Killing Monks

The four children listened with great interest, and Wu Dalang occasionally exclaimed "Wow!"

Wu Erlang and Ma Qiang kept asking "What happened next?" Even the youngest girl forgot her shyness and leaned against her brother, listening intently.

After finishing his story, Wu Dalang suddenly spoke up.

"But..." he scratched his head, "what you're saying is different from what those masters said."

"Oh?" Guangyuan looked at him. "What are they all saying?"

Wu Dalang thought for a moment and tried hard to recall.

"They say... there was a man named Buddha, who was originally a prince. Seeing people suffering, he went out to practice asceticism. Later, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and began to teach people how to achieve liberation."

He paused, then added, "They also told many stories. They said there was a man named Sudatta who bought the prince's garden for the Buddha to live in, and even paved the ground with gold."

"There was another person named Mahoraga, who was a giant snake. He became whole after listening to the Buddha's sermons..."

He spoke incoherently, clearly not remembering the details clearly himself.

Guangyuan did not laugh.

He simply nodded.

"The stories they told are not the same as the stories I told," he said. "As for which one you believe, you can decide for yourself when you grow up."

The children nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.