will be responsible for taking them out." Shan Zuo clenched his fists, and they creaked.
"Shan Zuo..."
Xia Qingyi looked worriedly at the boy in front of her who was not even as tall as her.
"Success or failure depends on this one move, we can only win, not lose!"
Shan Zuo glanced at the children hiding behind him at the corner of the "Lixia" secret path and suddenly felt the burden on his shoulders was heavy. But he told himself that he had to get these people away safely.
"Hey, you little rabbit..."
A short distance down the stairs from the secret passage, a Taoist priest spotted Shan Zuo and was about to slap him when he suddenly felt a pain in his waist. Shan Zuo had swiftly struck him in the vitals and then delivered a powerful kick. The unsuspecting Taoist priest collapsed in pain.
"How dare you attack your master, you little bastard!"
Seeing this, the other four Taoists immediately began to besiege Shan Zuo, who led them to the door of the "Melon" secret room.
Seeing that everyone had left, Xia Qingyi suppressed her worries about Shan Zuo, and then led the children out of the secret passage in an orderly manner and came to the big kitchen.
"We are finally out!"
Xia Qingyi, who breathed the fresh air again, burst into tears of joy.
"It's already dark outside. Let's find a place to hide first and wait for Her Highness the Princess to come and rescue us."
Glancing anxiously at the tunnel entrance, Xia Qingyi knew this was not the time for hesitation. She acted decisively, taking advantage of the pitch-black night to lead over a hundred children out of the kitchen and hide in a vacant hall not far from the red rose field.
"I know everyone is tired and hungry now, but if we just hold on a little longer, someone will come to rescue us soon. We can't let our efforts go to waste. Now everyone keep quiet!" After Xia Qingyi calmed everyone down, she hid with them in the dark hall, waiting for the rescuers to arrive.
Elsewhere, after Xia Qingyi led the child out of the secret passage, Shan Zuo also engaged in a fight with the four Taoists. At two o'clock in the evening, Shan Zuo, having beaten and robbed the four and locked them in an ice chamber, emerged from the secret passage.
"Where are you going?"
When Shan Zuo ascended the stairs to the kitchen, he heard a sinister voice. He looked up and saw the abbot, Wang Zhenyi, wearing a dark blue Taoist robe and holding a whisk.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Shan Zuo was about to escape, but was stopped by the whisk in Wang Zhenyi's hand.
"Young lay Buddhist, since you are a guest at my temple, don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
As a long-time wanted thief, Wang Zhenyi was naturally quite skilled. Shan Zuo, a young man who had only just started martial arts, was no match for him. He was quickly defeated.
"Report... Report to the Master, something bad has happened! All the children in the secret room of 'Melon' are missing! Moreover, Senior Brother Qiming and the senior brothers in the kitchen are... all dead! And... they are all locked up in the ice room!" A Taoist priest who went down to the secret room to investigate said tremblingly.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenyi looked at Shan Zuo who was being escorted by two Taoist priests in disbelief.
"It's you, isn't it?"
"Who are you?"
Wang Zhenyi didn't believe that a child from an ordinary family could have such ability. He grabbed Shan Zuo's chin and said viciously, "Tell me! Do you have any other accomplices?"
"It was you who captured me. I don't know what you are talking about! You old thief, what is your intention in capturing so many children? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning for doing such a heinous thing?" Shan Zuo shouted angrily.
"hehe……"
"You little bastard, you're still so stubborn?"
"I want to see, who is harder, your bones or my wrists! I will use you to make pills tonight!" Wang Zhenyi said gritting his teeth.
One hundred and sixty girls and boys could have been used to make eighty anti-aging elixirs, but now all of that was ruined by this little bastard. Let him know the price he has to pay for this...
"Separately, go look for those children. It's impossible for so many people to disappear all at once. They must be hiding somewhere in the temple."
"Yes, Master!"
The dozen or so Taoists who followed Wang Zhenyi were about to leave when they were stopped by him again.
"To avoid unnecessary trouble, catch them and send them directly to the alchemy room!" Wang Zhenyi said viciously.
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