Chapter 619
Chapter 619
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 619
>Chapter Title: Compassion
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> The "tatata" sounds of the wooden fish being struck one after another made Li Huowang's anger surge within him.
>
> "Li Sui, let's go! Let's see exactly what kind of demon or ghost this is!" Li Huowang pulled out several swords from under his pillow and, bringing Li Sui with him, dashed toward the sound across the rooftiles.
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> Soon, Li Huowang found the source of the noise. It was a group of monks—or more precisely, monks who were skin and bones like skeletons.
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> These monks sat cross-legged at the village entrance, striking their wooden fish one beat at a time. The nearby disaster victims seemed to have woken up, but none dared to peek out. They buried their heads deep in the straw, trembling.
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> The instant Li Huowang appeared, all the monks turned to look at him in unison. Some weren't looking with their eyes, but with the burn scars on their heads. Others had eyestalks sprouting eyeballs that wriggled in and out like maggots.
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> "Amitabha. Greetings, benefactor. This poor monk has the honor."
>
> Li Huowang stared at the old monk who had spoken. Though the man was emaciated beyond recognition, he could tell at a glance that this monk looked exactly like the hallucinated monk by his side. This was the abbot of Great Qi's Zhengde Temple!
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> "Amitabha. This poor monk has come to beg alms. We hope this benefactor will donate generously." As he spoke, they pushed the copper begging bowls on the ground forward. The sound of the wooden fish stopped abruptly at that moment.
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> "Begging alms? What if I just don't give any? What are you gonna do about it?" Li Sui's black tentacles instantly burst out from within Li Huowang's body. Each tentacle was wrapped in various talismans and torture implements, floating up and down in the air.
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> Footsteps sounded from behind Li Huowang. Bai Lingmiao had arrived, accompanied by a group of White Lotus believers who had appeared out of nowhere. They stood silently behind him.
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> It wasn't just Bai Lingmiao. Everyone in Niu Xin Village with even a shred of ability hurriedly threw on their clothes and rushed over.
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> If it came down to a numbers game, Li Huowang's side undoubtedly had the advantage.
>
> Just as Li Huowang thought they were about to get serious, the abbot of Zhengde Temple actually stood up. He glanced at the White Lotus believers beside Bai Lingmiao, held his wooden fish close, saluted Li Huowang with palms pressed together, and left with his monks just like that.
>
> "Senior Brother Li Li, what's the deal with these freakish monks? Why'd they just leave like that?" Gouwa asked, utterly baffled.
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> Li Huowang watched the direction in which the monks had departed, his brows furrowed tight. After a moment's thought, he spoke to Bai Lingmiao.
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> "Take your people and secure Niu Xin Village first. I'll go see what kind of tricks these monks are up to!"
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> He wasn't afraid of thieves breaking in—he was afraid of them casing the joint. Li Huowang feared these monks had no intention of letting it go.
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> "Senior Brother Li, be careful. They have the numbers."
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> "No problem. Even if I can't beat them, running should be fine." As Li Huowang spoke, his body began to distort. He sank into the ground and slowly trailed after them in stealth mode.
>
> He should have realized it sooner. The people of Great Qi had come to Great Liang, and so had their dharma teachings. Naturally, the other sects and factions of Great Qi would follow as well.
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> The monks wore no shoes. Their footprints were clear on the cement ground. Li Huowang slowed his pace and followed at a leisurely distance.
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> They walked a full two li like this. Just as Li Huowang wondered darkly if these demonic monks planned to circle around for a sneak attack on Niu Xin Village, he caught a familiar meaty aroma wafting through the air.
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> Li Huowang recognized that smell—it was the scent of human flesh! His expression gradually darkened.
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> He glanced around and, using hands, feet, and tentacles in tandem, climbed into the canopy of a tall pine tree. The view of the distance unfolded before him, and he quickly spotted the source of the meaty smell.
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> In the woods not far off, a small clay Buddha statue sat upon an earthen platform. A large group of ragged disaster victims knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to the statue.
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> Beside that Buddha statue, Li Huowang witnessed a spine-chilling sight. Several monks with hugely swollen bellies lay on the ground, their legs raised high. Dark red blood mixed with amniotic fluid trickled slowly onto the dirt.
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> What they birthed weren't infants, but writhing clumps of malformed flesh—tangled masses of blood, meat, bones, and hair!
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> These occasionally twitching lumps, still attached by umbilical cords, were cradled by other monks and placed into several large jars simmering over fires.
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> As clump after clump of flesh was tossed into the boiling water, the meaty aroma in the air grew even thicker.
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> Soon, the disaster victims who had been lying on the ground stood up. They lined up on their own, bowls of various kinds in hand—broken ones, really—to ladle the meat soup into their stomachs.
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> They were actually eating that stuff. Li Huowang immediately felt a powerful wave of nausea and revulsion.
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> "Benefactor, this poor monk has the honor." The voice from below the tree sent a chill straight up Li Huowang's spine. He'd been spotted!
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> Without a second thought, Li Huowang gripped his spinebone sword and charged straight down at the tree.
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> The rift he swung open easily cleaved the monk below in half. Yet that bisected flesh wriggled rapidly and rejoined in an instant, restoring itself perfectly.
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> Li Huowang's strike had zero effect on the old monk.
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> Li Huowang glared viciously at the face before him—so identical to his hallucinated monk's.
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> "Fucking disgusting! What kind of bullshit are you pulling with these disaster victims?!"
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> The old monk raised his hand strung with prayer beads and pressed his palms together.
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> "Benefactor, saving a single life surpasses the merit of building a seven-story pagoda. We are saving people."
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> "Though we know we cannot save the masses of the world, we cannot ignore the ones right before our eyes."
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> "Feeding that revolting crap to others is saving them? Then why don't you eat it yourselves!"
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> "Amitabha, benefactor. We are monks. We cannot consume meat."
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> "But they have no choice. Though it violates ethics, it's the only thing available to eat right now. If they don't eat it, they'll starve to death."
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> The man's words left Li Huowang utterly speechless, at a loss for what to say.
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> Were these monks of Zhengde Temple truly conjuring food in this bizarre manner to save the disaster victims?
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> "Benefactor, these are the end times of the Dharma. This poor monk truly cannot find any grain. Thus, we must borrow the Buddha's dharma to protect all sentient beings and show compassion to the masses." As the abbot of Zhengde Temple spoke, his face beamed with compassion. That skeletal visage seemed to glow with Buddha's light.
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> "Ah~! Good man! Great good man! Daoist, this monk who looks just like me—he's a good monk!!" The hallucinated monk standing beside him praised effusively.
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> Li Huowang shot him a glare before turning back to the abbot of Zhengde Temple. He pressed on.
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> "So you're saying you came near my village earlier just to beg for some food? You really have none left at all?"
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> "Benefactor, this poor monk and his disciples spoke only of begging alms, nothing more. Benefactor, why must you oppose us, monks who are filled with compassion?"
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> Li Huowang absolutely rejected that notion.
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> "Filled with compassion? When you were stuffing those baby girls into jars, why didn't you call it compassion then?"
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> "Benefactor, why bring that up? They were abandoned by their own people. Without us taking them in, they would have been drowned or buried alive. This poor monk is giving those girls a path to survival. It is a good deed."
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> "Then making eunuchs father sons—that's a good deed too?"
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> "A good deed! Of course it's a great good deed. How is helping someone have heirs anything but good?"
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> At this point, Li Huowang had nothing left to say. He finally understood: these monks of Zhengde Temple were indeed doing good deeds. They were just doing what they considered good deeds.
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> If one day they decided that murder and arson were good deeds, they would no doubt carry them out without hesitation.