Chapter 90

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

All the listeners couldn't help but feel a surge of energy.

"The Buddha asked, 'I am clearly sitting in front of you, why do you say I am fake?' Jinchanzhi replied, 'You know what I mean by fake.' The Buddha asked, 'I advise all beings to be kind and compassionate, is this also fake?' Jinchanzhi replied, 'You hide five parts of the truth with five parts of the lie, mixing truth and falsehood, deceiving all beings, but the true cannot be false, and the false cannot be true...'

"You use the truth to gain the trust of all beings, but you use the lie to gain their loyalty, making them serve you, making them revere and worship you... and you rule them from a high and mighty position, oppressing them! You are all liars."

Suddenly, Shawu Jing changed her voice to a male one, mimicking a man's appearance, standing tall with her hands behind her back, clearly imitating the appearance of Jinchanzhi from 500 years ago. She recited loudly:

I want the sky to no longer blind my eyes,

I want the earth to no longer bury my heart,

I want all beings to understand my will,

I want all Buddhas to vanish like smoke and clouds.

(Note: This poem is quoted from "Journey to the West: The Monkey King's Story," originally written by Jin Hezai.)

The room was silent, and all the teachers and students who heard these words fell into deep thought. Tang Sen suddenly felt something stir deep within him, something that had been sealed away, resonating with the deepest part of his soul, plucking the strings of his heart, trembling his spirit...

"He said these words and rebelled against the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Heavenly Court... He wandered the world, telling humans not to blindly believe, not to be lost, not to seek help from gods and Buddhas when they encounter difficulties, but to create wealth with their own hands, not to be swayed by faith, not to be content with being ruled by emperors... All things were not created by gods and Buddhas, nor should they be governed by them. All beings are equal, and gods, Buddhas, emperors, and common people should be on equal footing, coexisting in the world. Humans should not worship gods and Buddhas like ancestors, but should boldly tell those deities to go to work... Everyone should think, research, invent... and create their own lives."

Tang Sen suddenly sneered, "Saying these things 500 years ago, wasn't that asking for death?"

"Exactly!" Shawu Jing said, "He was asking for death. The 9829th Buddha and the 9829th Jade Emperor were enraged. They could not tolerate anyone opposing them, and anything that opposed them would be eliminated..."

Tang Sen interjected, "So... he died, right?"

Shawu Jing nodded, "When the Buddha and the Jade Emperor decided to eliminate someone, that person had no chance of survival, even if he was an unparalleled genius. He could only be defeated and sent into the cycle of rebirth. Moreover, the Buddha and the Jade Emperor planned to control him no matter who he was reincarnated as, preventing him from causing trouble in the world... But at this moment, something interesting happened. No one expected that the demon king Sun Wukong had secretly loved Jinchanzhi all along. Hearing that Jinchanzhi was sent into the cycle of rebirth, she flew into a rage, brandishing the Ruyi Golden Cudgel, leading the seventy-two demon kings and forty-seven thousand demon soldiers in rebellion, stirring up the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea, storming the Underworld, breaking into the Southern Heavenly Gate, and causing chaos in the Heavenly Palace... The Book of Life and Death, which recorded Jinchanzhi's reincarnation, was accidentally burned by Sun Wukong. Neither the Buddha, the Jade Emperor, nor Sun Wukong herself could find Jinchanzhi's whereabouts..."

Many fragments in Tang Sen's mind slowly pieced together... He seemed to vaguely remember something, but he couldn't quite recall it...

Shawu Jing continued, "Although Jinchanzhi was sent into the cycle of rebirth, the ideas he proposed were thought-provoking. Many enlightened True Lords and Bodhisattvas began to seriously consider Jinchanzhi's words. More and more people found that the Buddha and the Jade Emperor's way of governing was not entirely correct... Although not everyone had the courage to stand up and rebel, they had the courage to escape. Thus, the Bodhisattvas and True Lords began to flee from the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Heavenly Court. The first to leave was Guanyin, who left the Great Thunderclap Temple and retreated to the Southern Sea's Potala Mountain, and from that day on, she refused to accept offerings from believers, starting to work and earn money with her own hands."

"Huh?" Tang Sen suddenly remembered the bearded Guanyin who had become a truck driver...

"The second to leave was Zhenyuan Daxian, who also left the Heavenly Court and retreated to the Five-Avenue Temple on Wanshou Mountain, no longer following the Heavenly Court's orders, focusing on planting flowers, growing trees, refining swords, and researching medicines, staying out of worldly affairs."

"The third to leave was Ji Dian, who ran to the prosperous regions of Jiangnan, disguising himself as a crazy, ragged monk, helping the poor, punishing the wicked, and promoting good, but never building temples or accepting incense offerings..."

"The fourth to leave was Yuding Zhenren, who retreated to the Golden Mist Cave on Yüquan Mountain, seeking peace and tranquility."

"The fifth was..."

...

Shawu Jing, though unassuming, had a good memory and rattled off a long list of names of Bodhisattvas and True Lords.

"The Great Thunderclap Temple and the Heavenly Court lost a large number of their core members, greatly weakening their power. Over the past 500 years, more and more Bodhisattvas and True Lords have left, the more enlightened and wise among them realizing that Jinchanzhi was right... This has led to the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Heavenly Court becoming increasingly weaker..."

Tang Sen frowned, "So, the world has become what it is now?"

"Exactly!" Shawu Jing said calmly, "The weaker the rulers, the more creative the ruled. Over 500 years, humans have long since freed themselves from the constraints of gods and Buddhas. They have learned to use 'science' to explain everything in the world, no longer leaving their fate to the heavens... Even the 9835th Buddha and the 9835th Jade Emperor, who grew up in the new era, have been influenced by Jinchanzhi... Both decided to abandon old prejudices and rebuild a new Great Thunderclap Temple and a new Heavenly Court..."

"The current Great Thunderclap Temple and Heavenly Court are no longer the old, corrupt institutions. No god or Buddha rules over humans as a superior being. The Great Thunderclap Temple and Heavenly Court are full of vitality, becoming small organizations similar to human companies. Thus, the Bodhisattvas have returned to the Great Thunderclap Temple, and the True Lords are willing to interact with the Heavenly Court again."

Shawu Jing concluded, "Jinchanzhi won."

Did Jinchanzhi win? No, not completely!

Tang Sen thought: Humans are still naive, there are still wars, famines, shameless politicians, and madmen who want to rule over the people... There are still people who pirate novels, and there are still scoundrels like Thirty-Second Eunuch among the authors... Humans have a long way to go to cleanse themselves, and similarly, the Great Thunderclap Temple and Heavenly Court have a long way to go. But... it's definitely better than 500 years ago.

"Are you done?" Sun Wukong's voice suddenly came from the hole in the ceiling. She had pretended to fly away but couldn't resist returning to listen, as the story Shawu Jing told was about her beloved man. How could she not want to hear it?

Tang Sen waved at her, "Wukong, you really caused a big stir in the Heavenly Palace 500 years ago, didn't you?"

Sun Wukong jumped into the room, pulled a chair, and sat down, sighing, "That's right. With my strength, how could I really cause a big stir in the Heavenly Palace? In fact, all the Bodhisattvas and True Lords, out of respect for Jinchanzhi, didn't step forward. When I made a big fuss, only some minor demons and soldiers came out to fight me... None of the real experts showed up."

Tang Sen grunted, "So the Buddha was forced to act personally..."

"Hmph, what if he acted personally?" Sun Wukong said proudly, "I am a naturally born demon. Even if the old Buddha's power is greater than mine, what can he do? I can't defeat him, but he can't kill me either. He could only use his magic to press me under the Five-Finger Mountain, not sending me into the cycle of rebirth, hahaha."

"Don't laugh like a clown," Tang Sen said irritably, "Do you miss Jinchanzhi?"

It was better not to ask, but once he asked, Sun Wukong suddenly burst into tears, "Where is he in this life? The world is so vast, and the population has increased several times... Where should I look for him?"

Tang Sen remained silent.

Everyone remained silent.

After a long while, Sun Wukong suddenly perked up, jumping up and asking, "I wonder what kind of women Little Jin likes in this life. Do you think he might be into lolis?"

"Spit!" The room echoed with the sound of people spitting blood, and everyone fell to the ground.

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