The Shaolin disciples didn't dare pursue because the troops outside were so numerous, and their number of approximately sixty had now dwindled. Several disciples had been wounded, some even killed, in the battle, even though the number of their opponents was much greater. They then tended to the charred remains of the Thian Cu Monk, took care of their fallen comrades, and tended to the wounded as they prepared for battle.
General Ciong didn't remain idle. He retreated only to strategize. He knew how cunning the Shaolin people were. If he charged in, it would be difficult to defeat them. Fighting like this would be unwinnable, as he couldn't mobilize his troops to attack like he would in an open battle. The only way was to lure the Shaolin disciples out of their monastery, or force them out! And that could only be done with fire!
"Prepare formation of flaming arrows!" he shouted. His troops immediately prepared a line of flaming arrows. After organizing his troops, General Ciong who master of war tactics, launched an attack. This time, the temple was attacked with arrows, many of which were flaming. Meanwhile, his troops surrounded the outer temple.
His strategy worked. In no time, the temple was ablaze! Of course, the Shaolin disciples could not remain inside. They also tried to extinguish the fires, but they were quickly out numbered by the flames that began to blaze in all directions. The disciples were thrown into disarray and forced to flee for their lives. Once outside, they were met by government troops who swarmed them!
Now a desperate battle ensued. The Shaolin disciples were now defending themselves, desperately trying to defend their lives. However, the enemy was too numerous, and the Shaolin disciples were so terrified that many of them became determined to fight to the death!
When BlackFaced Monk and White Clothed Taoist, who were leading the monks and taoist monk were running to the Shaolin Temple, they met Lie Koan Tek and five of his junior brother.
These six of Shaolin disciples were injured, and they immediately knelt when they saw BlackFaced Monk, whom they knew to be the senior brother and friend of the late Thian Cu Monk.
"Elder, disaster has befallen Shaolin Temple," said Lie Koan Tek, sweat pouring mix with blood from a wound on his neck.
BlackFaced Monk looked up at the top of the hill. A fire blazed at the top, and he could guess what had happened.
"Amitabha, Shaolin Temple is on fire? What has happened?"
"The temple was attacked by a large number of government troops, led by General Ciong, accompanied by a taoist monk who reported that we were rebels!" Saying this, Lie Koan Tek glared at White Clothed Taoist with his eyes glaring with anger.
"Sadhu... sadhu....!" White Clothed Taoist simply clasped his hands together in front of his chest.
Seeing the attitude of Shaolin disciple, BlackFaced Monk immediately said, "Don't hate the taoist monk, young man. Just now, the conflict between the monk and the taoist monk has been resolved and reconciled, thanks to the wisdom of White Clothed Taoist. All hostility between the two parties must now be eliminated...."
"However, Elder, the Shaolin fire that caused by the government troops' invasion was instigated by them..."
"If that's true, you shouldn't be hostile to all the taoist monk! One person's mistakes shouldn't be used as an excuse to hate their entire group. That would be unfair. A person's mistakes are their own responsibility, not the responsibility of their army, their faction, their tribe, or their nation. As you can see, the taoist monk come with your brothers and your uncle master to help the Shaolin Temple!"
Then the group of Thian Gi Monk, along with his disciples and the taoist monnk who had previously been enemies, arrived at the scene.
"Lie Koan Tek, what happened? Why did our monastery burn down? and where is senior brother Thian Cu Monk?" asked Thian Gi Monk with his face pale.
"Uncle Master!" Lie Koan Tek and his five junior brother cried. "The monastery was burned down, we were attacked by troops led by General Ciong, and Master... Master has died by burning himself..."
Lie Koan Tek, in a sad voice, recounted everything that had happened, and concluded his story softly, "...only six of us managed to escape. It seems all... all the brothers have died..."
"Amitabha!" Thian Gi Monk's eyes widened, his face was very pale and he collapsed unconscious!
After Thian Gi Monk regained consciousness, Lie Koan Tek then explained the story of Thian Cu Monk's final messages, explaining that all Shaolin disciples should not a rebel, because they were warriors who opposed evil and defended the oppressed common people.
"Amitabha, how wise the late Thian Cu Monk was. Pinceng was delighted to hear his wisdom in the final moments of his life. Indeed, everything is fate, predetermined by the Almighty. Our minds and intellect are completely incapable of discerning the deepest meaning of every problem. We only see the surface, the outer surface, and sometimes feel how strange and unfair the events are. If we are able to accept everything and return it to the wisdom and power of the Almighty, then there will be no problems whatsoever," said BlackFaced Monk.
"Sadhu, what my friend BlackFaced Monk said is absolutely right. Our duty as living humans is simply to try our best to eliminate impurities from our inner and outer selves, but all decisions rest with the Almighty. Let the dead die, but the living have an obligation to continue this life on the right path. A destroyed temple can be rebuilt at any time, and past enmities can be erased and replaced by peace. There's no need for resentment, which will only poison our souls and create turmoil," said White Clothed Taoist.
What these two powerful elder said was true. Our life's path is full of twists and turns, full of changes, and sometimes things happen to us that seem very strange and difficult to understand.
The path God takes is truly mysterious and sometimes so far beyond the reach of our minds and reason. Sometimes events occur that, according to our rational judgment and calculations, seem strange, even unfair!
Our minds see how someone we consider evil and deserving of condemnation lives a life full of glory, high status, honor, wealth, health, and safety.
Conversely, our minds see how someone we consider good and worthy of praise lives a life full of deprivation and misery, oppressed, humiliated, poor, and destitute!
We see a high-ranking official whose life is full of corruption prosper and appear happy, while a high-ranking official whose life is honest and just appears to live a life of deprivation and is not at all prosperous. We see someone we consider good living a life of illness, while someone we consider bad and dirty living a healthy life!
Moreover, we usually consider ourselves good enough, have obeyed religious laws sufficiently, have tried hard enough to be a good person, yet we feel our life is always miserable! This gives rise to disappointment and curiosity!
We forget that our thinking only bases everything on material values, the temporary pleasures of our physical desires. We don't know that someone who appears wealthy and happy isn't necessarily in danger, while a poor farmer isn't necessarily suffering.
Our minds are merely repositories of knowledge and experience. Our rational minds can't possibly grasp and understand God's path. We don't have any power over ourselves. The only way is to surrender everything to Him. Whatever His wills is good and right, even if our minds sometimes consider it bad and wrong. Only those who can accept everything as God's will, accept everything as a natural reality, as it is, without complaint, protest, curiosity, or disappointment, only such people can be touched by the light of Love and experience what we call happiness!
The remaining disciples of Shaolin were forced to flee, realizing their lives were at stake. Shaolin Temple had been burned to the ground, but the disiple spirit remained intact, and wherever they were, they always reached out to defend the oppressed and opposed evil in any form and by anyone.