My brother is so cunning

Chapter 912 Even Corrupt Officials Have Their Little Tricks
As Lingji Bodhisattva watched the scene playing on the light screen beside him, the cracks on the protective array of Lingjiu Temple continued to increase, and the golden light became dimmer and dimmer, as if it would break apart under the siege of a group of elite demonic mosquitoes at any moment.

The small pillar of fire, which was VIP1 level, moved back and forth, but it could only barely burn one or two demonic mosquitoes in half a day. It was like trying to put out a raging fire with a spoon.

If we delay any longer, everything will be ruined!
Lingji Bodhisattva is also a great Bodhisattva in the Western Paradise, whose wisdom and virtue are both of the highest quality. After this exchange, how could he not know where the problem lay?

It is obvious that Venerable Ananda abused his position to embezzle military funds that should have been paid to Wenrui to purchase advanced permissions for the Sun-Shielding Canopy.

As a Bodhisattva, Lingji certainly wouldn't pretend to be confused and argue with Wenrui unreasonably. However, the situation was too urgent. The two disciples of Buddha were about to perish along with the sacred Buddhist site, Lingjiu Cave, and there was no time to rush back to Mount Ling to pursue the case of corruption in military procurement.

"Buddhism and Taoism share the same origin, and subduing demons and monsters is a matter of great righteousness. We implore the Heavenly Venerable to consider the greater good and make an exception!"

Bodhisattva Lingji earnestly advised, using the images playing on the light screen as evidence, pointing to the Lingjiu Temple's protective array that had already cracked open on the screen: "Venerable Wen, you have also seen it. The situation is urgent and cannot be delayed. First, grant my sect VIP4 access to save the day. I will personally deliver the payment afterward."

"Business is business, and rules are rules."

Wen Rui, with a stern face, said coldly, "Given the grudge between your Western Sect and my Jie Sect five hundred years ago, the fact that I'm giving you the opportunity to purchase the Sun-Shielding Sky Curtain's bandwidth is already prioritizing the greater good and showing utmost benevolence. No one can accuse me of targeting your Western Sect or discriminating against customers!"

"The price we offered you is the same as the price we offered to the gods in Heaven. There was no markup or any conditions attached. It's absolutely fair."

"I've done everything I could in terms of morality and justice. I gave you a chance, but you failed. So you'll have to bear the consequences. Stop whining to me. I don't owe you anything. On the contrary, you owe me a lot of bad karma!"

"Cash on delivery, payment received, access activated immediately. Otherwise, there's no room for negotiation. Even if you come, it won't work. That's what I said!"

Even though Lingji Bodhisattva was burning with rage after being sprayed in the face with Wen Rui's spittle, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear it after considering his own spiritual cultivation. He turned around and strode out of the hall.

Lingji Bodhisattva is an enlightened deity. Given the critical situation at Lingjiu Temple and his lack of justification, arguing with Wen Rui would only be a waste of time. It was impossible for him to persuade the other party with the eloquent Buddhist persuasion techniques.

As for forcing Wen Rui to submit by force, that's out of the question. Lingji had personally witnessed Wen Rui using his Creation Divine Power to fight Wen Daoren. This evil god's methods were mysterious and unpredictable. Not to mention that he had no confidence in defeating him, even if he could fight him to a standstill, it would take a lot of time to fight him with all his might.

Once the winner is decided, the reincarnations of Venerable Apāli and Venerable Sāriputra will be able to play minor roles!

The best course of action now is to rush back to Lingshan, retrieve the money, and then return to pay the deposit. This is the most sensible choice.

Upon leaving the Celestial Palace of Creation, golden lotuses bloomed beneath the feet of Bodhisattva Lingji, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, darting westward in a flash, disappearing into the distant horizon in a few moments.

Generally, when Western Buddhist Buddhas and Bodhisattvas visit or leave the Heavenly Court, they pass through the South Heavenly Gate.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to perform any spatial teleportation magic within the Heavenly Court's cloud sea. Although the old version of the Heavenly Guardian Array was made with inferior materials, its basic anti-air function was still intact. However, the Heavenly Court's Heavenly Guardian Array is currently under repair, and the undefended Heavenly Court does not need to leave the South Heavenly Gate to use its supernatural powers. It can be said that the gates are wide open, and people can come and go as they please.

This is precisely why the gods of Heaven fear the ghostly sneak attacks of the Mosquito Taoist. Wen Rui's business is less about selling sunshine and more about selling anxiety.

The several incidents in which the Mosquito Taoist invaded and kidnapped the divine guards of Lingxiao Palace were all orchestrated by Wen Rui, the mole, with the aim of intimidating the immortals in order to increase the sales of the Sun-Shielding Canopy and squeeze the last piece of immortal jade from their pockets.

This attack on Lingjiu Temple by the elite mosquito demons was also a promotional activity assigned to Mosquito Taoist by Wen Rui when he discovered during an audit that the Western Sect, which clearly needed the Sky-Shielding Canopy traffic more urgently than the Heavenly Court immortals, had only been granted Level 1 VIP access and had only paid for a one-month subscription.

……

Inside the Great Hall of Mount Ling, Bodhisattva Lingji rushed in, not even having had time to drink a sip of water, and angrily pointed at Venerable Ananda standing beneath the lotus throne of the Buddha, shouting:
"What a terrible thing you've done! The Buddha used the funds from the Blissful Treasury to purchase the power of the Sun-Shielding Canopy, and you embezzled 99% of it! You changed a year's worth of Level 4 VIP to a month's worth of Level 1 VIP. Now that the demon army is about to break through the formation, Venerable Apali and Venerable Sariputra are about to have their lotus thrones stained with blood. Can you bear this sinful debt?"

Ananda gripped his robe tightly and took a half step back, the glass pendant on his earlobe making a soft tinkling sound: "Bodhisattva, don't make false accusations and fall for their divisive scheme! That sum of money was clearly given to the evil god Wen Rui in full. He must be holding a grudge against our sect for the extermination of the Jie Sect back then, so he pocketed the money and only gave him a Level 1 VIP membership to get by."

This excuse really stunned Bodhisattva Lingji for a moment, but he was wise and not easily fooled. After a moment's thought, he figured out Ananda's motives for daring to risk everything to covet this money.

The mosquitoes had been lying in wait for years without launching a large-scale attack, and the monthly data plan might be wasted because there was nowhere to use the data. It was with this kind of wishful thinking that Ananda boldly pocketed a year's worth of Level 4 VIP fees, only to activate the VIP for one month as a formality.

Ananda had also prepared for the possibility of things going wrong if the truth came out, and he had thought of a way to deal with it, which was to throw all the blame on Wen Rui and falsely accuse him of taking money and not doing his job.

It is common knowledge that Wen Rui has a bad relationship with the Western religion. When discussing whether to purchase the right to use the sun-blocking canopy from him, many high-ranking members of the Buddhist community expressed their concerns that he might interfere.

Even the Buddhist methods of extinction of defilements and knowledge of past lives are not 100% accurate in prediction. Especially since the other party is a high-ranking official in the Heavenly Court with the blessing of the Heavenly Laws, it is impossible to calculate or understand him. The Buddha could not possibly arrest Wen Rui and confront him in court. As long as he insisted that Wen Rui was the one who caused the trouble, it was very possible that Ananda could fool him.

"This humble monk knew it was that evil god Wen Rui who was behind it. I shouldn't have trusted him to uphold any business integrity in the first place!"

“What a terrible thing! When I helped the Chan Sect quell the rebellion, it was in accordance with the will of Heaven. How could he help the demons to do evil because of personal grudges?”

"Back then, he and his father were the number one and number two figures in aiding and abetting evil. What's so surprising about them helping the devil? But Lingji Bodhisattva, how could you be so easily fooled by people's words and tricked back by him? It would be extremely unwise to turn your own family against him."

……

In the main hall, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas spoke up to condemn Wenrui and to speak up for Ananda.

(End of this chapter)