"Besides this man, there were many other men who came with him. These men were unusually enthusiastic, vying with each other to donate incense money and pushing their way into the temple."

"They all clamored that their families needed to perform rituals, hoping the monks in the temple would return to their villages with them. In short, the excuses were varied, but one thing was certain: they all specifically requested Huicong."

The abbot's tone became increasingly heavy. "Although I have long since entered the Buddhist gate, I am well aware of what these villagers are thinking. I had my disciples block them all outside the temple gate and returned all the incense money. I cannot watch my disciple make mistake after mistake."

"But before I could persuade the villagers to go down the mountain, they suddenly seemed to go mad, shouting and yelling. I turned around, and Huicong... it was actually my disciple Huicong who came out."

"He walked straight into the crowd of villagers, and surrounded by them, he just... just went down the mountain with them."

"The master didn't stop him?" Jiang Cheng asked, somewhat incredulously.

"I thought about it, but just as I was about to speak, my disciple turned back. He looked at me, and it was still... still that feeling. I was immediately stunned." The abbot's tone became hurried, with a rare hint of panic. "He knew I was going to speak, no, he even knew what I was going to say next, I mean... he knew every word I was going to say!"

"Amitabha." As if to suppress his terrified heart, the abbot chanted the Buddha's name heavily in a hoarse voice.

Jiang Cheng was not carried away by the abbot's story. He was looking for loopholes in it. "Master, there's something I don't understand. The farmers in the village should be extremely traditional. How could they possibly..."

"How could they possibly leave such matters to others?" The abbot did not avoid the issue, directly supplementing the part Jiang Cheng had not finished.

"That's right."

After sighing, the abbot slowly said, "Does the benefactor know why those villagers sent barren women to this temple for quiet cultivation?"

"Does the benefactor think they are fools? Do they really believe that they can cultivate a big, fat son out of thin air just by quiet cultivation?"

"The farmers in the village are indeed traditional, but they are not at all foolish. Compared to reputation, having offspring is more realistic, or rather, more urgent!"

"Does the benefactor think there is harmony in the village? Do blood relatives living in the same courtyard really have blood thicker than water?"

"Hehe, has the benefactor ever heard of jie si wa?" The abbot's attitude changed, becoming somewhat sinister.

Jiang Cheng nodded. "I've heard of it. It means that after the head of a family dies, if he has no offspring, his property will be controlled by the villagers. First, relatives with close ties will choose, then neighbors, and then other villagers. After this ordeal, nothing will be left in the family. Not to mention valuable things, even the slightly better tiles on the roof will be removed, so it's called jie si wa, and it also has a name, eating juehu (families with no descendants)."

The abbot took over the conversation and added, "Or the village gentry will come forward and sell all the land and property left by the deceased during his lifetime, exchange it for silver, and then use the money to set up a flowing feast in the village, from the beginning to the end of the village, feasting every household in the village for a few days, or even a month, until all the savings of this family are eaten up."

After a pause, the abbot continued, "The property I'm talking about also includes women like these barren women. They are not considered true villagers."

"So, in order to have offspring, these seemingly foolish farmers can tolerate a lot and let go of a lot. Does the benefactor know why the leading man was willing to let people go on the night Huicong and the two village women were tied up the mountain?" "That's because I used money to buy those two barren women!"

"A monk shouldn't do such things, but this was the condition proposed by the men, who were also the husbands of the two women, otherwise they would beat Huicong and the three of them to death with sticks in front of me!"

"And the man can use the money to buy other women to continue his family line."

"Hoo—" The abbot exhaled a long breath, as if to empty the accumulated depression in his heart. "These villagers will do anything to have offspring. Does the benefactor know that not far from here, there are some barefoot doctors, peddlers, and Taoists with wide sleeves and hats of fertility gods roaming around all year round?"

"These guys don't have any real skills, but they are strong and have thick hair. Wherever they go, they will be invited to live in someone's home, and under the pretext of exorcising evil spirits, they will live in the same room with those barren women for a short period of 2 or 3 days, or even half a month, and then these people will leave."

"Of course, the villagers are used to it. Every family has its own problems. Even if those barren women are really pregnant, the neighbors will keep their mouths shut and never mention what happened before."

Jiang Cheng felt a headache listening to these things. He felt that the abbot had been rambling for a long time without getting to the point. He was only concerned about the monk Huicong. "Master, let's talk about your disciple Huicong."

"Alas, since that day, Huicong has rarely returned to the temple. I also sent people down the mountain to look for him, but those disciples... those disciples always returned empty-handed. It was clear that Huicong was still there a moment ago, but when they arrived, Huicong was gone."

"It is said that he is living a very carefree life, and the surrounding villages have repeatedly invited him, treating him as a distinguished guest."

"It was also from that time that all the barren women in those villages disappeared. The villages were filled with men farming and women weaving, a scene of peace and harmony. Those fake doctors and fake Taoists who cheated money no longer dared to go there, fearing that they would be beaten out with sticks."

Jiang Cheng endured for a long time, and finally said seriously, "Master, your disciple is really amazing."

The abbot didn't seem to notice Jiang Cheng's words. After a long time, he only heard the abbot sigh heavily, "He shouldn't have... he shouldn't have killed people!"

Jiang Cheng's face changed. "Killed people?"

Killing is a great sin, let alone killing people. Jiang Cheng thought of the soft and weak appearance of the monk Huicong, and couldn't imagine that he would actually kill someone.

"Who did he kill?" Jiang Cheng asked. "Those men who forced the barren women to do those things?"

The abbot's tone was full of misery and deep self-blame. "No, more than that. He killed many people, men, women, and... and infants who were only a few months old, crying for food."

"Why?" Jiang Cheng was shocked.

"I didn't understand it at the time, and I couldn't figure it out. When I went down the mountain to see him, he was sitting on the ground, his whole body stained red with blood. A woodcutter's knife was thrown in front of him, and corpses were lying scattered on the ground. No one dared to approach him."

"It wasn't until I appeared that his frozen face finally had an expression. He cried, crying heartbreakingly, saying sorry to his master, he didn't want to be like this either, but... but he had no choice, he was going to become a Buddha!"