Under One Person: My Inner Realm Connects to All Worlds!

Chapter 57 Knowing the Evil of All Beings
Han Yun went to see the Putian Southern Shaolin Temple.

But what they saw was a different scene. While the Japanese pirates were wreaking havoc, this place was peaceful and harmonious, which attracted many displaced people to gather here.

The monks distributed porridge and water as they were supposed to, acting like living bodhisattvas. The displaced people were extremely grateful, and many farm children considered it an honor to join this Buddhist holy site.

They have fame and fortune.

According to the tenants, those Buddhist monks were even more compassionate and merciful, simply because the rent for Buddhist land was 20% less than that for ordinary landlords and powerful families.

"Ah!"

"Hahaha!"

Han Yun couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing at the absurdity of this world.

The Japanese pirates caused chaos, burned crops, and forced people to leave their homes. The powerful merchants and government officials took the opportunity to buy up and annex these lands at low prices.

They then use the pretext of offering incense money and doing good deeds to make donations to the Buddhist community, which accepts them with a clear conscience and gives these donors a nice-sounding name: "Meritorious Donors"!
Those assets were also given an equally appealing name: Net Assets!
But is this net worth truly clean?
Then, the Buddhist community took a small portion of it and exchanged it for the support of the common people, becoming the compassionate and virtuous monks in the eyes of the people.

Since Han Yun began learning various arts, he has come to know the poison in people's hearts, see their folly, understand the good and evil of all beings, and discern right from wrong.

But Han Yun said he couldn't understand what was happening today!
Just as he was about to take action, the common people and refugees rushed forward to block the South Shaolin Temple, looking ready to sacrifice themselves, their expressions filled with indignation.

He himself became the target of verbal and written attacks.

"Amitabha!"

An old monk with white eyebrows hid behind the common people and the monks with sticks, chanting Buddhist prayers: "Why are you so stubborn, benefactor? The Buddha is compassionate and saves all sentient beings. These people are all voluntarily protecting the temple. Why do you want to commit more killings?"

Han Yun stood alone before the mountain gate, facing the hundreds of people. His gaze swept over the ragged but fanatical crowd, and his heart felt cold.

"Voluntary?" He sneered. "You bribed your lives with a few bowls of porridge, and you call that voluntary?"

Suddenly, a gaunt old man in the crowd knelt down and kowtowed: "Please, Taoist priest, have mercy! The monks in the temple, give us a way to live. If you destroy this place, my whole family will starve to death!"

A chorus of pleas immediately erupted around them, and the dark mass of people knelt down like a tidal wave.

Han Yun's fist trembled slightly in his sleeve.

Seeing this, the white-browed old monk smiled faintly and continued, "If you are willing to lay down your butcher's knife and convert to Buddhism, our temple will forgive and forget your past transgressions."

"Let bygones be bygones?"

"Hahaha, I killed your temple's abbot, Zen Master Hongye," Han Yun said jokingly.

The white-browed old monk closed his eyes and said with compassion, "Zen Master Hongye sacrificed himself to save the demon, which is of great merit. If it brings you to repentance, his spirit in heaven will surely be pleased. All living beings suffer, and the sea of ​​suffering is boundless. Our Buddhist sect is there to help you cross over. Why not practice Buddhism together?"

The monk spoke these soft words purely because he saw that Han Yun possessed extraordinary martial prowess and was powerless against him.

"Group Buddhist practice?"

Han Yun suddenly threw his head back and laughed, his laughter filled with unspeakable sarcasm. "What a fine 'joint Buddhist practice' you are! When you were sucking the blood and sweat of the people, did you ever think about Buddhism?"

Before he could finish speaking, his figure suddenly transformed into a blur. The monk with the staff blocking his way had no time to react before being blown away like straw by an invisible force.

"Stop him!"

The white-browed old monk's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly retreated.

Dozens of monks formed a battle formation to meet him, but Han Yun pushed forward with both palms, his Tai Chi Cloud Hands drawing upon boundless power, his immense internal energy crashing like a raging torrent. The monks' formation instantly crumbled, and they were sent flying backward, coughing up blood.

Seeing the situation was dire, the white-browed old monk turned to flee into the main hall. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his neck; Han Yun's fingers were already gripping his throat like iron clamps. "Head Monk!" the monks exclaimed in alarm.

Just then, the temple bells rang out urgently. Eighteen bare-chested bronze figures rushed out of the scripture pavilion, leaving deep footprints on the bluestone slabs with each step.

"Form the Arhat Formation!" a monk shouted hoarsely.

Han Yun slapped the white-browed old monk to death and threw him down, laughing loudly, "You've come at the perfect time!"

He stepped through the air, his figure as graceful as a dragon soaring through the air, and actually took the initiative to break into the formation.

The eighteen bronze men rained down punches and kicks, yet they couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes. On the contrary, with every finger Han Yun flicked, a bronze man would groan and fall to the ground, his bronze paint cracking inch by inch.

In less than half an incense stick's time, all eighteen bronze men, who were said to be invulnerable to swords and spears, collapsed to the ground.

Han Yun walked forward step by step, while the monks retreated step by step until they reached the main hall. Looking at the magnificent and dazzling Buddha statue, Han Yun smiled.

Corpses littered the temple grounds.

Amidst this turmoil, the kneeling people, driven by greed, transformed into something else entirely. They rushed into the various halls to search for valuables, and as the temple caught fire, the scriptures were reduced to ashes. They fought and looted amidst the flames.

Han Yun stood alone before the raging inferno, watching the billowing smoke merge into the twilight, and observing the masses of people as demons, driven by greed and lust.

The morning bells and evening drums of yesteryear are gone, replaced by broken beams and broken wood; the solemn statues have turned charred black in the raging fire.

He suddenly turned his head to look at the mountain path, where an eight or nine-year-old novice monk was holding a copy of the Diamond Sutra and staring blankly at him.

Perhaps a few months ago, he was just a farmer's son who entered the Buddhist order in order to get a meal from strangers.

Han Yun stepped forward and squatted down. "Do you know what Buddha is?"

The young novice blinked and shook his head.

Han Yun suddenly pointed to his chest: "The one who can relieve the suffering here is Buddha."

"But where in this world are there so many true Buddhas?"

That night, on the sea outside Putian City, someone saw a Taoist priest in white robes riding the waves away. Behind him, the firelight of the Southern Shaolin Temple illuminated half the sky, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

-----

After the destruction of the Putian Southern Shaolin Temple, Han Yun became a heinous villain in the martial arts world, something he had long anticipated.

In fact, the world of martial arts in the Ming Dynasty and the world of Under One Person are the same. Ultimately, they are both made up of people and have commonalities.

Those who do righteous things are not necessarily praised by everyone, and those who do evil things are not necessarily condemned by everyone.

Rumors were rampant in the martial arts world. Some said Han Yun was a remnant of the Demonic Sect who killed Buddhist monks; others said he was a traitor to the Taoist sect who was lawless; still others were certain that he was a madman who killed anyone he saw.

But Han Yun didn't care.

As he traveled north, all he saw along the way were wealthy merchants occupying vast tracts of fertile land, powerful figures oppressing the common people, and monks who did not engage in production but lived in luxury.

Those emaciated people, kneeling before them, were asking for nothing more than a full meal.

"How ironic."

Standing atop the mountain, Han Yun gazed at a distant, bustling temple where wealthy merchants, officials, and eminent monks flattered each other. He sneered, "Buddha said all beings are equal, but has there ever been equality in this world?"

(End of this chapter)