Chapter 230: Breaking the Heavenly Laws

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw it was the young man in the Tang suit standing beside the woman holding the child.

Some of them sneered, while others looked furious.

Was he trying to crash Master Jing He’s gathering?

This was Master Jing He, an enlightened and eminent monk!

Master Jing He glanced at the crowd’s reaction, a flicker of smug satisfaction in his eyes.

Only then did he properly look at the Evil Qilin—he was just a boy of sixteen or seventeen.

The curve of his lips relaxed, and the disdain practically spilled from his eyes.

‘He dares debate the Dharma with me?’

‘No, he probably doesn’t even know what a “Dharma debate” is.’

Master Jing He straightened up, folded his hands on his lap, and adopted the posture of a magnanimous elder. His voice was as gentle as if he were placating a child.

“Young benefactor, did you say my explanation was incoherent?”

This humble posture was not born from any actual humility.

It was like a max-level character taking on someone from the Newbie Village—the more humbly you act, the more superior you appear.

Onlookers would only see him as generous and tolerant, while the young man would seem arrogant and unaware of his own limits.

The Evil Qilin shook his head.

“It’s not just incoherent. It’s utter nonsense.”

Master Jing He’s eyes darkened slightly. “Nonsense?”

“Your Buddha is an evil Buddha.”

The moment these words were spoken, Master Jing He’s face turned green.

The surrounding worshippers erupted. To say the Buddha was evil in a temple?

It was like slapping everyone in the face and trampling on their faith!

Several elderly worshippers clutched their Buddhist Beads, their lips moving as if silently chanting some kind of exorcism Spell.

But the Evil Qilin seemed oblivious to the murderous glares, and he let out a sneer.

“The funny thing is, you use this evil Buddha to expound on compassion.”

The flesh on Master Jing He’s face twitched. Suppressing his rage, he forced the words through his clenched teeth:

“You dare call the Buddha evil? Come on, tell me, how is the Buddha evil?!”

The Evil Qilin stood up, casually pulled Liu Min to her feet, and then lifted the dazed little boy into his arms. His movements were unhurried.

“That Buddha used a woman’s chastity and filial piety to prove his supreme theory to the world. You don’t call that evil? How is that any different from Mola?”

“That Buddha used a woman’s chastity and filial piety to prove his supreme theory to the world.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly into everyone’s ears.

“You don’t call that evil? How is that any different from Mola?”

Master Jing He froze abruptly. His mouth hung wide open, the flesh on his face stiffening as horror flooded his eyes like a rising tide.

The Evil Qilin turned to face the stunned crowd.

“If you were that woman, would you still think this was a story about compassion?”

His calm gaze swept across their faces. “A Buddha without compassion, with only wisdom—”

The Evil Qilin paused, thought of himself, and gave a self-deprecating smile.

“—is even more disgusting than Mola.”

The Scripture School fell silent.

The worshippers all turned to Master Jing He, their eyes filled with expectation.

Anyone in that situation would find it intolerable.

‘Why would the Buddha know everything yet not tell me the truth, just watching as I beat my reincarnated parents to death?’

They hoped Master Jing He would say something.

But Master Jing He’s body trembled uncontrollably, his lips quivering like a fish thrown onto the shore. He couldn’t utter a single word.

The Evil Qilin took Liu Min’s hand and walked toward the exit.

“You revere Monk Jing He the same way fans worship an idol. You’ve turned this sacred ground of the Buddhist Sect into a fan club. Even if you kowtow before the Buddha three thousand times, you’ll never realize you’re trapped by appearances.”

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached every corner. Everyone’s face turned red with shame.

…

After leaving the Scripture School, Liu Min let out a long sigh of relief, as if she’d finally exhaled air she’d been holding in for ages.

“That was awesome! You really told him off!”

She thought for a moment, then added,

“I’m never coming back here to burn incense again.”

The little boy in the Evil Qilin’s arms looked up and asked in a childish voice,

“Why not?”

He was too young to understand what had just happened, only sensing that the adults seemed very agitated.

Liu Min pouted.

“That fat monk said you have no aptitude for wisdom, that you’re not as smart as a jackal or a tiger.”

The little boy scratched his head, looking confused.

“Did he? I didn’t even know.”

Liu Min spat lightly.

“You silly boy, you don’t even know when you’re being insulted!”

The Evil Qilin patted the boy’s head, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

“Now, that is what it means to have an aptitude for wisdom.”

Liu Min was still muttering to herself.

“I’ll find another temple to burn incense at. I’ll ask the Buddha to help us, to make fate a little kinder to me and my son.”

The Evil Qilin chuckled lightly.

“In that case, I’d advise you to save your incense money. If the Buddha could really grant people’s wishes, ordinary folk wouldn’t even be able to get through the temple gates.”

Liu Min froze.

‘That makes a lot of sense.’

“Amitabha Buddha.”

The Buddhist chant came from behind them, ancient and serene.

The Evil Qilin turned around.

An old monk with white brows and a white beard was slowly approaching.

The old monk pressed his palms together and bowed slightly. “Senior Brother, please wait.”

The little boy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why did you call Little Uncle ‘Senior Brother’?”

Liu Min shot the child a harsh glare.

The boy didn’t know that around here, the term “Little Uncle” was… complicated.

Many local women, after their husbands died, would remarry their husband’s younger brother.

When these women were being affectionate with their new husbands, they would shamefully call them “Little Uncle.”

The old monk’s expression remained unchanged. He looked at the Evil Qilin with a hint of reverence in his eyes.

“Your understanding of the Buddhist Dharma is superior to this old monk’s. You deserve to be called Senior Brother.”

He had been at the temple for years and had long since noticed this young man.

Every day, he would sit before the statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the entire day, motionless and silent, like a clay sculpture.

Today, he had followed him the whole way.

Whether it was the Dharma debate with Jing He, the comment about the child’s aptitude for wisdom, or advising the woman to save her incense money, he had seen it all.

The Evil Qilin nodded slightly. “Abbot, it is an honor.”

The old monk’s eyes held a smile.

“Would you be willing to stay the night and sit with this old monk for a while longer?”

The Evil Qilin pressed his lips together.

“This poor monk carries too much murderous aura. I fear I will offend the Bodhisattva.”

The old monk was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and sighed.

“This old monk knows a little about the art of face reading. It is precisely because you carry too much karmic debt, and disastrous energy has already risen to your brow… …that I hoped you would stay at Hengshan Temple a while longer to disperse some of that baleful energy.”

The Evil Qilin was stunned.

There were masters in this world who understood the art of divination—his own master was one of them.

It had nothing to do with Taboo Items or Extraordinary Power. It was like an extremely esoteric field of study, profound and mysterious.

“Abbot,” he asked, “how many days until this poor monk’s calamity arrives?”

The old monk was silent for a while. The silence was like a stone, slowly sinking to the bottom of a pond.

“Benefactor, you may not… live past tomorrow.”

The Evil Qilin’s brow furrowed. A deep sense of loss surfaced in his eyes, along with a flicker of fear that vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Liu Min blinked and frowned.

“Your wretched temple is really something else. One of you says my son is less intelligent than a beast, and now another is cursing someone to die!”

She had intended to pick a fight on the Evil Qilin’s behalf, but to her surprise, he took a deep breath, his tone as calm as someone who hadn’t just been handed a death sentence.

“Then this poor monk has even less reason to stay the night. The thing this poor monk has provoked is not something a single temple can withstand. Thank you for your kind intentions, Abbot.”

With that, he grabbed Liu Min’s hand and hurried down the mountain.

Behind them, the old monk’s helpless sigh lingered in the air.

Liu Min was pulled into a jog, a bellyful of questions stuck in her throat. She didn’t say a word the entire way.

…..

It wasn’t until they stepped into their small farmhouse courtyard that the Evil Qilin put the child down and turned to face Liu Min.

“I’m packing my things now. I’m leaving tonight.”

Liu Min seemed to understand.

“You offended someone, didn’t you? Is that why you came here to hide?”

The Evil Qilin nodded and went inside the house.

A moment later, he came out pulling a suitcase.

The little boy ran over, grabbed the Evil Qilin’s hand, and looked up with a nervous expression.

“Did Little Uncle do something wrong? Is that why someone is coming to get Little Uncle? Just like Sun Wukong when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and was about to be captured by the Tathagata Buddha.”

The Evil Qilin knelt and gently tapped the boy’s nose.

“Yes.”

He stood up, and his gaze suddenly turned sharp, like a drawn blade.

“But this poor monk refuses to accept his fate. This poor monk wants to live. I want to continue searching for a way to bring ultimate bliss to the world—this poor monk cannot die yet.”

He pulled a thick wad of red bills from his pocket and stuffed it into Liu Min’s hand.

“This is the last of my money. Take care.”

Liu Min pressed her lips together and took the money.

Her fingers tightened around it, then loosened. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she said,

“Why don’t we call the police? I’m not afraid of retaliation from some underworld group. We can face it together.”

She naively assumed the Evil Qilin was in debt to a loan shark or had offended some underground boss.

The Evil Qilin smiled and shook his head.

“The Sheriff can’t control him. Besides…”

He lowered his gaze, his voice as soft as a falling leaf.

“The Sheriff might be after me, too.”

Liu Min was dumbfounded.

‘Just what kind of crime did he commit? Did he break one of heaven’s laws?’

The Evil Qilin tightened the straps of his backpack.

“This poor monk is leaving. If ‘that one’ comes, he won’t make things difficult for you. Just tell him the truth.”

Liu Min nodded, something caught in her throat. “Take care.”

“Hey? It’s raining!”

Xiaohu suddenly cried out, looking up at the sky. Raindrops splattered on his nose, but he didn’t flinch.

“Is the sky sending Little Uncle off?”

He was still young.

To him, farewells were a big deal.

The first to leave was his father; the second was Little Uncle.

The Evil Qilin paused, extending a hand to catch a few raindrops. A bitter smile touched his lips.

“The sky isn’t sending this poor monk off—’that one’ has come to find me.”

Liu Min looked up at the sky in astonishment.

A patch of dark clouds hung low, so low it seemed about to crush the rooftop.

It was oppressive and heavy, carrying an indescribable pressure. These weren’t natural clouds; it was as if something was behind them, coldly watching the ground below.

The dark clouds slowly parted, revealing what lay within.

A man in a black suit and a black trench coat sat upon a dark throne amidst the clouds.

His posture was casual and relaxed. One hand rested on the armrest, while the other hung loosely by his knee.

He looked down, watching everything below with indifference, as if observing a colony of ants.

Liu Min went numb, the hairs on her arms standing on end. A choked, guttural sound escaped her throat, and it took her a long moment to force out a complete sentence.

“He… he really did break one of heaven’s laws…”