Chapter 79 Evil Begets Evil

The flames at Great Leiyin Temple burned for an entire night; the once magnificent holy land of the Buddha was now nothing but broken walls and ruins.

When Abbot Xuan Ci and Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi were dragged out from the angry crowd by the soldiers, they were already beaten black and blue, their kasayas torn into rags, their faces covered in blood and dirt, looking exactly like two stray dogs.

The soldiers threw them at the foot of the high platform.

Abbot Xuan Ci struggled to crawl up, watching the Great Hall being dismantled into pieces, watching the commoners happily carrying away grain and cloth scavenged from the temple, his eyes bloodshot.

He clenched his fists tightly, still stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, and shrieked at the top of his lungs: "You will all face retribution! For desecrating the Buddha and smashing the temple, you will all descend into the eighteen levels of hell after you die! You will never be reincarnated!"

"Retribution?" Li Tieniu walked over carrying his giant axe and kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling on his back.

"You have sucked the blood of the people of the Western Desert for hundreds of years and caused the deaths of so many innocent people; how come I never saw the Buddha bring retribution upon you? Now you're suddenly thinking about retribution? It's too late!"

"Exactly!" An old man carrying a sack nearby spat on the ground.

"Three generations of my family worked like beasts of burden for Great Leiyin Temple, and in the end, we couldn't even get a full meal. If it weren't for Emperor Xuan, we would still be slaves to you bald donkeys! You are the ones who should go to hell!"

Abbot Xuan Ci was left speechless, collapsing to the ground with empty eyes.

He had spent his whole life playing god, fooling the commoners, only to end up being trampled underfoot by the very people he had fooled his entire life.

The Buddhist sect he was so proud of, the Buddha he worshipped, were completely vulnerable in the face of the people's rage.

Just then, he suddenly saw that in the sea of fire not far away, the smashed statue of the Tathagata Buddha was being swallowed by the flames.

The golden Buddha body was scorched black, falling off in chunks with a crackling sound.

It was as if his soul had been ripped away; Abbot Xuan Ci stood up abruptly and rushed towards the sea of fire like a madman.

"Buddha! Your disciple has failed you! This disciple was unable to protect Great Leiyin Temple!"

He shrieked as he ran, his voice incredibly shrill.

Reaching the fire, he suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at Emperor Cao Xukun on the high platform, his eyes filled with venom: "Emperor Cao Xukun! Even if I turn into a vengeful ghost, I will never let you go!"

With that, he leaped into the raging sea of fire.

The flames instantly swallowed his figure, leaving behind only a shrill scream and the stench of burning flesh.

Seeing this, the commoners below not only felt no sympathy but instead clapped and cheered: "Serves him right! This is what he deserves!"

"He got off easy! Dying just like this is too easy on him!"

"If he were left alive, he would have to be sliced into a thousand pieces!"

Emperor Cao Xukun sat on the high platform, watching all this expressionlessly with cold eyes: "He brought this upon himself. This is suicide out of fear of punishment; he deserves no sympathy."

Meanwhile, Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi, seeing Abbot Xuan Ci commit self-immolation, was scared out of his wits.

While everyone was watching the sea of fire, he snuck backward, trying to slip away in the chaos.

He was calculating in his heart: as long as he could escape the Western Desert and hide his identity, one day he would surely be able to make a comeback and return to seek revenge on Emperor Cao Xukun.

Unfortunately, he hadn't run more than a few steps before he was spotted by a sharp-eyed young man.

"Look! Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi is trying to run!"

At the young man's shout, the surrounding commoners immediately swarmed up, blocking Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi completely.

Terrified, his face deathly pale, Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to the commoners, his forehead bleeding: "Please, spare me! I was wrong! I was truly wrong! I will never dare to deceive anyone again! Please, grant me a way to survive!"

"Spare you?" A middle-aged woman rushed up and slapped him hard across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.

"My son was tricked by you into becoming a Buddhist soldier and ended up dying in the Divine Capital! And you want me to spare you now? Who will pay for my son's life?"

"Right! Beat him to death! Avenge our loved ones!"

The commoners were filled with righteous indignation and rushed forward to kick and punch Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi.

Some picked up stones to smash his legs, others used sticks to beat his back, and screams echoed one after another.

"Ah! My legs! My legs are broken!"

Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi let out a shrill scream, clutching his legs and rolling on the ground.

Both of his legs had been broken by the commoners, and he could no longer stand up.

Emperor Cao Xukun raised his hand to signal the commoners to stop, saying coldly: "Do not kill him. His crimes do not warrant death, but he cannot get off this easily."

He looked down at Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi, who lay on the ground like a dead dog, and spoke in an indifferent tone: "Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi, you deluded the people, plundered wealth, and caused the deaths of countless innocent people. This Emperor will spare your life, out of consideration for the sliver of humanity you still possess. Now, your legs will be broken, and you will be driven out of the Western Desert. You are never allowed to step into the Western Desert again; otherwise, you will be executed on the spot."

"No! Do not drive me away!" Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi cried and begged for mercy.

"Without legs, how can I live? Please, just kill me!"

"Kill you? That would be too easy on you." Li Tieniu sneered.

"Don't you like pretending to be a holy monk? Now, let you have a taste of what it's like to be a beggar. Letting you drag your broken legs for the rest of your life, begging for a living, and suffering the cold glares of others—that is the best punishment for you."

With that, two soldiers stepped forward and dragged the legless Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi out of Shazhou City like they were dragging trash, dumping him into the desert outside the city.

Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi lay on the scorching sand, watching the soldiers leave, his eyes filled with venom and despair, yet he was helpless.

Having dealt with Abbot Xuan Ci and Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi, Emperor Cao Xukun began to handle the remaining monks.

He stood on the high platform and said loudly to the hundreds of monks remaining: "Among you, many were deceived by Abbot Xuan Ci and Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi, and many were forced to become monks against their will. This Emperor will not hold your past against you."

"Now, I give you two choices: First, return to secular life and be registered as citizens of Great Xuan. This Emperor will grant you land and a resettlement allowance, allowing you to return home to farm, marry, have children, and live the life of ordinary people; Second, continue being monks, but you are not allowed to use the Buddhist banner to swindle and deceive, you are not allowed to collect incense money, and you are not allowed to oppress the commoners. Choose for yourselves."

The monks looked at each other, their eyes filled with hesitation.

In truth, most of them had long since grown tired of the strict precepts and had wanted to return to secular life for a long time.

It was just that Great Leiyin Temple had been strict in the past, and they hadn't dared to speak up.

A young monk was the first to step forward and kneel on the ground: "Your Majesty, Emperor Xuan! I am willing to return to secular life! I want to go home to farm and honor my parents!"

"I am willing to return to secular life, too!"

"I am willing too!"

More and more monks stepped forward, choosing to return to secular life.

In the end, only a dozen or so old monks, having spent their entire lives in the temple with nowhere else to go, chose to remain in the temple, guarding the ruins and living out the rest of their lives with nothing but a green lamp and an ancient Buddha.

Emperor Cao Xukun ordered that each monk returning to secular life be given ten mu of land and five taels of silver as a resettlement allowance, and instructed the local government to properly settle them.

Watching these monks hold their land deeds and silver, with long-lost smiles on their faces, Emperor Cao Xukun nodded with satisfaction.

Li Tieniu leaned over and chuckled: "Emperor Xuan is awesome! This move directly uprooted the Buddhist sect; from now on, there will be no more of these swindling bald donkeys in the Western Desert! Your application of both kindness and severity is simply brilliant!"

Emperor Cao Xukun said indifferently, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. What the commoners want is nothing more than to be fed, clothed, and to live in peace and prosperity. As long as you can enable them to live a good life, they will support you. Those tricks of playing god ultimately cannot last long."

The sun set in the west, and the desert was dyed gold.

In Shazhou City, the commoners sang and danced, celebrating their rebirth.

The flames of Great Leiyin Temple had already died out, leaving only curling wisps of smoke, as if narrating the end of an era.

Emperor Cao Xukun stood on the high platform, gazing at the distant desert, a confident smile curling the corners of his lips.

Abbot Xuan Ci was dead, Saintly Monk Jin Chanzi had been driven away, and the power of the Buddhist sect had been completely annihilated.

Tomorrow, he would establish the Western Desert Province of Great Xuan right here, allowing the people of the Western Desert to truly live a good life.