Capítulo 45: Chapter 45 Buddha
"Master, you don't need to explain so much to a guest like me, I can't manage your affairs either. Please leave now, as I want to sleep."
Jiandun pressed his palms together in a gesture of respect towards Li Huowang and bowed slightly as he walked towards the door. Just as he brushed past Li Huowang, a light, drifting comment floated by.
"Don't look down upon Buddhism. I used to be a Taoist before I took my monastic vows. Taoism is actually quite similar; it's just that you don't know it."
After Jiandun left, the room was left with only Li Huowang, who turned around to look at the distant temple shrouded in darkness, no longer feeling any majesty or solemnity.
Li Huowang breathed out slowly towards the darkness, "What a filthy place, isn't there any clean spot at all?"
Ever since that night's incident, Li Huowang tried his best not to go out at night so as not to disrupt the monks' affairs and earn their resentment.
Days passed, one by one, and Li Huowang's mental state gradually improved, scarcely having nightmares anymore.
Just as he was about to ask the abbot when things would begin, someone was sent to him ahead of time.
"Master Xuan Yang, the grand prayer ceremony for universal salvation is about to start its preparations. The event requires significant resources, so please refrain from wandering around in the coming days."
"Alright, you go back and tell the old abbot that I am informed," Li Huowang said to the young novice monk in front of him.
As soon as the novice monk had left, a familiar figure flashed in with a surprised expression, "Taoist priest, so you are staying here! Why didn't you tell me?"
It was the old beggar from before, except now he looked markedly different from his previous disheveled state.
He was dressed in a brand new yellow monk's robe, and his face and body had no trace of dirt, appearing much more spirited.
Although his encounter with this monk was brief, meeting such a familiar face in this strange place made Li Huowang feel a sense of closeness.
"Monk, how are you getting along here?"
"Not bad. I'm well-fed and warm every day, but there's no chance to do good deeds in the temple, which makes me a bit uncomfortable."
As soon as the topic of good deeds was mentioned, Li Huowang immediately remembered the incident that night. He looked at the old monk and sighed softly. "Don't worry about that too much. Just stay here; although the temple is a bit dirty, at least you won't go hungry."
"Come on, little Taoist, let me take you to see where I work. The place is really big." The old monk, full of enthusiasm, pulled Li Huowang towards the door.
"The sun is too strong now; let's wait for another time." Li Huowang was somewhat unenthusiastic, as he had little interest in touring the temple.
"Come on! You have to come and see; it's definitely worth it! There are so many interesting things!" Li Huowang was dragged out the door by the persistent old monk.
Following the monk's meandering path, Li Huowang arrived at a spacious open courtyard within Zhengde Temple.
It was there that he realized just how large Zhengde Temple truly was
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Dust flew in the air as monks with gauze-wrapped palms lifted chisels and hammers, sculpting Buddha statues.
The Buddha statues were arranged in two rows, extending into the distance of the courtyard.
Bathed in sunlight, the monks' shaved heads shone brightly as they focused on sculpting their works of art with drenched sweat.
"Is this where you work? The setting isn't all that great." Li Huowang frowned and covered his nose with his hand to avoid inhaling dust.
"Yes, I'm in charge of moving the useless broken stones. These Buddha statues have a part of my effort in them." The old monk seemed quite proud of his job.
The two walked between the two rows of unfinished Buddha statues, observing these works of varied forms.
Monks that occasionally passed by didn't stop them, treating them as if they didn't exist.
"Zhengde Temple certainly doesn't carve these statues for its own use, one can tell that they are meant to be sold to worshippers. Seems like these monks have a knack for generating revenue." Li Huowang thought with a smirk.
But after the previous incidents, Li Huowang had come to expect such oddities.
"There's more! There's something ahead!" the old monk said excitedly, hurrying towards the door in front of them.
Watching him move ahead, Li Huowang lifted his foot to follow, but suddenly he felt dizzy, his body starting to sway.
"Hey hey, Taoist, what's wrong with you?" The old monk quickly ran back to support him when he noticed something was amiss.
"What's going on?" Once Li Huowang regained his footing and shook his head vigorously, the strange sensation gradually faded away.
"Are you okay? Caught a cold? Should we go back and rest for a bit?"
Li Huowang declined the old monk's kind offer. "I'm fine, really, let's keep going."
"Alright, if you really caught a cold, it's best to get more sun. Let's move on."
Li Huowang, hearing this, looked up at the scorching sun overhead. "Could it be heatstroke? It's barely past the New Year; I don't feel hot at all."
Feeling no further discomfort, Li Huowang lifted his foot to walk on, following the old monk.
But as he lifted his foot, he noticed the sounds around him changing. It was no longer the clink-clink of chisels on stone, but rather the slapping sounds of flesh hitting flesh.
"Hmm?" Li Huowang turned his head in confusion, looking towards the stone carvings on his right, and his body froze on the spot.
The stone carvings had vanished, replaced by a mass of white flesh. It was a pile of monks.
The stone carvings that had been sculpting Buddhist statues, those monks, eyes closed in devotion, were crowded together, their bodies writhing like maggots.
"What is... what is this?" Li Huowang's eyes widened in shock as he stepped back.
Li Huowang slowly looked up, squinting at the dazzling sun overhead, certain that his vision was clear.
He slowly turned around, looking back at the statues he passed earlier, and as expected, they had changed. Under the bright winter sun, there were several more flesh mounds.
"Taoist! Hurry up!" The old monk shouted excitedly from ahead, like a child eager to show off something to his peers.
Li Huowang took a deep, trembling breath and continued walking forward, passing under the huge gate. Another spacious courtyard unfolded before them.
This place was filled with more flesh mounds, but now not only monks composed these piles of flesh but also other creatures, like pigs.
They roared in anguish, but the flesh mounds of solemn-faced monks, like mud, engulfed them.
"Look, how lifelike these carvings of the qilin and stone lions are. If only I had such skills."
Li Huowang mechanically followed the old monk, continuing to observe Zhengde Temple monks' "works". He saw dogs, horses, cows, and donkeys.
Upon closer inspection, he also noticed many other anomalies; these monks were all intersex!
At this moment, Li Huowang's mind buzzed in turmoil,
Suddenly, the old monk's hand reached out, tugging him to hasten his steps into a spacious hall.
But the slapping sound didn't cease. Instead, it grew louder, echoing in the empty hall.
Li Huowang's neck was stiff as he looked inside the hall. As his head tilted further back, his pupils shrank.
"Look up there!" the old monk pointed upward with his hand, his face beaming with a childlike smile. He spoke with emotion, "What a grand Buddha statue!"
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