Ignoring his pain, Shi Chan abruptly looked up and saw Shi Fan holding the pearl flower, glaring at him angrily. His gaze slowly shifted, sweeping over the crowd in the hall. He saw the Bodhi Temple disciples whispering amongst themselves; some looked at him with pity, some with disdain, and some with utter indifference…
As Shi Chan looked at each of them, his heart sank to the bottom. Finally, his gaze settled on Shi Ning's face, where he saw Shi Ning's face full of heartache and disappointment.
"Senior brother..." Shi Chan's voice trembled as he called out softly. But after calling out once, he really didn't know how to continue explaining. His lips opened and closed for a long time, but he couldn't say a word.
What he saw before him was the scene that Shi Chan feared most. Every night, he would take out the pearl hairpin and gaze at it intently, thinking that this was the last time he would look at it, and then destroy it. But in the end, he couldn't bear to part with it. This secret, known only to himself, often weighed heavily on his heart like a boulder. He knew he shouldn't keep a woman's personal belongings, but he couldn't bear to discard them, and his heart was filled with inner turmoil and pain.
He had imagined countless times what it would be like if his fellow disciples saw him hiding a woman's personal belongings, but he never expected that this pearl flower would be exposed to his fellow disciples like this, yet he felt exceptionally relieved.
Hearing the commotion among the monks, Liuli temporarily shifted her attention from Shichan, turning her head in confusion. Following the crowd's gaze, she looked at the beaded flower in Shifan's hand, which seemed vaguely familiar. She tilted her head, scrutinizing it for a while, before hesitatingly saying, "That beaded flower, that beaded flower… why is it red…"
At this moment, Shi Fan handed the pearl flower to Shi Ning. During the movement, the pink color of one of the petals was revealed.
"That's it!" A sudden realization struck Liuli, and she exclaimed, "I remember now! That was my favorite beaded flower, and I remember giving it to the little monk!"
Although many years have passed, Liuli never wears women's jewelry. It was on that day when she was strolling through the West Market of Yingyang City with Li Molin and others that she bought a lot of things because she really liked them. Among them, the pearl flower was Liuli's favorite, and she still remembers it to this day.
Liuli felt a surge of joy. She looked at Shichan with a beaming smile and said, "Little monk, so you've been keeping the pearl hairpin I gave you all this time. You even said you didn't like me..."
As soon as Liuli said this, screams of surprise rose and fell in the Buddhist hall, and the discussions became increasingly noisy.
Shi Ning took the pearl hairpin and examined it closely for a moment before putting it into a hidden pouch at his waist. He looked up at Liuli, his gaze turning cold, and shouted in a chilling voice, "The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan has reappeared, and now they are about to stir up trouble again! All disciples of Bodhi Temple, listen to my command, capture this Nine-Tailed Fox alive for this humble monk!"
"Yes!" the disciples responded in unison, drawing their weapons at the same time, and golden light shone brightly in the Buddhist hall in an instant.
Liuli glanced around at the Bodhi Temple disciples who filled almost the entire Buddhist hall, and a wave of fear washed over her. She involuntarily took a step back and shrank her neck in fright.
Shi Chan slowly stepped forward and stood in front of Liu Li. His wounds had stopped bleeding, and his pain had subsided considerably. He spread his arms wide, blocking Liu Li's path, his expression resolute, and said, word by word, "Shi Chan is here. I beg you, fellow disciples, to spare Miss Liu Li!"
"Shi Chan!" Shi Ning's face darkened with anger, and he said in a cold voice, "Shi Chan, stop being so stubborn and get out of here at once!"
Shi Chan neither dodged nor avoided the attack, his gaze unwavering. He raised his voice and shouted, "Although Miss Liuli is a nine-tailed fox demon, she is kind-hearted and her hands are untouched by bloodshed. Why can't we, the disciples of Buddhism, tolerate her?!"
Shi Fan's eyebrows shot up, and he roared, "Shi Chan, have you truly been bewitched by the nine-tailed fox demon? Why should we tolerate a nine-tailed fox demon? Don't you know about the fox demon incident?!"
Shi Chan shook his head and retorted, "That was not a mistake made by Miss Liuli. How can we be so blind as to attribute the mistakes made by the ancient nine-tailed fox to an innocent fox demon?"
“Little monk…” Liuli was filled with gratitude. She gently tugged at Shichan’s sleeve and looked at him with a face full of emotion. Before coming here, she was worried that Shichan might take his anger out on her because of the fox incident. Fortunately, the little monk was the most clear-headed and kindest person in the world.
Shi Fanqi's face turned purple. He turned to look at Shi Ning and said in a deep voice, "Abbot, it seems that this person cannot be kept in our Bodhi Temple!"
Shi Ning paused in his breathing, and Shi Chan's body trembled slightly.
"Make your move!" Shi Ning shouted in a cold voice.
The disciples responded and stepped forward, ready to attack.
Shi Chan's voice turned cold as he raised his voice, "If you fellow disciples insist on taking action, then step over Shi Chan's corpse!"
"This..." Everyone looked at each other, all turning to Shi Ning, whose face was ashen.
Shi Ning's face was cold and stern as he said in a chilling voice, "Capture Shi Chan first, then catch the Nine-Tailed Fox!"
"yes!"
Everyone responded in unison and was about to make a move when Shi Ning hurriedly spoke up, saying, "Do not make a move inside the Buddhist hall. Everyone wait outside the Buddhist hall. Remember to surround the Buddhist hall completely and do not let the Nine-Tailed Fox escape!"
Everyone then realized that this Buddhist hall was indeed the place where the memorial tablets of the patriarchs were enshrined. How could they take action here? If they destroyed the Buddhist hall, the sin would be enormous.
Shi Ning and Shi Fan exchanged a glance and shook their heads slightly. He was so angry that he almost ordered an attack to be carried out right there in the Buddhist hall.
Soon, everyone had left, leaving only Liuli and three monks, Shichan, Shining, and Shifan, in the Buddhist hall.
Shi Ning stared at Shi Chan with a cold expression. He respectfully pointed to a newly built memorial tablet to the left of the Buddha statue and said in a deep voice, "Shi Chan, are you still so stubbornly deluded in front of your master?"
Shi Chan's expression changed. He slowly turned his head to look at the memorial tablet of Zen Master Daming. After a long while, he turned back and said in a low voice, "If Master were here, he would support Shi Chan."
"You!" Shakyamuni was furious.
Shi Ning's expression was also not good. He glanced at Liuli, who was peeking out from behind Shi Chan, and said in a deep voice, "Shi Chan, your senior brother will give you one last chance. If you can capture this nine-tailed fox demon with your own hands, then the precepts you broke earlier can be redeemed, and you will still be a disciple of my Bodhi Temple... Otherwise, Shi Chan, even your senior brother can't protect you!"
Shi Chan shook his head and said in a low voice, "Shi Chan thanks you, senior brother. I will kneel before the Buddha to ask for his forgiveness for the precepts I have broken. However, Miss Liuli is innocent, and I would never lay a hand on her."
"Enough, enough, enough!" Shi Ning sighed, his face full of heartache. He suddenly threw his staff away, and the staff transformed into a golden dragon in the air, rushing menacingly toward Liuli behind Shi Ning.
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