Chapter 163: Deep in the Orchid Shade
Seeing Ning Caichen's worried look, Gong Mengbi comforted him, "Don't worry, it's your souls that have been pulled into this real and illusory world, your bodies are still in the monastery."
"I think the demon intends to capture your souls and then murder your bodies."
Ning Caichen asked anxiously, "What should I do?"
Gong Mengbi said, "You have lit the incense ball. With the protection of righteousness, no monsters or ghosts can get close to you. You will be safe after dawn."
Ning Caichen calmed down a bit, then noticed that Ma Junji and Yan Chixia were missing. He asked, "Brother Ma and Brother Yan are missing. Are they okay?"
Gong Mengbi said, "You are the only one awake. I only saw you when I came here. The other two should have already gone deep into the orchid shade."
"What kind of place is that deep in the shade of orchids?" Ning Caichen's face was filled with worry, and he was concerned about the safety of Ma Junji and Yan Chixia.
Gong Mengbi said, "We just need to follow and take a look. Stretch out your hand."
Ning Caichen stretched out a hand, and Gong Mengbi disappeared in an instant, turning into a ball of fire, like a flaming dragon ball.
Ning Caichen held the flame in his hand, but could not feel any heat. The flame sank into his hand, and he was so scared that he quickly blew it away.
But it was only for a moment, as if it was just an illusion, the flames disappeared, and a fox tattoo with a flaming tail appeared in his palm.
Ning Caichen heard Gong Mengbi's voice coming from the fox tattoo, saying, "Brother Ning, please move forward."
Ning Caichen knew that this was Gong Mengbi hiding in his palm, so he walked straight forward as he was told.
In this vast expanse of white, it was actually impossible to distinguish the front, back, left and right. Ning Caichen could not tell how long he had been walking. Maybe it was a long time, maybe only a very short moment. Suddenly, it was as if he had broken through a barrier, and a new world appeared before his eyes.
The sky was gloomy and this place seemed to be a cemetery. The names and inscriptions on the wooden tombstones could no longer be seen.
"Wow--" a crow was howling on a branch, a cold wind was swirling in the cemetery, paper money was scattered on the big and small mounds of earth, and the wind was blowing the white flags in the cemetery flying wildly.
The old crow was startled by the wind and flew into the woods with flapping wings.
Ning Caichen felt a chill run through his body, and then he heard Gong Mengbi's voice ringing in his ears: "Follow the crow."
Ning Caichen ran after the old crow, and vaguely heard the sound of chanting accompanied by a wooden fish coming from the wind.
The old crow landed on a branch, and Ning Caichen stepped under it. Suddenly, the world before his eyes changed, and he went from the mountains and forests to a village with gurgling water and winding streams.
Ning Caichen stood by the water. The sky was clear and the willow branches were soft. It was March, the warmest month of the year.
The girls were washing monks' robes by the water, flirting with each other, with bright smiles in their eyes.
"With the masters here, those Rakshasa ghosts won't dare come again, and we don't have to worry anymore."
"These monks are really capable. They can really subdue demons and monsters."
"I heard that Rakshasa ghosts have saw-toothed, hooked claws, green faces, fangs, eyes bigger than copper bells, and each one is uglier than the other. They like to kidnap young and beautiful women the most."
"Don't say anymore, I'm scared to death. Zhenniang was harmed by a Rakshasa ghost. The masters are chanting sutras at Zhenniang's house to liberate her soul."
"Zhen Niang is so young, how could she have suffered such a hardship?"
"It's not necessarily a good thing for a daughter to be raised too well."
"She was the best at growing flowers in our Orchid Village. Even the county magistrate asked for her flowers and presented them to the imperial capital. Now that she's gone, I'm afraid Orchid Village will never have such an experience again."
"What should we do then? Will our village still be able to pay the orchid tax?"
"I don't know. I'm so worried."
As Ning Caichen listened to the girls talking, the sound of chanting became louder and louder, buzzing in his ears, making him feel upset and almost nauseous.
The girls who were talking gradually lowered their voices and slowly looked at Ning Caichen who was standing aside.
Ning Caichen smelled danger, and Gong Mengbi immediately instructed, "Follow the chanting and go to Zhenniang's house."
Strangely enough, as he started moving, the chanting resumed as usual and the girls resumed their conversation.
Ning Caichen was so frightened by this strange scene that he broke out in cold sweats. Hearing the sound of chanting getting closer and closer, Ning Caichen found Zhen's mother's home.
The front door of Zhen Niang's house was open, with a white lantern with the Chinese character "Dian" (meaning "burying the dead") hanging above it. From the furnishings in the house, it was clear that Zhen Niang's family was wealthy.
In the courtyard, monks gathered around a coffin, beating wooden fish and chanting sutras to pray for Zhenniang's soul-stirring. Ning Caichen saw Ma Junji and Yan Chixia mixed in with the monks from afar. They were in a daze, as if they thought of themselves as monks, shaking their heads and chanting along.
He was delighted and whispered, "I found them, Brother Mingfu, what should we do next?"
Gong Mengbi said: "Learn to chant sutras with them."
Ning Caichen walked among the monks. Everyone was doing his own thing, and this outsider did not attract anyone's attention.
The weeping old parents and brother not far away, and the monks chanting scriptures nearby, looked eerily like a painting, a moving painting.
He walked over to Ma Junji and Yan Chixia, and out of curiosity, he took a look at the coffin.
The coffin was open, and inside was a female corpse covered with a white cloth, so it was impossible to see what she looked like.
Just at this moment, a gust of wind blew, lifting a corner of the white cloth and revealing half of the female corpse's face.
This is an extremely beautiful girl. Even though she has lost her vitality, she still blooms silently like a beautiful flower.
Ning Caichen's heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to disrespect the dead, so he quickly looked away and sat behind Ma Junji and Yan Chixia, following the chanting and shouting nonsense.
This trick made him realize that only Ma Junji was actually reciting the scriptures. Although he didn't even know the text, Ma Junji perfectly played the role of a monk. Yan Chixia, on the other hand, was mumbling what was clearly the Tao Te Ching.
Ning Caichen said happily: "Brother Yan, you are awake too."
Yan Chixia was startled and whispered, "Why are you here too?"
Ning Caichen hesitated for a moment and did not confess about Gong Mengbi. Instead, he asked, "Brother Yan, everything here is strange. Do you know how to get out?"
Yan Chixia shook his head and said, "I don't know. This is my first time here too."
At this moment, the chanting suddenly stopped.
Ning Caichen thought to himself that this was not good. Sure enough, all the monks looked at them. "You are disrespectful to the gods and Buddhas. You deserve to die!"
The sky suddenly darkened.
The pale lanterns illuminated the small courtyard. The skin of the monks suddenly cracked, and tall black demons with red hair, blue eyes, green faces and fangs crawled out from the skin, rushing towards them.
Ma Junji was still shaking his head and pretending to be a monk. Ning Caichen grabbed him and shouted, "Fake monks have turned into monsters, why are you still pretending to be a real monk?"
"It's a Rakshasa ghost! Retreat quickly!" Yan Chixia stood in front of them, protecting them as they retreated.
Seeing the Rakshasa ghost rushing in front of him, Yan Chixia suddenly stopped, stretched out his hand and called out, "Star Torch!"
A meteor-like sword light flew up with a red glow, instantly cutting the Rakshasa ghost in front of it into two pieces.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
