Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 612 - 15: The Begging Arhat

Chapter 612: Chapter 15: The Begging Arhat

"Old Yu, you take the lead," Tang Zheng called him directly by name, "And Huang Jiayuan."

The drug dealer was all alone, who else were they supposed to use instead? Wisely, the newbies remained silent; after all, the old man had offended everyone with his earlier accusations. Other than the teacher with the naive personality, no one cared for him, and some might have even wanted to punch him.

"Brother, let’s talk this out," Huang Jiayuan approached Tang Zheng with his signature smile. However, after three steps, Chu Baichuan blocked him, "Just go as you’re told. Stop hesitating."

Huang Jiayuan’s face stiffened, but he did not freak out. Although he had a gun, after witnessing superpowers, he realized that he was no match for these people, just like an ant to a human.

"I’m sorry, but this is a multiple-choice question. You either do it or die. Of course, if you prove your worth, we will treat you as teammates and help you survive. Look, these four are examples," Tang Zheng pointed at the four mature women. "Billionaire lady, female star, female host – I believe you must know the last two."

"Oh, indeed. I was wondering why they looked so familiar," Tu Jinxin rubbed his eyes, surprised. He was about to approach and ask for their autographs when he saw Dantai glare at Huang Jiayuan and quickly recoiled; it bad idea to make a move under such circumstances.

"Alright, I’ll go." Seeing no room for negotiation, Huang Jiayuan accepted his task.

"Help me!" Old Yu looked at the newbies with a pale face. His gaze finally rested on several young people. "You are all good people. Do you just want to watch this old man die?"

Li Zhixin did not speak and avoided Old Yu’s gaze, the female university student appeared lost and anxious. Zhang Qiang, the professional gamer, looked at Tang Zheng and then took a step back.

"Don’t be like this. There must be a way." Looking at Old Yu’s helpless expression and pleas, Ma Huilan, the teacher who had volunteered in rural areas, couldn’t help herself and responded. At this, Old Yu immediately pounced and started pestering her.

"You’re a good person, my girl. Please help me." Thinking about the two people he knew being crushed to death by a Buddha statue, Old Yu gave up his self-respect and actually knelt in front of the female teacher.

"Quickly get up, this isn’t right," Ma Huilan was sweating profusely and reached out to support him.

"Haha, I have heard of jesters, but I never expected to see a real one today. Cry! Cry for you, damn it. This life really f***ing sucks," Chu Baichuan was thoroughly disgusted by this coward who was using his old age to gain compassion.

"My dear girl, life is hard. I still have a grandson," Old Yu didn’t show any signs of embarrassment and disregarded Chu Baichuan’s comment to continue begging Ma Huilan.

"I’ll go for you. Now get up," Ma Huilan broke into a cold sweat.

"Good person! You are truly a good person!" Old Yu’s eyes sparkled with a triumphant gleam. He tried to stand but Xu Biyun rushed over and kicked him in the shoulder.

"You don’t want to die, so you try to trick others? You have a grandson, don’t others have parents that they need to support?" Xu Biyun loudly admonished Old Yu. She liked Ma Huilan’s honest nature. If they were lucky, Ma Huilan could definitely become a good teammate.

Ma Huilan was not cut out to be cannon fodder; it would be a waste. Tang Zheng who was preparing to intervene stopped when he saw Xu Biyun getting heated.

"Who did I trick?" Old Yu stubbornly argued.

"How do you expect her to help you? Isn’t she supposed to go to the temple in your stead?" Xu Biyun glared at him, grasping Ma Huilan’s hand, "Don’t fall for it. Whoever is soft-hearted will die."

"Aren’t you also tricking people? Aren’t our lives worth something? Are we supposed to go and become cannon fodder for you?" Old Yu had decided to fight till the end. Even if he were to die, he would not let these people get away easily.

"In the Trojan Horse Game, your life is indeed not worth much," Pang Meiqin scoffed. She pointed her chin at Huang Jiayuan, "Drag him into Tianzhu Temple. Even if he dies, he’ll die inside."

The ruthlessness in Pang Meiqin’s voice startled Wang Tao, a fierce gangster. He had killed numerous people, but compared to the ferocious stewardess who had crawled out of a pile of corpses, he fell short. Of course, given the opportunity to grow, these lawless prisoners would certainly become formidable and feared opponents.

Dantai gave Huang Jiayuan a walkie-talkie and signaled him to move quickly.

Huang Jiayuan dragged Old Yu towards the temple. During the struggle, he slapped Old Yu four times. The false teeth even flew out, forcing Old Yu to calm down.

After a long fifteen minutes, as words of safety continuously came from the walkie-talkie, the tension among the newbies began to subside.

"Have you found Tang Monk yet? Remember not to disturb him." Tang Zheng frowned. Given the commotion at the mountain gate, how could Sun Monkey not have heard it? He should have come to attack it.

"Look, I see them, in the Great Hall." Fear was evident in Huang Jiayuan’s intermittent voice. Tang Zheng wanted to ask further when a loud zap of electricity was heard. Clearly, the walkie-talkie had been destroyed.

"He’s not dead, is he?" Tu Jinxin looked surprised. "Do we count as demons? Without any backing, we’ll definitely be skinned by Sun Monkey."

"Let’s go. There is no use waiting here," Dantai pulled the bolt first, ready to confront Tang Monk and his disciples at any time.

The Trojan Squad entered the mountain gate. They found themselves in a large square paved with blue stones. A straight central line stretched out to the Great Hall a hundred meters away. On the two sides, other halls were surrounded by verandas and towers. Lush plants planted on the open ground created a fresh and tranquil atmosphere.

No one dared to move. The chanting of scriptures was emanating from the Great Hall. It seemed like someone was burning incense and offering prayers. Rising white smoke obscured the hall, making it look like a fairyland.

The Trojan Squad moved on. They had no other choice.

"Huang Jiayuan isn’t pretending, is he? Hiding somewhere on his own?" Li Yulong looked at the various Buddha statues in the Heavenly King Hall, his heart pounding. He didn’t think that guy had the guts to investigate.

"It’s possible," Dantai frowned. He regretted not installing a remote control bomb on the newbies to intimidate them further. Suddenly, dark shadows dashed out from the Great Hall – more than a dozen of them jumped around like rabbits, closely appearing beside them, as if they could fly.

"Don’t panic." Without Tang Zheng saying, no one dared to run, and the newbies were all clustering around him this time.

Eighteen Buddha statues completely surrounded the Trojan Squad, cutting off their retreat.

"Eighteen Arhats?" Lu Fan didn’t study Buddhism, so he was unsure about the eighteen Buddha statues. Half of them were coated in gold dust, shining brilliantly under the afternoon sun. The other half were much more weathered, rough clay statues poorly painted with cassocks and faces.

All of them were the size of adults, displaying no emotion, even their facial expressions were blank.

"What are you doing invading our temple?" demanded the Buddha statue clearly in charge, startling the newcomers. They were seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

"Hello, master, we’re looking for the Tang Monk and his three disciples." Tang Zheng glanced towards the Great Hall, "Did you see two people enter the temple just now?"

"Yes, Zhu Bajie captured them. He said he was planning on making them into soup," replied the Buddha statue directly, shocking everyone once again.

"Aren’t monks supposed to be compassionate?" Tang Zheng frowned. This was too unusual. Maybe these apparent Buddhas were actually demons masquerading as Buddhas.

"Enough of the nonsense. If you want to enter the Great Hall, it depends on your sincerity," the leader dismissed them, examining the group.

"What sincerity?" Chu Baichuan asked, confused.

"Is it money? I remember Anan Jiaye in the scripture repository asking Tang Zheng for personal affairs." Ai Yixin looked at Tang Zheng and suggested, "Shall we give that a try?"

Tang Zheng took out a box of euros and handed it over.

"We want US dollars!" The leader glanced over and dismissed it.

The newcomers twitched at his words. Why not ask for British pounds, which had the highest exchange rate?! Turns out even Buddha statues keep up with the times.

"Would gold bars work?" Tang Zheng hadn’t prepared any banknotes. He had only prepared gold and silver bars, which could be used to exchange for supplies in the game.

"It would." The leader remained indifferent.

Tang Zheng opened a box full of gold bars. The sunlight reflected off them, dazzling the Buddha statues.

"This is too little." The Buddha statue glanced over and his tone softened slightly.

Tang Zheng took out another box without any hesitation. If the problem could be solved with money, then it wasn’t a problem.

"Still too little." The Buddha statue shook his head.

Tang Zheng took out another box, opened it up to show its contents, and then dumped it on the ground.

"Too little." The Buddha shook his head.

The fourth box slammed onto the big blue stone, giving off a deep thud due to the heaviness of the gold bars.

"Too little." The Buddha statue shook his head yet again.

The newcomers took a breath at this. The few boxes together were worth at least millions of RMB, yet the Buddha statue found it to be too little. The prisoners’ eyes glowed as they stared at the boxes and shifted their gazes towards Tang Zheng. They were more intrigued by this game now.

Tang Zheng gritted his teeth, holding back his rage, and kept on throwing the boxes.

"Too little."

Tang Zheng went on.

"Too little."

Tang Zheng, finding it troublesome, tossed out five boxes at once.

"Not enough." The Buddha statue finally changed his wording, glancing at Tang Zheng’s wrist, examining the wristwatch.

"Master, are you deliberately toying with me?" Tang Zheng had gold to give, but he doubted he could satisfy the Buddha statue’s taste, the statue was just too greedy.

"Please be cautious with your words, you don’t have much gold left, so why not just give me that thing on your wrist." The Buddha statue looked greedily at Tang Zheng, speaking words that were hard to accept.

"This guy is insincere." Lu Fan couldn’t help but get furious, what’s with these eighteen Buddha statues, we should simply attack.

"Humph, the lack of respect." The Buddha statue roared angrily, others chanting true words, everyone instantly felt a crushing force, dizzy and about to buckle under the pressure. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it and support it on qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)