Chapter 261 Bloodbath at Xiangjue Temple
"Yes." Qingfeng was very obedient. He drew his knife and cut open the gate in two or three strokes.
"My master is really not here. Why is the donor acting like a bandit?"
The secret guard frowned, annoyed by his noise, and simply threw the little monk to the ground.
The yard was so dark that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. There was no candle lit by the window frames, and it seemed as if the person was really not there.
"Princess Princess."
"Go in and light the candle. It doesn't matter if he's not here. Someone will be able to find him."
The house was filled with a faint scent of incense and was extremely simply furnished. Qingfeng walked around the house but indeed did not see anyone.
"Princess, she is definitely not here."
Shen Anan glanced at the incense table where the Buddha statue was enshrined, responded calmly, and ordered, "Take people to the main courtyard, bring the abbot, and call everyone with some qualifications."
Qingfeng didn't waste any time and asked a few people to leave.
Within two quarters of an hour, the candles in Xiangjue Temple were lit one after another, completely dispelling the darkness.
The abbot was brought here by Qingfeng, with a look of surprise on his old face. When he saw Shen Anan, he was slightly startled. As the host, he naturally knew Shen Anan.
"donor?"
"Where is Wen Yin?"
"Junior brother went out to travel yesterday and was not in the temple. Is there something the donor wants to see him about?"
Only after asking did I realize how stupid this question was. If there was nothing wrong, why would they make such a big fuss?
"If you have any questions, wait until Junior Brother comes back and I will write a letter to let you know, okay?"
Shen Anan lowered his eyes and said nothing. The secret guards came back one after another, and more and more monks were pushed into this narrow room.
The abbot's expression finally changed.
"I don't care what method you use. I want to see Wen Yin before dawn. If I'm late, I'll kill one person."
"This is a foreign land, in front of the Buddha, how can the donor be so presumptuous." The abbot looked unhappy, "Donor Shen has made outstanding contributions to Daliang. If the donor kills innocent people like this, wouldn't it be a loss of his father's authority?"
"Outstanding achievements?" Shen Anan sneered, "It's not like walking on thin ice, living a difficult life. The abbot doesn't need to persuade me with those great principles. High-sounding words are useless to me. I just want to see and hear the sound."
"If I don't see him before dawn, I will let the abbot know how to write the four words 'indiscriminate killing of innocent people'."
"This is a temple, and the royal family is enshrined inside. Don't be afraid..."
"You have to wait for the imperial court's reinforcements to arrive," Shen An'an's eyes were stern, "The abbot has this much time, so you should think of a solution as soon as possible. Or do you need me to kill someone first to help you?"
"Qingfeng."
Without saying a word, Qingfeng grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and stabbed him in the throat with the sharp dagger.
"Wait a minute," the abbot's pupils dilated, and he hurriedly tried to stop them, "Old Na is the one who sent the message. Please release them, benefactor."
Shen Anan made a please gesture.
The abbot began to spread paper and grind ink by candlelight.
Shen Anan ignored him and stared at the Buddha statue on the table with her empty eyes. She was in a daze for several hours until the sharp crowing of a rooster pulled her back from her daze.
"Master Abbot, the time is almost up."
The abbot's pupils trembled, and he looked up at Shen Anan, "Old Na has done his best, and I think Junior Brother is also trying his best to rush back."
Shen Anan nodded, supporting her head with one hand, but the words she said were not at all humane, "Qingfeng, take one out, and if Master Wenyin doesn't come back in two quarters of an hour, kill him."
"yes."
"Abbot, save me." The monk struggled and begged, but was still dragged into the courtyard by Qingfeng without mercy.
The rest of the people looked at Shen Anan as if they were looking at a demon, their eyes full of fear.
The eyes of the abbot, which were free of all desire, were the most colorful tonight. "The donor is looking for me, so I think he has something to ask of me. If he is asking for help from Buddha, how could Buddha..."
Clang——
Shen Anan had a short knife in his hand, and pointed the tip of the knife at the abbot, "Shut up, if you say one more unlucky word, I will cut off their tongue."
The abbot immediately pursed his lips and said no more.
Shen Anan believed in the Buddha's and God's teachings, but ghosts and gods were also afraid of evil. She wanted to hear the truth and change her fate and karma, but nice words were useless.
Who says that Buddhists are all pure? They also have weaknesses. Survival is everyone's instinct, and human life is their weakness.
She didn't have any extra time to beg and waste, this was the most direct and effective way.
A deep and dull bell suddenly rang, and along with the first ray of dawn in the sky, Shen Anan looked up and said lightly, "Qingfeng, do it."
As soon as she finished speaking, a painful wail mixed with the flash of a sharp dagger stopped abruptly, and bright red splattered all over the ground.
Shen Anan didn't seem to see it, and said lightly, "Next."
The secret guard dragged out another one.
The monks were already trembling with fear and panic. "Why hasn't Master Wenyin come back yet? How long will he take? Master Abbot, are we all going to die? Can you think of a solution?"
The abbot gritted his teeth, his old eyes were red, and there was deep sadness and despair in his calm and indifferent eyes.
"If you have this much time, you should pray to the gods and Buddhas, and ask Master Wenyin to come back soon and solve my confusion."
Her tone was flat, no different from when she had just ordered the killing. As time passed, more and more people were dragged out, and the yard was littered with corpses.
The abbot seemed to finally be unable to bear it anymore, and trembled as he spoke, "Donor, as a member of the royal family, aren't you afraid that such an act will bring disaster upon yourself?"
Shen Anan's eyes turned, as if she had some emotions. She said softly, "My husband is lying in bed. The imperial physician said he only has two days to live. Is there any disaster more desperate than this?"
The host was speechless.
"It seems that Master Wen Yin will not be able to come back." She squinted at the sun that had completely risen into the sky and said calmly, "Kill them all. The Buddha and the gods are teasing us. What's the point of worshipping them?"
The secret guards dragged the monks out one by one. The abbot turned pale and said hoarsely, "Please wait a little longer, my junior brother will surely come back. Human life is precious and worth a thousand gold."
Shen Anan stood up, looked down at the host, and sneered softly, "Human life is of the utmost importance. When the abbot entered the palace, why didn't he say this to the man on the dragon throne in Fengtian Hall?"
“…”
The secret guards in the courtyard all drew out their sharp knives, which emitted a sharp and cold light in the weak sunlight at dawn, which was chilling.
The abbot's eyes gradually widened, filled with unbelievable fear and anger. Those monks kneeling on the ground no longer had any of their calmness, composure, and purity.
They were so scared that they held their heads and wailed, struggling desperately, "Don't kill me, don't kill us, we are all innocent."
Qingfeng frowned and looked back at Shen Anan, who was standing alone and expressionless under the corridor. He pursed his lips slightly, then waved his hand, and the secret guard knife fell instantly.
"stop."
At this moment, a panicked and frightened voice suddenly rang out, and a monk in coarse linen clothes walked hurriedly in from outside the courtyard, sweating profusely.
When he saw the scene in the courtyard clearly, the visitor's pupils suddenly contracted, and that unfathomable and calm face slowly showed signs of cracking.
“Amitabha, the donor can be where he is today all because of Buddha’s compassion. Human life is of the utmost importance. How could you…how could you…” There was deep sorrow and shock in his eyes.
"The abbot has already said this just now." Shen Anan stared at Wen Yin, walked slowly down the corridor, and said in a low voice, "Master Wen Yin came back not too late, just in time to save the last batch of nephews and fellow apprentices."
She waved her hand lightly, and the secret guards immediately put away their knives. The monks escaped death and collapsed to the ground.
"Donor, do you still remember what Lao Na once said? Everything has its cause and effect. Aren't you afraid of..."
"That's my karma." Shen Anan's eyes darkened suddenly, and her red lips turned pale, "Why should others bear it?"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly smiled and lowered her eyes to play with the blood-stained dagger. "But it has already come to this. I have nothing to be afraid of. If I can drag a few more people to die with me, it will be a profit."
"Amitabha, the donor has lost his mind now, no different from the devil." Wen Yin spoke righteously, and in his eyes, Shen Anan's face was like a devil crawling out of hell. With the bright red in the yard, it seemed as if he was in purgatory.
"Whatever you say." Shen Anan kicked away a monk who kept retreating, and his cold voice resounded in the courtyard, "Master Wenyin is very knowledgeable in Buddhism, you should know why I came here today."
Wen Yin's expression changed, and he frowned without saying a word.
He really knew.
Shen Anan's almond eyes became even colder. Since she knew it, he went out to travel, which was nothing more than hiding from her. If she hadn't gone crazy, she really couldn't force him out.
"In that case, I won't waste my words. Their lives..." She slashed through the bodies of everyone in the courtyard with her short knife, and finally the tip of the knife stopped in the direction of Wen Yin, "are all in the hands of the master."
Wen Yin closed her eyes tightly and sighed heavily, "What a bad fate. Amitabha."
Shen An'an didn't have time to listen to him continue those profound and obscure Buddhist texts here, and said coldly, "Master, please make a decision quickly. I don't have time to listen to your nagging here."
Wen Yin was silent for a moment, then walked towards the house, "Donor, please follow me."
Everyone in the room was sent out, and the door closed, leaving only Shen Anan and Wen Yin.
"Donor, do you know why Donor Xiao suffered this disaster?"
Shen Anan said nothing and listened to him quietly.
"Born as a proud child, with a heavy mission from heaven, he defied fate and forced cause and effect." Wen Yin bowed to the Buddha statue several times before continuing, "You must know that all things are interdependent, and gains and losses are opposite. Today's results are all the results he promised in his dream and prayed for."
Shen Anan's eyes trembled slightly, and his face turned pale.
"But that was my karma, why should he be held responsible?"
“……” Wen Yin didn’t say anything, but sat cross-legged on the ground and started beating the wooden fish.
"Gains and losses are opposites." Shen Anan raised his eyes, looked at Wen Yin calmly and said, "If I am willing to lose, can I also gain?"
Hearing the sound, he paused while knocking the wooden fish, pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Buddha never asked me about his gains and losses. This is unfair."
——
When the last ray of sunlight completely rose above the horizon, Xiangjue Temple finally ushered in a new day. The monks who survived the disaster sat on the ground as if they had lived again.
And those who had been killed and abandoned on the ground long ago began to slowly crawl and stand up one after another.
"Brother."
"Junior brother."
"You are not dead, you are not dead!!"
Those people frowned and touched their heads in confusion, then they hissed in pain. There was a huge lump on the back of their heads, which was very conspicuous on their bald heads.
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