Chapter 395: Indescribable Meat Wings

We stood guard under the tree and stared for a while.

The monks closed their eyes, sat cross-legged on the altar, chanting the sutras over and over, earnest and devout; I realized we didn't need to deliberately hide ourselves, because there were no monks opening or squinting their eyes to look around.

They gave me a strong feeling—they were real!

Even just listening to them chant, I felt relaxed all over, a warm current swirling in my lower abdomen, and my shoulder blades inexplicably itched.

At first I could still endure it.

But as time passed, the itch grew worse; I couldn't reach it myself, so I had Liu Junyan scratch it for me.

The more he scratched, the itchier it became.

That itch felt like it was drilling out from between the bones; the pressure of the fingers couldn't penetrate it, making it very uncomfortable.

Around three in the afternoon, a little novice monk came over and said that Empty Silence Abbott had summoned Liu Junyan to the meditation room.

Liu Junyan told me to return to the stone house first, and to wait for him to come back before discussing anything.

I nodded and hummed in agreement, then stayed under the big tree to listen to the chanting for a while.

The more I listened, the itchier my shoulder blades became, as if something wanted to grow out of them; my lower abdomen also grew hotter, as if it were about to catch fire.

I could only leave first.

Back in the stone house, I drank two cups of water in succession, but still couldn't relieve it; I felt restless, unable to sit or stand still.

Itchy… hot… unbearable…

As the sky gradually darkened, the light rain gradually grew heavier.

I tossed and turned in bed, my whole body feeling as hot as boiling water, and my consciousness began to blur.

Raindrops seeped through the cracks in the window, landing on my skin, cool and refreshing.

In some unseen way, it seemed as if an invisible force was pulling me to go out…

I don't know how I fell asleep.

When I woke again, it was because Liu Junyan had pinched my philtrum to rouse me.

At that moment I wasn't lying on the bed in the stone house; I was in the canyon.

My whole body was soaked in rainwater, drenched through.

And the place where I was was exactly at the center of the Seven-Star Soul-Locking Formation.

"Xiao Jiu, what's wrong with you?"

Liu Junyan used his body to shield me from the rain while reaching out to embrace me.

But when his hand passed behind me, it suddenly stopped.

I also instantly widened my eyes.

I felt it.

Behind me, at my shoulder blades… it seemed something had been added.

Liu Junyan carefully moved his hand upward a bit to avoid that spot, then scooped me up and hurried back to the stone house.

There was little hot water in the stone house; it was only what the little novice monk had brought in a hot water kettle in the evening, so I could only give myself a quick wipe-down.

While wiping down, Liu Junyan and I saw it.

On each side of my back there appeared a small lump of flesh, like… like the meat wings of a newly hatched chick.

They were tiny and pitiful.

But they truly existed.

Liu Junyan helped me dry my hair; I looked at him somewhat helplessly and said, "Is this my wing? It's… indescribable."

Liu Junyan smiled and said, "Don't despise them; for you, this is a good beginning, Xiao Jiu. One day you will transform into what you were meant to become, and I look forward to it."

And why wouldn't I look forward to it?

But that will have to come after Nirvana.

I glanced at Liu Junyan again and saw that although his lips curved in a smile, it didn't reach his eyes; obviously he was genuinely happy for me, but he also had something on his mind.

So I asked concernedly, "Āyàn, Empty Silence Abbott asked for you this afternoon—is there something going on?"

Liu Junyan shook his head: "Maybe I'm overthinking it; he told me to sneak quietly into his meditation room two nights from now, wait until he completes the enlightenment of the Copper Coin Person, and then take the Copper Coin Person away."

I wondered, "Isn't that normal? He's probably trying to avoid those 'honored guests.'"

"It's not that sneaking over is abnormal; rather," Liu Junyan said, weighing his words, "the Copper Coin Person is an eighth soul cultivated by Dahui Chan Master. Although I have already contracted him, after his enlightenment he becomes an independent entity. Originally I had discussed with Empty Silence Abbott that after his enlightenment the Copper Coin Person should remain on Mount Song to continue receiving Buddhist instruction and cultivation, but this afternoon Empty Silence Abbott suddenly changed his tune; I asked him repeatedly, yet he wouldn't say another word."

That's how it is.

Empty Silence Abbott's unreasonable change is clearly related to the arrival of those 'honored guests.'

But those 'honored guests' need to perform their altar for seven days, whereas the Copper Coin Person receives Buddhist baptism for only three days.

If those 'honored guests' really came for the Copper Coin Person, there shouldn't be such a large discrepancy in timing.

Furthermore, today my body suddenly had a breakthrough, growing a pair of small meat wings, which is probably related to listening to those 'honored guests' chant for half a day.

From this, at least it shows that when those 'honored guests' conduct their altar, they are single-minded and their own Buddhist Dharma is profound, which is why they could affect me this way.

What if the problem isn't with those 'honored guests'?

The only thing we can do now seems to be to wait.

Wait for the Great Dharma King Temple to reveal a flaw first; then we can follow that tip of the iceberg to uncover all the secrets.

Early the next morning, Liu Junyan and I went to the Great Dharma King Temple.

We split up; he went to find Empty Silence Abbott, while I went to the big tree to watch the altar.

Soon Liu Junyan came over to my side.

Empty Silence Abbott refused to see him.

We listened to the chanting for half a day; yesterday my whole body felt that discomfort, but today it didn't reappear—only my shoulder blades were itchy, and I felt drowsy.

At noon we returned to the stone house; I ate lunch, went to bed, and almost fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I slept until four in the afternoon, having many bizarre dreams.

When I got up and tidied my clothes, I noticed the pair of small flesh wings behind me were gone.

I stretched my arm back to feel, and it was completely flat.

I hurriedly called Liu Junyan to have a look; it turned out the small flesh wings hadn't disappeared but had grown a bit more, actually embedding themselves beneath my shoulder blades, merging with my body.

Liu Junyan said: "It seems those monks still have some genuine skill; you only listened to their sutra chanting for two and a half days, and your progress is rapid, Xiao Jiu—you're always so lucky."

I was also happy.

Although I recall, the Witchcraft Notes record that after the Phoenix clan transforms into human form, their wings are indeed embedded in the flesh of the body.

To spread the wings, one must undergo feather transformation.

And this feather transformation process is also quite arduous.

However, it is still much easier than Nirvana.

Thinking this, my heart felt happy again.

Liu Junyan rubbed my head full of white hair and said: "Change into a dark-colored hooded garment to cover your white hair; tonight we'll go scout the Great Dharma King Temple again."

I hurried to find suitable clothes and put them on.

At nine o'clock at night, Liu Junyan, familiar with the route, led me over the side courtyard wall of the Great Dharma King Temple; we first went to the meditation chamber of Empty Silence Abbott.

In the meditation chamber, an oil lamp was lit; the silhouette of Empty Silence Chan Master sitting in meditation was projected onto the window, showing nothing abnormal.

We turned and headed toward the altar platform.

Before we reached that big tree, both Liu Junyan and I halted our steps, keenly sensing something off in the air flow.

The Great Dharma King Temple has abundant incense; even at night, the air is always filled with strong incense smoke.

At this moment, the incense smoke in the surrounding air seemed to have been sucked away by a vacuum.

Clearly, when we came from the meditation chamber, the incense smoke was still thick.

Liu Junyan cautiously pulled me to hide behind a nearby wall, and we both gazed toward the three altar platforms.

Upon seeing this, we were shocked…