Chapter 1199: Chapter 803: The Dead (Part 2)
Yang Xiao asked Juan and the others to recall if they had done anything different before the paper window and the ghostly shadow appeared, as it was this seemingly inadvertent action that had drawn the ghost’s attention to them.
But Juan Maria shook his head firmly, saying they hadn’t, since they weren’t newcomers and knew well what to do and what not to do. They had been very careful the whole night.
Yang Xiao believed this because no one would risk their lives as a joke.
There were some contradictions in Hafeez’s and Juan Maria’s accounts: Hafeez said Ahmed stabbed him on Juan’s order, claiming it was to chase away the ghost perched on his shoulder. Yet Juan claimed he never gave such an order and had separated from them with Maria long ago, saying it was the shadow behind the window that attracted him.
A very flimsy excuse, not at all convincing. Based on various clues, Yang Xiao had roughly pieced together about seventy to eighty percent of the truth at that time.
Ahmed only decided to take a desperate gamble after discovering he had been abandoned by Juan and the others; he wanted Hafeez as his scapegoat and staged such a performance to deceive him.
The act was quite successful; at least Hafeez believed it. But unexpectedly, the one who died in the end was Ahmed himself.
Yang Xiao sighed inwardly; if Ahmed had chosen to honestly stay with Hafeez, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
"Where were you hiding last night?" Juan was still clearly skeptical of Hafeez, who had been missing all night.
"In the tree hollow," Hafeez repeated.
Juan glanced around, then turned his gaze back and grabbed Hafeez’s hand, "Take us there now."
Led by Hafeez, they found the tree hollow where he’d hidden last night. Yang Xiao crouched and crawled out from it, brushing off the dirt from his clothes; he had to admit it was quite a good spot.
The tree grew just outside a low wall, its trunk leaning slightly toward the wall. The hollow was right at the angle between the trunk and the wall, a perfect blind spot.
If not for Hafeez’s guidance, they wouldn’t have noticed even if they had passed by the tree.
"You’re pretty lucky," Adila chuckled, "I say you should hide here again tonight; it’s really safe."
This remark made Hafeez’s face turn pale, and his expression crumbled on the spot, "Stop joking, I... I’d rather stay with everyone."
Before long, several monks approached from the direction of the Outer Buddha Hall, led by a familiar figure: Monk Kru, holding a copper bowl.
"Finally found you all," Monk Kru sighed in relief, placing a single hand in prayer at his chest, "The abbot said that since such an incident occurred, this morning’s lessons would be delayed. He will stay to chant and pray for the deceased and asked me to first take you for breakfast."
"Thank you, Master Kru," Yang Xiao placed his hands together in respect.
Then, under the guidance of Monk Kru, the group passed through two archways and arrived at a rather cluttered courtyard with a large house inside.
On the ground outside the house were several large bamboo trays, filled with shriveled, dark vegetables being dried; it was unclear what kind of dried vegetables they were.
Entering the house, it was quite large with several long wooden tables of varying sizes. The tables were not very flat, obviously aged, and along each side were unmatched low wooden stools.
The stools were not the long type but the kind for individual seating, and they were crudely made.
The room was empty except for a lidded wooden barrel on the foremost table, with a stack of bowls and chopsticks next to it.
The number of bowls and chopsticks far exceeded their numbers, suggesting it was not prepared solely for them but was the temple’s dining hall.
The bowls and chopsticks were stacked rather messily, and a wooden spoon was hung beside the barrel.
"Everyone, please get your breakfast. Remember that men and women eat separately, and after your meal, please have two people take the porridge barrel and used tableware to the room in the adjacent courtyard for cleaning."
Monk Kru paused and explained with a Buddhist gesture, "This is the temple’s rule; the High Monks do the same."
After explaining, Monk Kru left with a few followers.
Once the monks had left, Maria stepped forward, lifted the lid on the wooden barrel, and immediately showed a look of disgust, "What the hell is this? Is it even edible?"
The barrel contained a black mush; though it looked unappetizing, it smelled quite fragrant, like porridge made from the black dried vegetables outside. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of it, and it was clear at a glance that it wasn’t enough to eat.
"You guys grab the bowls and chopsticks; I’ll serve the porridge for you." The youngest, Sopa, was quite efficient, bustling around the porridge barrel, tidying the table, and serving everyone with a ladle.
Despite being in such a ghostly place, everyone obediently lined up with their bowls.
Because there was little porridge in the barrel to start with, each person got very little, which led to quite a few complaints. The bad-tempered Juan extended his bowl, demanding Sopa give him another scoop.
"Big Brother Juan, there’s not much left. There are people behind who haven’t gotten any," Sopa looked pitiful; she hadn’t had any herself either.
Bear in mind, the temple has a rule of not eating past noon, meaning only two meals a day, breakfast and lunch—these are their only food sources.
After getting their food, the men went to the long table near the door to eat, while the women went to the other side. Yang Xiao, staring at his half-bowl of black porridge, could only reminisce about the delicious taste when they had roasted wild rabbits upon arriving here.
He had no idea how long they’d have to stay, but with two meals like this every day, they wouldn’t need a ghost to catch them; they’d starve first.
"Screech—"
"Screech—"
Yang Xiao heard the sound of the spoon scraping the bottom of the pot and looked up to see Sopa serving Datou, the last person.
"Big Brother Datou, there’s not much left in the pot; I’ll scrape the bottom for you," Sopa’s tone was heavily apologetic.
"Alright," Datou frowned slightly, extended his bowl, and didn’t argue.
Datou stood by the barrel, slurping the black porridge from his bowl, while Sopa continued extracting the remaining porridge from the bottom of the pot into Datou’s bowl.
By the time Datou sat down with his bowl to eat, Yang Xiao glanced over and noticed there was still about half a bowl of porridge in Datou’s bowl.
Considering what he ate while standing by the pot, it was clear that Datou, far from being short-changed, had eaten more than anyone else.
"Next time, I’ll queue last; scraping the bottom isn’t bad," Yang Xiao thought to himself.
Getting enough to eat is essential for thinking and running, a crucial part of maintaining fighting strength.
Soon, everyone had ravenously finished the porridge, made of who knows what, in their bowls, stacking their bowls up.
Everyone threw their used bowls and chopsticks into the now-empty porridge barrel, leaving Yang Xiao and Musa to return them.
Since Musa was older, Yang Xiao took the initiative to carry the heavy porridge barrel, while Musa symbolically held two empty bowls. The two followed Master Kru’s previous directions, passing through a slightly ajar wooden door to the adjacent courtyard.
The environment here was even more dilapidated; several run-down wooden huts stood in the yard, some with broken windows. Near the huts were wooden racks, from which hung tattered clothes.
Getting enough to eat is essential for thinking and running, a crucial part of maintaining fighting strength.
Soon, everyone had ravenously finished the porridge, made of who knows what, in their bowls, stacking their bowls up.
Everyone threw their used bowls and chopsticks into the now-empty porridge barrel, leaving Yang Xiao and Musa to return them.
Since Musa was older, Yang Xiao took the initiative to carry the heavy porridge barrel, while Musa symbolically held two empty bowls. The two followed Master Kru’s previous directions, passing through a slightly ajar wooden door to the adjacent courtyard.
The environment here was even more dilapidated; several run-down wooden huts stood in the yard, some with broken windows. Near the huts were wooden racks, from which hung tattered clothes.
