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Chapter 106 Having an Affinity with Buddha
The valley was deathly silent, save for the heavy, labored breathing of the Black Wind Mountain God, which sounded like a broken bellows. His short, stout body collapsed to the ground, his faded robes soaked with sweat, his eyes cloudy and unfocused, as if he had just been pulled from the water and thrown onto the shore, too exhausted to even struggle.

Beside him, Yuan Shoucheng, upon hearing Chen Guangrui's question, was suddenly wide awake. "Wait, is he asking this question right off the bat?"
If he confesses, this fat guy probably won't be able to get away with it, right?

Yuan Shoucheng felt that if he were that fat man, he would have to defend himself at least a little.

Unexpectedly, the fat man didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard Chen Guangrui's question.

"M-Master..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, and his chapped lips moved slightly.

"As long as it stops and lets me catch my breath, I'll kill as many as you say, I'll accept it."

His plea at this moment was simply to end this silent, continuous torment.

Although he was a mountain god, his spirit had been broken by the endless torment. He now only sought relief, even if this matter would dig a huge hole for him.

I can't worry about that anymore.

Yuan Shoucheng watched from the side, recalling the tortures he had heard of, wondering if there were any similar ones. The effect of this "tea drinking" seemed to have exceeded his expectations.

However, the question that killed the monk is just a figure of speech; even if the mountain god confessed, it might not be true.

Chen Guangrui, of course, did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he had the two boys, Jinlu and Yinlu, take the bamboo pole mountain god to the side, far away from them, so as to ensure that they could not hear the questions from this side.

He stood before the Black Wind Mountain God, shadows looming over the utterly broken god. His face was calm and expressionless, but his eyes were sharp as knives. "I ask, you answer."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable, steady power. At this moment, the mountain god's spirit had been shattered, and the stronger his aura, the more he understood what he wanted.

"The first question is, how long has that bear-like monster from Black Wind Mountain been entrenched here, and what are its usual behaviors?"

His question was concise and direct, without any preamble or probing, going straight to the point. This was exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Yes, yes..." the mountain god answered almost hastily, afraid that if he answered too slowly he would have to endure it for even longer.
"Reporting to Your Excellency! That Black Wind King... no, that Black Bear Spirit, he has been here for... more than two hundred years, even longer than I took office. He usually just eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist scriptures, and I have never heard of him doing anything bad."

"More than two hundred years?" Chen Guangrui's eyes flashed slightly as he pressed on, "Then Elder Jinchi of Guanyin Temple is even earlier?"

The mountain god tried hard to recall, "Jin Chi... yes, yes, there was a monk named Jin Chi. He became the abbot of Guanyin Temple about seventy or eighty years ago. In terms of age, he is not as old as the Black Bear Spirit."

Yuan Shoucheng, who had been listening intently, gasped upon hearing this and interjected, asking,

"Are you sure that the bear monster has been entrenched here for two hundred years, and that he didn't eat meat or kill any living beings, and that he chanted scriptures and recited Buddhist prayers before he became the abbot?"

The mountain god nodded vigorously, his neck almost breaking.

“Absolutely true! I’ve been guarding this mountain for many years now. That black bear spirit looked exactly like this when he first arrived. He chants scriptures regularly every day, his voice booming so loudly that the whole mountain can hear it. He really doesn’t eat meat! The wild animals in the mountains—rabbits, deer, birds—even if they fight right in front of his cave, he ignores them completely. At most, he’ll find it noisy and let out a roar to scare them away…”

That black bear demon!
Even before the Golden Pond was built here, he had already begun to practice vegetarianism and chant Buddhist scriptures.

"He truly has a connection with Buddhism."

Yuan Shoucheng scoffed from the side, of course he didn't believe it, an old bear spirit that didn't eat meat but ate grass instead?

Who would believe this?
"What if he's just pretending to be eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers in front of you? In reality, his subordinates have already made thorough preparations."

"Subordinates?" The mountain god shook his head with a wry smile.
"What decent subordinates does that black bear spirit have? Years ago, some lesser demons wanted to become his disciples, but his rules and regulations were stricter than those of the old monks in the Zen monastery. How could those lesser demons stand it? They all ran away within two years. He himself is even more steadfast in his observances. I dare to swear on my life that in over two hundred years, I have never heard of him touching a single piece of meat or breaking a single rule. He just stays in his cave, chanting scriptures every day, as still as a stone."

This black bear spirit is very unusual. For a demon to not break the rules for two hundred years is already quite abnormal.

What on earth does he want to do?
According to the mountain god, there was only Guanyin Temple at that time, and there was no Elder Jinchi yet. So who was the black bear doing all this for?
Chen Guangrui knew that now was not the time to delve into these issues.
"Second question. Within this area of ​​a thousand miles, do you know... or are you familiar with the land of Five Elements Mountain and the land of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge?"

This jump was quite a leap, but Yuan Shoucheng, who was standing to the side, immediately perked up his ears, stood up straight, and ran to the mountain god's side to listen.

"Five Elements Mountain? Eagle's Sorrow Gorge?" The mountain god paused, then a complex light flashed in his eyes, as if he had grasped at a last straw. He looked at Chen Guangrui almost pleadingly, then quickly glanced at the equally exhausted but forcing-to-stay-at-home Golden Furnace Boy beside him, his voice tinged with urgency.

“Yes, yes, sir! Brother Chen from Five Elements Mountain and I… have quite a acquaintance! If you wish to go there, I… I can introduce you and show you the way!”

"What about Eagle's Sorrow Gorge?" Yuan Shoucheng's eyes lit up instantly. He had been waiting for this kind of "key connection" for days and nights.

He suddenly stood up straight, rubbing his hands together as he leaned closer, looking at Chen Guangrui with a mixture of excitement and anticipation on his face.
"There's a chance! Scholar Chen, there's a chance! Five Elements Mountain! Good, good, Five Elements Mountain isn't far from Eagle's Sorrow Gorge."

But to everyone's surprise, the mountain god thought about it and realized that he was somewhat unfamiliar with the mountain god and the land god of Eagle Sorrow Gorge. In the end, he understood why: "Eagle Sorrow Gorge is a body of water, and we mountain god and the land god are not familiar with them at all."

Although that's what he said, it gave Yuan Shoucheng new hope, and his excitement was palpable.

Chen Guangrui nodded slightly. These past few days, he had been trying to find out what was going on with the mountain god, the local earth god, and the monkey-guarding deity of Five Elements Mountain, and whether he himself could still reach the foot of Five Elements Mountain. Now it seemed there was still hope. However, he didn't ask any more questions about this matter.

Instead, he asked one last question: "Are the mountain gods and local earth gods in your area all connected with Buddhism? Or rather, are their hearts all turned towards Buddhism?"

The cold mountain wind swirled and swept across the valleys surrounding Black Wind Mountain, swirling up a few withered leaves.

Chen Guangrui's problem is very simple; it's just a matter of his buttocks.

The mountain god and his disciple are both deities under the Taoist sect. If they both have ties with the Buddhist sect, then this matter is very serious.

Therefore, upon hearing Chen Guangrui's words, the bamboo-pole mountain god shuddered violently. As if he had been scalded, he shook his head like a rattle drum, his voice rising and changing tone with fear.
"No. Your Excellency is wise! This humble god... this humble god is a god appointed by the Taoist sect. I have always been impartial and dutiful. I am a legitimate mountain god passed down from the Taoist ancestor. How could I dare to have any connection with the Buddhist sect? My loyalty is with the Heavenly Court and with the Taoist ancestor. Absolutely not, not even in the slightest."

He shouted so urgently that spittle flew out of his mouth, and he shrank back to the ground, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the rocks.

That's absolutely certain.

Chen Guangrui nodded, which relieved the fat mountain god of Black Wind Mountain, who thought that this answer meant the matter was over for the day.

However, he did not expect that the person who asked the question would turn around and ask the bamboo pole mountain god on the other side. He also had the two children take the mountain god of Black Wind Mountain away.

This caused the mountain god of Black Wind Mountain to change his expression, but he still didn't say anything and dared not say anything more.

Chen Guangrui asked the Bamboo Pole Mountain God a question similar to the one he asked the Black Wind Mountain God. Through the answers of the two men, Chen Guangrui verified whether what they said was true or false.

When it came to the last question, the two mountain gods gave basically the same answer, but Chen Guangrui seemed not to hear them and kept asking the question over and over again.

The bamboo-pole mountain god was on the verge of falling apart. When Chen Guangrui asked him the exact same question again without warning, his mind went completely blank, a jumbled mess of thoughts. He instinctively repeated, following his chaotic consciousness...
"No, no... Your Excellency, how could we... How could we dare to have any connection with Buddhism? We are all... We are all legitimate deities passed down from the Dao Ancestor. We... We only have the ancestors of the Tushita Palace in our hearts, and we only hope for the Dao Ancestor's favor..."

What he said was almost identical to what the fat mountain god said—the same fear and the same eagerness to distance himself.

Even the two boys who had just driven away the Black Wind Mountain God returned, and after hearing the bamboo pole mountain god's repeated answers, they believed that what he said was true. Chen Guangrui's repeated questioning seemed to have no effect.

The Silver Furnace Boy, however, felt somewhat bored. He yawned widely, rubbed his sore eyes, and muttered under his breath,

"Oh, I've said it so many times, it must be true, what else is there to ask... It's better to finish this quickly and go to sleep..."

Just then, Chen Guangrui's voice rang out again, and he gave a sharp shout.
"nonsense!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was stern, which startled everyone who was already exhausted.

Chen Guangrui's gaze was like two needles, firmly fixed on the face of the bamboo pole mountain god who was trembling even more violently.

"You're talking nonsense. He just told me everything."

Chen Guangrui's index finger pointed precisely at the Black Wind Mountain God, who was being guarded by the Golden Furnace Boy.

Hearing this, the bamboo pole mountain god, who was already exhausted to the extreme, was terrified. He shook his head like a rattle-drum, and his voice cracked.
"No! My lord! What I said is absolutely true, and I dare not conceal the slightest truth!"

At this moment, he was exhausted to the extreme, and Chen Guangrui's interrogation made it difficult for him to understand the cause and effect of the matter.

Chen Guangrui secretly had two boys bring over the mountain god of Black Wind Mountain, but he was not allowed to speak.

Then he asked the bamboo pole mountain god, "I'm giving you one last chance, will you still say that?"

Seeing that the bamboo pole of the Black Wind Mountain God had completely collapsed, he confessed without hesitation this time.
"The mountain gods, local deities, and all the minor gods in our area are actually related to Buddhism."

As soon as he said this, both the Golden Furnace Boy and the Silver Furnace Boy widened their eyes, and their previous weariness vanished.

Who would have thought that this repeatedly confirmed problem would actually have a reversal?
At the same time, they were also somewhat surprised that these mountain gods and local deities were all minor gods set up by the Taoist sect. How could they have unknowingly all submitted to the Buddhist sect?

Chen Guangrui did not ask any further questions, but instead walked up to the mountain god of Black Wind Mountain.

At this moment, the mountain god of Black Wind Mountain looked ashen, and the flesh on his fat face trembled involuntarily.

This time, he didn't dare to look Chen Guangrui in the eye at all, his gaze darting away.

Chen Guangrui simply asked him, "Now, do you have anything to say?"

(End of this chapter)