Chapter 407: Buddha Skin

After lunch, the county yamen was gripped by tension.

The County Magistrate trusted Xu Yuan’s judgment but truly feared another Seventh-Rank Great Evil.

The losses in Xinyi Fang have been tallied: sixty-seven houses collapsed, forty-one people killed, and one hundred five injured.

The three brick kilns of the village head’s family were completely destroyed.

Xinyi Fang is heavily contaminated and unsuitable for human habitation in the short term.

Such devastating losses made the County Magistrate’s scalp prickle; he had originally hoped to maneuver for a promotion after his term ended, but now that dream was ruined.

If another Great Evil appeared, bringing another wave of heavy casualties, not only would promotion be impossible—he might even lose his official hat.

For two hours, they remained on edge—but silence prevailed.

No one came from inside or outside the city to report any incident.

The County Magistrate’s heart stirred with a flicker of hope: Had Xu Yuan guessed wrong?

Xu Yuan was highly capable, but even the best make mistakes.

The County Magistrate kept hoping, hoping, his mind torn between fear and longing.

Xu Yuan watched all his expressions and said: “I am here. Even if another Evil appears, I can resolve it for you.”

“But if I leave, can you defend yourselves?”

The County Magistrate didn’t know how to answer; he forced a smile, bitter and weak.

As the hour of You approached, dusk was falling, yet the county remained utterly calm.

The County Magistrate’s Jiaoxing grew stronger.

He seemed slightly more relaxed.

Xu Yuan rubbed his chin, said nothing, and walked alone into the courtyard, then stepped down—fire wheels appeared, and with a whoosh, he shot up more than a hundred feet into the air.

The County Magistrate and Wei Zhenbang and the others rushed out, gazing up at Xu Yuan in the sky.

“What is Xu Yuan doing…?”

Xu Yuan activated the Vision of Fate.

He had suspected another Seventh-Rank Evil would appear today.

It was only a suspicion.

Xu Yuan firmly believed another Evil would appear—but whether today or not, he lacked certainty.

Just now, it struck him: the Evil might have already appeared, but those who saw it were all dead, so no one came to report.

So Xu Yuan used the Vision of Fate to take a look.

But it could only show the entire county.

The green-brick Evil from Xinyi Fang had led him to suspect that the next Evils would appear within the city or near the county.

The “Vision of Fate” slowly swept across the entire county.

It began from Chengnan.

When it reached the northeast, Xu Yuan suddenly noticed something.

He was about to command the fire wheels to fly there, then remembered today’s ban on “Ri Ben”—would riding the fire wheels count as “fast travel”?

Better to be cautious.

Xu Yuan landed, waved to the group: “Follow me.”

The County Magistrate felt the sky was collapsing; he trembled and asked: “Xu Yuan, is there… is there really an Evil?”

Xu Yuan nodded: “Yes.”

The poor County Magistrate turned ashen.

Xu Yuan walked as he spoke: “This is not your fault for poor governance. I will state this clearly in my report to the court.”

The County Magistrate was overjoyed; his career, which had plunged into the abyss, had been pulled back by Xu Yuan.

“Thank you, my lord!” The County Magistrate nearly knelt down on the spot.

Xu Yuan continued: “But you must handle the aftermath properly. The civilians who suffered from the Evil—those without family or means of survival—must be properly cared for.”

“My lord, rest assured—I’d rather starve to death myself than let a single civilian go hungry.”

Xu Yuan didn’t believe this for a moment, but the assurance gave him some peace.

The County Magistrate bowed low and shuffled beside Xu Yuan, asking: “Where are we going, my lord?”

Xu Yuan halted his steps, feet slightly apart, hands behind his back, posture upright.

Before them stood a vermilion temple gate.

Above the gate hung a plaque bearing its name: Yunmiao Temple.

The central gate was shut; only a small door on the right was open.

The walls extending from either side of the gate were painted yellow.

As Xu Yuan stood before the gate, the long shadows beneath the walls seemed to shrink slightly toward their bases.

The County Magistrate said at once: “This is an ancient site in our county, built by monks of the previous dynasty. In the back courtyard stands a seven-story pagoda, thirty-four feet tall, each level housing gilded Buddha statues—twelve hundred in total, large and small.”

“But after our dynasty conquered Jiaozhi, several monks came from Zhengzhou and became the new abbots; the lineage has continued for three generations…”

Xu Yuan raised his hand—the County Magistrate fell silent.

Xu Yuan stared at the small door and said to the County Magistrate: “I’ll show you what’s inside this temple now.”

Xu Yuan grabbed the County Magistrate’s arm and stepped through the small door.

“Wait outside.”

Lang Xiao Ba responded: “Yes, sir,” then turned like a iron tower, hand on his sword, standing rigidly to the left of the door.

To his utter bewilderment, Ji Shuangqiu made nearly the same motion, turning to stand rigidly with hand on sword at the right side of the door!

They stared at each other, then both snorted coldly and turned away, refusing to look at one another.

Since the lord ordered them to wait outside, not even a single fly would pass without his command!

But this order didn’t apply to Dafu.

Dafu waddled in behind them.

As they crossed the temple threshold, the County Magistrate suddenly felt a chilling cold.

It was as if a hide soaked in ice water had clung to his back and dragged upward over his entire body!

Then he realized his right eye and left eye showed two entirely different worlds!

“Ah!” The County Magistrate gasped.

In his left eye, the temple was filled with incense smoke; Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats sat in their proper places—some benevolent and serene, guiding mortals; others fierce and wrathful, repelling evil spirits.

But in his right eye, icy winds blew from all directions, and ghostly flames rose from the incense burners!

Dozens of dark-red skeletons sat upon lotus pedestals, each draped in a Buddha-skin robe!

As the two entered, the skeletons in the front hall, back hall, and even the seven-story pagoda all turned their heads simultaneously—empty, hollow eye sockets fixed unblinkingly upon them!

Xu Yuan pulled the County Magistrate close and shared the Yin-Yang Guillotine’s vision with him.

Xu Yuan said: “We’re too late. The believers who entered this temple today were devoured of flesh and skin, their bodies draped in Buddha-skin robes and placed upon these lotus pedestals!”

Xu Yuan had always been puzzled: there are many temples in this world.

Buddhist acts of mercy still occur from time to time.

Just as door gods still guard the people.

Yet why, for most of the time, do these deities and Buddhas remain hidden?

It felt as if the gods and Buddhas had grown too weak to fully protect their faithful.

The County Magistrate’s lips trembled: “L-Lord, what… what is this Evil here?”

Xu Yuan’s gaze settled on a cassock in the main hall: “That object.”

The County Magistrate looked—his right eye saw the cassock stitched from golden hide, gemstones, and human skin!

Its Yuanqi surged skyward; hundreds of ghostly faces flickered in and out.

It looked like a treasure—but was truly an Evil.

(End of Chapter)