plumnovel Chapter 28 is 8% off.
Chapter 28 is 8% off.
The moment Zhi Zao saw Jiang Feng appear, his legs went weak and he almost knelt on the ground. Then, pale-faced, he untied the bundle from his shoulder and threw it to the ground.
"I know the rules, and I'll give you all the money. I just beg you to spare our lives."
He felt he had been too naive, thinking that Jiang Feng's lack of direct opposition at the governor's mansion meant he tacitly approved of Jiang Feng's permission to spread Buddhism in Zu'an County.
Born into an official family, how could he have forgotten the rule that one cannot compete for resources in the territories of other powers!
"..."
Seeing his actions, Jiang Feng couldn't help but get angry and said, "Are you treating me like a robber?"
Yang Jian glanced at him and sneered, "Then don't pick up the money on the ground."
Jiang Feng squatted on the ground and looked up, rummaging through the scattered copper coins as he defended himself: "These are my money, donations from the local gentry! No one can take a single copper coin from me!"
After tidying up the money, he returned the bundle to Zhizao and said expressionlessly, "Shall we talk somewhere else?"
Zhi Zao reluctantly followed him to the main hall of the Wishing Temple.
Jiang Feng then spent money to buy three incense sticks and handed him a redemption voucher.
"Alright, Buddha has now forgiven you for stealing my incense money. You're in charge of communicating with local governments in the Tiantai sect, so that Buddhist temple in Qinglong Mountain should be related to you, right?"
Zhizao paused for a moment, then said, "Are you asking about Lotus Temple? Why are you asking that?"
Seeing that he looked completely unaware, Jiang Feng frowned and asked, "That place has now been renamed Leiyin Temple. Who funded its construction, and who is the abbot?"
Zhi Zao said with a worried look: "I remember that the Buddhist temple was built by the local people themselves. At that time, I also went to communicate with the government and borrowed a group of craftsmen from the imperial court."
As for the abbot of the Buddhist temple, it seems he was appointed by Brother Zhiming, but I didn't inquire about who exactly he was. I knew even less about the temple's name change.
After a moment's thought, he continued, "Did someone rob the temple and then use the name of the Tiantai school to swindle and deceive people?"
Jiang Feng said, "It's more serious than you think; that place has become a stronghold of the Mahayana Sect."
Zhi Zao's expression changed drastically: "How is that possible? Wasn't the Mahayana sect wiped out long ago?!"
For Buddhist monks, Mahayana Buddhism is like a demon crawling out of hell.
Although the Taoist sect had previously launched two campaigns to suppress Buddhism, the emperors at the time did not exterminate them completely, leaving them some leeway.
Mahayana Buddhism was known for destroying temples and burning scriptures, leaving ruins in its wake. They also slaughtered all monks of other faiths, leaving no one alive!
Zhi Zao was filled with fear and unease, and said urgently, "I must return to Jiangdu to tell my master about this!"
Seeing him about to leave, Jiang Feng grabbed his shoulder: "Don't rush, your suspicion hasn't been cleared yet!"
Zhi Zao was taken aback: "You suspect I'm a follower of Mahayana Buddhism? That's absurd!"
While he was in a daze, Jiang Feng activated the "Ten Abodes Mahayana Technique," and a thirty-six-petaled blood lotus appeared in his palm. Three thousand blood threads flew out from the lotus and instantly burrowed into Zhi Zao's body.
Zhi Zao was frozen in place, feeling the murderous aura emanating from his body, and his face turned as pale as paper!
After a moment, Jiang Feng confirmed that there was no trace of Mahayana cultivation techniques in his body before withdrawing the Blood Lotus.
Jiang Feng nodded slightly to him and said, "You can leave now."
Zhi Zao didn't leave. Instead, he stared at Jiang Feng with a serious expression: "Are you sure I'm not a member of the Mahayana Sect? But now I suspect you are, and that you hold a high position within the sect!"
Jiang Feng chuckled: "Haha, why don't you just say I'm the leader of the Mahayana Sect?"
Yang Jian agreed, saying, "I have the same suspicion. You're probably the current leader of the Mahayana Sect!"
Jiang Feng: "@#￥%￥#@……"
No, you guys aren't serious, are you?
Seeing Jiang Feng's wide-eyed, dumbfounded expression, Cui Ying chuckled and said, "Stop joking, how could Jiang Feng possibly be a member of the Mahayana Sect? Even if we were all members of the Mahayana Sect, he still couldn't be!"
Jiang Feng, deeply moved, grasped her hands, looked sincerely into her eyes, and promised, "From now on, I'll give you a 10% discount when you buy Atonement Tickets—no, I'll give you a 20% discount!"
Yang Jian slapped his hand away with a dark expression and said, "Stop dawdling, go find Zhiming."
The group looked at each other and set off together.
Throughout the journey, Zhi Zao remained wary of Jiang Feng.
The spell Jiang Feng just used was so similar to the Mahayana Buddhist techniques recorded in books that he couldn't feel at ease no matter what.
Moreover, he had spent many years with Zhiming, and their relationship was as close as brothers. He simply did not believe that Zhiming was a member of the Mahayana sect.
With Yang Jian's magical power, they arrived in Ninghai County, which had been assigned to Zhiming to spread the Dharma, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Zhi Zao closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before leading the group to an inn.
"Are you here for dinner or to stay overnight?"
The waiter glanced at the strange group of people and cautiously stepped forward to ask.
Zhi Zao asked, "Are we looking for four monks living here?"
The waiter said, "Oh, you mean those masters from Tiantai Mountain? They're staying in the upper room on the second floor, the one with the character '甲' on it."
At this moment, Yang Jian suddenly frowned: "There's a bloody smell."
After saying that, he flipped over and jumped to a guest room on the second floor, and with a gust of wind from his right hand, he smashed the door open.
The three monks lay crookedly in the room, their faces ashen, each with a bloodstain between their eyebrows, and their bodies lifeless.
Zhi Zao anxiously bypassed him and went to the three monks, checking them one by one: "Hui Neng, Hui Xin, Hui Tong... who killed them? Where is Brother Zhi Ming?"
Jiang Feng frowned as he looked at the three corpses in the room. "It doesn't make sense. How could he have killed people and escaped?"
Even if Zhiming were to face the Dharma, he wouldn't be able to recognize that Bai Jiao was in disguise, nor would he know that he was going to test him. So why did he run away beforehand?
Jiang Feng couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it, wiped away a bloodstain between a monk's eyebrows with his index finger, and activated the "Ten Abodes Mahayana Technique".
The drop of blood on his fingertip emitted a faint golden light, gradually turning golden. A golden thread formed from magical power extended outwards, its destination unknown.
After finishing all this, Jiang Feng exhaled a breath of turbid air and explained to them, "This is the Blood Killing Technique of the Mahayana Sect. The caster uses his own condensed poisonous blood to kill people, which is somewhat similar to the Gu poison technique."
"You don't need to worry about not being able to find him. As long as his skills are not as complete as mine, he won't escape my grasp."
At this moment, Cui Ying's expression also became somewhat strange. She leaned close to Jiang Feng and whispered, "You're really not from the Mahayana Sect? Tell me quietly, and I won't tell anyone else."
Jiang Feng: "..."
I don't need to explain to you guys!