Ji Gong glanced at Sha Chen and frowned.
He hadn't expected Sha Chen to be so articulate, refusing to be at the slightest disadvantage.
After a moment of silence, he said, "Lord of the River, you needn't worry. This poor monk is not here to champion Maitreya Buddha's cause; in truth, it's not my place to do so."
Sha Chen responded, "Master, you're jesting. Even if you were here on his behalf, it would be no issue. I am not at fault in this matter; the error lies entirely with Maitreya."
Marshal Tianpeng nodded in agreement, continuing, "Exactly. Old Sha was merely slaying demons and eliminating evil, promoting justice, which is a good deed. Yet Maitreya Buddha relentlessly pursued him, and only out of sheer desperation did Old Sha accidentally kill him."
Although he had witnessed Sha Chen killing Maitreya and knew that it was done with lethal intent, not by accident, he could not possibly say so.
Marshal Tianpeng said, "Mad Monk, you mustn't wrongly accuse people."
