Free Web NovelChapter 118: Chapter 36: The Second Day
It was as absurd and bizarre as it was comical to see the Monk hidden inside the Buddha statue say such things with a straight face.
To have starved until their skin was paper-thin, they must have been hiding in the Buddha’s belly for years, even as ghosts. There was no way this had all happened in a single day.
But these ghost Monks insisted they were still alive, and that their master, who had left in the morning, would be back by evening.
The Monk looked down at Jiang Yang and Gao Tian below and declared with utter conviction:
"We have indeed sensed that some strange things are happening in this temple. But if you ask us what’s so strange, we wouldn’t be able to tell you.
"If you two really want to know, you might as well rest for a bit in the front hall. My master will surely return after sunset. When he does, you just need to ask him, and the truth will come to light."
Gao Tian didn’t believe a single word of this ghost’s lies.
"Your master is coming back tonight?
"The way I see it, he might not even be back ten years from now."
Among the many haggard faces in the dark opening, the youngest-looking one grew very angry:
"Monks do not lie. What good would it do us to deceive you? In any case, just wait here. You’ll know if our master is coming back when night falls. There’s no harm in waiting a bit.
"Our master has never deceived us in his entire life. Neither in the past, nor in the future."
Jiang Yang decided to mess with the ghost, asking with a cold smile:
"And if your master doesn’t return to this temple after sunset, what will you do then?"
Another Monk, just as skeletal but with a broad-boned face, spoke up:
"Before he left, our master told us we only needed to hide in the Buddha’s belly for one day. If he doesn’t return, we will have fulfilled his request. We’ll be able to leave here and move about freely.
"The dozen or so of us will use our own strength to investigate the strange transformations secretly occurring in Longshu Temple. We will give you a satisfactory explanation and see you safely out of the temple.
"How does that sound?"
Gao Tian noticed that the large Monk had mentioned a key phrase: leaving the dark opening.
’These Monks hiding in the Buddha revered the single sentence their master left behind as if it were a divine decree. They’d probably hidden in the dark opening for who knows how long, starving to death and becoming hungry ghosts, yet they still insisted on believing their master would be back any moment.’
’Their reverence was so great that they only ate the part of Lan Chu that had entered the dark opening. They absolutely refused to touch the part that remained outside.’
Now, the green sun of the Inner World was already more than halfway set.
The starry sky outside was also gradually shifting from blood-red to grayish-black. Night in the Inner World would arrive in less than an hour.
Jiang Yang and Gao Tian exchanged a look.
They decided for the time being not to expose the true nature of the starved ghost Monks inside the Great Buddha.
They still had to survive in Longshu Temple for six and a half more days. Antagonizing them now offered no benefits and would only create a new group of ghostly enemies.
The killing pattern of these starved ghost Monks was currently very simple. As long as no one deliberately entered the dark opening and triggered their ravenous hunger, the ghosts themselves couldn’t leave the Great Buddha.
Plus, they could chat with outsiders. They might even be able to glean some information.
"Alright, I’ll trust you for now.
"The two of us will trouble you to let us stay here for the night. We’ll wait for your master to return.
"I trust that once your master arrives, all these strange occurrences will be explained."
Either way, they had to spend the night here.
The starved ghost Monks nodded, agreeing to let them stay in the dilapidated temple. They slowly retreated back down into the dark opening and disappeared.
Seeing that night was fast approaching, Jiang Yang gestured for Gao Tian to follow him. They went to hide behind a statue of Guanyin.
’The "master" the starved ghost Monks spoke of... let’s not even get into whether he could return. If he *did* come back to Longshu Temple tonight, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he’d become an extremely vicious ghost who would go on a killing spree at the first sight of a living person.’
So Jiang Yang prepared for the worst. Before night fell, they had to find a hiding spot where they could observe their surroundings without being discovered.
Before hiding under the Bodhisattva statue, Gao Tian naturally sent his Wind Attendant Buddha to check it out first, making sure no new, vicious ghosts had appeared there.
The two of them lay beneath it. The starved ghost Monks in the Great Buddha’s belly wouldn’t know where they’d hidden, and if any "person" were to push open the temple doors from outside, they wouldn’t be able to see the two people hiding in the main hall.
On the contrary, through a hole in the dilapidated panel beneath the Bodhisattva statue, Jiang Yang could easily see the area outside the main hall and whether the main gate was open. Looking the other way, he could also monitor the Great Buddha, which held a bellyful of starved ghosts.
The position was perfect, allowing them to attack if they advanced or defend if they retreated.
After Gao Tian and Jiang Yang were well-hidden, they simply waited for nightfall to see what would happen.
The two exchanged a look. Beneath the Bodhisattva statue, the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive. Now, no matter what, two of the residents were dead forever. They could never return to the Living Persons’ Apartment alive.
With only the two of them left, their hopes of survival were slim. They hadn’t gathered a single clue so far and could only take things one step at a time.
The rest was up to fate.
"What do you think really happened to the Monks in the belly of the Great Buddha?"
Jiang Yang whispered, his voice so low only Gao Tian could hear.
His mission required him to investigate the truth of what had happened at Longshu Temple all those years ago; he couldn’t afford not to care about these details.
Gao Tian thought for a moment before speaking slowly:
"They’ve obviously been trapped here for many years, so long they’ve turned into ghosts. Yet, from their perspective, only today has passed."
"I suspect there’s a problem with Longshu Temple’s time system.
"The ghosts in Longshu Temple are caught in some kind of endless loop. No matter how many years pass outside, here, time is frozen in a single day. The next day never arrives."
Although Gao Tian had no proof, his theory was the most plausible one they had. Jiang Yang nodded thoughtfully.
’Yu Sheng’s room was filled with piles of physics books about time. Why was he so obsessed with it? Could it be that he already knew there was something wrong with time in Longshu Temple?’
’Wang Wenbo’s mission in life had been to release the temple’s Monks from their endless suffering. If he were still alive, were these starved ghosts in the Great Buddha the ones he was meant to free?’
’If the starved ghosts were truly trapped in the same day forever, then everything would make sense.’
’Of course, as a veteran resident, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions that easily. For now, it was just a possibility.’
Jiang Yang looked up, peering through the hole in the panel at the deep blue, starry sky outside.
"Shh, don’t talk.
"Night is here."
The truth of it all would soon be revealed.
Would the master—who, according to the starved ghost Monks, had only been gone for a day—actually return as promised?
How would their first day in Longshu Temple end? Or had they really entered a loop, making the second day an eternally unreachable shore?
The last two living people waited in the darkness. They lost track of how much time had passed.
In the plaza outside the main hall, no one came to push open the temple gates and step inside.
Gao Tian grew more and more certain that the starved ghost Monks had been tricking them, just as he’d suspected.
’Oh well. He should have known. Ghosts don’t tell the truth.’
Just then, from the wilderness outside Longshu Temple, a terrifying, low roar suddenly echoed from the distant mountain forest.
’What kind of creature could make such a roar? How massive must it be?’
Gao Tian could hardly imagine.
The furious, tempest-like roar showed no signs of stopping, one blast coming after another, reverberating throughout the entire Inner World.
Logically, events happening elsewhere in the Inner World shouldn’t be directly related to their mission in Longshu Temple.
’Is that roar... from a bear?’
’Why would a giant bear appear near Longshu Temple?’
The waves of roars dispelled what little drowsiness Gao Tian had felt.
Before he knew it, warm blood began to trickle slowly from his nose.
He didn’t pay it much mind and casually wiped the blood away, looking for something to plug his nose.
Just then, blood also began to seep slowly from the corners of his eyes.
Suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran down Gao Tian’s spine. As if remembering something, he whipped his head around to look at Jiang Yang.
Horrific—
Jiang Yang was already motionless, bleeding from all seven orifices. His body was as stiff as a rock. He’d been dead for some time, having passed away in his sleep.
The distant bear roars were like a death-summoning dirge, coming in merciless waves.
’The roar is the killing mechanism!’
In a flash, Gao Tian realized it.
’Jiang Yang died after hearing the roar. I’m next.’
He frantically grabbed a handful of fallen leaves, rolling them into balls to stuff into his ears. But it was too late. The world started to spin, and everything around him blurred.
Until, with a THUD, he collapsed headfirst onto the ground.
...
...
The poker card you have drawn this time is—
Queen of Diamonds
No point conflict on your soul. Resurrection successful.
...
...
Under the effect of the Ghost Card, with five poker cards now bound to his soul, Gao Tian slowly opened his eyes once more.
’The roar... something’s wrong with the roar... I can’t listen to it...’
Cold sweat broke out on Gao Tian’s forehead, and he was about to leap to his feet when the warm sunlight on his face made him freeze.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw wasn’t Jiang Yang’s rigid, dead face, bleeding from every orifice with his eyes wide in an eternal stare.
Instead, it was Lan Chu, her curious face thrust right in front of his. Her large, deathly pale face with its rough skin and the two scars stretching back from the corners of her mouth filled his entire vision.
Gao Tian was so astonished that he forgot to push her away.
"Having a nightmare? I asked you to use your Wind Attendant Buddha to scout ahead, and you fell asleep?
"Are you having some kind of mental breakdown? I know a great doctor who’s good with sedatives. Want a recommendation?"
Before Lan Chu’s verbal assault had even ended, Jiang Yang’s lazy voice cut in:
"Alright, lay off. Gao Tian has already done plenty. It’s perfectly normal for him to pass out from exhaustion, so don’t give him a hard time.
"I’ll be the one to go in and explore Longshu Temple next."
Wang Wenbo was still fiddling with his electronic watch:
"You guys wait a moment. I’ll use my electronic watch to record these sounds and analyze what scriptures these ghost Monks are chanting."
Wrong.
...
Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
’The time is wrong.’
’The place is wrong.’
’The people around me are wrong.’
’How... did I end up back at the starting point?’
