Free Web NovelChapter 407: Chapter 348: Buddha Beads
Just a second before he planned to turn and flee, Cheng Cha hesitated. Escaping now would ensure his own safety, but then Tong Han would have to start all over again, facing all the dangers he had just encountered. That would be too time-consuming—He had to leave her some clues.
With that thought in mind, Cheng Cha turned back around. He tore a piece of cloth from the hem of his garment and used the Soul-Attracting Incense to draw the attention of a few elders. Then, crouching down, he tied the cloth to the right leg of the blue-robed elder—who was also their target for the night, Village Chief Du—as quickly as possible.
After completing these tasks, Cheng Cha, pinching the last small bit of the Soul-Attracting Incense, ran for his life. Finally, just before the incense was about to burn out, he made it back to the ancestral home.
Standing in front of the ancestral home, Cheng Cha took a long breath and looked back to see that the whole village had completely transformed after The Third Watch of the Night, obscured in the mist.
Inside the room, Yang Xiao, Tong Han, and others were waiting anxiously. This was their first time embarking on a mission after The Third Watch of the Night. Suddenly, the sound of a wooden clapper rang out. Yang Xiao listened carefully and confirmed that it was coming from the direction of the ancestral home’s main gate.
Tong Han quickly donned a head cover, secured a Death Coin between her lips with swift and deft movements, and, holding the Soul-Attracting Incense, stepped out the door with large strides.
She made her way to the main gate of the ancestral home, which was wide open. There, a figure stood outside. Drawing closer, she judged from the body shape and attire that it must be Cheng Cha. Tong Han immediately noticed that the hem of Cheng Cha’s clothes was torn, as if it had been grabbed by something, but she saw no blood.
Tong Han knew the rules well. She only approached the threshold and then stopped, without stepping outside the ancestral home. Meanwhile, Cheng Cha, upon seeing her approach, lowered his head, slowly lifted his right leg, and stepped to the side, tapping the ground twice with the tip of his foot.
This action perplexed Tong Han, who felt that he was trying to tell her something. But without hesitation, Cheng Cha quickly walked through the gate of the ancestral home, saying nothing as he brushed past Tong Han.
The moment Cheng Cha crossed the threshold, Tong Han confirmed his authenticity, as there was a semi-circle of incense ash outside that sealed the door. The village was engulfed in a layer of white mist, eerily originating from nowhere, kept outside by the circle, without a trace entering the ancestral home.
Tong Han could roughly conclude that this circle of incense ash was capable of keeping dirty things out, and it also proved that Du Family Village was not peaceful after The Third Watch of the Night.
Back at the small courtyard where he was staying, Cheng Cha removed his head cover and quickly approached the room door, lowering his voice to warn, "I’m back. The village is full of ghosts—those killed Du Family Villagers. I found the village chief, but there was no time to look for that thing."
Cheng Cha understood that the people inside could not trust his identity, and he did not insist, "You don’t have to open the door for me, we can communicate through it just the same. Chu Xi... Chu Xi, are you listening?"
"Listening," Yang Xiao’s voice came from behind the door.
Cheng Cha quickly related everything he had observed, which would be of great help to Yang Xiao’s impending task.
"There’s a ghost that can restrict our movements by stepping on our shadows?" This information was extremely important, and Yang Xiao couldn’t help but feel startled.
"Yes, so you must be careful. Once your shadow is stepped on, not only will your body be restricted, but it will also draw the attention of the Ghost Village Chief. That’s the most dangerous part," Cheng Cha said, recalling the harrowing experience and feeling a wave of fear; he had narrowly escaped his demise.
"Did you see the Ghost Monk?" Sui Chengguo’s voice came from behind the door. freewebnoveℓ.com
"No."
...
Meanwhile, Tong Han, holding the Soul-Attracting Incense, had already entered the mist. Like Cheng Cha, she soon encountered the Ghost Villagers who were shuffling along the flagstone path without lifting their feet, their shoes scraping the ground, akin to walking corpses.
These villagers wandered aimlessly with their heads lowered. As Tong Han approached, the Ghost Villagers moved toward her like sharks scenting blood, slowly closing in. Fortunately, they were not fast and were still manageable.
Village Chief Du was hidden among these villagers, and tonight’s mission was to find him. Tong Han scanned each villager, taking note of those who met the criteria in her mind. Soon, she noticed a blue-robed elder, and most crucially, a gray rag was tied around the lower part of the elder’s right leg. This rag stood out starkly against his clean clothes.
An image of Cheng Cha flashed in Tong Han’s mind; his clothes were gray, and he had been torn just before they met.
This must be the clue Cheng Cha left for her!
Realizing this, Tong Han tried to get closer to the blue-robed elder. After picking up a long, narrow stone from the roadside and drawing the elder away from the group of villagers with the incense, she seized the opportunity to gently tap the old man’s right leg with the stone.
"Thump."
The feedback felt hard, accompanied by a faint, muffled sound. Tong Han knew she had guessed right; the leg was made of wood. The blue-robed elder was indeed Village Chief Du of the Du Family.
Now that she had identified the target, and with only a third of the Soul-Attracting Incense burnt, she still had plenty of time.
Tong Han kept a vigilant eye on her surroundings, searching for an opportunity on the elder’s body. Facing the lure of the Soul-Attracting Incense, the old man seemed like an addict hooked on opium, showing no response even as she touched his body, as long as he had the incense to inhale.
But the cost was significant, the speed at which the Soul-Attracting Incense burned was much faster than before.
Soon, Tong Han felt something around the old man’s wrist through his sleeve. With a gentle pinch, she realized what it was—a strand of prayer beads.
A surge of excitement ran through her as she carefully removed the beads, all the while watching the elder’s reaction. Fortunately, he continued to inhale the incense, indifferent to her intrusion.
The beads felt quite heavy in her hand, their surface slick with some oily residue. Even without a deep understanding of such objects, Tong Han could tell the beads were valuable.
Rubbing the strand against her clothing vigorously to remove a layer of unknown black grime, Tong Han discovered that the beads’ surfaces were not smooth, but rather... they seemed to be inscribed with characters. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Looking closely, several adjacent beads were each inscribed with one character from "Om Mani Padme Hum" in gold, and despite their age, the characters hadn’t faded at all.
These were the Six Syllable Mantra, also known as the Six Syllable Great Brightness Mantra.
This was a string of Buddha Beads.
At the same time, Tong Han made a new discovery on one of the largest beads, which was also inscribed with a character: Mang.
Tong Han’s brows furrowed sharply because around this Mang character, there was a golden rim forming a circle that wasn’t completely closed, leaving about a quarter of a gap.
This mark was not new to her; she had seen it more than once, on the gold bar given by Lady Du, the clan chieftain’s wife, and on the stones of the eastern city wall. It seemed that such marks were everywhere in the village, but Tong Han had never expected that the erased character was the "Mang" from Mangjia Village.
Recalling what Yang Xiao had said, having seen the original appearance of the ancestral hall in his dreams, with its stone platform beneath also carved with strange circular patterns.
Linking all this together, a chill ran down Tong Han’s back as she came to a startling conclusion—this place was not Du Family Village, but rather Mangjia Village!
And these slaughtered villagers were the villagers of Mangjia Village.
To confirm her speculation, Tong Han quickly returned to the group of villagers, choosing several at random. Almost every one of them wore Buddha Beads, regardless of age or gender, showing that they had been devout Buddhists in life, with the "Mang" character inscribed on each set of beads.
Having confirmed this, Tong Han planned to turn around and leave, since she had the Soul-Attracting Incense in hand and the nearby villagers were being drawn towards her.
But the next second, Tong Han froze; her lower body felt as if it was immobilized, and she couldn’t move at all.
No matter how hard she struggled, it was to no avail. What was more desperate was that she was now in the midst of a large group of Ghost Villagers, with the Soul-Attracting Incense drawing them near. Before long, she would be surrounded by them, and when the incense burned out, her time would be up.
While she could still move her upper body, Tong Han continuously looked around, trying to identify what had gone wrong. But looking brought more worry—a figure loomed out of the mist not far away. The previous elder in green, the Village Chief, approached with a stiff gait. Most terrifyingly, the Chief’s clouded eyes were fixed on her, not the Soul-Attracting Incense.
A dread tightened her heart, Tong Han was certain the Chief was targeting her. If he got close, it would be the end of her.
Meanwhile, more and more villagers emerged from the fog, closing in around her. Wisps of white smoke dispersed, inhaled rapidly through the villagers’ nostrils, many with mouths wide open, greedily swallowing the incense most. The Soul-Attracting Incense in her hand burned faster and faster due to their inhalations.
Forcing herself to remain calm, Tong Han understood that the more she panicked, the quicker her end would come. She concentrated and scanned the surroundings, not sparing any suspicion. Among the crowd, she saw a few elderly people with a similar appearance to the Chief, dressed quite well.
One of them stood right behind her, unlike the other villagers who were clambering towards her. This elder in a brown robe just stood there, motionless.
Trusting her instincts, Tong Han identified that the problem lay with this person. As her gaze drifted down, she realized that one of the brown-clothed elder’s feet was standing directly on her shadow, right at her waistline, which corresponded to where she was immobile.
The next second, Tong Han thought of Cheng Cha. Not long before, when Cheng Cha confronted her, he’d made a strange gesture, which she surmised was meant as a hint, although she hadn’t known its exact meaning. Now, she understood completely. Cheng Cha wanted to warn her about a ghost stepping on her shadow.
Now that she had found the cause, what followed was simple. Tong Han lured the elder away from his spot by holding the Soul-Attracting Incense beneath his nose.
As the elder took a step, the restraint on Tong Han vanished instantly, and the Chief who was originally charging towards her reverted to that lifeless shambling figure.
