The Negotiating Monk and a New Approach

More money?!

Saburo was momentarily stunned, unable to fully process the words, while from inside the car, Master Tenryu spoke with utmost solemnity.

“The malevolent spirit before us is exceedingly perilous, born from the accumulated grievances of your organization over a long period. Should I be even slightly careless, I fear this humble monk may not emerge unscathed…”

“Alas, perhaps this benefactor should seek out someone more capable.”

With that, he made to close the car door.

Saburo instantly grasped the underlying meaning: Master Tenryu was implying that this malevolent spirit was exceptionally troublesome, potentially life-threatening, and thus, the previously agreed-upon price was no longer sufficient.

‘Hmm…’

As someone who had long navigated the underworld, Saburo understood these unspoken rules.

‘When you’re asking someone to risk their life, how could you possibly expect to pay them anything less than a premium?!’

He immediately spoke up.

“How about an extra hundred thousand, Master?!”

Engaging Master Tenryu for an exorcism had already cost nearly a hundred thousand—a sum that, while seemingly modest, allowed a person to earn that much simply by traveling from Kyoto to the Western Borderlands and back. Over a month, how much more would he accumulate?

Saburo already found the massive monk’s ability to amass wealth utterly preposterous.

Yet.

Master Tenryu continued to shake his head.

“To subdue this malevolent spirit, extensive preparations are indispensable, and I may even need to employ the sacred artifacts left by my revered master and ancestors…”

“Five hundred thousand!”

“Only after this humble monk returns to the temple for a period of preparation can my chances of success increase by ten or twenty percent.”

“One million!!”

“This humble monk shall inform my sect and implore a senior elder to descend from the mountains to assist; they will arrive within three days at most!”

“Two million!!!”

“You truly understand the art of ghost-catching.”

Master Tenryu immediately exited the car, let out a soft “Amitabha,” and then spoke with a calm demeanor.

“This humble monk shall eradicate this malevolent spirit today! And ensure the benefactor’s safety!!”

‘Phew…’

Watching Master Tenryu already directing his accompanying young acolytes to set up the ritual altar, Saburo, though unsure of the exact proceedings, felt relieved that the Master had finally decided to act.

‘Sigh.’

‘As I thought, how could a mere hundred thousand possibly entice a renowned grand master to make a move?’

‘Still, two million it is. When this old street is eventually redeveloped, the profits won’t be in the millions, but in the hundreds of millions…’

Saburo mused thus.

Soon after, obediently following Master Tenryu’s instructions, he gathered his accompanying brothers into the car and drove to wait outside the old street.

‘After all, they were about to catch a ghost.’

‘How could mere “mortals” like them dare to remain on site to watch?’

As Saburo and his men drove away, and the so-called ritual altar was erected, Master Tenryu silently recited Buddhist scriptures, instructing his young acolytes to also wait outside the long street.

“This humble one alone is sufficient.”

“Yes, Master!”

The young acolytes hastily scurried away, leaving only the burly monk, who sat cross-legged upon the yellow-cloth-draped altar, holding his alms bowl, his staff resting on his lap, and silently chanting Buddhist scriptures.

His voice grew steadily louder, reverberating through the pitch-black night.

Until.

Suddenly, Master Tenryu’s eyes snapped open, and he muttered to himself, ‘It’s here!’

He gazed towards the end of the long street…

There was nothing.

For a very long time, Master Tenryu silently recited an entire Buddhist scripture. Seeing that the time was nearly up, he prepared to conclude his work.

He descended from the altar, then straightened the golden-threaded kasaya (TL Note: A Buddhist monk’s robe) draped over his body.

From within his sleeve, Master Tenryu produced a mirror, meticulously adjusting his appearance and striving to project a fierce, awe-inspiring expression that commanded respect without needing anger.

He then prepared to leave.

However… the mirror reflected a shadowy figure crouching behind him.

‘?!’

Master Tenryu whirled around, only to find himself ‘meeting the eyes’ of the black shadow—no, that wasn’t right; the black shadow had no eyes at all, merely the indistinct outline of a dark, shadowy head.

“…”

“…”

Master Tenryu flung both his staff and alms bowl away, sprinting frantically towards the far end of the street. A few seconds later, he landed on the ground with a ‘splat,’ appearing to be attempting to play dead.

Chen Ran, who had remained standing in place, was utterly speechless.

‘Who would have thought that this seemingly formidable monk was nothing more than a charlatan?’

‘He had genuinely believed that upon seeing him…’

‘…the monk would perform some grand “Mighty Heavenly Dragon” technique or the like.’

‘How utterly absurd.’

Chen Ran rubbed his head, realizing he couldn’t simply leave. To prevent Saburo and his men from causing trouble again in the future…

Tonight.

‘He absolutely had to show them a thing or two…’

With a single kick, he sent the altar, set up in the middle of the road, flying. The wooden structure, adorned with Buddha statues and various jumbled scriptures on cloth, splintered apart in mid-air.

Chen Ran then quickly strode towards Master Tenryu, who lay motionless on the ground.

‘He intended to break the monk’s arms or legs—at the very least, he needed to inflict some injury.’

Following that.

Chen Ran planned to knock out Saburo and his men, who had driven here today, lock them in their car, and then push them into the sea. The old street where the Jiang family resided wasn’t far from the coast; it would probably only take him about ten minutes to push the car there.

‘He had to give those yakuza (TL Note: Japanese organized crime syndicate members, often used broadly for gangsters/underworld figures) a real lesson to instill fear in them.’

Such were his thoughts.

But.

What Chen Ran had never anticipated was that as he approached the monk who called himself Master Tenryu, intending to impart a small lesson of his own…

…as if sensing his presence beside him.

The monk, who had been lying prone, playing dead, suddenly scrambled up from the ground, looking at Chen Ran with immense fear.

Then, he spoke…

“Benefactor… you are human, aren’t you?”

‘???’

Chen Ran was momentarily stunned, thinking, ‘Was this guy not a swindler after all?’

Yet, seemingly noticing Chen Ran’s momentary pause, Master Tenryu immediately broke into an ingratiating, fawning smile, exhaling as he spoke.

“Just as I thought! How could there be ghosts in this world? Feudal superstitions are to be avoided at all costs.”

“…”

Strangely.

Hearing the phrase “feudal superstitions” come from the mouth of a grand monk somehow struck him as inherently comical.

Master Tenryu simply got up from the ground, rubbing his hands together, and looked at Chen Ran with a smile, lowering his voice to speak in a hushed tone.

“Esteemed benefactor, perhaps… we could have a little chat?”

****

Under the cloak of night.

Deep within the shadowy alley, Chen Ran enveloped himself as much as possible in the dense darkness, then deactivated his skill, [Transparent Man] (TL Note: A skill that renders the user invisible or transparent). The skill’s duration was only two or three minutes; it certainly wasn’t permanent.

On the other side, the bald monk in the golden-threaded kasaya (TL Note: A Buddhist monk’s robe) continued to smile faintly, revealing a row of pristine white teeth.

“Does the benefactor hold a grudge against those yakuza (TL Note: Japanese organized crime syndicate members, often used broadly for gangsters/underworld figures)? Or do you have some other intentions? Why not speak openly? This humble monk can perhaps alleviate your confusion, and we might even discover a mutually beneficial solution.”

Master Tenryu was clearly adept at reading people.

He quickly offered a share of the profits.

“All earnings, we’ll split them fifty-fifty… no, seventy-thirty. You take seventy, I take thirty!”

“…”

Chen Ran, for his part, was also pondering.

‘If he wanted to solve this problem once and for all, he might truly need a different approach. If he simply beat up this monk now, what would happen if they hired another, even more formidable one next time?’

‘Was he to keep fighting them indefinitely?’

‘Besides, it had been almost a week now, and he was getting tired of staying up all night only to sleep through school.’

‘Perhaps it would be better to hear what the monk had to say.’

Thus.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Ran succinctly stated his demands.

“The benefactor wishes for those yakuza (TL Note: Japanese organized crime syndicate members, often used broadly for gangsters/underworld figures) to cease harassing this street permanently?”

“Mm.”

Chen Ran nodded.

Master Tenryu then pondered for a long time before finally speaking with a smile.

“This is quite simple, in fact, it couldn’t be easier! This humble monk has an excellent idea. Would the benefactor care to hear it?”