A Foreign Bodhisattva

The next day, eight o'clock.

Lu Ban came to Jiangcheng City Library again. In the eyes of that young female librarian, Lu Ban was probably quite a studious and promising young man.

He carried a backpack containing books to pass the time, a power bank, self-heating rice, water, snacks, drinks, a flashlight, first-aid supplies, and more.

This time, Lu Ban sought out newspapers from over twenty years ago.

The internet had been underdeveloped back then, and many things had left no trace online. But officially published newspapers from every year had copies preserved in the city library, available for viewing with an application and registration.

After searching for nearly an hour, Lu Ban found only scattered news related to Jiangcheng Grand Theater.

There were announcements and reports regarding its transfer, reports on the fire, news about the favorable reception of its previous productions, and so on.

Lu Ban was not some great detective who could solve cases while sitting in an armchair. To him, these clues were merely old news.

He only noticed that reports related to Jiangcheng Grand Theater frequently mentioned a pianist named Du Danping.

In 1997, one issue of Jiangcheng Evening News even had a profile column dedicated to him.

Du Danping was born into a musical family and had been immersed in music from a young age. Blessed with an excellent sense of rhythm and melody, he displayed astonishing musical talent while still very young. At twelve, he had already performed and won awards on the national stage.

Du Danping's compositional style was highly varied. He was proficient in everything from folk music to European classical music, and he composed at incredible speed. It was said that he had once written ten pieces in a single night, all of which had been selected for use. According to an interview, Du Danping claimed that melodies often appeared by his ears, and he merely recorded them. He was truly a genius.

On the night of the 19th, Du Danping held his first solo recital of the year at Jiangcheng Grand Theater, achieving complete success. Audience members and guests, including leaders of Jiangcheng City, highly praised Du Danping's performance.

According to our reporter at the scene, the remains of pianist Du Danping, who tragically perished in the Jiangcheng Grand Theater fire, were buried yesterday. People from all walks of life attended to pay their respects.

"Who is Playing? Could it be this man?"

By the usual logic of mystery novels, a pianist who had risen to fame and then died in a fire like this was highly suspicious.

Lu Ban silently memorized Du Danping's photograph and some key information from the newspapers. He photocopied the theater's architectural blueprints and, just as he was about to leave, had a sudden flash of inspiration and located video footage of Du Danping's performance from that year.

Video quality in the nineties was poor. On the vast stage, beneath the spotlight, a young man in a suit sat before the piano. As the theater fell silent, his fingers began to dance across the black and white keys.

Lu Ban had initially considered the possibility that the musical genius Mr. Du Danping might be a transmigrator, but after hearing the piano music, he dismissed the thought.

It was music Lu Ban had never heard before: light and bright, with the lilting grace of a nightingale's song. It was difficult to imagine that it came from such a cumbersome piano. Even Lu Ban, who knew nothing about music, could feel joy and delight within the piece.

The music soon entered its second movement. The deep melody abruptly dragged the listener's emotions downward, like a blizzard in the dead of winter battering everyone's heart. It was completely unlike the previous joy, like a carefree child stepping into youth and suffering the setbacks brought by society and growing up.

After that, though the music remained weighty, it had lost its sharpness. Instead, it became a grand movement that embraced all things, solemn and steady, like a winter plum blossom finally blooming after enduring countless hardships.

At last, the chords intertwined, and the magnificent music came to an abrupt halt at its most impassioned point, fixing everyone's impression at that peak.

A very good piece and performance.

That was Lu Ban's assessment.

After some thought, he made part of the music into a Speech Bullet, downloaded a digital copy to his phone, watched several other interview videos of Du Danping, then left the library for the former site of Jiangcheng Grand Theater.

On the subway, Lu Ban took out The Golden Bough from his backpack. However, his attention was not entirely on this anthropological work. The words describing how ancient humans had created faith twisted into the system's descriptions.

Lu Ban entered Silence Department Store. He planned to purchase some items to deal with that night's mission.

What he wanted most was naturally something that could exorcise evil and suppress unclean things.

"Come to think of it, what kind of faction does the ghost in this mission belong to?"

Lu Ban pondered.

Some ghosts, such as jiangshi and zombies, essentially killed through physical means, so modern weapons could be used to grind their bones and scatter their ashes.

Other ghosts, like Sadako and Kayako, were spiritual entities causing trouble. Something mysterious like spiritual power could probably solve them.

Then there were ghosts that simply made no sense. You did not know where they came from, and the moment you saw them, you died. Against such purely idealistic creatures, one could only fight with the power of belief.

Lu Ban first checked the items under the Faith category, wondering whether there was anything that could restrain those unreasonable horrors.

At first glance, he saw an Excellent-quality idol.

The idol's base was a square black stone. Seated atop it was a creature with a bloated body. Its blue-green stone skin was covered in pustules and wounds. A huge mouth split open across its abdomen, exposing sharp teeth. Its facial features were impossible to distinguish, twisted like kneaded clay.

Just looking at the idol made a chill crawl up Lu Ban's spine.

Benevolent Heavenly Father Idol

Excellent

An exquisitely carved idol

Present offerings and await a response

Then pray that you are lucky enough

"Upon the wasteland, faith can decide everything."

Price: 666 Silence Points

"...This is an idol?"

After reading the description, Lu Ban felt that this 666-Silence-Point idol was definitely a massive trap.

Who knew which god one might connect to after worshipping it?

Of course, from that perspective, Lu Ban truly believed that it could exorcise evil—so long as it was more terrifying than ghosts, it could eliminate every horror!

"Foreign bodhisattvas are still unreliable."

Lu Ban continued browsing and found an item that leaned more toward the East.

It was an ancient-looking stitched-bound book, like a martial arts manual from a wuxia novel. Yet its cover bore only strange, twisted foreign characters that no one could decipher.

He Ming's Brush Talk

Excellent

Notes recording forbidden knowledge

Daoist He Ming's works had always been collectibles eagerly sought by the wealthy of the ruined capital

Immortality, power, wealth—people tried to find their worldly desires within them

But madness was the only end for most

"Those who know it do not seek people; rather, it emerges and pursues people."

Price: 700 Silence Points

"...Looks like the Chinese-style one isn't much better either."

Lu Ban felt that products like this, full of cryptic riddles, were probably traps as well.

He searched for a while longer before finally finding an item in the Secret Treasure category that looked rather promising.

It was a suona.

*

Once there are more words, I can start offering rewards for recommendation votes. I hope everyone votes more and keeps reading!