Chapter 867: Daoji

"Then tell me, how do you intend to deal with them?"

Lin Fan glanced at a certain spot with interest and then asked Zhao Linger.

"Hmm... beat them up, and then return the money they extorted."

"In my opinion, we should just kill them!"

Lin Yueru disagreed with Zhao Linger's opinion, feeling that this punishment was too light.

Just then, an old woman in rags walked to the bridgehead.

"My life is bitter... I only have this twenty wen for incense money. Please be kind and let me pass!"

The old woman held up her last twenty wen pitifully, hoping they would spare her.

"If you want to cross, pay up!"

The steward pushed the old woman impatiently. The money in her hand fell to the ground, and as she scrambled to pick it up, the steward stepped directly on her hand with his sword.

"Show mercy."

"Let's go over!"

A voice and Lin Fan's words sounded at the same time. The women looked toward the person who spoke and saw a monk covered in patches walking over, holding a palm-leaf fan.

"It's a stinky monk!"

Lin Yueru frowned. Because of the Great Sun Tathagata, she had no good impression of monks. Seeing that the person stepping forward was a monk, she couldn't help but suspect if the other party had ulterior motives.

"May I ask what law this old lady has broken?"

"Poor monk, you want to meddle in other people's business? You can meddle, but do you have money?"

"Money? I have plenty!"

The monk shook himself, and there was a clinking sound; clearly, he had many copper coins on him.

"Anyone going to Jingci Temple to burn incense, come over! I, the monk, will pay your bridge toll!"

When the crowd heard that someone was paying, they swarmed over to cross the bridge. The monk stood at the bridgehead giving out money—twenty wen for every person who crossed. The flamboyant man and the steward nearby were beaming with joy; they didn't care who paid, as long as they got the money.

"So it seems this monk is a good person?"

Zhao Linger said thoughtfully as she watched this scene.

"What kind of good monk is this rich? Besides, he's giving money to bullies, isn't that aiding the evildoer? Even if he can pay today, can he pay every day? What about in the future?"

Lin Yueru curled her lips in disdain. She didn't believe this monk was a good person. The Tathagata Buddha that monks believed in was a bad person, so how could a monk be a good person?

Just then, the box the bullies were using to hold the money started to smoke and catch fire. They rushed to put it out, but unfortunately, they couldn't stop the fire from spreading. In his panic, the bully stepped his foot directly into the money box and couldn't pull it out.

"Sinking into the copper coins, sinking deeper and deeper, unable to pull himself out!"

The monk sat at the bridgehead and began to gloat.

When the bully finally pulled his leg out, all the copper coins were embedded in his leg.

"It was the monk playing tricks. It seems I wronged him; he really is a good person."

Lin Yueru also saw that the monk was punishing the bullies, so she frankly admitted her mistake.

"He is Daoji. He appears crazy and foolish, but he is actually clear-headed in the human world. He likes to punish evil, promote good, and help the poor. The common people respectfully call him Jigong."

Lin Fan smiled and introduced the monk at the bridgehead to the women.

"Jigong? Sounds pretty good. It seems not all Buddhists are bad people!"

The women nodded upon hearing this. Daoji was undoubtedly doing good deeds for the people, which was why he earned their respect. It seemed he was a good person.

"However, his parents were famous good people, and they had him in their old age, so they treasured him exceptionally. Yet, on the day of his wedding, he left without saying goodbye and became a monk. Because of this, his parents were frantic with worry and fell ill, sending people out to find him. But by the time he returned home, his parents had already passed away, and the family property had been seized by the steward. At his parents' grave, he also met his fiancée, the Miss Lu who had gone mad because he fled the wedding. Do you still think he's good now?"

"What? He's both an unfilial son and a heartless man! Sure enough, there isn't a single good person in Buddhism!"

The women's expressions changed drastically upon hearing this. They regretted thinking this monk was a good person earlier.

"This young master seems to know a lot about monks. Do you think a monk is a good person or a bad person?"

Daoji, who had been at the bridgehead, suddenly appeared in front of Lin Fan and asked with a smile for Lin Fan's opinion of him.

"What I think isn't important. What's important is you yourself, Daoji. You have lived up to the common people of the world, but you have failed your parents and your fiancée. Have you regretted it all these years?"

"Regret? So what? The monk can no longer go back. In this life, the monk has failed them; I can only hope to make amends by working like an ox or a horse in the next life!" ===== CHAPTER 869 =====