In Golden Buddha Temple, Finding the Black Brick

There were two items inside the silk pouch.

One of them was a note.

Shen Han leaned closer to the oil lamp to read it. The handwriting on the note was fresh, containing only ten characters:

All manner of troubles, all lie within the Reclining Buddha.

The words were concise and pointed to a clear target—the Reclining Buddha! However, what exactly was this Reclining Buddha?

Having no leads for the moment, Shen Han tucked the note away and turned his attention to the other item.

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A human skin mask.

Shen Han immediately unfolded the mask. It felt cool to the touch, and the surface was made of some special material, crafted to be incredibly thin and lifelike, even featuring pores and texture.

"Let's try it out..."

He placed the mask directly onto his face.

The mask clung to his skin perfectly, seamless and integrated with his entire face; there was not the slightest hint of anything unusual.

He brought over a basin of water and looked into it.

At the sight, he was even more astonished. The person reflected on the water's surface had completely changed into someone else—a middle-aged man with an extremely ugly appearance, and there wasn't a single flaw to be seen.

"This is interesting... wait, my voice?"

What he found even more incredible was that after putting on the mask, his voice had also become much hoarser and deeper.

This thing was amazing!

Shen Han removed the mask, returning to his original appearance.

In the future, if there were matters where it was inconvenient to show his true self, he could wear this mask and handle them under a different identity!

"Guard Zhan, how does your arm feel?"

The next day, upon arriving at Hanging Pot Medical Hall, Shen Han went straight to the guard quarters.

Zhan Chaoyang looked radiant: "It doesn't hurt at all. Young Doctor Shen, you truly live up to your reputation as a divine physician!"

"It is mainly because you have a strong constitution, Guard Zhan. Come, let me give you another needle and change your dressing."

"I'll trouble you."

After changing the dressing, Shen Han remembered the note in the silk pouch. His heart stirred, and he asked, "Right, Guard Zhan, you've been knocking about Three Rivers County for many years, so I wanted to ask you something."

Zhan Chaoyang asked curiously, "What is it?"

"In Three Rivers County, where is there a Reclining Buddha?"

Shen Han said each word clearly.

"Reclining Buddha?"

Zhan Chaoyang was stunned on the spot. "Let me think... there shouldn't be one... wait, there is!"

Shen Han's eyes lit up: "Please, enlighten me, Guard Zhan."

"In the west of the county, there is a Golden Buddha Temple, and inside lies a statue of a Reclining Buddha. However, that Golden Buddha Temple has been abandoned for many years and has long since lost its incense. Young Doctor Shen, why are you looking for a Reclining Buddha?"

"I was just asking out of curiosity."

"Hmm, the Golden Buddha Temple is probably only occasionally used by wandering beggars for shelter; it's not very safe. You'd best not go there, Young Doctor Shen."

"I understand."

Shen Han smiled.

Everything in the medical hall went on as usual during the day. Everyone in the hall avoided talking about the Black Dragon Gang collecting protection fees the night before.

Soon, night fell.

Shen Han found a set of black clothes to change into, put on the human skin mask, and quietly headed toward the west of the city.

At night, there were very few people in Three Rivers County.

The west side of the county was a relatively underdeveloped area with scattered houses and was even more desolate.

As he turned a corner in an alley, he saw a carriage slowly approaching.

Hee-haw!

Perhaps it was Shen Han's hideously ugly face that startled the horse, but the driver suddenly lost control of the animal.

The carriage instantly accelerated, charging toward Shen Han.

Thud!

Shen Han dodged to the side, and the carriage slammed into the low wall beside him, finally coming to a halt.

"What happened?"

Two men jumped off the carriage, one after the other.

Shen Han recognized these two men.

One of them was Young Escort Chief Lin Tanzhi of the Fukang Escort Agency, and the other was the agency's steward.

"What an ugly person..."

The steward, holding a lantern, blurted out his inner thoughts the moment he saw Shen Han.

"Shut your mouth!"

Lin Tanzhi hurriedly interrupted him.

He walked over to Shen Han with a smile and said politely, "Sir, I am truly sorry for the fright."

Young Escort Chief Lin didn't recognize me... Shen Han thought to himself.

The human-skin mask was truly no ordinary item!

"It is of no consequence. He spoke the truth; my appearance is indeed very ugly."

Shen Han waved his hand dismissively.

Lin Tanzhi felt a bit awkward and quickly added, "Sir, you need not belittle yourself. Appearance does not define everything. As long as one has ability, one can still carve out a path for oneself!"

As he spoke, he took out two taels of silver.

"As an apology, please take this, sir. We have urgent business to attend to, so we must be off."

"Safe travels."

Watching the carriage depart, Shen Han tucked the silver into his robes.

Young Escort Chief Lin is truly charitable; it is no wonder his reputation among the common people is so high.

This little accident also served to test the miraculous nature of the mask.

Alright, time to attend to my own business!

Following the address provided by Zhan Chaoyang, it did not take long for Shen Han to arrive at the entrance of the Golden Buddha Temple.

The temple was not large, consisting of only a single hall.

The temple doors were missing, and the walls were riddled with holes; it was clear at a glance that it had been abandoned for a long time.

"Is this the place mentioned in the note?"

Shen Han looked around before stepping into the Golden Buddha Temple.

Compared to the outside, the interior of the temple was even more of a mess, with broken tiles and filth covering the floor, and a pungent stench assaulting his nose.

Shen Han frowned and looked straight ahead.

There lay a Reclining Buddha.

The statue was over twenty feet long, but its head was missing, and its body was pitted and in ruins.

Shen Han circled the Reclining Buddha.

He found nothing for the time being.

"All worldly troubles lie within the Reclining Buddha... Could it be that the item is hidden inside the statue's belly?"

He tapped lightly on the body of the Reclining Buddha.

It was not hollow, which meant there was no hidden compartment inside.

Squeak, squeak!

Just then, the sound of footsteps crunching on fallen leaves came from outside the temple.

Shen Han made a split-second decision, leaping out through a rear window and hiding himself behind the wall.

The people who entered were two beggars.

"Today was a bust. I only got two coppers. How about you?"

"A little better than you, three coppers."

"If things keep going like this, we're done for."

"How about we stake out Miaoyu Pavilion and steal? Those lechers all have money anyway."

"Fine, let's have a go at it ourselves first, then we'll head over."

"You're so bad..."

Shen Han, behind the wall, was dumbfounded. Being a beggar was one thing, and stealing money was understandable, but the two of them were both men...

Half an incense stick later, the two beggars finished their business.

"Let's go."

"I'll hide the five coppers first."

"Mm."

One of the beggars walked to the corner of the wall, crouched down, and reached out to pry away a brick.

There was actually a hidden compartment inside.

He took a pitch-black earthenware jar out of the hidden compartment and placed the copper coins inside.

After finishing this, the two beggars left the temple hand in hand.

Inside Golden Buddha Temple, tranquility was restored once again.

So there were hidden compartments in the walls of this dilapidated temple...

Once the beggars were completely out of sight, Shen Han returned to the temple.

He carefully inspected all four walls.

Soon, on the north side, he found a hidden compartment.

Inside the compartment was a wooden box!

Shen Han immediately took it out.

There was almost no dust on the wooden box, which indicated that it hadn't been placed there very long ago.

Click!

Shen Han opened the wooden box.

Inside lay a palm-sized black brick and a piece of high-quality silk cloth.

The black brick was quite unique, emitting a purple glow from its entire body.

He had no idea what kind of material it was made of.

On the silk cloth were a few lines of text, along with four diagrams.

This must be the brick that Iron Fist Martial Hall is looking for. What is written on the silk cloth? Oh well, it's pitch black in here and I can't see clearly; I'll take it home and study it slowly.

Shen Han didn't overthink it.

After shoving the empty wooden box back into the hidden compartment, he quietly slipped away.