155: Holy monk... please let me go

Looking at the nine shining teeth on the rake, Mahākāśyapa was drenched in sweat and immediately knelt, saying, "Whatever you want to ask, I'll confess!"

Tang Ku curled his lips, "I, Tang Sanzang, have never liked to force anyone... You absolutely, absolutely must not force yourself, okay!"

Mahākāśyapa smiled, "Not forced, not forced... Uh, you ask, you ask... Senior Brother, I will tell you everything!"

Tang Ku didn't mind his address, but squinted his eyes and said, "I can't make the decision on this; you have to ask this Benefactor Zhu!"

Pigsy was smug, and sneered, "Whatever my Holy Monk asks you, you answer. If you answer well, Old Pig here might even spare your life. But if you dare to conceal even a little, this Nine-toothed Rake will go down and make nine holes bleed at once, giving you tetanus until you die! I ask you, are you afraid or not!"

Mahākāśyapa quickly nodded, "You ask, you ask, I will tell you everything without reservation!"

Tang Ku squatted in front of him, picking his ear, and asked, "First question... How many Buddhist Realm Disciples like you have successfully undergone Reincarnation now?"

Mahākāśyapa's face stiffened. He hadn't expected Tang Sanzang to ask such a core question right away. He couldn't help but smile bitterly, "You also know that whether it's Magic Power or Buddha Dharma, I'm not high-ranked in the Western Paradise. I just do a job similar to a handyman. As for exactly who has successfully undergone Reincarnation... I've only seen four people. They are Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha Bodhisattva, Long Eyebrow Arhat, and Arhat Who Subdues Tigers. As for the others, I haven't seen them yet, nor do I know any news about them!"

Pigsy turned to look at Tang Ku, "Holy Monk, is what he said true?"

Tang Ku nodded, "Hmm, with your wisdom, you wouldn't have achieved too much anyway. I don't think they would tell you too much... I believe your words!"

Mahākāśyapa chuckled apologetically, "Haha, exactly, exactly. How could I possibly know so many secrets? I'm just a handyman."

"Hmm, but there's one thing I don't understand!" Tang Ku suddenly tilted his head and said, "Those two prayer beads in your hand, if I'm not mistaken, should be Magic Treasures bestowed upon you by the Buddha, right? No matter what, you are a Buddhist. You advocate compassion, so why would you use one of these prayer beads to refine an evil object like a Gu Mantong? Was it a Venerable who told you to refine it? Or was it one of the four people you mentioned who told you to refine it? But... what was the purpose? Was it to create panic, and then establish an image of the Buddhist Realm returning as saviors to subdue demons and devils? But that doesn't make sense. Although Ü-Tsang is not large, it is a place illuminated by Buddha Dharma. The Buddhist Realm itself doesn't need to play these tricks... Could it be you..."

With each sentence Tang Ku spoke, more sweat streamed down Mahākāśyapa's head, until his entire back was drenched. Only then did he hastily say, "No, no, no... It wasn't me, it wasn't me... I..."

Tang Ku, however, smiled faintly, then turned and said, "Benefactor Wu Neng, this fellow isn't telling the truth, kill him!"

"Alright!"

Pigsy looked excited, "I've been waiting for you to say that..."

Spitting on his hands, the fellow raised his rake, ready to strike. With the little power Mahākāśyapa had left, he might block one rake, but with two, he would perish and completely cease to exist.

"No, no, no... I'll tell, I'll tell!"

Pigsy immediately stopped, looking at Tang Ku with an inquiring gaze.

Tang Ku said, "Hmm, you speak, you speak. If you speak, I won't hit you!"

Mahākāśyapa swallowed, and gurgled, "Uh, you guys have to promise that if I tell you, you'll spare my life!"

"Why so much nonsense?" Pigsy's eyes were like brass bells as he glared at him, "Didn't I say before? We'll let you go as long as you don't hide anything!"

"Alright, you guys said it..."

Mahākāśyapa gritted his teeth, then said, "That's right, I did all of this myself. Originally, these two prayer beads, one as heavy as Mount Tai and the other capable of confusing people's minds, were both used to display miracles and win over believers. It was my own selfish desire... Refining Gu Mantongs to control them to kill people, firstly, could obtain fresh human blood for Cultivation, and secondly, when I descended as a Buddhist Holy Monk, I could subdue these demons and become a truly virtuous and eminent monk in their hearts, even becoming their Power Of Faith..."

Tang Ku nodded, "So that's it, I generally understand... But... what use is it for you to become a Power Of Faith? Hmm, or rather... what is the true purpose of the Power Of Faith?"

...You've Cultivated in the Buddhist Realm for so long, and you still don't know the function of Power Of Faith? You're not trying to bluff me, are you!" Mahākāśyapa looked at Tang Ku with a strange expression.

Tang Ku suddenly rubbed his nose, remembering the benefits of the Power Of Faith he had experienced in his previous life as Golden Cicada, and smiled faintly, "I just wanted to confirm... Hmm, what you said is true, I believe it... Fine, I'll give you a way out. I won't concern myself with the rest!"

With that, Tang Ku turned and left without any hesitation.

This made Mahākāśyapa pause, and he thought to himself, "He... he's letting me go so easily? He... he's really letting me go? Why do I feel like something isn't right here?"

Before he could figure it out, Pigsy, standing nearby, had already raised his Nine-toothed Rake with an ill-intentioned, sneering laugh.

"Heh heh, don't think about it. The Holy Monk said he'd give you a way out, but not that *we all* would give you a way out. And... he said he wouldn't concern himself with it!"

Old Pig chuckled, "You're on your own! I'll only hit you with the Nine-toothed Rake a hundred times. If you're still alive, I'll let you go!"

Mahākāśyapa finally understood the wordplay and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Heh heh, a hundred times? I won't even take one hit..."

Swish!

The two prayer beads he had always held tightly in his hand suddenly shot out, one flying into the sky, the other right in front of Pigsy's eyes.

Mahākāśyapa was a smart man. From the beginning, he hadn't believed that Tang Sanzang would definitely let him go, so he secretly kept a trick up his sleeve, gradually and quietly pouring his last bit of Magic Power into the prayer beads. He knew that Tang Sanzang thought highly of himself and would never personally intervene. At that time, he would only have to deal with Pigsy alone. As long as he could stall him for a few seconds, he could quickly escape using earth- 遁術 (earth escape technique).

The prayer bead in front of Pigsy suddenly burst into a golden light, and then Old Pig was completely trapped in some kind of illusion, unable to move. Immediately after, the prayer bead in mid-air plummeted, heading straight for Pigsy's crown.

Blessed by Buddha Dharma, it was as heavy as Mount Tai. Although Mahākāśyapa's meager Magic Power couldn't reach such a degree, the crown of the head was after all a vital point for living beings. Once hit, it would be enough to give Pigsy a hard time.

And just as it was about to fall, Mahākāśyapa had already bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, preparing to escape. However, he overlooked that even though Tang Ku was gone, there was still a fire-breathing little monster present.