A master of comedy!

"Slaying the dragon?"

Upon hearing these two words, Zhou Sheng's expression turned serious.

He recalled the White Snake General Temple and the legendary story of the dragon running through the water, and a guess couldn't help but come to mind.

The abbot's next words confirmed his guess.

"Among these mountains, there once lived a snake demon who had cultivated for hundreds of years, consuming the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and bathing in the essence of the sun and moon, almost attaining enlightenment, and calling himself the White Snake General."

“Back then, Ge’an City at the foot of the mountain suffered from a plague. The third abbot went down the mountain to treat the sick and save lives. He developed a cure for the plague, but it was missing one ingredient: dragon robe, which had to be at least a hundred years old.”

Zhou Sheng nodded. He had traveled around with his master and learned some medical skills, so he knew that the dragon robe was actually a snake's molt.

"Later, the snake demon took the initiative to deliver medicine, and the plague was finally brought under control."

"From this perspective, the White Snake General should be a good demon."

Upon hearing this, the abbot sighed and said, "We used to think the same way, so we let the villagers worship it and gain their incense and faith. But we didn't expect that we had already sown the seeds of disaster."

"Now it seems that the snake demon had been plotting all along. All its previous good deeds were just to gain the power of incense offerings so that it could transform from a dragon into a dragon."

"On that day, feeling well prepared, it resolutely unleashed its power, causing torrential rain and flash floods, completely disregarding the devout worshippers!"

Zhou Sheng couldn't help but feel a little ironic. Back then, when the rainstorm hit, many people must have gone to the White Snake General Temple to pray, but they never expected that the very god they were worshipping would be the one who caused the rainstorm.

“When a dragon moves through the water, it often causes great suffering to all living beings. If it is not stopped, not only will White Snake Village suffer, but the people of the city at the foot of the mountain will also suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, this old monk led the monks to set up the Arhat Formation and fight the snake demon to the death!”

"That serpent demon had reached its full potential, its cultivation comparable to that of someone undergoing tribulation. We burned our life essence and risked everything to finally kill it, but the price was extremely high. Not only did all the monks who had cultivated magical power perish, but even the innocent novices in the temple were drowned..."

As he spoke, the abbot's voice trembled slightly, and the faint sound of children crying could be heard from all around, as if it were coming from underground.

That was a young novice monk buried underground, unable to come out during the day.

From this brief account, Zhou Sheng could already imagine the ferocity of that battle.

The dragon that roamed the water possessed magical power comparable to a cultivator who had just undergone tribulation. Although the Medicine Buddha Temple was a place where hidden talents resided and had a remarkable foundation, it took the entire temple's lives to barely defeat it.

"Perhaps it was Buddha's mercy that, although we were not led to the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli after our deaths, we were able to hide in murals and statues of gods, so that our souls would not be scattered."

"Later, my wandering junior brother returned to the temple and adopted an abandoned baby named Huinian. We taught him together and regarded Huinian as the hope of Yaofo Temple. But unfortunately, he had limited aptitude and could not cultivate magic power for a long time."

"Amitabha!"

An old monk stepped forward and said with a heavy heart, "I am the one who took in Huinian. It is a pity that my lifespan was not long and I passed away three years ago. Otherwise, it would not have been him who delivered the invitation to the play this time."

He had long regarded his disciple, who had average talent but excellent character, as his own son.

"Then what is the cause of this demonic energy?"

Zhou Sheng asked again.

Upon hearing this question, the abbot's face showed a hint of shame, and he said, "To be honest, it is because our cultivation is insufficient that we have given rise to the three thieves of greed, anger, and ignorance."

The abbot remained silent for a moment, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.

The statue of Weituo, ever outspoken, declared loudly, "Abbot, let me speak for you. We simply feel that our deaths were not worthwhile!"

"We died to save lives, facing floods and dragons without retreating an inch. Which one of us did not recite the Medicine Buddha Sutra and bravely face death?"

"We died to save all living beings. Logically speaking, we should have been led to the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli long ago. But after so many years, no matter how many times we have sincerely recited the sutras, there has been no response!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Jingchen is right. Besides, how many of the people we saved still remember us?"

The words of the Weituo statue stirred up a storm, instantly turning the previously calm monks into agitators. The Zen atmosphere vanished, and wisps of faint demonic energy quietly began to grow.

"Those who witnessed our sacrifice back then, except for Xiao Guozi, have all passed away. In just a few decades, almost no one remembers Yaofosi Temple!"

"A 972-year-old temple, the lives of 314 monks, were completely forgotten in just a few decades!"

"If they were merely forgotten, that would be one thing. But even now, some people still remember the White Snake General fondly. People in the city at the foot of the mountain make offerings to him from time to time. There are even rumors that we angered the White Snake General back then, which caused the flash flood..."

“There were government soldiers here before, wanting to demolish the whole place so they could farm and raise pigs. If the abbot hadn’t stopped them, I would have smashed their heads!”

The crowd was filled with anger, each person speaking in turn, their faces increasingly showing ferocity and resentment.

For a moment, Zhou Sheng felt as if he were surrounded by demons and had fallen into a demon's lair.

However, he finally understood why the monk who had killed Uncle Liu and his wife would have wanted to poison the entire village.

These monks were indeed true Buddhist disciples back then, wholeheartedly devoted to goodness and compassion. However, as their physical bodies perished, their souls could only cling to the cold and broken statues, imprisoned in their own little world, suffering from the wind and sun all day long, which naturally made it easy for them to harbor resentment.

What chills them most is that the people they risked their lives to save back then are being forgotten.

Forgetting itself is a form of betrayal.

"Then why don't you tell more people the truth about what happened back then?"

Jinse couldn't help but interject. She had been listening quietly the whole time, and now that she spoke up, it was clear that she was moved by the monks' experiences and didn't want to see them actually fall into the demonic path.

Upon hearing this, someone sneered, "Of course we said that, but they simply didn't believe us!"

"Yes, not long ago, we also rescued a herb gatherer from White Snake Village, helped him heal his wounds, gathered herbs for him, and told him the truth about what happened back then."

"But while he outwardly expressed admiration, his eyes were filled with fear. In the end, he even stole the head of the Medicine Buddha at noon when we weren't paying attention!"

"Damn it! Damn it!!"

"Our deaths were so pointless! So pointless!!"

Seeing that the crowd was getting more and more excited, Zhou Sheng frowned slightly. To prevent them from going astray, he was about to speak up to intimidate them when he suddenly heard a lion's roar.

"Shut up!!!"

Its voice was like a lion's roar, powerful and domineering, and even vaguely formed the image of a golden lion, roaring to the sky with a sound wave like a tide.

It was Huinian's master, the old monk who had just died three years ago.

Perhaps because he had only been dead for a short time, he possessed an extremely profound Zen-like quality, almost comparable to that of the abbot.

"Jingxuan has already gone to search for the head of the Medicine Buddha, and I believe it will be found soon."

"As for whether the death was worth it..."

The old monk clasped his hands together, his gaze unwavering, and slowly recited a Buddhist scripture.

"Like a solid rock, unshaken by the wind, the wise are unmoved by slander or praise."

For a moment, all the monks fell silent and followed the old monk in reciting this line from the Dhammapada.

The chanting of Buddhist scriptures echoed like a bell, reverberating through the mountains.

...(End of this chapter)