Chapter 119 Xiawei Temple: My mind was as still as death.
Sensing the subtle joy welling up in the heart of the butter flower monk, Yu Naixin could only shake her head.
It can't be that simple.
Sure enough, when the monks of Nizhu Temple arrived, they saw the three substitutes lying motionless on the ground. They quickly discovered that they were not breathing and their body temperature was as low as the floor, which was not what a living person should have.
Dead offerings were worse than incomplete ones. The monks flew into a rage once more and stomped the three bodies of Xingchan, made of yak butter, to pieces in no time.
Therefore, three more male Xingchans were temporarily sacrificed.
The number of deaths during this sacrificial ceremony remained unchanged.
Hearing the three monks' agonizing screams, the butter flower monks felt deeply ashamed.
These three people would not have died in such a tragic way today.
It was his insistence on saving the previous three Xingchan that led to their tragedy.
At this stage, the butter flower monk is able to generate thoughts and feelings almost indistinguishable from ordinary people, and Yu Naixin, who is attached to his body, can simultaneously experience the butter flower monk's feelings.
This special dreamlike memory provided Yu Naixin, the only official audience member, with a fully immersive performance, including a clear understanding of the protagonist's psychological changes.
Shame and grief filled the entire body of the butter sculpture monk, and a single tear, made of butter sculpture material, silently fell from the corner of his eye.
Like the tears that fall after a candle has burned itself out.
After calming down from the most intense emotions, the butter-flower monk immediately began to review and reflect, trying to find a better way to save these Zen temples.
The main reason for this failure was that the substitute looked like a dead person. The butter flower monk knew he couldn't really create a living person, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to hand that person over to the butchers in the guise of monks at Nizhu Temple.
What should we do?
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The monks who made butter sculptures had little time to think, and the next sacrificial ceremony was to begin just three days later.
This time, four female practitioners of Zen were brought to the main hall.
Yu Naixin chuckled.
Is Nizhu Temple playing with the simplest arithmetic sequence here, adding a life each time?
Even after the monks left, the butter sculpture monk continued to "manifest his power," causing the four desperate and pitiful people to offer up their fingers.
At this time, the butter flower monk had developed a complete ability to speak. He specifically told the monks that they did not need to give him all ten fingers, only eight were needed.
The minimum amount of raw materials that the butter-making monks could use to support their skills was limited.
With two fingers remaining, there's less bleeding and less injury.
Even when they wanted to kowtow to him to express their gratitude, the butter flower monk tried to stop them, but he couldn't stop the four monks from kowtowing ten times.
Given their lack of formal education in mathematics, "ten" was the largest number these four Xingchans could count.
They wanted to express all their gratitude to this little "living Buddha".
The thirty-two fingers of the four Xingchan monks were transformed into four identical substitutes by the butter flower monks.
These substitutes are not living people; they cannot move or speak, but they can maintain a completely fixed breathing motion, repeating it continuously.
This is a solution that the monks painstakingly improved upon using butter sculptures.
As meticulous as the butter flower monk, he naturally considered the issue of the substitutes' body temperature, and he would use his spiritual power to provide some warmth to these four substitutes.
It's impossible to compare him to a real person, since the butter flower monk's spiritual power is very limited at this moment. However, it's perfectly fine to compare him to Xingchan, who has been unconscious for three hours and whose body is ice cold.
Under the guidance of the butter sculpture monks, the four Xingchan monks escaped from the lazy and sleepy monks guarding the gate.
This time, the monks did not encounter any accidents during the process of collecting the "materials" as they had the previous two times.
Just like the monks who made butter sculptures, they assumed that these monks had simply fallen into a coma.
The leading monk was still muttering to himself, "Finally, someone usable."
As the sacrificial ceremony was about to begin, the four substitutes were dragged to the courtyard outside the main hall and dismantled.
The substitute may look very similar to the real thing, but it does not actually contain real flesh and organs, and it will inevitably be exposed at this stage.
However, the monks did not receive a pile of yak butter sculpture residue.
As they began working on the substitutes, the butter monk's spiritual power reached its limit and could no longer be sustained.
One moment it was like a substitute for a sleeping person, the next it turned into several bloody fingers out of thin air.
All the monks present were astonished.
Coming to their senses, several monks dressed in old clothes quickly knelt down, clasped their hands together and kowtowed in the direction of the Buddha Hall, begging for the forgiveness of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
The problems with the offerings and materials in the previous two instances were discovered early and resolved promptly. This time, however, sacrifices had already been made to the gods and Buddhas, yet these filthy things were produced, which is a serious offense to the gods and Buddhas!
The abbot was furious and ordered a thorough investigation, which revealed that there had been two similar incidents before.
The monk who deliberately concealed the truth and handled the matter himself was as lowly as a dog under the Khenpo's feet.
"Bring back every single one of those Xingchan who escaped!" the Khenpo roared, furious. "I want these lowlifes to know what happens when they disobey!"
The capture of the seven Xingchan who had already escaped did not yield results quickly.
However, when Xingchan was selected as "material" and locked in the main hall to absorb "Buddhist energy," the guards outside the door quickly became much stricter.
The new sacrificial ceremony was held ten days later, and a new presiding monk brought five Xingchan.
Yu Naixin was utterly speechless. Did they really add one person every time?
Xingchan on the plateau is truly worthless in the eyes of these bastards.
Of the five Xingchan, three were women and two were men. Indeed, women were the "materials" that those bastards preferred as offerings.
This time, under the high level of security and surveillance at Nizhu Temple, the five Xingchan monks were eventually discovered during their escape.
Even though the Butter Flower Monk had been trying his best to grow and improve, and this time he only needed five fingers from each of the Xing Chan to make a more realistic substitute, and he was also more careful in guiding the Xing Chan to escape, he still could not escape his fate.
Only Xingchan managed to escape, but he was caught up with by the monks in less than an hour.
The five Xingchan were brought to the center of the courtyard outside the main hall. The Khenpo specially chose to do so at noon, so that all the Xingchan could come and watch.
"Watch closely, you lowly trash!" Khenpo sneered as he personally picked up the instruments of torture. "This is what happens to those who dare to disobey!"
These five monks encountered what was considered the most cruel punishment in this temple, which was known for its cannibalistic practices.
Every bone in their bodies was crushed, and not a drop of blood remained in the remaining flesh.
The floor in the yard was covered with mottled stains of varying shades.
The inhuman torture lasted for an entire day.
The densely packed Xingchan followers were forced to see and hear everything in order to accomplish the Khenpo's goal of making an example of them.
Yu Naixin and the butter flower monk heard Youxing Chan sobbing uncontrollably.
Soon, these Xingchan monks were dragged out by the monks and taken to the center of the courtyard, where they were severely beaten.
The monks were very skilled and precise in controlling their strength, enough to make these Xingchans feel pain and learn a lesson, but not so badly that they couldn't work.
The butter-painting monk is almost going crazy.
Witnessing the horrific scene outside the door, the butter monk desperately wanted a body that could move freely. He wanted to rush over and stop those butchers disguised as monks!
However, the spiritual power required for this is far beyond what the butter flower monk currently possesses.
The bloody punishment finally ended at dusk, and the butter-flower monk had been unable to change anything.
He was unable to extricate himself from deep doubt.
Offering sacrifices to gods and Buddhas is a mission that the butter sculpture monks have been given since their inception.
But... is this golden Buddha statue sitting in the main hall really worth his faith?
Faced with scenes in the courtyard that could only possibly appear in the eighteenth level of hell, why did this god and Buddha, who should be saving people from suffering, remain unmoved from beginning to end?
Yu Naixin sighed heavily.
No wonder the butter-painting monks she later encountered in "Xiawei Temple" did not show much reverence for the gods and Buddhas.
He only performs basic rituals out of a sense of duty, but he doesn't actually have much faith.
Even when explaining to Yu Naixin the matter of "pilgrims fulfilling their vows," which is directly related to the Buddha statue, the butter flower monk simply said that it was just a formality and that there was no need for "a devout attitude when fulfilling vows."
The stench of blood in the courtyard of Nizhu Monastery did not completely dissipate for three full days.
The monk who made butter sculptures had become as still as death.
The only thing that could bring him some comfort was that at least seven survivors had managed to escape.
However, three days later, even the last vestige of the butter flower monk's hope was shattered.
Because there was reliable information that the seven Xingchans who escaped from Nizhu Temple in those two groups did not actually gain freedom and life.
Most of them, four of them, died from infections from their wounds, while the remaining three escaped to other temples and were turned into offerings by the monks there.
It was no different from her fate before she had escaped.
No matter how vast the plateau is, there is not an inch of space for these monks.
All the land belonged to high-ranking monks, nobles, and other patriarchs. Anything on their territory was their property, and they could dispose of it at will.
Two monks sunbathing next to the main hall casually discussed the matter: "Those guys next door got off easy. These Xingchan monks should have been used by us."
"Yes, there are plenty of Zen masters, but who would complain about having too many talking tools?"
"By the way, have you heard? It seems the Khenpo has bought some rare stuff again, also from the west. I really want some too..."
"That is, after all, the Khenpo..."
The loss of seven lives was casually glossed over during a chat between the two monks over tea.
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