"You didn't even bother to clean up their blood off of your clothes!"
The Monk sighed as he looked at the Enforcer that started making her way towards him.
He could tell that her position was likely not that low since she was a Late-Stage Martial Master.
It was hard to tell how old she was, but the Monk assumed that she couldn't have been much older than him.
"Amitabha, the blood of some animals is what I have on me, but I have attacked no innocent man or woman." The monk brought his hands together in prayer, a pacifying smile spreading on his face as his beads twirled around his hand.
"Animals?! What the hell are you talking about? That's human blood, I can smell it!
And the ones you've injured are in critical condition too, some had clear marks that match those wooden beads of yours! This isn't a matter you can walk away from!" Enforcer Qiu's voice was smooth, even in her rage the Monk found it soothing.
He didn't mind her anger nor did he care for her agitated tone. He could see her point of view, but still felt the need to emphasize on his own.
"Amitabha, what else would you call those who refuse to follow the rules that our society and king have set?
Those who disturb and disregard peace for their own gain are nothing more than animals.
Life is precious, that is the only reason I left them alive. But if they cannot learn to respect that, then they do not deserve your concerns."
Enforcer Qiu's brown eyes seemed to widen, her ears twitching a bit as she heard the monk's rather eloquent explanation.
'He's not even trying to deny it! This hooligan! I can't let him go!'
"First of all, there is no such thing as an outlaw in the middle rings! Who are you to judge and dispense punishments like that?! Do you think you are above the law?"
Still, she seemed to be quite displeased, to say the least. The Monk found her question to be quite stupid though.
"Amitabha, what do you mean 'there's no such thing as an outlaw'? Are you stupid? Outlaws exist everywhere regardless of what we do. There will always be those that refuse to conform to our norms."
And Mo Yangling was annoyed at her ignorance too.
Even if she felt that their enforcers were doing a good job in keeping the middle ring safe, smoke was always going to come out of the cracks of a burning building.
There was no escaping it.
"I will not stand by here and take this disrespect! We have worked hard to ensure the safety of everyone in this grand Capital! You will be coming with me until this matter gets sorted."
The armoured woman immediately reached for her sabre, pulling it out and pointing it at the Monk, who was currently in the middle of contemplating whether or not to follow her.
In the end, the most obvious method of approach was the one he took.
"Yeah, I don't think I will..."
Walking away would have been an option, but from the woman's demeanour, the Monk could easily guess that he'd be struck in the back as soon as he turned around.
And so, the Monk's hand shot up like a lightning bolt, but he didn't strike her, instead, he wrapped his wooden beads around her neck and lifted her up by them.
The woman's eyes widened as she was yanked upwards, she managed to keep hold of her blade but she immediately started choking and struggling against the monk's Origin Energy Enhanced 'praying instrument'.
Her hand moved fast, as she quickly swiped her blade at Mo Yangling's neck, her eyes burning with both panic and rage.
The Monk simply raised his chin and flexed the muscles on his neck, the sabre breaking on his skin as soon as it touched it.
"Amitabha, you are quite strong... Still lacking though." The Monk smiled as the woman kicked and punched at his torso, her strikes doing nothing more than raise up the dust behind him.
"I-Won't... Let you get away with thi-" The Enforcer seemed to still be keen on struggling regardless, her eyes seemed to look around and search for help, but there was no one to help her in such a remote alleyway.
"Shshhh~ Don't struggle, you're only making it worse for yourself." The Monk's gaze filled with pity as he eventually sighed.
Enforcer Qiu did her best, but eventually, she could no longer struggle. Her eyes were quickly losing their focus, and her mind was quickly filling with the nasty things that her assailant was likely going to do to her.
'T-to think I'd end up like this... I'm sorry captain...'
But before Enforcer Qiu lost consciousness completely, she was dropped to the ground, the monk's beads unwrapping from around her neck as he retrieved them and wrapped them around his right arm.
"Amitabha, change of plans. I don't feel ok leaving you passed out in an alleyway. I think I made my point here."
The monk brought his hands back together in prayer as he slowly bowed towards the downed 'police' woman.
"Cough- Cough- What the hell kind of point was that!?" She shouted in between coughs as she held onto her reddened neck.
The monk didn't bother extending a hand to help her get up.
Not knocking her out or injuring her significantly was generous enough in his eyes. After all, she had been more than willing to arrest an innocent man over some foolish ideals of hers.
Of course, arrest was putting it mildly, she had drawn her blade and pressed it to his neck first.
'Lucky you, I am feeling like a bit of a feminist today...'
The monk truly felt like the sun was shining from his back as he thought that. If Mo Qiao, or any woman he had trained for that matter, could've heard his thoughts at that moment, then they'd likely want to strangle him to death.
Even so, after all of that, he found it disappointing that he'd have to explain things to Enforcer Qiu even further.
'Amitabha, these Enforcer's salaries better not be coming out of my taxes... Wait, do I even pay taxes?...'
"If I were an actual criminal you'd be dead, or worse. Same for those 3 hooligans from before."
Enforcer Qiu looked up at the monk for a moment, her eyes seemed to fill with fear as she remembered her strikes not even making the monk flinch.
Even if she had panicked and not used any Mystic Arts, the fact that he could withstand the strikes of a Late-Stage Martial Master likely meant that he didn't need to resort to crimes for no reason.
"I-I see..." She muttered to herself as she struggled to stand up, only to sway from left to right and fall right back towards the ground.
But, to her shock, the burly young man who had put her in that state caught her, his torso bending down as his left arm completely wrapped around her midsection.
"Don't stand up so fast after almost passing out! Amitabha, do they not teach you Enforcers anything during training?"
The scowl on Mo Yangling's face only really accentuated his manly features in the Enforcer's gaze. Though some fear resided, she also felt a bit warm in his arms.
When seeing her slight blush, the Monk's entire body almost recoiled. He quickly stabilized her and took a step back, his muscles twitching slightly as he struggled to hide the slight tinge of disgust that crept up his back.
"Very well then, Enforcer Qiu. I shall take my leave now, let us run into each other again if fate deems it so." The monk took a quick bow and turned around, leaving nothing but an afterimage behind as he rushed away with the best speed he could muster.
'This wench is a masochist! It's never good to mix up with those types... I shall respect my vow of celibacy in this case!'
Yet another habit of the enlightened monk... He tended to not take some rules seriously. His philosophy was quite simple and extremely naturally inclined.
'Amitabha! If celibacy was truly a requirement, then why did the world give those destined for enlightenment the tools of the trade?'
Alas, there were few chances for him to apply his philosophy in the past. But Celibacy truly didn't matter as long as one did not let themselves be controlled by their desires.
In the monk's eye, denouncing a basic human desire completely was a sign of weakness. And he refused to see himself as weak.
'Amitabha, some may disagree with me, the majority of the other monks certainly did... But in the end, I was the one to reach enlightenment! Hoho~'
The monk couldn't help but laugh a bit to himself as he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, ceramic tiles breaking underneath his feet as he travelled without care.
Eventually, he did run into a strange situation.
"How dare you jump in front of the cart of our Young Master! A filthy peasant like you!"
A tall and burly servant with a thick beard was bent over, pointing at and scolding two younger children, a boy and a girl. From the slap mark on the boy's face, it was clear that he had also gotten physical.
They were both dressed in rags, making the monk wonder how they had gotten into the middle ring, but then again most were allowed to pass through there as long as they had identification.
The boy and the girl had black hair and purple eyes, a rather rare combination from what he remembered. They were obviously related in some way.
The slightly older boy's eyes were filled with determination as he hugged the younger girl close to his chest. She seemed to be trembling in fear, the type of fear that one would have when coming face to face with their demise.
Yet, the large servant continued to scold them, slapping the boy once more, this time allowing the monk to see it as well.
"Amitabha... What a depressing scene... Bystanders doing nothing while a grown man is picking on children. No matter, this monk shall teach you some grace!"
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Hope you liked the chapter!
Still late today, but had a lot of stuff to get done, will upload sooner tomorrow (and will try to upload more) Thanks for the support!
If you want to support me and read up to 24 chapters ahead you can find me on Patr_eon by looking up 'VeganMaster'