Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1216: Chapter 812: Seeing a Ghost (Part 2)

Maria incited herself to conspire in killing Hafeez; this might be a ploy to deflect blame.

Once this matter is exposed, the consequences will be extremely serious, and the remaining trust in the team will vanish instantly. When everyone is guarding against their teammates, it gives Ghost the opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities; one careless move, and everyone could die here.

Hafeez genuinely seems suspicious, and Maria can’t be trusted either!

Ghost’s bizarre method of killing, a man resurrected, teammates of unknown identity... these accumulating events have left Yang Xiao exhausted. To survive, he must make a change.

He found Patuo Monk, surprised he was still in the same place, in that dark alley, chanting sutras for Juan with a group of monks.

Soon after they arrived, the ritual ended, and several monks lifted the corpse onto a makeshift bamboo stretcher, covered with a white cloth inscribed with scriptures, heading in the direction of the temple.

Yang Xiao immediately decided to follow them; he knew the corpse would be sent to last night’s morgue, where... there was a Ghost!

He suspected that his group would find either a monk’s corpse in the morgue or that the monk supposed to be guarding the morgue had mysteriously disappeared.

No matter which, he could gather some clues from the reactions of Patuo’s group; this was a good opportunity not to be missed.

Once everyone returned to the courtyard of the morgue, filled with apprehension, the dark door creaked open, and a familiar face was exposed behind the door.

It turned out to be the masked stranger, a sight that caught Yang Xiao and others off guard.

However, as the stranger opened the door to let them in, everyone gradually realized that this masked stranger was not Ghost but indeed a living person.

Considering this, everyone looked towards Yang Xiao, as the news that the masked stranger was Ghost was spread by Yang Xiao, and others were unaware of the details.

After settling the corpse, just before leaving, Yang Xiao first praised the temple’s widespread reputation for kindness; once townspeople learned of their identities, they revered them greatly. Then, shifting topics, he spoke to Patuo Monk about the elderly lady and her resurrected son they saw in the courtyard today.

Mentioning this matter, everyone held their breath, wanting to hear how Patuo Monk would explain it away.

Unexpectedly, Patuo Monk’s expression was unchanged, a single hand raised in prayer before his chest, eyes exceptionally devout, calmly telling Yang Xiao this was nothing, many in the town have been blessed by Buddha.

"Buddha... can bring people back to life?" Aisha’s face showed incredulity.

Patuo Monk shook his head, "Resurrection is somewhat difficult, but as long as one has a breath left, sincerely turning to Buddha can transform misfortune into blessing."

"I know the man you’re talking about; his name is Tong Tak, a horse servant for wealthy families."

"Tong Tak was trampled by a fierce horse a few years ago, his chest caved in, nearly dead. It was his mother who came to the temple at night, imploring the High Monk and several monks to save her son."

"My master arranged for the bloodied Tong Tak to be carried to the Buddhist Hall, then closed the doors to chant prayers, pleading for Buddha’s mercy. After thirty minutes, the hall’s doors opened, and Tong Tak’s injuries healed considerably, and he regained consciousness."

"Since then, Tong Tak and his mother have been Buddha’s most devout worshippers."

"Because you are Hejia Lun Du High Monks, in the eyes of these devout townspeople, you are the embodiment of High Monks." Patuo Monk spoke slowly.

"Not only him, many people in the town have been cured of serious injuries or even deadly diseases by Buddha, some with broken limbs recover quickly after sincerely paying respects at the Buddhist Hall."

"Because to witness is to believe." Patuo Monk pressed his hands together, as did the accompanying monks behind him.

Even the masked stranger paused, hands pressed together, bowing quietly.

"Can broken limbs also be restored to original state?" Yang Xiao vaguely felt that these monks weren’t making things up, because he thought of the masked stranger.

In the scriptures, the masked stranger had been punished with a severed left hand, and now his left hand was still attached, looking entirely normal.

Seeing Yang Xiao hesitating, Patuo Monk turned and calmly said to the masked stranger, "Dapulong, extend your left hand for everyone to see."

The masked stranger unwrapped the hemp cloth from his left wrist, revealing a horrifying scar encircling his wrist.

"Dapulong was originally the temple’s Law Enforcement Monk, but was bewitched by evil during an action, corrupting his Buddha heart. To awaken him and make him mend his ways, the High Monks had no choice but to sever his left hand."

"But the High Monks, compassionate at heart, later restored his injuries with supreme Buddhist Law, leaving him here to convert the departed and repent his crimes."

As Patuo’s words concluded, Dapulong pressed his hands together, bowing forward, his voice low yet firm: "Buddha is merciful, disciple confesses guilt."

After leaving the courtyard, Yang Xiao’s group volunteered to make up missed morning lessons, not wanting to interrupt their spiritual practice, but in reality to check the scriptures.

As expected, Imam Musa discovered differing doctrines among the scriptures, indicating that at least four sects had been swallowed and extinguished by this temple, corresponding to the four "evil spirits" statues enshrined in the Outer Buddha Hall.

Having rested in their room for only a short time, it was already lunchtime; Yang Xiao and his group rushed early, lifted off the lid, and found the same black-colored wild vegetable paste.

This time, it was Sopa serving the meals again, but perhaps aware of her relationship with Datou being exposed, she didn’t tamper with the servings this time, distributing fairly.

Scooping the small amount of porridge into their mouths, Yang Xiao then instructed everyone to clean up the bowls and chopsticks.

This time, the task of delivering the utensils fell to Yang Xiao and Musa. Yang Xiao had a relatively higher trust in this elderly man, needing an opportunity to speak privately with Musa about certain matters.

Yang Xiao was responsible for the bucket of bowls while Musa carried the bucket of chopsticks, accommodating the elderly since Musa’s bucket was lighter.

They chatted while walking, soon leaving the courtyard gate heading to the adjacent garden, when Yang Xiao, in a moment of negligence, tripped his left foot over a protruding stone, causing the bowl bucket to tip over, bowls rolling everywhere.

Fortunately, the mud and grass on the ground cushioned, preventing any bowls from breaking, and Yang Xiao crouched to pick them up, quietly counting.

"One."

"Two."

...

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"Ten."

"Eleven."

Yang Xiao saw no bowls left on the ground, then stood up slowly supporting his knee, but the next moment he froze, a chill rose from the ground, crawling up his spine to his skull.

"Eleven bowls?!!!"

They only had 10 people left; where did the eleventh bowl come from?!!!

Yang Xiao immediately flipped the wooden bucket over, counting the bowls one by one, and once clarified, not only he, but also Musa beside him turned pale.

"Could it... could it be Sopa tampered with them, between her and Datou..."

Musa’s explanation appeared weak at this moment; the next second, he gazed sharply towards the bucket he held, even if bowls were manipulated and extra appeared, the chopsticks couldn’t have an issue too, two coincidences couldn’t happen simultaneously.

The two suddenly overturned the chopstick bucket, counting chopsticks one by one.

"One pair."

"Two pairs."

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"Nine pairs!"

"Ten pairs!"

Yang Xiao and Musa each held onto 5 pairs of chopsticks, yet the original count of chopsticks was incorrect.

But it wasn’t one extra pair, it was one additional stick.

Staring at the lone stick standing amongst the pair on the ground, Yang Xiao and Musa felt icy cold all over, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees at this moment.

Yang Xiao’s mind buzzed; he had heard from elders long ago a saying, a pair of chopsticks is used by people, whereas one stick is used by ghosts for eating.

Ghost has arrived.