Free Web NovelChapter 1193: Chapter 800: "Sinner" (Part 2)
After explaining the precautions, Pato left with his team, leaving the monks Precept Blade Azan and Copper Bowl Kru to lead everyone away.
Instead of returning straight to their abode, they first arrived at a dilapidated place that seemed like a storeroom, with a few shirtless monk slaves present.
Azan received a bundle of incense, a few white candles, and several cleaned chamber pots, which were for use in the night so they wouldn’t have to go out.
Carrying chamber pots was naturally not a task for monks of Azan and Kru’s status, so two monk slaves held two buckets each and followed them, keeping their heads down and not daring to utter a word.
Upon returning to the South Meditation Room of the West Cross Courtyard, Azan and Kru left, leaving the two monk slaves to tidy up the room and handle the chamber pots.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Xiao’s group gathered to discuss the night’s task.
Adila squinted his eyes, clearly in a good mood, and even whistled at Juan, who had a fiery temper but could only hold it in.
After all, Juan had promised initially that if there was a task tonight, it would all be handled by them, while Yang Xiao’s group of five would just rest peacefully, and it turned out he was right.
According to Juan’s character, he would take advantage of any benefits and avoid any trouble. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t risk offending Yang Xiao’s group, as they were all seasoned players, not to be underestimated.
If it were a group of indecisive newcomers, Juan would’ve flipped the table immediately.
"Be careful tonight; the Open-eyed Buddha in the Inner Buddha Hall and several imprisoned Divine Statues in the Outer Buddha Hall are all quite peculiar."
Yang Xiao, devoid of schadenfreude, warned them in a low voice, as he didn’t want the task to end in severe casualties right at the start, which would be akin to suicide.
"You all saw the scriptures in the Inner Buddha Hall too; this temple is no ordinary temple, and neither are its Buddhas. I suspect those so-called High Monks got their comeuppance, and the events in River Immortal Village are likely linked to them." Imam Musa, being perceptive, saw through most of the situation at a glance.
"Imam, what does the ’Unclean Mark’ in the scriptures refer to?" Yang Xiao suddenly thought.
Musa hesitated for a moment, glanced at the two monk slaves busy in the nearby meditation room to ensure they wouldn’t hear their conversation, then whispered, "I haven’t heard of the ’Unclean Mark,’ but judging from the context of the scriptures, I think it’s similar to the ’Impure Seal’ in extreme Western canon."
After a pause, Musa continued, "The so-called ’Impure Seal’ refers to a birthmark on a newborn. If the elderly from the extreme church found a newborn within their territory with a birthmark resembling a goat’s head or inverted cross, they would regard it as the child of a demon, believing it would grow up with the power to overthrow the church, an envoy sent from hell."
"They would never allow such a child to grow up and would drown the infant in Holy Water or incinerate it, along with its parents."
Just as he finished speaking, the two monk slaves in the room came out, one carrying two chamber pots, heading to another meditation room.
Seeing this, everyone stopped their discussion, with Yang Xiao and his group heading to their meditation room while the other group of seven went towards their own room. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Later tonight, they were to set out to the Buddhist Hall to pray for the six tragically deceased High Monks.
The temple had a drumming monk, serving as the night watchman, and if they heard the signal of two fast and three slow drumbeats, it signaled The Third Watch of the Night, their time to move.
A bucket-carrying monk slave followed Juan and the seven, while another stood cautiously outside Yang Xiao’s meditation room, awaiting instructions.
As Yang Xiao brushed past the monk slave, in the dim light coming from the room, he suddenly noticed a timeworn square scar on the monk slave’s right shoulder, reminding him of the branding iron punishment illustrated in the scriptures.
This monk slave had also been branded before. Could it indicate that he was once a ’sinner’ as well, bearing the ’Unclean Mark’?
Upon realizing this, Yang Xiao attempted to communicate with the monk slave, but no matter what Yang Xiao said, the monk slave only stared at him with a peculiar and bewildered look.
After a moment, as if realizing something, Yang Xiao snapped his fingers next to the monk slave’s ear, but there was no reaction at all.
"Open your mouth." Adila, being perceptive, swiftly grabbed the monk slave’s chin, and only upon physical contact did the monk slave’s face show pure terror, his thin body shivering violently.
Adila applied a bit of force, prying open the monk slave’s mouth, revealing a mouth full of black and yellow decayed teeth, with only a stump of a tongue root behind.
Adila took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and released his hand, "His tongue has been cut out, ears stabbed deaf. He’s a wreck now."
Terrified by the ordeal, the monk slave collapsed to his knees with a thud, his tongue-less mouth moving nonstop as if in a plea.
Musa returned to the room and shortly came back with a piece of paper with writing on it. Seeing the words on the paper, the monk slave’s face slightly improved.
Putting the paper away, a hint of sympathy appeared on Musa’s face as he motioned for the monk slave to leave.
"He’s literate; he must have come from a good family, yet to have fallen to such a state."
Watching the monk slave leave in despair, Musa rolled up the paper, which contained words of comfort, reassuring the monk slave that they didn’t blame him and wouldn’t report the night’s events to the monks in the temple, so he could rest assured.
Monk slaves were the lowest in status within the temple, as evident from the treatment they received and the many scars on their backs.
Juan and his group of seven returned to their room, and after ensuring the monk slave had left, Juan closed the door, and the group began discussing the night’s task.
Since only Juan, Datou, and Maria were veterans, with the other four being newcomers, the critical discussions centered on these three.
"Brother Juan, don’t be anxious. This is our first formal task here; as long as we’re careful, there won’t be any problems."
Listening to Datou’s reassurance, Juan furrowed his brow, ready to erupt in the next moment. Such words were barely enough to fool a Ghost, considering they had encountered a ghost last night and possibly lost a teammate.
Killed by a ghost and replaced.
But in the next instant, Juan noticed Datou subtly indicating to the right with his gaze, having a pointed hint.
Juan, not being foolish, instantly understood—Datou’s words were meant for the four newcomers on the right to hear.
Although they faced risks on this trip, having four newcomers meant they had potential replacements in case of trouble.
But first, they needed to stabilize morale and prevent the newcomers from panicking, so they would remain obedient.
Thus, Juan also began echoing words to stabilize morale, harmonizing with Datou’s tone.
Sure enough, after hearing these words, the fear on the four newcomers’ faces diminished significantly, their gazes upon Juan and Datou filled with trust.
"Datou, we’re all in this together, like grasshoppers tied to the same string," Juan, posing as the responsible elder brother, advised, "we’re the veterans, and we need to step up if something happens."
"Naturally, we each must contribute if we want to survive. I still remember my first task where the old players helped me a lot." Datou, looking resolute and speaking little on the road, always hit the nail on the head, seeming very trustworthy.
Seeing two of his companions gaining favor among the newcomers, the other veteran player, Maria, also began to perform, putting her foot on the table and smiling confidently, "There’s nothing to fear, the Ghost is in Adila’s room; if anyone should be afraid, it’s them tonight."
"Exactly, as long as we’re cautious and work together, we’ll be fine."
Datou’s gaze swept over the newcomers, lingering slightly on the face of one in the corner before moving away without a hint.
She was a very young girl, the youngest among them, appearing naïve and adorable, a girl who looked very easy to deceive.
