The moment Xinhui finished speaking, he seemed to realize his slip of the tongue. He hurriedly brought his hands together in prayer and slightly closed his eyes, facing west.
"Amitabha. My transgressions, my transgressions. This disciple has violated the precept against anger. I must copy the scriptures a hundred times afterward as punishment."
After saying this, Xinhui raised his head again and looked at Li Huowang with a calm and composed gaze. After scrutinizing him for a moment, he nodded gently. "This old monk understands. Benefactor Xuan Yang, please follow me."
Seeing the group of monks eyeing him like hungry tigers, Li Huowang had no choice but to comply. He slid his longsword into the Sword Sheath on his back and turned to follow.
Xinhui didn't lead them somewhere new but brought everyone back to the site where they were carving the Buddha statues. "Benefactor Xuan Yang, were the profane things you saw just now in this place?"
Surrounded by monks, Li Huowang stared at the scene before him and froze. The unfinished stone statues, which had previously appeared as mountains of flesh, reappeared before him as if mocking him. "How is this—"
"Benefactor, please continue to follow me."
Accompanied by Xinhui, Li Huowang walked forward slowly. He passed the area of the Buddha statues and arrived at the place where he had seen the livestock.
Here, too, there were no animals. There were only unfinished stone Qilins and stone lions. The auspicious stone beasts, large and small, were arranged in neat rows, silently gazing forward.
Just then, Xinhui suddenly drew Li Huowang's longsword from the sheath on his back. With a powerful slash, he lopped off a lion's head the size of his palm.
Xinhui picked up the stone lion's head and placed it in Li Huowang's hands.
Li Huowang gently caressed the lion's head, feeling the texture of the stone and its substantial weight. It was unmistakably real.
"How could this be—" Still lost in confusion, Li Huowang refused to give up. He walked over and ran his hands over each of the sculptures, confirming that they were, indeed, all real.
Finally, he stood at the entrance of the main hall and looked inside. A majestic, giant stone Buddha was presented before him. It sat cross-legged on a lotus throne, holding an alms bowl in its left hand, its right hand pointing vertically toward the ground.
"This is impossible! I saw it clearly just now, I saw it with my own two eyes! How could it be fake?"
Hearing Li Huowang's words, Abbot Xinhui sighed softly. "Amitabha. Benefactor, you are gravely ill."
The bewildered Li Huowang turned to face Xinhui and said with astonishment, "Could it be... my illness flared up? Were all those things I saw just my own hallucinations?"
Xinhui nodded gently. "Benefactor, you must know more about your own illness than we outsiders do, correct?"
Could it be that the mountain of Black Taisui I've eaten can only sustain me for so long? Am I starting to have hallucinations again? Li Huowang clutched his head with both hands, mumbling to himself in agony.
Hearing this, the group of monks standing nearby, their faces etched with aversion, huddled together and began to whisper.
"So, after all that, he's just a madman."
"If there's nothing else, we should ask him to leave soon. It would be bad if he has an episode one day and hurts someone."
"Hush!" A single word from Xinhui silenced all the monks.
He walked into the hall and lit four incense sticks. Then, he turned and offered them to Li Huowang. "Troubling us disciples of Buddhism is a small matter, but it would not be good to disturb the Buddha. Please, offer these incense sticks to the Buddha properly."
"Offer incense?" Li Huowang's muscles tensed instantly, his gaze shifting restlessly between the great Buddha, Xinhui, and the four incense sticks.
"Benefactor, what are you waiting for? You were the one at fault here," Xinhui said, extending the four incense sticks a little further.
The image of that writhing monster, that grotesque mass covered in monks, flashed through Li Huowang's mind again.
If that thing is real, then going up to offer it incense would be like serving myself up to be eaten.
"Benefactor, why are you hesitating?"
Li Huowang looked at Xinhui, a trace of displeasure beginning to show on his face. He felt the solid, real stone lion head in his hand, then looked up at the dazzling sun overhead.
Li Huowang tossed the lion's head aside, accepted the incense with both hands, stepped over the threshold, and began to walk slowly toward the stone statue.
He walked very, very slowly, his body and mind stretched taut. Cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
But no matter how slowly he walked, he eventually reached the foot of the great Buddha. The statue was still just a statue; it had not transformed into that repulsive monster.
Holding the incense, Li Huowang stood before the Incense Burner and looked up once more. From this angle, he could see the giant Buddha gazing down at him with eyes neither joyful nor sad, inspiring an involuntary sense of awe.
As Li Huowang raised the incense above his head, the four sticks quivered slightly. White smoke twirled in the air, drifting toward the ceiling of the hall.
After bowing three times with the incense held high, Li Huowang solemnly placed the sticks into the Incense Burner, then turned and walked back outside.
Seeing the conflict resolved, the monks gradually dispersed and returned to their posts, picking up their tools and resuming their work. The incessant sound of CLANG, CLANG echoed all around.
Xinhui and Li Huowang slowly made their way along the stone-paved path between the statues, heading out.
"Benefactor Xuan Yang, since your illness is so severe, you shouldn't wander about anymore. Just wait peacefully for the Mass Salvation Festival," Xinhui said to Li Huowang as they walked, twirling the Buddha Beads in his hand. "Your illness is troublesome, but compared to it, Master Danyang is undoubtedly more dangerous. One must eat a meal one bite at a time, and handle matters one by one."
Li Huowang tilted his head back to look at the bright sun again, then raised his hands high and gave a huge stretch. "Abbot, does Zhengde Temple have any way to treat this hysteria of mine?"
"Hmm... This old monk can have my disciples try, but whether they can succeed is another matter. After all, this temple has no lineage of the healing arts of Huang Qi."
"It's fine, I was just asking. I've been mad for so long, I'm used to it," Li Huowang said with an air of indifference. "By the way, Abbot, how did you do that just now? How did my sword suddenly end up in your hands?"
"Hehehe, just a little trick. It's hardly worth mentioning, hardly worth mentioning," Xinhui chuckled.
"Abbot, now is not the time for modesty. If what you did is 'hardly worth mentioning,' then what does that make me? I'd be less than a bug, wouldn't I?"
"Benefactor Xuan Yang, that's not how it works. Look, even though Master Danyang's strength was inferior to mine, he was still considered mid-tier out in the world. Yet, in the end, wasn't he eliminated by you?"
"Someone like Master Danyang is only mid-tier? Then how formidable are the upper-tier experts? Abbot, is there a ranking system among masters like yourselves?"
"There is, something like the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow ranks, but those are just nonsense made up by bored people. We who have renounced the secular world do not seek empty fame and do not care for such things."
The path wasn't long, but they walked it slowly and spoke a great deal. Li Huowang learned much useful information about this world from Xinhui.
After leaving the carving area, Li Huowang stopped and bowed respectfully to Xinhui. "Thank you, Abbot, for your guidance."
"Not at all, it was a simple effort. Since you are unwell, Benefactor Xuan Yang, you should return and rest."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Huowang looked around. Seeing no trace of the old monk, he turned and headed toward his quarters. He walked very slowly, appearing deep in thought and preoccupied with something.
After walking for about half an hour, Li Huowang finally reached his room. The instant he shut the door, his expression twisted into a ferocious snarl. He clenched his fists and slammed them against the wall.
I don't know what trick those monks used to deceive my senses, but as a patient who has spent so long wavering between illusion and reality, I may be useless at many things, but I'm incredibly sensitive to this. The feeling I got from that great Buddha just now was definitely wrong. It felt just like the hospital in my hallucinations—it had a certain indescribable quality to it. Those stone carvings are fake! The great Buddha is fake, too! It was all an illusion! What I saw before wasn't a hallucination at all!