In the previous chapter, Jinchi's cassock looked precisely like those who slap labels on others just to monopolize the interpretation of scriptures. Meanwhile, the deafness in this chapter—exhibited not only by the King of Shayin, the Yellow-Wind Sage, and Lingji Bodhisattva, but also by you and me, the Destined One behind the screen who wields a staff to clear the stages, brandishing it for good or ill simply upon hearing a few headless tunes on a three-stringed lute—looks exactly like foolish children who charge blindly forward after listening only to a few out-of-context words.
Little do we realize that sometimes, once prejudice takes root, no amount of reasoning from others will do any good. Thus, the trial of "ear-induced anger" in this chapter, far more than the moral of the story itself, is actually about shattering the fourth wall between you and me before the screen.
And here, we simply must discuss the story of the Rat Guard in the Journal's animated lore for this chapter.
Chapter 773