Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Chapter 4 Are There Demons in This World?

"Snow Rabbit?" Jiang Liu looked at Gaoyang with a hint of surprise.

Most wild rabbits are predominantly grayish brown, with pure white ones being relatively rare, but what did she mean by "Snow Rabbit"?

In modern society, wild beasts with the word "snow" in their names, such as snow rabbits, snow wolves, snow leopards, and so on, generally live in the cold regions of ice and snow, don't they?

The back mountain of Jinshan Temple isn't far from Chang'an City; how could there be snow rabbits there?

Surely, not every white rabbit can be called a snow rabbit, right?

"Don't you know? Near Chang'an City, there is only one group of snow rabbits, ruled by the Demon Marshal Shuangxue," Gaoyang said.

Gaoyang looked at Jiang Liu curiously. Normally, as a monk, one would be aware of such common knowledge, right?

"Demon Marshal? Are you talking about demons? Are there demons in this world?" Jiang Liu asked in astonishment upon hearing this.

Although the Incense Offering Ceremony mentioned by the senior abbot had seemed quite fantastical to Jiang Liu, who thought to witness it for himself when the time came, the sudden knowledge that there were demons in this world still took him by surprise.

"Which temple's novice monk are you? How can you not know these things?" Jiang Liu's startled response made Gaoyang even more perplexed.

Temples existed not only to serve worshippers but also often had another job: assisting many people in exorcising evil and performing soul liberations.

How could someone from the temple not know about the existence of demons?

"This cannot be the Tang Dynasty from history; have I come to a parallel universe filled with demons and ghosts?" Jiang Liu thought.

Once Gaoyang confirmed the existence of demons in this world, Jiang Liu became convinced that the Tang Dynasty he was now in was not the familiar one from his own timeline.

However, upon reflection, it made sense. After all, he had experienced transmigration himself, and moreover, he had brought along a game system that allowed him to level up by fighting monsters.

Thus, the existence of demons and ghosts in this world seemed quite reasonable, didn't it?

"Let's not talk about this any longer. We should quickly bury this rabbit skin; otherwise, if it's discovered by other Snow Rabbit Clan members, it could cause trouble..." Gaoyang said in a hurry, and as they spoke, they dug a hole and buried the snow rabbit's skin.

After dealing with it, Jiang Liu and Gaoyang extinguished the campfire, covered it with a layer of old soil, and then left separately.

The two only exchanged names briefly and didn't learn much about each other.

Upon returning after a walk of about half an hour, it was almost noon. Jiang Liu went to the kitchen to wash the rice and start cooking, then went to the vegetable garden to cut a head of cabbage and picked a few leaves of baby bok choy...

In modern society, a dish of steamed pork with rice flour is savory and popular.

However, in the temple, one must abstain from meat, so Jiang Liu made some steamed meat powder himself, using rice and spices like five-spice and star anise, to stir-fry with the baby bok choy leaves, which was very tasty and fragrant.

Cabbage, stir-fried rice flour with baby bok choy, and a vegetarian soup were on the menu. Although the meals were light, Jiang Liu's cooking brought out a unique flavor.

Before long, Senior Abbot Faming and several fellow monks arrived in succession.

"Mmm, it smells so good..." The somewhat chubby Brother Xuanming, upon walking in, twitched his big nose and couldn't help but loudly express his admiration.

Brothers Xuankong and Xuanwu, on the other hand, didn't speak, but their eyes brightened as they sat down at the dining table.

After the senior abbot picked up his chopsticks first, the other three monks began to eat heartily.

As a chef, seeing others enjoy the dishes one cooked was always a matter of great pleasure.

Seeing how the fellow monks enjoyed the meal, Jiang Liu felt satisfied, and he cherished the remaining half-month left of his life.

In the dilapidated temple, Jiang Liu's work was that of an odd-job person. Besides working in the kitchen, he occasionally swept the main hall; time flew by swiftly.

By evening, after dinner was prepared, Jiang Liu shelled some beans and soaked them in water to sprout, looking to offer a change of taste for his fellow monks at the temple.

Thankfully, before his transmigration, his uncles had strict and almost exacting expectations of him concerning anything related to culinary arts, which Jiang Liu had come to understand.

To speak of it, sprouting beans wasn't particularly challenging...

Once all these chores were taken care of, he took a bath, scrubbing his grey monk's robe a few times and hanging it to dry, estimating it was probably around 8 in the evening. In this ancient realm with its lack of entertainment, Jiang Liu went to bed early.

Lying on the hard wooden bed, Jiang Liu held a new copper coin in his hand, his thoughts deep and contemplative.

This world was a fantasy realm, populated by demons, ghosts, and other creatures, suggesting he needed to be even more cautious.

However, with a game system at his disposal allowing him to level up by defeating monsters, it represented a path to becoming stronger.

Yet, regarding this leveling up by defeating creatures, where should he go to fight now?

Was he supposed to brutalize small animals like he had done earlier with the rabbit? If the abbot and his senior brothers knew, they would surely admonish him severely.

Should he wait until the half-month passed and he completed the Incense Offering Ceremony before figuring out a plan after he returned to secular life?

"Gaoyang? Who is that girl, and why was she alone in the back mountain? Moreover, considering her attire and the manner in which she dined, she seems to come from a wealthy or noble background."

Holding the new copper coin, Jiang Liu's mind was filled with endless thoughts and he drifted off into a drowsy sleep.

...

The night was deep, and all was quiet.

At the back of Jinshan Temple, amidst the mottled tree shadows, the darkness enveloped everything, with only a few lucky strands of moonlight piercing through the dense leaves to hit the ground.

Suddenly, in that secluded place, a completely white rabbit appeared. Considering its size, comparable to that of a young wolfhound, it was clearly not an ordinary rabbit.

In the dim night, one could see an uncanny crimson light shining in the rabbit's eyes as it sniffed about with its nose twitching slightly.

After smelling around, it came to a clearing, lightly scratched the earth a few times with its paws, digging it up, and revealing a blood-stained white rabbit pelt underneath.

Chirp.

In the silent and gloomy copse, a sharp and piercing cry echoed, sounding like a steel needle being scraped across an iron sheet, its penetrative noise stark in the quietude.

...

For Jiang Liu, the night passed without incident, and as the cock's crow heralded dawn, he rolled around lazily in bed a few times before sitting up.

He felt somewhat groggy; the previous night's sleep hadn't been restful.

Whether it was learning about the Incense Offering Ceremony, hearing news of the demon, or learning about the 'Golden Finger' that would enable him to level up by fighting creatures...

All these revelations had made for a restless and confused night's sleep for Jiang Liu.

After yawning, he found his monk's robe, now dry, outside. Putting it on, Jiang Liu quickly searched and found the new copper coin he had placed under his mattress.

"Hmm, it's still here. So I'm not dreaming..." With the copper coin in hand, a smile spread across his face, followed by a kiss before he tucked the coin into his chest.

After washing up, he kneaded a ball of dough in the kitchen and then headed towards the vegetable garden.

This morning, he planned to pick some baby bok choy and scallions to cook a pot of bok choy and scallion noodles.

However, when Jiang Liu reached the vegetable garden, he was utterly dumbfounded.

The garden was in complete disarray, as if trampled by a dozen wild pigs...