The execution was halted. The officials on the stage all looked gloomy. They looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.
Immediately afterwards, a monk in a snow - white cassock descended from the sky and slowly landed in front of everyone.
His face was serene, with a compassionate expression. Although his eyes were closed, there was an imposing manner about him that couldn't be ignored.
Behind the monk followed a mysterious man wearing a hat. Like the monk, he was also dressed in a snow - white cassock and held a religious implement in his hand, looking like a Dharma protector.
The leading official kicked the branding iron that had been thrown at his feet forcefully off the stage. Pointing at the monk, he cursed angrily, "What kind of monster are you? How dare you do such strange things in front of me!"
Xueling slowly opened his eyes. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and still played his role as planned.
He had practiced countless times before his appearance, just to make himself look like a hermit from the outside world.
"Amitabha, good deeds, good deeds. I used to live in seclusion on the Spirit Peak, devoting myself to the practice of Buddhist Dharma. But recently, I observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw Mars lingering near Antares and a white rainbow piercing the sun. I knew that our lord was bewitched by treacherous officials and heroes in the world were in trouble. So I came out of seclusion to relieve the world from its difficulties."
Xueling's words sparked a buzz among the common people. Those who had led the heckling earlier even shouted questions.
"Blasphemous nonsense! You're clearly accusing His Majesty of being unwise and slandering the Ling family. Are you plotting to rebel with the Ling family?"
"That's right! We all saw the secret room where the Ling family kept the young girls with our own eyes. How could we have wronged the Ling family?"
The common people began to chime in. Some even started throwing rotten cabbages and eggs onto the stage, trying to drive Xueling off the execution platform.
But Xueling was unhurried. With a wave of his wide sleeve, the rotten cabbages and eggs that were supposed to land on the stage were suddenly waved onto the officials behind him.
Lord Qin, the highest - ranking official among them, was hit right in the head by a stinky egg. Losing face, he was extremely angry.
"Guards! Guards! Are you all dead? Quickly arrest this evil monk for me!"
The soldiers then seemed to wake up from a dream. They all carried their weapons onto the execution platform and surrounded Xueling.
Xueling put his hands together. The compassion on his face became even more evident. "How pitiful and lamentable..."
This sigh made people shiver. Xueling showed himself to be a hermit master who pitied all sentient beings. His sigh and his look seemed to express concern for the ignorant common people.
Seeing that Xueling was still spouting nonsense even when he was about to die, Lord Qin was so angry that the fleshy folds on his face trembled. "Hurry up and act! Behead him!"
Suddenly, the common people were startled and quickly moved away.
But Xueling, surrounded by the soldiers, showed no sign of panic. Instead, he gently shook his head and closed his eyes again.
The soldiers raised their big knives and slashed at Xueling. But in an instant, all these soldiers were bounced away by a great force, and even the officials standing on the high platform were knocked to the ground.
Li Xian, wearing a cassock and a hat, simply turned around and knocked everyone down.
While everyone was stunned by this turn of events, Xueling stretched out a hand, as if calculating something, and murmured to himself.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes, pointed to the sky and shouted, "I've received an inspiration from the heavens. The gods and Buddhas in the sky are mourning for the Ling family. Look!"
Xueling's loud shout made all the common people, officials, and even the soldiers lying on the ground moaning look up in the direction of his finger.
"Pfft...!"
It had to be said that this scene was rather comical. Yuan Zhao tried hard to hold back but still couldn't help laughing.
"I didn't expect Master Xueling, who looks so serious and doesn't talk much, to be so good at acting."
Shen Qing covered her forehead helplessly. She had asked Xueling to play the role of a hermit Buddhist master, but Xueling's performance made him seem a bit too mysterious.
Hong Chaoyang even rolled his eyes and wished he could go up and act instead of Xueling.
Looking up, everyone saw dark clouds gathering in the sky. Thunder and lightning shuttled through the thick clouds, as if brewing a heavy rainstorm.
"Oh my god! It's been so long since it last rained in the capital. I heard that His Majesty has been troubled by the drought in Quanzhou, and even the capital has become dry. But now it's going to rain!"
"Could it be that this monk has cast some evil spell? It hasn't rained yet. This is exactly what it's like when demons appear."
"I don't think it's the appearance of demons. The lightning and thunder seem to indicate that it's going to rain!"
Some timid common people had already left one after another and hid in their homes.
But most of them were curious. They wanted to know what would happen next.
Xueling cleared his throat, raised his chin, and shouted with outstretched arms, "Look! The Ling family is suffering, and the gods in the sky can't bear to watch. They're going to send down rain to extinguish the sinful branding irons and spare the Ling family from physical pain."
The five young members of the Ling family tied to the pillars looked at each other. They didn't know who Xueling was, but they vaguely sensed that Xueling had come to help them.
Seeing that some common people had been convinced, Lord Qin wanted to step forward to refute, but he was afraid of Xueling and Li Xian. He could only hide behind the soldiers and shout, "This evil monk is bewitching the people. You must be in cahoots with the Ling family. I don't believe that it will rain in the capital, which has been dry for three months, just because of the Ling family!"
"Act! Act! Punish the Ling family!"
The executioners hesitated for a moment, but under Lord Qin's threatening gaze, they tremblingly picked up the branding irons, heated them in the charcoal fire again until they were glowing red, and then picked them up.
The soldiers surrounded Xueling and Li Xian with their swords, but they didn't dare to act. The scene of them being knocked down was still fresh in their minds. In their eyes, Xueling and Li Xian were people with great spiritual power. How could they, ordinary people, fight against them?
But this time, Xueling didn't act. He just watched as the branding irons got closer and closer to the Ling family.
Just as the branding irons were about to touch the faces of the Ling family members, a sudden thunderclap roared in the sky, and a heavy rain poured down.
The few common people who had shouted the loudest earlier knelt down first and kowtowed to Xueling. "Venerable monk! It's really raining!"
"The holy monk is so miraculous. He said it would rain, and it did. Even the National Preceptor can't do this!"
"Could it be that the Ling family is really wronged? The heavens actually pities the Ling family and sends down rain. This is simply a miracle!"
Led by them, the on - looking common people all knelt on the ground and shouted that the gods had shown their spirits.
Seeing this, Lord Qin was speechless. When he looked at Xueling again, there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
Just then, a team of armored soldiers marched from afar. They were wearing black armor and half - black - gold masks.
When the common people saw them, they immediately stepped aside voluntarily, looking terrified.
"It's the Black - Armored Guards! They're the personal guards of the National Preceptor. The National Preceptor is coming!"