Taoist Master, wishing for a sacrifice-based system

Chapter 58: A hidden compartment in the Buddha statue conceals 210 million in cash! The unscrupulous abbot's escape attempt is thwarted.

The assistant's voice was trembling.

"This number—this number far exceeds the reasonable reserves of a temple—"

"Keep digging," the man in the gray jacket said. "Hollow out the entire base."

"Yes."

Excavation continues.

Ten minutes later.

From the very bottom of the base.

They dug up a second thing.

It is an account book.

It's not your average ledger.

It is a leather-bound, thread-bound, very thick book.

It looks like some kind of "temple archives".

The man in the gray jacket opened it.

The first page.

He glanced at it.

There was a three-second silence.

Then he closed the ledger.

He turned to the people behind him and said, "Seal it. Send it to headquarters immediately."

The ledger was placed in a black sealed bag.

The label has a number and date on it.

It was packed into the assistant's sealed box.

This ledger passed through the hands of only three people from the moment it was closed until it was packed away.

A man in a gray jacket.

assistant.

And the next recipient, whose identity no one could clearly recall.

But three hours later.

The third floor of an unmarked gray office building in Beijing.

A middle-aged man in a white shirt turned to the first page of the ledger.

Turn to the second page.

Turn to the third page.

Then he remained silent for a long time.

long time.

He took off his glasses.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He muttered to himself, "Jueyuan, Jueyuan—you really dare to do that."

After the ledgers were unearthed.

-

The hollowing out of the base is still ongoing.

They dug for another fifteen minutes.

They dug up a third thing.

It's the last one.

It is a certificate.

Dark blue cover.

The man in the gray jacket, wearing gloves, took it out from the gap.

Blow off the dust.

Held in his hand.

Sunlight shone down from above the ruins.

The photo is on the cover of this certificate.

There are several lines of gold lettering on it.

It's not in Chinese.

It is a string of foreign words and a national emblem that is neither too big nor too small.

That was a passport.

It is not a Chinese passport.

It is a passport from a small Southeast Asian country.

The man in the gray jacket turned to the first page.

On the photo page.

A slightly plump face with kind eyes and a peaceful expression typical of a monk.

Below is a name.

Pinyin.

Translate into Chinese.

Exactly.

Jueyuan's common name.

The man in the gray jacket looked at the photograph.

I watched for a full ten seconds.

Then he closed his passport.

Gently.

It was put into a sealed bag.

He stood up.

He patted the dust off his hands.

He turned around.

He addressed his assistants behind him.

He only said one sentence.

"Contact the hospital."

Tell them

"We want the patient."

The day Jueyuan was taken away.

It's not a police car.

It wasn't a flash.

They were not bystanders.

It was a black minivan.

It parked quietly at the back entrance of the hospital.

They quietly took him away from the hospital room.

They drove out of Yunzhou City quietly.

The entire process takes no more than seven minutes.

Nobody knows.

Including the monks of Daen Temple.

By the time they realized what was happening and wanted to visit the abbot in the hospital...

The ward is empty.

The sheets are still cold.

What happened next.

It developed even faster than Shen Che's time.

It was so fast that no one could keep up.

Seventh day.

The official announcement has been released.

very short.

There are only 346 characters.

But every word hit him like a ton of bricks.

There are only three core points.

Article 1.

An investigation revealed that Jueyuan, whose secular name was followed by several letters of pinyin, used religious activities as a cover for a long period of time during his tenure at Da'en Temple.

They protected and committed multiple illegal and criminal acts.

Article .

An investigation revealed that Jueyuan, along with others, is suspected of committing multiple serious crimes, including manipulating public order.

Article 3.

That's also the most fatal one.

In a hidden compartment at the base of the main Buddha statue in the main hall, they discovered 213.7 million yuan that had not been declared, a foreign-related account book, and a second passport illegally obtained from a South Asian country.

Two hundred and thirty million.

This is not a temple's reserve.

This was the last plan of an old ghost who was preparing to run away.

After the announcement was issued.

The reaction across the internet—

It's not anger.

Anger takes time to ferment.

It is silence.

That kind of silence where everyone simultaneously clenched their fists and shut their mouths.

Because everyone is recalling one thing.

This is the old monk named Jueyuan, who, during a television interview, kindly said, "This humble monk does not comment on his fellow monks."

This is an old monk who earns nearly 100 million yuan a year and whose temple is resplendent in gold.

This old monk charges 888 yuan for the first incense offering and has a meditation course that's so popular you can't even get a spot in a month.

How much wealth did he amass?

How many people did he deceive?

How many pilgrims did he deceive in total?

Those elderly women who once donated their entire year's savings to the donation box.

Ordinary people who knelt before him to pray for their families.

Those believers who were persuaded to "pay more for the ritual" because they trusted him.

How much money have they paid in total over the years?

Of this money.

How many of them entered Jueyuan's secret compartment?

How much of it went into some overseas account behind Jueyuan's Southeast Asian passport?

No one can figure it out.

Perhaps even Jueyuan himself couldn't figure it out.

But everyone knows one thing.

That's enough.

He had enough cash, 210 million, to keep in the secret compartment.

This was enough for him to flee to another country the moment his scheme was exposed.

The thirteenth day.

Second round of notifications.

-

It's even heavier than the first round.

"After preliminary investigation, Jueyuan and seven others involved in the case were convicted of multiple crimes and sentenced accordingly."

"Proposed sentence: life imprisonment."

life imprisonment.

Four words.

It hit the heads of all the monks at Daen Temple.

It struck the heads of all the worshippers in Yunzhou City who had burned incense at Daen Temple.

It struck the head of the entire Chinese religious community.

It struck the heads of all the believers who thought the "Buddhist sanctuary was a pure and peaceful place."

Jueyuan was a “compassionate high monk”.

He went to a "temple abbot".

To a "suspect suspected of committing a crime".

To a criminal who will spend the rest of his life in prison.

It took less than two months.

two months.

His twenty years of business.

Fifteen years of reputation.

A lifetime of greed.

Everything was reduced to zero within two months.

Day 19.

Daen Temple has been officially sealed off.

It's not about shutting yourself away for quiet contemplation.

It's not a temporary closure.

It's a seizure.

A red seal was affixed to the entrance of the mountain.

-

The seal bore official text stamped with a bright red seal.

"After review in accordance with the law, the registration qualification of the religious activity site has been cancelled."

"Effective immediately, all assets and property of this premises shall be disposed of in accordance with the law."

"No one is allowed to enter without authorization."

That brand-new iron gate that had just been replaced.

Along with the sign above that reads "Closed for spiritual practice, no visitors allowed."

They were all seized.

There were no onlookers outside the mountain gate.

There were no reporters.

There were no protests.

Not a single monk came to take one last look.

Because of the original monks of Daen Temple.

Three days after Jueyuan was taken away.

They were already dismissed on the spot.

Everyone received two months' salary.

A confidentiality agreement was signed.

They each went their separate ways.

Some people went to other temples.

Some people have returned to secular life.

Some people are said to have gone to small temples in the mountains to continue their spiritual practice.

But no one will mention the name "Daenji" anymore.

This name.

Like a poisonous fruit that tastes bitter on the tongue.

No one wanted to touch it anymore.

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