allendalepharm Chapter 43 The Fog Rises, the Monk Appears
Chapter 43 The Fog Rises, the Monk Appears
"Fulong Mountain itself is a broken net; due to various factors, the authorities simply cannot repair it, so they can only let outsiders in..."
"But Professor He and his group have official backing, so they can naturally keep the safest routes for themselves, while leaving the dangerous places to reckless external forces and stubborn explorers."
Li Jiu was shocked. It seemed that Lin Weiwei and the others did not completely trust the authorities, or even trust them at all.
Therefore, Lin Weiwei's purpose in taking the initiative to team up with Tang Mubai... is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface!
After a round of conversations, Li Jiu never expected that Lin Weiwei's simple statement, "The Mushroom House is not trustworthy," would lead to such a vast and dark secret network.
These secrets made him feel that Mount Fulong was no longer a mountain in reality, but a mountain weighing on his heart. This brought a sense of fear, but also gradually excited him.
If Lin Weiwei knows so much "unofficial history," then she must also know a lot of secrets about Jiding Temple.
Just as Li Jiu was thinking this, Lin Weiwei noticed his shifty eyes. Suddenly, she winked playfully and a sly smile appeared on her lips: "How about it? Interesting in teaming up with us?"
Li Jiu snapped out of his thoughts, looked at the reporter shrouded in mystery before him, and couldn't help but reveal a challenging smile: "Indeed...very interesting!"
Although Tang Mubai's face was still a little pale, he still came over and said with great interest, "This is so interesting! I love listening to this kind of thing! As soon as this summer camp is over, I'm going to publish a novel. I've already thought of a title: 'Strange Tales of the Rules of Fulong Mountain,' hehehe! What do you think? Isn't it interesting?"
He looked around and found that the other three were looking at him with an indescribable gaze. Zhang Fanjie practically had "I care about the mentally challenged" written all over his face.
"...Uh...Why aren't you guys saying anything?"
Lin Weiwei rolled her eyes without any politeness: "It's nothing, I just think your book title... is too bland, there's no exciting element at all. If it were us, we would definitely write 'Shocking!! After returning from Mount Fulong, I actually became a dragon servant?!'"
Tang Mubai was taken aback, thought about it carefully for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Wow, wow! I really want to stab you clickbaiters on the spot."
Lin Weiwei responded with a standard, professional fake smile: "Oh dear~ I really can't tell if you're praising me or insulting me."
……
As they chatted and laughed, the four of them had already climbed several hundred meters up the mountain trail. Not far ahead, at a mountain pass, the outline of an ancient-style pavilion gradually came into their view.
"That must be Zhenyue Pavilion! What a close call!" Tang Mubai said with a smile, pointing at the pavilion.
Li Weiwei rubbed her forehead and smiled wryly, "Please, the whole journey has been safe. What 'scars' could there have been?"
Tang Mubai put on a stern face and said in a serious tone, "Your intuition is not good enough to sense danger, but I am different. I have always been able to feel a strong sense of crisis along the way."
When it comes to a lack of inspiration, Lin Weiwei gets so anxious she almost jumps up and down.
For her, the lack of inspiration is no less than the lack of inspiration for South Korea.
But Li Weiwei was still taken aback by Tang Mubai's serious expression, and immediately sneaked closer to Zhang Fanjie: "Really?"
Zhang Fanjie's right hand instinctively pressed down on the canvas shoulder bag, a fierce look flashing between her brows, her voice cold: "If it's fake, I'll twist his head off."
Tang Mubai's face stiffened, and he quickly tried to cover it up: "Uh... but I feel much better now! That stretch of road was really weird... really, I'm not kidding... you can ask Lao Li if you don't believe me."
"Fine, I'll spare your life." Zhang Fanjie knew exactly what Tang Mubai was thinking. She sneered and, along with Lin Weiwei, headed towards Zhenyue Pavilion.
Tang Mubai followed closely behind.
Li Jiu suddenly fell to the back. He shook his head helplessly, looking at Tang Mubai's back with a hint of worry in his eyes.
Tang Mubai's reaction was still somewhat unusual, deviating somewhat from his previous understanding of Tang Mubai...
Is Tang Mubai stubbornly resisting pollution?
Or are these feelings of his a cognitive response to his inspiration after capturing the "sense of incongruity" emanating from Tang Mubai?
As Li Jiu pondered, he began to approach Zhenyue Pavilion by following the mountain path.
As he stepped into the shade ahead, a sudden, chilling wind swept over him without warning.
He didn't feel anything, except that his eyelids drooped slightly.
He continued walking forward mechanically.
Step by step, following some kind of instinct, or as if being pulled by some invisible force, he moved forward sluggishly yet obediently...
A cold wind swirled around him, gradually stirring up a thin mist.
He was completely unaware of this change, nor did he realize that his thinking seemed to have fallen into a state of stagnation; his body simply continued to move forward blankly.
He vaguely sensed that there seemed to be more hikers around him. Those illusory, blurry figures gathered around him like ghosts, as if they were climbing the mountain with him, silently walking alongside him.
He stared at the illusory figures with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. It was as if a certain alarm mechanism in his mind was missing, which made him not feel that there was anything wrong with those figures.
And so, the sounds emanating from those figures became clearer and clearer as they entered his ears…
【…】
【「बुद्धवचनप्रज्ञापर्वतप िशरचमरयरंविभरतिर ंकर्मदोषंनभवति, मयरदमने नस्वचित्तंप्रकरशते।…”]
(The Buddha said that Prajna illuminates the illusions of mountain demons, cuts off evil and prevents one from falling into the karma of killing, and subdues falsehoods to see one's true nature.)
["मयरक्षणेसर्वररक्षसमरयंविलयंगत् करलशक्तिःश्न्त्र्रर्
(At the moment of Maya, all the illusions of demons crumbled, the malevolent energy of the mountains and rivers returned to silence, and the turbid earth was finally bathed in pure light.)
【…】
It was the sound of chanting scriptures.
Along with the chanting of sutras, there were also the sounds of objects being struck, which felt both strange and familiar to Li Jiu.
"Ding-coo! Ding-coo! Ding..."
It was the sound of chanting Buddha's name.
Hmm... chanting Buddha's name...
Wait, chanting Buddha's name?!
Li Jiu's spirits suddenly jolted, and he abruptly looked at those figures!
It turned out to be a group of grandmothers dressed in indigo printed cotton clothes and wearing square scarves on their heads!
They are all Buddhists!
No, not entirely. Besides them, there seemed to be some other figures...
A group of... monks?!