Chapter 38: Discipline, Offending Others and Reputation
The Monk stepped in front of the large servant, appearing there almost as if from thin air.
"Say, young man, should you really be treating children in such a harsh way?" The Monk's hands were already brought together in prayer, his beads wrapped around his right arm still.
"Huh?! This is none of your business you little shit. Do you think you're some hero standing up for beggars?"
Mo Yangling just raised an eyebrow at the belligerent man's words. He seemed to be overwhelmed with confidence even though he was a measly Martial Soldier.
The people around him also seemed to have similar reactions.
"Indeed, beggars shouldn't be in this part of the city anyway. The guards that let them in should be punished!"
"Yeah, this young man is also going to regret this when he learns whose carriage he's stopping..."
"Young men these days really do throw their lives away just to look good... Tsk."
The Monk chose to just ignore those voices and instead focused on the servant.
From his clothing, the monk wasn't able to tell which noble clan he belonged to. But he could tell that it was not one of the 4 Great Clans.
So in an instant, the identity of the 'Young Master' sitting in the carriage became insignificant. Not that it would've mattered all that much either way.
"Amitabha, one should be content with their own position. As a servant, you shouldn't speak out of place... Especially to those you know nothing about."
The monk's hand shot up, touching the man on the shoulder once, the servant's body trembled as if he was being electrocuted before he was brought to his knees.
The Servant's large hand grabbed onto the monk's wrist, but they may as well have grabbed his grandfather's gravestone for all the good it may have done...
"So, mind telling me what happened here, servant?"
The Monk was not budging, instead, he urged the Servant to explain the situation properly with a smile.
"Y-yes Sir! That little girl ran in front of our carriage, and the brat threw a large brick at our horse, making it stop and lose its cool, it started kicking around and I barely got it under control..."
The monk nodded, turning around to take a look at the horse, that had been pulling the small carriage.
The Servant couldn't help but start heaving and clutching his shoulder as soon as the Monk had let go of him.
The two beggar children couldn't help but look on in fear as they watched the strange man who had stood up for them.
They seemed wary, scared stiff, especially the little girl.
But the monk paid them no mind, he just studied the horse, which seemed to tremble under his gaze for a moment, it didn't dare to move even an inch.
His method of cultivation seemingly made him easier to perceive to beasts than humans...
"Amitabha, seems like the horse just got scared, it happens. I say you just apologize to the kids for overreacting and go about your day."
The Monk nodded and turned right back to the Servant, who was currently still trembling in fear.
Normally he would've refused such a thing, but at that moment he didn't want to further test the patience of the powerful cultivator that he had just offended.
So, in an instant, he got on his knees in front of the two children and bowed his head to the ground.
"I AM SORRY FOR OVERREACTING!"
He shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear him.
Both of the children seemed bewildered, unsure how to even react to the 'honest' apology they received. Beggars never received any courtesy after all.
But they didn't even have the time to process it properly, as only then the person in the carriage decided to react.
He opened the door and stepped out with a swagger. A young man dressed in expensive green robes.
"No servant of the Dong family should be kneeling to beggars!" His voice was filled with disdain and disgust as he looked at the Servant and then at Mo Yangling with an angered gaze.
"Dong Family? What kind of name is that..." The monk muttered as the Servant quickly got up to face his master.
"Young Master Dong Dong! I am sorry!"
"Dong Dong?... A name I wouldn't even give to my enemies. Amitabha, I shall pray for you to at least receive parental love in your next life..." The Monk quickly brought his hands together, his tone tinged with pity as he muttered mostly to himself.
The beggar siblings seemed to both chuckle a bit at Mo Yangling's pitying prayer, though most others reacted in a more horrified manner.
"T-to think he would show such disrespect to the greatest family in the Middle Circle..."
Murmurs spread on the streets as more and more people gathered to watch the altercation like it was some sort of random event.
"How dare you mock me! I'll show you the strength of my Dong Family!"
The Young Master didn't even bother to continue scolding his servant, he instead immediately rushed at Mo Yangling, his hand open and taking the form of a tiger's claw.
The image of a tiger's claw seemed to form on his hand, as a wild internal energy rose from the acupoints in his hand.
The two black-haired children both seemed scared in that moment, instinctively they seemed to cling to Mo Yangling's pants.
The monk seemed intrigued by the man's 'Mystic Art'. But he didn't use one of his own.
Instead, he formed a claw with his hand and caught the young man's attack, interlocking fingers with him in a split second whilst yanking his arm towards the ground.
Before the Young Master even realized it, he was brought face-first into the ground right in front of the Monk, who seemed to be able to manipulate his entire body just by holding his hand.
"Amitabha, please never try to show others the strength of your 'Dong'... It's shameful."
The monk sighed as he watched the young man wriggle on the ground. Granted, he was not that young, likely over 30 from what the monk could see.
Yet he was also just a Martial Soldier.
'Seems to be quite untalented. I guess expecting a smaller Noble Clan to have the same quality of cultivators as the Great Families is quite stupid of me...'
The Monk didn't even bother looking at the sigil on the carriage, though he assumed a 'Dong' Family would likely have a majestic enough flag...
"What seems to be the issue, gentlemen..." A voice broke out from the side, as a group of men broke through the crowd and immediately surrounded the Monk and the Dong Family Member.
The Monk scanned them all with a side-eye. There were 3 men, one stood out from the rest due to his strength, a Martial Grandmaster.
They were all dressed in red robes and black armour, their hats and badges clearly stating that they were Enforcers.
And the strongest one among them seemed to be the Captain, he wore golden pauldrons to represent his status.
Captain Mao was the one who had spoken. And he seemed to still be waiting for a response when then Dong Young Master shouted out.
"This man just stopped my carriage, humiliated my servant and assaulted me! Arrest him immediately!"
Dong Dong seemed to gain a surge of confidence when seeing a Martial Grandmaster Enforcer had shown up.
'Let's see how you get out of this one, you stupid vagrant! You'll regret disrespecting our Dong Family!'
But Mao was not about to just listen to one party unconditionally, was he now? Well... About that...
"Very well then, Young Master Dong! I shall apprehend this fiend!" Captain Mao nodded and immediately took a step towards the monk, who was still manhandling the Dong family member.
The two children hiding behind Mo Yangling couldn't help but clutch at his pants a bit tighter, clearly scared of the Enforcer more so than the young noble they had offended.
But before the monk could answer and cordially state his case and innocence, someone else within the crowd spoke up.
"Cousin Mo Yangling?! This is where you've been hanging about?!" The crowd parted immediately when they saw her, a young girl wearing a red robe with black highlights, and an expensive blade resting on her hip.
On her chest was the sigil of the sun and the half-moon, clearly signifying that she was a member of the Mo Clan.
When she arrived, the monk immediately let go of Dong Dong's hand, causing him to fall to the ground completely.
The monk then patted some dust away from his sleeveless robes and looked towards her with a smile.
"Oh, Mo Qiao, did you all finally wake up?"
Her words, coupled with his calm voice and demeanour under such pressure finally allowed the bystanders to understand who he was.
"Holy... I did hear a rumour that he had returned, but to think he changed so much..."
"Mo Yangling! Oh, it's so good to see him again!"
"Hehe, seems like Brother Mo is still as kind as always. Even standing up for beggars!"
All of a sudden, the Monk was no longer an arrogant man getting way in above his head by messing with a noble clan.
Instead, he was Mo Yangling, a prodigal son of one of the strongest families in their kingdom. Since he had returned to the capital, it was safe to assume he was accepted back into his family as well.
'Amitabha, for once, it's good to have Mo Yangling's reputation. At the very least he lived his life with proper principles!'
"Everyone woke up a few hours ago. I was about to go out on a mission and gain some experience. Didn't expect to run into you so soon!"
Mo Qiao responded to her cousin with a smile, before turning towards Captain Mao who had already embarrassingly taken a step back.
He couldn't help but gulp when she started speaking to him directly, with an angered expression.
"To think you would dare try to wrongfully arrest Great Sage Mo... The King will have you executed for this."
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Hope you liked the chapter!
Sorry for yesterday fell asleep like an idiot, my sleep schedule's all messed up after last week tbh.
Will upload another chapter later today to make up for it.
If you want to support me and read up to 24 chapters ahead you can find me on Patr_eon by looking up 'VeganMaster'
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