Reborn as a Snake: Forging a Demon Court Starting from a Black Python

Chapter 17 targets Jinshan Temple

"Have you heard? Several new restaurants have recently opened in town, and it seems they're all owned by the same person."

"Do I even need to hear about it? Everyone in Hangzhou knows that the mastermind behind that guy is Young Master Lin."

"However, Young Master Lin is quite interesting. His latest restaurant has actually opened right across from Jinshan Temple."

In the streets and alleys of Hangzhou, many people are discussing Lin Xuan's recent actions.

Lin Xuan had plenty of gold and silver. Even without using the snake clan treasures given to him by Bai Suzhen, he still had a lot of the spoils he had from the water bandits.

With money paving the way, everything becomes easier.

Moreover, Lin Xuan had no intention of making money from the restaurant, so he didn't consider customer traffic or product selection at all.

As soon as they see a suitable location, they spend money to acquire it, renovate it with great enthusiasm, and then open for business.

Within just a few days, he opened several stores.

The other shops were fine, but the one located outside Jinshan Temple was truly baffling to everyone.

Others who open shops in front of temples sell vegetarian food, but our young master Lin is different; he only sells meat dishes, and you can't even find a single vegetable leaf in his restaurant.

Visitors who come to Jinshan Temple to offer incense will not go inside to eat or drink.

If someone brings meat into the temple and offends the Buddha, wouldn't all the incense offerings be wasted?

For several days after opening, the place was deserted, and the novice monks at the entrance of Jinshan Temple kept picking on it.

Before Lin Xuan's transmigration, his behavior would have been a negative example, and it would have been enough to prepare a "Let's say goodbye properly" tune.

That evening, a middle-aged man approached Lin Xuan and spoke in a humble tone.

He had two small tufts of mustache on his face, and his appearance suggested he was very shrewd.

However, for some reason, the aura emanating from him was quite strange.

The middle-aged man said, "Sir, shouldn't you close down your shop near Jinshan Temple?"

"This shop has no customers, and it loses money every day it's open! Even if we close it now and all our previous investments go down the drain, it's still better than losing money indefinitely."

Lin Xuan glanced at him and chuckled inwardly. This little demon's cultivation was average, but his business acumen was quite good.

It turns out that this middle-aged man was one of Xiaoqing's little demons.

The illusion could only fool ordinary mortals, but it couldn't fool Lin Xuan at all, especially in front of the system, where he would have nowhere to hide.

Above this middle-aged man's head, a line of words was clearly visible.

【lv.13·Carp Spirit】

No wonder this family says their surname is Li.

Lin Xuan's heart stirred, and he suddenly shook his head, putting on a stubborn look that refused to listen to advice.

"Old Li, you're wrong. We can't close the shop!"

"We don't have any customers right now simply because we haven't been open for long enough for people to know about us yet!"

"Once the news gets out, customers will rush over very quickly."

"Not eating meat is just talk; in reality, who wouldn't want to enjoy a juicy, meaty feast after visiting Jinshan Temple?"

Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, Old Li was completely stunned.

This big sister's brother-in-law is incredibly handsome, but why isn't he very bright?

Even if a worshipper really wants to eat a full meat feast, they wouldn't just go and eat it right in front of the temple!

Oh well, anyway, the White Snake Lady behind him is a thousand-year-old demon, so it doesn't matter how much money Lin Xuan squanders.

These past few days I've been trying to attract customers at the entrance of Jinshan Temple, and I have a feeling that those novice monks have figured something out.

I need to be careful over the next few days.

Sigh, when will I be able to truly transform into human form like the boss?

Old Li shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Watching Old Li's retreating figure, Lin Xuan chuckled softly, picked up a teacup from the side, and took a sip.

Almost simultaneously, inside Jinshan Temple, several young monks huddled together, giving a fat, big-eared monk a back massage while chatting about temple affairs.

A young monk laughed:

"Hey, do you think that guy surnamed Lin has gone mad?"

"He's really blind to the world, daring to open a shop right in front of our temple!"

The term "fantou" (饭头) literally means "the person in charge of meals at a temple."

Although Jinshan Temple is a temple, and in theory should be free from the seven emotions and six desires, as long as a person is alive, they will always have to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, and there will always be various things to do.

The head cook may not seem to have much power, but he makes a lot of money off the food.

Without even raising an eyelid, the man sneered:

"Heh, I think he's just burning money!"

The young monks nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, exactly. I think he's a nouveau riche."

"It's a pity that this person has so much money, yet he refuses to offer it to Buddha."

"You're wrong. What use is money to the Buddha who is enjoying the Pure Land? In my opinion, this money should be given to our cook."

Upon hearing these words, Fan Tou finally opened his eyes, revealing a thoughtful expression.

He had already understood that his young monks had their eyes on Lin Xuan's restaurant!

Although temples are supposed to be places of tranquility, the temple's administrators know very well that many monks in the temple secretly drink alcohol and eat meat.

As they passed by the temple gate, they saw the newly opened restaurant. On the surface, they looked disgusted, but in reality, they were all secretly drooling.

It turned out that Old Li had misunderstood. The strange look the novice monks at the temple gate were giving them wasn't because they recognized them as demons, but because they were greedy.

The cook spoke up, "What exactly do you mean? Just say it directly, don't play games with me!"

The young monks exchanged glances and forced smiles.

"Nothing can escape your discerning eyes."

"We're thinking of taking over that shop from Lin Xuan and switching to selling vegetarian food."

"Of course, that's all on the surface; behind the scenes, they can still continue selling the meat dishes..."

Fan Tou finally opened his eyes completely, nodding inwardly, "This kid is teachable!"

"Alright, tomorrow morning, you'll come with me out of the temple and go check out the restaurant."

The next day at noon, the cook finally had some free time after preparing meals for the monks in the temple.

No matter what, Jinshan Temple is a Buddhist temple. Regardless of what it does in secret, it must outwardly follow the rules and regulations, such as not eating after noon.

So lunch is actually dinner, and after eating it, you have to go hungry until the next morning, so you can't be lazy.

The head monk was a high and mighty figure in front of the junior monks under his command, but in front of more powerful monks, he was nothing.

After serving the temple supervisor and abbot, he left Jinshan Temple, still muttering to himself.

"It's one thing for me to serve the abbot, but who is that Fahai? He's so young, yet he's already climbed over my head!"

Upon hearing what the cook said, the young monks behind him all shut their mouths and pretended to be dead, not daring to agree.

Fahai was indeed young, but he was a renowned spiritual talent.

Several old monks in the temple said that as long as Fahai has good fortune, he can quell a few troubles, subdue a few demons, and accumulate enough merit. He might even be able to attain a position and be ranked in the Vulture Peak!

If Fahai really succeeds, then Jinshan Temple will have powerful connections!

In that case, Fahai naturally became the rising star of Jinshan Temple.

He usually focuses solely on his cultivation and never pays attention to anything else.

Fan Tou has some status, so it's not a big problem for him to spread rumors about Fa Hai behind his back.

But these young monks dared not court death.

The restaurant owner wasn't stupid; he knew he couldn't afford to offend Fahai. After grumbling a few times, his gaze fell on the restaurant owned by Lin Xuan.

"Let's go inside and take a look!"

The restaurant manager sneered and strode into the restaurant.

If I can't deal with Fahai, I can certainly deal with you, Lin Xuan.

As soon as the group entered the restaurant, Old Li's heart pounded. Why were these monks here?

He quickly shrank behind the counter, not daring to speak.

In terms of rank and combat strength, even if these monks were all bundled together and multiplied by ten, they would still be no match for Old Li, this carp spirit.

However, this was, after all, the entrance to Jinshan Temple, a place teeming with hidden talents, so even the carp spirit dared not act rashly.

Fortunately, not only were there monsters under Xiaoqing's command in the restaurant today, but Lin Xuan was also there.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lin Xuan stepped out and bumped right into Fan Tou.

The man looked Lin Xuan up and down, then raised his head, squinted, and asked, "You're Lin Xuan?"

Lin Xuan nodded while looking at the monks.

【lv2·Jinshan Temple Catering Officer】

【Level 1 - Young Novice Monk at Jinshan Temple】

Lin Xuan's gaze swept over the heads of the monks, and he shook his head and pursed his lips.

When I first transmigrated, I was already at level 3, while these monks were at a lower level than I was back then.

Its combat power is inferior to that of a snake, making it quite useless.

Fan Tou was there to cause trouble, and now seeing Lin Xuan's expression, he suddenly became furious.

"Hey Lin, what's with that expression?"

"Of course, it's about seeing the expression on that good-for-nothing's face," Lin Xuan said sincerely.

But the more sincere he was, the angrier the cook became.

"Who the hell are you calling trash?"

Not content with just cursing, Fan Tou then brandished his fist and started hitting Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan also had some reservations.

If Jinshan Temple sends out a warrior monk with considerable fighting prowess, and he himself is just an ordinary young master on the surface, it would inevitably attract attention if he directly defeated the warrior monk.

Especially Bai Suzhen, she might even doubt her own identity.

Furthermore, Jinshan Temple is not as simple as it seems.

Besides Fahai, there are several other level 20 guardians in the temple.

If these guardians were to come to him on their own initiative, Lin Xuan, though not afraid, would have to find another way.

This wasn't Lin Xuan being overly worried. In the past, there were indeed unlucky guys who wanted to lure Fahai out early, but somehow, they ended up directly attracting the intervention of the Dharma Protectors.

Then he was kicked out of the instance.

However, it now seems that Lin Xuan was overthinking things.

These monks in front of me are nothing but good-for-nothings.

"It seems that although I've made quite a commotion, the important figures at Jinshan Temple haven't taken me seriously at all; only this cook has jumped out."

"Never mind, if I remember correctly, this cook has some connections at Jinshan Temple. Giving him a good beating will naturally draw out the people behind him."

Thinking of this, Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes and kicked Fan Tou in the stomach, sending him staggering back several steps.

Upon seeing this, the other young monks immediately jumped up, helped Fan Tou up, and angrily cursed at Lin Xuan.

"You, Lin Xuan, how dare you hit our leader? You've got a death wish!"

"We came to your door on our own initiative, and before we even said anything, you started hitting us. Do you have no respect for the law?"

"Hmph, don't you know that whenever the prefect of Hangzhou comes to the temple to offer incense, he treats the head cook with great courtesy?"

Lin Xuan didn't bother with them at all and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the young monks did not dare to chase after them, and could only help the head monk turn around and return to Jinshan Temple.

As soon as he entered the temple gate, Fan Tou gritted his teeth.

"This Lin Xuan is utterly unreasonable! Let's go, let's go find the temple supervisor and reason with him!"