Chapter 21 Predicament

"Master, how can you be sure that I am the destined one the abbot is waiting for?" Jiang Cheng sized up the blind old monk with some apprehension. "My Buddhist roots are shallow, and as far as I know, there are more than just the two of us in the temple. There are also some pilgrims in the west wing."

The old monk chanted a Buddhist prayer, "Amitabha, benefactor is too modest. How could someone with shallow Buddhist roots pass through that Lost Forest?"

Following the direction indicated by the old monk's hand holding the prayer beads, it was the small forest they had just passed through. "Lost Forest..." Jiang Cheng frowned slightly.

"Indeed." The old monk's expression was solemn. "This forest was created by my elder brother, the abbot, based on the Gārava Dense Forest in the Buddhist scriptures. Ordinary people cannot pass through it at all. They will only get lost in it. Even the monks in this temple need this poor monk to guide them."

"Amitabha, I hope benefactor will put the well-being of the world first and not decline."

Since the matter had been put this way, Jiang Cheng and Fatty couldn't refuse. Moreover, Jiang Cheng also wanted to see what the Sutra Depository looked like during the day, as well as that mysterious abbot.

"Then I shall respectfully obey."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Cheng intended to push open the tightly closed wooden door, but the next second, a withered hand stopped him.

"Benefactor, don't be anxious. This poor monk has one more thing to explain."

The old monk put his hands together, his face with a strange grayish-white color. It was noon, but standing next to the old monk, even the sunlight shining on his body lost its warmth. "Abbot, senior brother, and several other senior brothers are all in closed-door meditation and cannot see benefactor, nor can they be seen by benefactor, otherwise they may be backlashed by the secret scripture blessed upon Huicong. So… I'm afraid benefactor will have to suffer a bit."

Looking at the old monk's sinister eye sockets, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He suddenly took two steps back, staring at the old monk vigilantly. The abbot's words from last night were still ringing in his ears. "What do you mean? You want to cripple our eyes?"

"Amitabha, benefactor is overthinking it. This poor monk only hopes that benefactor can abide by the rules set by the abbot when entering the Sutra Depository." The old monk's words were full of humility. "Please benefactor turn your back to the Sutra Depository and retreat into it backwards. When discussing the scriptures with the abbot, senior brother, please do not turn your head back."

These words made Jiang Cheng even more nervous. Entering the Buddhist gate backwards was a taboo. He had once heard of such a custom in some remote villages in the north. Whenever a family married a wife, the oldest woman in the family had to take the new bride to the temple to offer incense before she entered the house. It was rumored that evil beings disguised as humans could not directly face the gaze of the Buddha statue, so these things had to turn their backs and step over the threshold backwards into the hall.

However, the old monk obviously didn't intend to explain too much to Jiang Cheng. After speaking, he directly took out two black cloth strips from his monk's robe sleeve and skillfully covered Jiang Cheng and Fatty's eyes.

With a creak, the wooden door of the Sutra Depository opened.

"Amitabha, two benefactors, please."

This time, Jiang Cheng was careful and grabbed Fatty's arm before his eyes were covered.

The two retreated into the Sutra Depository. Although their eyes were covered, they could still feel a little light. There must be candles or other lighting objects lit inside the Sutra Depository.

As Jiang Cheng stood still, an old voice suddenly sounded behind him, "Amitabha, benefactor, you have finally come."

The moment this voice sounded, the arm that Jiang Cheng was holding Fatty also tensed up. He was very familiar with this voice, it was the abbot in the darkness last night!

"You remember what happened last night?" Jiang Cheng was a little surprised. After all, judging from the performance of Huide and Huiming, there was a barrier between the memories of the night and the day, or rather, they were completely different meanings of themselves.

"Hehe, all kinds of delusions enter the heart through the eyes. This poor monk has lost the root of troubles and is naturally not disturbed by delusions. It's a pity that this poor monk has only cultivated a little bit of Buddhist Dharma, not enough to save my disciple."

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

……

Almost at the same time, several Buddhist chants suddenly sounded in the empty building. Those were different voices. There were at least several old monks in this building.

It seemed that these people were the abbot's fellow disciples.

Jiang Cheng tentatively asked, "Master, do you mean that in order to see through delusions, I must mutilate my own eyes?"

"Not so." The abbot's voice came faintly, mixed with the crisp sound of a wooden fish being struck.

"Benefactor's eyes are bestowed by heaven and earth, parents, and must not be damaged. This poor monk means benefactor's false eyes. With these eyes, benefactor will be trapped in a false realm, only increasing delusions."

Now Jiang Cheng understood a little. "Master means that daytime is truth and nighttime is falsehood. I don't need to damage my real eyes during the day, but rather destroy my eyes at night, so that I won't see the falsehoods at night, thereby escaping the realm of falsehood."

"Amitabha, benefactor is wise." The abbot's voice was as reassuring as ever. "Last night, benefactor was precisely blinded by falsehood, which is why you mistakenly regarded those falsehoods as people around you."

Jiang Cheng understood what the abbot meant. He was referring to the maid ghost who had disguised herself as Fatty last night.

"Master, how long can your and the other monks' seal last?"

"At most two days."

Jiang Cheng, whose eyes were covered by a black cloth, slowly nodded. "Then what do you need me to do tonight?"

"This poor monk knows benefactor's concerns. Benefactor does not completely trust this poor monk, but tonight is crucial. I hope benefactor will put the overall situation first."

"Benefactor, listen carefully. Tonight, this poor monk and the other senior brothers will do our best to promote the *Jialan Fengmo Mijing* (Gārava Demon-Sealing Secret Scripture). Together, my senior brothers will awaken the monks in the realm of falsehood. But how many are awakened, and which person is awakened, this poor monk cannot be sure. What benefactor needs to do is to assist the awakened to escape the realm of delusion. The more people benefactor saves, the stronger the good thoughts in Huicong's heart, and the more confident we will be in success."

"Remember, whether it succeeds or fails, benefactor must come to the Sutra Depository to inform this poor monk. By then, what is truth and what is falsehood, benefactor will naturally know."

Without extra nonsense, the abbot let Jiang Cheng and Fatty leave after saying this.

Jiang Cheng held Fatty with one hand, and the other hand was in his pocket, holding his mobile phone, secretly turning on the video recording function, and recording behind him through the hole in his pocket.

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

……

After the abbot finished speaking, the almost uniform sounds of worshiping Buddha continued to sound in the building.

But what Jiang Cheng and the others didn't know was that after they left, these extremely devout sounds of worshiping Buddha became faster and faster, and the rhythm became more and more strange, and finally they were connected into one piece and indistinguishable from each other.

Just as the weird sounds of worshiping Buddha were about to reach their peak, a sudden strange and cold voice exploded, instantly sweeping away the Brahma sounds.

"Boundless… Heavenly Lord!"