Chapter 14 The Bell's Whereabouts

When he pushed open the temple door, Feng Bujue expected a creaking sound of wood and a cloud of dust to rush out.

But the door opened exceptionally smoothly. The wooden shafts of the two door panels turned almost silently, as if they were still new. The scene inside was not one of cobwebs and frost-like dust.

Inside was a Buddhist shrine, with no other doors or rooms. Light from outside streamed directly through the window gaps, allowing players to see clearly even without a flashlight.

The shrine had two beams and four pillars, with blue-gray stone bricks on the floor and brick and wood walls.

On either side of the shrine, against the walls, stood two rows of red-lacquered copper shelves. Each shelf had four layers, and each layer was filled with white candles, though none were lit.

At the far end of the shrine, facing the main door, the only Buddha statue enshrined was a headless one.

The statue stood upright, its right hand with five fingers together, palm raised, while its left hand and head were missing.

"Hmm... it's hard to tell which deity it is just from this pose." Feng Bujue walked forward, muttering, "This jia zhu gan qi (lacquered hemp cloth) statue... is it from the Yuan Dynasty..."

Suddenly, Si Yu's hand pressed on Feng Bujue's shoulder, pulling him back. At that moment, a plume of black smoke rose from the ground not far in front of Feng Bujue.

Feng Bujue's attention had been focused on the Buddha statue, and he hadn't noticed his feet. If Si Yu hadn't pulled him back, he would have stepped right onto it.

The black smoke rose, gathering without dispersing, and then a figure emerged from it.

The figure that appeared in the smoke was an old monk wrapped in a kasaya, with purple skin, white beard, and pitch-black pupils. His appearance was quite terrifying, but his face was righteous and dignified, not like an evil person.

"Who are you? What brings you to my Cang Ling Temple?" the demonic monk asked.

"We are just passersby," Feng Bujue said. "We heard that there are vengeful spirits here, so we came to investigate."

"Passersby? Hmph..." the demonic monk said again, "This old monk sees that you two have awakened spiritual senses, so you are probably not mortals, are you?"

"I see that your face is purplish and you are surrounded by demonic energy, so you are probably not even human, are you?" Feng Bujue retorted.

"Ha... hahahaha..." the demonic monk laughed, "Good, a good 'not even human'..."

In that instant, the temple windows were suddenly shrouded in a black mist, completely blocking the light from outside. But this pitch-black situation did not last long. The next second, all the surrounding candles were lit, emitting a greenish glow.

In this shift from dark to light, the demonic monk's appearance changed dramatically, completely transforming into a Rakshasa-like figure. His height increased to ten feet, his bulging muscles straining his clothes, and his beard and hair turned red. His face was twisted with demonic energy, and he glared at Feng Bujue with wide eyes.

Seeing this, Si Yu wanted to raise her sword to meet him, but Feng Bujue blocked her and glanced sideways, as if to say... there's no need to act yet.

"Like that tree, you were transformed into your current state by a little girl turned ghost named 'Ling Er', right?" Feng Bujue asked.

"What if I am?" The demonic monk's voice had also changed. It couldn't be described as rough; it was simply "brutal."

"I just want to ask, are you willingly maintaining this state," Feng Bujue said, "or are you forced to, attacking those of us who come up the mountain under her control?"

"If I were under her control, would you still be standing here talking to me?" the demonic monk asked.

"So you are willingly becoming a demon and harming the common people?" Feng Bujue asked.

"My transformation into my current state was indeed caused by that child's resentment. Unless her resentment is appeased, I... and all the ghosts on this mountain, will be trapped here, never to be reborn," the demonic monk replied, "However... killing you people from Cang Ling Town is all our own doing."

"Is it because the people of Cang Ling Town wrongly killed Ling Er?" Feng Bujue asked tentatively.

"Hmph..." the demonic monk snorted, "I suppose you are a sorcerer they hired to exorcise ghosts?"

"Of course not. If I were, do you think you would still be standing here talking to me?" Feng Bujue retorted arrogantly.

"Hmm?" The demonic monk was taken aback. He leaned his face forward, "You brat, you have quite the big mouth."

"I don't have time to chat with you. Answer my question quickly," Feng Bujue said, "Maybe I can help you."

"Just you? Hahahaha..." The demonic monk laughed again, "Do you know why this place is called 'Cang Ling'?"

"Why?" Feng Bujue didn't know, so he asked, following the other party's lead.

The demonic monk turned around and pointed with his arm, as thick as a thigh, to the headless Buddha statue behind him, "This was originally a Bodhisattva's practice site. The temple houses a secret treasure of Buddhism—the Vajra Bell." He lowered his arm and glared at Feng Bujue, "And I am the only monk in this temple." At this point, he seemed to recall the events of that year, and a trace of fear appeared on his ferocious face, "But now? Look at me, what have I become?"

"Oh? Is that Vajra Bell very powerful?" Feng Bujue crossed his arms in front of his chest, put on a nonchalant expression, and asked, looking up.

"You ignorant Jianghu swindler, you naturally don't know the power of the Vajra Bell!" The demonic monk was indeed fooled and began to speak eloquently, "The Vajra Bell is a treasure of Esoteric Buddhism, capable of activating the power of countless incantations... illusions, shikigami techniques, summoning techniques, puppetry, blessing, rain-making, healing, pacifying families, warding off disasters... commanding ghosts and gods, encompassing everything. It can even guide a person's misfortune to the realm of liberation, subdue evil, transcend desires, reverse the fixed patterns of the five elements, yin and yang, and the Eight Characters, and defy fate."

"Where is that thing now?" Feng Bujue didn't show anything on his face, but he was already confidently thinking, "The Vajra Bell, I'm going to get it."

"What? You want to steal the bell?" the demonic monk asked.

The moment he asked this question, Feng Bujue was seventy to eighty percent certain that this was a quest flag!

He immediately turned to look at Si Yu, who understood and nodded slightly in agreement without saying anything.

"Yes!" Feng Bujue replied immediately.

[Main Quest Progress Updated]

[Enter the Bell Realm and search for Ling Er's soul.]

As expected, the system prompt sounded immediately, and the main quest in the game menu also changed.

"You said you want to help us, I'll see if you have the ability." The demonic monk laughed. As he spoke, he stomped his foot on the spot, with the force of a thunderclap hitting the mountain. The blue-gray stone bricks on the ground instantly cracked, revealing a crack about two meters long. A mournful wail could be heard from the crack, but when looking down, it was just pitch black.

"If you want the Vajra Bell, go ask that child yourself." The demonic monk said, extending his palm. In the palm of his hand was a bell identical to the one given by the tree demon, "Take the bell and jump down."

Feng Bujue didn't let Si Yu go forward to take it, but reached out and took the item himself, then handed it to Si Yu. Then, he politely said to the tall monster in front of him, "Thank you for the guidance, Master."

"Enough nonsense. Many people have gone down, but no one has ever returned alive. The only thing that comes back... is the bell," the demonic monk replied.

Feng Bujue felt that this part of the story was almost over. He turned to Si Yu and said, "Um... let's have a slogan before we jump down together."

"First of all, I reject the slogan 'You jump, I jump'," she replied directly.

"Tch..." Feng Bujue looked like his cunning plan had been seen through, "Then I'll count to three."