Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

After lunch, Jiang Liu, with Sandalwood Buddha Beads around his neck, strode eagerly to the back mountain, unsure whether he was more excited to meet Gaoyang or to battle creatures and earn experience, striving to boost his own strength.

The main function of the Sandalwood Buddha Beads was to enhance the effects of Buff skills, but unfortunately, the three skills Jiang Liu had learned, Silencing Zen, Arhat Fist, and Vajra Mantra, were not Buff-type.

Therefore, for Jiang Liu, the primary importance of the Sandalwood Buddha Beads lay in their accompanying skill effects.

The silent forest was crisp and clear, making one feel refreshed and joyful while walking through it.

Unknown wildflowers bloomed alongside the path, birds chirped merrily on branches, and occasionally, one could see a few squirrels and even monkeys leaping from limb to limb, creating a serene and natural scene.

Ouch...Ouch...

However, just as Jiang Liu was briskly walking forward, sudden low moans caught his attention.

Following the sound, he saw a woman in her thirties lying on the ground with a medicine basket on her back, containing several unidentified herbs. Judging by the bloodstains on her legs, she was already injured.

"Big sister, how are you?", upon seeing an injured person in the wilderness, Jiang Liu naturally couldn't turn a blind eye and quickened his pace to approach her.

"Little Monk, I come from Jinshan Village at the foot of the mountain. My husband is ill, and I came up to gather some herbs for him. Can you help me down the mountain?", the woman's face was filled with pleading.

The woman's words slightly hesitated Jiang Liu.

At this time, Gaoyang should still be waiting for him at the usual spot, right? But, to just leave the woman here? He couldn't bring himself to do that.

After a brief hesitation, Jiang Liu nodded and bent down to help the woman up.

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But just as he barely lifted the woman from the ground, a fierce gleam flashed in her eyes, followed by a chopping motion of her hand heavily striking Jiang Liu's neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Truly a naive youngster...", the woman, with a smile of successful deceit, looked at the unconscious Jiang Liu.

Meanwhile, two burly men with knives appeared from the woods, their faces stern and eyes fierce, clearly up to no good.

"We've got him, let's go", the two bandits grinned as they looked at the unconscious Jiang Liu.

Just a novice monk, and they had easily captured him, scoring thirty taels of silver almost effortlessly.

"Who are they? They look like bandits or something similar. Why are they attacking me?", carried on the shoulder of one of the men, Jiang Liu secretly opened a slit of his eyes and muttered to himself.

Indeed, Jiang Liu hadn't actually passed out.

Although the woman had chosen an opportune moment to strike and certainly caught Jiang Liu off guard, due to the game system, the moment the woman struck, the scene before Jiang Liu changed and a health bar appeared over her head, evidently entering a combat state.

Almost reflexively, Jiang Liu applied a Vajra Mantra defense on himself.

Capable of negating 80% of damage, the woman's chopping strike on his neck was ineffective, but Jiang Liu decided to pretend to be unconscious.

The bandits' motive was presumably just to rob, but what wealth could a novice monk from a rundown temple possibly possess?

Since they hadn't searched him after knocking him unconscious, it was clear they weren't after his wealth.

If it wasn't for money, could it be for revenge?

But as a novice monk who rarely left the temple, how could he have wronged anyone?

If not for money or revenge, the most likely explanation was that they were hired by someone. Seeing that they had only knocked him unconscious without any intention of killing him, Jiang Liu felt this must be the case.

Who exactly would want to hire bandits to attack him?

Soon, a figure emerged in Jiang Liu's mind: Esquire Zhang!

It wasn't that Jiang Liu was exceptionally clever, but rather that he had lived a cloistered life at Jinshan Temple. The only one with a motive against him was Esquire Zhang.

"Indeed, no businessman is without deceit..." Thinking of this, Jiang Liu was nearly certain that Esquire Zhang was orchestrating things behind the scenes, his heart burning with anger.

At first, he only wanted to cheat twenty silvers for his skill. Now, had he hired bandits to strike at him?

Lying silently on the back of one of the bandits, Jiang Liu remained motionless, actually waiting for the cooldown of the Vajra Mantra skill.

Surrendering without a fight was naturally out of the question. If he were really taken to the bandits' lair, there was no way he could escape. Thus, his only choice was to make a move on the road.

The Vajra Mantra skill was a lifesaving one, indispensable in combat, so Jiang Liu quietly waited for the skill's cooldown time to pass.

A 50-second cooldown time was not short.

For Jiang Liu, who had passed out, the three bandits—two men and a woman—were obviously unguarded. Lying on the back of one bandit, Jiang Liu's hands circulated with a faint golden glow.

In this critical life-and-death moment, Jiang Liu naturally could not be careless. The skill points he had reserved were instantly invested into the Arhat Fist skill, elevating it to a high level.

Arhat Fist (High-Level): Increases attack power by 25%, duration 180 seconds.

Everything ready, Jiang Liu abruptly made his move.

His palms, radiating golden light, clutched the throat of the bandit carrying him. In a matter of life and death, he naturally showed no mercy, twisting his wrist.

With a snap.

A level 5 character, augmented by the Arhat Fist, Jiang Liu's grasp was strong enough to twist even a wooden stick. As expected, the bandit's throat was directly snapped.

In Jiang Liu's eyes, one could see the health bar above the bandit's head instantly drop significantly, and it continued to fall.

Though it was a game interface, after all, this was the real world. With his throat broken, the bandit was undoubtedly doomed.

The bandit whose neck was twisted made a guttural noise twice, trying to scream, but unable to make a sound. He lay on the ground, struggling ceaselessly.

"Audacious!" The sudden turn of events shocked the male and female bandits nearby, changing their expressions dramatically.

In their eyes, the young novice monk should have been as harmless as a kitten, easy to capture. Indeed, the ease with which they had knocked him out seemed to prove their assumption.

But who could have expected? This fellow, who had been knocked out, suddenly lashed out violently, giving them a fright.

Where was this any kitten? It was more like a fierce tiger disguised as a harmless kitten!

With a clang, the male bandit beside him quickly drew his long sword and chopped down at Jiang Liu. The blade was swift and urgent, leaving no time to dodge.

In this life-or-death situation, the bandit no longer cared about any so-called mission.

Facing the overhead slash of the large sword, Jiang Liu maintained his Vajra Mantra stance and raised his hand to block.

"Seeking death!" Seeing Jiang Liu actually using his hand to block his attack, the bandit felt ruthless.

This slash was enough to sever his arm, wasn't it?

With a splatter, blood flashed.

However, when the blade struck Jiang Liu's arm, it only left a shallow, superficial wound and was not serious.

Clutching his sword, the bandit stared as his blade, which had struck flesh and bone yet was resisted as if chopping on thick cowhide, his eyes filled with astonishment: "What is this? Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt!?"