Free Web NovelChapter 1191: Chapter 799: The Blind-Eyed Buddha (Part 2)
Behind the monk followed four monks with bare torsos, each wearing heavy iron bracelets on their wrists, resembling prisoners or perhaps a form of ascetic practice.
The monk with the precept blade brought a message from the abbot monk, inviting them to attend the evening rituals at the Buddhist Hall.
"Is it just us, or is everyone going?" Yang Xiao was quite concerned about this point.
"Everyone shall go together." The monk with the precept blade bowed his head reverently, his voice as deep as a bell.
Subsequently, under the guidance of the monk with the precept blade, Yang Xiao and the others passed through gate after gate to the Buddhist Hall area. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Following behind several monks along the way, Yang Xiao gradually understood the identity of these four bare-chested monks.
They were not monks, not even considered Buddhists. They were monk slaves, those who sold themselves to the temple as slaves, branded with iron marks, a symbol of shame.
But upon reaching the front of the Buddhist Hall, Yang Xiao was dumbfounded, as the arrangement of this Buddhist Hall was completely different from what he had seen before.
Calling it a Buddhist Hall, it was actually just two large houses, one in front of the other. The front one was still a common structure, with blue bricks and gray tiles, a straight ridge, but only a single black lacquered door, no windows.
Normally, even if a Buddhist Hall is not lavish, it should be as grand and magnificent as possible, but here it was depressing, filled with a sense of deadness.
"The abbot is waiting for you inside." The monk with the precept blade maintained his expressionless demeanor.
Yang Xiao and his group mustered up the courage to step forward, and as soon as they reached the dark door, it opened from the inside, revealing that Juan Datu and the others had already arrived earlier.
Yet the originally ostentatious Juan now wore an odd expression, and when Yang Xiao entered the hall, he quickly noticed the unusual features of the place.
Four divine statues were enshrined in this hall, two on each side, but their appearances were truly appalling, with blue faces and fangs, completely unlike the Buddhist deities Yang Xiao had known.
Even stranger, there were stone pillars surrounding these statues, separating them from the hall, as if these were not revered immortals but imprisoned evil ghosts.
"Imprisoned..."
This thought flashed through Yang Xiao’s mind and lingered there; yes, this place didn’t feel like a majestic Buddhist Hall but a prison.
From the outside, it resembled a prison even more, with only one black lacquered door and no windows. The lighting inside the hall was poor, and even during the day, sunlight barely reached inside, making it an undeniably dark and terrifying cage.
Standing beneath the towering and terrifying "divine statues," Yang Xiao suddenly felt a creepy illusion, as if these four "imprisoned" statues were not lifeless objects but were alive.
Perhaps in the next second, these "statues" would break free from their confinement and devour them completely.
With an uneasy heart, Yang Xiao finally met the middle-aged monk, the current abbot of this temple.
The monk informed them to proceed inside, to the inner Buddhist Hall to chant sutras and pray, where the praying mats and scriptures were already prepared.
Only then did Yang Xiao realize there was an inner and outer Buddha Hall concept here; the hall they were in was the outer Buddha Hall.
In Yang Xiao’s understanding, the four "statues" here should be akin to the Guardian Vajra figures in orthodox Buddhism.
The furious Vajra signifies not only the unparalleled might of a Guardian Vajra but also his formidable methods, naturally, his appearance must be sufficiently intimidating to deter petty evils.
"Master, aren’t you coming with us?" Yang Xiao took a few steps and noticed that the middle-aged monk and the other dozen monks did not follow.
"We are not qualified to practice in the inner Buddha Hall, only the High Monks have that privilege." The middle-aged monk joined his palms in compassion, "You all have been chosen by the High Monks as Hejia Lun Du. We hope you can follow in the footsteps of the High Monks to resolve this calamity."
Without further ado, Yang Xiao and the group passed through the outer Buddha Hall toward the inner Buddha Hall, and soon another building appeared before them.
This was an oddly styled structure, indeed made with blue bricks and gray tiles, but in the middle of the building, a section inexplicably jutted out, forming a sharp spire.
The spire was originally golden yellow, and before entering this town, Yang Xiao had already noticed this building from the mountain.
Specifically, it was the spire.
Unlike the eerie and chilling outer Buddha Hall, this inner Buddha Hall, in both decoration and construction, appeared more refined, with thick blue bricks paving the floor, leading up to a colorful statue of Buddha.
The statue of Buddha was nearly 10 meters high, sitting there impressively.
In front of the Buddha statue, some prayer mats were arranged, with tattered scriptures placed in front of them.
Ahmed and the others sat down in turn. Juan picked up a scripture and glanced, catching in the corner of his eye Yang Xiao, Musa, and others still standing, staring at the Buddha statue. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Hurry and sit down, finish chanting, and let’s leave quickly." Juan felt very uneasy about this place, wanting desperately to leave immediately.
But Yang Xiao and his group ignored him entirely. Yang Xiao gazed at the statue for some time, feeling something off about this Buddha statue, yet unable to pinpoint what.
It seemed to be some kind of intangible feeling.
"It’s the eyes." Imam Musa suddenly spoke, "The Buddha’s eyes are blind."
"Blind..."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao felt a jolt, and upon a closer look, it was true; something was indeed wrong with the Buddha’s eyes. The pupils were faint, resembling those of a blind person, with those gray, dull pupils.
Moreover, the Buddha’s eyes were entirely open, which was peculiar because there’s a saying in the field regarding Buddha statues: "two parts open, eight parts closed," meaning two parts watch the outside world, eight parts observe the inner self.
But here, the Buddha statue had fully open eyes, implying complete external observation, without introspection. This breached a major taboo, potentially corrupting the practice and leading one astray.
Only when a faint chanting sound was heard from behind in the direction of the outer Buddha Hall did Yang Xiao finally sit down, crossing his legs on the prayer mat and joining others in chanting the scriptures, word by word.
The chanting was coming from the middle-aged monk and those monks in the outer Buddha Hall. Despite the halls not being close, the chanting sound reached here, indicating its volume and their intense focus.
But only a sense of strangeness and creepiness enveloped this place for Yang Xiao, without a trace of the serene heart of a Buddhist Temple.
Unlike the others, Yang Xiao had already received some hints before entering this world. These precious hints were released by the Esoteric Sect’s High Priest, exchanged at the cost of an Esoteric Sect’s martyr. Combining this with the temple’s oddities he now witnessed, Yang Xiao had reason to believe this temple was not as clean-cut as it seemed.
There was something peculiar here, and the deaths of those High Monks were not accidents.
Thinking further, the so-called "River Immortal Village" tragedy might not have been accidental either.
While contemplating, Yang Xiao chanted the scriptures. The scripture was filled with strange characters he couldn’t understand, but fascinatingly, as long as he focused, the characters would weirdly squirm and rearrange themselves into familiar Chinese characters.
Previously, Yang Xiao had worried about a language barrier upon coming to Myanmar and Thailand, but it seemed this worry was unnecessary. The Nightmare World had already eliminated this hidden threat for him.
Now, what he needed to do was uncover the truth of this world, specifically the destruction of River Immortal Village and the sudden deaths of the six High Monks, and then survive to leave.
Page after page of the scripture was handwritten, with inconsistent spacing and size of each character, making it very uncomfortable to read.
The chanting continued sporadically and irregularly, everyone reading at their own pace. Interestingly, the chanting from the outer Buddha Hall was equally disorganized, suggesting that following along without synchronization sufficed.
Page after page of the scripture was handwritten, with inconsistent spacing and size of each character, making it very uncomfortable to read.
The chanting continued sporadically and irregularly, everyone reading at their own pace. Interestingly, the chanting from the outer Buddha Hall was equally disorganized, suggesting that following along without synchronization sufficed.
