At that, Jiang Cheng drew a sharp breath. "So Master Huicong really was about to become a Buddha?"
The moment he said it, Jiang Cheng himself froze. A powerful unease surged in his heart. He would sooner believe Huicong was a ghost than face a Buddha who would commit the sin of killing innocent infants.
A moment later, Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and did his best to calm himself. After all, his worries rested on one condition: that everything the abbot in the darkness before him had said was true.
For once, the abbot did not answer Jiang Cheng's question. Instead, he intoned a Buddhist invocation. "Amitabha. Would you be willing to hear this poor monk continue, benefactor?"
He'd already come all this way. Leaving now would be a huge waste. Jiang Cheng feigned composure. "Please, Master. Go on."
The abbot seemed to recall something and let out a heavy sigh. "At dawn, not long after my senior brother had spoken those words, Huicong arrived. With his palms together, he emerged from behind the Buddha statue in the prayer hall. No one saw when he had hidden there, and the monks keeping watch outside hadn't noticed a thing."
"Greetings, uncles, senior and junior brothers. Master, your disciple is here."
"Though my senior brother's words had shocked me, when I thought of the evil deeds my disciple had committed, I trembled with rage. I ordered him to confess, truthfully and in full, to all the wrongs he had done."
"But Huicong calmly looked at me, palms together, and asked in reply, 'Master, your disciple has accumulated merit and done good deeds. What wrong have I committed?'"
"I was stunned. I couldn't understand how he dared say such a thing before the Buddha in the prayer hall."
Suddenly, Jiang Cheng