"Gasp—"
The abbot's words, "He became a Buddha," left Jiang Cheng utterly stunned. The shift in tone had come far too suddenly. Besides, though Jiang Cheng couldn't clearly explain what becoming a Buddha meant, it certainly wasn't something Monk Huicong, who had broken all five precepts according to the abbot, could possibly be worthy of.
Listening to the increasingly hurried breathing in the darkness, Jiang Cheng could imagine the turmoil in the abbot's heart. "At that moment, my mind went completely blank. I couldn't understand why he would say such a thing. I ordered the disciples with me to seize him, but Huicong easily evaded every attack. Then he gave me a wan smile, and after that, he ran away."
The more Jiang Cheng listened, the more something seemed off. He lowered his voice and asked, "Master, you didn't deliberately let Monk Huicong escape, did you?"
From the way the abbot referred to him, Jiang Cheng could clearly sense his fondness for Huicong. Besides, Huicong had killed people—many people, including even infants. If they had caught him on the spot, the surviving villagers would never have let him go. There was no question about it.
"Benefactor, do not make baseless assumptions. My disciples and I truly did not catch Huicong."
Hearing a hint of stubbornness in the abbot's voice, Jiang Cheng said nothing more. He waited for the abbot to continue.
Monk Huicong was now in the temple, and he had become so deranged. There had to be more to the story, something they didn't know.
"After returning to the temple, I repented before the Buddha. After all, I had watched this disciple of mine grow up. Now that he had committed such a terrible crime, I, his master, could not escape blame. But just as I was grinding ink