Chapter 285: Gan Yuan

Chapter 285 Ganyuan

A child riding an ox drove his dog toward outside the village, while some young ladies and wives washed clothes by the river; everyone's expressions were so normal, a world apart from the previous Pi County.

Judging solely by its exterior appearance, there was nothing special about this village.

Yet, the more normal it appeared, the more abnormal this place became in Li Huowang's eyes.

Li Huowang took out that envelope again and glanced at it carefully; indeed, it stated there were signs of the Path of Oblivion appearing here, yet it did not write what those signs actually were.

Recalling the experience in Pi County previously, Li Huowang turned his head to speak to the others: "Since they say the Path of Oblivion might be inside, I will sneak in first to investigate, lest we alert the snake by striking the grass."

"Senior Brother Li, are you truly fine alone?"

Bai Lingmiao hesitated, words unspoken; Li Huowang's changes could not escape the eyes of his bedmate, and Li Huowang, who had been somewhat normal recently, was now becoming somewhat neurotic again.

Associating those voices, Li Huowang offered no explanation; on such matters, the more he explained, the more worried she would become.

Li Huowang shifted his ethereal form out of alignment with his physical one, following the narrow winding path beneath the willow tree at the village head, slowly creeping inward.

"Again....... person......... wind......." The sudden auditory hallucination no longer startled Li Huowang; he shook his head vigorously, looking at the monk stuck within the tree nearby.

"Why look at me? I did not say it."

"Hush...." Li Huowang lowered the finger held upright against his lips, slowing his pace as he walked slowly toward the center of Ganyuan Village.

His thoughts moved completely away from the hallucinations, focusing entirely on the current crisis.

Soon, Li Huowang perceived that the entire Ganyuan Village seemed to be celebrating something; the couplets on the walls and the door gods on the gates had all been replaced with new ones, even their clothes had been changed to fresh sets.

Li Huowang stood upon a large tree hung full of red cloth strips, silently observing everything below; thus far, he had discovered no abnormalities.

However, soon the situation shifted; villagers dressed neatly and having consumed a rich midday meal hurried toward the village tail in groups of three or five.

Along the way, the villagers, appearing in high spirits, chatted and laughed together, equally showing no abnormalities.

Li Huowang followed these people to the village tail, stopping before a village temple.

Everyone's voices grew much softer; some children making noise at this moment would be dragged over by their parents and slapped squarely on the buttocks.

Everyone stood there awaiting something.

Just as Li Huowang hesitated whether to sneak into that village temple to inspect, from within that pitch-black arched gateway, a brown clay sculpture was carried out swaying.

Judging by the shape of the treasure vase in the clay sculpture's hand, this was clearly a Bodhisattva statue, and furthermore, a clay Bodhisattva.

Yet the Bodhisattva's face lacked a kind and benevolent appearance; this clay Bodhisattva image seemed to have endured a torrential downpour.

All the facial features on the face had melted, stretched into long strips hanging upon the face, leaving only two irregular black holes.

"Oh! Oh!!" All the people of Ganyuan Village gathered around, assisting the temple helpers lift the Bodhisattva, beginning to sway around the entire village.

"Clay Bodhisattva....." Gazing at the two black holes on the Bodhisattva image, Li Huowang, brows furrowed, murmured to himself.

Standing atop the tree like this, Li Huowang watched the villagers constantly sway this strange clay Bodhisattva, circling the entire Ganyuan Village round after round.

With every circle completed, more red drapery was added to the Bodhisattva's body; when the sun hung high, a thick layer of red gauze was draped upon the clay Bodhisattva's form.

The red-draped clay Bodhisattva was carried back beside the village temple, swaying as it was sent into the temple interior.

Just sent inside, but accompanied by shouts, it was carried out of the temple again; immediately following everyone's jeering sounds, it was carried into the temple once more.

Carried in and out like this, after a total of three rounds back and forth, they finally placed the clay Bodhisattva down within the temple, beginning to burn incense and kowtow in worship.

Li Huowang originally wished to enter and see, to observe exactly how the village temple was arranged.

However, the villagers surrounded the interior so tightly that even the invisible Li Huowang had no place to set foot, unable to approach at all.

When the sun gradually leaned westward, they too departed happily toward their own homes.

When the sky completely turned black, even when the hunchbacked temple priest locked the door to sleep in the side chamber, Li Huowang slowly descended from the tree.

Not long after, accompanying a crisp snapping sound, the bronze lock broke into two sections, and the tightly closed great door was opened a crack.

When the moonlight from outside shot through the door crack into the pitch-black village temple, Li Huowang outside the door had already gripped the hilt of that Purple Tassel Sword.

If the Path of Oblivion truly intended to stir up trouble, then however one considered it, they could potentially use this place to scheme.

With a "creak," the invisible Li Huowang pushed open the door, lifting his foot to step inside.

Due to the incense offerings, the entire room was filled with a rich sandalwood scent, and that clay Bodhisattva with melted features appeared and disappeared faintly in the darkness.

There was not merely one clay Bodhisattva in the temple; both sides of the temple hall were full of them, those were all clay sculptures, just not Bodhisattvas, but the Eighteen Arhats.

The Bodhisattva had no face, while the Eighteen Arhats possessed faces; they stood there either angry or hateful, their forms extremely realistic; standing in the temple gave a sensation of being gazed upon.

And the clay Bodhisattva carried out earlier was placed by them right in the center of the temple, on a stone lotus pedestal.

The incense burner in front was full of burnt wooden sticks; all the incense was an offering to the Bodhisattva.

On the left side and right side of the Bodhisattva in the temple center, two clay sculptures stood upright respectively.

These two clay sculptures had facial features, and judging by their appearance and stature, they were exactly a pair of boy and girl attendants seated beneath the Bodhisattva.

The temple was not large; Li Huowang finished turning around quickly, and finding nothing, he ultimately directed his attention toward the red-draped Bodhisattva.

The clay Bodhisattva was not tall, appearing to be about two meters, but because the platform beneath was very high, Li Huowang had to look up while standing there; in the dim temple with almost no light, a red-robed Bodhisattva with melted features, this scene was as terrifying as it could be, let alone that Li Huowang had long determined this Bodhisattva was problematic.

"Should I simply slash directly with one sword strike to see?" A thought sprang into Li Huowang's mind.

Just as he seriously considered this question, he suddenly turned his head to look at the boy and girl attendants on both sides of the Bodhisattva.

"Were they like this just now? Or did they move just now?"

Looking at these two clay sculptures staring directly at him, Li Huowang, situated in the dark quietness, inexplicably felt a chill in his body.

"You....... come......."

"Who!" The chaotic voice made Li Huowang turn sharply, yet there was nothing behind him.

"Wait, was that just now my auditory hallucination, or...... something emitted from within this temple?"

Li Huowang thought of this question, instantly freezing in place; for a moment, he actually found it hard to distinguish.

(End of Chapter)