Chapter 590: Sand Bandits and Merchants (23)

Two sides?

Upon hearing this, Ren Yidao also stopped in his tracks. He pondered the meaning of Mingxin's words for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Everything has a dual nature?"

"That is correct, as the Daoist says." Mingxin nodded. "I believe that in this world, everything has two sides."

"Those sand bandits, in the eyes of ordinary people, are seen as people who commit every evil. They burn, kill, and plunder, making those innocent merchant caravans suffer immensely. For this, they must pay with money, or even their lives."

"In the eyes of many, they are evil, but in the eyes of this humble monk, that is not necessarily the case."

"Except for a small portion, many of the sand bandits were not born as sand bandits. They were once ordinary people, once law-abiding town residents, but after various misfortunes, they were driven out of their towns and embarked on this path."

"Because they could no longer survive, they had to find a way to live, a way... that involves harming others."

"Therefore, although they are evil for harming people, it is only a minor evil."

Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow, not expecting this little Novice Monk to actually debate scriptures on behalf of sand bandits, seeking excuses for them.

But Mingxin had not finished; what he had to say was far from over.

"And likewise, are those merchants in the caravans truly innocent?"

"Are they good people who have never done an evil deed in their lives? In the eyes of this humble monk, that is also not necessarily the case."

"A merchant buys grain from farmers at a low price, leaving the farmers of a region with no food to eat, then sells it elsewhere at a high price to other farmers who have no food, earning vast wealth."

"And after obtaining this wealth, what do the merchants do? They do not help others, but instead expand their caravans, continue to grow their scale, leave even more farmers without food to eat, and then earn even greater profits, repeating the cycle."

"When there are even more merchants, they will unite to control prices and control the timing of grain sales, causing even more mortals to suffer the misery of famine."

"And the evil deeds they commit do not stop there. When farmers have no money to exchange for grain, what do they do? They make those farmers sell their own children to them as slaves in exchange for rations."

"Why? It is clearly the grain they grew themselves, yet why does it ultimately become a fatal object that can only be exchanged for their own children?"

"I would like to ask the Daoist, are these merchants... good?"

Regarding this question, Mingxin did not give Ren Yidao a chance to answer, but directly drew his own conclusion.

"No, they... are evil."

"And, they are a great evil."

Even when speaking of these matters, Mingxin's expression remained calm, without any significant fluctuations.

"Sand bandits are a minor evil, merchants are a great evil; the minor evil eliminates the great evil, this is good."

After hearing this explanation of the two sides of good and evil from Mingxin, even Ren Yidao, who is known for his unconventional ways, could not help but blink his eyes at this moment.

"Mingxin, I don't think you are wrong, but you might be a little biased against merchants..."

It wasn't that he thought Mingxin was entirely wrong, just that he seemed to have somewhat exaggerated the harm caused by merchants.

It felt a bit like journalism...

But Mingxin's next explanation left Ren Yidao completely speechless.

"Daoist, this humble monk is the son of a merchant."

Mingxin shook his head and continued calmly: "What I just said was not a fantasy, but what I saw with my own eyes in my youth."

"My father and brothers were all wealthy merchants; they enslaved no fewer than a hundred women, had over a thousand servants and guards, and owned several oases... In the end, they were all killed by sand bandits in an accident, the family eventually fell apart, and it was then that I was saved by my master and converted to Buddhism."

Fine.

Your father was a merchant, so you are right.

You are an eyewitness, so I have nothing to say.

Who knew this wasn't exaggerated journalism, but tragic documentary literature, or even a memoir of the person involved.

"Therefore, I let those sand bandits leave because they are the vicious dogs of this vast desert, which can keep those merchants in a constant state of tension, so they will not push those people too hard and prevent them from becoming new sand bandits."

According to Mingxin's explanation, his act of helping the sand bandits actually seemed quite reasonable.

But Ren Yidao still felt something was not quite right.

He pondered for a moment and raised an eyebrow, "... Wait, that's not right. If you follow that logic, then you shouldn't have let the merchants go, but I remember you helped a merchant caravan the day before yesterday."

Mingxin did not answer immediately, but raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "Was the Daoist there the day before yesterday?"

"... I was just passing by, and besides, don't answer a question with a question."

"Hehe, regardless of whether the Daoist was truly just passing by, my explanation for this doubt remains the same." Mingxin said solemnly: "This humble monk is a merchant's son, so helping a merchant caravan is only natural."

"... Are you teasing me?"

"Of course it was a joke, I hope the Daoist does not mind." Mingxin rarely cracked a joke, then shook his head and smiled: "Merchants are indeed a great evil and have many faults toward farmers, but their existence is not entirely useless."

"Their existence helps transmit news between different oases and brings different technologies, making the connections between various places closer."

"They also have a necessity to exist; as long as their numbers are controlled, the benefits outweigh the harms."

"The same logic applies to sand bandits; there cannot be too many, nor too few. These two sides should maintain a corresponding balance."

What kind of natural mutual generation and restraint is this!

Ren Yidao finally understood the point Mingxin wanted to make.

These two sides are indispensable, and they must maintain a dynamic balance.

If there are many merchants, there are many sand bandits; if there are few merchants, there are few sand bandits.

"However, according to your explanation, it doesn't sound like Buddhism, but rather like..."

"The Daoist school?" Mingxin asked with a smile.

"Exactly, it feels like the Daoist school, with a hint of yin-yang theory."

In the thoughts of the Daoist school, everything in the universe is composed of two basic, opposing yet complementary forces, yin and yang. These two forces both oppose and transform into each other, thereby maintaining the balance and harmony of the universe.

The "Dao" in Daoist philosophy also embodies this principle of the unity of opposites, emphasizing compliance with the changes of nature and the balance between opposites.

"So, this is also two sides."

Mingxin nodded and then shook his head, saying meaningfully: "Who can be certain that the other side of Buddhism cannot be the Daoist school?"

Huh?

Ren Yidao:???

Huhu does not understand, but Huhu is deeply shocked.

At this moment, Ren Yidao truly cannot quite understand what Mingxin is trying to express.

Twisting and turning to say all this, what merchants, what sand bandits, they are actually just a front; is his true intention just to tell me this?

"What do you want to say?" Ren Yidao's expression turned serious, staring at Mingxin as he said: "No, what do you want to do?"

To be able to say such things that are rebellious to the Western Desert, what exactly do you want to do?

Mingxin did not answer Ren Yidao's question directly, but smiled and took the first step, though not in the direction of their lodgings, but toward the other side.

"Does the Daoist still remember the name of the temple my master established?"

"Kurong Temple?"

"Yes, Kurong Temple." Mingxin bent down to scoop up a handful of sand, saying softly: "Kurong, one withered and one flourishing, all things have their withering and flourishing."

"The Buddhism of the Western Desert today has completely withered; someone has absorbed all the moisture, but instead of watering, they have used it upon themselves."

The sand in his hand gradually slipped through his fingers, until in the end, only a shriveled, moistureless grass seed remained.

Mingxin carefully held up this grass seed, eyes fixed on it, fearing it might fly away.

"And after withering comes flourishing; the Western Desert needs a new flourishing."

He turned his head to look at the thoughtful Ren Yidao, handed the grass seed to him, and said softly: "If Buddhism won't do, then let the Daoist sect do it."

"The Western Desert needs moisture, but it does not care where that moisture comes from."

Ren Yidao raised his eyelids, did not take the bait, but stared at Mingxin and looked carefully.

He is very young, still just a little Novice Monk.

But what he wants to do is enough to make those Buddhas sitting high upon the Buddhist altars feel cold in their hearts.

He wants to change the Heaven of this Western Desert!

"You are a monk."

After a long while, Ren Yidao finally spoke; he took the grass seed from Mingxin's hand and toyed with it between his fingertips.

"That is indeed so, but this little monk is also a merchant's son, a subject of the Western Desert," Mingxin replied.

"Is that so? Hehe, that is truly a convenient excuse."

Ren Yidao smiled and infused Spirit Qi into the grass seed in his hand; the grass seed instantly revived, growing new leaves from its shriveled state.

"You are right; if it changes from Buddhism to the Daoist sect, I dare not say anything else, but the mortals of the Western Desert will at least not be in such dire straits as they are now, day after day."

"People of the Daoist sect would not care whether you believe in them or not; not delaying their cultivation is the real priority."

Seeing this scene, Mingxin let out a long breath from the bottom of his heart, his tense face relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

The Daoist agreed.

But the next second, before Mingxin's expression could completely relax, that grass seed had already been tossed back into his hand by Ren Yidao.

"Daoist!? This, this... didn't you agree?"

"Hehe, what are you saying?" Ren Yidao chuckled, blinked at Mingxin and said: "I only took the grass seed you handed over; when did I agree to you?"

"Didn't I say it? For people of the Daoist sect, not worrying about their cultivation is the real priority."

Ren Yidao smiled as he admired Mingxin's completely distraught expression, chuckling: "Ren is not a merchant's son, but a Daoist cultivator; I value my own cultivation the most."

"Such troublesome matters, you had better do them yourselves."

Just kidding!

This kind of thing sounds extremely troublesome; Huhu will not do it!

He stared at the stunned Mingxin and said slowly: "Solve the mistakes you made yourself; do not think about having others help you clean up your mess."

"Others can help you for a moment, but they cannot help you for a lifetime; to truly save the Western Desert, you must rely on yourselves."

"On this point, aren't you clearer than I am?"

Ren Yidao stared at Mingxin and shook his head, "You weren't even willing to let me help Minghui suppress her fate, so why are you begging me to help you change the Heaven of the Western Desert?"

This is not Mingxin's character.

At least, not the character of the Mingxin he first met.

That little monk who was unwilling to beg others was the Mingxin he knew, the Mingxin he was willing to help.

Ren Yidao stared into Mingxin's eyes, his voice carrying a power of intimidation, and said calmly: "Mingxin, you have taken the wrong path."

!!!

Mingxin's heart shook violently, cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead, his entire back felt a chill, and he staggered back two steps, nearly falling over.

He trembled all over, shook his head as if waking from a dream, and said: "You are right... it was this little monk who was anxious for a moment and lost his way."

Mingxin calmed down, let out a long breath, and finally recovered: "Many thanks to the Daoist for the guidance, helping this little monk return to the right path."

"That you can turn back from your lost path is not my credit alone; it is because you yourself have not sunk too deep, I only pulled you once," Ren Yidao shook his head casually.

As the saying goes, it is hard to persuade a Ghost Star who wants to die with kind words.

That Mingxin could turn back from his lost path was purely because he himself had not completely drilled into the Ox Star's horn, and had not completely lost his mind.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Ren Yidao asked: "So, when did you start having such thoughts?"

The change should have happened in these past few days.

What exactly happened that would make Mingxin think of asking him for help?

"This little monk read some information left by my master," Mingxin took a deep breath, lingering palpitations still in his eyes.

"He said..."

"If one wishes to save the Western Desert, one must change the Heaven and replace the Dao."