Chapter 633 — The Heavenly Lord's Frame-Up
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"A boorish bumpkin?"
The sweeping monk leaned on his broom and laughed. "Does one word from Sect Master Shen — 'bumpkin' — wipe the responsibility for this matter clean away? You killed three hundred and sixty-seven Buddha-sons of my Buddha Realm. You killed the Buddha Patriarch of the Moon Palace Son-of-Heaven, and five other Buddhas besides. You have defiled more than half of my Great Brahma Heaven Realm, turning it into a half-made City of the Dead. How could all this be so lightly brushed aside?"
Shen Mu said honestly, "I await the King Buddha's judgment."
The sweeping monk watched him and said nothing. After a long while, he laughed. "If I said it was all your fault, I would be wronging you. For all that you stand here honest and trembling with reverence, your heart must surely be unconvinced. Those you killed were all dispatched to the Buddha Realm by the Heavenly Court. The reason King Buddha Sakra opened the golden willow leaf at your brow was in truth to use your hand to purge the Heavenly Court's influence from the Buddha Realm. What is more, his release of Shen Fengqing would have endangered your life. You are clever; you saw this long ago, and it was for this reason that you dared to slaughter so freely, without the least restraint. Because you knew that even having done such things, you would not be punished — King Buddha Sakra would surely protect you."
Shen Mu bowed his head. "This disciple dares not shift the blame. Though King Buddha Sakra may have had the intent to use me to eliminate the Heavenly Court's forces, those Buddha-sons did truly die at my hands. And the defilement of the Buddhist Order's supreme holy ground is indeed connected to me as well."
"Before me, you need not conceal your true thoughts. There is no need, and it would be of no use."
The sweeping monk laughed. "You are not wrong. This blame cannot be left for you to carry alone. Though I did not much approve of King Buddha Sakra's actions, I did not oppose them either. Lower your head."
Shen Mu bent down. The sweeping monk took out the golden willow leaf and, with great care, pressed it to his brow, then laughed. "Yet this blame I cannot carry myself. Were I to carry it, the Buddha Realm would exist no more; the Heavenly Court would seize the chance to destroy it and make the magpie's nest its own. So this blame can only be carried by you and King Buddha Sakra. King Buddha Sakra is my junior brother; he can bear the foulest chamber pot upon his head. As for you, you carry only a small black pot — it will not crush you."
Shen Mu let out a breath and touched the golden willow leaf on his forehead. His heart felt much steadier — not only because of the leaf, but also because of Great Brahma King Buddha's words.
"You need not blame King Buddha Sakra. He acted with the Buddhist Order in mind, and he too has his own past and his own knots in the heart."
The sweeping monk swept along as he walked, and laughed. "He must bear the chamber pot on his head; that pot will give him trouble enough, and it will be very hard to wash clean. Though the Heavenly Court well knows that I gave tacit consent, they lack proper grounds to move against me. They can only go seize King Buddha Sakra. As for this Great Brahma Heaven Realm — I will not expel the demonic nature of the City of the Dead here. This is our Buddha Realm's proof of standing aloof; we too are victims."
Shen Mu followed him, walking over the ground he had swept, and praised, "The King Buddha is brilliant."
The sweeping monk said, "The Heavenly Court is bloated and corrupt. When they receive this news, it will take a few days for them to react and come to investigate. In those few days, you and King Buddha Sakra must leave the Buddha Realm, lest disaster fall upon you. For you to leave is simple, but King Buddha Sakra's cultivation is too high; leaving the Buddha Realm will be difficult."
Shen Mu pondered for a moment, then asked, "Does the King Buddha have no way?"