The Shaolin Abbot Born in the 1980s

Chapter 19: Mobilizing the Masses

“Zhang, the Butcher, five taels of silver to invite a small Buddha statue.” “Mr. Ma, the shopkeeper, ten taels of silver to invite a medium-sized Buddha statue.” “Ouyang, the Counsellor, one hundred taels of silver to hang a merit plaque.” Once Yikong and the others got over their initial shock, they set up tables under Yuanzhen’s direction and began taking registrations. Meanwhile, Huo Yuanzhen kept going into the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda to retrieve Buddha statues, carving the names of the donors onto the pedestals beneath them. These merit plaques were something Huo Yuanzhen had discovered inside the pagoda—exquisitely carved wooden plaques that could be hung in highly visible locations. However, the plaques came at a steep price: while a large Buddha statue cost only fifty taels, a merit plaque started at a minimum of one hundred taels. He had originally thought it would take time for people to come to the pagoda to request a Buddha statue, but Huo Yuanzhen had underestimated people’s reverence and faith in unknown forces. A pagoda that had sprung up out of nowhere—no one could explain why—and by this point, many had already come to believe in Buddhism and the existence of the Buddha deep in their hearts. If a truly existing deity could protect them, spending a little money was no big deal. Within two hours, over a hundred people had participated in the Buddha-inviting ceremony, and Huo Yuanzhen had collected more than 3,000 taels of silver. Amid the crowd, a man dressed in brocade robes watched the scene unfold before him, while someone beside him kept whispering in his ear. “Are you sure this pagoda wasn’t there yesterday?” “Yes, Sir… Sir, that pagoda wasn’t here yesterday. Yesterday, some troublemakers from Shaolin Association came to cause a ruckus. After the abbot drove those ruffians away, he told everyone that the Buddha would manifest a miracle. As a result, this pagoda appeared here today. This is absolutely true—I’d stake my life on it. Besides, just look at all these fervent people today; you can see for yourself that this is no hoax.” “If that’s the case, then this matter is actually quite interesting. Who would have thought that a mere little temple in the Shaolin District could win the Buddha’s favor?” The middle-aged man in brocade robes couldn’t help but marvel, constantly glancing at Huo Yuanzhen in the crowd. “This abbot—though still young—is actually able to communicate with the Buddha. He’s no ordinary man. Have you looked into his background?” “Sir, we’ve looked into it. This young monk’s Dharma name is Yijie. He’s been at the Shaolin Temple since childhood. After his master died, he succeeded him as Abbot Yi Jie. He has one senior and one junior monk as brothers in the order, but none of them are particularly skilled in martial arts. The Shaolin Temple is the smallest martial arts sect in the Shaoshi Mountain, and Yijie’s martial arts skills are practically the lowest in the entire mountain range.” “Hmph. I don’t find your investigation results very credible. Didn’t you just say that yesterday, this young abbot took a knife blow to the head from that thug and came out unscathed? If that’s the case, his external martial arts must have reached a considerable level—he should at least know the Iron Head Technique. With that kind of strength, he’s actually ranked last in the Shaoshi Mountains? Since when has the standard of the Southern Martial Arts world sunk to this level?” The man in green standing nearby broke out in a cold sweat and nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right, sir. We must have overlooked something. The thing is, the Shaolin Temple wasn’t well-known before, and no one paid much attention to them. We really don’t know much about this place.” “Never mind. Just be more vigilant from now on. We should be able to see just how skilled the young abbot is today. Didn’t you say that Niu Er is also quite capable? Let him test the young abbot’s mettle. Has he arrived yet?” “He’s here. Right now, there are twenty or thirty of them mingling in the crowd. I just don’t know when they’ll make their move.” The middle-aged man in brocade robes nodded. “Go stir things up a bit—I want to get a clear look. But remember, you must have someone secretly protect this abbot. The fact that he can actually communicate with the Buddha is… incredibly important to me.” “Yes, sir! You can rest assured.” The man in green nodded, then waved to those beside him; several men in green uniforms nearby slipped into the crowd and vanished from sight. Over on Huo Yuanzhen’s side, as he collected the money, he couldn’t shake a sense of unease. He had already noticed that Niu Er and his gang were mingling in the crowd, and there were quite a few of them. Of course, now that he had mastered the Lion’s Roar, as long as these thugs dared to gather in front of him, he was confident he could stun them all at once with it. However, his internal energy was too weak; a single roar would essentially leave him unable to fight, so he would still need Yijing and the others to step in at that point. But given the current situation—with the place packed to the brim—there was no way he could unleash the Lion’s Roar, unless he could herd these people together and find a deserted spot where he could let out a mighty roar. Of course, that was unrealistic. Even if all these people did gather here, Huo Yuanzhen—whose inner energy was depleted from practicing the Lion’s Roar last night—would be unable to pose any threat to them. Huo Yuanzhen felt a sense of urgency, wondering how he could deal with these people. After much deliberation, Huo Yuanzhen’s brow furrowed slightly as an idea came to him. He motioned to Yikong and the others, whispered a few words to them, and then stood up. Looking down at the vast crowd below, Huo Yuanzhen said, “My fellow villagers and elders, please listen to a few words from This Humble Monk.” By this time, the crowd had settled into an orderly rhythm: those wishing to invite the Buddha were lining up, while those without money—or at least not enough for the moment—stood at a distance, watching the miraculous events unfolding at the pagoda. The people held Huo Yuanzhen—the abbot who had foreseen the Buddha’s manifestation—in the highest regard, and upon hearing him speak, the entire crowd fell silent. “My fellow villagers, our Shaolin Temple is blessed by the Buddha, and we will continue to witness miracles in the days to come. The Buddha favors Shaolin—and this very land.” The crowd below beamed with joy. Even if they couldn’t afford to make offerings to the Buddha statues inside the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, at least this land was under the Buddha’s protection—so surely they could count on favorable weather and bountiful harvests. Seeing the crowd’s joy, Huo Yuanzhen continued, ““However, there are those who seek to destroy Shaolin and make the Buddha turn away from this place. They have come to Shaolin time and again to cause trouble. By doing so, they are not only enemies of Shaolin, but enemies of all of us. Think about it, fellow villagers: you come to the Shaolin Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda to pray or pay your respects, but these people want to destroy Shaolin—and their first target is the Shaolin Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. If they succeed and the pagoda is destroyed, your offerings will be lost,and the Buddha will no longer bless this place. Tell me, can we tolerate such behavior?!” By laying out the stakes and offering incentives, Huo Yuanzhen quickly stirred up the people’s anger. In those days, there were many outdated customs and practices; human sacrifices to mountain and river deities were commonplace. And yet, even though those were mere superstitions, many people believed in them—so how much more so for this very real miracle right before their eyes? That someone would dare to destroy all that had been so hard-won was absolutely intolerable. In an instant, the crowd was seething with fury! “Abbot, speak up! Which bastard has the audacity to set his sights on the Shaolin Temple and the pagoda? I’ll be the first to put a stop to him!” The wealthy gentleman who had spent one hundred taels of silver to purchase a merit plaque immediately protested. Disregarding his advanced age, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his thin, sagging arms, as if the moment Huo Yuanzhen named the culprit, he would rush forward to fight to the death. It wasn’t just him—all the people who had donated money to invite the Buddha were up in arms. Were they kidding? They’d just spent a fortune to ask the Buddha for protection, and now someone was trying to tear down the temple? No way—absolutely not. Whoever dared to touch a single stone of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda would have their bones broken by these people. Soon, the scene descended into utter chaos, with people clamoring to ask Huo Yuanzhen who exactly dared to provoke the wrath of the crowd and put the good people of Dengfeng County in such a predicament. Over there, Niu Er and his crew had been a bit hesitant to begin with. They’d come here today intending to settle the score, but when they saw the sudden appearance of the Shaolin Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda and the countless devout people burning incense and praying all around it, they grew afraid. Causing trouble at the Shaolin Temple right now was sure to provoke the wrath of the masses. Though they were ruffians and scoundrels, they weren’t stupid. If they provoked the wrath of the crowd at a time like this, they’d have nowhere to turn even if they were beaten to death. Just as they were about to back down, some people suddenly approached them, spoke a few words, and offered them some incentives, urging them to proceed as originally planned. Niu Er knew better than to cross the man speaking to them and was already preparing to grit his teeth and push forward—but then the young abbot suddenly pulled off this stunt. Instantly, Niu Er sensed trouble. He no longer cared about the bribes and was just about to lead his men back when he saw Huo Yuanzhen, standing by the pagoda, suddenly point in their direction and shout, “There they are! It’s Niu Er’s gang from Dengfeng County. Though our Buddha is merciful, teaching a lesson to evildoers is an act of kindness. Everyone, don’t hold back—go ahead and give them what’s coming to them!” Looking at the dense, dark crowd, Niu Er couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine. With a shriek, he led his men in a charge toward the exit. Niu Er and his gang were positioned toward the back, and since these thugs were all strong and burly, they should, in theory, have been able to break through. But there were simply too many people—the crowd included the elderly, the weak, women, and children. Though they had little experience dealing with thugs, even a single scratch or kick from each person was more than enough to make them suffer. By the time Niu Er broke through the crowd, he looked like a beggar: his clothes hung in tatters on his body, his face streaked with blood, and his shoes were gone. He scrambled and stumbled out of the temple gate, fleeing with the few henchmen still able to move, without even daring to leave a single threatening word behind. The victorious crowd cheered and celebrated, but Huo Yuanzhen did not believe the matter was over so simply. He had been right to take the “mass line” approach—not only did it allow him to conceal his true strength, but it also gave him a grassroots following that would make it easier for the Shaolin Temple to recruit disciples in the future. However, these people had learned their lesson the hard way; he was certain that if they came to cause trouble again in the future, they would choose to come at night, so he had to be on guard. As he was pondering this, Huo Yuanzhen suddenly spotted a group of men in green robes in the crowd, shielding a middle-aged man dressed in brocade to prevent him from being jostled by the throng. Huo Yuanzhen’s heart sank. This man in brocade… he didn’t seem like an ordinary person!