Chapter 407: Buddha Skin

After lunch, the entire county yamen was tense.

The county magistrate believed Lord Xu's judgment, but he truly feared another Seventh-Grade Great Evil Spirit might appear!

The losses in Xinyi Ward had been tallied: sixty-seven houses collapsed, forty-one killed, and another one hundred and five injured.

The three brick kilns belonging to the village head's family were completely destroyed.

Xinyi Ward was severely contaminated and unsuitable for human habitation in the short term.

Such heavy losses made the county magistrate's scalp tingle; he had originally planned to seek promotion once his term ended, but now that hope was dashed.

If another Great Evil Spirit appeared, causing another wave of heavy casualties, forget about promotion—the magistrate's official hat would likely not even be saved.

After two hours of trembling anxiety, there was only silence.

No one came to report any more incidents inside or outside the city.

A glimmer of hope rose in the county magistrate's heart: Had Lord Xu guessed wrong?

Although Lord Xu was highly skilled, people do make mistakes.

The county magistrate waited and waited, his heart full of anxiety over gains and losses.

Xu Yuan observed every expression on his face and said, "With this official present, even if an Evil Spirit appears, I can still help you resolve it.

If I leave, can you defend yourselves?"

The county magistrate did not know how to answer; he forced a bitter smile.

As the hour of You approached and the sky grew nearly dark, the county remained peaceful.

The county magistrate's sense of luck grew stronger.

He appeared somewhat more relaxed.

Xu Yuan stroked his chin, said nothing, and walked into the courtyard on his own; then, with a stomp of both feet, a fire wheel appeared, and with a "Whoosh," it carried Lord Xu up to a height of over ten zhang.

The county magistrate and Wei Zhenbang's group rushed out, looking up at Xu Yuan in the sky.

"What is Lord Xu doing..."

Xu Yuan activated Gazing at Fate.

Earlier, he had guessed that another Seventh-Grade Evil Spirit would appear today.

It was truly just a guess.

Xu Yuan firmly believed another Evil Spirit would appear, but whether it would be today, he was not so certain.

Just now, Xu Yuan suddenly realized the Evil Spirit might have already appeared, but those who had seen it were likely all dead, so no one came to report.

Lord Xu used Gazing at Fate to take a look.

But it could only cover the entire county town.

The green brick Evil Spirit in Xinyi Ward led Lord Xu to guess that subsequent Evil Spirits might all appear within the city or near the county town.

"Gazing at Fate" slowly swept over the entire county town.

Starting from Chengnan.

When it reached the northeast direction, Xu Yuan suddenly made a discovery.

Just as he was about to directly control the fire wheel to go there, he suddenly remembered today's ban on "Day Running"; would riding the fire wheel count as "running"?

Better to be safe.

Lord Xu descended and waved to the group: "Follow."

The county magistrate immediately felt the sky was collapsing and asked in trembling fear: "Lord Xu, is there truly, truly an Evil Spirit?"

Xu Yuan nodded: "Yes!"

The poor county magistrate instantly turned as pale as earth.

Xu Yuan said as he walked: "Do not blame yourself for poor governance; this official will explain this point in the official documents regarding this case to the imperial court."

The county magistrate was overjoyed, feeling his career, which had seemed to have fallen into a deep abyss, had been pulled back up by Lord Xu.

"Thank you, my lord!" The county magistrate almost knelt and bowed on the spot.

Xu Yuan continued: "However, you must handle the aftermath properly. Those people harmed by the Evil Spirit, who have no support and no food or clothing, must be properly settled."

"My lord need only rest easy; even if I starve, I will never let a single commoner starve."

Xu Yuan, of course, did not believe this, but with this assurance, he could feel at ease.

The county magistrate bent low and took hurried steps, eagerly following beside Lord Xu, and asked: "Where is my lord going?"

Just then, Xu Yuan's steps stopped; his feet parted slightly, his hands clasped behind his back, his posture upright.

Before him stood a vermilion temple gate.

The plaque above the gate bore the temple's name: Yunmiao Temple.

The main gate in the center was tightly closed; only a small door on the right side was open.

The walls extending from the main gate on both sides were painted yellow.

When Xu Yuan stood before the gate, the long shadow beneath the walls on both sides seemed to shrink toward the wall roots.

Upon seeing this temple, the county magistrate said: "This is a historical site in our county. It was built by monks from the previous dynasty; in the rear courtyard stands a seven-story Buddha pagoda, thirty-four feet tall. Inside the pagoda, every floor contains gold-foil-wrapped Buddha statues, large and small, totaling one thousand and two hundred.

However, after our dynasty conquered Southern Jiaozhi, several monks from Zhengzhou came here and became the new abbots; the lineage has continued to the third generation..."

Xu Yuan raised a hand, and the county magistrate immediately stopped.

Xu Yuan stared at that small door and suddenly said to the county magistrate: "Let me show you the current situation inside this temple."

Lord Xu grabbed the county magistrate and walked toward that small door.

"You all wait outside."

Lang Xiao Ba responded with "As you command," then, like an iron tower, pressed his sword and spun around, standing on the left side of the small door.

To his utter confusion, Ji Shuangqiu performed almost the exact same action, spinning around, pressing his sword, and standing guard on the right side of the small door!

The two stared at each other with wide eyes, then both let out a cold snort, turned their heads away, and refused to look at each other.

Since my lord ordered us to wait outside, then without my lord's command, not even a fly shall be allowed to pass!

However, this order can be disregarded by Dafu.

Dafu wobbled as he followed behind and went in.

The moment he crossed the temple gate, the county magistrate suddenly felt a chill.

It was as if... a layer of cowhide soaked in ice water was pressed against his back, dragging up over his entire body from below!

Then, he discovered that his right eye and left eye saw two different worlds!

"Ah!" The county magistrate was startled.

In the world of his left eye, the temple was filled with incense; Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats each held their positions, some with kind brows and gentle faces enlightening the world, others with fierce, glaring eyes to intimidate evil spirits.

But in his right eye, cold winds blew from all directions within the temple, and ghostly flames rose from the incense burner!

Dark red skeletons sat upright upon lotus thrones, yet they were draped in a layer of Buddha-skin!

After the two entered, in the front hall, the back hall, and even within the seven-story pagoda in the rear courtyard, those skeletons draped in Buddha-skin all turned their heads together; their Kong Dong, eerie eye sockets, stared fixedly at the two!

Xu Yuan pulled the county magistrate and shared the vision of the "Yin-Yang Guillotine" with him.

At this moment, Xu Yuan said: "We have arrived too late. The believers who walked into this temple today have all had their flesh and skin eaten by evil spirits, replaced with a layer of Buddha-skin and placed upon these lotus thrones!"

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

Stories of Buddhist sects saving the world also frequently occur.

Just as the Door Gods still guard the common people.

Yet why is it that, most of the time, these gods and Buddhas remain hidden and do not appear?

It gives the feeling that the gods and Buddhas are no longer fully capable and can no longer protect the believers comprehensively.

The county magistrate's lips trembled: "M-m-my lord, what exactly are the evil spirits here?"

Xu Yuan's gaze fell upon a kasaya in the main hall: "It is this very object!"

The county magistrate looked over; in his right eye, this kasaya was actually sewn from gold skin, gems, and human skin!

Resentful qi surged to the heavens upon it, and a thousand ghostly faces appeared and disappeared intermittently.

It seemed like a treasure, but was in truth an evil spirit.

(End of this chapter)