Zen Master Hongyan looked at Wu Ming and then at Fangzheng, who was crossing the river at the foot of the mountain. A look of enlightenment flashed in his eyes. When he looked at Wu Ming again, his eyes were filled with disappointment. By the side, Wu Xin wanted to say something but was stopped by Zen Master Hongyan. He led Wu Xin down the mountain. On the way, Zen Master Hongyan sighed and said, "The cycle of karma and retribution. I'm afraid Wu Ming will have to leave Buddhism …"
Wu Xin could not help but say, "Master, Wu Ming's character is not bad."
"If your heart is biased, how can you become a Buddha? This Penniless Monk had redeemed him for so many years, but he could only redeem his body, not his heart. Sigh … "Zen Master Hongyan shook his head. In an instant, he seemed to have aged several years. Wu Xin also had a resigned look on his face as he sighed.
At the foot of the mountain, Old Man Du finally came back to his senses. He abruptly turned around and pulled on Hong Xiang's clothes, angrily saying, "This is the monk that you speak of as ignorant and incompetent? Crossing the river on a reed, crossing the river on a reed! This was the Buddha's divine power! Are you telling me that such a monk is a bastard? Thug?! Huh?! "
Hong Xiang was dumbfounded. Now that he snapped to his senses, he said with a panicked expression, "Uncle, it's not me. It's Wu Ming. Wu Ming told me to say that. "The moment he said that, Hong Xiang regretted it. He had exposed himself. Hong Xiang immediately said, "No, it's …"
Pa!
A huge slap landed on Hong Xiang's face, causing him to fall to the ground. Elder Du said angrily, "I finally understand. You and that bastard Wu Ming joined forces to scam others, right? You … you two useless things, especially you! You disappoint me! I'll give you another chance. Tell me the truth! "
Hong Xiang had been afraid of Elder Du since he was young. When Elder Du got angry, he finally spoke the truth out of fear.
When Old Man Du heard this, he immediately pounded his chest and stamped his feet in anger. He pointed at Hong Xiang, not knowing whether to hit him or not. Old Man Du's lifelong reputation was ruined in an instant. He really had the urge to kill someone.
Fangzheng did not know how much of a stir he had caused, but even if he had, there was nothing he could do about it. All he wanted was to cross the river! He did not wish to fall out with Baiyun Monastery and form meaningless karma. Most importantly, to fulfill Zen Master One Finger's wish, One Finger Monastery could finally participate in such large-scale monastery activities. It was no longer the tiny monastery that no one cared about!
Seeing that he had reached the riverside, Fangzheng gently jumped onto the riverbank. Before Fangzheng could do anything, he saw an elder walk towards him. The moment he saw him, he bowed deeply!
It gave Fangzheng such a fright that he hurriedly jumped away and pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. Patron, what are you doing?"
"Mage, I'm sorry. I listened to the slanderous words of a slanderous person and told the ferry not to take you across the river. Now that I know the truth, I have sinned. "As Old Man Du spoke, tears streamed down his face. He had been an unyielding and stubborn old man all his life. At the same time, he was also a famous and impartial judge in the surrounding villages. If there was a problem, no one was willing to go through the official channels. Usually, they would look for him to solve it.
Now, after hearing Wu Ming and Hong Xiang's conversation, Old Man Du realized that one of them was his nephew who had not committed any grave mistakes in the past. The other was Wu Ming, who was Zen Master Hongyan's personal disciple and the future abbot of Hongyan Monastery. He did not understand Wu Ming but he knew of Zen Master Hongyan's name. Furthermore, Wu Ming was indeed good at acting. It made him believe Wu Ming and believe that Fangzheng was a heinous bastard. Therefore, he got people to seal the ferry and prevent Fangzheng from crossing the river.
Now, the matter was clear. Fangzheng was the one who had been slandered. Furthermore, he had crossed the river on a reed. It had probably alarmed everyone. If anyone were to ask the reason, Old Man Du would feel his vision turn black. It was over. It was all over …
Fangzheng had always been puzzled as to why he had been blacklisted for some baffling reason. He never expected that it was all because of the fiery old man in front of him.
Although the matter had happened, the old man had come forward to bow and apologize profusely. What else could Fangzheng say? Beat him? Scold him?
Fangzheng could not open his mouth against the old man, nor could he beat him.
Just as Fangzheng was feeling a little vexed, a group of people ran over.
Leading them was the boatman, Brother Hei. Behind him were the other crew members and the boatman. Behind them was a group of devotees. All of them were snapping pictures with their cell phones and posting them on their WeChat Moments. The way they looked at Fangzheng was like they were looking at a god!
Brother Hei shouted from afar, "Venerable Fangzheng, I was the one who refused to ferry you. If there's anything, come at me! Don't make things difficult for Old Man Du! "
"I'm also refusing to ferry you. If there's anything, tell me," shouted another person.
Following that, the boatmen shouted as well. All of them were very agitated, as though they were afraid that Fangzheng would make things difficult for Old Man Du. Their desire to protect Old Man Du was written all over their faces. It was obvious that they were not faking it.
When Old Man Du heard that, he said angrily, "All of you, shut up! What I did is what I did. Who asked you to shoulder the blame?! "
"Old Man Du, you are already so old. Don't fight over this," said Brother Hei.
"Bullsh * t. Is there a difference in age when making a mistake? Is it because you are old that you don't have to go to jail for committing adultery? Let me tell you, a mistake is a mistake. A mistake should be punished! I've said this in the past, and I'll say it again. " With that said, Old Man Du said to Fangzheng, "Venerable Fangzheng, please tell me the truth. I'm willing to accept the punishment!"
Fangzheng looked at the stubborn old man in front of him and immediately found it hard to remain angry. Indeed, he had done something wrong, but who in the world could avoid making mistakes? Knowing one's mistakes and being able to mend them was a great thing. Refusing to mend one's mistakes should only result in punishment. Since the old man had said so …
Fangzheng pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. Patron, since you have said so, This Penniless Monk will really have to punish you."
The moment that was said, there was an uproar!
"He's really going to be punished?"
"Isn't that too much? There are so many people here. Even if we don't consider the monk, we should consider the Buddha. He's already so old. If he is really punished, it will be an embarrassment."
"Isn't this Master going overboard? Even if he was in the wrong, he has already apologized … "
Brother Hei and company were displeased as well. Just as they were about to speak, they were rebuffed by Old Man Du's glare. Old Man Du looked up and said, "Venerable Fangzheng, do it! I'll accept the punishment! "
Fangzheng chuckled and took off his cloth bag. He stuffed it into Old Man Du's hands and said, "Since you accept the punishment, help me carry this bag. Just carry it to the mountaintop. This thing is quite heavy."
Fangzheng's cloth bag only had two rice dumplings in it. Together, they weighed less than half a catty. Old Man Du weighed it with his hand and was immediately stunned. This was considered a punishment?
Fangzheng said with a smile, "Let's go."
With that said, Fangzheng walked up the mountain. Old Man Du was taken aback before he respectfully bowed at Fangzheng and followed.
When Brother Hei saw this, he hurriedly went forward and said, "Old Man Du, why don't I help you carry it? Venerable Fangzheng already said it's heavy. You … "
"What do you mean I'm old? I'm so old that I can't even carry something that weighs half a catty? Alright, stop fooling around. This is a real Venerable One. " With that said, Old Man Du followed. He knew very well that Fangzheng's punishment was not a punishment at all. It was to help him preserve his last bit of face! He was an impartial judge. If he had made a mistake, it did not matter if it was intentional or if he had been tricked. As long as he was not punished, how was he to face the disputes of others? In the future, how was he to face the disputes of right and wrong?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
