Bai Suzhen had, at the very least, received the protection of the Guanyin of the South Sea. Somewhat uneasily, she asked, "Senior, you seem to have quite a grudge against Buddhism?"
"It's not a grudge. I just can't stand their hypocrisy."
"How could that be? Buddhism takes saving all living beings as its duty." Bai Suzhen still hadn't managed to break free from her Buddhist conditioning.
Jiang Siming set down his wine cup and asked her, "Does it? If saving all living beings is their duty, then why, with demons and ghosts running rampant across the mortal world, haven't all those Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats come out to save this chaotic world? Instead, they've let the human realm remain in disorder and the common people continue suffering."
"They only arrange for a small number of monks to descend the mountain, claiming they're saving the people. In reality, aren't they just trying to give their favored disciples some experience?"
"This way, they can promote Buddhism, train their disciples, and win people's hearts all at once. What a brilliant scheme. Isn't Fahai the best example? I've been in the Qiantang River for so long, and I've only seen one monk—him. Everyone else has been a Daoist."
Bai Suzhen was rendered speechless. Thinking about it, that really did seem to be the case.
She and Xiao Qing had been staying in the Qiantang River for several days. They had seen plenty of Daoists, but Fahai really was the only monk they had encountered.
Moreover, the moment Fahai saw them, he had attacked without distinguishing good from evil.
"Perhaps this monk is simply an exception. The Guanyin Bodhisattva is still very compassionate toward all living beings. He even said that once I break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he'll take me as a