Chapter 21: Buddhist Sorcery (9)

“Nonsense!”
Li Kuo was furious. He had thought the coroner, with his backing, would finally come clean and reveal the truth, but instead, he remained stubborn and determined to go to extremes.
This was no ordinary murder case—it was a monumental scandal affecting the fate of the Tang Dynasty. Though he couldn’t yet confirm the true motives behind those Tibetan Buddhist monks traveling to Yangzhou to spread their evil arts, one thing was certain: to some extent, the people of Jianghuai, especially those in Jiangdu, had already been influenced, with some even becoming followers of those monks.
The Tang Dynasty had won so many battles abroad thanks to its strong unity and national confidence. If the Tibetans managed to undermine this confidence from within, all of the Tang people’s spiritual advantages would vanish. Without them, the Tang warriors would be trapped in endless battles against foreign tribes.
“Say it again—how did they die?”
Li Kuo’s gaze was now as sharp as a leopard’s, as if he could tear apart the coroner’s pretenses at any moment to see what lay beneath.
“General, I don’t know! I really don’t! The bodies were burned beyond recognition, and my skills aren’t good enough to identify any wounds.”
Under such pressure, the coroner couldn’t bear it any longer and collapsed to the ground, crying bitterly.
Li Kuo hadn’t expected him to be so useless. At a loss for what to do, he could only shake his fist in anger and sigh deeply…
With the coroner’s line of inquiry deadended, it became extremely difficult for Li Kuo to uncover the true cause of death of the silk shop owner’s family.
At Li Sheng’s suggestion, he decided to resort to an extreme method to uncover the real motives behind the Tibetan Buddhist monks’ journey to Yangzhou.
In battles between martial masters, success or failure often hinged on a single move; distractions were absolutely unacceptable at critical moments. His confrontation with the Tibetan Buddhist monks had reached a crucial stage, and the opponents would surely be highly vigilant. The only way to dispel their wariness was to sacrifice himself.
“Brother Kuo, you want to disguise yourself as a follower and infiltrate the Mahayana Buddhist organization?”
Zhang Yanji widened his eyes and said in shock, “No, no! It’s too dangerous! I absolutely can’t let you take such a risk!”
Without hesitation, Zhang Yanji refused. Having spent so many years with Brother Kuo, he was accustomed to their mutual trust. It was precisely because of this trust that they could speak openly without reservation.

Not to mention that Kuo’er Ge currently holds the important position of Commander of the Jianghuai Militia and enjoys imperial favor, so it’s not right for him to take risks. Even if he were an ordinary civilian without any official duties, he still couldn’t bear to watch him risk his life.
In Chang’an, they had seen the horrific scenes of the Tibetan evil monk “preaching Buddhism” before; it was truly unbearable to face such things again. In the valley of Zhongnan Mountain, there were countless believers in Mahayana Buddhism, but how did that Tibetan evil monk treat them? With a few spells, the serene valley instantly turned into a hellish realm!
The sight of so many ordinary people killing each other, fathers killing their sons, brothers devouring one another, still lingered in his mind, impossible to erase.
How could Kuo’er Ge risk everything just to uncover the Tibetans’ motives for advancing south? If Kuo’er Ge’s mind were controlled by the Tibetans, sigh!
“Yanji, calm down. We both know that the Tibetan evil monk can control his followers’ minds because of the soul potion in that talisman water, not some spells! As long as I don’t drink that so-called talisman water, there won’t be any problem. This matter has already become so widespread—reports of atrocities have come in from various counties along the Huainan route. Can we just stand by and watch as the Tibetan evil monk slaughters the people of our Great Tang?”
He still remembered those words spoken by the black-robed evil monk—“A dull knife cutting flesh causes the greatest pain.”
If it were a direct battle on the battlefield, even if comrades died exhausted, he might still be able to endure such pain. But to watch the people of Great Tang being manipulated in such a cruel way by the Tibetans was beyond Li Kuo’s tolerance.
“That won’t do either!”
Zhang Yanji shrugged and said, “Even if you don’t drink that talisman water, you can’t guarantee that others won’t. By then, everyone around you will have lost their minds. How can you single-handedly fight against hundreds or thousands of believers?”
Zhang Yanji rubbed his nose and muttered, “I just can’t bear to see you take risks. I…”
As he continued speaking, he suddenly felt darkness ahead and collapsed.
Stepping forward quickly to lift his friend into his arms, Li Kuo sighed bitterly.
Yanji, don’t blame me. I’m doing this for Great Tang!…
The red-robed Buddhist monk had been conducting rituals at Yanjia Temple for ten days now. More and more people, introduced by friends and relatives, came to Yanjia Temple to listen to the master’s teachings on Buddhism. Unlike the esoteric nature of Central Plains Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism emphasized practicality. This was nothing short of good news for ordinary people.

For them, they care little about karma in the afterlife and focus instead on immediate, trivial gains. Mahayana Buddhism is more practical, so it naturally gains their trust more easily, and its followers grow in number.

Tibetan monks showed unprecedented enthusiasm toward those who were curious and wished to join Mahayana Buddhism. They chanted blessings for the believers while placing sacred papers dipped in holy water on their foreheads, and joyfully accepted the five dou of rice offered by the newcomers.

This was a necessary ritual for becoming a believer, symbolizing their loyalty to the Buddha. They would remove the cowhide rope tying the bag’s mouth, pour the rice into a box made of agate, and then recite a series of mantras with great reverence.

No one knew what that box represented; they only knew that devoutly following Mahayana Buddhism could bring eternal peace and freedom from suffering.

“Reciting this mantra brings wisdom; reciting it brings accomplishment; reciting it frees one from the cycle of rebirth; reciting it leads to the Land of Ultimate Bliss…”

Just as the merit mantras said, reciting this mantra would grant eternal wisdom, free one from the cycle of rebirth, and lead one to the Land of Ultimate Bliss…

These promises were too tempting, and countless people rushed to Yanjia Temple carrying five dou of rice, eager to become followers of Mahayana Buddhism.

It seemed to them as though they could see the dazzling golden clouds in the Western Heaven, beneath which lay a peach blossom forest filled with endless wine and delicacies. There were no taxes, no oppression—everyone cared for the elders and children of others, living like one family.