"": 200,
"": "",
"": "When Luo Bin woke again, his surroundings were much cleaner.
Day had long since broken, and sunlight shone into the Buddha hall.
Kong An wore a clean, brand-new monk's robe, his shoulders completely exposed. The tiny wounds covering them were clearly visible; some had scabbed over, while others were oozing pus.
His face was covered in wounds as well, with patches of unnatural redness.
No ordinary person could have endured that discomfort. Insect bites inevitably itched and hurt, yet Kong An sat on a prayer cushion chanting scriptures as though nothing were wrong.
A crimson head with a pointed mouth, fangs, six eyes, three ears, and flared nostrils rested atop the golden Buddha statue. For a moment, even the statue's gold seemed to have been overtaken by that red.
Zhang Yunxi, Bai Wei, Hu Xing, Miao Miao, and Luo Bin himself lay on the ground with their hands and feet tightly bound, unable to move.
A heavy stone slab weighed down a jar containing Miao Miao's grandfather.
Someone lay in front of Kong An.
Strictly speaking, it was an incomplete person.
It was the Old Woman of the Miao People.
The Old Woman was barely breathing, already on the verge of death.
Her severed hands and feet had been placed on the altar table and tied with red cloth.
Her wounds had been treated. There were no Gu Worms left, and the bleeding had stopped.
Her lips kept moving, but there was no telling what she was saying.
The chanting stopped.
Kong An rose and bowed reverently to the Buddha statue.
He recited something strange and awkward-sounding. In any case, Luo Bin could not understand it.
The next moment, Kong An took out a sharp knife, bent down, and stabbed it between the Old Woman's