readsfreenovel Chapter 178 A difference of one thought
Chapter 178 A difference of one thought
Shusheng suddenly closed his eyes and said nothing.
His disciple Jie Wang couldn't help but say, "I thought of this. If anyone wants to arrest someone for this, just arrest me."
"You?" Zhou Chang didn't have much impression of this disciple of Shusheng from Shuchen's memories, but judging from his words and actions, he was not like an ordinary monk. "Do you know how serious the crime is?"
Jie Wang blinked his eyes that had not been "smoked" by the law and could not answer.
"Nine clans will be executed." Zhou Chang gave an answer with a sneer on his face, "Of course, you monks don't have nine clans, but no one in the entire Dafu Temple can escape."
"No," Shusheng exclaimed, knelt down and took two steps, begging, "Your Highness Prince Yi, please be merciful. You can punish me in any way you want for this matter. As long as it does not implicate Dafu Temple, I will not hesitate to go to the eighteenth level of hell."
"Master, if anyone wants to go to hell, it's me." Jie Wang was still struggling under the skinny monkey's hands.
The skinny monkey had already taken out a piece of rope from his "Doraemon"-like arms and tied his hands behind his back, otherwise he would have pounced on and grabbed Shusheng at this time.
Jie Wang was yelling and talking nonsense: "Catch me! I have nothing to do with Dafu Temple. I did many wrong things before I became a monk. I have lived a peaceful life for so many years because my master did not abandon me. I stole those offerings, and I was the one who discovered that the Buddha statue was hollow. I was the only one who did it. It has nothing to do with Dafu Temple or my master."
"You can be louder. The imperial guards will come if they hear you." Zhou Chang waited until Jie Weng spoke clearly before stopping him.
They said that the imperial guards were right outside, but in fact, it was all just bluffing.
The imperial guards were short of manpower, and it was already difficult for them to barely defend the periphery. Unless they shouted loudly, no one would come.
Zhou Chang had already figured this out two days ago.
But in their horror, Master Shusheng and his disciple could not think of anything.
Stop it immediately and keep silent.
"It seems that you have some skills..." Zhou Chang stared at the ring and pondered.
Jie Wang lowered his voice and said, "It's none of Master's business. It's me, it's me."
Zhou Chang also said in a deep voice: "If this matter is exposed, not only you and your disciple, but even Dafu Temple will not be able to escape. Even if you two are willing to take all the blame, the reputation of Dafu Temple will be ruined from now on, and the merits and virtues it has made in the past will also be destroyed."
Shusheng also understood this and collapsed immediately.
Jie Wangze struggled to get up, like a mad bull, staring at the beam in front of him: "Then let me die."
The skinny guy held him tightly from behind and kicked him hard in the lower back twice.
"Your death won't solve the problem. The reputation of Dafu Temple will still be damaged." Zhou Chang stated the cold facts.
Shusheng burst into tears: "When I asked for instructions in front of the Buddha that day, I thought that the Buddha had agreed. Now I think it was because I had not yet gotten rid of my demonic obstacles that I was misled. It's too late to regret, too late to regret..."
Shusheng grew up in Dafu Temple, had little experience in worldly affairs and was devoted to Buddhism. However, after Zhou Chang used him to "manifest miracles" many times, although he seemed to be calm on the surface, his heart was actually in turmoil.
Later, Zhou Chang never had the chance to take action, and he could no longer "appear in spirit". He was tormented and blamed himself, and his attendant disciple Jie Wang saw through it.
Jie Wang was originally an orphan. When he grew up, he made a living on the streets, stealing, robbing, cheating and committing all kinds of evil. Once, he was injured while being chased by the government and was rescued by Shusheng.
Shusheng not only did not despise his past, he also advised him to be a good person and accepted him as his disciple.
Jie Wang was grateful for the life-saving grace of the extraordinary master, and also wanted to escape from the government, so he followed the extraordinary gradient to become a monk.
I don’t know how much progress I have made in Buddhism over the years, but I have been able to do my best and get rid of most of my old habits.
Even this time when he followed Shusheng into the palace, he did not have any improper thoughts. He just wanted to share his master's worries when he learned about Shusheng's thoughts.
Jie had practiced some magic tricks in the past, so he could easily take out some things from the altar piled with treasures. He also had some eyesight and rich worldly experience. He went in and out of the Baohua Hall for many days and found out that the Buddha's body in the Baohua Hall was hollow.
On this point, Zhou Chang had to complain about Emperor Lin.
Emperor Lin has always been "stingy" to everyone else except himself, including the Buddha. Of course, it may be that deep down in his heart he believes in Empress Yaoji more, so he has to treat the Buddha badly.
Therefore, the golden body of the Buddha in Baohua Hall could not be made entirely of gold. Instead, it was cast in copper. It is hollow inside and painted with gold lacquer on the outside, making it basically impossible to tell the difference.
However, Jie Wang had a "unique eye" and not only found out that the golden body was not solid, he also found a hole underneath it, which was just right for hiding small items.
Originally, before they found a good hiding place, Shusheng was strongly opposed to it. But later Jiewang came up with this idea and persuaded them that hiding things in the Buddha's body was equivalent to offering them to the Buddha, and it was not considered stealing, nor was it considered greed on their part. Perhaps it was the Buddha's guidance, otherwise he would not have been able to find it.
Shusheng was moved by this statement. Although he also knew the risks and reasons involved, he was still very conflicted and went to the Buddha to ask for advice.
At that time, he was already possessed by a demon. How could he distinguish between the Buddha's words and the devil's words? A single thought difference would lead to eternal damnation.
"I can let you go and pretend that what happened tonight never happened," Zhou Chang said after a long while, "but you also have to agree to one condition of mine."
"What are the conditions?" Jie Wang asked first.
Zhou Chang did not answer, but turned his gaze towards Shusheng.
Shusheng's emotions eased a lot, and he put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, I have missed it once. If I can make up for it by the right way, I will go through the knife mountain and the oil pot. If people follow the evil way, my Buddha's mercy will not tolerate it."
"Master, rest assured. I will not let you do evil." Zhou Chang looked down with a calm tone.
Shusheng was confused: "Amitabha, what does His Royal Highness Prince Yi want me to do?"
Zhou Chang said word by word: "I want you to take out all the offerings on the altar in Jingming Hall like you did tonight. I will help you hide them all inside this Buddha statue."
"..."
Both the master and his disciple were stunned.
Zhou Chang had already thought of an excuse: "The reason why I am willing to let you go is because your intentions are good, not for your own sake. My intentions are the same as yours, but I don't have the means and courage like you two."
Shusheng and the other two couldn't tell whether this was sarcasm or the truth.
"These days, I have seen those in the palace who have received the Buddha's vision being happy, while those who have not had a sad face. I can't bear it. Since the things will be returned to the Buddha after we take them, why not?" Zhou Chang was looking for excuses for himself, which was equivalent to exonerating the two of them. "Everyone is happy, and no one's interests are harmed. What's wrong with that?"
Originally, she was still thinking about the "coffin-pressing" treasure in the queen's coffin, but in order to avoid being suspected of her motives, she had to give up with reluctance.
The master and his disciple looked at each other in disbelief. "You can be happy living a shameless life, but you can't be happy all the time, because you always have to think about your face."