After making her small wish, Yin Lin entered her free time for sightseeing.
First, she asked the monk, Kongzhi, “Are there any restricted areas in Yinmiao Temple? You know, places tourists can’t go?”
Kongzhi thought for a moment before answering, “The supervisor’s and the abbot’s courtyards are closed to visitors. The Sutra Library is also not open to the public. Additionally, the backyard is a restricted area; no one is allowed to go there.”
Yin Lin nodded politely.
‘Got it, so I definitely need to check out the backyard.’
However, this monk was constantly following her and acting as her guide, making it difficult to investigate the restricted zones. She couldn’t really blame Monk Kongzhi, though.
In a situation where Yinmiao Temple was closed to outsiders, anyone who could still come to burn incense was either an invited guest or someone staying at the neighboring Yinmiao Manor. Neither was someone the temple would want to offend. Plus, since there were barely any tourists around, assigning a monk to serve as a personal guide was perfectly normal. It wasn’t as if they had discovered Yin Lin’s inner schemes and were monitoring her.
The two of them visited several places: the main hall to see the Buddha statues, the area where monks chanted sutras, and the release pond.
What interested her most was a place called Luohan Hall. Integrating with modern society, Yinmiao Temple had established Luohan Hall as a sanctuary for its warrior monks. There was a large open space in the side courtyard where the warrior monks practiced; this temple clearly possessed its own armed force.
Eighteen of the most capable warrior monks were permanently stationed in Luohan Hall. Among them, the eldest and the second eldest were the most formidable, standing in a completely different league compared to the other sixteen.
Listening to Monk Kongzhi’s introduction, Yin Lin’s hands felt a bit itchy. She really wanted to spar with them to see the skill level of the guys in Luohan Hall.
She took a tour of the hall but didn’t see the top two monks Kongzhi had mentioned. Instead, she saw a dozen or so other warrior monks either sparring or hitting training posts. The youngest looked to be about 20 years old, while the eldest looked to be around 50.
Despite their different ages, their physiques were roughly similar. Their bodies were packed with varying degrees of muscle, and their abdominal muscles were clearly defined. This was definitely the result of hard work and sweat, unlike Song Wuli, who relied on a U-disk.
If she were to sneak into this place, these tough guys from Luohan Hall would likely be her greatest enemies.
While Monk Kongzhi was introducing the hall, Yin Lin observed the men carefully. As potential enemies, she noticed one piece of bad news: these monks practiced Sanda.
Sanda was a technique specifically designed for fighting. No matter how much it was dressed up in fancy language, that was the reality. In other words, these powerful monks trained with the prerequisite of “beating people,” not just for health and fitness.
As ordinary humans, they seemed to excel at close-quarters combat. This happened to be Yin Lin’s weakness; she feared close combat the most, especially grappling techniques.
Monk Kongzhi had no idea that Yin Lin was currently calculating how to fight these monks. Even if he racked his brain, he would never guess that Yin Lin was actually a “bad girl.” He even went as far as introducing the origins and specialties of these monks, essentially exposing all their secrets.
Just as the two were about to leave Luohan Hall after finishing their tour, a warrior monk with narrow, hawk-like eyes passed by them. His left hand was held in a single-handed mudra against his chest, with a string of metal prayer beads hanging from it.
The man looked to be in his 30s, and his arms were visibly thicker than Yin Lin’s waist. Aside from the fact that Yin Lin was too thin and fragile, that guy had clearly undergone grueling training to appear so incredibly sturdy.
As their paths crossed, the monk shot her a sidelong glance. That sharp gaze was instantly burned into her mind.
For some reason, Yin Lin felt a sudden palpitation, and her palms broke out in a cold sweat. She felt… this monk was frighteningly calm and possessed a powerful aura of intimidation.
“Good evening, First Seat Tongyi,” Monk Kongzhi said, bowing toward the warrior monk.
The other man returned the gesture with a simple nod, without bowing. He left the area without saying a single word.
Yin Lin found it difficult to understand the culture of Yinmiao Temple. It clearly wasn’t the orthodox Buddhism found in ancient history, but rather a new organization that had undergone local transformation. She wondered what their goal was in developing a warrior monk culture. Could they be preparing them to fight Ethereal Demons?
After finishing the tour of Luohan Hall, Yin Lin had learned enough, so she bid her farewells to the temple. On the way back, her eyes darted around as she plotted her mischievous ideas.
When she arrived back at Yinmiao Manor, she found that Xia Shiyao and Chen Jiayuan had already set up floor beds in the training field, intending to sleep there together for the night.
They called it a “training camp,” but were they really going to sleep together?
Xia Shiyao excitedly waved for her to come lie down next to them, while Chen Jiayuan looked at her with disgust, wanting her to take a shower first. After exercising and walking around Yinmiao Temple, she had indeed broken a bit of a sweat.
She sniffed herself but didn’t smell anything strange. After a moment of thought, she headed to the outdoor bath anyway.
Soaking in a bath alone late at night was quite comfortable. She couldn’t remember the last time she had experienced such a relaxing day. In the past, she had spent all her time on work and never imagined a life like this. After becoming a magical girl, she had become even busier and hadn’t considered such days possible.
Sitting in the bath under the moonlight, the water she splashed over herself shimmered like countless stars, creating a scene that looked like a work of art.
It wasn’t until she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye that she snapped back to reality, quickly hiding most of her body underwater, leaving only her head exposed.
She turned to see Xia Shiyao walking toward her.
“So you like watching people bathe? What a weird hobby,” Yin Lin said, striking first.
Xia Shiyao sat down nearby and replied with a smile, “I love it. I just love watching.”
‘Ugh, such a lesbian.’
The two reached a stalemate. Yin Lin remained hidden underwater while Xia Shiyao stared at her without blinking.
After 1 minute, Xia Shiyao finally asked about the forest subway station incident. She wanted details, not just a few brief sentences.
Yin Lin thought about it and decided not to hide much, informing her in detail about what had happened the previous day—starting from the awards ceremony at the Grand Theater, to coordinating with Green Field to strike the enemy’s base, then eliminating the members of the Star Summoning Society, and finally the battle with that mysterious, high-level elite flying Ethereal Demon.
Xia Shiyao finally tucked away some of her lecherous thoughts, her expression turning solemn. She realized two new difficulties facing magical girls and humanity.
The most pressing difficulty wasn’t the Star Summoning Society, but the Ethereal Demons capable of entering a Berserk State. They had seen it in low-level Ethereal Demons before, but now even high-level ones could go Berserk, and their stats after doing so were incredibly absurd.
If Executive-level Ethereal Demons could also go Berserk, how terrifyingly powerful would they become?
“So I’m telling you guys…” Chen Jiayuan’s voice echoed from the entrance. “We need combination skills, like a fusion technique.”
“I don’t understand you. Speak Mandarin,” Xia Shiyao said, having already noticed her arrival.
Chen Jiayuan continued, “What I’m saying is, among us, Yin Lin’s attack power is the strongest, and her defense is also the highest. But her weaknesses are also very obvious. I mean, her flaws are just too big.”
She opened her phone and pulled up an old image she had sent before. Jin Luan was crouching like a dog, Huan Hong was sitting on her neck, and Yin Lin was sitting on her lower back, forming a bizarre single entity.
“It has to be like this.”
Chen Jiayuan wanted to continue, but Xia Shiyao interrupted her. A plan like that was absolutely unacceptable.
However, it did provide a direction for research.
In the end, Everbright City had previously only dealt with attacks from Ethereal Demons below the high-level rank, which Jin Luan and Huan Hong could handle. Once they encountered an Executive-level Ethereal Demon, it became difficult to resist. Fortunately, Yin Lin had appeared and dealt with Lightning Man and Cookie Boy.
But what if an Executive-level Ethereal Demon could also go Berserk, to the point where even Yin Lin couldn’t handle it?
They had to discuss a serious combat plan specifically for the three sisters: Gold, Silver, and Red.