Chapter 210: Dharma Monk Long Tu

Chapter 210: Fasi Longtu

“The Bodhisattva is not bound by the Dharma, nor does it seek liberation from it. Whether spoken or not, the Buddha resides within your heart.”

A red robe stepped out of the darkness, the figure within bearing deep, profound features, and in the eyes, instead of pupils and whites, a pair of shimmering golden ten-thousand-character symbols.

In the Fandi language, this symbol is also called “Yong Zhong,” meaning the gathering of ten thousand virtues.

Only a high monk who has attained the Dao has the right to imprint it upon the eyeball.

“There are actually foreign monks in the Chongqing Prefecture?”

Zouyou’s face was dark as if about to drip, the muzzle still pointed at the monk, while the hand dangling by his left leg swayed gently.

The monk lowered his gaze, his voice gentle: “I am Longtu, here from afar to save people.”

“Save people? Save whom?”

The signal had been sent, yet nothing stirred.

Zouyou swept his eyes toward the back, noticing his subordinates had somehow collapsed unconscious on the ground.

Indeed.

Zouyou sighed inwardly.

“Of course, those destined to be with the Buddha.”

“Me? I do have a deep connection with your Buddhist sect.”

Zouyou’s mouth curled into a grin, the malice in his eyes unabated, growing fiercer.

Bang!

A deafening gunshot echoed through the empty room.

A bullet pierced through Xu Kang’s brow, his bound body toppling backward, a sparking chip flying out and landing at the monk’s feet.

Zouyou wiped the blood splashed on his cheek with the back of his gun hand, laughing: “But ah, it’s a cursed bond.”

Facing Zouyou’s provocation, the self-proclaimed Longtu of the Western Fandi did not grow angry, the deep-set eye sockets still revealing a gentle gaze.

“Your killing today stems from the Buddhist sect. I am willing to bear all your sins.”

“Oh? It seems you’ve investigated my background quite thoroughly.”

Longtu’s words were earnest, but Zouyou remained unmoved, sneering: “The Luohan Temple is a Han Buddhist sect. Do their sins require redemption from a Dazhao Temple monk?”

Zouyou’s words exposed Longtu’s identity.

In truth, the moment he saw the red monk’s robe, Zouyou had guessed his origins, and he understood that today’s odds were grim.

A living Dazhao Temple emissary was not something his minor soldier self could contend with.

“No matter where the sins originate, monks bear the responsibility to redeem them.”

Longtu raised one hand before him, a circle of Buddhist wheels slowly rising, hanging behind his head.

At the same time, the air echoed with a faint, ethereal chant, like the sun melting snow, dissolving the fury in Zouyou’s heart.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out.

The bullet ejected, striking the Buddhist wheel behind Longtu, sending sparks flying.

The light on the wheel flickered erratically, as if short-circuiting.

“Cease your tricks. If you wish to redeem me, kill me outright!”

Zouyou’s face twisted, his index finger on the trigger about to press again, yet froze at the last moment.

Only because a skull suddenly floated before the monk.

Though Zouyou had never seen that face, inexplicably, it was as if someone had written the answer in his mind.

The owner of this skull was none other than the fleeing abbot of Luohan Temple, the Venerable Hui Xin.

“What does this mean?”

Zouyou’s eyes trembled, the malice replaced by shock, even a flicker of excitement stirring in the depths of his gaze.

“The Hongji money was originally the Buddha’s benevolent aid to sentient beings, but in the hands of these foolish monks, it became a tool for hoarding wealth. A fallen Buddha heart became the source of disaster, naturally bearing the Buddha’s wrath.”

Longtu’s face was sorrowful: “With Hui Xin’s life, let you return from your lost path. With my life for my sins, to resolve karma—this is the greatest good.”

At this moment, Zouyou’s emotions were incomprehensible, hard to articulate.

He had accepted He Zhuan Jia’s aid, served the card faction tirelessly, even forcing himself to become a bloodthirsty, ruthless beast, chasing only the scent of silver dollars.

All Zouyou had done was to accumulate enough capital, to swiftly ascend his sequence, and one day avenge his brother, Zhou Sheng.

Yet now, the very head of the culprit, Hui Xin, lay before him, and Zouyou suddenly felt the hatred that had sustained him all along was stripped away.

He was hollow, his heart adrift.

Only endless bewilderment and a heart-wrenching sorrow without tears remained.

Along with a wave of exhaustion enveloping his body, nearly toppling him.

The muzzle slowly lowered, as did his upright spine.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Zouyou’s voice was hoarse, almost grating.

“Hui Xin is not a sacrifice, but a redeemer. You are not the perpetrator, but the wrongly accused. All is karma—you should not thank me.”

Longtu’s words seemed to hold an irresistible force, and Zouyou couldn’t help murmuring: “Then whom should I thank?”

“Where does karma lead?” the monk replied with a question.

Without hesitation, Zouyou blurted out, “Is it the Buddha? The Buddha!”

Longtu smiled faintly: “Thus, all lost souls trapped in the karma’s computation, the Buddha can reshape them.”

Soul reshaping!

Zouyou felt as though struck by lightning, his excitement radiating from his brows.

“Master, you… you can truly restore my brother’s three souls and seven spirits, reshape his very essence?”

“No matter where the sins originate, monks bear the responsibility to redeem them.”

Longtu repeated his earlier words: “All souls lost due to Luohan Temple’s confusion, I shall retrieve them one by one. Naturally, including your brother, Zhou Sheng.”

“Will he still be Zhou Sheng after the reshaping?”

“From beginning to end, he is himself.”

A cryptic dialogue, yet it erased all hesitation in Zouyou’s eyes.

Almost from the depths of his heart, Zouyou said solemnly: “Master, I don’t know what I can do for you.”

Longtu shook his head, smiling: “Have you ever seen the Buddha asking for repayment from sentient beings?”

“This is an offering, not repayment.”

Zouyou’s tone was earnest, his palms pressed together in reverence, bowing deeply.

In the instant his eyes fell, a fleeting self-satisfied smile crossed Longtu's face.

The monk bent his fingers in the gesture of plucking a flower, and a blooming lotus fell before Zhou You.

The flowers were crimson, the leaves jade-green, so tender they seemed to drip with life.

Yet upon closer inspection, the lotus bore exquisite mechanical patterns, intricate beyond measure.

Since you willingly offer yourself, let us traverse the mortal world together, redeeming the demons and monsters.

So it must be.

Zhou You said, "What must I do? Pray, enlighten me, Master."

Demons are those whose sins are too great to repent; only the Buddha can redeem them. To behold the Buddha, one must first enter the Buddha's realm. This lotus can guide them there.

Who are the demons?

Longtu smiled, "You should know."

I know.

Zhou You fixed his gaze on his feet, his face obscured by black hair, drenched in cold sweat.

I only know that if you bastards don't come soon, I can't hold on anymore!

Almost in the moment he muttered, a familiar voice echoed in his ear.

I have arrived.

Arrived?

Zhou You suddenly exhaled, his head snapping up to meet Longtu's gaze.

In the monk's stunned gaze, Wei Wu's gun erupted in a blaze, spewing a foot-long tongue of fury!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!