Wild Grass

Zhuoma's mouth was slightly open, and she was stunned for a moment.

Her father died and her younger brother went insane while they were building a golden pagoda for the "Nengsheng Liberation Temple"... What benefit did her family gain from this?

But right now, in the mouth of this bearded "Ding Gui," this matter seems to be an immense honor for her family.

Zhuoma only dared to think such thoughts in her heart.

He mumbled hesitantly, "Yes, that's exactly the time to put our skills to good use."

"You've botched this job."

Ding Gui squinted, the light gathering in his narrowed eyes like the fangs of a viper.

"The golden pagoda of the Nengsheng Liberation Grand Temple collapsed before it was even finished."

"No news has come back from over there yet!"

"That golden pagoda is meant to suppress the soles of the Esoteric Treasury Domain's feet. If it's knocked down, one of the Esoteric Treasury Domain's feet will become mobile, and a great disaster will ensue!"

"Master of Zhandui and your entire family will be executed!"

"Zhuoma, you were originally to be offered to a nearby monastery for the high lamas to practice in. But you're Da Le old..."

"Your younger brother should also voluntarily practice the true Dharma, making a kapala from your skull, offering the contents of your belly as a wet offering, and even using this skin of your body to paint thangkas..."

Ding Gui spoke slowly, his tone full of regret.

Zhuoma grabbed Zhou Yang beside her and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly to Ding Gui.

She didn't utter any words of mercy, but simply repeated her prayers for her Master of Zhandui over and over again, "Master of Zhandui Auspiciousness, Master of Zhandui eternal peace and health, Master of Zhandui be bathed in auspicious light..."

"It's still Master of Zhandui's mercy." Ding Gui then changed the subject, "He only allowed us to take this house, all the things here, and your family's savings."

He spared your lives.

The agate bracelet in the bearded man's hand drooped down, its swaying slowing down until it finally stopped.

Zhou Yang stared at the spindle-shaped agate wrapped with a coin, and saw that within the white lines on the agate, there seemed to be red threads rotating.

Aji's murmur echoed in his mind again:

"Gedeng acquired this banded agate from the pastoral area. It was missing a corner, which I covered with silver to cover the missing part."

"Within the silk thread lies a ' Mantra Point ' left by a lama who had been chanting secret mantras for many days. This Mantra Point is ' Xiameibamu's Tongue '!"

"Leave the Mantra Point, gather the remaining four offerings (eye, ear, nose, body), and you can form the ' Five Sense-Organ Flower Offering '!"

All kinds of spirits and deities receive Five Sense-Organ Flower Offering!

Offering this can ward off evil spirits!

This banded agate triggered Aji's consciousness; he clearly saw the "secret" hidden within it once again!

A Mantra Point is hidden within this banded agate!

According to Aji, this so-called Mantra Point should be the result of a lama reciting secret mantras over a long period of time to bless his personal belongings.

Then, he left behind something resembling a "secret message" among his personal belongings!

Although the Mantra Point "Xiameibamu's Tongue" sounded incredibly sinister, it also seemed to possess some kind of power. Zhou Yang wondered how he could leave this Mantra Point behind.

The agate was suspended right above his head!

But when he overheard the conversation between Zhuoma and the bearded man, he realized that if he were to snatch the agate right now, it would bring immense disaster upon Zhuoma's family!

Forcibly taking it is definitely not an option... As he pondered this, Aji began chanting in Zhou Yang's mind, almost like singing. "Yamin Reba La, Lasa..."

Amidst the incomprehensible chanting, Zhou Yang looked up and was startled to see the red light within the banded agate rapidly moving towards him—the red threads pierced his brow, and a sinister feeling began to throb within it!

Suddenly!

That chilling sensation swept down from between his brows and instantly entered Zhou Yang's mouth!

Zhou Yang suddenly felt as if his entire tongue had frozen.

This tongue no longer belongs to me!

If he hadn't kept his mouth tightly shut, the tongue would have made a sound immediately—even now, the tongue was still moving around in Zhou Yang's mouth, emitting a strange "chirp chirp chirp" sound.

Only Zhou Yang could hear this laughter!

After the laughter subsided, the tongue began chanting the mantra to itself again. "Yamin Rapa La, Lasaya Daha, Om Chanaya..."

The sounds produced by the tongue echoed the secret mantra chanted by Aji in Zhou Yang's mind!

At this point, Zhou Yang had no time to pay attention to how the bearded man and Zhuoma were negotiating.

He felt a strange sensation arising somewhere within or outside his body as they continued chanting the secret mantra. His thoughts connected with that sensation—"Om!"

A limb of a demon, formed by two arms joined together and hands wrapped in the shape of a falcon's wings, grew out from behind Zhou Yang!

It stood erect like a cobra, its forelegs spread wide, facing Ding Gui, who was still speaking!

The two palms of the Ghost Ten Hands even reached above Ding Gui's head!

"Bite--"

A clear bell rang out from inside Ding Gui's robe!

His expression changed drastically, and he glared fiercely at Zhuoma and her brother. "Master of Zhandui and originally allowed you to stay in this house for another three days, but you are actually tainted with the aura of ghosts!"

"Move out within an hour!"

After uttering these words, Ding Gui turned and fled as if he were running away!

The Ghost Ten Hands that "grew out" from behind Zhou Yang suddenly burrowed into Zhou Yang's mouth, rummaged around inside for a long time, and then flew out again—a scarlet tongue-shaped mark appeared on the Ghost Ten Hands ' left wrist.

On that tongue-shaped mark, there were long strings of characters that looked like snakes and insects, completely recording the incantation "Xiameibamu's Tongue"!

Zhou Yang's Ghost Ten Hands was actually the perfect vessel for this Mantra Point!

"Natural materials containing a complete vajra..."

"By incorporating the Secret Yidam mantras and tantric rituals of the principal deity onto this material, it can be completely transformed, becoming a vajra with one, five, or ten prongs..."

"Good, good..."

As Zhou Yang's gaze fell on Ghost Ten Hands, Aji's consciousness gave it another evaluation.

The implication of his words was that he was telling Zhou Yang that this Ghost Ten Hands could be transformed into a Vajra through a certain ritual.

"What is the function of the vajra?" Zhou Yang asked Aji tentatively.

This time, Aji replied very quickly:

"Among all the instruments of the secret teachings, the highest is the vajra."

"Extremely precious and extremely rare."

"It cannot be used by anyone other than a great master, a great Terma revealer, or a great yogi..."

"With the vajra, one can defeat all enemies..." "Defeat all enemies?"

Zhou Yang's eyes lit up.

He gradually grew accustomed to Aji's comments on various "secret things" and realized that the efficacy of anything Aji spoke of was always an exaggeration of its actual use.

Within this so-called secret realm, there seems to be a habit of using words like "all," "superior," "vast," and "solemn" to embellish one's own sublimity and magnificence.

Even so, the idea of "destroying all enemies" still captivated Zhou Yang.

He did not seek that the Ghost Ten Hands, transformed into a vajra, could destroy all enemies.

Even if he could "defeat the enemy at hand" or "defeat the enemy temporarily," it would be enough for him to feel that the trip was worthwhile.

"Thank you for your guidance... It seems you have regained your senses?"

"Why don't you return to your true self and say a few words to your elder sister? She's very worried about you." Zhou Yang tried to communicate with Aji's consciousness again.

But Aji started muttering in his sleep again, "Yes, yes..."

Zhou Yang immediately realized that his condition had not improved.

Effective communication between them now can only be limited to these "secret things." Aji's repeated affirmations gradually dissipated from Zhou Yang's mind.

Zhou Yang temporarily withdrew the Ghost Hand —after the Mantra Point landed on the Ghost Hand, it fell silent.

He looked at Zhuoma, about to speak.

Aji's weak plea echoed in his mind again, "Please take good care of Ajia for me, please protect Ajia and make sure she is safe."

May you Auspiciousness, good health, freedom from worries, peace, and prosperity... Tashi Delek...

His plea was so sincere.

Even the words of advice he gave to Zhou Yang sounded so sincere and pure.

Zhou Yang paused for a moment, then sighed and earnestly said to Aji in his heart:

"At this moment, I will cherish Zhuoma just as you cherish Ajia."

"As long as I am here, I will protect her for the time being."

"But if one day I can escape this place... Until then, I only hope that I can find a place for Ajia to settle down and make a living, or perhaps give her a skill to protect herself..."

From Ding Gui's words, the stories mentioned in "The Knife Credit Ledger), and even Aji's various interpretations of the secret mantra, Zhou Yang sensed that the place he had arrived at was probably no ordinary place. It possessed an extraordinary terror!

He himself is as fragile as a willow catkin, swaying in the wind; how can he guarantee to protect someone for a lifetime?

Protecting Zhuoma for the time being was a solemn promise he made after careful consideration.

I do not make promises lightly, therefore I will not let people down.

"Tashi Delek..."

Aji's consciousness left a lingering echo of "Tashi Delek" in Zhou Yang's mind before slowly dissipating.

Zhou Yang got up from the ground and looked at Zhuoma, who was kneeling blankly to the side, tears streaming down her face.

As he pondered how to comfort her, Zhuoma climbed up from him.

She looked up, her face streaked with tears, but her eyes shone brightly, and her face radiated a resolute determination that captivated Zhou Yang: "We'll have to move out sooner or later, Aji!"

"The sooner we move out, the sooner we can settle down somewhere else!"

"When I was little, my father was still a lowly person, a Black Bone. Even though we later gained the favor of the Master of Zhandui 'Master of the Wisdom' on the Linzang Kora Route and were able to live on the pilgrimage route and have our own silversmith's storehouse, we were still Black Bone people!"

"Our lives are like wild grass. Perhaps it's because we're wild grass that we can grow everywhere?"

"Where even lamas cannot reach, wild grass can!"

"Let's go, Aji."

"Like Father, we'll earn our own living!"

"Black bones" refers to people who work as butchers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, hunters, or sky burial masters.

They were of the lowest status, their lives worth less than a straw rope.

"Yaxi - the Secret Father Clan", "Diben - the Ancient Secret Nobles", "Miza - the Powerful Nobles", Great Lamas, Great Chieftains... The weight of their lives is equal to, or even ten or a hundred times, the weight of their bodies, in gold!