Chapter 116: Monk Yuanhua

"He Wentian!?"

Ye Dong was dumbstruck. How could he have possibly offended this little monk? However, being a sharp-witted person, he quickly figured it out.

"I only burned down one place while I was impersonating He Wentian. Could it have been Lingtai Temple? That would be rather unfortunate."

He rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Who exactly is this He Wentian, and why did he burn down your room?"

"Humph, you meddlesome, stinking Taoist."

The little monk looked Ye Dong up and down, muttering, "Look at you, not a serious bone in your body. Why should I tell you?"

"My, aren't you a stubborn little monk!"

Hearing their playful bickering, even the cool and aloof Huiyan couldn't help but laugh.

"See? Even this beautiful lady says you're stubborn!" Ye Dong teased.

"Sigh, the beautiful lady is indeed lovely, but her eyes must be failing her. How could she choose such a stinking Taoist to be with?" After delivering this sarcastic remark, the little monk added, "Taoists—they're all nonsense, specializing in swindling pretty women!"

Ye Dong and Huiyan exchanged a bitter smile. Ye Dong shook his head lightly and asked, "Then what is your name? You can tell me that, at least?"

"People who have renounced the world don't have names; monks only have dharma names! I can tell you're not a proper Taoist at all—you have no common sense." The little monk glanced at Ye Dong and replied with extreme reluctance, "Call me Master Yuanhua."

"Oh, goodness me! You're only fourteen or fifteen, and you want me to call you 'Master'?" Ye Dong scrutinized Yuanhua, looking down on him. "You haven't even grown a beard yet; aren't you afraid of being called arrogant?"

"Hmph, don't think I can't guess your cultivation age. Even though you're quite strong among the younger generation of Taoists, at most, you've only been cultivating for a year, right?" Yuanhua asked coldly.

*This little monk really has some skill! To think he could detect the cultivation inside my body!* Ye Dong understood that this was because Guangqi had broken the seal Chen Yao had placed on him.

He eyed Yuanhua and did some quick mental math. *His name is Yuanhua, the person who chased Guangqi and me throwing bombs that day was called Yuanpeng, so they both belong to the 'Yuan' generation. Yuanpeng calls Jingxin his master, so this Yuanhua must be the junior apprentice brother they mentioned—the one who tricked Huang Wuchang!*

Ye Dong frowned. *And in terms of seniority, Master Jingxin is one generation above my master, which means this Yuanhua is actually my uncle-rank! Oh, come on!*

"What? Struck speechless because I saw through you?" The little monk seemed pleased, giggling to himself.

"Since you've renounced the world, you shouldn't be showing off your skills. Aren't you afraid of Master Jingxin punishing you?" Ye Dong gave a wicked grin and stared straight at Yuanhua.

"What!? How do you know my master's dharma name!?" Yuanhua stopped in his tracks, looking at Ye Dong with wariness.

Now it was Ye Dong's turn to be smug. "What, struck speechless because I saw through you? Wait until I go up to Lingtai Temple and report you; let's see if you dare to show off again!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Before anyone knew it, Yuanhua lunged, his small hand pressing toward Ye Dong's shoulder.

"Hey, resorting to violence, are we?"

Ye Dong spun around. With his extraordinary physique, his reflexes were much faster than the average person's, and his agility immediately revealed his true capability.

"You do have some skill," Yuanhua said coldly. "Our Buddhist and Taoist families have always kept to our own paths. If you really go and report me, we have officially become enemies!"

Hearing this, Ye Dong recalled the conversation between Huang Wuchang and Master Jingxin that day. The image of Huang Wuchang's whiskers bristling with rage at the hands of Master Jingxin made him even more amused.

"So, you admit you are Master Jingxin's disciple?" Ye Dong laughed heartily. "You little monk, though clever, are still inexperienced in the world. If you really run into that man named He Wentian, you'll probably end up in quite a mess!"

At Ye Dong's words, Yuanhua frowned and fell silent.

Ye Dong looked at the scruffy Yuanhua and teased, "Look at you, covered in mud and looking haggard. It must be from all that trekking over mountains and rivers, right?" He paused deliberately to gauge Yuanhua's reaction before continuing, "Why travel like that? Either you're out of money, or you're trying to avoid someone's sight. I bet you're a runaway monk, aren't you?"

"This..." Yuanhua hadn't expected Ye Dong to deduce how he had come down the mountain, and he looked somewhat embarrassed.

Ye Dong squinted, noticing a small rectangular object in Yuanhua's pocket, and felt a surge of joy. "Little monk, do you have a cell phone on you?"

"What about it?!" Yuanhua, now on guard, clutched his pocket tightly. "Don't you go getting any crooked ideas about my phone!"

"Give it here!" Ye Dong's joy was evident on his face. "I need to call my people to come and pick us up!"

"Don't count on it; you're daydreaming!" Yuanhua looked suspicious. "The internet says there are many people in the city who borrow phones to make calls and then just steal them!"

Hearing this, Huiyan, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but giggle.

Ye Dong felt a headache coming on. He suppressed his frustration and said with a bitter smile, "Master, it's just the three of us here. Even if I took your phone, where could I go? Hurry up, I have an urgent matter. At worst, I'll treat you to a grand feast once we're back in the city!"

"He's right. This is a desolate wilderness, and he's physically weak—where could he possibly run to?"

Yuanhua thought for a moment and finally pulled out his phone. "What kind of grand feast?"

"The highest-grade vegetarian banquet!"

Ye Dong, seemingly anxious, snatched the phone from Yuanhua's hand. Ignoring Yuanhua's complaints about his lack of manners, he dialed Chen Yao's number directly.

"Hello, who is this?"

Chen Yao's voice on the other end was restless, as if he had been waiting for an important call. He answered immediately.

"Hello, Master, it's me, Ye Dong! It's me!" Ye Dong was overwhelmed with excitement, shouting, "Master, I did it! I did it!"

"Good! Good!" Chen Yao, on the other end, couldn't hold back his tears. He repeated the word "good" twice, let out a long sigh of relief, and handed the phone to Officer Li.

"Hello? Is that Ye Dong? Is that really you?" Even the usually composed Officer Li raised his voice several notches. "Are you safe now? And how is Huiyan?"

Hearing Officer Li's voice, Ye Dong also shed tears of excitement.

"She's fine, just some superficial wounds. I've already bandaged them for her!" Ye Dong couldn't hide his thrill. "I'll send you our location; please send someone to pick us up!"

Officer Li, face beaming with joy, shouted, "Good! I'll send someone to pick you up immediately!"

He hung up the phone just as the location information arrived.

"I knew he could do it!"

"He really is a tough guy! Amazing!"

The others, ignoring their own exhaustion, hugged Chen Yao and Officer Li, cheering and jumping so hard they nearly tore the room apart.

Yuanhua took back his phone, his eyes filled with surprise. "Hey, your name is Ye Dong? Are you a policeman?"

"What? Don't I look like one?" Ye Dong gave a smug smile.

Yuanhua shook his head. "Not at all."

He paused, afraid Ye Dong might forget. "Hey, you promised to treat me to a grand feast!"

"Alright, alright!" Ye Dong patted him on the shoulder and led him down the mountain.