Night Reconnaissance at the Golden Buddha
A deep voice rang out.
Yang Xiao paused slightly.
He turned his head and saw three gray-robed monks emerge from the shadows in the distance, their faces obscured by the trees.
With a thought, Yang Xiao activated his Thousand Faces ability, which allowed him to change the appearance of the others before they showed themselves.
His face began to change, his facial features gradually reshaped, and his bones slightly shifted.
In the blink of an eye, his figure became hunched, his face aged, and his eyes gained a touch of compassion and majesty.
When he turned to face the gray-robed monk, he was already wearing a gray cloth short jacket and had a calm expression.
"Abbot Huiming?"
The monk was stunned. He quickly put down his staff, put his hands together, and bowed in respect.
The two monks behind him also bowed respectfully.
"Abbot, why have you come in person so late at night?"
The leading monk raised his head, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
He lowered his voice, looked around cautiously, and asked, "Abbot, didn't you say you weren't coming to cultivate today? Why are you here again?"
Yang Xiao's expression remained unchanged; he merely glanced at the monk indifferently.
"I was worried something might happen, so I came to check on things."
His tone was calm, yet carried a hint of authority, exactly like Huiming's voice.
"The abbot is wise; it was our oversight." The monk dared not ask any more questions, and quickly bowed, stepping aside to make way for him in an inviting gesture.
"Abbot, please. I'll take you inside."
Yang Xiao nodded and followed the monk through the stone gate into the Back Mountain.
The mountain path Back Mountain is winding, with dense trees on both sides. A gentle night breeze brings a refreshing coolness.
Yang Xiao walked along the mountain path, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
Along the way, they encountered several groups of monks, who all bowed respectfully to the "abbot" without any suspicion.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the group arrived at the mountaintop platform.
The enormous Golden Buddha stood in the center of the platform, half of its body buried in the mountain, radiating a faint golden light.
The light was soft and warm, casting a hazy glow over the surroundings.
"Abbot, please."
The monk walked to the foot of the Golden Buddha and pressed his hand on a stone slab.
Click--
With a soft sound, the stone slab slowly moved, revealing a dark passage.
The passageway extends downwards, with winding stone steps leading to the interior of the Golden Buddha.
Yang Xiao followed the monk down the stone steps.
Upon entering the interior of the Golden Buddha, a strong, fishy smell immediately hits you.
The fishy smell was mixed with an incredibly strong incense aroma, the two clashing so much that it almost made one nauseous.
Yang Xiao frowned slightly, suppressing his discomfort.
After climbing about twenty stone steps, he arrived at a stone door.
The stone door was pushed open by the monk, and the sight before him made Yang Xiao's pupils shrink sharply.
This is a huge, man-made secret chamber located inside the Golden Buddha.
The interior of the Golden Buddha, which was normally airtight, was now as bright as day.
The Golden Buddha's light that bathes all living beings during the day is merely a projection created by the ever-burning candlelight inside the Golden Buddha!
The walls of the secret chamber were covered with strange runes, which looked like ghostly scribbles under the light of countless candles, mysterious and eerie.
The ground was covered with crisscrossing blood grooves, in which flowed dark red liquid, emitting a strong fishy smell.
Incense sticks were inserted on both sides of the blood trough, their smoke swirling around in an attempt to mask the nauseating stench.
In the center of the secret chamber further inside are several stone platforms.
Several emaciated bodies lay on the stone platform, men and women, old and young.
Their bodies were covered in fine needles, which were connected to copper tubes that extended into the blood tank.
The essence blood flowed slowly out of the copper tube, into the blood tank, and then flowed into the depths of the secret chamber.
Yang Xiao's gaze followed the blood groove, which was a huge blood pool with a golden futon sitting in the center.
At this moment, there was no one on the golden futon; it must have been Huiming sitting there.
Several monks were busy beside the blood pool.
They carried a corpse onto a stone platform and then skillfully inserted fine needles into various places.
The essence blood flowed out through the copper tube, into the blood trough, and then into the golden futon in the blood pool.
Yang Xiao watched this scene, his eyebrows and eyes bulging with veins.
This is no holy Buddhist site at all; it's clearly no different from a den of Demon!
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.
If he were to make a move now, it would inevitably alarm the entire Golden Buddha Temple, and with only a few Captain with him, it would be difficult to maintain the standoff.
Yang Xiao's gaze swept across the secret room, noticing a ledger in the corner that detailed the origins of each corpse, all belonging to those "devout" pilgrims.
Taking advantage of the monks' inattention, he quietly slipped the register into his robes before giving instructions to the others:
"Pretend I wasn't here. Don't disturb the front yard; the people from the Demon Suppression Division are still in the temple."
The monks quickly bowed and agreed.
"Yes, Abbot."
Yang Xiao nodded, then turned and retraced his steps.
Along the way, he encountered several more groups of monks, who still used their Thousand Faces to disguise themselves as Huiming and get away with it.
When they returned to the side room, Zhao Kui, Old Saber, and Lu Mingchuan were still waiting.
Seeing Yang Xiao return safely, Zhao Kui breathed a sigh of relief. He then stepped forward and stood at the door to carefully sense if any hidden auras were following him before closing the door and sitting down.
"Deputy General Yang, have you discovered anything?"
Yang Xiao didn't speak, but simply took out the roster from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Look at this."
Zhao Kui picked up the roster, flipped through a few pages, and his expression immediately changed.
"It seems we made the right choice coming here. The intrigue and corruption within this Golden Buddha Temple are even more serious than I imagined."
Old Saber leaned closer, glanced at the area, and his expression darkened.
"These bald monks..."
The more he looked, the angrier he became. When he saw the back, he slammed his hand on the table, grabbed a knife, and was about to rush out.
"I'm going to slaughter these beasts!"
"Old Saber, calm down." Lu Mingchuan quickly reached out to stop him, "Let's see what Deputy General Yang has to say first."
"Deputy General Yang, these beasts are using living people to practice their skills, I can't stand it!" Old Saber stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with rage.
"I know."
Yang Xiao's gaze swept over the roster on the table, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"How can we be the only ones to witness something this big?"
"I want the worshippers who come to the temple tomorrow to see for themselves what exactly this Golden Buddha they've spent their entire fortunes to offer as a sacrifice."
Yang Xiao turned his head and looked at a Demon-Suppressing Captain.
"Order the Demon-Suppressing Captain at the foot of the mountain to surround the mountain tonight, and forbid anyone from going up or down."
"Tomorrow we'll cut down the mountain and destroy the temple!"
The Captain was taken aback, then realized what was happening, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
"Yes!"
He turned and went out, disappearing beyond the temple's high walls in a few leaps.
Down the mountain, at the Demon Suppression Guard camp.
In the darkness of night, squads of Demon Suppression Guard quietly mobilized upon hearing the summons.
They were dressed in dark, close-fitting outfits, with eagle and cloud patterns embroidered on their lapels, which fluttered gently in the night breeze.
At the foot of the mountain, all the key roads were guarded, Back Mountain. All the Demon Suppression Guard quietly set up an encirclement around the Golden Buddha Temple according to the plan.
Not even a mosquito could fly past, let alone a human shadow.
The black robes, embroidered with eagle and cloud patterns, surged in the night, like a vengeful ghost.