What on Earth Is All This

The myriad faces of the masses.

Some looked on in disbelief, some were sluggish, and others had eyes filled with rage.

The crowd surged forward, countless hands grabbing at Fangjing, who stood on the platform.

This abbot, who had cultivated and believed in Buddhism for most of his life, was dragged to the ground by several large hands.

The Buddha statues in Jingci Temple were made of clay. Water from a pure vase crashed down, splashing away the colored paint and revealing speckled traces of mud.

At this moment, the Buddha statues seemed to be weeping, looking down at the resentful eyes of the masses as they grabbed at the abbot, whom they deemed their enemy.

At first, they could still maintain some composure, merely shouting angrily to question whether Fangjing had accepted bribes from the noble families and harbored ulterior motives.

Fangjing simply allowed himself to be pulled from all sides, struggling to maintain his calm as he answered loudly:

"Having spoken these words, I will most likely not survive the day. If I were greedy, the most precious thing to me would be my own life."

"I have no greed... Therefore, in my heart, the most precious thing is your lives."

"After decades of ascetic cultivation, I am trading my life for yours."

At this moment, Fangjing did not know how many people he could truly awaken.

But right now, even if he could make just one person repent and awaken, he felt it would be worth it.

These words completely exploded the situation. Under this answer, all their interrogations seemed utterly insignificant.

When a person doesn't even want his own life, what kind of benefits could he possibly demand?

No question could defeat Fangjing from a moral standpoint anymore.

Thus, the only thing they could resort to was the most basic physical means.

Fists smashed toward Fangjing's fearless face.

Laici could no longer bear it. He pushed his way through the crowd with all his might, shouting sternly:

"He is the abbot! He has believed in the Buddha you believe in for his entire life! He has cultivated for a lifetime! Do you even know what the Hinayana teachings are?!"

"Do the Hinayana teachings teach you to kill?!"

Even knowing he might die, Laici could not sit by and watch Fangjing be beaten to death like this in the Mahavira Hall.

Laici also felt hands grab him, dragging him toward the center.

A hint of fear and relief surfaced in his heart, but Laici's gaze grew increasingly firm.

The crowd surged and agitated, their momentum seeming to push toward another peak.

However, a uniquely piercing shout suddenly pressed down over them.

"Disaster! The noble families have brought soldiers to tear down houses and level the fields! Everyone, hurry back and see if your fields and homes have been destroyed!"

At the first shout, everyone's movements paused slightly.

Then a second shout closely followed.

"New information! Those noble families also brought soldiers to dig up graves and ruin the feng shui!"

The crowd began to grow restless again.

A third, entirely different voice rang out:

"Everyone, hurry back! Down with the noble families! Protect our fields!"

Laici listened in a daze to these three exceptionally clear voices, and then he saw the crowd begin to disperse outward.

No one cared what the abbot had said anymore, nor did anyone care what he had just said.

With someone taking the lead, the crowd scattered in a swarm.

At this moment, the Mahavira Hall returned to its usual peaceful appearance.

Fangjing lay on the ground, lacking the strength to get up.

Laici led the monks of the temple toward Fangjing, gently helping up the abbot whose face was covered in bruises.

"You really have quite the nerve."

A voice rang out from outside the door, and Laici looked over.

He saw a young man dressed in luxurious robes, a smile on his face.

"Who are you...?" Laici asked.

"I never change my name or hide my identity, I am Cui Hao." Cui Hao walked closer, then took out a pill from his spatial ring. "Although your method was quite stupid, your heart is sincere. While I don't like monks, you can be an exception."

Cui Hao reached out and handed the pill to Laici, saying calmly:

"An immortal pill. It can save his life. Counting this, I've saved three lives for you."

Laici naturally understood the meaning of the three lives; the one who had shouted just now was this immortal. With that, Laici reached out to take the pill, muttered a low word of thanks, and then pushed the pill into Fangjing's mouth.

As the pill entered his mouth, it turned into a ray of light and entered his body.

Cui Hao straightened up slightly, then asked seemingly casually:

"I heard that the Hinayana teachings are mainly promoted by the Buddhist sect this time, and the Great Thunderclap Temple in the Central Province has sent people. Your temple is quite famous, can't you contact the Buddhist sect? How did you end up in this state?"

Laici sighed in relief, then said with a bit of resignation:

"Naturally, we can contact them, but there is no difference between being able to contact them and not."

Cui Hao asked with a curious face:

"Oh? So the Buddhist sect doesn't plan to intervene?"

"Probably so..." Laici shook his head helplessly, then his eyes widened as he asked, "Immortal, what kind of pill did you feed him?"

In Laici's arms, Fangjing suddenly began to convulse all over, his expression extremely painful.

"An immortal pill, naturally. Look, the bruises on his face are almost gone."

"Then why is the abbot in so much pain?"

"Maybe the scene just now was too terrifying, and he's having a nightmare after passing out."

"Are you serious?!"

"Am I the immortal or are you? A Buddhist Son named Yuan Kong has popped an unknown number of these pills. Right now, your abbot is getting the exact same treatment as a Buddhist Son, so you should just be secretly happy."

Cui Hao spoke with utmost confidence, and Laici could no longer question anything, especially since the bruises on Fangjing's face had indeed almost completely vanished.

Cui Hao raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Considering I saved your lives three times, why don't you tell me exactly how the Buddhist sect replied to your message."

Laici stayed silent for a moment, then whispered:

"They ignore it, let them do as they please, and even encourage them to do so."

Cui Hao's expression grew a bit more serious. "Oh? So you don't listen to the Central Province's Buddhist sect?"

Laici looked at Cui Hao:

"Knowing it is wrong, why should we do it? We cultivate the Buddha in our hearts, not the Buddhas of the Central Province."

Cui Hao nodded in understanding, then followed up:

"Putting it that way, you guys actually have quite a mind of your own."

"You did well. At the very least, it changed my perspective on the profession of a monk quite a bit."

As Cui Hao looked around, he happened to see the words carved on the wall, and spoke at the same time:

"You all should stop here regarding this matter. When your abbot wakes up, tell him that someone else will handle this. After this is over, his life can save many more lives."

"Oh, right, I was lying to them just now, so you and your monks had better find a place to hide."

"Also, if you truly encounter a problem you cannot overcome, go to Miaoyuan Temple in the Cangwu Nation. Remember, mention my name, Cui Hao, and someone will come to help you."

Hearing this, Laici was taken aback.

Miaoyuan Temple?

Isn't that where the special envoys of the Central Province Buddhist sect are currently staying?

Seeing Cui Hao preparing to turn and leave, Laici immediately asked:

"What is Immortal's true purpose in coming here? Does the Buddhist sect have other plans?"

Cui Hao stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and still answered seriously:

"My eldest senior sister felt that my third senior sister was being unusually well-behaved, and my second senior brother was acting guilty, so she found it strange."

"At the same time, she was feeling a bit uneasy, so she decided to have me, her unlucky fifth junior brother, look around and investigate the situation, all while hiding it from my shrewd third senior sister."

"Unlucky me could only seek out temples where large groups gather to investigate, and then I ran into you, who are equally unlucky but also somewhat fortunate."

"It seems Eldest Senior Sister was right after all. This luck is truly so good that it's infuriating."

"And then..."

"Perhaps it's Third Senior Sister's turn to run out of luck."

"I believe I've made myself perfectly clear. So, I'll be seeing you all."

Cui Hao turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Laici stood there in a daze for a long while before finally muttering a complaint,

"What in the world is all this..."