Ch. 339 - The Ragged Man

"Young man, the cup is already full, why are you still pouring?" the old monk asked Xu Zimo with confusion.

"I know," Xu Zimo nodded.

"Your hearts are like this cup, completely filled with your own thoughts and stubbornness. I have to empty the cup completely before we can even begin to discuss whose Buddhist teaching is better."

Upon hearing his words, both monks fell silent.

After a long pause, the young monk put his palms together, bowed slightly to Xu Zimo, and said, "I’ve learned something today."

Just then, noise erupted from the street outside the Buddhist lodge. The crowd was in chaos, as if something had happened.

The group walked out of the inn and saw a street completely packed with people.

Countless onlookers had gathered to watch the commotion.

"This guy dared to steal in Buddha Reverence City. Beat him to death!"

"Send him to hell with a butcher knife, this is blasphemy against the Buddha!"

The crowd was outraged and noisy.

Xu Zimo asked around and quickly learned that all this commotion was because someone had stolen something.

Maybe theft was a common thing elsewhere, usually ending in a quarrel or compensation.

But in Buddha Reverence City, it was different.

People here believed the Buddha protected their city.

Everyone in Buddha Reverence City was supposed to be kind and good.

Any greed or wrongdoing here would be condemned by all.

Their beliefs were extreme.

They didn’t preach mercy or repentance, they believed that only by killing all evil people could the world be filled with good ones.

So anyone who violated the city’s core values was met with the blade.

From a broader view, this mindset was twisted and unrealistic.

Those who fight monsters should beware of becoming monsters themselves.

But from the perspective of a single city, it was exactly this belief that kept Buddha Reverence City peaceful.

People didn’t steal or do anything against the city’s core beliefs.

Because even the smallest mistake would be severely punished.

...

Xu Zimo and the others squeezed through the crowd and looked toward the center.

There, a man in ragged clothes clutched two stolen meat buns, shivering and curled up under the judgment of the crowd.

He didn't say a word, too scared to argue back.

"It’s him," the young monk muttered.

"You know him?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.

"Near Buddha Reverence City there’s a sect called Duskblade Sect. It’s an insignificant one, but their swordsmanship is impressive," the monk explained.

"I used to visit them often to spread Mahayana Buddhism and got to know their sect leader. I’ve seen this young man a few times, he was once the most talented disciple of the Duskblade Sect."

"So how did he end up like this?" Xu Zimo asked.

"Later, Duskblade Sect was destroyed. They were said to have obtained an ancient divine sword," the monk said. "Whether that’s true or not is unclear. The sect was wiped out, and he was captured and tortured but revealed nothing. His enemies didn’t dare kill him for fear of losing the sword’s whereabouts, so they let him go. Since then, he's been like this, mentally unstable."

"Young master, I sense the aura of the True God Sword from him," Qingling’s voice sounded in Xu Zimo’s mind.

"A shard of the True God Sword?" Xu Zimo frowned slightly.

Things were getting interesting. He hadn’t planned to get involved.

Xu Zimo stepped into the crowd and looked at the trembling man.

Then he turned to the people and said, "Excuse me, everyone. This is my older brother. His mind isn’t right. I wasn’t watching him properly, and he wandered off. Please, forgive him. He truly has a kind heart."

"Kind or not, all I know is he stole my buns," a bald, burly man stepped out from the crowd.

He was wearing a light blue monk robe and looked rather fierce.

"We’re willing to compensate," Xu Zimo said with a smile.

"How will you compensate?" the man asked.

"Name your price. We’ll pay whatever you think is fair," Xu Zimo replied.

The man’s eyes lit up and he said, "I won’t kill him, but to teach him a painful lesson, you’ll have to pay one hundred times the value of those buns."

"No problem," Xu Zimo smiled.

With a wave of his hand, a huge pile of spirit stones appeared.

"Count them if you’d like," Xu Zimo said.

"No need, no need," the burly monk waved his hand, grinning as he quickly loaded the stones into his storage ring.

"Alright, let’s go," Xu Zimo said to the terrified man and turned to leave.

The man stood still for a moment, then quietly followed behind Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo ignored the big man still counting his stones.

As they walked out of the crowd, Xu Zimo patted Death God Qin on the shoulder and said calmly, "I don’t want him to see tomorrow’s sunrise."

Death God Qin nodded and replied in a raspy voice, "Understood."

...

Back at the Buddhist lodge, Xu Zimo had the young monk prepare a private room and clean clothes for the ragged man.

During dinner, Xu Zimo looked at the man, who was devouring the food, and asked with a smile, "What’s your name?"

The man ignored him, just kept eating like a madman.

Occasionally he’d look up and give Xu Zimo a silly smile.

"You're doing this for the so-called divine sword too?" Death God Qin asked helplessly.

"Is that a problem?" Xu Zimo replied.

"You believe those outside rumors?" Death God Qin shook his head. "And you, a crown prince of an imperial lineage, since when do you lack a sword? That saber on your back is pretty good."

Xu Zimo just smiled and didn’t answer.

As night fell and dinner ended, everyone returned to their rooms.

The flickering candlelight slowly dimmed, and the room grew so quiet you could hear a heartbeat.

The madman lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring into the darkness, silently thinking.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in and opened the window.

The man’s expression changed. He quickly got out of bed and shut it.

He walked over to the table, lit the last bit of candle wax, and seemed to calm down slightly.

Just as he turned to sit back down, a chill ran through his entire body...

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