Fei Jin said:"Shi Yong, do you still remember the massacre of eleven lives at the Wang household in Ningzhou City, eleven years ago?"
Shi Yong replied:"How could I forget? That slaughter shook the land. The killer was inhuman, utterly devoid of conscience."
Fei Jin said:"And if you knew who the true culprit was—what would you do?"
Shi Yong snapped:"Fei Jin, enough nonsense! So many years have passed—how could the real murderer still be found? Even if you found him, you are no magistrate. Will you act as Heaven's executioner?"
Fei Jin said firmly:"Shi Yong, we who walk the jianghu must distinguish right from wrong. Today, the Judgment Sect of Life and Death holds public trial for the Wang massacre, to expose the truth. Wang Yun, the orphaned son, has trained under Master One-Leaf and now descends the mountain, resolved to slay his family's murderer. With all the heroes here as witnesses, we shall drag the true culprit into the light. Tell me, does this offend you?"
At this point his voice grew louder, like a great bell shaking the square. His gaze swept the assembly, and he thundered:"Brothers of the martial world! The dao of jianghu is built on clear enmity and repayment of debts. If such a massacre can be left unresolved, how can we still claim the name of chivalry?"
The crowd erupted, voices shouting:"Indeed! The Wang family was loyal and upright—how can they die in vain?""If the murderer roams free, shame will fall upon us all!"
Fei Jin suddenly turned and cried to the people:"Is it not your business as well? All you righteous men came here today for this cause—am I right?"
The crowd roared back:"Yes!""Robes hiding demons!""Corrupt monks!"
Fei Jin pressed on:"Shi Yong, think carefully! If you aid the wicked, this old beggar will fight you to the death!"
The heroes bristled with fury, many already flexing fists and reaching for blades. Shi Yong felt a chill within: If I oppose him now, I'll gain nothing but the hatred of all. The anger of the crowd will make me an outcast forever.
So he forced a voice of protest:"Even if it is so, must you make such a spectacle? You are not the magistrate—how can you declare guilt?"
But his tone had lost its edge.
Fei Jin sneered, arms folded:"That is no concern of yours. To silence all doubt, the Judgment Sect has summoned arbiters from across the land—Abbot Benjue of Shaolin, the Mani sect's Dharma King Li Rui, the Zoroastrian Fire-King Zhao Ke, the Nestorian Great Dharma Lord Aros, and Liu Xuan, Master of the Celestial Dao. As official witness we have Wu Tong, Lord of the Loyalty Hall. Today's tribunal seeks one thing only—justice without excess, justice without omission!"
The words struck like thunder. Murmurs rippled through the crowd:"Even Abbot Benjue of Shaolin is here?""The Fire-King and the Nestorian Lord as well—this is no farce!"
Shi Yong saw the tide turn beyond recall, his face turning pale.
Then a youth stepped out. His voice rang with grief:"I am Wang Yun, youngest son of the Wang family. Today, I am humbled that the heroes of the world stand with me to seek justice. My gratitude will never fade!"
He dropped to his knees, bowing thrice to Heaven and Earth. The crowd gasped, then voices rose:"Wang young master, no need for this! To avenge your kin is Heaven's command!"
Suddenly the square shook with cries:"Life for life!""Life for life!"
Fei Jin raised his hand, and silence fell. He said to Shi Yong:"Wise men yield to the times. This matter concerns you as well. Why don't we both withdraw?"
Shi Yong replied:"As you say—let us both step aside."
He turned, saluted Murong Gui, Lord of the Black Dragon Sect, and departed.
Murong Gui thought darkly: To play peacemaker today is hopeless. But if I withdraw, my sect will lose face. He called out:"Reverend Weiyan is a venerable monk. If you hold such a rash tribunal, how can it convince the world?"
The Chief Judge of the Judgment Sect, Lord Cui, declared:"We gave Reverend Weiyan and his four captains ample chance to speak. They refused, saying they had abandoned worldly dust, become monks, and severed all ties to their past."
Murong Gui seized the point:"Exactly! If they have renounced the world, then past matters are no longer theirs to answer—are they not?"
The crowd gasped: Could he truly say such a thing aloud?
At that moment Wu Tong stepped forth:"Lord Murong, your reasoning is false! The saying goes: A father's revenge cannot live under the same sky. Reverend Weiyan and his captains seized the Wang estate, built a monastery upon it, and may not even sincerely seek the Dharma. Our investigation found them still drinking wine and eating meat in secret—are such men true monks?"
Murong Gui smirked:"Lord Wu, perhaps you do not know. The Expanded Vinaya states plainly—Buddhism requires no vegetarianism."
Wu Tong replied:"When the Buddha lived, monks begged for alms. They ate what was given, without restriction. He only forbade killing—indeed, he never said meat itself was forbidden.
But consider our own history. There was once an emperor who devoted himself to Buddhism. Four times he abdicated the throne to become a monk at Tongtai Temple. He loved the scriptures, especially the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, which he knew by heart. From its teaching on abstaining from killing, he drew deeper meaning: to truly refrain from killing, one must also renounce wine and flesh. He swore:
'Disciple Xiao Yan, from this day forth, shall sever wine and meat. Should I again drink, eat flesh, or slay any life, may spirits and gods punish me, may I fall into Avīci Hell.'
Believing that greater power demanded greater responsibility, he extended this vow to all his people.
The records tell us that Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, decreed: Subjects shall be urged to eat vegetarian. Monks shall not eat meat. In sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, gods, and ancestors, monks' rule shall apply.
What did this mean? That offerings of ox, sheep, and pig were forbidden. Instead, effigies of flour replaced them. An imperial edict was sacred—thus the people obeyed.
From that time on, this dietary rule became a mark of Chinese Buddhism. Monks especially held it strict. Guided by the Mahāyāna spirit of compassion, abstaining from meat grew into a revered precept, absorbed into monastic law. To this very day, when the Chinese think of Buddhism, they think first of its banner: no eating of meat."