Young Master Mao stood before them, tapped his feather fan twice against his palm, and drew a deep breath.
He did not kick them again.
He glanced at Xuanzang and his disciples, then at the ragged monks behind the cart.
Then he swept a cold gaze over the three kneeling immortals.
"Listen carefully, all three of you."
His voice was low. "You will pay for the sins you committed yourselves."
"But let me make this clear: not all of this debt rests on your heads."
"With or without you, the ruler of Chechi Kingdom would have ordered the temples torn down sooner or later."
"You were fools, and ill fortune came knocking. This landed on your heads, and there was no escaping it."
"So you will pay every last bit of what you owe."
"As for what you don't owe, with your master and martial uncles here, no one will pin it on you."
He paused for a breath, then pointed his fan loosely toward the monks behind the cart.
"Those monks who died unjustly were all cultivators who observed their precepts."
"Many took their own lives, making their resentment all the fiercer."
"And because they died wrongfully amid the great tribulation, they cannot be reborn. Most have now become vengeful ghosts, lingering here."
"The ruler of Chechi Kingdom is a muddleheaded fool. Those below follow the example set above, and the people's ways have become corrupt. Before long, this kingdom will become a land overrun with demons."
"You bear a share of this karmic debt."
He turned toward Great Mao Lord Mao Ying.
"Your eldest martial uncle oversees fate at the Eastern Peak. As the Eastern Peak High Minister, he holds the Register of Life and Death for all beneath heaven."
Great Mao Lord Mao Ying heard this and