The old monk smiled without speaking, then slowly uttered a few words: "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed."
"Disciple understands."
Wang Ming clasped his hands together and asked again, "Then when should this disciple depart?"
"Now."
As soon as the old monk finished speaking, he looked towards the door and called out, "Wang Yu, come in."
A monk around forty years old entered, carrying a travel bag.
Upon seeing Wang Yu, Wang Ming clasped his hands and called out, "Senior Brother."
Wang Yu nodded and looked at the old monk in front of him, "Master, I have already reprimanded him as you wished."
A lewd smile appeared on the old monk's usually stern face, "Wang Yu, give the things to your junior brother."
Wang Yu nodded and, with a mischievous grin, handed the travel bag to Wang Ming, "Junior Brother, these are the clothes Senior Brother carefully selected for you."
Wang Ming looked confused, "Clothes? Can't I just go down the mountain wearing my kasaya?"
Wang Yu looked somewhat puzzled, "Did Master not tell you?"
Wang Ming shook his head and looked at his Master.
The old monk coughed dryly and said with a hint of embarrassment, "I forgot to tell you. Since you're going down the mountain, you shouldn't wear monk robes all the time. You need to keep up with the times."
"This..." Wang Ming recalled the lewd expression on his Master's face just now and his Senior Brother's mischievous smile, and a bad feeling washed over him.
However, he also thought it unlikely. Senior Brother Wang Yu was usually simple and honest, and his Master had no reason to deceive him.
Seeing Wang Ming's suspicion, the old monk coughed dryly, "It's getting late, disciple. Hurry and depart."
Wang Ming nodded, clasped his hands, "Then Master, this disciple takes his leave."
Wang Ming turned to leave. As he reached the doorway, he was suddenly called back by the old monk, "Remember to change your clothes when you get back."
Though Wang Ming was puzzled, he still nodded, "Yes, Master."
After Wang Ming left, the old monk turned to Wang Yu, "Wang Yu, how are the clothes you picked for your junior brother?"
Wang Yu clasped his hands and said confidently, "Master, rest assured, following your method, I guarantee he'll be the most dazzling one on the street."
The old monk nodded in satisfaction, stroked his white beard, and mused, "Do you think disciples who go out on temple business should all wear suits? It would appear more formal."
"This..."
Wang Yu was speechless, unsure how to respond.
His Master was becoming more confused with age. What kind of monk fights demons and ghosts wearing a suit?
While keeping up with the times wasn't wrong, this thinking was perhaps too far ahead.
Imagine in the future, going out on business wearing a suit and announcing oneself.
"This humble monk is Wang Yu from Wanfo Temple on Huoshan."
He couldn't even imagine it.
"I think it's better to discuss this with Uncle-Master Ni Xin," Wang Yu said after some thought.
Uncle-Master Ni Xin handled most of the temple's affairs.
As for the Master, he mostly stayed in the back hall meditating and reciting scriptures.
The reason the Master became the abbot was simply due to one word: strength!
Legend had it that the Master's last display of power was ten years ago.
At that time, Chen Shanhe, ranked fourth on the Black List, challenged Wanfo Temple for some reason.
The Master, with just one palm, left Chen Shanhe half-dead, and from then on, the Chen family dared not approach Wanfo Temple.
That battle, which lasted less than five minutes, reminded the martial world of the Master's once legendary reputation.
"Reversing all things, yielding to the heavens," thus earning him the title Master Ni Cang.
Returning to his quarters, Wang Ming curiously opened the travel bag and took out the clothes.
Upon seeing the clothes clearly, Wang Ming's eyes widened. Even his usually mischievous face couldn't hide his astonishment, his mouth forming an 'o' shape.
In his hands was a black leather jacket, a tight-fitting one at that.
Wang Ming thought his Master had made a mistake. He threw aside the leather jacket and picked up another.
He couldn't bear the first leather jacket, let alone this second tight-fitting black vest.
Wang Ming refused to believe it and the more he rummaged, the greener his face became.
"My f*cking mother..."
Wang Ming couldn't help but curse, then immediately reacted, clasping his hands, "Amitabha, sin... sin."
He recalled the mischievous smile of his Senior Brother and the lewd smile of his Master, and he finally understood what was going on.
Looking at the clothes on the bed, Wang Ming fell into deep thought.
Did he really have to wear these clothes down the mountain?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
He would rather die than wear such embarrassing clothes.
He was once a highly talented individual, renowned alongside Yu Daohen, hailed as the "phoenix chick and crouching dragon."
If word got out that he wore such clothes, wouldn't he be laughed to death?
After a moment of hesitation, Wang Ming firmly shook his head, turned, and walked out of the room to the back hall. However, he couldn't find his Master. He only saw his Senior Brother Wang Yu reciting scriptures.
Seeing his junior brother, Wang Yu said, "It seems Master was right. Junior Brother would definitely come looking for him."
Wang Ming looked at his Senior Brother, somewhat puzzled, "Master knew I would come?"
Wang Yu nodded and recounted what the Master had told him verbatim: "Master said that with your arrogant personality, you definitely wouldn't be willing to wear those clothes and would surely come back to find him."
Wang Ming fell silent upon hearing this. He knew his own personality well.
He always liked to compete and prove himself.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have struck the bell three hundred times every day in his pursuit of catching up to Yu Daohen.
But to wear those clothes, he truly couldn't accept it.
"Where is Master?" Wang Ming asked.
Wang Yu thought for a moment and said, "He's probably gone into seclusion. Before he left, he said that if you came looking for him, you would still have to wear those clothes down the mountain, or else you wouldn't be allowed back on the mountain."
"I...!"
Wang Ming swallowed the words that were about to come out, clasped his hands, "I understand. I'll take my leave now."
Wang Yu nodded, and Wang Ming turned to leave.
Wang Yu suddenly thought of something and said, "Junior Brother, sometimes you must let go to be able to grasp. Blindly pursuing something can be counterproductive."
Wang Ming stopped, pondered for a moment, and then smiled, "Junior Brother understands."
Wang Yu didn't say anything further. It was best to stop at this point.
Saying too much might have the opposite effect.
Returning to his quarters and looking at the clothes on the bed, Wang Ming understood his Master's intentions. He hardened his heart and gritted his teeth.
"Here goes nothing!"
Wang Ming chose the most presentable set: a black leather jacket, a black tight-fitting vest, and blue jeans.
He looked towards the door.
Wang Ming knew that the moment he stepped out of this door, he would be met with the astonishment and ridicule of all his fellow disciples.
To achieve great things, one must first toughen their sinews and starve their bodies.
Wang Ming deliberately avoided all his fellow disciples as he walked out of the temple.
However, some sharp-eyed disciples still spotted Wang Ming in his new attire, but they didn't mock him or ask questions.
They had been assigned similar bizarre tasks when they first came up the mountain.