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Chapter 141 The Rumors of Tang Monk's Flesh, the City God Case! (Please Subscribe)
In the main hall of the royal palace in the Kingdom of Fire Cloud.

Niu Yan saw Prime Minister Wang Lun approaching slowly, raised his head slightly, and asked with a smile, "What does Fifth Uncle think of that Tang Sanzang?"

Fifth Uncle!

There are very few people in the Three Realms whom Niu Yan can call his uncle, and there is only one person whom he can call his fifth uncle, namely the Great Sage of the Wind, the Macaque King.

Therefore, the origin of Wang Lun, the prime minister of the Fire Cloud Kingdom, is self-evident; he was transformed from a Dharma body of the Great Sage Monkey King.

With the Monkey King's knowledge and skills, managing the Fire Cloud Kingdom would be a piece of cake.

After hearing Sun Wukong's words, Niu Yan was unsure about Tang Sanzang's current situation, so he invited the Macaque King to pretend to deliver an imperial edict and find out Tang Sanzang's background.

Upon hearing Niu Yan's question, the Monkey King frowned and said, "Based on my observation, Tang Sanzang is indeed a mortal with an extremely pure soul and will, which does not seem to be the resurgence of Jin Chanzi's will."

"However, I still believe in Lao Qi's abilities."

"Since Lao Qi said that Tang Sanzang has a problem, then there is a high probability that he does have a problem. It is very likely that he escaped our detection because of Jin Chanzi's extraordinary abilities."

"After all, Jin Chanzi's previous life was the second disciple personally taught by the World-Honored One, Tathagata. Before becoming a disciple of the World-Honored One, he was a notorious ancient demon. If he really wanted to deceive our detection, it would be an easy task."

"Therefore, if the Holy Infant really wants to attack Tang Sanzang, it would be best to ask his elder brother to come, so that there will be no mistake."

The Monkey King said with a solemn expression.

Although he was confident in his abilities, he also knew that ancient demons with extraordinary origins, like Jin Chanzi, were not comparable to the younger generation of demons like them; their supernatural powers far surpassed theirs.

If Niu Yan really has feelings for Tang Sanzang.

The Monkey King felt he had to inform his elder brother, Niu Jun.

Niu Yan shook his head: "Fifth Uncle misunderstands. Father has already explained the Journey to the West to me in many ways. Whether it is Tang Sanzang from the Tang Dynasty in the East or Jin Chanzi from the Buddhist sect of Mount Ling who goes to the West to obtain the scriptures, it has little to do with us."

"Although there is a rumor in the Three Realms that eating Tang Sanzang can lead to obtaining the Golden Cicada Dao Fruit, I am not stupid. If the Primordial Dao Fruit were so easy to obtain, those ancient demons and monsters that had been lying dormant would have already jumped out."

As Niu Yan finished speaking, he curled his lip in disdain, scoffing at the rumors spread by the Buddhist sect of Lingshan.

I don’t know when it started.

A rumor began to spread throughout the Three Realms, saying that any living being who ate Tang Sanzang's flesh would gain immortality and obtain the relics of Jin Chanzi, the second disciple personally taught by the Buddha, thus attaining the Primordial Chaos.

Regarding such rumors.

Niu Yan definitely didn't believe it.

As Niu Jun's son, he was familiar with the Hunyuan Taiyi realm and knew that to attain the Hunyuan Taiyi realm, one could not succeed by refining other people's relics or stealing other people's Dao fruits.

I really have to do this.

They probably won't even know how they died. It would be strange if they weren't corrupted by the will of that Hunyuan Taiyi expert and ended up taking over someone else's place.

The issue is.

Those wild demons in the Immortal Realm don't know that.

Therefore, many wild demons in the mortal realm became extremely interested in the four pilgrims after hearing the rumors about "Tang Monk's flesh." Many demon kings even traveled great distances to try their luck at tasting Tang Monk's flesh.

then……

Ok.

There is no more.

Even if these wild demons were quite powerful, they could not escape the net of Heaven and the Buddhist sect of Mount Ling. They were captured and taken to the Heavenly Prison or Mount Ling before they could even get close to Tang Sanzang.

to be honest.

The Heavenly Court and the Buddhist sect of Mount Ling are using the Journey to the West quartet as bait to lure in those ignorant and clueless wild demons.

Niu Yan, who knew many inside stories about Journey to the West, naturally had no interest in Tang Sanzang's flesh.

He sent the Monkey King to investigate Tang Sanzang's background out of curiosity, wanting to know whether the current Tang Sanzang was Tang Sanzang or Jin Chanzi, the second disciple of the Buddha.

After Niu Yan finished speaking, he thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, according to Father, when the Journey to the West is completed, it will be the time when Jin Chanzi returns after his tribulation and attains the Dao of Hunyuan Taiyi."

"So in the next few days, I'll trouble you, Fifth Uncle, to keep a close eye on things. If that Tang Monk can't solve the three difficult problems I've set up, then have someone put him in the water. Don't make things too embarrassing for him."

"Leave room for maneuver in your actions, so you can meet again in the future. We can't go too far either."

Although Niu Yan intended to make things difficult for Tang Sanzang.

However, thinking that after the Journey to the West ends, Jin Chanzi will return after his tribulation and ascend to the Hunyuan Taiyi realm.

Niu Yan could only suppress his thoughts of making things difficult for Tang Sanzang.

After all, we are all adults and cannot act according to our own likes and dislikes like children. We have to consider interpersonal relationships, our own interests, and so on.

Just because he didn't like someone, he offended a powerful cultivator at the Primordial Chaos Realm who was about to attain enlightenment.

Niu Yan felt that he was not that stupid, nor did he have the right to be so arrogant and presumptuous.

"Don't worry, Holy Infant, leave this to me!" The Monkey King nodded and smiled, very satisfied with Niu Yan's performance.

As the saying goes: "One should not show joy or anger on one's face, nor express one's likes or dislikes, nor let sorrow or happiness overflow on one's face, nor submit to fate regarding life and death." Only in this way can one be a mature ruler.

Niu Yan's performance.

He already has the demeanor of a mature monarch.

This made the Monkey King very happy, feeling that his elder brother had a worthy successor.

……

The conversation between Niu Yan and the Monkey King.

Tang Sanzang, of course, was unaware of this.

At this moment, he held the case file in his hand, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Master, how is this case? Could it be that the City God is oppressing the people, and is a wicked deity?"

Seeing Tang Sanzang frown, Sun Wukong immediately asked him in a serious tone.

In fact.

The moment Prime Minister Wang Lun of Huoyun Kingdom took out the case file.

Sun Wukong and his companions already knew the general details of the "mortal suing the temple keeper and the city god" case, so his question was merely a pretense of ignorance.

Tang Sanzang shook his head and sighed, "To be honest, Wukong, I don't know whether the City God is good or evil. But judging from this case file, it seems that this case has little to do with the City God."

"According to the case file, the benefactor named Zhang Xiaofan was merely venting his anger on the temple keeper of the City God Temple and the City God of Yanhuo City because his wife and daughter had died."

"However, the officials who made the judgment also had their own reasons."

"The official believed that the Zhang family had sincerely worshipped the City God for more than 30 years because of the words of the temple keeper, offering incense and paying respects every year. However, when they encountered disaster, they failed to receive the protection and salvation of the City God, which was truly unfortunate."

"Of course, some officials believe that the City God did not personally promise to protect the Zhang family. The Zhang family's worship of the City God was voluntary. Now that they have suffered a calamity, they have not been able to receive the City God's protection and salvation, so they cannot blame the City God."

As Tang Sanzang spoke, his brows furrowed tightly.

Based on the case file, both sides have their own reasons, making it difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong.

Ordinary believers believe that they have been sincerely worshipping the gods for thirty years because of the advice of the temple keeper, but they have encountered disasters and have not been able to receive the gods' protection and salvation, which has led to the successive deaths of their wife and daughters.

What use is there in worshipping such a deity?
Isn't the temple keeper a fraudster? Shouldn't he return all the money he's spent on offerings to the gods over the years?

Even the mortal Zhang Xiaofan kept advising everyone to stop worshipping the gods, using himself as an example, saying that all the gods and Buddhas in the sky were just clay and wooden statues, and were not worth worshipping at all.

The temple keeper also felt wronged.

Because worshipping deities requires sincerity, the temple keeper believed that Zhang Xiaofan's family failed to receive the protection and salvation of the City God because of their lack of sincerity.

It is clearly unreasonable to blame the gods for not protecting and saving people when things go wrong.

"My disciples, whose fault do you think this is, and how should this case be adjudicated?"

After Tang Sanzang recounted the case details recorded in the dossier to Sun Wukong and the other two, he also asked with a worried expression.

In fact.

In Tang Sanzang's heart, he believed that Zhang Xiaofan was wrong.

In his view, the way mortals worship gods is the same as how he worships Buddha; it all comes down to sincerity. He believes that his wife and daughters' misfortunes are due to their lack of good fortune, so how can he blame the City God?

However, Zhang Xiaofan's testimony was also very convincing.

The reason my family worshipped the City God was because the temple keeper told him that the City God would protect the people and bring them good fortune and ward off disasters. That's why we have been sincerely worshipping him for over thirty years, offering incense and paying our respects every year.

Now that his family is suffering a disaster, the City God remains indifferent. Isn't this deception?
That's why he sued the temple keeper of the Yanhuo City City God Temple, and even the City God himself, to the government, wanting to get back the incense money he had spent on offerings to the City God over the years.

The City God is correct.

Was Zhang Xiaofan wrong?
That doesn't seem wrong!
Tang Sanzang was filled with conflicting thoughts and could not discern who was right and who was wrong in this case. He could only look to his three disciples for advice.

"Isn't this obvious?"

"In my opinion, the problem lies with the City God. As a deity, if he enjoys the offerings of the people, he should protect the area and bring blessings and relief to the believers. How can he just eat incense and do nothing?"

"Therefore, I believe that the mortal is not at fault, and the problem lies with the City God."

Pigsy sneered, believing that the matter was the fault of the City God.

Sha Wujing, however, had a different opinion and shook his head, saying, "Second Brother, you are mistaken. It is true that gods enjoy the offerings of the masses and need to protect a certain area, but minor gods like the City God have limited magical power. How can they protect everyone?"

"Not to mention, birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural course of life. In particular, the matter of life and death is predetermined in the Book of Life and Death. Even if the City God protects believers, he cannot go against the will of Heaven regarding life and death."

"Therefore, I don't think the City God is to blame for this, because he never personally promised to protect Zhang Xiaofan's family. At most, it's the fault of the temple keeper!"

(End of this chapter)