After the first seal was broken, the sky did not clear. Instead, it grew darker and darker.
At some point, the full moon had vanished without a trace. The entire sky seemed to be shrouded in a deep black curtain, and not a glimmer of light could be seen through it.
Even the wind had fallen silent.
"Benefactor, there isn't much time left." The Old Monk gazed up at the sky, his voice growing hoarse and raspy. "The Bodhisattva has seen you and me. It seems She doesn't intend to wait until the full number of days has passed, but plans to break free of the seal early."
With that, he turned his head, his gaze as still as an ancient well.
"This old monk is going to pick up the pace. Please keep up."
Zhou You nodded.
After giving the female ghost another face, the two returned to the crossroads.
"Hey, monk, should we take the middle path next?"
To his surprise, the other man shook his head and flatly refused.
"No. The resentment on the middle path is the strongest. Even after using incense, this old monk would have to suppress it with his spiritual power again. Otherwise, you'd never come back. So this time, we'll take the path on the right."
"The eyeball Sinister Object's territory?" Zhou You frowned. "But, monk, I've already used the cursed object for that path. How are you going to get through?"
The Old Monk raised his head, revealing a face crisscrossed with dark red veins.
"Don't worry, Benefactor. This poor monk has a way."
So Zhou You could only shrug and follow him.
As soon as they stepped onto the path, the feeling of being "watched" by something hit him. This time it was especially intense. Zhou You felt goose bumps cover his back in an instant—he had barely set foot on the path, and that thing already seemed to be right beside him!
But seeing the Old Monk's steady pace, he took a deep breath and calmed himself.
They had walked for about four or five minutes when the Old Monk suddenly stopped.
The Sinister Object in the fog was growing restless, as if it might attack at any moment. The lights around them flickered on and off. Whenever Zhou You caught a glimpse of them, he could see that they were no longer light bulbs, but bloody eyeballs, one after another.
The Old Monk paid them no mind. He gently raised a hand to his face, and his withered fingers sank into his eye sockets. Then...
He suddenly wrenched them out!
He had gouged out both his own eyes!
There was no scream, no groan, not even the convulsions an ordinary person might suffer after such a grievous injury. The Old Monk simply held the moist eyeballs in his hands and rapidly began reciting scripture.
"Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in Trayastrimsa Heaven, preaching the Dharma to his mother. At that time, in countless worlds in the ten directions..."
As the scripture continued, the eyeballs quickly hardened and set, becoming just like real glass eyes.
Then, just as Zhou You had done at the beginning, the Old Monk crushed both eyeballs without hesitation!
Squelch!
Blood and mucus splattered everywhere!
A voice of overwhelming delight rang out from the fog behind them. At the same time, the Old Monk turned around and faced Zhou You with his empty eye sockets.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry!"
With hurried steps, Zhou You returned to the temple of Guhyapada Vajra.
But after hesitating for a long while, he finally looked at the Old Monk's empty eye sockets and asked, "Monk, is this the method you mentioned for 'getting around the Sinister Objects'?"
The Old Monk nodded.
"That's right. These three Sinister Objects were all cultivated through the method of 'stripping away.' To get past them, we have to deceive them with something imbued with yin energy, and make them think it's what they're missing... And in this place, aside from what Gui Po is holding, all that's left is this old monk's body, which has passed through the Hungry Ghost Path."
The Old Monk's expression was calm, as if losing both eyes were nothing out of the ordinary.
"Of course, this trick can only be used once. If you hadn't brought those two cursed objects, Benefactor, even if I fought to the death, I could only have broken the seal on one temple."
After explaining it to Zhou You, the Old Monk slowly walked up to the Buddha statue. As usual, he bowed devoutly, then threw himself against it once more.
Blood and filth poured into him. His body swelled, then deflated like a punctured balloon. But this time, it didn't return to its original shape. Instead, he looked as if he'd grown a whole size larger.
When he moved, Zhou You could hear liquid sloshing inside him.
The Old Monk still paid it no mind.
Though he was blind, he faced Zhou You, his expression as steady as ever.
"Sorry, Benefactor. This poor monk is blind now. For the rest of the way... I'll have to rely on you to lead."
The third path was much calmer than the first two.
This time, however, they switched places.
Zhou You walked in front, and the Old Monk followed behind.
Just as they were about to reach their destination, the Old Monk suddenly spoke.
"Benefactor, you can light the incense here. That Sinister Object will die as soon as it sees it. We need to cover its senses before we can pass."
Zhou You agreed and took out his lighter. He was just about to light the incense when the Old Monk suddenly spoke again.
"I know you've been suspicious of me since earlier, Benefactor. But now that we've reached the most crucial moment, there's only one thing I want to say."
"Please trust me. At the very least, I don't mean you any harm."
Zhou You smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he simply lit the incense.
Then he said, "All right. I trust you."
Smoke curled around them. Wisps of it rose slowly with his words, then drifted forward without a breeze, as if something were controlling it.
Zhou You held the burning incense aloft, with the Old Monk following behind him in silence. But when they reached the Pious Ghost, the incense suddenly burned much faster!
Just like the candle in Building Four, it burned at an alarming rate as soon as it neared a Sinister Object!
But then the Old Monk stepped forward.
"Benefactor, let me handle this."
Without waiting for Zhou You to answer, he drew a fingernail across his wrist. Dark, black blood gushed out, but when it poured over the incense, it didn't snuff out the faint flame. It only slowed the burning.
In exchange, the Old Monk's hand turned to bare bone!
"The incense should last at least half an hour now, Benefactor. Go on."
Before long, the short, thin old man appeared again. But this time, it didn't look at Zhou You. Its bewildered eyes gazed ahead. It had clearly become a vengeful ghost, yet its expression was utterly entranced. It stared at the smoke without moving or uttering a word.
Though the Old Monk could no longer see, he seemed to sense what was happening. He explained, "Making incense from infant bones is a common practice in the XZ Esoteric Sect. It lets people and ghosts see the scenery they miss most. That ghost is probably reunited with its family in an illusion right now."
Then he sighed softly.
"The girl who loved beauty most had her face stripped away. The child who loved looking up at his father had his eyes gouged out. The man who cherished his family most lost everything... That is the nature of Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva. She only likes to take away what people cherish, and will even make them destroy it with their own hands... If She gets out, this city will surely become a living hell. This is the last one, Benefactor. Hurry."
Zhou You nodded and led the way down the fork in the road.
A few minutes later, the final temple appeared before him.
Seeing that the mission was nearly complete, Zhou You began to relax. But the moment he pushed open the door, all expression suddenly froze on his face.
Then, with a creaking turn, he looked back at the Old Monk and asked, "Monk, didn't you say that once we broke the seals on the three Buddhas, we'd be able to seal the Bodhisattva again?"
When the Old Monk nodded, Zhou You raised his arm and pointed into the temple.
"Then answer me this."
"Where's the Buddha?"
Before you continue