The early morning at Fuzhao Temple was chaotic.
The reason was that the monk who was preparing meals in the five-story pagoda discovered that all the animals kept in the back kitchen had escaped.
It's not right to say he ran away, he should have disappeared.
Within the sight of the human monk, the empty corral was empty. He quickly called for the others, and a monk who arrived later hurriedly scanned the room, frowning.
The corral was a mess, with blood splattered and animal hair all over the floor. It was not difficult to guess what happened inside.
Someone... something not human ate their livestock in the dead of night.
The monk who arrived later took a casual glance and saw half of the chicken bones that had not been chewed.
The monk who arrived later: ...What on earth has visited this place?
It doesn't matter if the ingredients raised like that disappear, because the creatures that come to the kitchen to eat are really picky and clean up all the meat, leaving only the ordinary vegetable leaves stored in the refrigerator.
He seems to be a bit picky about food.
He quickly ordered the menu to be changed, replacing the morning special dish with a normal vegetarian meal.
The later monk returned to the temple abbot's residence and reported the situation.
The abbot nodded and asked, "Is this the only situation?"
The monk was about to answer when suddenly someone knocked on the door again. The monk could only turn back and listen to the report at the door.
Then his face changed slightly and he returned with a bad expression.
Abbot: "What's wrong?"
Monk: "In our temple..."
Abbot: "In the temple?"
Monk: "We were robbed!"
The abbot and the monk looked at each other in confusion. Through the latter's detailed description, the abbot roughly understood that not only some of the deformed animals raised in the kitchen had been eaten by "people", but also all the consecrated objects placed in other places in the courtyard were lost.
The description of "lost" is euphemistic. According to the description of the monk who kept coming to report, the entire warehouse was moved cleanly.
It was clean, not even a shelf was left.
The monk who reported it was very panicked. The scene he witnessed was beyond his understanding.
They didn't hear any movement at all at night. What kind of existence can they have——
"It's okay." The abbot in the room spoke, his voice quiet but soothing the hearts of the other monks, "We have [——] to protect us."
A strange tonal utterance that cannot be written in any words.
The monks outside the door suddenly fell silent. They murmured the string of syllables, repeating them in an intricate manner, almost copying and pasting.
The monks repeated this several times before gradually dispersing, ending this absurd scene.
The monk staying at the door was a little worried at this time: "Abbott, our Dharma meeting today..."
The abbot twisted the purple-red Buddhist beads in his hand and said calmly, "The meeting will be held normally."
"It's just a little mouse that entered the temple. It's nothing to be afraid of."
…
The tip of Bai Su's nose was itchy. After rubbing it twice, he still sneezed.
An Xiangwen, who was watching the busy monks of Fuzhao Temple, turned his head and said, "Brother Bai has a cold?"
The human body does catch colds, but Baisu has not yet simulated this step.
Although he looked weak today, he was just looking at him. With a physique like a curly-haired young man, it was easy for him to knock down eight people.
Still one-handed.
Bai Su touched the tip of his nose: "I feel like someone is scolding me."
An Xiangwen, who had been vaguely accused of swearing in the past, moved closer to Wei Wenxue, who was sitting upright.
The flaxen-haired girl looked over with a speechless expression: "Can you two sit still? Everyone else is looking over!"
They are now sitting in a large hall, sitting on the floor with futons under their bodies.
An hour ago, many tourists who stayed overnight in Fuzhao Temple were welcomed to have breakfast. Different from the sumptuous dishes yesterday, the meals served today were much simpler, and could even be said to be a bit crude.
An Xiangwen slowly asked a question: "Can't the temple afford it?"
Bai Su doesn't pick much, just sticks out his chopsticks and eats.
He knew why the meal suddenly became rudimentary. After all, the remaining ingredients were in his stomach.
Seeing that Baisu didn't remind him of yesterday, An Xiangwen started eating with peace of mind.
Then they were led to other places, and the route... An Xiangwen felt a bit like the map he had seen in the morning.
For example, here turn left and then right, continue going straight, and go to the second fork to the right - all roads are exactly the same.
Then why, why does Brother Bai know the map?
An Xiangwen's impression is that there is no floor plan of Fuzhao Temple on the Internet, and the guide hanging in the temple only indicates the areas that tourists can visit.
Human beings raised their heads, some colorful flags were hung above the temple, and the lively atmosphere of the Dharma gathering began to flourish.
Someone's voice came from the direction near the mountain gate. Faced with the tourists' questions, the monk explained: "Those are the other tourists who are going to attend the Dharma ceremony. But don't worry, donors, you will be inside the temple, they can only be outside the temple."
The difference between the inside and outside of the hall soothes people, and it is obvious that people in the hall can further enjoy the blessings brought by the blessing ceremony!
Bai Su: Human beings have very simple thoughts.
After that, they were arranged to sit in the hall, with futons sitting on both sides. There was a small incense candle in front of each person, probably for them to light later.
The middle position in the hall is completely empty, seemingly a space left for rituals.
The tall statue facing the palace door was covered with opaque yellow cloth. It should have been hung up in the morning, but it was not hung up last night.
Why hang up? For the sake of the human psyche?
Bai Su held his chin and lowered his eyes in boredom.
I don’t know how long it will be before the puja begins... "Ah Zhi."
Bai Su sneezed again.
He sat up straight and looked around.
Basically, all the tourists don't know each other, and he doesn't stand out much. No one should say anything bad about him, unless...it's someone from the temple.
In the distance, the gate of Fuzhao Temple slowly closed as the monk pushed it. After the door was closed, the door latch was put on, completely cutting off the space inside and outside the temple.
Those tourists standing outside the temple soon heard the sound of hammering wooden fish and the sound of monks reciting scriptures.
However, the scriptures were not any that they had heard on a daily basis.
The walking team approached, the chanting became louder, and everyone's thoughts became empty.
The behavior of the people around Bai Su was particularly obvious. One second they were chatting quietly, and the next they stopped talking and turned their heads back to face the palace door.
Baisu followed suit and turned back.
Walking at the front of the team were several human monks, who were chanting words dully and tapping the wooden fish again and again. In the middle of the team were the highly respected abbot and two close followers behind him.
The abbot is very old, and the skin on his face is wrinkled. When he smiles, his eyes narrow into slits, his eyebrows are raised, and his deliberately long eyebrows hang down from his temples.
The monk behind him was holding something, which was also covered with an opaque yellow cloth. Judging from the shape, it seemed to be something long and narrow.
The procession finally arrived in front of the palace gate. The monks in front stepped back, and the abbot led the people in.
"Gudu."
The sudden sound of swallowing saliva appeared next to his ears. The abbot of Fuzhao Temple squinted his eyes and glanced to both sides, but found nothing except those pilgrims who had been bewitched.
The sound just now was probably just his imagination.
(End of chapter)
