65: A storm is brewing

A few days after the "seminar" at Lotus Temple, Yuntai Mountain appeared calm on the surface, as if that battle of words had never taken place.

But the wind at the foot of the mountain had quietly changed direction.

When Zhao Desheng went up the mountain again, his face looked even worse than last time. He handed a worn-out smartphone to Li Muchen and, with slightly trembling fingers, tapped on a trending post on a local forum.

The headline was shocking: "Exposing the 'Internet Celebrity Daoist' Li Muchen: Is He a True Cultivator or a Jianghu Fraud?"

The post spanned thousands of words, starting from Li Muchen's "mysterious" background (a common graduate of Taoist University who suddenly displayed "Divine Ability") and providing a detailed "analysis" of all the "supernatural events" at Qingfeng Temple in recent years—healing with spirit well water, a hundred birds paying homage to the temple, exorcising evil to save people, and so on.

The author, claiming to be a "senior religious culture researcher," cited a large number of plausible-sounding psychological and sociological theories, as well as "insider information," to "rationally" explain every incident as a meticulously planned marketing tactic, mass psychological suggestion, or even the use of certain chemical or biological principles that had not yet been widely recognized.

"This is absolute nonsense!" Zhao Desheng was so angry his beard twitched. "It says our well water has special minerals or drugs added to it, that the Abbot trains birds to create anomalies, and even that the incident with the Lin family was a coordinated performance between him and some history professor! This... this is complete slander!"

Li Muchen quietly browsed the post. The article was written in a highly provocative manner; its logic seemed rigorous but was actually full of loopholes. However, its brilliance lay in packaging all doubts under the guise of "rational discussion" and "scientific debunking," making it easy to mislead ordinary netizens who were skeptical or curious about metaphysics.

The comments section below the post had already grown into a massive thread. Supporters and opponents were arguing fiercely, but clearly, the voices of doubt and mockery held the upper hand.

"This post was put out in the middle of last night, and by this morning, it had already spread everywhere," Zhao Desheng said worriedly. "I had the young people in the village who know how to use phones look at it. Several Pilgrims who used to come often to offer incense didn't show up today. There are even people at our village entrance gossiping, speaking with such conviction..."

"It's not just this one." Li Muchen handed the phone back to Zhao Desheng, his tone remaining calm. "Similar articles and short videos have appeared on multiple platforms over the past few days. The angles differ, but the core is the same—questioning the authenticity of Qingfeng Temple and myself."

He walked to the edge of the courtyard, looking down at the mist rising below the mountain. With a slight movement of his Spiritual Sense, he could vaguely perceive that the pure Power Of Will belonging to the believers, which had originally converged toward Yuntai Mountain, seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of doubt and turbidity. Though not intense, the trend was already apparent.

"Abbot, we can't just stand by and watch!" Zhao Desheng said urgently. "We have to find a way to clarify things! Doesn't that girl Xiaowen know how to handle that internet stuff? Have her write an article to refute them!"

"Layman Zhao," Li Muchen turned around, looking at the old man with a gentle gaze, "have you ever seen anyone able to convince all those who do not believe through debate?"

Zhao Desheng was taken aback.

"Rumors are like the wind; it is better to guide than to block, and better to remain silent than to argue." Li Muchen walked back under the ancient cypress tree, picked up the coarse ceramic pot on the stone table, and poured himself a cup of clear tea. "Their momentum is at its peak right now. If we rush to defend ourselves, we will fall right into their trap, only making the topic hotter and drawing in more people who don't know the truth. Besides, those who believe will believe, and those who doubt will doubt. Qingfeng Temple stands here not to win people's trust, but to provide a place of purity for those who are willing to believe."

"But... if the Incense Offerings stop, the temple's daily expenses..." Zhao Desheng was more concerned about practical issues. He knew the Abbot didn't care about money at all, but the temple's repairs, daily purchases, and even the small stipends for the villagers from Zhaojiaao Village who helped out all required funds.

"Incense Offerings follow fate; there is no need to force it." Li Muchen took a sip of tea, his expression serene. "The temple's survival depends on the 'Dao', not on 'incense'. If that day truly comes, I will have my own plans."

Despite this, Zhao Desheng still couldn't rest easy. He sighed and went down the mountain, deciding to go door-to-door and talk to people, at least to steady the folks in Zhaojiaao Village.

On Zhao Xiaowen's end, things were even more chaotic. Her personal social media accounts were almost overwhelmed by private messages and comments full of doubt and attacks. It felt even more terrifying than the skepticism triggered when Li Muchen stopped the development of Yuntai Mountain last time.

She tried to gather evidence to fight back, but she found that the opponent's scale of internet trolls far exceeded her imagination. Any clarification she posted was either quickly buried or taken out of context and distorted.

What chilled her heart even more was that several local self-media accounts she had collaborated with before and who had a good impression of the temple were now either remaining silent or even forwarding those skeptical articles with an ambiguous attitude.

For the first time, she felt so clearly that an organized and premeditated force was pushing all of this from behind. The goal was clear—to smear Qingfeng Temple and smear Li Muchen.

"Abbot, this is definitely not a spontaneous act!" When Zhao Xiaowen went up the mountain, her eyes were red, whether from staying up late or from anger. "I checked several of the most active accounts; their registration dates are very recent, their content is highly unified, and their interaction patterns are like robots. And that 'researcher' who first posted the long article—I can't find any other academic traces of him at all; it's just a throwaway account! Someone is definitely blackening our names on purpose!"

"I know." Li Muchen was loosening the soil in the Spiritual Plant Garden, his movements unhurried.

"You know?" Zhao Xiaowen was stunned. "Then... then what should we do? Call the police? Or report it to the Religious Affairs Bureau? This is clear defamation and cyberbullying!"

Li Muchen stopped his work, leaning on his hoe, and looked toward Green Lotus Peak in the west. The sun was leaning westward, and that mountain peak was shrouded in the afterglow of the sunset. The outlines of the halls were blurred, yet one could still feel their magnificent Aura.

"Where is the evidence?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"You say someone is pulling the strings from behind, but where is the evidence? Those accounts could be registered by anyone, and the articles could be written by anyone. Who do they point to?" Li Muchen's gaze was calm and deep. "Without solid evidence, an accusation just becomes a new dispute. Besides, the opponent's move is a test."

"A test?"

"Testing my reaction, testing the temple's bottom line, testing... the official attitude." Li Muchen resumed loosening the soil. "If I counterattack in a rage or rush to seek help from the authorities, I will appear weak and guilty, falling right into their trap. If I don't react at all, they will push further and take the next step. This current state is just right."

Zhao Xiaowen only half-understood: "Then... we just do nothing like this?"

"Action, of course we must take action." Li Muchen straightened a slightly tilted seven-leaf lotus. "But not according to the script they've prepared. You just keep recording as usual, and life on the mountain will go on as usual. We will still receive the Pilgrims who should come and answer the doubts that should be answered. The temple's doors are always open."

He paused and looked at Zhao Xiaowen: "As for you, if you feel indignant in your heart, then use your lens to record the most authentic 'ordinariness'. No need to explain, just present it. Time is sometimes the best clarifier."

Zhao Xiaowen mulled over these words, and her chaotic thoughts seemed to calm down a bit. She looked at Li Muchen's figure working serenely and suddenly felt that perhaps the Abbot was right. At a time like this, any intense reaction might drag the temple into a more complex quagmire of public opinion. Maintaining one's own stability and clarity was, instead, a silent form of strength.