"Buddha's Son!"
"You mustn't!"
Rujie waved a hand.
"They've already sat themselves down at our doorstep. We can't exactly carry the vegetarian meal up there and beg them to finish eating before they leave."
Hearing this from afar, Chen Changqing nodded lightly.
"Still got that same flavor."
Liu Ruyan glanced at him.
"You're not stepping in?"
"No rush."
Chen Changqing leaned against the stone railing beside the mountain path.
"Let's first see whether he's improved over the years."
On the Dharma platform, Wuchen raised a hand.
Golden Buddhist light condensed into a scroll of scripture.
"The first round: debating the scriptures."
"Rujie, please."
Rujie stepped onto the platform, pressing his palms together.
"Please."
Wuchen's very first question made the monks of Tianyin Temple pale.
"If Buddha delivers all living beings, why may the strong claim the incense offerings, while the weak can only kneel and beg for protection?"
Rujie's brow twitched slightly.
Wuchen continued.
"Tianyin Temple has no True Lord, no Heavenly Lord. It cannot protect the millions of believers in the Northern Region."
"You occupy the incense offerings, yet provide no protection."
"This is not Buddhist doctrine. It is greed."
The plaza fell silent.
Those words were venomous.
He did not discuss the meaning of the scriptures, but began by pinning a crime upon them.
Rujie looked at Wuchen, the smile on his face fading.
"The Buddhist path protects all living beings. It does not use strength and weakness as a scale."
"By your reasoning, Great Thunderclap Temple is stronger today, so it may seize Tianyin Temple's incense offerings."
"If a Tribulation Immortal comes knocking tomorrow, should Great Thunderclap Temple also kneel and hand over its Mountain Gate?"
Wuchen's expression darkened slightly.
The disciples of Tianyin Temple immediately began murmuring their approval.
Rujie continued.
"You ask why the strong