Cold Buddhist

"Oh, right." Ruan Yunsheng paused, suddenly remembering something. "Miss Ye, do you remember an old man with white hair and a left foot that seemed to be in bad condition?"

She tried hard to recall the scene she saw that day. It was strange no matter how she looked at it that an elderly man lived alone in this dilapidated place, and all the male members of the Ye family had been beheaded.

"Old man..." Ye Qingwu lowered his head in thought, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind, "Maybe there's a finger missing from his right hand."

Ruan Yunsheng wasn't sure: "Probably."

The main reason was that her attention was focused on the two pretentious ghost messengers that day, so she really couldn't notice this detail.

"It should be Grandpa Qu, a good friend of Ye Li's grandfather in the officialdom. After the Ye family got into trouble, he often came to visit us, but..."

Ye Qingwu was puzzled: "It seems that he has never come here since Ye Li became abnormal."

This means that Grandpa Qu is no simple person. Unfortunately, the dead cannot speak, and his soul has been reincarnated long ago, so the clues are gone.

"Never mind, let's go explore Qinglong Temple first!"

It's useless to rack your brains. Just change direction and don't make things difficult for yourself. Ruan Yunsheng has always been open-minded.

"Wait, I'll go too!" Song Tinghe appeared from behind Ruan Yunsheng with her little hands raised.

"Shouldn't you be practicing with An Yue now?"

The majestic voice startled Song Tinghe and he shrank his head.

"I'm so awesome now!" Song Tinghe straightened his neck and proudly shook his toned arms, showing off his muscular lines. He said proudly, "I'll protect you."

"Ouch!"

Ruan Yunsheng smacked him on the forehead with a slap: "Protect your head, you're walking into a trap."

Song Tinghe covered her head and pointed at Song Qingwu with tears in her eyes: "Then why can she go!"

"How can others be like you? Look at them, they are dignified and elegant, and you?" Ruan Yunsheng pretended to give him another dunk.

Song Qingwu's soul covered his lips and chuckled, and his withered face showed a bit of vitality.

"It's okay to take him with you." Niu Tou suddenly spoke, his eyes like copper bells swept over Song Tinghe, "This kid is very clean."

Horse-Faced Guard added slowly, "Besides, with our brothers here, they wouldn't dare do anything."

Song Tinghe's eyes lit up, and he immediately straightened his back and winked at Ruan Yunsheng proudly: "Did you hear that? The professionals have spoken!"

Ruan Yunsheng folded his arms and glanced at him: "Okay, then you will be responsible for preparing the luggage."

"Ah? But I'm a ghost!"

"Can ghosts get something for free?"

Song Tinghe pouted and could only obey orders. Humph, wait until he finds her body and see if she dares to talk to him like that again.

When he thought about how she would beg humbly for reward in the future, he couldn't help but feel happy and shook his clever head, which made Ruan Yunsheng behind him worried. Could this child be stupid?

The ghost messenger waved his sleeves, and a cold wind blew. Several people were standing in front of the mountain gate of Qinglong Temple. The morning bell echoed, and the vermilion temple gate shone with golden light in the morning sun. Ancient cypresses stood on both sides of the stone steps, and countless red silk ribbons for praying hung between the branches and leaves, fluttering in the wind.

There was an endless stream of pilgrims, and blue smoke curled up from the hall, interweaving into auspicious clouds in the sky.

"This incense..." Ruan Yunsheng covered his nose and sneezed, "It's really strong!"

Just as they were about to step in, there was a sudden commotion in the temple. The pilgrims stepped aside, clasped their hands and bowed, their eyes full of awe.

"Master Mingchen is out!"

The crowd parted like a tide, and a Buddhist disciple in a white monk's robe walked slowly towards them. His eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, but he exuded a coldness that could not be desecrated. A dot of cinnabar on his forehead looked like blood, which made his skin look as white as snow. The most alluring thing was the light brown teardrop mole under his left eye, which was embedded in this pure and unselfish face, adding a sense of unfinished worldly life.

"The Master actually came in person to welcome the pilgrims today..."

"Last month, my child had a high fever that wouldn't go away, and it was the Master who saved him by chanting sutras..."

The morning light dappled the stone steps. Mingchen stopped in front of Ruan Yunsheng, his cold eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

"Does it look good?"

A faint voice mixed with a hint of sarcasm sounded from Ruan Yunsheng's ears. She blinked and nodded seriously: "Stunning! What a pity..."

"Oh? What's a pity?"

Ruan Yunsheng was about to respond when he saw Song Tinghe with a strange expression on his face. He quickly wiped away his nonexistent saliva and comforted the adorable boy who was about to explode: "It's a pity that he's not as pretty as you."

As soon as these words were spoken, Song Tinghe's blood rushed to his head, his ears and face turned red, and he shrank aside shyly without saying a word.

In the distance, Mingchen walked ahead of them step by step and stopped in front of Ruan Yunsheng.

"Donor Ruan," he said, his voice as calm as an ancient well, yet with an air of determination that brooked no refusal, "I have been waiting here for a long time."

Ruan Yunsheng's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face: "Master, how did you know I would come?"

Ming Chen's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile that seemed both sad and compassionate: "Your fate is unique, and it is in accordance with heaven's will." He flicked his sleeves and turned to lead the way, "Please follow me inside and let's have a chat."

The aroma of tea filled the air, but undercurrents surged in the Zen room.

Ruan Yunsheng gently stroked the edge of the celadon teacup with his fingertips, and looked at Mingchen who was sitting opposite him through the steaming heat.

"Master, since you can predict my coming," she put down the teacup, the porcelain clattering against the wooden table, "why not calculate why I'm here?"

Mingchen's hands slowly twirled the Buddhist beads, their sandalwood beads clashing against each other. His eyelids drooped slightly, his long lashes casting a shadow beneath his eyes. "The frown between your brows must be a matter of life and death."

Ruan Yunsheng chuckled and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table. "It seems that the master's reputation is well-deserved. He really has a plan that leaves nothing to chance."

She suddenly leaned forward and asked, "I wonder if Qinglong Temple handled a case related to salvation five years ago?"

The Buddhist beads suddenly stopped.

Ming Chen raised his eyes, his cold gaze fixed on Ruan Yunsheng: "Donor, why don't you just speak frankly?"

"I heard there's a master in your temple with a scar on his left eyebrow," Ruan Yunsheng said as he slowly poured another cup of tea. "He's very advanced in Taoism, and this is what he's best at."

The tea is poured out, and the water gurgles.

Ruan Yunsheng pressed on, not missing a single expression on his face. "Something big happened at home a while ago. I'd like to ask this master to help me perform a ritual. Is that possible?"

The Buddhist beads in Mingchen's hand began to spin again, but at a speed a bit faster than before. "The young lady must be referring to Junior Brother Liangran, but unfortunately, he was expelled from the sect five years ago. I don't know where he is now."

"Oh?" Ruan Yunsheng raised his eyebrows, obviously not believing what he said.

"Monks do not tell lies. It is up to you whether you believe it or not." Mingchen lowered his eyes and moved the Buddhist beads, his voice as calm as an ancient well.

Ruan Yunsheng tapped the teacup lightly with his fingertips and winked at Song Tinghe and Ye Qingwu beside him. The two of them instantly understood and floated away to look for the so-called understanding.

"Master Mingchen," she suddenly put down her teacup, her brow furrowed in worry, "why don't you tell me what Liangran did wrong to be expelled from the temple?"

She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples with her delicate fingers. "Strange things have been happening at home recently, and I'm in dire need of guidance from an expert. I heard that Master Liaoran was the most accomplished Taoist master in Qinglong Temple."

Ming Chen paused for a moment, "I understand that Junior Brother's intentions are not right, and he is not tactful in using forbidden techniques. He is no longer a member of the Buddhist sect."

"Forbidden technique?" Ruan Yunsheng's eyes lit up and he leaned forward slightly.

"Could it be..." she lowered her voice, "something related to exorcism and ghost hunting?"

The cold wind blew outside the window, the candlelight flickered, and Mingchen's profile appeared particularly deep in the interweaving of light and dark, and the teardrop mole seemed to be dripping with blood.

"Donor seems to be particularly concerned about evil things?" He asked back, and the Buddhist beads in his hand suddenly stopped turning. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said it.

"Junior Brother Liaoran..." His voice deepened, as if lost in distant memories. "He was originally the most intelligent disciple in the temple."

The candlelight flickered, casting shadows of varying depths on Mingchen's handsome profile.

"When I was eight, I found a baby in the back mountains, frozen purple." His fingertips unconsciously stroked the Buddhist beads. "The abbot said the child had a connection with Buddha, so he named him 'Liaoran' and entrusted him to my care."

Ruan Yunsheng noticed that when Ming Chen said this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"He could recite the Diamond Sutra at the age of three, and was fluent in Sanskrit at the age of seven." Mingchen's gaze fell on the oil lamp in the corner of the Zen room. "Every time he debated, his eyes shone as if filled with stars."

"But suddenly everything changed," Mingchen's voice suddenly turned cold. "One time, he went out on business and brought back an ancient book from outside the mountain. He said it was a gift from a master. Since then, he has been locking himself in the Sutra Library all day long."

Ruan Yunsheng showed his curiosity at the right moment: "What ancient book is so powerful?"

"It has no name." Ming Chen closed his eyes. "It records some powerful and evil forbidden techniques that destroy lives and extinguish souls. The abbot has repeatedly advised him against it, and he agreed on the surface, but secretly..."

He suddenly stopped talking here, and Mingchen's fingertips trembled slightly.

"Until a woman arrived." He clenched his Buddhist beads fiercely. "She brought a box full of gold and asked Liao Ran to help a haunted house be liberated."

"He went there without telling the abbot. When I realized something was wrong, I chased him to the Ye Mansion and found it in ruins." Ming Chen's voice was tinged with pain. "Over twenty lives were lost, all living people. This isn't salvation, it's murder! Junior brother actually said this is their final destination!"

"I killed him myself." He raised his scarred wrist. "He deserves his life for what he did."

The lights flickered and the atmosphere in the Zen room was depressing.

Ruan Yunsheng heard Mingchen's painful whisper: "But I couldn't bear it, so I pleaded for him in front of the abbot. In the end, he was kicked out and never came back."

"In fact, their souls have not died."

He stared at Ruan Yunsheng in a daze, his cold eyes filled with disbelief.

"You said... their souls are still there?" His voice trembled slightly, and the Buddhist beads in his hand had fallen to the ground without him knowing when.

Ruan Yunsheng nodded and said softly, "The forbidden technique used by Liaoran back then only suppressed them under the Ye Mansion. Now that the formation has been broken, they have all returned to reincarnation."

Mingchen's body swayed, and he barely managed to stand by holding onto the corner of the table. He smiled bitterly and said, "That's...good..."

The Bull-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons listened to the entire incident from the shadows and made a well-reasoned analysis, "That forbidden technique is called the 'Seven Evil Soul-Locking Formation'. It requires the blood of a living person as a trigger. Anyone trapped within will suffer the agony of burning flames. It is vicious and cruel."

"Fortunately, Luo Ran's cultivation was insufficient, and he only completed half of the formation. This is why, by some strange coincidence, the simple Soul Sealing Seal we see was formed. No wonder I felt that the Soul Sealing Seal was a little different from what I remembered. Although those souls had been trapped for many years, their consciousness had not been extinguished."

Ruan Yunsheng relayed the words of the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demon to Mingchen. Mingchen gazed out the window with compassionate eyes, his voice sad and vicissitudes: "Karma is a cycle, and after all, I am also partly to blame."