Henry Reed let out a muffled grunt. With his large foot, he flicked up the Eight Immortals table in front of him, sending it spinning through the air over Brian Morgan's head, landing steadily right in front of Brian Morgan, blocking his way.

Brian Morgan was startled. This dining table was made of rosewood and weighed at least three hundred jin. Henry Reed could lift it effortlessly with his leg, which showed his astonishing leg strength. Even more impressive, all four legs of the table landed simultaneously and without making a sound, which meant his control over his leg strength was extremely precise.

Brian Morgan knew he was no match for Henry Reed, so he had no choice but to do as he was told. In all his life, this was the first time he had ever washed dishes, let alone here, where there were at least over a thousand sets of bowls and chopsticks. It took him a full two hours to wash them all clean. But Henry Reed still wasn’t done with him. He pointed to a pile of firewood in the corner and said, “Chop up that wood, and then you can rest!”

“Are you kidding me? I’m a guest of your abbot!” Brian Morgan shouted angrily.

Henry Reed gave him a cold glance. “I don’t care whose guest you are. If you want to eat, you have to work!”

“I just won’t eat, how about that?” Brian Morgan snapped back furiously, then turned and headed toward his room, cursing under his breath, “You can have it all, you fat bastard. Hope you eat yourself to death, you bald donkey.”

But no matter how angry he was, his stomach wouldn’t cooperate. In the middle of the night, Brian Morgan woke up from hunger. He rummaged through his travel bag and only managed to find a few pieces of chewing gum. Disappointed, he shook his head, but still unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth.

“They said I came here for treatment, but now I’m basically being imprisoned by these monks. If this keeps up, even if I don’t die, I’ll be skinned alive!” Brian Morgan thought resentfully. The chewing gum did nothing to ease his hunger; instead, it only made him salivate more, making his hunger even worse. His mom had given him a credit card, but where was he supposed to find an ATM? Even if he could get cash, there was nowhere to spend it in Shaolin Temple.

Brian Morgan quietly put on his clothes, took out his flashlight, and tiptoed toward the kitchen.

There was no moonlight in the sky, and the whole temple was especially dark. Most of the monks were already asleep, and the ones on patrol only moved between the Sutra Library and the Main Hall, so no one would come near the kitchen.

Brian Morgan had worried there might be a monk on duty in the kitchen, but when he got there, he found it completely empty. Even better, none of the doors were locked. He searched around with his flashlight and finally managed to find two hard corn buns in a cupboard. At this point, he would have considered even plain rice a delicacy, let alone corn buns.

Brian Morgan grabbed the corn buns, gulped down some cold water, and devoured them ravenously. In no time, both buns were gone. He patted his stomach contentedly and muttered to himself, “Stomach, I’m sorry for today. Once I leave Shaolin Temple, I’ll treat you to a big feast!”

Suddenly, a loud laugh came from above his head. Brian Morgan was startled and quickly shone his flashlight upward.

He saw Henry Reed’s fat body lying horizontally in midair, his whole chubby frame swaying back and forth as he laughed.

Only then did Brian Morgan realize that Henry Reed was lying on a thick rope. He couldn’t help but curse in his heart, “Damn! Has he even looked at himself in the mirror? How dare he imitate Little Dragon Girl’s sleeping pose.”

Thinking about how ridiculous he must have looked sneaking food just now, Brian Morgan felt his face flush with embarrassment.

“Mr. Morgan, what are you doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night?” Henry Reed obviously knew the answer but asked anyway, his fat face creasing into an annoying smile.

“Just taking a walk, is that not allowed?” Brian Morgan replied defiantly.

Henry Reed chanted a Buddhist phrase: “Amitabha! In this pure land of Buddhism, how can Mr. Morgan tell so many lies?”

“If you already saw everything, why bother asking?” Brian Morgan couldn’t hide his dislike for the fat monk.

Henry Reed said, “So, do you want to accept a beating or a punishment?”

“What?” Brian Morgan didn’t quite understand.

“If you choose the beating, I’ll send you to the Disciplinary Hall. You broke the precept against stealing, so according to Shaolin rules, you’ll get twenty monk’s staff strikes and ten days of facing the wall in reflection…”

“I’m not even a Shaolin monk! What right do you have to punish me?” Brian Morgan protested loudly.

Henry Reed smiled calmly. “Once you enter Shaolin Temple, you are a Shaolin person. In the eyes of Buddha, all living beings are equal—there’s no distinction.” This fat monk was truly a master of sophistry.

Feeling a bit guilty, Brian Morgan asked, “What if I accept the punishment?”

Henry Reed gave an annoying smile and pointed to two large water vats outside the door. “Before morning prayers, fill those two vats with water, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened!”

“How can a monk be so cruel!” Brian Morgan grumbled, but thinking of the twenty staff strikes in the Disciplinary Hall, he had no choice but to walk over to the vats.

The water buckets were right next to the vats, just like the ones he’d seen in movies. The bottom was cone-shaped, making it impossible to rest halfway.