Chapter 78

"Stop!" A woman's scream came from the audience, shocking all the heroes present. Who would have thought that Abbot Xuanci would do such a thing?

The Great Vajra Palm, with its overwhelming power and the might of dragons and elephants, who in this world could withstand Abbot Xuanci's sudden palm strike? Even a steel hammer as big as a head would be left with a palm-sized imprint after such a strike. How fragile is the human skull? One palm strike would surely shatter it into pieces!

Such a tragic and gruesome death, leaving no whole body, made the heroes present unable to bear the sight, and they all turned their heads away.

However, an unsteady-looking hand firmly held back Xuanci's palm.

Everyone knew that the best way to release palm power was in a straight line. The Dragon Subduing Palm could gather strength and strike back, which was already unparalleled. Who would have thought that there was actually a palm technique that could block horizontally? Xuanci's palm, though a backhand, moved from top to bottom, striking with smooth force. Yet, that hand managed to block it horizontally, extending flatly to intercept the palm power.

Such a twisted and strange posture could actually withstand the incomparable power of the Great Vajra Palm, which could split mountains and crack rocks.

Everyone looked at the hand, with only one thought in their minds: Is this a human or a ghost?

That hand, of course, belonged to Chen Ang, who looked at Xuanci with an unreadable expression.

"Abbot Xuanci, over the years, you have slept soundly every night, able to face your conscience, but unable to face reality. Where is your resolve?" Chen Ang said calmly.

"May the Buddha be merciful!" Xuanci retracted his hand and closed his eyes.

"May the Buddha be merciful, to save all beings. Shaolin is the holy land of Chan Buddhism, having saved countless fools. I see among the beings, there are those who are deluded and greedy, all of whom are blinded by fame and profit, losing their minds. But the Buddha is the enlightened one. Shaolin is the ancestral temple of Chan Buddhism, but what have you enlightened—Buddhism or fame and profit?"

"Shut up, outsider! What right do you have to defame Shaolin's reputation!" The Shaolin monks all stepped forward, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Shaolin's reputation, Abbot Xuanci, your life has lost true feelings, disrupted the law, lost your mind, and lost compassion. Greed, delusion, anger, and falsehood—aren't they all for the sake of this golden body of Shaolin? Clean and spotless, shining brightly, what a golden body, what a reputation of Shaolin! Rituals can kill, and reputation can kill. Hasn't it killed enough people?" Chen Ang laughed loudly.

"Ye Erniang!" Chen Ang shouted loudly to the audience, "Since you're here, speak clearly!"

The crowd parted to reveal Ye Erniang. Her hair had turned gray, and wrinkles had spread across her face, far from the charming appearance she had when they first met.

"Where is my son? I know you have his whereabouts. Please, have mercy on me and tell me where he is!" Ye Erniang, with a dazed look in her eyes, asked Chen Ang excitedly, holding an old swaddling cloth in her hand.

Chen Ang, upon seeing the swaddling cloth, understood. It seemed that Xiao Yuanshan had also taken action, but with him here, there was no need for Xiao Yuanshan to act personally.

"Who will have mercy on those innocent children? Who will have mercy on the parents who have lost their beloved children? Should I also chant 'Amitabha' and close my eyes, pretending those innocent souls don't exist?" Chen Ang asked with a smile.

Among the heroes, few had a grudge against Ye Erniang, but many could not bear her evil deeds. Xuan Shi, with a fiery temper, could no longer contain his anger. Because of Chen Ang's identity, he dared not act directly.

"What are you plotting with Ye Erniang? Is Shaolin a place for someone like her, who is full of sins?" Xuan Shi shouted and lunged at Ye Erniang.

His staff technique was refined, and a steel staff swung with a fierce wind, striking toward Ye Erniang's head. Some of the heroes secretly cheered: the Demon Subduing Staff Technique is indeed formidable. They thought Ye Erniang's martial arts were not inferior to Xuan Shi's, and a fierce battle would ensue, allowing them to join in and kill the female demon.

Unexpectedly, since Ye Erniang appeared, she had been in a daze, and when the staff approached her head, she showed no reaction. She was about to die under the staff, and Xuanci's face showed sorrow, his hands trembling, tears streaming down his face. He raised the Vajra Palm several times but put it down each time, repeating this in a brief moment.

A hand grasped Xuan Shi's staff, and Chen Ang sighed, "Ye Erniang, do you want to die?"

"Since my child went missing, I have had no reason to live. These years, I have lived in a daze, just to see him once and ask him: how have you been these years?" Ye Erniang said woodenly, "Every time I see those children, I think of my own adorable child!"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, "You know where he is, don't you? Please tell me!"

"You should know that no one here will allow you to leave Shaolin Temple alive. Even I, as an official, must eliminate you, the second greatest evil in the world, and the first greatest evil as well," Chen Ang said coldly.

"If you want to act, I will accept it!" Duan Yanqing laughed coldly.

"Do you think you are the greatest evil in the world? How laughable. You, Duan Yanqing, have killed countless people and are covered in blood, but in terms of evil, can you even match half of Ye Erniang? At least you kill martial artists, while she kills innocent children. Compared to her, your evil deeds are like those of a bodhisattva!" Chen Ang mocked without hesitation.

"The greatest evil in the world, whom I speak of, is a great hero in the martial world, a person everyone praises, wearing a golden body and a monk's robe, revered by all. Compared to him, what are you?"

With each word Chen Ang spoke, the audience glanced at Xuanci, seeing his face pale and his white eyebrows trembling. Xuan Shi could not help but say, "Abbot, you..."

"Chen Layman, you are right!" Xuanci removed his robe and knelt before everyone, trembling, "The greatest evil in the world should be borne by this old monk!"

Chen Ang did not even look at him but said to Ye Erniang, "Is what you have done worth it?"

Ye Erniang combed her hair, "I know my own hardships. To see him once, anything is worth it! Please, sir, tell me the child's whereabouts!"

Chen Ang sighed, "Though you are despicable, the child is innocent. If I tell you, he will have no place to hide in this world! Lean in and listen." Ye Erniang leaned in, and after hearing a few words, her face showed surprise and excitement as she looked toward Shaolin Temple.

Seeing an ugly little monk, she turned her head, unable to look anymore.

"Thank you, thank you!" Ye Erniang sobbed. When she saw the little monk, though she did not know his name, his features were so similar to her son's when he was young, uniquely ugly.

She was at a loss, not knowing what to do, and turned to look at Xuanci, as if seeking some comfort from him. At this moment, she had never felt such a strong desire for a family reunion.

"Your wish is fulfilled, and I can let you go with peace of mind!" Chen Ang said calmly.

"Chen Layman, please wait. All the sins started with me, let me bear her sins!" Xuanci could not help but say.

"You cannot bear it!" Chen Ang replied coldly, "Xuanci, you cannot bear it. At the Yanmen Pass decades ago, you could not bear it, leading to Ye Erniang's loss of her child; the sin of adultery and the reputation of Shaolin, you could not bear it, leading to Ye Erniang's hands being covered in blood; the countless innocent children's souls, you still cannot bear it."

"Today, your reputation is ruined. Look back and see what you have borne. You are not even a man, let alone a monk. You spent your life for Shaolin's reputation, but in the end, you still cannot bear it."

Chen Ang sighed, "What a man without responsibility, is a monk even a man?"

"All delusions are my fault, and have nothing to do with Shaolin," Xuanci said with difficulty.

"Saving demons and ghosts but not humans, giving blood and flesh but not wealth! This vast Shaolin Temple is full of deluded and foolish people. They chant compassion, but when it comes to collecting rent and debts, do they ever think of 'compassion'?"