Xiangguo Temple (2)

Yuan Heng blanked for a moment, "A ghost?"

The Daoist turned his head and bowed slightly with great grace. "I hope to stay here for the night. Could I trouble you, Master, to pass on my request?"

Xiangguo Temple had always had a tradition of taking in wandering monks passing through, but Daoists generally went to Daoist temples to seek lodging. He didn't know if their cold and strict abbot would agree to let this Daoist stay. However, if this Tan Yangzi really knew how to catch ghosts, it would be great if he could deal with the ghost chanting sutras at night. Yuan Heng tilted his head in thought, then said, "Then I'll go ask my master."

"Much obliged."

Yuan Heng's master, Master Guan Yi, was an extremely warm and friendly monk in his early fifties. With kind eyebrows and a benevolent gaze, he treated Tan Yangzi with great hospitality and even tried to discuss Buddhist philosophy with him. However, Tan Yangzi was a man of few words and didn't seem to want to talk much. Guan Yi didn't force the issue, merely inviting him to drink tea in a very bright and spacious meditation room. Before long, the abbot of Xiangguo Temple, Master Guan Yun, arrived. He was a thin monk, perhaps just under sixty years old, with a very pale complexion, but his features were cold and strict, and his every movement exuded an imposing aura. He was completely different from Guan Yi. After a simple greeting to Tan Yangzi, he asked bluntly, "I heard that the Zhenren has asked our disciples quite a few questions about ghosts and gods?"

Tan Yangzi replied, "That is correct."

"If you have come to catch ghosts, Zhenren, I fear you have made a wasted trip. Although Xiangguo Temple is not some quiet and solemn grand temple, it receives the aura of dragon's fortune from above and the sincerity of the common people from below. Demons and monsters would absolutely not dare to enter. Recently, there have only been a few minor incidents, merely the nonsensical babble of young monks who have not yet seen the world. Furthermore, even if there really were ghosts and demons, if you could exorcise them, are we monks so mediocre that we would be at our wits' end?"

Master Guan Yun's voice was cold and distant, carrying a hint of hostility, clearly intending to drive the guest away. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he began to cough violently. Master Guan Yi, who was beside him, gently patted his back while softening his voice to say, "Junior Brother, the Zhenren only wishes to stay for a single night, why must you be like this?"

Guan Yun finally managed to stop coughing and sneered, "Senior Brother, how many times have I told you not to let those brats gossip nonsense. If this absurd talk spreads outside the temple, wouldn't we become a laughingstock? If it alarms His Majesty and damages the Buddhist aura of the capital, neither you nor I can bear the responsibility."

This harsh criticism was blunt to the point of being unreasonable, yet Master Guan Yi remained unbothered, advising gently, "This is my fault. I will definitely teach Yuan Heng and the others well."

Tan Yangzi shifted his whisk to his other hand and said indifferently, "If you two Masters are wary of me, I will not force the matter. It's just that the ancient saying goes that Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism are originally one family. I certainly didn't expect the dignified Xiangguo Temple to be so petty as to be unable to accommodate a disciple of Daoism."

Upon hearing this, Master Guan Yi hurriedly tried to placate him, "You speak too severely, Zhenren. The abbot is merely worried that if these rumors of ghosts and gods spread, outsiders who are ignorant of the truth will pass on false information, and it is hard to guarantee that this will not cause sentient beings to create the evil karma of slander. If the Zhenren only wishes to stay for a single night and has no other intentions, we will naturally reconsider."

Master Guan Yun remained silent on the side, merely sweeping his cold eyes in Tan Yangzi's direction.

Tan Yangzi curled the corners of his mouth slightly. "This poor Daoist only asks for lodging."

Master Guan Yi glanced at Master Guan Yun. Seeing that the other had nothing more to add, he said gently, "In that case, this poor monk will have Yuan Heng take the Zhenren to the guest room to settle in."

The guest rooms were not far from the monks' quarters. Tan Yangzi followed slowly behind Yuan Heng and heard the little monk ask, "Zhenren, are you from the Maoshan Sect?"

Tan Yangzi raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"I heard that Daoists from the Maoshan Sect are especially skilled at catching ghosts." Yuan Heng scratched his head in embarrassment. "Just looking at you, I can feel that your cultivation is profound. You know magic arts, right?"

Tan Yangzi scoffed softly, "The Maoshan Sect isn't the only one that knows how to catch ghosts."

"Oh..." Yuan Heng paused, then asked carefully again, "So is our temple really haunted?"

"I am merely seeking lodging for the night."

Hearing this, Yuan Heng immediately grew anxious, "Zhenren, you absolutely must think of a way. There is definitely a ghost in our temple!"

Tan Yangzi hummed in acknowledgment but did not give a definitive promise. Changing the subject, he asked, "Is your master, Master Guan Yi, Abbot Guan Yun's senior brother?"

Yuan Heng nodded in affirmation.

"That is quite rare. Why was your martial grandmaster's mantle not passed down to his eldest disciple?"

Yuan Heng looked around to make sure no one was nearby before whispering, "Logically, it should have been passed to my master. However, grandmaster said my master was too gentle and soft-hearted. If it were any other temple, it would naturally be suitable, but Xiangguo Temple is unlike other places; it is the number one temple at the feet of the Emperor, and it needs a much stricter and stronger abbot. So..."

A flash of indignation crossed Yuan Heng's expression, which Tan Yangzi sharply caught. Tan Yangzi then asked leisurely, "That is truly a pity."

Hearing Tan Yangzi say this, Yuan Heng opened up. "That's exactly what I mean! My master is merciful and deeply versed in Buddhist philosophy, how could he be passed over just because he's not tough enough... Actually, everyone deeply respects my master. Even the disciples under the abbot prefer to go to my master when they have problems."

"Moreover, your abbot's health doesn't seem very good?"

"Actually, our abbot has always been robust. It's just that recently, for some unknown reason, he keeps falling ill. He just got a little better these past two days and came to attend the hall."

Tan Yangzi let out an "Oh." At this moment, a sudden commotion was heard. Not far away, a group of monks had gathered around. In the middle, two monks were shouting curses at each other. The words were so vulgar that it was hard to believe they were coming from the mouths of monastics. Furthermore, if it weren't for the people pulling them back from behind, they probably would have already come to blows. Even some of the temple's devotees were pointing and watching the spectacle from the nearby corridors. On a small path to the side, Master Guan Yi hurried over from the scripture hall, presumably having been notified and rushing to mediate the situation.

Shame and slight anger appeared on Yuan Heng's fair face. He spat softly, "Embarrassing..."

It seemed that what Yuan Heng had said earlier—about the monks in the temple being hot-tempered and frequently clashing these days—was indeed true.

The guest rooms were on the western side of the temple, a long row of connected buildings with several Chinese mahogany trees planted in front. Yuan Heng unlocked the door to a room in the middle with a key and briefed Tan Yangzi on the temple's daily schedule, including the times for evening chanting, lights out, morning wake-up and chanting, and breakfast. Because the monks in the temple followed the precept of not eating after midday, if he felt truly hungry, there were many eateries not far outside the temple that sold vegetarian meals. Tan Yangzi agreed to everything one by one, and then Yuan Heng left to go about his own business.

Seeing Yuan Heng leave, Tan Yangzi closed the door, his expression growing several degrees colder.

He had smelled it as soon as he entered the temple—that foul stench of a corpse that had been rotting for a month. Especially when he met Abbot Guan Yun, the smell had been so strong it felt almost palpable.

Ordinary people didn't have as strong of sensory abilities as him, so they would only feel a faint discomfort and nausea, not knowing where the smell came from.

Was there a problem with that abbot?

Tan Yangzi took off the treasured sword on his back and opened his bundle. Inside were a package wrapped in yellow paper, a few black candles, a fire striker, a small bag of rice, a blue and white porcelain bowl, and three chopsticks. First, he lit a black candle, then filled the porcelain bowl with rice. He swiped his finger across his sword's edge, letting a few drops of blood fall onto the rice, and then planted the three chopsticks straight and upright into the rice, one by one. A strange, greasy, fishy-smelling fragrance wafted out from the black candle, eerily filling the room. Gradually, the dim daylight slanting onto the floor grew colder, and the incessant patter of rain outside the window abruptly ceased, as if suddenly switched off. A thin layer of mist permeated outside the flimsy paper windows, drifting into the room through the cracks in the tightly shut doors and windows.

Tan Yangzi opened his eyes. His originally pitch-black pupils now glowed faintly with a trace of azure light. He pushed open the door and looked outside. The rain had vanished, but crawling everywhere—on the trees in the courtyard, on the walls, on the ground, and on the eaves—were fleshy, bowl-thick, worm-like creatures whose heads and tails were hard to distinguish. Some were even twisted together to form massive fleshy tumors, writhing absentmindedly in the air, their plump, segmented bodies twisting and swaying. These things were called Karma Worms. They fed on the various evil karmas created by humans and lived in the Intermediate Realm between Hell and the Human Realm; they were invisible to the eyes of ordinary people. Because the evil karma on malicious ghosts from Hell was the heaviest in the Six Realms, whenever they appeared in the Human Realm, massive numbers of Karma Worms would gather in that spot.

In a quiet and pure place like a temple, Karma Worms were always extremely rare. Yet there were so many here; obviously, there was a problem.

Tan Yangzi left the room, passing between the tangled clumps of fleshy worms, and headed toward the monks' quarters. At this moment, he could still see the sentient beings of the Human Realm, only they no longer appeared in human form. Of the two monks walking toward him, one had a string of tumors oozing yellow pus around his mouth, the lumps spreading all the way down to his chest. This indicated that this person frequently spread rumors and slandered others behind their backs. The other person looked somewhat normal, but where his eyes should be were only two small, empty holes, indicating that this person was numb and accustomed to turning a blind eye to the various sufferings happening right in front of him.

The appearance of these people was the appearance of their Eighth Consciousness—the Alaya Consciousness. It was also the true appearance of a person's Life Soul after stripping away their worldly, deceptive skin.

The transformations of the monks were usually considered minor. If one left the temple and looked outside, they would find that a significant portion of people's Life Souls had already lost their human shape. One could even frequently see terrifying forms that defied imagination, more frightening than the wild dancing of myriad demons in Hell. If an ordinary person were to see it, they would probably go mad on the spot.

But Tan Yangzi had long grown used to it.

In comparison, the degree of transformation among the monks in Xiangguo Temple seemed slightly more severe than in other temples. Moreover, judging by the freshness of some of the festering sores, they should all be recent mutations. It seemed this ghost hadn't fled here that long ago; catching it shouldn't be too troublesome.

The Karma Worms near the monks' quarters were visibly more numerous than elsewhere. But clearly, it still wasn't enough.

Following the increasingly dense concentration of Karma Worms, he walked toward the meditation rooms where the senior monks resided. It was currently the time before evening chanting, and passing monks cast curious glances at him. News spread quickly among the monks; they already knew a ghost-catching Daoist had moved into the temple, and he should be catching ghosts right now. Therefore, no one came up to stop him.

Watching the Karma Worms grow more and more numerous—they had almost completely covered entire swathes of the rooftops, with countless curled front ends hanging down from the eaves. Right at this moment, however, a monk with a pig's head, whose two eyes were both on the same side, suddenly ran toward him and gave him a bow. Although Tan Yangzi could currently only see a twisted pig's face, based on his years of experience, he could still tell that this monk's expression was somewhat strange.

"Zhenren... there is someone looking for you at the Hall of Heavenly Kings..."

Greatly surprised, Tan Yangzi raised an eyebrow. As he turned and walked toward the Hall of Heavenly Kings, he asked, "Looking for me? I don't know anyone in Bianliang. Are you sure there isn't a mistake?"

"He said he came looking for a white-haired Daoist in green, and also said he's your disciple."

Tan Yangzi stumbled, nearly tripping over the steps in front of the corridor. His face, which had been stern and composed from the very beginning, also cracked with a flash of exasperation. He quickly steadied his posture, cleared his throat, glanced at the pig's head beside him, and tried to say in his usual calm voice, "Understood, I'm coming right away."