Crack!
Perhaps because Indra’s Eye released its uncanny power, the two stone statues slowly trembled, and cracks appeared in them.
"Om mani padme hum!" The distant strains of the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra sounded, after which the voice said, "These two flesh-body guardian statues guard the gates of our Nagarjuna Victory Temple. Their routine inspections are merely to prevent inauspicious things from entering the temple. Please do not test or resist them, High Monk."
Flesh-body statues? There really are bodies inside them! Qu Zan thought.
Qu Zan withdrew his uncanny power, and Indra’s Eye, concealed beneath his sleeve, slowly closed.
The two stone guardian statues stopped trembling.
If one leaned past the burning sandalwood incense and brought one's nose close to the cracks, one could smell the fermented, putrid stench seeping out.
Soon, monks lifted copper pots and poured clarified butter over the statues. The oil seeped into the cracks in the stone, masking the smell.
Credit where credit was due: compared to Corpse Camel Temple's method of using Secret Mastiffs to guard its grounds, these flesh-body guardian statues were far more sophisticated. They were simply too sinister.
At that moment, a middle-aged monk wearing scarlet robes appeared before Corpse Camel Temple's party.
The middle-aged monk had a compassionate face and seemed to worry often, leaving deep wrinkles on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes.
This middle-aged monk seemed to hold an extremely high position. As soon as they saw him, the three Dharma Protector Elders stepped out of their carriages, bowed toward him, and pressed their palms together.
"Greetings, Elder Sajie!"
So this middle-aged monk's Dharma name was Sajie.
Sajie pressed his palms together and returned the three elders' greeting, saying with a smile, "Which of your High Monks was playing a joke just now? You