Chapter 579: Call Down Your Bodhisattva

“Lin Zhenren! I once respected you! But slaying demons and expelling monsters is the will of the Jade Emperor—yet you are still human. Can you truly defy the Heavenly Laws and the Jade Emperor? Just because you are Lin Zhenren, can you shield demons and monsters?”

The big monk struggled to rise from the mud. Though inwardly awed and stunned, he still gritted his teeth and shouted:

“If you cannot justify yourself, even if you are Lin Zhenren, exalted and mighty, I still have the power to summon the Bodhisattva! Even if I die here, I dare challenge you!”

“Hmm? You little monk, you’re stubborn indeed!”

“The Purple Emperor is the sovereign of the Nine Heavens, the supreme master of the Three Teachings! Humans and demons are distinct—demons must not invade the mortal realm, as decreed by the Purple Emperor. I uphold the Purple Emperor’s command and the Bodhisattva’s edict in coming to Yangzhoucheng to slay demons. I ask you, Lin Zhenren: who is truly stubborn—the monk, or you, the immortal shielding demons?”

“Hmph…”

Lin Jue shook his head. He had originally been too lazy to debate with him, but his gaze swept over the couple beside him, then over the foxes galloping and splashing in the distant sky, and he spoke again:

“Bodhisattva?”

“Precisely!”

“I had no intention of answering you, but since you’ve said this much, tell me— which Bodhisattva do you venerate?”

“The Bodhisattva of Pure Heart, Compassionate Cloud, and Universal Salvation of the Northern Sea!”

“Oh, the Bodhisattva of Pure Heart, Compassionate Cloud, and Universal Salvation of the Northern Sea—the one riding a golden-maned, sapphire-blue, lapis-lazuli lion?” Lin Jue stared straight at him.

“This…”

The big monk’s expression froze, his voice faltered.

“Why don’t you answer?” Lin Jue’s gaze hardened. “When you encounter a Bodhisattva, do you no longer say ‘a demon is a demon’ or ‘slay demons and expel monsters’?”

“That…”

After a moment, he said:

“That lion demon was transformed by the Bodhisattva. Now it has embraced the Buddha’s path, shed its demonic nature, retained its true goodness, and has become the Bodhisattva’s mount, accompanying her in cultivation and self-discipline. How can it still be called a demon?”

“Transformed? A lion demon? So it once did evil?” Lin Jue chuckled. “How splendid! A demon that once wrought harm is transformed and made a mount because it is powerful and majestic, enjoying incense and offerings, while Madame Gu, who has done countless good deeds, is to be slain merely because she is a demon. What a fine Heavenly Law, what a fine Buddhist Dharma, what a fine Bodhisattva!”

The Daoist’s voice stirred ripples in his heart.

“If you truly believe ‘humans and demons are distinct’ and ‘a demon is a demon and must be destroyed,’ well—I recall the Fomen has many non-human protectors, the Eight Celestial Dragons. Most Bodhisattvas have demon mounts. Why not start with your own Bodhisattva of Pure Heart, Compassionate Cloud, and Universal Salvation of the Northern Sea—

“First, summon her down. I’ll lend you my power. Let’s slay that golden-maned, sapphire-blue, lapis-lazuli lion beneath her first. Then summon the Eight Celestial Dragons—the Yakshas, Asuras, Garudas—and I’ll help you—wipe them all clean!”

The big monk trembled inwardly and hurriedly said:

“Zhenren, do not desecrate the Bodhisattva!”

“What? Is she not riding a demon? Or are you afraid? You dare challenge me—why not challenge her? Do you think my power is less than hers?”

“Amitabha…”

The big monk lowered his head, palms together, his resolve still firm: “My power is meager, inferior to Lin Zhenren’s. No matter what I say is useless. I shall summon the Bodhisattva to descend and speak with you.”

“Let’s see what she says!”

In the curtain of rain, the monk’s robes were soaked. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, palms together, chanting sutras.

The couple across from him, still shaken, now grew even more fearful.

The Daoist still held the umbrella over them.

The chanting continued. Suddenly, a patch of light pierced the dim, hazy mountain shadows in the distance, revealing a glimmer of gold. The chanting in heaven and earth grew suddenly louder, as if countless voices chanted in unison.

“Amitabha…”

A serene Buddhist chant echoed.

A white cloud drifted down from the golden light. Upon it sat a majestic lion, its mane golden, its body sapphire-blue like lapis lazuli. On its back sat a female Bodhisattva, flanked by two child attendants, boy and girl.

“Bao Lin, do not disrespect the Immortal. Especially not Lin Zhenren—he has great merit and great prestige among mortals.”

The Bodhisattva’s voice was serene, echoing endlessly.

“Bodhisattva, I came to pursue a demon, but was blocked by Lin Zhenren!” The big monk did not yield despite the Immortal’s title. “This demon has violated the Heavenly Laws, invaded the mortal realm, and even secretly mated with a human. My power is insufficient to slay it. I beg the Bodhisattva’s aid!”

“Do not disrespect Lin Zhenren,” the Bodhisattva repeated. “And this is Feilai Mountain—disrespect is even less permissible.”

The big monk frowned upon hearing this.

Not because he doubted the uniqueness of Feilai Mountain, but because a sudden doubt arose: why did the Bodhisattva seem to treat people differently?

He turned his head—the Bodhisattva’s countenance was solemn and majestic.

He looked back—the Daoist across the rain was staring at him.

“Amitabha. Since this demon is connected to Lin Zhenren, even if guilty, she should be handed over to Lin Zhenren for discipline. If innocent, let her go.” The Bodhisattva’s voice continued.

“Why?”

At this point, the big monk was already unsettled.

“You monk, how foolish,” the Bodhisattva rebuked him. “This spider demon has not committed a capital crime. Even if you capture her, you would interrogate, punish, and subdue or transform her. So why not hand her to Lin Zhenren? What is Lin Zhenren’s status? He would never shield her.”

“Bodhisattva, you don’t know! Lin Zhenren is precisely shielding her!”

“Enough!”

“Bodhisattva!”

The big monk’s once unyielding heart, once his greatest strength and the reason the Bodhisattva favored him, now became obstinacy: “You guided me to slay demons. I never feared. But now, a demon who violates the Heavenly Laws stands before me—and you command me to let her go. Do you fear Lin Zhenren?”

“Amitabha, Bao Lin, you are attached to form.”

“Then… what is truth?”

The big monk looked from the Bodhisattva to Lin Zhenren, whose face remained calm. He could not imagine that one Lin Zhenren could force the Bodhisattva to yield, nor could he imagine that the Bodhisattva, who had always been steadfast in slaying demons, would suddenly change her mind merely because she encountered another Immortal: “Could it be true, as Lin Zhenren said—that the Bodhisattva sent me to slay demons not for peace in the mortal realm, but for incense and offerings?”

“Amitabha…”

The Bodhisattva, helpless, turned to Lin Jue:

“Lin Zhenren, my disciple has great talent but clings to his own views. Could you, out of respect for his lineage as your old acquaintance and for my face, allow me to take this woman? I swear to you: if she has truly done no wrong in her life, I will not trouble her.”

It sounded like a mere formality—even if taken, she would be returned.

But Lin Jue would never play such a hypocritical game with her.

As the big monk turned to Lin Jue, and the couple tensely watched him, the Daoist smiled faintly:

“If the Bodhisattva takes this lady, what of the fox I’ve raised since childhood? Will you take her too?”

“Amitabha. The fox in your household, raised since childhood and aiding Lin Zhenren in slaying demons, has amassed great merit. It needs no interrogation or judgment. Besides, the current mortal court venerates the nine-tailed fox as an auspicious beast—so the nine-tailed fox is naturally different from ordinary demons.”

“Then this lady is the same. She has spent her life doing good, accumulating great merit. She needs no interrogation or judgment.”

“Lin Zhenren, grant me this favor?”

Lin Jue met her gaze, silent.

A righteous person—even a mortal—has a face worth a thousand catties. A hypocrite—even with cracked Buddha-light—what is his face worth?

“Why do you shield demons?”

“Do you not? This lady has always been charitable. But your lion mount still bears ferocity. If you wish to slay demons, why not begin with the lion beneath you?”

The golden-maned, sapphire-blue, lapis-lazuli lion roared furiously upon hearing this.

Even the woman, herself a great demon, was greatly frightened.

Only the Daoist remained calm.

The Bodhisattva frowned, displeased.

Since arriving here, mindful that Daoism now reigned supreme and that Lin Zhenren had immense merit and prestige among mortals, she had treated him with great courtesy. Logically, such courtesy should be reciprocated. Both Bodhisattva and Immortal were beyond mortal concerns; there was no need for conflict. Yet he gave her not the slightest face.

“I hear you are close to the southern deities. Are you being partial to them, Lin Zhenren, by being so aggressive?”

“No.”

The Bodhisattva in the sky, the Immortal on the ground, locked eyes.

The Bodhisattva’s eyes turned golden, lapis-lazuli clear—yet, strangely, she saw only unshakable sincerity.

The Bodhisattva thought for a moment and understood—

He knew her slaying of demons was merely to spread her teachings in the south, to compete with southern deities for incense and offerings. He despised such acts from the bottom of his heart. He also knew that over these years, on this southern land, countless such unjust demon-slayings—implicating innocents—had occurred. He disliked them.

Since he disliked them, he would not be courteous to her.

Since he despised them, her courtesy would not change his mind.

“I once respected you, Lin Zhenren. But do you think I fear you?”

“So the Bodhisattva is both cultured and martial?”

“Hmph…”

The Bodhisattva in the heavens let out a cold snort, pinched a flower, and pointed.

Brilliant golden light burst forth, overwhelming the dark clouds.

The countless raindrops hanging like curtains froze instantly—then each droplet transformed into a red flower, each petal weighing ninety thousand jin.

The sky filled with falling red petals, converging toward the Daoist.

“Hah…”

Flowers to fight me?

The petals nearly obscured heaven and earth, completely hiding the Daoist’s figure—yet silently, without sound, all petals vanished.

The Daoist still stood in place:

“Bodhi flowers?”

The Bodhisattva in the air was stunned, yet her face remained expressionless:

“Precisely.”

“Looks like I’ve visited your temple too seldom.”

The Daoist smiled slightly, as if chatting casually, and returned the courtesy with a finger-point—spring wind blew rain upward.

The Bodhisattva’s eyes hardened. One hand formed the flower mudra, the other palm struck downward.

Clear wind and golden light both dispersed.

The Bodhisattva swiftly ascended on her cloud.

As his gaze rose, he saw Jin Guang ripple over dozens of li before vanishing entirely, while Qing Feng continued to spread like water ripples, soaking every river, mountain, village, and turning them all into brocade.

With a single strike, the Bodhisattva retreated, and flowers bloomed across eight hundred li of mountain!

The entire Feilai Mountain was covered in flowers; below, the mountainside bloomed too. Whether the married couple or the great monk, all stood frozen in place, some gazing around, others looking up at the empty sky.

“Little monk, do you understand now? Only the Purple Emperor above seeks to exterminate demons. Your so-called Buddha Land is filled with demons—the Bodhisattvas themselves ride demons as mounts. Their so-called demon extermination is merely to gain incense offerings, and they bully the weak while fearing the strong, their resolve even weaker than yours.”

The great monk’s heart was dead, too drained to answer; he collapsed with a thud into the pool of flower petals.

The Daoist slowly closed his umbrella.

The rain had stopped.