The abbot clasped his hands together, ignored what the old beggar said, turned around and walked into the temple. I was getting anxious. What did this monk mean? Was he just going to leave like that? So I quickly spoke up.
"Master! Master! Don't go! Tell me what you've figured out!"
"There's nothing to say!"
The abbot didn't even turn around to acknowledge me, which immediately made me angry. I let out all the anger and frustration I had been holding in.
"Fine, I don't care! Two lives mean nothing to you anyway! Two people, heads just falling off like that, blood just spurting out like that! I might die here today too, dirtying your place without you even blinking an eye!"
When the abbot heard what I said, he stopped in his tracks, sighed, and slowly turned around and walked towards me.
"What cannot be done is simply impossible. The greatest suffering in the world is the inability to obtain what one desires. Do you truly wish to force it, benefactor?"
"I don't understand those grand principles, I just want to emphasize that there are two lives, plus me, that makes three."
Chapter 10 scared me to death!
The abbot stood there quietly for a long time, then sighed and said to me, "Then come with me."
The old beggar wanted to come along, but the abbot stopped him.
"Why are you stopping me, you old bastard? What's wrong with you today?"
The old beggar shouted defiantly, but the abbot did not explain. He simply told the young monk to stop the old beggar.
I glanced at the old beggar, who slapped me in an annoyed manner.
“If I tell you to come, then go with me. Don’t dawdle. I don’t want to admit it, but there aren’t many people more capable than this old bastard. If he can’t save you, then even the Heavenly King himself won’t be able to.”
When did this old beggar become so humble? I found it hard to believe. This old beggar, who was practically arrogant, was so respectful to this old monk. A glimmer of hope rose in my heart, and I hurriedly followed the old monk inside.
The old monk walked at a leisurely pace, but no matter how hard I tried to catch up, I was always a few steps behind. I even jogged a bit, but I couldn't close the distance between us! He's a true master! The stranger the old monk acted, the more confident I became.
"Let's do it here."
The old monk led me into the main hall, where a huge Buddha statue sat in the center. Because my grandfather was a geomancer, I've never been interested in Buddha statues and couldn't recognize it. I roughly understood that it was a Shakyamuni statue, but I didn't know which one it was.
"Bang!"
The old monk tossed a prayer mat to me. I didn't react in time and missed catching it. The mat landed right in front of me. The old monk's face was covered by his long hair, so I couldn't see his expression. I could only hear his usual cold voice.
"Sit down. No matter what happens, don't get up. Wait until your shadow returns before you leave."
After the old monk finished speaking, the candles in the main hall flickered as if a cold wind had blown through, but I did not feel any draft in the hall. I couldn't help but shiver and quickly sat cross-legged on the prayer mat.
After the old monk saw me sitting down, he started circling around me with his hands clasped together. I didn't know what the old monk was doing, so to distract myself, I counted his steps. And when I counted, I actually noticed something: every seven small steps, the old monk would rush to take a big step.
I was engrossed in watching when the old monk suddenly stopped and stood there quietly. My chest began to ache, as if a group of rats were scratching and clawing at my chest, trying to tear it open and devour my internal organs.
"ah--!"
Under this agonizing torment, I screamed and reached out to tear at my shirt. My strength was unusually great under such pain, and I ripped the synthetic T-shirt to shreds.
With that tug, I was horrified to find a dark shadow on my chest, and the tearing pain vanished instantly. The shadow, initially a single mass, began to deform, gradually transforming into a black human hand, and right in the center of that hand was my heart! "Abbot! This! This!..."
I panicked completely. It felt like that black hand was going to crush my heart. I could only helplessly turn to the old monk for help, but he didn't answer me. He just suddenly took a step forward.
The old monk's step felt like a hammer blow to my heart; tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't help but groan.
"My benefactor, you are about to suffer greatly. Could you please, for the sake of the two innocent people who died, not harbor any murderous intent towards me, no matter how much pain you endure?"
I felt it was absurd. I had no grudge against this old monk, and he was even saving me. Why would I want to kill him? I quickly spoke up.
"Abbot, I would never have such a thought!"
When I opened my mouth, I was startled. My voice was incredibly hoarse, like a nail scraping against a blackboard; it was completely unlike my usual voice.
"Very good, then I'll continue."
After the old monk finished speaking, he took another step forward. As soon as he took that step, I felt as if my heart had been pierced, or as if something was grabbing my ribs and tearing at them.
I felt a warm sensation in my nasal cavity, as if some liquid was flowing down.
I reached out and wiped my nose. I barely opened my eyes and saw that my hand was completely stained red. I hurriedly continued to wipe my nose, but I couldn't stop the blood from flowing.
The old monk took another step forward, and the strong smell of rust filled my mouth. Then a large amount of blood gushed out! I felt like my head had become a punctured water balloon, with blood gushing out from my nose, eyes, and ears.
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