When everyone heard Wang Yue's solution, they began discussing it among themselves.
How could they force someone to become a monk? What would happen to the wife and children he left at home?
But Wang Yue ignored the crowd's chatter and turned his gaze to the abbot, clearly expecting an answer from him.
"Er..."
Abbot Xianhui hadn't expected Wang Yue to make such a demand. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, so he tried to stall, hoping the pressure from the faithful would wear Wang Yue down.
But Wang Yue simply stood there, thick-skinned as the crowd pointed fingers at him, without reacting at all. The abbot realized the situation had become troublesome.
The abbot had no choice but to say, "Amitabha! Becoming a monk should be voluntary. It wouldn't be right to force someone into it."
Wang Yue didn't agree. He smiled and said, "Didn't he say he stole because he wanted to help his daughter get married?
"I see that Xiangguo Temple has quite a bit of wealth. Why not help arrange a good marriage for his daughter and give her a dowry?
"If he was willing to steal for his daughter, then surely he'd be willing to become a monk.
"Abbot, don't you think this is a solution that satisfies everyone?"
When the crowd heard Wang Yue's words, they felt it didn't sound unreasonable and began discussing it among themselves.
"That's right. If he was willing to steal for his daughter, even at the risk of being punished, why would he be afraid of becoming a monk?"
"Exactly! How could a father's love change from one situation to another?"
"If the abbot agrees, then the man either becomes a monk or admits he was lying!"
"..."
They actually hated thieves, but since they hadn't