The two men lay prone on the ground, trembling violently. Although Xuanzang had not laid a hand on them, sending them to the authorities was truly more painful than death.
After being handed over to the authorities for what they had done, they would surely be thrown into prison and tortured until they could neither live nor die.
After suffering for a time, they would be taken to the execution grounds and beheaded.
The two men knew this perfectly well, which was why they did not want it to happen.
"Monk, you forced us brothers into this! Today, either you die or we do. Don't even think about sending us to the authorities!"
The two men gripped their daggers, glared furiously at Xuanzang, and charged at him.
Xuanzang stood there, still looking at his fists, as though he had not heard a word they said.
Bang! Bang!
As the two men approached Xuanzang, their vision blurred. Each of them took a punch and crashed heavily to the ground, blood spilling from their mouths.
They struggled to rise and attack Xuanzang again, but they had no strength left. Their bodies hurt too badly.
With his head slightly lowered, Xuanzang was still pondering the way of salvation. He had gained another insight into it. To save all living beings, one could not rely on passion alone, nor on eloquence. One had to possess great strength as a foundation before one could put salvation into practice.
Otherwise, it was utterly useless.
For example, if he had not possessed such formidable martial skill today, these two men would have killed him long ago. How could he have saved them?
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew out from the deep mountains, sending a chill through everyone.
Xuanzang instinctively pulled his clothes tighter and looked around.