I have been a saint in the world for three thousand years

As soon as these words were spoken, the Buddhist beads in the abbot's hand stopped turning abruptly, and a look of disbelief flashed across his face.

Shen Zhi also looked surprised, obviously quite unexpected by this.

Master Chan Ding suddenly raised his head, looking directly at Yan Xiu with sharp eyes.

"Donor, my junior fellow apprentice is honest and kind by nature, and would never do such a heinous thing."

His words were powerful and his tone was full of trust in his junior fellow apprentice.

"What if I have evidence?"

Yan Xiu's tone was calm, but every word he said was weighty.

He knows that these things require evidence, otherwise how can others believe you without any evidence?

When the Zen abbot heard this, his heart sank and the Buddhist beads began to turn slowly again. Silence became his deepest response.

Seeing that he remained in meditation for a long time without saying anything, Yan Xiu added another sentence.

"Master, don't worry. Please confront me face to face with Master Chanyuan. If what I said is not true, I am willing to accept all the decisions of Fanyin Temple."

This statement not only showed that he was confident, but also expressed his confidence in the fair handling of the matter by Fanyin Temple.

When the abbot of Zen meditation heard Yan Xiu say this, he knew that he had no reason to refuse.

He immediately called a young monk and asked him to invite Chanyuan to come for a confrontation.

...

Inside the meditation hall.

Monk Chanyuan, as usual, gave to believers objects that were tainted by evil spirits but disguised as consecrated holy objects.

"Put this under your pillow and you'll be assured of peace of mind."

The believer chanted the Buddha's name and took it solemnly.

"Master, please be merciful. I am grateful to you forever!"

After paying respectful obeisance, the believers left the meditation hall with joy in their hearts.

Just then, the little monk rushed in hurriedly.

He hurried to Chan Yuan's side and whispered what had happened.

After hearing this, Chan Yuan's expression suddenly changed.

"What is your attitude towards this matter, brother?"

he asked in a deep voice.

He was not concerned about that group of people, but was concerned about the stance of the Zen abbot.

The young monk nodded first, then shook his head.

"The abbot has not yet completely believed the man's words, but he has asked his disciples to pass on the message, asking the master to go and confront him."

After listening to this, Chan Yuan looked thoughtful.

These things were carried out extremely secretly and no one has discovered them for all these years.

Could it be that something went wrong?

He was puzzled.

If there was anything wrong, it was only that the group of monks whose whereabouts were exposed that night were discovered by the patrolling monk soldiers.

But this has nothing to do with the fact that I spread evil spirits.

After a brief thought, Chan Yuan guessed the general idea.

It seems that the other party did not discover what happened to me, but came here because of what happened that night.

As soon as this thought came to his mind, the tension in his heart quietly eased.

Just as he was about to go with the little monk, his steps suddenly stopped.

"Wait for me here for a moment."

After saying that, he turned and went deep into the meditation hall.

Then Chan Yuan took out the incense burner that he had always carried with him and hid it in a secret compartment where no one knew about it.

After doing all this, Chan Yuan followed the young monk to confront him.

...

In a secluded side hall.

The abbot in meditation stood quietly before the Buddha statue, his eyes slightly closed, reciting Buddhist scriptures in a low voice.

As the Buddhist beads in the hands slowly rotate, a sense of tranquility and solemnity is conveyed.

Yan Xiu and Shen Zhize waited silently by the side, patiently awaiting the arrival of Master Chan Yuan.

Even after the abbot of Zen meditation finished reciting the Buddhist scriptures, there was still no sign of Chan Yuan.

Just when he wanted to send another person, Chan Yuan arrived late.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, he chanted the Buddhist name.

"Amitabha, nice to meet you, Brother Abbot."

Chan Yuan walked straight behind Chan Ding without looking around, ignoring the presence of Yan Xiu and Shen Zhi.

The abbot of Zen meditation turned slowly upon hearing the voice.

He looked at his fellow apprentice with deep eyes and spoke in a deep voice.

"Junior brother, do you know why I called you here?"

Upon hearing this, Monk Chanyuan looked confused and ignorant.

He shook his head: "I don't know, please tell me clearly."

Without waiting for Master Chan Ding to speak, Shen Zhi spoke first.

"Three years ago, Mr. Liu from Longjiang Township died suddenly and inexplicably."

"Two and a half years ago, Mr. Qin and his family of 73 people in Huaibao Town hanged themselves."

"A year ago, the body of Mr. Zhu, a salt merchant from Jialiang Prefecture, was found exposed in the wilderness. His death was tragic."

"Ten months ago, the cow boatman in Linjiang Village suddenly went mad and hacked and killed nearly a hundred families in the village."

To others, the series of events that Shen Zhi described might just be unrelated tragedies.

But after several days of investigation, Shen Zhi discovered that there was a subtle connection between them and the Fanyin Temple.

Sure enough, Monk Chanyuan immediately frowned and asked.

"Master Shen, I wonder what you mean by this?"

Shen Zhi smiled slightly.

"What I mean is that behind all these tragedies, there is something connected to the Fanyin Temple."

Chan Yuan suddenly laughed when he heard this.

"Although Buddhists often perform ceremonies to comfort the souls of the dead, birth, aging, illness and death are normal in the human world. How can you put the blame on the Fanyin Temple without any reason?"

Shen Zhi had expected him to say this, so he presented all the clues and evidence he had collected.

"According to my investigation, they all came to the Fanyin Temple to pray for blessings before they died."

"To be precise, I should have come to Jingxin Hall and asked Master Chanyuan for a consecrated instrument."

Shen Zhi said this as he took two steps forward, speaking aggressively.

"And at the scene of their death, we found magical instruments from Jingxin Hall, which still had traces of evil energy left on them."

"If all this is just a coincidence, isn't that a bit far-fetched?"

Shen Zhi stared at Chan Yuan with sharp eyes, waiting for his response.

After listening to this, Monk Chanyuan chanted a Buddhist name in a low voice.

"Amitabha, I am deeply saddened by the misfortune that these innocent believers have suffered."

"As Mr. Shen has seen, there are demons and evil spirits wreaking havoc in all parts of the Yuan Dynasty."

"As a famous place of worship thousands of miles away, our Fanyin Temple naturally has countless believers coming every day to ask for consecrated instruments to maintain peace in their homes."

“I feel deeply saddened by the misfortune that befell these believers.

But based on this alone, I think it is related to my Fanyin Temple. Isn't Mr. Shen's reason a bit far-fetched?"

Master Chanyuan smiled slightly. He remained calm in the face of Shen Zhi's accusation, without any emotion fluctuation, showing an attitude of detachment from the world.

Shen Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He knew very well that Monk Chanyuan was not an easy person to deal with, but he did not expect that the other party would be so calm and confident, and not show any fear at all.

What Shen Zhi said now was nothing more than logical deduction based on his own thorough investigation.

In the absence of hard evidence, it is naturally impossible to bring Chan Yuan to justice.

"For the sake of my elder brother, I will not argue with Mr. Shen."

Seeing that his fellow disciple was so confident in what he said, the abbot of Zen meditation had even more trust in what he said.

"Donor Shen, the mastermind behind this may be hiding among the many monks in the temple. A cunning rabbit has many burrows."

"I will definitely get to the bottom of it and give justice to those believers who died. I won't let their injustice remain unsolved in the afterlife."

Shen Zhi was speechless for a moment and could only watch Chan Yuan leave.

Just as he was about to step out of the side hall, Yan Xiu suddenly spoke.

"Master Chanyuan, could you lead us to Jingxin Hall to search it?"