The naive Little Fox naturally did not understand human cunning, but Lin Fang was very aware of human greed.
A group of people was sneakily following behind Lin Fang and another, and Lin Fang deliberately led them towards a secluded place.
When they reached a quiet alley, these people finally revealed their true colors, their faces twisted into grim smiles as they said, "Kid, hand over the silver you have. If I'm in a good mood, I might let you go. Otherwise, don't blame me if you end up missing an arm or leg."
As Lin Fang faced this group of thugs wielding weapons, there was not a hint of fear on his face. The sound of fists and feet colliding echoed in the alley, prompting many passersby to look away, unable to bear the sight. An old woman sighed and said, "Wang Er and those stinking boys are really courting disaster. I wonder how those two young men are faring. Hopefully, it doesn't result in a loss of life."
"Alas, these two fellows too, why do they wander into such remote places?"
After a while, someone ran out of the alley, and to the onlookers' shock, it turned out to be Wang Er and his group, each with a bruised and swollen face, looking utterly disheveled.
"You've got guts messing with us; I won't let you get away with it in Baoxiang Kingdom," Wang Er, clutching his blackened eye, hurled threats from a distance. Upon seeing Lin Fang's figure, he turned tail and ran.
Lin Fang weighed the silver in his hand and muttered, "What a bunch of paupers, truly a disgrace to the name of robbery."
"Big Brother Lin Fang, didn't you say that the most important thing in Mortal World is to convince people with reason? Why did you still resort to fists?" Little Fox asked in bewilderment, having done plenty of homework to better adapt to life in the Mortal World.
Lin Fang raised his fist and exhaled softly, "This is the reason."
Seeing this, Little Fox had an epiphany: reason was, in fact, the fist. He made up his mind to convince others with reason in the future too.
Ignoring the shocked expressions of several onlookers, Lin Fang hummed an unknown tune as he walked with Little Fox towards the busiest street in Baoxiang Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Wang Er and his group, having been beaten black and blue by Lin Fang, had run to the city gate, where they poured out their grievances to the City gate official.
"Big Brother, your information wasn't reliable. That pretty boy is tough. Look at what he did to the brothers," Wang Er complained, covering his eye.
The City gate official glanced at the crowd. This rabble, now bruised and battered, might not be gravely injured but would certainly hurt for quite some days, said in wonder, "Could it be that the kid had help? How could so many of you not handle him?"
"Big Brother had no help; it was just him who took us down. That kid is really odd."
"Exactly, exactly, he was overwhelmingly fast. I couldn't even see how he struck."
Wang Er and company babbled on about the incident, chattering away like five hundred ducks at the city gate, attracting the attention of many passersby.
"Enough, enough; we'll talk later. I've got serious matters to attend to. With the kid being that tough, you'd better not mess with him—lest you bring calamity upon yourselves," the City gate official suddenly remembered stories about legendary individuals and inwardly sighed at the thought of having kicked an iron plate.
Just then, a monk burst in, and the official quickly stopped him, "Which monastery do you belong to, Monk? Don't you know the rules? Don't you know that you have to pay a tax to enter the city?"
The monk looked extraordinarily young, draped in a kasaya, holding a Zen staff in one hand and an alms bowl carved with scriptures in the other.
"Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk is a man of the cloth, without a penny to his name, so how can there be any taxes to pay? I implore you, benefactor, to show some leniency and let this poor monk in," the monk said softly, his words imbued with a compassionate force.
"You, monk, are clueless, haven't you heard what my big brother said? Everyone entering the city pays taxes, even if it were the King of Heaven himself, there can be no exceptions," Wang Er immediately puffed himself up and spoke with his neck stiffened as if he had transformed into the sanctified city gate official at that moment.
"Exactly, exactly," a bunch of his followers loudly backed up their boss, their swollen and bruised faces only adding to the comedy.
"Master, you really put me in a difficult position. Just now, a Taoist passed through, he's also a monastic, yet he didn't skimp on his taxes one bit. Surely Buddha can't be less generous than a Taoist Master, right?" the city gate official said, feigning a dilemma.
"Amitabha Buddha, but this poor monk truly doesn't have a penny," the monk responded.
"That's alright, I'm also a follower of Buddha and can't stand to see a monk suffer. How about this? Leave your alms bowl here for now, and you can redeem it once you've made some alms in the city, would that be acceptable?"
The monk pondered for a moment, then actually handed over his alms bowl, bringing his hands together he said, "Since the benefactor has suggested so, this monk shall leave his bowl here for the time being, to be redeemed later."
The city gate official grinned as he took the alms bowl from the monk's hands, weighed it for a moment, and said, "Rest assured, master, I'll take good care of your treasure."
Chanting a Buddha's name, the monk entered the capital city of the Baoxiang Kingdom, staff in hand.
"Big brother, it's your wisdom at play, with just a few words you've made that monk give up his cherished belonging," Wang Er said in admiration.
Turning his head, he shouted to his followers, "All of you take note, that's called real skill, my big brother's skill."
The city gate official was long immune to Wang Er's flattery. He pulled Wang Er to his side and said gravely, "Take this alms bowl to the pawnshop in the city and find out how much it's worth. I'm treating all the brothers to drink tonight."
At these words, everyone shouted in agreement, and Wang Er was all smiles as he said, "Big brother, rest easy, leave it to me, Wang Er; I won't let the pawnshop swindle our silver."
Having said that, Wang Er and his group swaggered off toward the pawnshop in the city.
Meanwhile, Little Fox and Lin Fang were having a splendid time in the city. Coming out from the mountains and witnessing the bustling human world gave Little Fox a sense of eye-opening wonder. He found the Mortal World to be incredibly delightful, and of course, it would be even better without those annoying robbers, although he had decided that next time he encountered such a situation, he would try to convince others with logic, just like Lin Fang.
"Brother Lin Fang, what is this? It looks delicious," Little Fox asked, pointing at the candied haw sticks sold on the street.
"This is called ice-sugar gourd, it's quite tasty," Lin Fang said. Having been in the Journey to the West world for so long, he hadn't had ice-sugar gourd for a while, and seeing it now made him crave some, so he immediately bought two.
Enjoying their ice-sugar gourds, the two strolled comfortably down the bustling avenue, and Lin Fang had long since changed from his Daoist Robe into ordinary clothes, to avoid misunderstandings.