Chapter 118 Purge!

"You beast, shut your mouth! You are at death's door and still refuse to repent!"

Abbot Kuming suddenly roared, suppressing Ku Xing's voice.

However, Ku Xing's words had already reached everyone's ears. For a moment, the way everyone looked at Abbot Kuming changed, becoming suspicious.

Bubbles of blood kept foaming from the corners of Ku Xing's mouth, but he forced himself to continue, his eyes filled with a desperate longing for life.

"You, you also don't want..."

Abbot Kuming's eyes turned ruthless; he could not let Ku Xing continue spouting nonsense.

He suddenly raised his palm and slammed it heavily onto Ku Xing's forehead.

With a bang, to ensure a fatal blow, Abbot Kuming used almost all his strength, forcing Ku Xing's head several inches into the ground.

His skull shattered instantly, spraying yellow and white brain matter.

"Daoist Priest Jiang is right. This villain refused to repent even in death and dared to drag this humble monk down with him before he died. This humble monk had no choice but to send him to meet the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Amitabha, what a sin, what a sin."

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes. At this point, he no longer wanted to play games with these people.

He had originally thought this was just ordinary land annexation, which could even be considered a means of survival for the common people.

He just needed to warn Qianming Temple and tell them not to go too far.

But now it seemed that Qianming Temple was rotten to the core.

"Apologies, Daoist Priest Jiang. It is this humble monk's failure to discipline that led my Junior Brother astray, harming so many innocent women. Afterwards, this humble monk will certainly do my best to compensate them."

"No need to trouble yourself."

"Very well, this humble monk—uh, what did you say?"

Abbot Kuming was stunned. Before he could react, he suddenly felt his line of sight rise, and his body became light and airy.

At this moment, he heard Jiang Chen's ethereal voice drifting over.

"You should also go down and keep your Junior Brother company..."

Thud!

Abbot Kuming's head slammed onto the ground, rolling forward a few times.

His headless corpse wobbled twice before collapsing to the ground with a thump.

Seeing two temple Elders die before their eyes in such a short time, the Disciples present were terrified and shocked beyond words.

However, a few Disciples had a faint, almost imperceptible look of relief on their faces.

It was as if a great vengeance had been avenged; they looked at Abbot Kuming's corpse as if it were a mortal enemy, wishing they could devour his flesh and blood.

As for the other Disciples, they looked at Jiang Chen as if he were a devil.

They couldn't help but step back a few paces.

"Rest assured, I am not a good person."

Hearing this, those Disciples were even more terrified.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

Sword light scattered chaotically, and in the crowd, several monks collapsed, clutching their throats in agony.

These individuals carried heavy resentment and were likely cut from the same cloth as Abbot Kuming and Ku Xing.

However, as for Ku Cha, who had been discovered earlier stealing chicken in the meditation room and was now standing there in a daze, Jiang Chen didn't sense any resentment from him.

Clearly, this was an honest man; the worst he had done was buy a chicken to eat in secret.

That was why his Senior Brothers never included him in anything, but that had also saved his life.

"You, you killing the Abbot Senior Brother is one thing, but why kill the other innocent Disciples? Are you not afraid of retribution?" Ku Cha asked, muttering.

"These people are also stained with sin. Killing them only brings merit; where would retribution come from?"

Ku Cha opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

At this point, he didn't know what to do.

But he was determined to protect the Disciples who were still alive behind him.

"The daily annexation of the common people's land was all done by Abbot Senior Brother and Senior Brother Ku Xing. The other Disciples were just following orders. The Disciples who were close to the Abbot Senior Brother have already been killed by you. Please, spare the remaining Disciples. If you must kill someone, kill me alone!"

As he spoke, Ku Cha closed his eyes tightly, lifted his head, exposed his neck, and waited to be executed.

But he waited for a long time without the other party's sword descending, so he couldn't help but open his eyes, feeling puzzled.

"When did I say I would kill you? You did not stop their evil deeds before; from now on, you will continue to open the granaries and distribute grain, ensuring the local people can survive the famine, but you must not annex the common people's land again."

"You may have the people who received the grain sign a note. After the famine is over, they can return the borrowed grain plus interest to you."

Hearing that he didn't have to die and that he had seemingly been promoted, Ku Cha was bewildered for a moment.

"But, the grain in the temple likely isn't enough for the people of this city to survive the famine. If there is still no rain, even drinking water will become a problem..."

"No matter. There will be a torrential downpour here today. You only need to tell me, can you do what this humble Daoist just said?"

Ku Cha took a deep breath: "Relieving suffering and saving the distressed is the inherent duty of Buddhism. In the past, this humble monk was content with the status quo and was powerless against the Senior Brothers' evil deeds. Now, naturally, I will do my utmost to make up for the Karmic Obstruction!"

"Good!" Jiang Chen said. He then raised his hand and gestured lightly, drawing a wisp of spiritual light from Ku Cha's forehead. It fell into his palm and then vanished.

In that instant, Ku Cha felt a sense of emptiness in his heart, as if something was missing.

"This humble Daoist has taken a wisp of your spiritual light. If I discover in the future that you have acted against today's promise, this wisp of spiritual light will be the thing that takes your life!"

"Rest assured, if I cannot do it, this humble monk will not need the Daoist Priest to act; I will slit my own throat before the Buddha statue!"

Jiang Chen could see that although Ku Cha was somewhat slow and foolish, his Heart-Nature was not too bad, which was why he intended to leave the subsequent management of Qianming Temple to him.

Jianzhen watched from the side without interfering. The fact that he had stopped Abbot Kuming earlier already indicated his stance.

At this moment, he also approved of Jiang Chen's approach.

"May I ask you two, when will you begin to summon clouds and bring rain?" Ku Cha asked.

Jiang Chen looked up at the sky, but didn't see it; there was only the ceiling of the secret room above.

...

After these women were finally rescued, they remained dazed and confused. Those who still had a shred of sanity even tried to dash their heads against the wall and commit suicide on the spot.

Fortunately, they were rescued in time, but no matter how Jianzhen tried to persuade them, he could not stop their desire to seek death.

For them, having lost their chastity and not having returned home for over ten days, even if they returned, they would have to endure the verbal abuse of neighbors and the humiliation of their families.

Either way, it was just death; it would be better to die now and leave behind a clean reputation in the eyes of the world.

With no other choice, Jianzhen had to act, using Buddhist dharma to make them forget the worries in their hearts, while Jiang Chen used a Talisman to recall their scattered consciousness.

But how to settle them became another problem.

If they were sent home, they would likely be driven to death by the gossip of their neighbors.

Moreover, after so many days, their families likely already assumed they had met with misfortune.

At this point, if they returned, their families might even think it would have been better if they hadn't returned at all.

Finally, it was Ku Cha who suggested that since Qianming Temple had accumulated a large amount of wealth, there was an estate outside the city.

The estate used to run silkworm farming and some livestock operations.

They could give this estate and a large sum of money as compensation to these women, giving them a place to settle down and make a living.

Jiang Chen and Jianzhen thought for a moment and agreed.

...

(Good night, everyone)