100 Sacrifice Corridor 14 || Inside the Temple
The corner of the courtyard was filled with statues of gods of all sizes, occupying two-thirds of the entire side courtyard.
The statues are all red and covered in clear plastic bags, looking neither Buddhist nor Taoist. Some have broken limbs, while others are left with only a single body in meditation, with its head missing.
The more complete one used a red envelope to cover the eyes.
It is not surprising that normal temples will have some statues of gods.
However, these statues were clearly unusual. Most of them were depicted with a wide grin, their faces brimming with fangs, and a ferocious, menacing look. The colors were also incredibly saturated, overwhelming the human visual system. Looking at them for too long not only made one feel dizzy and nauseous, but also filled with a sense of dread.
The wall was too high, and Yan Shuang's legs felt a little weak. He always felt an inexplicable oppressive fear being stared at by such a divine statue. He bent down and looked for a place to go down.
Jing Ning, on the contrary, transformed himself into the biggest boss and stood straight on the wall. All the monsters and ghosts had to look up at him.
He snorted coldly, "With or without this body, they are all little ghosts, and they dare to call themselves Buddhas."
"Ghost Buddha?" It was the first time that Yan Shuang saw it with her own eyes, no wonder she felt uncomfortable.
"If a Buddha laughs with empty eyes, it is a ghost Buddha. If a Buddha laughs with closed eyes, it is an evil Buddha. If the Buddha has blank eyes, it is generally a wild Buddha. There is also a dead Buddha, which has none of the above characteristics but lives in deep mountains or waters." Jing Ning said.
"What are the effects of offering these?" Yan Shuang asked.
"According to popular belief, temples are divided into yin and yang, and there are theories about lewd worship. Yang temples enshrine righteous gods whose divinity has been officially canonized," Jing Ning explained. "Whether they were officially canonized by the Emperor of Heaven or the emperor of the human world, they are considered righteous gods in the Dharma Realm and are bound by the laws of Heaven. Common temples like the Three Pure Ones Temple, Guandi Temple, and City God Temple are all temples dedicated to righteous gods."
"The deities worshipped in Yin temples are quite complex, ranging from some scattered immortals and wild gods in folk legends to various kinds of spiritual spirits, foxes, and lonely ghosts. In short, anything that is not a traditional orthodox god is considered a Yin temple."
"It doesn't really matter. It's just that they don't follow the rules. On the contrary, if you ask the gods in the Yin Temple to help you, sometimes it will be very effective, but the price you pay will be higher. It's like usury."
"No wonder the guard told us not to come and pay our respects. I thought it was just a matter of burning the corpse." Yan Shuang found a good spot and jumped over the wall into the yard. "You come down too."
Jing Ning followed closely behind, "Burning corpses is inherently yin-filled. Which righteous god would want to come to such a place?"
Yan Shuang thought about it and agreed. The two of them didn't dwell on it too much. They walked around the messy evil statues and walked out of the side courtyard.
Next door was another courtyard, this one exceptionally tidy compared to the previous one. The ground was spotlessly clean, free of debris and even less of junk. In the center of the courtyard stood an ancient well, its stone mouth worn smooth by time.
On either side, two rooms stood symmetrically. The red door was tightly closed, affixed with seals, as if hinting at the importance of what lay within. These seals looked quite old, the once snow-white paper now slightly yellowed, exuding a sense of antiquity.
Yan Shuang slowly approached one of the doors. Although the writing on the seal was a little blurry, she could still make out some strange symbols and patterns. These symbols seemed to have been scribbled randomly, with no pattern at all, yet they seemed to contain some mysterious power.
"Do you recognize these?" Yan Shuang asked.
Jing Ning shook his head. "I don't know much about talismans, but there are generally two types of talismans placed on doors: one to prevent things from outside from getting in, and the other to prevent things from inside from getting out. In this case, I suspect it's the latter."
"Let's go look somewhere else."
Yan Shuang was not at all curious about what was sealed in the house. No matter whether it was good or bad, as long as it was sealed tightly, it would be fine. Curiosity killed the cat. This sentence is not just a saying.
The two of them quickened their pace and came out from the side yard on the left.
This place was not like the residential building on the other side of the river. It was so quiet that Yan Shuang felt that he could even hear his own breathing clearly, as if in the entire temple, apart from a bunch of mute evil Buddhas, there were only two living people like them.
Everything has two sides. They can hear things better in an extremely quiet environment and avoid encountering monks. The disadvantage is that they are more likely to be discovered by the other party.
The further you go in, the stronger the smell of paper money becomes.
After turning a corner, I saw an open door. The smell of paper money was coming from this room.
The two of them had a great understanding of each other. Without any extra words, they walked towards the house, sticking to the wall.
Yan Shuang did not act rashly in front, but instead listened to the movement inside by sticking to the wall. After making sure that there was no one inside, he leaned forward and observed the situation inside the house.
The lighting in the room was not very good, and opposite the door was an open back door. At first glance, there was a large Buddha statue in the dark area on the left.
"No one." Yan Shuang said to Jing Ning behind him.
"Go in." Jing Ning replied.
The incense on the altar in the room had not yet burned out. Judging from its length, the monk had come here to light it a few minutes ago. The iron basin on the ground was still emitting a little residual warmth.
What is enshrined on the table is not a Buddha statue, but a Bodhisattva.
It is about four or five meters high. The person who created this Bodhisattva must have been a very skillful person, as he painted her facial expression vividly. She is very beautiful, dressed in white, cold and noble.
She placed her slender fingers on her chest, making an extremely complex hand gesture. On the surface, she looked graceful and elegant. However, on her back, she carried several large black snakes, their mouths wide open, fangs bared, staring at the worshippers.
"A jade-faced evil Bodhisattva, with white clothes more beautiful than snow and a snake-faced flower. He wants to save all living beings, but he is a snow Rakshasa from purgatory." Jing Ning commented expressionlessly.
"Evil ghost..." Yan Shuang understood immediately.
"Rakshasa" refers to an evil ghost in Buddhism. Female Rakshasa is usually like a beautiful woman, with great charm, and specializes in feeding on human flesh and blood.
"I don't feel scared when offering these things." Yan Shuang retracted his gaze and said, "I wonder which door the monk went to."
"Go through the back door." Jing Ning made the decision immediately. "There should be something else back there."
After exiting the back door, Yan Shuang expected to be greeted by another adjacent courtyard. Instead, she was stunned by what she saw—there was nothing before her, only a winding stone path that wound its way up the mountain. The path was lined with weeds taller than a person, growing unchecked, as if demonstrating their vitality. The untrimmed branches, like a spell, stretched wildly outward, partially blocking the path up the mountain.
If the two men were not so tall, it would be easy to think that they had walked out of the temple.
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