Mùlián was the Arhat Maugalyāyana, the foremost of the Buddha’s disciples in supernatural powers. Why would his statue be placed here?
I was a little puzzled, but seeing Wang Yue examining the patterns on the ceiling, I didn't ask.
After about seven or eight minutes, I asked, "Teacher Wang, what does it say up there?"
Wang Yue shifted her gaze from the ceiling to me and said, "It says that a group of evil souls emerged from underground and attacked people in various ways. Later, the Arhat Maugalyāyana appeared to subdue the demons and imprisoned them in a deep pool..."
"And then?" I asked.
Her expression was a bit strange as she said, "It says that if we walk forward, we will reach the location of that deep pool."
Hearing this, I was taken aback and pointed ahead, "You mean, if we keep walking this way, we'll reach the place where demons and monsters are sealed?"
Wang Yue nodded, "That's what it says."
Fatty asked, "Master Xiang, should we continue walking forward?"
"Are you scared?" I asked.
"Not scared, don't say that. When has Fatty ever been scared? I'm just worried, you see, there are only three of us, and Teacher Wang is a delicate woman. What if we encounter something strange and peculiar later..."
Before he could finish, Wang Yue exclaimed, "Yi!", and walked forward.
I glared at Fatty, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go."
With that, I hurried to Wang Yue's side and asked if she had found something.
She stood there, looking up, shining her flashlight on the murals above. "Look, it says that after those demons were sealed here, they were released again, and all these released demons are controlled by someone..."
She paused here and pointed to a person in the painting. The person held something in their hand that looked like a pearl. "What is this?"
I leaned closer to take a look and suddenly remembered the luminous pearl Fatty had retrieved from the charred corpse earlier. Could it be that thing?
"According to this painting, it seems that whoever possesses this evil pearl can control those demons," Wang Yue said.
Fatty also realized the matter of the pearl at this moment and winked at me, as if wanting to ask something.
Even if he didn't ask, I knew what he wanted to say, so I quickly gave him a look, signaling him not to speak carelessly.
"Teacher Wang, honestly, I don't really believe in demons and monsters. After all, people in ancient times liked to exaggerate, attributing unexplained things to gods or ghosts. In my opinion, we should go ahead and see for ourselves first," I said.
Wang Yue agreed with my idea and smiled, "Actually, I don't believe these things either. In our line of work, we are all materialists."
Soon, we passed through the corridor and reached the innermost part. Indeed, as the painting said, there was a pool of water inside.
The pool was circular, about four meters in diameter. The edges were built with many stone bricks, and the stone bricks were carved with many scriptures.
The water in the pool was brown and emitted a strange odor. Some moss floated on the surface.
Fatty walked to the edge of the pool and stirred it twice with his entrenching tool, "Are the suppressed demons in here?"
I told him not to mess around, in case something really jumped out later, it would be troublesome.
"Master Xiang, don't scare me."
Just as I was about to speak, Wang Yue went to the edge of the pool and directly scooped up a handful of water. She brought it to her nose and sniffed it.
This woman was quite bold, wasn't she afraid the water contained something corrosive?
I also walked over and glanced at the pool. I saw an iron ring on the edge of the pool. I curiously tugged it and found it was an iron chain, and the chain extended into the water.
This immediately made me think of the monster I encountered with Fatty before. That monster was also bound by an iron chain!
A foreboding premonition surged into my heart. Staring at the calm water surface, I felt as if a pair of eyes were looking at me from beneath the water.
An extremely dangerous feeling made my pores stand on end.
Just as I uttered the word "run," the water surface "whoosh-splashed," and something leaped out of the water.
A strange fish somersaulted in the air. The fish was covered in green scales, and its fins were like knives.
Its eyes were pitch black, its mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and its tail was like a scorpion's tail, possessing a huge venomous stinger.
And just as the strange fish completed its somersault and was about to fall back into the water, its tail suddenly whipped towards us.
At this moment, Wang Yue was closest to the pool. Seeing that she was about to be hit by the tail, fortunately, Fatty yanked her down.
The moment the two fell, the strange fish plunged back into the water.
Recovering my senses, I quickly went to help them up and retreated back to the entrance.
"Master Xiang, what was that thing? Why are there so many monsters in here?" Fatty asked.
I shook my head, "I don't know what that was either."
At this moment, a shaken Wang Yue said a name, "That seems to be a Makara fish."
"Makara fish? What's a Makara fish?" Fatty asked.
Wang Yue explained, "Makara fish, also known as the Makara, is a strange fish recorded in Indian Buddhism."
"So it's a legendary fish?" I asked.
She nodded, "Mr. Xiang, I heard you are also an antique enthusiast. You should be familiar with it, right?"
The strange fish looked somewhat familiar, but I really couldn't recall where I had seen it.
"Many jade carvings from the Sui Dynasty feature Makara fish, and some mirrors from the Tang Dynasty also do," Wang Yue reminded me.
Upon her reminding me, I indeed remembered. It was true!
"The Makara fish is recorded in the Great Buddhist Canon 'Yiqie Jing Yinyi' as: 'Makara, which is Sanskrit. A large fish in the sea that devours everything...'" Wang Yue added.
"Is this really a Makara fish?" I asked uncertainly. "According to the murals we saw earlier, shouldn't demons and monsters be sealed here? Why is there a Makara fish?"
Wang Yue replied, "I'm not too sure either, but the Makara fish is a type of divine fish, equivalent to a river god. Could it be acting as a guardian here?"
"The more you talk, the more far-fetched it becomes. Let's think about this from a scientific perspective," I said. "This fish is indeed strange, and whether it's a Makara fish or not remains to be seen, but what is certain is that this fish is definitely not something we can afford to provoke. Therefore, I suggest we leave here as soon as possible."
Fatty nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, yes, we should leave here quickly. What if that strange fish climbs out? It'll be difficult to handle then. Didn't you see that the fish was still chained? If it was easy to handle, who would have tied it up with that thing?"
Fatty's words had a deeper meaning. He was reminding me that the monster we encountered before was also chained.
Wang Yue nodded, "Then let's go around the pool and leave here quickly."