Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 140 The Battle of Wits in Chechi Kingdom (Part 10)
Meanwhile, Alu and his group's affair was discovered.

On this day, Alu and several fellow disciples walked out of Zhiyuan Temple as usual, went to a secluded spot, skillfully parted the grass, took out their bundles, put on their Taoist robes, then attached fake hair, put on hair crowns, picked up wooden swords, talismans, and so on.

Suddenly, the new abbot led a group of old monks out from the surrounding area and caught the group red-handed.

The old monk's eyes blazed with fury as he cried out in anguish, "You! How dare you commit such a heinous act! This is treason!"

The old monks escorted the group to the main hall of the temple and made them kneel before the Buddha statue to repent.

When the monks returned from their outings, they saw Alu and the others kneeling, and everyone's expressions changed.

The new abbot presented irrefutable evidence, including a robe, a wig, talismans, and a wooden sword, to all the monks, and announced the punishment for Alu and the others. They were to be punished severely for treason and apostasy, and expelled from the monastery.

Upon hearing this, the monks all pleaded for mercy.

A disciple pleaded, "Abbot, although Brother Alu has made a mistake, it was for the sake of the temple. Please forgive him this time!"

A disciple pleaded, "Abbot, Brother Alu has never used the money he earned for his own enjoyment; he has given it all to the temple. Please forgive him in consideration of his hard work and contributions!"

A disciple pleaded, "Abbot, Brother Alu has only made a mistake once. Why punish him so severely? Why expel him from the temple? Buddha is merciful. Let him repent for a few days and forgive him!"

The new abbot angrily retorted, "Nonsense! This wicked creature, dressed in a Taoist robe, has already betrayed our Buddhist sect and switched to Taoism. The evidence is irrefutable. How can we let him off lightly? Although Buddha is merciful, he also has his moments of wrath. Such a crime of treason will never be forgiven!"

These words frightened the younger monks present.

A monk stepped forward and said, "Abbot, although Brother Alu is wearing a Taoist robe, it can't be said that he has betrayed the religion!"

Upon hearing this, the new abbot angrily retorted, "Taoist robes are the possessions of Taoist priests. He took off his monk's robes and put on Taoist robes, yet he dares to say he hasn't betrayed his faith?"

One monk countered, "This isn't necessarily a Taoist robe. The Buddha has no fixed form; perhaps a kasaya (Buddhist robe) simply looks like this?"

Upon hearing this, the other monks chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, this is a kasaya! Although it looks somewhat like a Taoist robe, it actually has nothing to do with Taoism!"

The new abbot trembled with anger and asked, "Then how do you explain the wig?"

The monks argued, "There's nothing wrong with practicing Buddhism while still keeping your hair."

The new abbot asked, "Then what about this wooden sword?"

The monks argued, "This is a vajra!"

The new abbot said, "Very well, then what about this talisman? It's clearly written on it, with the name of Laozi. What do you think it is?"

Seeing this, the monks were unable to offer any explanation.

A monk rolled his eyes, stepped forward, secretly made a hand seal, and with a whoosh, the talisman burned.

The new abbot pointed at him angrily and said, "You, you've also learned Taoist arts?"

The monk did not respond, but instead advised, "Abbot, although Brother Alu's actions were somewhat wrong, they were for the sake of the temple and everyone. His merits outweigh his faults. For everyone's sake, let's not pursue this matter further!"

Upon hearing this, all the monks said, "Yes! Brother Alu's merits outweigh his faults! Please, Abbot, do not pursue the matter further!"

Upon hearing this, the new abbot angrily tore his prayer beads in half, pointed at the group of monks before him, and roared:

"You! You! You've all secretly joined the Taoist sect and learned Taoist magic, haven't you? You've all betrayed the sect, haven't you? You wicked creatures will not be spared! All those who betray the sect will be severely punished! Expelled from the temple! Not a single one will be spared!"

Upon hearing this, the monks remained silent, staring intently at the abbot.

The new abbot, observing the silent crowd, calmed down slightly. He then realized that there seemed to be far too many monks who had studied Taoist practices. A moment of awkward silence ensued.

The new abbot looked at Alu on the ground and decided to punish him first to deter the other monks.

So he ordered the old monk to punish Alu.

Seeing that the other party was determined to punish him, and after looking around, Alu suddenly burst into laughter, stood up, and said:
"What right do you have to punish me? You old fogies only know how to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor. Everything you eat and use is earned through the hard work of us brothers and sisters! You just sit in the temple without contributing anything, yet you dare to speak so arrogantly here!"

An old monk, upon hearing this, angrily said:

"Alu, you traitorous wretch, how dare you be so arrogant before the Buddha statue?"

Alu said, “What right do you have to mention Buddha to me? The golden statue on Buddha’s body was gilded with the money that we brothers worked so hard to earn! We are still short of nearly ten thousand taels of silver for the repair of the temple, and we have to pay for all of that! Not only can you not come up with the money, but you have also ruined the property of my Zhiyuan Temple. How can you stand in front of Buddha? How can you be abbots, head monks of various halls, supervisors, or deputy supervisors?”

Upon hearing this, the old monks turned red with anger.

Alu's junior brother said, "Senior Brother Alu is right. How can you have the face to run Zhiyuan Temple? Senior Brother Alu should be the abbot of Zhiyuan Temple!"

Upon hearing this, many monks echoed his sentiments, with over three hundred agreeing in an instant, over one hundred wavering, and only fifty-odd elderly monks who sincerely worshipped Buddha objecting.

A monk who betrayed his religion and joined the Taoist priests was actually going to become the abbot.

The old monks cursed loudly at this.

The other young monks argued back at him.

Those fifty-odd old monks were mostly in their fifties or sixties.

The other monks who supported Alu were all around forty years old, numerous, and strong, so the older monks were quickly defeated.

The monks elected Alu as abbot, and then assigned other positions in order of seniority.

Most of the monks were willing to support this, and when the fifty-odd old monks saw that the situation was hopeless, ten of them who were not firm in their decision also surrendered.

Aru thus became the new abbot and took control of Chiyuan Temple.

The old abbot collapsed to the ground, gazing at the scene before him, and wept bitterly, saying, "I have failed Buddha! I failed to realize that this was a Taoist conspiracy! This is a conflict between the Taoists!"

Nobody paid him any attention.

Alu ordered the old abbot and those stubborn old monks to be locked in a quiet room.

Next.

After becoming abbot, Alu became very brazen, leading the other monks to become disciples of the three national teachers of the Sanqing Temple. They then wore Taoist robes, chanted Taoist scriptures, and learned Taoist practices in the temple, and the other monks followed suit.

Upon learning that Master Taixi was recruiting disciples for alchemy, Alu, despite being the abbot of Zhiyuan Temple, condescended to personally recommend himself.

Many monks followed.

In the end, Ao Tu chose eight disciples, including three Taoists, who were disciples of Tiger Power Immortal, Deer Power Immortal, and Sheep Power Immortal; four ordinary people, namely a commoner, a merchant, a prince, and a princess; and a monk, A Lu.

The other Aotu were chosen randomly, but Alu was chosen intentionally.

(End of this chapter)