Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 76: The Nuns are Acting Inappropriately

Shuiyue An.

The meditation room was small, about twenty square meters in size. There was a low bed, a table, and a lamp. On the east wall hung a calligraphy scroll with the word "stillness," and on the west wall hung a scroll with the word "enlightenment."

There was nothing else.

Xin Zhuo was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, facing five middle-aged nuns. Four of them were the ones who captured him, and one unfamiliar old nun with a cold expression sat in the middle, holding a whisk in her hand.

The five nuns remained silent, just quietly staring at him, their eyes filled with a blatant and scrutinizing gaze.

Xin Zhuo also silently looked back at them.

One stick of incense.

Half an hour.

One hour.

Xin Zhuo was starting to feel a bit impatient. He hadn't made a move against the nuns who captured him, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to win. He had intended to sit down and reason with them, thinking that as fellow practitioners, they wouldn't resort to violence. He hoped they would let him go after a discussion, as they were still neighbors.

After all, he had just assisted in the attack on the Fufeng Mansion, which had helped clear his name to some extent. It wouldn't be appropriate for compassionate practitioners to shout and kill him, right?

But this prolonged staring contest was truly baffling.

"There must be some misunderstanding!"

Xin Zhuo calmly and gently spoke, adjusting his posture in preparation for a debate.

Finally, the nun in the middle spoke. Her voice was cold and indifferent, more like a debt collector than a practitioner. However, her words were surprising: "You've got a good-looking appearance!"

Suddenly praising him?

Xin Zhuo was taken aback for a moment and replied, "Thank you! But I believe that one's appearance cannot truly reflect a person's character. Deep down, I am still pure-hearted, kind, and righteous. In some ways, I am similar to all of you, venerable nuns."

"Are bandits any different from nuns?"

Nun Pujing, the martial arts instructor of Shuiyue An, had a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, which could be interpreted as either mockery or amusement.

Xin Zhuo blinked, realizing that the nuns must have learned about his conversation with the Crown Princess and Nun Huixin during their visit to the Fulong Bandit's Lair. He smiled and said, "In that case, you're not wrong!"

"Enough with this nonsense!"

Nun Pujing lightly flicked her whisk and said coldly, "Let me ask you, were you the thief who stole food from the kitchen of Shuiyue An last month and called yourself the 'Sky Cannon'?"

Of course, it was me!

Xin Zhuo pretended to ponder and replied, "That's not possible, right? Although I am a bandit, I wouldn't stoop to such actions. If I need to eat, I can simply rob people when I go down the mountain. Of course, I only take their belongings and never harm them."

Nun Pujing said coldly, "The road down the mountain was blocked by the Fulong Bandit, and there were constables from the capital city at the foot of the mountain. You couldn't go down."

Xin Zhuo said, "Your deduction is correct, but this argument alone cannot prove that I did it. Can't I go hunting? In everything, evidence is necessary, right?"

We couldn't catch any prey, so we resorted to using insect repellent. This is not something that practitioners can easily admit.

Nun Pujing had to change her argument, "But that thief's saber technique was at the Transcendent level, and it's rare to find a young person with Transcendent-level saber technique within a radius of three hundred li of Fulong Mountain. And you happen to be one of them. The saber technique you used during the fight with the constable, the Fierce Tiger Bandit, and the Fulong Bandit couldn't deceive us!"

"Could it not be someone from three hundred li away who did it? Who can say for sure in this world? Your assumption is flawed!"

I won't admit it, even if you kill me. What can you do to me? You don't have any evidence, and as practitioners, can you really resort to violence?

Nun Pujing and the other nuns exchanged glances. This matter might not be important to Xin Zhuo, but due to Nun Puming's deduction, the martial nuns and students of Shuiyue An were engaged in a fierce battle with the students and teachers of Qiugong Pavilion. The senior martial nuns and the teachers of Qiugong Pavilion had already fought more than ten times.

Both sides were getting angrier, completely disregarding everything else.

Otherwise, how would Xin Zhuo have had the opportunity to do those things?

Pu Jing took a deep breath and said, "Alright, let me ask you, how do you explain the matter of the Crown Princess?"

After considering the cause and effect of the matter, Xin Zhuo shrugged and said, "The Crown Princess had her own plans, what does it have to do with me? Honestly, as the Crown Princess of a country, if she were trapped in a nunnery like yours, and if the Crown Prince were to get angry and send troops to attack the Water Moon Nunnery, wouldn't it be unfortunate for all of you abbesses? In some ways, I actually helped you, didn't I?"

"What a sharp-tongued little thief!"

Pu Jing suddenly became angry, her monastic robe fluttered without wind, and her True Qi floated, which was quite frightening.

The matter of the Crown Princess seemed coincidental, but it was actually deeply involved. The situation was very subtle. The Water Moon Nunnery had always closely guarded the Crown Princess, and the officials of the court dared not act rashly. But it was disrupted by a small bandit.

"Don't get angry, let's talk it out."

Xin Zhuo couldn't help but move back a little.

Pu Jing suppressed her anger and said, "Did the Crown Princess say anything to you that night? Don't leave out a single word, tell the truth!"

Xin Zhuo hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you really want me to say?"

"Of course!"

"Alright then, the Crown Princess and I first debated about good and evil. I won the argument, and then she didn't leave. She wanted to have a long talk with me. But instead of having a deep conversation that night, we ended up studying a small book all night. After that, she said she had figured things out and wanted to go back and do good in the world..."

Xin Zhuo blinked. He didn't think it was necessary to hide this matter. It wasn't interesting, and he was telling the truth.

"A small book?"

The five abbesses exchanged glances, their expressions serious with a hint of nervousness. They all stared at Xin Zhuo and said, "What kind of small book? Tell us in detail, don't leave out a single word."

"Is that... alright? Are you sure you want to hear?"

"Sure!"

"Alright then! Let me tell you. During the Xuanzhen period of the previous dynasty, there was a scholar named Zhang who was going to the capital to take the imperial examination. On the way, he passed through a desolate mountain and encountered a rainy night. There was a deserted temple ahead, so he went in to take shelter. In the middle of the night, a beautiful young woman in her twenties also came in..."

As Xin Zhuo continued to speak, the five abbesses were initially puzzled, then their brows furrowed, and finally they were dumbfounded. They were afraid of missing something, so they had to listen carefully.

The more they listened, the more inappropriate it sounded. The more they listened, the more cold sweat appeared on their foreheads. In the end, their faces turned red and they looked confused.

They couldn't help but clasp their palms together and continuously recite Amitābha.

Just as Xin Zhuo was about to mention Wu Erniang's charming smile and the Bodhisattva sitting gracefully on a lotus platform, Pu Jing couldn't hold back any longer. She stood up in anger and shouted, "Outrageous! Foul language!"

With a red face and a furious expression, she stormed out of the room.

The other four abbesses also left, saying "We are at fault, we are at fault," with red faces and their monastic robes tucked in.

"Bang!"

The door was locked, and silence returned to the surroundings.

"What I said is not false, it is absolutely true!"

Xin Zhuo shouted with his head out, making sure no one would come back. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was too much pressure to talk about these things with a group of old nuns. He was afraid they would get angry and attack him directly.

He stood up and stretched his body, pondering. So, what does this all mean?

Are they letting me go?

I wonder what Cui Ying'er and the others in the village will think?

(End of this chapter)