The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 165 The Taoist of Peace

The magistrate was kicked to the ground by Jiang Feng and sat there blankly, his eyes full of confusion.

"The ritual to summon the Goddess of Rain is so strange. Did she have to kick me? I'm an expert in all sorts of rituals to summon gods and Buddhas, including those involving the sacrifice of young boys and girls, and the cutting of flesh as a sacrifice. But this is the first time I've ever seen such a bizarre ritual."

Jiang Feng was both amused and exasperated to see that he was still thinking about invoking the gods. He continued, "That's right, this is the first step in praying for rain. The second step is to take your son to the execution ground to sacrifice to the heavens, and then Ganlinniang will bring rain to Fengxian County."

"what?"

The magistrate suddenly realized what was happening, scrambled to his feet, and said with a dark face, "You audacious wicked monk! I am a magistrate who is acting in accordance with the will of Heaven. My son will succeed me and become the magistrate in charge of the people of Fengxian County. How could Heaven possibly agree to sacrifice my son?"

"Guards, seize these wicked monks who defy the will of Heaven!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards from the Marquis's mansion stepped forward with swords and spears. Wukong sneered, made a hand seal, and the group of guards were frozen in place.

Then, a steady stream of guards poured in through the door, but Wukong simply blew a few breaths and froze them all in place.

The magistrate, startled, took several steps back, pointing at Wukong in a panic and exclaiming, "You so-called demons! You really are demonic monks!"

Jiang Feng was deeply shocked to see that Sun Wukong had immobilized so many people in one breath. He looked at Bai Suzhen and asked, "Little Bai, can your immobilization technique do this?"

Bai Suzhen rolled her eyes: "If I were that powerful, would I need to steal the elixir of immortality?"

Jiang Feng nodded and said, "That makes sense. Xiao Bai, go and bring his son and the man who filed the complaint that he imprisoned here."

"Hmm." Bai Suzhen responded, and in a flash went to the backyard. She quickly returned to the group with two young men.

The two young men were starkly contrasting. One was dressed in silk, with a fair complexion, clearly accustomed to a life of luxury. The other was disheveled, dark-skinned, thin, and appeared weak.

Jiang Feng turned his gaze to the gaunt young man and said, "What grievance do you have? I will seek justice for you."

The young man appeared timid and hesitant, but his voice was unusually firm: "Elder, I want to avenge my wife."

Jiang Feng looked at the other man in brocade robes and asked, "What do you have to say?"

The man in brocade robes bowed to Jiang Feng in a Buddhist gesture and said, "This believer, Shangguan Li, greets the Holy Monk. I have been practicing Buddhism for two years and have repented. I should not have forcibly taken the woman; this was a sin of sexual misconduct."

I should have just killed their entire family and sent them to be reincarnated to atone for their sins.

"what?"

Sha Wujing stared wide-eyed in shock: "Master, isn't he your fellow disciple? Listen to this, is he even speaking human language?"

For a moment, Jiang Feng thought he had misheard, and looked at Shangguan Li in astonishment, saying, "According to you, killing someone is considered an act of kindness?"

Shangguan Li nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world and said, "I studied Buddhist scriptures and found that these lowly people were all evil Rakshasa in their previous lives."

If they could be killed by nobles in this life, they would be reborn as nobles in their next life. If I had killed them directly at that time, it would have been an act of kindness.

My mistake was breaking the precept against sexual misconduct, but after two years of spiritual practice, Heaven and the gods have forgiven me.

"ha??"

After a moment of bewilderment, Jiang Feng suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "What nonsense about studying Buddhism! You're clearly studying the Brahmanical scriptures!"

He finally remembered that Fengxian County seemed to be a city-state in India. Although the beliefs of the Indian people were diverse, they were all based on the ancient Brahmanism.

It's possible that not only the Marquis and his son will feel that their actions were justified, but most of the people in the prefecture will also think so.

No matter what evil deeds the nobles committed, they would invoke the name of Heaven and the gods, and the common people would even approve of it.

The Jade Emperor might not be wrong to say they were disrespectful to Heaven. Guanyin Bodhisattva really went to great lengths to move such a disgusting place to his inevitable path.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Feng looked at the thin young man whose body trembled but whose eyes were extremely firm, and he had already made up his mind.

Since there are so many gods and Buddhas here, it wouldn't hurt to add one more, right?

Jiang Feng transformed, now wearing a yellow Taoist robe and radiating a faint golden light. He looked at the young man with compassionate eyes and asked, "What's your name?"

The young man stammered, "Mule, the mule of mules."

"You want revenge for your wife?"

"yes----"

Do you want to change this world and help more people like you?

"I—I don't know—"

Seeing his hesitant expression, Jiang Feng said gently, "No rush, think it over slowly."

The young man and Jiang Feng stared at each other for a moment, then, gritting his teeth, he mustered the last of his strength and shouted, "I want to!"

Jiang Feng smiled kindly: "I am Jiang Feng, also known as the Taoist of Great Peace. From this day forward, I bestow upon you the name Shang Mie Luo, impart to you the Scripture of the Taoist of Great Peace, and confer upon you the title of Great Virtuous Teacher!"

After saying that, Jiang Feng extended his right index finger and pointed it at Shang Mie Luo's brow.

A golden light entered Shang Mieluo's brow, and he immediately closed his eyes in pain.

After a while, he finished receiving the Taiping Dao Jing and some images that Jiang Feng had taught him. His expression gradually changed from hesitant to extremely resolute, and then he suddenly opened his golden eyes.

"The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world!"

A voice powerful enough to tear the heavens apart resounded between heaven and earth, as if a figure who had been gone for many years was announcing his return to the world.

In 604 AD, Jiang Feng renamed the mule Shang Mieluo and taught him the Taiping Dao Jing (Scripture of Great Peace). From that moment on, history underwent a dramatic change.

A day later, Shang Mieluo, along with Chen Xun and thirty-six others, swore an oath in blood, tied yellow turbans on their foreheads, seized the granary in the Fengxian County seat, and distributed food to the starving people.

People who received the food joined them, and the Yellow Turban army quickly expanded to 30,000 men, capturing six cities in Fengxian County within a month.

Subsequently, Shang Mieluo publicly tried the Marquis Shangguan and his son, along with five hundred other wicked nobles, at the execution ground, and finally beheaded them as a warning to the public.

The ground was littered with the heads of the dead, but suddenly a timely rain fell from the sky. A three-day downpour completely relieved the drought in Fengxian County.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the officials of the remaining counties surrendered to Shang Mieluo's Yellow Turban army, recognized him as the Great Emperor of Taiping, and supported him in establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Before Jiang Feng departed, Shang Mieluo, along with his civil and military officials, saw him off outside the city. Watching him change back into his monk's robes, Shang Mieluo hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Immortal Master, I've always had a question for you: are you a monk or a Taoist priest?"

Jiang Feng smiled: "Does it matter?"

Shang Mieluo paused for a moment, then laughed as well, and solemnly bowed, saying, "Respectfully seeing off the Immortal Master, this disciple will certainly not fail to live up to the Immortal Master's generous gifts, and one day, will spread the ideas of the Way of Peace throughout the entire world!"

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