nycdaug #556 - It's your turn
#556 - It's your turn
“The obsession of 【Xin Zi 31】 didn't come from some eminent Buddhist monk, but from an executioner. In his later years, he began to chant Buddhist scriptures because he felt he had killed too many people and worried that he would descend into the Avici Hell after death. So, he came up with a way to save people and atone for his sins.
“Unfortunately, things went wrong when he met the first person. The person listening to his teachings recognized him as the one who had executed his father. So, he found an excuse to leave for a while. When he returned, he hid a sharp knife in his sleeve and stabbed the executioner in the chest while he was unprepared.
“However, perhaps because he was too nervous, the stab was slightly off by half an inch and didn't kill the executioner immediately. Instead, it aroused the ferocity in his heart. The executioner grabbed a nearby cloud plate and smashed it on the attacker's head, hitting him seven times in a row, directly smashing his head to a pulp, with red and white matter splattered all over the ground.
“But the executioner was already seriously injured. Now, after such movements, he aggravated his wounds. He only managed to take three steps holding the cloud plate before collapsing in front of the temple and dying.
The man paused and continued, "So, the most important thing when facing 【Xin Zi 31】 is not to leave the temple while it is preaching, otherwise, it will immediately enrage it and drive it mad.
“Of course, staying there is also not an option, because after it finishes preaching, you will have nowhere to go except its Buddhist kingdom. This is why most people who encounter 【Xin Zi 31】 cannot survive. The only one who survived was a Taoist priest."
"Because he couldn't believe in Buddhism?"
"No, it's because he saw through the true form of the old monk in the hall. In that hall, there are not only golden Buddhas and bronze Arhats, but also the ring-pommel saber that the old monk used as an executioner in his early years, only it has been divided into seven pieces and hidden in different places. If you can find all seven fragments and put them together...
"Then the old monk will negotiate with you and agree to send you out of the hall, on the condition that you don't tell anyone about discovering the ring-pommel saber after you leave, otherwise, it will affect his accumulation of merit through saving people."
Kui's heart stirred, "So, you guys fabricated a bunch of ghost stories in advance to trick Lu Jing into covering his eyes?"
The man nodded, readily admitting, "Although that saber is really hard to find, but to be on the safe side, we also helped 【Xin Zi 31】 block its only weakness."
After saying that, he smiled again, "I know what you want to do. You want to get the method to deal with 【Xin Zi 31】 from me, and then go save that kid.
“Unfortunately, the prerequisite is that you have to win against me on the chessboard first. Our chess skills are about the same, but you are distracted now. The more anxious you are to save someone, the more chaotic you will become, and the more flaws you will reveal.
"But don't worry, even if I win against you, I won't do anything to you. It's just another game with you. And when that academy disciple named Lu Jing dies, whether you are willing to become my companion or not, I will let you leave."
"You don't understand me," Kui said, "Although you have investigated my background and past, you still don't understand me. I will never be a companion with someone like you."
"Is that so?" The man was noncommittal, pointing to the chessboard, "It's your turn."
… … … …
Because every strange object has its own unique behavioral logic. If you lack sufficient understanding of the strange object, hasty actions may backfire.
Although, as far as the current situation is concerned, this strange object is being quite polite to him, and it is also a Buddhist strange object, so it doesn't seem to be aggressive, but Lu Jing is still being careful.
He walked around the hall first, confirming that he was indeed still in the previously destroyed temple and hadn't gone anywhere else.
The previous golden light and grand chanting were more like a filter and background music. He could still feel the gravel and ruins under his feet, and he almost tripped over something while walking on the road just now.
And when Lu Jing returned to his original position, a paper crane flew in from outside the hall and landed on his shoulder. Then the paper crane opened its mouth and made Gong Hao's voice.
"How is it? Can you lure that thing out?"
Lu Jing said, "I'm still thinking of a way."
"Okay," the paper crane paused for a moment, and then said, "But if you really can't think of a good way, you can also run straight out from inside. As long as you can run into my formation, you'll be safe. With your martial arts skills, this distance should only take a few breaths, right?"
Lu Jing said, "I understand. Oh, right... Lord Gong, did you hear the chanting just now?"
"What chanting?" Gong Hao asked back.
"What about the golden light? The golden light just now was very dazzling, even if you covered your eyes, you could feel it."
"I didn't see any golden light either. These should all be illusions created by that strange object. You must be careful inside and don't fall for its tricks," Gong Hao warned, "No matter what it says, especially remember not to take off the black cloth on your head."
"Don't worry, these conspiracies and tricks can't deceive me... Lord Gong, I plan to go to the place where the golden light was emitted to take a look. If there is no gain, I will come out. Please also be prepared."
At this time, Gong Hao had already taken off the blindfold and was staring closely at Lu Jing in the temple.
Hearing this, he hesitated for a moment. He didn't want Lu Jing to run around in the temple anymore, but considering the role he was playing now, there seemed to be no reason to stop Lu Jing from investigating, so he could only say, "Be careful."
But what he feared came true. He saw Lu Jing climbing up a pile of ruins on the west side of the hall, reaching out as if he wanted to touch something.
Gong Hao didn't know what illusion Lu Jing saw, but in his eyes, Lu Jing was just grabbing at the air everywhere.
And just grabbing at random was one thing. Lu Jing's body suddenly paused, and then he shouted excitedly, "Light! So this is light! I caught it, I caught the light!"
After saying that, his body tilted again, as if he had lost control, and rolled down from the ruins, without any further movement.
Seeing this, Gong Hao couldn't help but feel both worried and happy. He was happy that it seemed that he didn't need to take action, and Lu Jing had already been dealt with by the strange object in the temple. He was worried that Lu Jing's fall, unfortunately, landed right in the pile of ruins.
He couldn't see Lu Jing's figure now.