Killing Monks

Hearing the sound of wind rapidly approaching from behind, the old monk turned around abruptly and saw Guangyuan and Haiyantian, one after the other, like two gusts of wind, already several feet in front of him, blocking his path.

Under the moonlight, the old monk showed little panic on his face. Instead, he quickly dropped his previous pretense of being frail and trembling.

He straightened his back a bit, and his cloudy eyes became calm, even carrying a hint of the composure and slickness unique to seasoned veterans.

He clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to the two of them, and spoke in a calm tone as if it were truly just a chance encounter:

"Amitabha. Junior brother, and this official, what a coincidence."

"The moon is beautiful tonight. Are you two also traveling under its light?"

This composed demeanor made him seem like a seasoned veteran, unlike Guangyuan, a "young man in the martial arts world," who would get nervous upon seeing the constable.

"You wicked monk! Stop pretending!" Hai Yantian shouted sternly, "Your affair is over!"

"Oh?" The old monk's face showed just the right amount of confusion. "What is it, old monk? I've been practicing meditation here, but I don't know which law I've violated?"

"Ha!" Hai Yantian sneered, "You dare say you don't know about the stark white bones and strips of flesh hanging from your bones in the tunnel under your bed?"

"Several recent missing persons cases in Qujiang County bear striking similarities in method to the 'Wang Mingxun case' that shocked the government and the public fifteen years ago!"

"In the case of Wang Mingxun, there was a sorcerer monk named Minghui who bewitched him and ate with him."

"And you, very likely, are a remnant of that wicked monk Minghui's sect!"

"The physical evidence is overwhelming, what else do you have to say?!"

Upon hearing Hai Yantian connect the case from fifteen years ago with today's events, the feigned doubt on the old monk's face gradually faded.

He did not immediately defend himself, but instead let out a deep, long sigh, as if he were burdened with endless misunderstanding and pity.

"Amitabha..." He raised his head.

His gaze slowly swept across Guangyuan and Haiyantian's faces, his expression becoming unusually solemn, even carrying a martyr-like solemnity.

"You two have misunderstood this old monk."

"Misunderstanding?" Guangyuan's anger intensified. Forcibly suppressing his disgust and murderous intent, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What misunderstanding did you have?"

"You misunderstood that you didn't eat people? You misunderstood that those bones were fake?"

"No." The old monk slowly shook his head, his tone resolute, "This old monk has never 'eaten people'."

He paused, and under the cold gazes of the two men, said, "What this old monk is doing is not 'cannibalism,' but 'saving people.'"

"Ferry people across?" Hai Yantian almost laughed out of anger.

The old monk seemed oblivious to their expressions and continued explaining, "My lineage inherits the ancient and orthodox Dharma, the 'Garuda Dharma'."

"Garuda Dharma?" Hai Yantian frowned. He had searched through countless documents on cults and heresies in the Ministry of Justice's files, but he had never seen this term before.

The old monk nodded slightly and began to explain, citing scriptures and classical texts:

Buddhist scriptures record that the Naga dragons, due to their past lives' karma of anger, slander of the Dharma, and obstruction of good deeds, have fallen into evil realms and are constantly tormented by the Garuda, the golden-winged bird, causing the dragon race to become endangered.

"The Dragon King pleaded with the Buddha, begging for salvation."

"Garuda is one of the eight classes of guardian deities of the heavenly dragons. It can be born from eggs, wombs, moisture, or by transformation. Among them, the transformed Garuda is the most powerful. It needs to eat one large dragon and five hundred small dragons every day. It has a heavy karma of killing and is also bound by boundless karma, suffering unbearable pain."

"The Buddha, out of compassion, understood the past-life grievances between Garuda and the dragon race. He then revealed to Garuda the terrible consequences of killing and taught him a supreme mantra."

"Teach Garuda to make a great vow to transform each act of 'eating' into a precious opportunity for 'liberating sentient beings,' rather than creating new evil karma."

"After this, before Garuda eats the dragon's son, he will first recite the supreme mantra such as the 'Dharani of Immeasurable Power, Freedom, Light, and Wondrous Strength,' and make a vow that 'this dragon's son may be freed from all sins and be reborn in the heavenly realm; may I myself use this merit of saving sentient beings to diligently cultivate myself.'"

"Bless the dragon son with the blessings and mantra power accumulated through his own lifetimes of cultivation."

"And the dragon son, with a pure heart, a repentant heart, and a heart of refuge, calmly gave up his body to receive this blessing."

"This transforms the process of 'being eaten' from a simple act of killing into a supreme opportunity for the dragon prince to eliminate past karma and escape the cycle of evil realms!"

"After the dragon's son was eaten, his sins were completely absolved. He shed his dragon body and was directly reborn in the Thirty-Three Heavens, where he became a celestial being and enjoyed bliss."

"Garuda, through the merit of guiding sentient beings, offset some of its karmic debt from killing, and thus took refuge in the Three Jewels, receiving the nectar of Dharma bestowed by the Buddha. From then on, it no longer relied on eating dragons for survival, but became a guardian deity protecting the Buddha."

At this point in the old monk's story, Guangyuan suddenly spoke up: "Your story comes from the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra."

"Junior brother is indeed learned and talented," the old monk praised, then changed the subject:

"But aren't all people the same?!"

His tone suddenly became impassioned, filled with a heart-wrenching sorrow: "Most sentient beings have fallen into this endless sea of ​​suffering in the mortal world because of the boundless evil karma they accumulated in their past lives, such as anger, slander of the Dharma, and obstruction of good deeds!"

"They have poor understanding and are burdened by karma, so in this life they will suffer the torment of the 'eight sufferings': birth, old age, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, encountering those they hate, not getting what they want, and the burning of the five aggregates!"

"Even through countless lifetimes, they will not escape the cycle of reincarnation, forever condemned to the Avici Hell, with no hope of liberation!"

"The only way to help them completely escape this boundless sea of ​​suffering and sever the karmic debts accumulated over lifetimes..."

The old monk took a deep breath, his face radiating an almost fanatical, holy glow:

"It was I, this old monk, who, emulating Garuda who was enlightened by the Buddha, developed great compassion and courage, and transformed myself into a Garuda in the human realm!"

"Recite the supreme mantra, 'The Dharani of Immeasurable Majestic Power, Freedom, Light, and Supreme Wondrous Strength'!"

"May the meager blessings and supreme mantra power accumulated through my life's practice bestow blessings upon these beings burdened with heavy karma!"

"Help them to eradicate their sins, discard this defiled body filled with desire and suffering, transcend the sea of ​​suffering, be reborn in the Pure Land, and attain great liberation!"

In the end, he clasped his hands together, tilted his head slightly to look at the moon, and the moonlight shone on his wrinkled face, which was full of "piety" and "holiness," giving him a faintly solemn and dignified appearance.

At this moment, the old monk seemed to be a truly virtuous and eminent monk practicing the "supreme Dharma of saving sentient beings".

Even with his vast experience, Haiyan Tian couldn't help but laugh in anger upon seeing such a wicked monk.

Before he could say anything, he heard Guangyuan curse, "Bullshit!"

The old monk looked at Guangyuan and said, "Junior brother, am I wrong?"

Guangyuan felt a surge of anger. This old monk was spouting nonsense, just like the other monks at Jinjia Temple.

They treat scriptures written by unknown authors as gospel, and use "karma" and "cause and effect" as excuses for their actions.

Just like the old monk in front of us, he eats people, yet claims that eating people is a way of saving them.

How shameless!

Disgusting!