"Old Sun asks you, what is 'letting go'?"
Pure Thought Bodhisattva was stunned, and subconsciously replied, "Letting go means seeing through illusion, not being disturbed by external things, and not being trapped by obsession."
"Well said!" Sun Wukong clapped his hands, "Then Old Sun asks you again, that family of three, carrying life-saving food to save a monkey they didn't know, was this act of kindness true or illusory?"
Pure Thought Bodhisattva was speechless: "...It was true."
"Those bandits, robbing on the road and taking lives, was this evil act true or illusory?"
"...It was true."
"Since good and evil are both true, and right and wrong are clear, yet you tell Old Sun to let go, aren't you telling Old Sun to not even distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil?"
Sun Wukong's voice suddenly rose, like a clap of thunder, "Old Sun will not pursue those bandits who have long since entered Reincarnation today, this is Old Sun's 'letting go' and compassion!"
"But Old Sun is unhappy. Remembering the suffering of those years, recalling the kindness of that family, a bit of anger arises. This is true nature! If there is no joy or anger, no distinction between good and evil, how is that different from a Devil Head? A Buddha is an enlightened one, one who comprehends all truths in the world, not a Devil Head who severs everything!"
"You can't even understand this simple principle, yet you dare to show off your Buddhist teachings in front of Old Sun?!"
His words were like a string of firecrackers.
He is now the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Five hundred years of suppression and fourteen years of scripture-seeking have long allowed him to fully comprehend those obscure Buddhist doctrines and scriptures, and even develop his own understanding.
In terms of debating Buddhist scriptures, ten Pure Thought Bodhisattvas would not be able to contend with him.
Pure Thought Bodhisattva was rendered speechless by his barrage of words, his face alternating between green and white.
He wanted to refute, but found that everything the other party said was in line with Buddhist principles, and even more thoroughly understood than his own.
Only then did he suddenly realize.
This monkey in front of him was no longer the demon king who only knew how to fight and kill.
He is the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
He is a Buddha personally conferred by the World Honored One of the Western Paradise.
In terms of fruit status, he is even above this humble Bodhisattva!
Pure Thought Bodhisattva's heart turned cold.
It's bad!
Originally, Lu Fan's matter, while significant as it concerned the face of Buddhism, was also trivial, merely a small disturbance by a Loose Immortal.
In the eyes of the true great powers of Buddhism, it was not worth mentioning at all.
Sending him was merely a formality, to assert the authority of Buddhism.
Who would have thought that this small matter would involve Sun Wukong's unknown past!
And it made this most unprovoked individual furious on the spot.
Now, instead of asserting authority, he was lectured on Buddhist teachings in front of the Immortals of the Three Realms, with his nose pointed at.
His face was completely lost.
Pure Thought Bodhisattva stood there, caught between a rock and a hard place.
He had no choice but to endure it.
Who made his status insufficient, his cultivation not profound, and his backing... not as strong as the one before him?
Continuing to argue would only make him appear unskilled in Buddhist teachings and narrow-minded, further embarrassing himself.
After weighing the pros and cons, Pure Thought Bodhisattva took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger and humiliation in his heart.
He reined in the restless Buddhist light around him, clasped his hands together in a deep bow towards Sun Wukong, and lowered his body.
"Amitabha."
"Victorious Fighting Buddha's Buddhist teachings are profound, and his insights unique. This humble monk has learned a great deal."
His apology, with such a low posture, surprised the Immortals who were expecting a greater spectacle.
Sun Wukong saw him yield, and his burning anger dissipated by a third. He merely snorted, his crimson eyes still fixed on the light screen, no longer looking at him.
Nezha and Zhu Bajie also quietly breathed a sigh of relief when they saw his emotions calm down.
Pure Thought Bodhisattva straightened up, surveyed the scene, and regained his former composure.
"What the Victorious Fighting Buddha just said was to lament the kindness of that Mortal family. In this situation, this humble monk empathizes deeply. The evil of those bandits is universally condemned by gods and men; if they had not already fallen into Reincarnation, they would surely face divine retribution. But..."
He changed his tone, his gaze returning to Lu Fan in the center of the Execution Platform, becoming sharp.
"Today, we are gathered here not to judge Mortal bandits who turned to dust centuries ago. Rather, it is to judge the crimes of this fiend, Lu Fan!"
"He destroyed temples and extinguished Buddhas, injured Arhats; every single charge is supported by solid evidence. I hope the Victorious Fighting Buddha and all fellow Immortals will not let past events confuse today's main topic. The right and wrong of the matter, please continue to watch, and it will become clear."
He forcibly pulled the conversation back and then gave a look to the King of Hell: "King of Hell, continue."
The King of Hell, as if granted a great pardon, quickly activated his magic power.
The scene on the light screen began to flow again.
On the desolate official road, the smell of blood permeated the air.
Lu Fan's mother crawled up from the ground, looking at the hideous wound on her husband's thigh and the constantly gushing blood, her face drained of color.
"Husband!"
She tried to rush over, but her husband pushed her away.
"Quick! Take Fan'er and go! Don't mind me!" The man endured the intense pain, propped himself up with an axe, barely rising halfway, and roared at the grinning bandits who were closing in, "I'll fight you!"
He knew very well that he had been shot in the leg with an arrow, and the family of three, not one of them would escape.
His only chance of survival was to use his own life to buy them a moment.
The One-Eyed Dragon bandit slung his ring-handled saber over his shoulder and looked at him mockingly: "Fight? With your crippled, dirt-footed self?"
"Go quickly!" The man's eyes were splitting with rage as he let out his final roar to his wife and son.
The mother bit her lip hard, tears blurring her eyes.
She looked at her husband's resolute gaze, then at her son, who was trembling with fear beside her, her heart aching.
She knew her husband was right.
For the sake of their child.
She had to go.
"Fan'er, run!"
She took one last look at her husband, that look filled with endless grief and reluctance.
Then, she abruptly pulled Lu Fan's hand and ran wildly forward without looking back.
Behind them, the dull thud of weapons striking flesh and the father's short, painful groan soon followed.
Young Lu Fan subconsciously looked back, only to see his father's tall figure fall heavily into the dust.
"Dad!"
A heart-wrenching cry was stifled by his mother's hand over his mouth.
"Don't make a sound! Run!"
His mother dragged him, stumbling and fleeing across the wilderness.
Her physical strength was already far inferior to those bandits who lived by the blade year-round, and with a child, her speed became slower and slower.
The arrogant laughter and footsteps behind them, like a drumbeat of death, grew closer and closer.
A look of determination flashed in his mother's eyes.
She saw a patch of waist-high bushes not far ahead and instantly made a decision.
She pulled Lu Fan behind the bushes, forcefully pressed him to the ground, and in a stern tone she had never used before, quickly whispered into his ear: "Fan'er, listen! Hide here, and don't come out no matter what! No matter what sounds you hear, don't come out! When it gets dark and the bandits are gone, you find a way to go home yourself! Remember Mother's words!"
"Mother, what about you?"
Young Lu Fan clutched her clothes, his eyes filled with fear.
His mother kissed his forehead hard, tears falling onto his face, scalding hot.
"Mother will lead them away."