The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 16 The Persecution of the Law

Looking at Wang Yunniang, whose life was about to come to an end, Jiang Feng showed a look of pity and began to recite scriptures.

"Buddha is the Sanskrit word, abbreviated as 'Buddha,' meaning the master of wisdom, who is self-aware, awakens others, and perfects all practices; therefore, he is called Buddha..."

Amidst the chanting of sutras, Wang Yunniang felt the scenery before her rapidly changing, with a golden road stretching from the sky to the earth, leading her to a place she longed for.

Then her soul left her body, looked at Jiang Feng with bewildered eyes, and said, "So you are the true Guide Venerable?"

Seeing that Jiang Feng did not answer, but only devoted his magic power to chanting scriptures for her, she showed an extremely painful expression on her face, but her eyes gradually regained their clarity.

"I'm sorry... Why did this happen? I actually tried to kill you just now... I actually killed so many people? How did I become like this..."

"You have been poisoned by the Mahayana sect's secret drug that controls people's minds. This drug directly affects the soul, causing fathers and sons to kill each other, brothers to kill each other, and only obeying the orders of the drug user."

I have purified your soul and opened a passage to Maitreya's Pure Land for you. Go, go and see the true future Buddha, and then go to hell to be punished.

The road to Maitreya's Pure Land has opened. Jiang Feng stopped chanting the sutra and added, "Of course, if you could tell me who the leader of the Mahayana sect is, I would be more pleased."

Wang Yunniang said with a pained expression, "He told me his name was Fa Nan, and that he was the future Buddha, descending to earth to save all living beings..."

"I don't know where he is. Every time, he manifests his Dharma body through the Buddha statue to give me orders. There is a dilapidated temple outside the city where he teaches demon techniques."

Jiang Feng's eyes suddenly lit up: "If I were a monster, how could I get him to teach me his martial arts techniques?"

Wang Yunniang was taken aback, but quickly understood Jiang Feng's meaning: "I have recorded the method on a piece of silk and hidden it in a secret compartment under my bed. You can try to see if you can find him through the transfer of power."

Jiang Feng nodded: "Let's get going quickly, this passage won't last much longer."

Wang Yunniang gazed longingly at the end of the passage, but hesitated to go in: "No need, I'd rather go directly to the underworld to be punished. If there is an afterlife, I want to be like you, doing my best to help the girls in brothels..."

After saying this, her soul gradually faded and she voluntarily entered the underworld.

[Your compassion and kindness helped Wang Yunniang escape the control of the Dharma persecution. Your boundless love moved Heaven, and you are rewarded with mastery of the Ten Stages of Mahayana Practice.]

Jiang Feng stood there receiving the reward, while Cui Ying and Yang Jian had appeared beside him at some point.

Having witnessed the entire event, Cui Ying's face was cold and stern as she looked at Wang Yunniang's corpse and said, "That hateful Fa Nan, he actually used even a pitiful person like Wang Yunniang. If I find him, I will make him regret ever being born!"

Jiang Feng glanced at her and said, "Fa Nan certainly deserves to die, but is he the only one who is hateful?"

There were many tragedies similar to Wang Yunniang's in brothels, some even more tragic than hers.

Some of them were abducted by human traffickers, some were betrayed by their own relatives, and some even sold themselves for a piece of bread just to survive.

Noble families seized their land, brothels exploited them, customers humiliated them, the imperial court did not help them, and even classified them as "lowly people," a status even lower than slaves, as if their very existence was their original sin.

But is this the kind of life they want? Is this the kind of fate they can control?

This world is unjust; it's the imperial court that owes them, it's you aristocratic families that owe them, it's this world that owes them!

Listening to Jiang Feng's accusations, Cui Ying looked bewildered: "So that's how it is..."

"That's right, that's exactly it. Do you want to atone for the Cui family's sins?"

As Jiang Feng spoke, he took out a slip of paper and handed it to her: "Indulgence Certificates, one hundred taels of gold each. You can buy several to atone for your family's sins!"

In a daze, Cui Ying reached out to take it, but Yang Jian, with a dark expression, grabbed her hand.

Yang Jian glared at Jiang Feng, annoyed: "Wang Yunniang was right about one thing: keeping a demonic monk like you around will only bring trouble to the world sooner or later!"

Jiang Feng regretfully took back the indenture ticket and asked him, "How's things going on your end?"

Yang Jian said, "We've killed two lesser demons who wanted to harm people, and this county has been completely cleared out."

Jiang Feng breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Do you have any way to get some demonic energy on me? I'm going to meet that Fa Nan."

Yang Jian took out a golden pill and said coldly, "This is the demon core of a dragon. Holding it will taint you with demonic energy."

However, wearing it will allow demonic energy to invade your mind. If your mind is affected by demonic energy, then I will have no choice but to kill you.

Jiang Feng took the demon core, and in no time, a demonic aura emanated from his body.

Feeling the strange sensation on his body, he then asked, "I haven't encountered many monsters. What should I be aware of when playing a monster?"

Yang Jian sized him up and said, "Just tone it down a bit."

Jiang Feng nodded, then realized he was being insulted and roared, "Are you even speaking human language?!"

Yang Jian's expression turned cold, and he summoned his flying sword: "You were actually invaded by demonic energy so quickly!"

Jiang Feng was stunned: "Huh??!!"

Cui Ying quickly stepped in front of Jiang Feng, saying, "Senior brother, don't be silly. Jiang Feng is a really good person!"

After her persuasion, Yang Jian's expression turned even colder. He snorted and sheathed his flying sword, then turned and walked into the darkness.

"I'm going for a drink. Call me with a teleportation talisman if you need anything."

Watching Yang Jian's retreating figure, Jiang Feng complained, "Did your senior brother get carried away with sword energy while practicing and ruin his brain? Why does he draw his sword so easily?"

Cui Ying frowned slightly: "Perhaps she's in a bad mood."

As Cui Ying said, Yang Jian was indeed in a bad mood. After leaving, he did not go for a drink, but went straight to the Heavenly Palace.

It seems suspicious that a mere mortal could open a passage to Maitreya's Pure Land, especially since this person appeared next to his sister.

Sensing an aura of conspiracy emanating from Jiang Feng, he went to the gates of the Old Man of the Moon's palace and called out loudly, "Is the Old Man of the Moon here?"

The Old Man of the Moon recognized Yang Jian's voice and immediately jumped, his hands flailing wildly, unsure what to do: "How did you get discovered so quickly? You blockhead, think of something!"

Seeing that no one responded, Yang Jian walked straight in.

The Old Man of the Moon quickly put on a smile and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "True Lord, what brings you here? I was just about to go out to welcome you!"

Yang Jian cut to the chase: "Old Man of the Moon, did you tie the red thread for my sister?"

The Old Man of the Moon was taken aback: "No, does the Third Holy Mother have a red thread of fate for marriage? How come I didn't know that?"

Yang Jian breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his brows remained furrowed: "Is that so? It seems to be something from the Western Paradise. What are they plotting now..."

After watching Yang Jian leave, the Old Man of the Moon looked reluctantly at his palace and packed his luggage with a sorrowful expression.

"We can't stay here any longer, we need to get out of here..."