Recap
Over the past five hundred years, the temple seems to have undergone some massive unknown changes.
After shopping around for a day but not finding any useful clues, Chu Shici flew back on the little lotus.
As night fell, that feeling of being watched returned.
A gust of wind blew by, and in the silent temple, a woman’s cry could be faintly heard again.
___
Before going out, Xunzhe told him to go back after sunset, Chu Shici remembered it very clearly.
But it got dark too fast today.
Chu Shici was strolling outside during the day, when he saw that the sun was near the west, so he started to fly back. Just halfway through the flight, it went completely dark.
The sun seemed to be rushing to get off work, it swooped down, and there was no time for him to prepare.
The system had a great time playing video games, while Chu Shici only looked at the color of the sky and didn’t look at the clock just now.
He only glanced at it casually, only to realize that it was already half past eight in the evening.
Five minutes ago, the sky was bright and there was an endless stream of pilgrims.
In just a few minutes, the temple changed from a lively and bustling crowd to a deathly silence, it seemed that everyone had left before they realized it.
The wind tonight was inexplicably cold, and the woman’s cry became more and more clear.
Chu Shici felt that someone was staring at him, and there was more than one person.
What made him even more uneasy was that those people seemed to be approaching him step by step.
The little lotus which had drunk enough water and basked in the sun long enough, was patted twice by the owner and began to fly desperately for fear of his life.
It might’ve been Chu Shici’s illusion, but the way back seemed to be longer than usual.
Normally, they can take around half an hour to reach the cave entrance by flying leisurely. However, it seemed to be especially difficult today, as the time ticked from 8:30pm to 9:00pm, no signs of the cave could be seen anywhere.
He looked around and patted the lotus to signal it to stop.
The system noticed something abnormal, put down the game console and looked out, [What’s wrong, my treasure?]
‘I only remember that I have to go back when it gets dark, I just guessed the time by looking at the color of the sky and didn’t check the actual time. I was tricked. Why would there be so many pilgrims past 8:00pm? The people I saw just now must be illusions.’
Chu Shici took off the mala, and bowed his body vigilantly, “I can’t get out now, maybe I encountered a ghost hitting the wall* that is often seen in novels.”
*(A superstition: Ghost hitting the wall means that when people walk or lose their way at night, they can’t find their way no matter how they walk, and can only turn around where they are. Kinda like backrooms.)
He was chased and beaten by ghosts in his dream last night, and today, he continues to be chased and beaten by ghosts in reality.
Fear turned into anger, and Chu Shici’s petulant temper broke out.
After his sudden death and time travel, he has never been stepped on and bullied so much.
Chu Shici rolled up his sleeves and swished the mala around, “Do you think you’re so great to bully me, a little wooden carving who has just gained a spirit? If you really have the ability, go find my Zhe-ge and we can settle this!”
The system can’t stand this kind of agitation, [Will it anger them? Why don’t you just run away ba?]
‘Ge, I want to run away too, but I tried flying back and forth for nearly an hour, going in circles all the time. They are obviously using some method to trap me, and I can’t leave without fighting.’
[Then can you beat it?]
‘Definitely can’t beat it.’
Chu Shici, with all his experience as a gangster, gave a concise and straightforward conclusion.
No matter how timid you are in your heart, you must never show that you are afraid. It may not necessarily act as a deterrent to the enemy, but it can give yourself some courage.
He imitated the movements of the monks in the TV series, put his hands together and shouted, “In the name of the reverent monk, evil spirit, show yourself!”
System: ……
[Just shout, why are you crying?]
‘I’m fucking scared!’
While talking with the system, the surrounding Yin Qi became more and more thick.
The little lotus bloomed with golden light, and a layer of frost formed on the petals.
Thinking of treating a dead horse as a living horse*, the system found a “Diamond Sutra” and let Chu Shici to read it accordingly.
*(last resort)
He had only just read a few words when several erratic figures slowly appeared in the dark night.
Judging from their hair and clothes, they should all be women.
With their heads bowed, blood kept dripping from under their clothes, as they said, ‘My child, my child.’
Chu Shici shivered and continued to recite the Diamond Sutra.
The female ghosts kept approaching, and the lotus platform burst into golden light to protect their master.
After being blocked by the golden light, they began to blow Yin Qi on the lotus just like the previous night.
Chu Shici didn’t want to sit still, so he tried to whip out the mala. When the mala beads were about to hit the ghosts, the ghosts backed away.
Seeing that this attack method was effective, Chu Shici became more calm.
While swinging at the ghost with a mala, he flew to the back of the mountains.
But he could clearly see the end of the mountains, but he couldn’t fly over it no matter how much he flew.
As the female ghost blows Yin Qi on the lotus, the lotus petals gradually lose their color and begin to wither one by one.
Seeing this, Chu Shici swung at one of the female ghosts with the mala beads, and yelled at her, “Don’t pester me! I’m just small. Open your eyes and see, I’m the spirit of this wooden carving!”
Those female ghosts floated up, scratching the lotus shield with their long scarlet nails.
“My child, my child.”
The voices are very uniform and very emotional. At first glance, it sounds like poetry recitation.
“Sisters, can you talk properly? If you have any needs, you can tell me directly. Everyone here is not a human. I will definitely help if I can.”
“My child, my child.”
“Don’t touch me, let me go! If you are so unreasonable again, I will really call for someone!”
“My child, my…”
“Are you all a recorder? Why do you only repeat this sentence over and over again?!”
After saying all he can say, Chu Shici swung his mala beads and smacked a female ghost’s face, successfully forcing her to retreat.
He rushed out from the encirclement of female ghosts, fighting while hiding, and unknowingly, he flew to a nearby small forest at some point.
Two monks are burying items under the tree, the forest is too dark and they didn’t see the small wooden sculpture the size of a palm, they only saw a group of ghosts in red clothes floating around.
They glanced at the ghosts and the middle-aged monk asked in surprise, “Is there a baby corpse left outside that hasn’t been burned yet?”
The old monk shook his head, “It shouldn’t be, I’ll check the list again when I go back. Let’s appease them first.”
After he finished speaking, he took out a small jar from his arms, opened it and dumped it on the ground.
Ashes, mixed with fine fragments, fell out and scattered in the wind.
The female ghosts who had been chasing after Chu Shici all rushed over with a huff, and clawed at the air, frantically trying to salvage the flying ashes with their hands.
“Children, children!”
“My child!”
The bit of ashes was quickly snatched up by the female ghosts who held it in their arms and shook it gently like coaxing children, some of them even hummed lullabies.
Chu Shici didn’t know where to run, he hid behind a tree and peeked out.
The middle-aged monk picked up the shovel and continued to dig the hole. The old monk didn’t move, watching the ghosts quietly.
The clouds in the sky moved slowly, and the moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves and into the dark woods.
In a daze, Chu Shici seemed to see a tear flow from the old monk’s eyes, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say Amitabha.
Chu Shici wanted to take a closer look, but the old monk had already continued to busy himself with digging holes.
Similar to before, the two monks threw old clothes and a few pieces of waste paper into the pit, and poured all the ashes in the jar on top.
After finishing all this, they filled the hole and left with their shovels in hand.
Chu Shici wanted to go with them, but was stopped by some female ghosts.
As soon as he raised his head, the female ghost immediately looked at him in unison.
When he could no longer see the backs of the monks, Chu Shici panicked.
Those female ghosts had enough of cuddling the ashes, and stared at him again.
He sat on the lotus flower and flew away immediately with a group of female ghosts chasing him desperately like eagles catching chickens behind.
Chu Shici’s Buddhist beads swung loudly, but there were just too many female ghosts.
The lotus platform was smashed to pieces, and the mala beads were broken and scattered all over the ground during the fight.
A dozen ghosts beat him up, and Chu Shici couldn’t escape or beat them, he was so angry that he was trembling.
He couldn’t hold on anymore, he grabbed the few remaining prayer beads, sat on the lotus platform, covered his head and gritted his teeth.
Seeing that his body was trembling, the system prepared to pull his soul into the space for emergency escape.
Just as it was about to pull his soul in, there was a loud bang not far away.
The sound was loud, as if a mountain collapsed.
The female ghosts were stunned for a moment, they stopped repeating the same words and stopped grabbing the little wooden man, turning to look blankly at the back mountains.
When the loud noise stopped, a deafening hissing sound suddenly echoed in the silent back mountain.
Chu Shici suddenly raised his head. He had heard a similar sound before, and it was from Xunzhe.
He touched the limp little lotus, “Persevere, and fly in the direction of the sound. After this is over, I will feed you mountain spring water every day. Mineral water, Coke, Sprite, beer or wine, what do you want to drink? I’ll steal it all for you.”
Regardless of which type of water moved the little lotus’ heart, it shook twice, and rushed forward with great strength.
The hissing sound didn’t stop, and the female ghosts seemed to be frightened, they froze in place for a moment.
After flying in the direction of the sound for less than half a minute, the woods that seemed endless just now suddenly gave way to the entrance of the cave.
In front of them is the double wooden door at the entrance of the cave, and behind them are a group of female ghosts restrained by the snake yao.
Chu Shici turned around in surprise.
The lotus only flew two meters, when he was only two meters away from the entrance, he couldn’t fly into it.
It seemed that something was blindfolding his sight and he could only fly around in place.
He only delayed for two seconds when the hissing sound in the cave suddenly stopped, turning into a man’s indifferent voice, “You still haven’t come in, do you want to be torn apart?”
The lotus platform with only one petal left can no longer fly. It shook twice and fell down with Chu Shici.
The deterrent power of the snake yao disappeared, and the female ghosts gradually came to their senses, and rushed towards Chu Shici again.
He stood up abruptly, squeezed through the crack of the door and ran in desperately.
The female ghosts broke open the wooden door and followed closely behind.
The gate that sealed the snake yao was opened by a gap the size of a palm.
Xunzhe turned into his half human form and is leaning against the side of the door and frowning slightly.
The little monk, who was still clean when he went out, is now covered in dirt. Holding the lotus platform with all the petals gone, he ran towards him in a panicked manner.
The moment the eyes of the two collided, Xunzhe saw the little monk purse his lips, and was so wronged that he was about to cry.
The female ghost floated towards him while the little monk kicked back and forth with his short little legs, but he was still not as fast as the female ghost.
Seeing that it was less than half a meter away from the door that sealed him, a female ghost flew up and grabbed the little monk.
The lotus platform fell to the ground, the little monk didn’t make a sound, but was firmly grasped in her pale hand.
The other female ghosts pounced on him like hungry wolves, grabbed his arms and legs, and pulled them in their direction.
A female ghost who didn’t snatch his limbs stretched out her hand to grab his head.
If this continues, the little monk will be torn to pieces.
Xunzhe opened his mouth and hissed, trying to force them back.
The aura of the female ghosts weakened significantly. They looked at the door in fear, but insisted on not leaving.
Xunzhe’s face turned cold.
He was the one who let the little monk in, but a few red-clothed ghosts dared to snatch his people in front of him.
He swung his tail and slammed it against the door.
The door shook violently, and the sound of the huge impact echoed in the cave.
The soaring yao aura overflowed from the gap between the threshold, and the air instantly became extremely cold.
At the same time, the scriptures on the door felt the overwhelming yao aura, and a dazzling golden light bloomed.
Xunzhe dodged in time, but the female ghosts who did not dodge in time screamed from being burned by the Buddha Light, and left the little monk, running away in terror.
After the Buddha Light dissipated, Xunzhe returned to the door.
He folded his hands expressionlessly, looked at the little monk lying on the ground, “Are you still going to lay there?”
The little monk wiped away his tears and limped towards him.
Xunzhe looked at him for a while, then turned and slithered towards the corner.
As he slithered away, he felt that his scales were suddenly patted, and a voice full of tears came from below, “My arm was almost pulled off, what should I do? I can’t press it back.”
Xunzhe looked down.
The little monk was crying, holding the scales with one hand, and the other was dangling by his side, looking up at the white snake with aggrieved eyes.
He tried to slither forward, but the little monk caught up to him while crying.
Xunzhe was silent for a while, then sighed silently.
He reached out to hold the little monk up, and took off his dusty top.
With a few taps of the fingertips on the wound, the severed arm returned to its original state.
Chu Shici tried to shake his hands to make sure that it was fine. After making sure, he immediately hugged the pale fingers in front of his eyes: “My lotus is still outside, please accompany me to get it. I dare not go alone.”
Xunzhe didn’t show any expression on his face, nor did he say whether he agreed or disagreed, he just led him back to the door.
Chu Shici jumped off his hand and ran to hug the lotus.
When he turned around, he found that the snake yao hadn’t left, and was still keeping the posture of tapping the ground with his fingertips, waiting for him to come back.
After being hunted down by ghosts for two consecutive nights, Chu Shici was exhausted physically and mentally.
He rarely loses so badly in a fight, however these ghost things float around and use dirty tricks against him.
The moment he was caught by the female ghost, he thought he would be quartered by five horses.*
*(
dismemberment by 5 horses for the head, 2 arms and 2 legs. For more information: https://www.quora.com/Was-that-execution-method-where-they-tie-your-limbs-to-horses-and-have-them-ride-off-in-separate-directions-real Image source: https://assassinscreed.fandom.com/wiki/Dismemberment_by_five_horses)
Although he and Xunzhe are not familiar with each other yet, he has already recognized that this is his Zhe-ge.
Chu Shici was tired and scared, and he couldn’t hold back after returning to his lover.
He ran back with the lotus in his hand, threw himself into his hand and cried out aggrievedly.
Xunzhe’s eyes were unrecognizably soft for a moment.
He wiped away the tears on the little monk’s face with his fingertips, and said calmly, “Are you complaining to me?”
Chu Shici rubbed his eyes and nodded.
Xunzhe chuckled, unlike usual, this time there was no sarcasm in his laughter.
At the same time, the system, which was shivering under the covers, heard a background beep.
[Add 1 point to the vitality value, and the current vitality value is 7 points.]
___
Chu Shici slept in Zhe-ge’s hands all night, and he felt much better, at least not so afraid.
At ten o’clock in the morning, he opened his eyes in a daze.
The system is still watching sweet pet dramas, and greets him when he wakes up.
Chu Shici turned his head and looked around.
Xunzhe maintained his half human form, lying on his side on the cold ground, with a slightly flat stone under his head.
The cave was empty, without any furniture. The door is closed, and the sunlight never shines in.
Xunzhe is not an ordinary snake, he is a thousand-year-old snake yao. Already transformed, possessing the same intelligence and emotions as humans.
Chu Shici looked at the dark and cold cave, and at the snake yao who was dozing, and suddenly understood why he was always sleeping.
Xunzhe couldn’t get out, and couldn’t cultivate. If what he sees every time he opens his eyes is an endless piece of darkness, the concept of day and night will be easily blurred.
There are few people around the area and only occasionally birds fly by.
No living creatures can be seen anywhere, and no one ever spoke to him. He seemed to be isolated from the world, with nothing else to do but sleep.
Chu Shici didn’t realize this before, but now that he understands it, he just feels very distressed.
How did Zhe-ge survive these five hundred years alone, in total darkness?
After listening to him, the system tried to fill in the side quest, but it showed that the submission failed.
Being imprisoned for five hundred years is not the main reason for the decline in vitality, he has other things in mind.
When he first came to the fourth world, the hero’s vitality value was only 2 points, and he was on the verge of giving up.
Later, it rose to 5 points of vitality.
There are 2 points after feeling sunlight for the first time in five hundred years, and 2 points because he thinks that Chu Shici is funny. Another 1 point, probably because of the clinginess he had shown last night.
Chu Shici pondered for a moment, and he found that the situations of Xunzhe and Su Zheyan were actually somewhat similar.
Although the main reasons for the sudden drop in vitality are different, they are all tortured by loneliness to the point of collapse.
Su Zheyan is a human being, while Xunzhe is a demon. He has a little more wildness that is unique to yaoguais, his temper is worse than humans, and he acts more recklessly.
Chu Shici touched Xunzhe’s pale fingertips. He has experience and he knows how to increase Zhe-ge’s vitality.
Chu Shici used the system memo to write the schedule,
In addition to the vitality value, they also need to find out about Lady Dayangtian.
And there are yaoguais and ghosts everywhere, and solely knowing melee combat is completely useless here.
He has to learn some new skills. Xunzhe seems to know a lot, and he will have Zhe-ge teach him when the time comes.
___
As soon as the little monk moved, Xunzhe woke up, but he just didn’t want to move.
He could vaguely see the little monk holding a lotus flower and tiptoeing out the door.
He slipped back around four o’clock in the afternoon and brought him a wild fruit.
After basking in the sun, Lotus regained its spirits. The petals are delicate and beautiful, and there is a drop of dark water at the door.
Xunzhe, who was peeking through squinted eyes, opened his eyes fully and asked coldly, “What did you feed it?”
Chu Shici wiped the lotus flower: “It’s Coke. Someone left a little, so I stole it to water the flowers.”
Xunzhe’s eyes wandered for a moment.
Chu Shici knew that he must not understand, after all, there was no Coke five hundred years ago.
He pushed the wild fruit in front of Xunzhe, put his hand back into his clothes, and winked at him: “Guess what else I got?”
Xunzhe had long noticed that the little monk had a bulging stomach, he glanced at it, and looked away expressionlessly.
Chu Shici pulled out a paper bag from his clothes, opened it and took out a gold coin.
“Gold coin chocolate*! Do you want to try it?”
*(
The white snake didn’t respond, and seemed to have fallen asleep again.
Chu Shici thought that he would be interested in new things, but his reaction was so cold, it seems that it is better to pick some wild flowers.
Before the sun set, he ran out to pick some wild flowers.
When he came back, the white snake was still sleeping in the cave, and the gold coin chocolates were still there.
Just as Chu Shici put the flowers in front of him, he suddenly noticed a faint row of teeth marks on the gold coin chocolates.
Looking at the gold coin that had been bitten by someone, and looking at the white snake coiled on the ground, he was silent for a moment, and whispered: “Ge, do you think the chocolate is tasteless? How about I unwrap it and you can try it again?”
The white snake was still very cold, but the tip of his slender tail swung violently twice.
Chu Shici: …
It’s over, his Zhe-ge might be furious into biting him.
Zhe-ge of the fourth world, like the previous ones, has a strong ability to manage his expressions, even when he is extremely happy or upset, his expression doesn’t seem to change.
But this time, he has a tail.
___
仙 (xian(1)) –> Immortal (more info here)
神 (shen(2)) –> Deity/God (more info here)
(abc)精(jing(1)) –> abc Spirit (more info here)
妖(yao(1)) –> just yao (more info here)
Like | Subscribe | Kofi support link
Update: Tomorrow~
- After becoming enemies with the lord god
- Blog
- Completed
- Don't talk to me!
- Dropped
- Ghost Marriage
- Hunger Academy
- I opened a safe house in the Infinite Stream
- Notices
- Ongoing
- The Dragon Lord is Weak and Helpless but Has a Big Appetite [Interstellar]
- Want to ascend? Then fall in love.
- What can I do, I'm not human.
Leave a Reply