Chapter 136: Chapter 84: Mountains and Rivers Cleave the Incense and Candle Path, Waiting in Ambush to Save the Rose
In short, this group of people truly believes in the Bright Temple.
Therefore... the Secret Martial Artists who infiltrated the Lingbo Mansion early, along with people from the Ministry of War, cannot tolerate them and need to eliminate them in advance to prevent incense from burning intensely when the great battle begins.
Most of this information is old news, after all, the evil spirits dealt with before were essentially like this.
Li Xuan yawned, preparing to say, "That’s it for today, you all disperse and go collect some corpses," suddenly, his expression tightened.
This was a lean monk, at this moment he was recollecting, then he said, "Master, I discovered something strange deep in the Bright Temple — the abbot hates cats."
Li Xuan immediately perked up, saying, "Let’s hear it."
The monk then recounted everything.
He was a fanatic believer of the Buddha in the Bright Temple, and a few days ago a black cat sneaked into the temple, mischievous and jumping around.
The believer angrily chased after it, and as he chased, the black cat dashed to the depths of the temple. He hurriedly followed and then saw the abbot kill the black cat with one palm.
It’s known that ordinarily, the abbot is compassionate and wouldn’t kill any living being in front of outsiders, yet on that day, he directly killed the black cat.
The monk was somewhat dazed, while the abbot clasped his hands together, saying only, "Disrespectful to the Buddha, send it onward to reincarnation."
The monk returned the gesture and said, "Amitabha Buddha."
Li Xuan, having listened to the story, touched his chin, eyes downcast in thought, then praised, "Not bad."
The monk, receiving Li Xuan’s praise, was overjoyed beyond words.
He was born of Li Xuan’s will, and earning the master’s approval was his greatest joy.
Suddenly, another believer stepped forward and said, "Master, there is another matter.
Previously, I was a believer of the Bright Temple. At the time, I only felt anger, but now, upon reflection, I find it strange."
And with that, he narrated the incident in detail.
One day, a family of three came to offer incense.
Among them, a child said they smelled a stench in the incense, like the odor of dead chickens, ducks, and mice left decaying for a long time at home.
Out of the innocence of a child’s speech, the kid proclaimed loudly without understanding, and the family was driven out by the infuriated worshippers.
At the time, this believer was also one of those who drove them out.
Li Xuan pondered, "Did you ever smell anything foul in the incense?"
The believer shook his head, replying, "I report to the master, I did not."
Li Xuan then gathered numerous evil spirits and asked each one, yet they all shook their heads, evidently not having smelled the stench either.
The information from these two evil spirits piqued the interest of the others.
Another evil spirit spoke, "Lately, for some unknown reason, the lake in Lingbo Mansion is receding, and even the well water has diminished significantly. The authorities went to examine Luo River and reported its depletion, though the cause remains unknown."
Immediately after, another evil spirit emerged saying, "Master, there’s one more matter.
The Guanghui master in the Bright Temple is very efficacious. Late last autumn, he once walked outside a wealthy family’s residence in the city, saying there was an evil spirit there.
At that time, the Bright Temple was just an ordinary temple, and Guanghui master merely a monk there, and the city’s residents didn’t quite believe him.
But that very night, the family’s patriarch lost his head in his sleep.
Afterwards, it wasn’t long before others also lost their heads.
The family hurriedly sought out the Bright Temple, donating a significant amount of incense money, and only then did Master Guanghui lead the monks to perform rites. From then on, the evil spirit never appeared at that home again.
Yet there are still evil spirits in the city.
However, as long as the Bright Temple performs rites, surely nothing goes amiss.
Gradually, the entire city began believing in the Bright Temple to avert evil spirits and disasters, and because this was a taboo topic, everyone remained silent about it, until it became a habit.
Then, I recalled it and shared it with the master."
Li Xuan narrowed his eyes.
He understood this approach.
"Cultivating ghosts to elevate a Buddha’s prestige" and "raising bandits to safeguard oneself" follow a similar pattern.
In chaotic times, honest people are often the ones targeted by others.
As for the "ghosts" of the Bright Temple, there’s no need to cultivate them; the Headless Buddha can do the job itself.
But, can a Buddha using such filthy means truly be a Buddha?
It’s not that one can’t be dirty, but these methods don’t quite seem like something a deity, seated high above, with considerable insight, would do.
Simply put, it’s degrading, lacking sufficient prestige.
These methods are quite similar to his.
"Interesting indeed," Li Xuan mumbled.
...
...
Time passed.
It was now early spring...
The ice and snow had melted, and peach blossoms were blooming.
Li Xuan, through the evil spirits, became increasingly aware of the city’s dynamics.
And he knew that the city had now entered a state of "on the verge of complete eruption."
The Grand General and the Prime Minister’s Office were using the tactic of "cutting meat with a dull knife."
They themselves did not enter the city, remotely controlling the combat from afar, but sent their subordinates and martial artists in batches into the city to begin hunting down the temple’s believers.
Yet their hunting wasn’t very effective, giving the impression that the Bright Temple could handle the situation itself.
They wanted the Demon Buddha to take action.
And the military force and Secret Martial Artists first sent into the city were considered bait, or cannon fodder.
Of course, if the Demon Buddha’s powers were limited, this cannon fodder would receive support and become the blade to kill the Demon Buddha.
Meanwhile...
Li Xuan had long since noticed the hidden troops and Secret Martial Artists, forming a tight net.
This year, Great Yin was evidently shaken by the Demon Buddha, determined to kill it.
The atmosphere was increasingly tense.
Li Xuan also found an excuse not to sell tea anymore.
