...
Two days later, Shen Zhao and Mu Qiuyao drove their carriage to a place called Jialan Town outside Shituo City.
The sight in the city made Mu Qiuyao feel deeply disappointed in this so-called Buddhist sanctuary once again.
On the street, a hunchbacked young man accidentally bumped into a passing monk and was immediately criticized by the monks who were enforcing the law. They then poured scalding hot oil into his mouth.
On the other side, two red-robed monks lashed out with whips, whipping a poorly clothed child who rolled on the ground. The reason was simply that the child had not delivered the vegetables needed by the temple on time, delaying the meal by half a cup of tea.
On both sides of the low houses, there were people with missing arms and legs, and people with disabilities. When they saw Shen Zhao's carriage passing by, they only showed an extremely humble and respectful attitude, and did not even dare to raise their heads.
A scream caught Mu Qiuyao's attention, and she opened the car door and looked outside.
In the distance, a cultivator casually wiped his longsword. At his feet, an old man lay lifeless in a pool of blood.
Passersby seemed to take it all in stride, many not even glancing at the body before walking right past it.
Then the monk took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket, threw them to the two family members of the deceased kneeling on the ground, and then left.
After the cultivator left, the deceased's family members kept kowtowing to his departing figure, muttering words of gratitude.
"Murder in the street? Doesn't the government care?"
Mu Qiuyao couldn't help but ask.
“This is a sacred Buddhist site, where did the government come from?” Shen Zhao retorted. “Besides, that cultivator has already compensated the deceased’s family. According to the rules of the Buddhist kingdom, he has already paid the price.”
"A human life, and all that's worth are a few dozen copper coins?"
"Surprised? The Western Buddhist Kingdom divides people into different classes. From the moment they are born, everything they have, including their lives, is already priced."
Mu Qiuyao was so angry that she could barely speak, and her last glimmer of hope for the Western Buddha Kingdom was shattered.
The scene unfolding before my eyes was exactly as Shen Zhao had predicted, all of it coming true.
The stark contrast in their beliefs caused this battle-hardened Northern Empress to feel a strong sense of suffocation.
"Don't they know how to resist?"
"You can ask someone."
Mu Qiuyao pondered for a while, then immediately told Shen Zhao to stop the car and walked up to the deceased's family member: "He killed your loved one, don't you want to seek justice for your loved one?"
Unexpectedly, the deceased's family replied with a smile, "You must be from out of town. You mustn't say that to that monk. We are born as lowly people. Only by enduring the hardships of this life to atone for our sins can we have the chance to be liberated from the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn into a wealthy family in the next life."
Mu Qiuyao fell silent. She instinctively wanted to help this poor family, but then she remembered that she didn't have any worldly possessions on her, so she glanced at Shen Zhao.
"Get in the car!"
Shen Zhao ignored Mu Qiuyao's gaze, and simply patted the carriage door, gesturing for her to come up.
Mu Qiuyao sighed softly and had no choice but to enter the carriage.
"Don't give them alms, or their fate will be even worse."
Why is that?
“If you give them gold and silver, the monks here will take it all away, and your whole family will be beaten.”
Is this a Buddhist paradise or hell?
“It is both a Buddhist kingdom and a hell.” Shen Zhao smiled sarcastically. “It’s just that the so-called Buddha saves the Yuan people, but these powerless and weak people at the bottom are destined to be exploited.”
"The Buddhist Kingdom has a strict hierarchical system. Even a cultivator at the lowest level of the Body Tempering Realm is an existence that ordinary people cannot reach in the Buddhist Kingdom."
For them, executing ordinary people in the Buddhist kingdom was as simple as crushing an ant, and the consequences they had to bear were extremely minor.
If a cultivator is willing to join a Buddhist sect, their status will rise accordingly, and it's even possible that they could become a nobleman by making meritorious contributions in the future.
For ordinary people, the only way to rise in status is to become a cultivator. However, unlike other realms, all cultivation resources in the Buddhist Kingdom have long been divided up by the ruling classes.
Therefore, ordinary people living in Buddhist lands are destined to spend their tragic lives under the dual pressure of physical and mental oppression.
After listening to Shen Zhao's explanation, Mu Qiuyao felt as if something was stuck in her chest, making her feel very depressed. So she stopped talking and let the carriage travel on the bumpy road.
Passing by a brothel, Mu Qiuyao saw through the carriage curtain several elderly women, all dressed in their finest attire, standing at the entrance soliciting customers.
"These are the descendants of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom from the Journey to the West. After the Western Liang Women's Kingdom was destroyed, all the citizens of the city were distributed to various places by the Buddhist Kingdom."
They perform the lowest of jobs because the children they give birth to are always girls, thus perpetuating the despicable profession of prostitution generation after generation.
Only at the moment of their death will all this be resolved.
Mu Qiuyao couldn't listen any longer and hurriedly asked, "Kid, what are you planning to do?"
"Whoa~"
The carriage stopped in front of an inn.
"I want to carry on Master Xuanzang's last wish and restore the Western Buddhist Kingdom to its original state."
"Very well, I, Mu Qiuyao, representing the Xuantian Immortal Dynasty, will unconditionally support any action you take against the Buddhist Kingdom!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhao remained silent.
I was taken aback.
Having been by Yu Xiyan's side for so long and given so much, he still doesn't have the understanding and support of Mu Qiuyao, whom he has only known for less than half a month.
So, having licked his boots for nine lifetimes without getting what he wanted, aside from the system that issued the task, all I can say is that he deserved it.
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