Gui Bodhisattva

Zhou You felt his sphincter tighten instantly.

"--Holy crap, you've got to be kidding me. You're setting up a jump-scare trap right in my face? In a space this tiny, how the hell am I supposed to play this 'game'?"

However, after waiting for a long time as if facing a formidable enemy, the charred child showed no intention of moving at all.

It simply tilted its small head, "looked" at Zhou You for a good while with its cracked, layered face, and then suddenly turned around and walked toward the door.

"This is... not planning to play a game? Wait, it seems like it wants me to follow it..." After thinking it over, Zhou You chose to follow the monster's footsteps.

After all, he was completely in the dark here; rather than wasting time searching room by room, it was better to follow this seemingly friendly child and see what it was actually up to.

Of course, the main reason was that his supply of resurrection coins was still plentiful, so he wasn't afraid even if he died once here—looking on the bright side, he could even reset the daytime time while he was at it.

The child didn't walk fast, but its figure kept flickering constantly. It seemed different from the one at night; it was difficult for it to solidify, especially under the sunlight, where its entire body would suddenly vanish, only to reappear on the other side after a long while.

It led Zhou You through those two doors and all the way to the second floor. Yet, it didn't stop in any of the rooms, not even glancing at highly suspicious places like the Staff Dormitory, Database, or Dean's Office, instead walking straight to the innermost side and stopping in front of an unremarkable wall.

Then, the charred figure stood still, raised its head, and just looked at Zhou You.

"You mean... you want me to go in?"

No affirmation, no negation, just a gaze.

Zhou You had no choice but to walk over himself. He habitually knocked on the wall first but didn't find any strange sounds, then poked around, but similarly saw no mechanisms to open it.

It looked like a very ordinary wall.

But Zhou You didn't give up because of that. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly turned around and walked a few steps to a window that had long since burned down, then leaned his body outside to observe the exterior of the building again.

A few seconds later, a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The size of the wall was wrong.

Compared to the end of the corridor, there was clearly a large blank space on the exterior wall—normally, unless the architect had a screw loose, a house would never be built like this, so there was only one conclusion.

"There must be a secret room or a mezzanine here."

Realizing this, Zhou You's search immediately became much more meticulous. He didn't even spare the surrounding rooms, and finally, after searching for a full ten minutes, he discovered a hidden mechanism under an office desk.

He reached his hand into the narrow gap and pulled it down with great effort. Accompanied by a dull thud, the wall opened up.

After crawling out covered in dust, Zhou You took another look at the silent, wordless ghost. Seeing that the other party still had no reaction, he could only shake his head gently before stepping into the secret room.

--At first glance, this was just a small room of about two meters. The room was also covered in dust, but unlike the outside, there were no traces of fire damage here, only the light was as dim as ever. Zhou You turned on his flashlight and shone it inside.

But the next second, his gaze was drawn to something.

It was a Bodhisattva Statue.

However, unlike the Bodhisattvas commonly seen in temples, this clay sculpture showed no signs of mercy or compassion. It sat cross-legged on a lotus throne with a twisted and insane expression. Its right hand covered its knee, fingers touching the ground in the Buddhist "subduing demons" mudra, yet beneath the throne were not demons or ghosts, but countless souls writhing and wailing in a sea of blood...

--At this moment, it was looking at Zhou You, as if looking at a sacrificial offering on an altar.

There was no other emotion, only pure appetite.

Then, the clay statue opened its mouth right in front of Zhou You, and a harsh, grating chant rang out.

"Om mani padme hum, Om Amideva Ayiside Hum Hrih..."

The Buddhist sounds entered his ears word by word. In a trance, Zhou You saw the Bodhisattva stained with fresh blood. All the souls were struggling in that sea of blood, begging for liberation, but receiving only the despair of never being reincarnated. Amidst the many roars, the Bodhisattva's face became increasingly ferocious, spiral-like sharp teeth growing in its throat, ready to swallow Zhou You's head—

"F!"

At the very moment he was about to be devoured, Zhou You gritted his teeth and directly activated Wuwo Ruding.

His rapidly dropping Sanity Value finally stabilized, and then, all the scenery faded away like a receding tide.

Looking again, the Bodhisattva Statue was still ferocious, but it no longer showed any signs of movement.

It was as if... the previous moment had just been a hallucination.

You have discovered an Erosion Point.

You have received a reward of 70 Soul Stones.

Current Soul Stone count: 260

You have discovered a key point of this world; a corner of the hidden story has been revealed to you. Please note, if you uncover the complete worldview before the end of the script, you will receive additional rewards.

By this time, Zhou You wiped his forehead and found it covered in sweat.

Normally, given his personality, he wouldn't have reacted this way even when encountering the most terrifying ghosts—but the situation just now was completely different. Facing this Buddha statue, Zhou You felt like a mouse being stared at by a cat—it was the absolute suppression of a natural predator, leaving him unable to put up any resistance, only able to close his eyes and wait for death.

Even now, he still felt a lingering fear.

Fortunately, Zhou You was someone with strong adaptability, or rather, self-regulation skills.

Closing his eyes and adjusting his breathing slightly, when he opened them again, there was no extra emotion in his eyes.

"--It looks like this Gui Bodhisattva is another key point of this instance. Although there is no direct evidence, it should have a direct connection to that Liu Family Richest Man, but the details about it..."

Zhou You looked down and found several lines of small text carved on the lotus throne.

"The good belong to Guiyuzhou, the bad belong to Guiyuxiao."

"The living belong to Guiyuzhou, the dead belong to Guiyuxiao."

"The unformed belong to Guiyuzhou, the formed belong to Guiyuxiao."

"Guiyuzhou, who has yet to go mad; Guiyuxiao, who has already lost his mind."

"Life as the offering, death as the rite."

"Obtain what you desire, offer up your heart."

It was neither poetry nor a sacrificial chant; the entire passage lacked a single rhyme, and the prose was a clumsy mix of classical and vernacular, as if a complete illiterate were forcing themselves to sound like a scholar.

Yet, these few lines still provided a wealth of information—so much that only a few pieces remained to connect all the clues together.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou You suddenly revealed a peculiar smile. He no longer looked at the Bodhisattva, but instead turned around to face the charred child.

Whether it was opening the secret chamber or manifesting hallucinations, the spirit had not moved an inch from start to finish. It was only when Zhou You turned back that the spirit, as if having completed all its tasks, slowly dissipated into the sunlight.

Zhou You remained silent for a few seconds, let out a soft sigh, and then turned to leave.