258: Evil Trace

In the Zhenguan era of the Great Tang, Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong had always been prosperous, with local officials having notable achievements, the people living in peace and contentment, and the commoners leading wealthy lives.

However, last year, something evil emerged!

First, on New Year's Eve, a giant snake appeared, coiling around the entire city wall of the prefecture. It disappeared the next day. The prefectural government sent men to patrol and discovered a trench outside the city, dragged out by the giant snake, as deep as a moat.

Besides the garrison soldiers, many commoners had also seen this. It was said that some people were swallowed after disturbing this snake.

Following that, for a whole month, there was not a single drop of rain or snow. Instead, the sun was scorching every day, as if it were the height of summer. The fields cracked, the newly sprouted wheat withered from drought, and in the end, there was no harvest.

Originally, the prefecture and local officials tried every possible means to divert water from the Yellow River tributaries for irrigation, but the water flowing into the irrigation channels all turned into salty, bitter water.

Subsequently, there were all kinds of tornadoes, earthquakes, and lightning bolts in the drought that could shatter city walls, and so on...

These various miraculous and strange occurrences were too numerous to count.

Just as the commoners were suffering unspeakably and the prefectural officials were planning to submit a memorial to confess their crimes—some even planning to hang themselves—a turning point appeared.

I don't know from which temple it started, but they began worshipping a Buddha. People revered it as the Moonlight True Buddha. It was said that this Buddha answered every prayer and was far more efficacious than the compassionate Guanshiyin Bodhisattva and the various Buddhas.

First, it manifested a holy image, appearing on the city walls in a Dharma form to fight the giant snake that had appeared earlier, ultimately slaying it. Later, when the local officials prayed for rain, it manifested its sanctity, causing sweet rain to fall from the heavens, filling the river channels, and bringing the withered wheat seedlings back to life, making them even more robust than before.

As for those various natural disasters, they never appeared again after this Bodhisattva manifested its sanctity.

Next, people of all classes regarded this Buddha, which they had never heard of before, as a savior. Daily incense burning and worship went without saying. Among them, some people spontaneously formed a sect called the Mingyue Zen Buddhism, using a temple near Qingzhou called Guangxian Temple as their Foundation, and began to expand outward. In just a few short months, it had already spread across the entire Shandong region.

Looking at it this far, this seemed to be a good thing, but soon after, this so-called Mingyue Zen Buddhism began to reveal its true face.

They began to extort money on a large scale under the pretext of renovating temples and reshaping gold bodies. They even exhausted all methods, intimidating and luring people of all classes, and stopping at nothing to cheat and deceive. They made followers offer all their wealth to obtain the Bodhisattva's protection. They distributed a so-called "Immortal Pill" for immortality, which required the lives of their relatives in exchange. They even took beautiful female believers into the temples to satisfy the lust of their sect members, calling it "serving the Bodhisattva," claiming it would eventually lead to Immortal Ascension and becoming a Buddha.

During this period, even officials at all levels, and even high-ranking officials such as regional military governors and some royalty and nobility, became their followers.

In short, two words can describe its nature... "Evil Cult!"

Tang Ku sat on the back of his Brick, looking at the file in his hand, narrowing his eyes slightly.

If it were only people using this to swindle money, it would not be enough to arouse his vigilance, but he discovered that there was something more to it!

From the moment he entered the Qingzhou territory... no, from the moment he entered Shandong, he realized something was wrong.

All the temples, Daoist shrines, and even Confucian Schools had become the territory of this Mingyue Zen Buddhism, worshipping a Buddha statue that looked kind and benevolent, with a pair of twin lotus flowers imprinted on its forehead, and a crescent moon on the lotus flowers.

It looked solemn and dignified, but no matter how Tang Ku looked at it, he felt this thing exuded an evil aura and didn't seem like a good thing.

The commoners on the street seemed joyous and looked plump and healthy, but in Tang Ku's eyes, they were covered in a lifeless aura, with dark, greenish complexions, as if they were entangled by Evil Qi.

Watching those people scrambling to offer incense and kowtow to the Buddha, Tang Ku felt both sad and ridiculous. He thought to himself: "These people, even when death is imminent, are still cheering for the culprit... Heh..."

"...Buddha, Buddha... I... I only have one daughter, just this one daughter... Please... please let us go. I... today... no, I will send the interest money to the temple tomorrow. I beg you... please let us go..."

Outside a red-lacquered wooden door, a group of people stumbled out, pushing and shoving. A few burly monks, led by a refined-looking monk, dragged a beautiful young girl of fifteen or sixteen out from inside.

A couple in their forties were wailing and howling. One was tugging at a monk's sleeve, and the other was pulling their daughter. The family was crying miserably, and there were many commoners surrounding them to watch the excitement.

"Goodness, goodness!"

The skinny monk leading them was about thirty years old. His appearance was decent enough, but for some reason, the corner of his mouth carried a trace of an evil smile, which looked somewhat chilling. "Donor Kang, it is not that this Poor Monk is heartless, but your daughter is an Incarnation of an evil spirit, bewitched by the descendant of that snake demon. You cannot tell now, but if this continues, she will harm people. I am taking her back to the temple to receive the daily edification of the True Buddha, to eliminate the evil aura on her. Once the Karma is in Perfection, I will naturally return her to you!"

The man surnamed Kang, with tears streaming down his face, said: "I... I cannot let you take my daughter... You... you... you cannot take her, you cannot... I am willing, I am willing to worship the True Buddha, Buddha... Buddha, please spare us!"

"Presumptuous!"

The monk violently threw the man off and said sternly, "Do you think we need to force you to believe in the True Buddha? To believe in the True Buddha, one only needs a sincere heart. Your daughter has been taken advantage of by an evil spirit and is no longer human, so the True Buddha will not descend upon your home. I am taking her for your own good. When she is converted by the True Buddha, you will also be able to become a follower of the True Buddha, understand? Truly stubborn people... Let go, let go quickly... Damn it, Guangde, kick him away... Do you really think this Buddha has no temper?"

A burly monk roared and kicked the old man aside. The onlookers couldn't help but whisper.

"I told Old Kang to invite a True Buddha statue home. Now that he has angered the Buddha, what should be done..."

"Don't say that. I think it must be because he didn't invite a Buddha statue home that his daughter turned into a monster... Hmm, the Buddha is saving them. If she really came out at night to eat people, that would be terrible..."

"...My family is a neighbor to his. No, tomorrow I must find a house and move. If we are also targeted by a monster, it will be troublesome..."

"What are you afraid of? Doesn't your family have a True Buddha statue to guard it..."

The crowd discussed it one after another. Old Kang, with tears in his eyes, shouted angrily at them: "Get lost, all of you get lost! My daughter is not a monster, she is not... I, I am going to the prefectural government to report you, you man-eating fake monks!"

This scene was all seen by Tang Ku. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the backs of the group of monks, suddenly a plan came to his mind!