Ghost-Shaped Figurine

The bell rang crisp and clear.

Perhaps because there was one more person walking along today, the street tonight seemed unusually quiet. The anomaly had not deepened; the human faces in the stairwells merely lurked by the doorways, watching Zhou You and his companion with predatory glares, yet they dared not advance a single step further.

The red lights in the windows extinguished one by one, leaving only the sound of two sets of footsteps echoing through the old street.

After walking for a long time, it was Zhou You who finally broke the silence.

"I say, Master... never mind, let's just call you Monk, it rolls off the tongue easier. Didn't you intend to stop me just now?"

"Benefactor... what are you talking about?"

Zhou You grinned.

"Monk, don't play dumb. You knew full well what the consequences would be for that security captain if he stayed there. As a disciple of the Buddha, aren't you people supposed to be guided by compassion? I really thought you would stop me."

Perhaps the influence of the dark night was too heavy on him, causing his skin-and-bones frame to hunch even further. After a long moment, the Old Monk replied.

"Buddhism does indeed teach that one can become a Buddha the moment they lay down their butcher's knife, and there are methods for the Buddha to convert demons and heretics, cleansing them of their murderous karma to return them to the path of light—but compared to those, I actually prefer a saying from the Confucian school."

The Old Monk paused, then continued.

"If you repay injury with kindness, with what then do you repay kindness? Repay injury with justice, and repay kindness with kindness. I could have pulled him back, but what of the innocent people he harmed? When they were killed by the ghost, who was there to pull them back?"

"Therefore, everything he suffered was his own karmic retribution, and I, a humble monk, simply chose not to interfere."

Zhou You's voice cut off, and it was the Old Monk's turn to ask in return.

"Then, Benefactor, I would also like to ask you: why do you not seem the least bit panicked? You must know that you are already dead. Why, upon learning of your own death, do you still appear... so carefree?"

Zhou You only smiled.

"I suppose... I'm just used to being dead by now."

The Old Monk was momentarily speechless. Seeing the calm expression on the man's face, he opened his mouth, but ultimately asked no further questions.

With that, the two walked for another stretch until the distant intersection became vaguely visible.

"Monk, we've arrived at the destination. Which way do you choose?"

The Old Monk looked toward the intersection and frowned.

"The thing in the center has the heaviest resentment; it should be the subordinate whose entire family was killed. The right side is dark and lightless, with a faint feeling of being watched; that's likely the son whose eyes were gouged out. The left side is thick with yin energy; even from this far away, one can feel a sense of grievance and longing. That must be the daughter who was skinned—in terms of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster... let's start with the left."

Having said that, the Old Monk shook the skin, and with a flick of his fingernails, he actually split it into two halves through the seams of the skin.

"This is the first one. I won't waste my spiritual power, so I must ask you to take the lead. We will stick the first piece to its face as we pass by, and the second piece when we return. But please, remember: do not make any unnecessary movements, and absolutely do not provoke the other party. Otherwise, if the skin doesn't stick, both you and I will die."

Zhou You nodded in agreement.

They walked in silence.

Several dozen minutes later, the two arrived at the location of the first Skin-Peeling Ghost. But just as they were about to step into the area, the Old Monk suddenly reached out his withered, stick-like arm and dragged Zhou You directly into a shadow.

"Wait!"

"Monk, what are you..."

The other man pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

"There is a situation."

Zhou You followed his gaze, but his movements froze instantly.

The female ghost was different from when he had encountered her before. She was not curled up on the ground hugging her knees, but was pacing back and forth between several streetlights, her hands bloodily clutching a pile of internal organs and chunks of flesh, occasionally tearing at them as if to vent her rage.

Zhou You squinted under the light to identify the mess, and only then did he vaguely recognize a familiar mouth amidst the bloody, mangled remains.

Holy crap, look who finally got what was coming to them.

The gloating man immediately wanted to flip the remains a middle finger, but his sleeve was pulled by the Old Monk beside him.

"Benefactor, this situation is wrong, very wrong. Under normal circumstances, this ghost would never become like this. Someone must have disturbed it earlier and triggered another killing spree, causing its resentment to spiral out of control and turn it into this state. I just don't know who it was... Benefactor... Benefactor?"

The man coughed dryly, then put on an extremely serious face and said to the Old Monk.

"So, Monk, do you have any ideas?"

The Old Monk thought for a while, his gaze suddenly becoming somewhat... hesitant.

"I do... I have one, but I'm afraid you will have to make a sacrifice, Benefactor."

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"...I may need a piece of your flesh—I am truly sorry. If I weren't already reduced to skin and bones, I wouldn't trouble you..."

But to the Old Monk's surprise, upon hearing this, Zhou You simply and generously spread his arms.

"Which piece, and how big?"

After all, I'm the one who caused this mess, so I have to be the one to clean it up.

The Old Monk was stunned for a moment before whispering.

"It doesn't need to be very large, just a little over three qian will do. The location doesn't matter, but it's best if it doesn't have too much blood..."

Zhou You pulled out a small knife, rolled up his sleeve, selected a spot that wouldn't bleed excessively, and without even looking, sliced it right off!

A piece of pale pink, blood-streaked flesh fell to the ground, accompanied by a face that suddenly split into a grin.

"You don't have to look at me like that, Monk. I mutilated myself far more than this yesterday; I'm already getting used to it." Zhou You took out the Yungu Ointment, feeling its nauseatingly slick texture as he smeared it onto his wound. "Now that you have the flesh, what do you intend to do?"

The Old Monk did not reply. Instead, he picked up the piece of flesh, wiped away the dust, and pulled a carving knife from his robes, carefully beginning to etch into it.

Zhou You fell silent as well, crossing his arms and watching quietly from the side.

Layers of Sanskrit characters gradually emerged on the flesh. As for the text... Zhou You didn't understand it and couldn't spot any issues, but for some reason, he had a very strange feeling.

Why does this... seem a bit eerie?

Before he could dwell on it, the Old Monk finished the final stroke. He then took out two sticks of incense, carefully snapped them, and inserted them into the top of the flesh.

Then, he knelt on the ground and began to chant scriptures softly toward the object.

--An incredible thing happened then.

Accompanied by a faint chuckle that seemed to come from nowhere, the piece of flesh began to change amidst the chanting. Skin, fat, and connective tissue fused, twisted, and reshaped themselves. Within seconds, the object had transformed into a lifelike figurine.

And that figurine bore the exact face of Zhou You.

Only then did the Old Monk break into a violent coughing fit, as if those few minutes had drained him of all his strength. He struggled to climb up from the ground, then solemnly pressed the figurine into Zhou You's hands.

"Benefactor, the Ghost-Shaped Figurine is complete. The rest is up to you!"