Chapter 633 — The Heavenly Lord's Frame-Up

"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?"

"There is." The sweeping monk laughed. "But I cannot use my own method; I must still leave the Heavenly Court some face. If I sent King Buddha Sakra out myself, that face would be gone. So you two must find your own way. Do not involve me or the Buddha Realm."

Shen Mu scratched his head, then suddenly blurted, "In other words, we helped the Buddha Realm purge the Heavenly Court's influence and spared it from falling into the Heavenly Court's grasp, and then all the blame is piled on my head and King Buddha Sakra's — while the Buddha Realm and the King Buddha get off scot-free and reap every benefit? And on top of that we must flee to the ends of the earth? Is that how it is?"

The sweeping monk looked up at him, smiling. "That's right."

Shen Mu stood dumb as a wooden chicken. After a moment, he ventured, "Are all the older generation this treacherous?"

"That's right." The sweeping monk chuckled. "Though we call it 'transcendent wisdom,' not 'treachery.'"

Shen Mu's face was like black iron. "Is there any difference between transcendent wisdom and treachery?"

The sweeping monk continued sweeping and laughed. "In truth, you and I have long been fated — we have met many times. Rest assured, I will not let you suffer too much. The Emperor's Throne True Scripture I shall not pass to you directly, but Shen Fengqing swallowed one of my primordial spirits, and that primordial spirit has transformed into a Great Buddha hidden within your Third Sacred Pupil."

Shen Mu touched the golden willow leaf on his brow. He very much wanted to peel it off and look in a mirror to see whether a Great Buddha truly sat within his eye. But at the thought that a single stir of his cultivation method might turn him into the monstrous giant infant Shen Fengqing, he had no choice but to endure.

"This Great Buddha can join with Lord Tu's seal to help you suppress Shen Fengqing, so that he cannot break through the seal and turn on you. Moreover, this Great Buddha contains my Emperor's Throne True Scripture. I will not transmit it to you directly; you must fathom it yourself. How much you comprehend is your own affair."

The sweeping monk swept with great care and said, "If you have the ability, you may comprehend what Zhankong could comprehend. If your insight is somewhat poorer, you may still comprehend what Chenghuai could fathom. And if your obsession runs too deep, it is also possible that you comprehend nothing at all. I have given the True Scripture, and the chamber pot is fastened in place."

As he swept, a courtyard appeared ahead, no one knew when. In the courtyard, King Buddha Sakra was deeply absorbed in fathoming something.

The sweeping monk swept his way inside, and Shen Mu followed step by step behind him. The sweeping monk continued, "Since matters are now more or less settled, it is time for you to leave. Junior brother, please rise. I must sweep away the dust left upon your mind, lest it defile my pure little abode."

King Buddha Sakra suddenly woke from his enlightenment. He looked at the sweeping monk, then at the black-faced Shen Mu, and said in surprise, "Elder brother, is the matter settled?"

The sweeping monk said, "It is settled."

King Buddha Sakra ventured, "The chamber pot is fastened?"

"It is already fastened on the crown of your head. Very firm, very steady — you will not be able to pull it off."

King Buddha Sakra let out a breath and laughed. "A mere little pot — I shall bear it, so long as the Buddha Realm is preserved and the lineage of the Way is secured. By the way, elder brother, is this chamber pot large? How long before it can be washed clean?"

The sweeping monk hesitated. "You never said it had to be washed clean. So this pot is a bit large, and there is rather a lot of filth in it... But it can still be washed clean."

There was one more sentence he did not speak aloud: "When the heavens are changed, it can be washed clean."