Yunze Prefecture was full of towering mountains and mighty rivers, and its weather was the most unpredictable.
One moment, you could still be walking along a dry road; the next, the sky would unleash a torrential downpour. By the time you had gone to the trouble of finding shelter, the skies might well have cleared again.
Boom!
Dark clouds gathered thickly, and even the wind began to howl harder.
A bolt of purple lightning flashed in the largest cloud, and a stunning peal of thunder rang across heaven and earth.
The horses whinnied in fright, their steps growing frantic.
"Miss, we've entered Yunze Prefecture. Judging by the sky, a heavy rainstorm is coming. We need to find shelter quickly. You can't afford to get caught in a storm here in Yunze Prefecture. Even a man of iron would come down with a chill that would keep him bedridden for days."
A burly man in fitted clothes said this beside the carriage window. The head of the woman in the green skirt immediately emerged from it. "Ever since the Official Path was built, no one has traveled this old road for years. I wonder if there's anywhere to shelter from the rain. Have you sent anyone to look nearby?"
The burly man nodded. "I've already sent a few of our brothers ahead on horseback to search. They'll come right back as soon as they find something."
The woman in the green skirt said, "Good. Then tell everyone to pick up the pace. If we really can't find shelter, put on the rain capes and bamboo hats we prepared in advance. The less rain we get soaked with, the better."
"Miss, one of the carriages is also carrying dozens of waterproof animal hides. The master had them loaded before we set out," the maid Xiaochan reminded her from inside the carriage.
The woman in the green skirt turned back with a smile. "Good thing you reminded me. I nearly forgot."
Just then, several figures appeared on the road ahead, accompanied by the rapid clatter of hoofbeats.
The Li Family Caravan's guards took a closer look. They were the very brothers who had ridden out earlier to search for shelter.
The men rode straight up to the carriage where the woman in the green skirt sat, panting as they said, "Miss, we found a temple on the hillside beside the road, three li ahead. We can take shelter there."
At the news, relief spread across the faces of the Li Family Caravan's guards.
No one wanted to get caught in the rain in Yunze Prefecture. Even with rain capes and bamboo hats for protection, the storm could still kill a man.
The caravan quickened its pace and soon reached the temple.
Just as the guards who had gone ahead reported, there was indeed a sizable Buddhist temple on the hillside. To reach it, they had to follow a dirt track that wound around the slope.
The track was narrow and rutted, making it a considerable challenge for the carriages.
Fortunately, the Li Family Caravan's drivers were highly skilled, and in the end, the entire caravan made it to the temple gates.
Withered vines wound around the walls; broken tiles and bricks gaped at the entrance.
Two stone guardian statues, each missing half its head, stood on either side of the temple gate. The old wooden doors were rotten and worn, and the characters on the signboard had all but faded away.
A breath of desolation and age swept over them. This was clearly an abandoned temple, left unrepaired and unattended for many years.
"Miss, this place..." Xiaochan asked nervously. "Are we still going to shelter here?"
Everyone knew that Evil Spirits often haunted the wilderness, and abandoned Buddhist temples, monasteries, Taoist temples, and shrines were their favorite hiding places.
Aside from heroes who had some skill and delighted in slaying demons, and desperate men who didn't fear death, hardly any ordinary people dared spend the night in such abandoned places.
If it weren't for the rain, the Li Family Caravan's temporary stop was supposed to be Shen Family Town, forty li away. A clan expert of the eighth rank from the Path of Music was stationed there.
But now it was obvious they wouldn't reach Shen Family Town before the downpour began.
For a moment, the woman in the green skirt regretted that they hadn't been able to travel with the four Demon Subduing Captains they had met a few days ago. If a Demon Subduing Captain were here, there would be no need to worry about this sort of thing.
The Li Family Caravan had a long journey ahead to deliver its goods, and time was already tight. They couldn't afford too many delays on the road.
And after being caught in Yunze Prefecture's downpour, any guard who came down with a chill would be a serious problem. It would greatly slow their progress.
But abandoning guards who fell ill would weaken the caravan's defenses.
So the woman in the green skirt had no reason to turn down this ready-made shelter.
"Take out the demon-repelling artifacts we prepared and give everyone one to carry. Be careful, and don't let your guard down. We'll stay here until the rain lets up, then leave," the woman in the green skirt said.
"Yes."
A guard immediately carried a large wooden chest down from one of the carriages. When the group opened it, they saw it was packed with Bagua mirrors, copper cash swords, peachwood swords, Talisman bronze mirrors, Buddha statues, Buddhist prayer beads, and all sorts of other things.
They were an assortment of magical artifacts the Li Family had purchased at great expense from renowned orthodox sects across the various Paths. They could ward off Evil Spirits and suppress malign entities.
Once every guard had taken an artifact, they felt considerably calmer.
There were many of them. If they really encountered an Evil Spirit, this pile of artifacts gave them a chance to fight back.
Click!
Two guards stepped forward and pushed open the doors. With a harsh scrape, the scene inside the temple slowly came into view.
Weeds grew everywhere, stone lanterns lay toppled, and the ancient temple stood in ruins, a picture of desolation and misery.
The walls throughout the temple were covered in colorful murals depicting all sorts of scenes and a multitude of figures.
Even after years of neglect, the murals remained remarkably intact and exquisite. It was hard not to marvel at them.
They drove the carriages one after another into the temple and stopped beneath a covered corridor whose roof was still intact.
Before long, thunder rumbled across the sky. With the patter of rain, the downpour from Yunze Prefecture finally came crashing down.
In just a few breaths, the curtain of rain had grown so dense that no one could see five paces ahead. Rain hammered the temple grounds, splashing higher than a man.
That alone showed just how terrifying this sudden storm was.
"Good thing we found somewhere to shelter. With rain like this, even a rain cape and bamboo hat wouldn't save you. You'd be done for once you got soaked."
"We're lucky. Thank Amitabha Buddha for giving us somewhere to take shelter."
"But now I'm wondering: how did a perfectly good Buddhist temple end up abandoned like this? By the way, has anyone traveled this old road before? Does anyone know the name of this temple?"
All the guards sheltering beneath the eaves looked confused and shook their heads, saying they didn't know.
Only one guard in his fifties wore a thoughtful expression, as if he knew something but couldn't quite remember.
No one paid him any attention, though. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the downpour outside the eaves.
Yunze Prefecture had received heavy rainfall since ancient times. Sometimes the rain came down so hard it could wash away houses that weren't sturdily built.
That was why people said, "Black clouds turn the sky to ink; white rain beads leap into Yunze."
"What a downpour. It looks like it won't let up anytime soon. I hope it eases by sunset so we can get back on the road. I don't want to spend the night in a place like this," one guard muttered.
The sun sank in the west, and dusk fell.
The rain showed no sign of weakening. When the last glimmer of daylight disappeared beyond the temple's flying eaves, night officially descended.
Crackle, crackle!
Inside the Mahavira Hall, the dry branches and dead grass the group had gathered from around the temple popped and crackled in the fire.
Everyone knew there was no way they could continue traveling now. They might as well build a bonfire at once. Its light would at least make them feel a little safer.
"We'll split into three groups for the night watch, one hour per group. Stay within this main hall. No one goes outside without permission. Wherever you're going, bring at least five brothers along, even if you only need to relieve yourself. And if you do, take care of it near the entrance. Don't wander too far. You all know why, so use your heads," the caravan leader said to the guards, standing beside the bonfire.
Since they'd been forced to stop here, there was no point complaining. They simply had to do their duty as best they could.
Everyone present had traveled far and wide, so they understood that perfectly well.
As the Li Family's eldest daughter, the woman in the green skirt didn't need to stand watch. Xiaochan, her personal maid who attended to her daily needs, didn't need to join the watch rotation either.
After all, everyone else was a grown man. They could manage without a little girl's help.
After handing out dry rations and water, those assigned to the second half of the night lay down on the ground and went to sleep. The guards on the first watch took up their artifacts and weapons and began patrolling and inspecting the Mahavira Hall.
Silence, drowsiness, sleep.
Rain outside the hall; firelight within.
"Ah!!!"
At some unknown hour, a scream suddenly rang through the hall. Everyone who had been sleeping jolted awake, scrambling to their feet and anxiously looking around.
"What happened? Who's hurt?"
"I don't know! Who's on watch right now? Check whether any of our brothers are missing."
The woman in the green skirt stood beside the bonfire, her expression grave, though a trace of sleepiness still lingered in her eyes.
At that moment, no one dared go back to sleep before they knew what had happened.
"Miss, there's blood on the wall over there in the hall. Three of our brothers have vanished," the caravan leader reported after he had figured out what was going on.
"This..."
The nearby guards felt their hearts sink. Everyone knew what this meant.
It had to be an Evil Spirit at work! If they stayed in the hall, they might end up like the three missing men.
But the rain outside was still pouring down. Leaving the temple now might be even more dangerous.
Just as the woman in the green skirt was hesitating, someone suddenly pointed at the white wall nearby, where the firelight cast its shadow, and cried out, "What's that?!"
At the sound, everyone turned to look.
They saw countless human figures moving as if alive, dancing across the surface of the white wall.
Among them, though, three figures moved in a way that stood out sharply.
They kept waving their arms and pounding the wall with their fists, paying no heed to the other figures trying to stop them.
It was almost as if... they were trying to escape from inside the wall.
Just then, a rumbling shook the hall.
Everyone looked toward the source of the noise, and their faces changed in an instant.
Terror, shock, and bewilderment appeared on every face.
"No!!!"
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