In the Fire Temple, Chigo had just walked out of his room when he heard hubbub outside. A monk briskly walked into the courtyard, “Master Chigo, there was a murder case in the Revered Fire Street. A girl committed suicide jumping into the river.”
Chigo was used to life and death, so he was not too surprised. He put his palms together, “Alas, let’s go and pray for her.”
“But Abbot, this girl committed suicide because she was humiliated and she couldn’t endure it. The monks have caught the culprit and brought him to the temple. We are waiting for you to deal with him.”
Chigo was startled, and said with a serious expression, “If that’s the case, then let’s go.” He followed the monk immediately. Almost all areas under the Land of Fire had the guards arranged by the Daimyo Residence to maintain order. If there were criminals, the guards would escort them to the City Guardian Residence in a nearby town for trial.
The Fire Temple was classified as a ninja temple, and it had a certain amount of military force. Therefore, there were no guards stationed here, and the Fire Temple monks handled all the security issues. The temple even had the authority to order punishment in case something happened.
The Fire Temple generally didn’t exercise this right though and sent the criminals to the nearby Guard Residence. Soon, Chigo arrived at the square in front of the main hall. He saw two monks escorting a battered and exhausted youth. The boy’s hair was disheveled and the clothes on his body were not in good order. He looked deadly still. Chigo had seen him before — it was Tomaru.
On the ground next to him, was Nohara Naoko’s corpse. Because the corpse had been immersed in water, it was rotting and turning white. Naoko’s face had no color, looking pallid. Even in death, she was tightly grabbing the windbreaker she was wearing with both hands.
Naoko’s grandmother was lying on her corpse, choking with sobs. Seeing this, Chigo put his palms together and prayed for Naoko in his heart.
He then asked in a deep voice, “What exactly happened?”
A monk handed Naoko’s letter to Chigo and said, “This is the suicide note that this little girl left. It explains the humiliation she experienced yesterday and her apology to her grandmother. She must’ve written more at the back, but everything is smeared.”
Chigo looked at the note’s content and was startled. He then looked at Tomaru who was kneeling on the ground and asked, “Do you have anything to explain?”
Tomaru had already lost his sense of propriety. He trembled and answered, “No…”
He had done those things. Regardless of how he explained it, it was useless. The residents of Revered Fire Street, who had rushed over after hearing the news, were filled with indignation and yelled…
“Master, this boy has admitted his guilt. Kill him!”
“Abbot, Kill him!”
……
Tomaru was so frightened that he kept kowtowing to Chigo and said, “Abbot, I admit I did those things, but I didn’t kill her. I don’t deserve to die either.”
Due to the public outcry, Tomaru panicked even more. A resident shouted angrily, “Vile beast! With the crime you have committed, even ten thousand deaths are not enough.”
Chigo frowned and sighed, “According to the Land of Fire’s law, he indeed cannot be punished by death. He didn’t kill anyone.”
Everyone looked at each other hearing Chigo’s words. Since the abbot had already spoken, although they were angry, they had to abide by the rules. At this moment, Uchiha Tonan walked in from outside the temple and said, “Master Chigo, sin has a cause, and karma has an effect. I think this person should pay with his life.”
Chigo raised his head and looked at Tonan, who was coming over. He solemnly said, “Tonan, rules are rules.”
Tonan shook his head, “Although he didn’t do it himself, the cause and effect of this matter stem from him. For instance, I threw a stone down a mountain. The stone bumped into another stone halfway. And the second stone fell down the mountain, crushing a passerby to death. Is it my fault?”
Chigo thought for a while and answered affirmatively, “Yes, it’s your fault.”
Tonan continued with his nonsense, “But the stone I threw didn’t hit anyone. And the second stone had nothing to do with me.”
After hearing his words, everyone became silent for a while, and the residents shouted again…
“Kill him.”
“Kill him.”
……
Tomaru completely panicked by now. He thought he could escape with his life, but he hadn’t expected Tonan’s arrival halfway. He shouted, “This is not my fault. I didn’t want to do it at first. It’s the abbot who gave me those medicines. If he hadn’t given them to me, I wouldn’t have given them to Naoko, and she wouldn’t lose her consciousness. Then I wouldn’t have had those thoughts and nothing would’ve happened. The abbot is also responsible. It’s not entirely my fault. As you said just now, I’m the second stone, and the abbot is the first one.”
Everyone stopped talking. Tonan took a deep breath and said in self-reproach, “It turned out this was the case. If I hadn’t given those medicines to Master Chigo, he wouldn’t have given them to you because he misjudged a person. I didn’t kill Boren, but Boren died because of me. I, I’ve sinned…”
Although Chigo didn’t know who Boren was, he understood the sentence’s inference. He sighed deeply, “Tonan, this has nothing to do with you. Primarily, it’s my mistake.”
Naoko’s grandmother didn’t understand what these people were saying. She just heard that the medicine was given to Tomaru by Chigo. She wailed, “Why did you give him those medicines? Return my granddaughter to me.”
An unbearable look flashed through Chigo’s eyes, “I…”
Although there were many factors involved in Chigo giving out the medicine, everyone was not a fool. It was impossible to blame him for this matter because of just this. Besides, Chigo was the Fire Temple’s master.
Everyone subconsciously believed he delivered all living creatures from suffering. Moreover, he was an eminent monk with noble character and high prestige. Chigo put his palms together and recited the scriptures for a while. He then slowly opened his eyes and instructed, “Imprison this person in the Fire Temple, and send him to Matsumoto Town’s Guardian Residence in a few days, where he will be trialed and imprisoned.”
When Tomaru heard this, he sighed in relief, looking as if he survived a disaster. The monk beside him nodded and lifted him, taking him towards the back of the temple.
Chigo sighed and said to Tonan, “Tonan, I thought about what you said just now. This matter indeed has a cause and effect with you and me. As you said, everything requires a degree of careful study. Even if we are guilty, it was out of kindness. The sin isn’t deep.”
Tonan realized he might have misjudged Chigo a bit. Although he was a monk, he seemed to place more importance on Buddhist doctrine theories and how to preach them. Perhaps, he was kinder than ordinary people, but because he was a monk, his attitude toward evil was more lenient than ordinary people.
“It seems I need to add fuel to the fire.”
