Chapter 1241: Chapter 825: Ghost Among Buddhas
"Senior Brother!"
The monks tried to dissuade, but Pato Monk’s gaze made them retreat.
After receiving the promise, Yang Xiao and his party knew the opportunity couldn’t be missed, and they quickly went to the Inner Buddha Hall.
Soon, the young monk in charge of the utility room brought the tools.
To ensure Yang Xiao and the others were not disturbed, Pato Abbot personally guarded outside the hall, sitting cross-legged, chanting sutras quietly.
The doors to the Inner Buddha Hall were tightly shut, and inside, the sound of clanging was heard.
Outside, besides Pato Abbot, there were a group of aggressive monks who had reddened eyes, clenched fists, and eyes full of suppressed anger.
If the Buddha statue was destroyed and no evil spirit was found, even if Yang Xiao and his group were Hejia Lun Du of the High Monks, today’s matter would not end well.
Time passed by the minute, and the knocking sounds inside the Inner Buddha Hall gradually stopped, and the monks’ emotions reached their peak.
In the next instant, the doors to the Inner Buddha Hall were opened from inside, and a sooty and grimy Yang Xiao stood behind the door, covered in dust and debris.
The monks were about to rush up, but Pato Abbot stopped them and stepped into the hall alone, ordering no one to enter.
The thick black doors closed again, and the two walked silently; Pato Monk looked up to see the Buddha Statue still seated at the forefront of the hall with eyes full of compassion.
Not until Yang Xiao led Pato Abbot behind the Buddha Statue did they see a large hole in the lower back of the statue, revealing it was partially hollowed out inside, clearly showing another statue stuffed within.
The statue was about 2 meters high, not very large in volume, oddly shaped, dark-colored, and eerily styled, giving a rare oppressive feeling.
"Master Pato, this is the hiding place of the evil spirit," Musa introduced in a low voice.
"Is this the evil spirit?" Pato Abbot stared at the statue hidden within the Buddha Statue, a ripple in his otherwise calm eyes.
"It should be," Datou answered muffledly.
"How did this evil spirit hide inside the Buddha Statue?" Pato Abbot suddenly asked.
This question was tricky; if answered truthfully, the six High Monks would be disgraced. To maintain the reputation of the Holy Temple in town, it wouldn’t be surprising if the monks immediately silenced them.
But holding firm and saying nothing would also be a death warrant.
At that moment, the experienced Musa stepped forward, his tone indisputable: "This evil spirit was drawn by the thriving incense of your temple and sneaked in while the monks were unprepared."
"So that’s it," Pato Monk nodded slowly, taking a deep breath, "What do you suggest we do about this?"
"Do not disturb it for now, maintain the status quo, and seal off all information inside and outside the temple," Musa offered his prepared reply.
"Thank you all," Pato Monk put his palms together, "From this day onward, I will order the sealing of the Inner Buddha Hall and redecorate the Buddha statue with gold."
"You all are the incarnations of the High Monks, as for dealing with the evil spirit, I leave it to you."
"If there’s anything needed, feel free to find me."
After saying this, Pato Abbot turned and left, and noise outside gradually grew louder, clearly, the monks were struggling to hold themselves back.
As Pato Monk opened the door, the outside monks quickly quieted down, showing a hint of the abbot’s authority in the temple despite his relatively young age.
After leaving a few monks to watch over, Pato Abbot took the remaining monks and left.
Watching Pato Abbot leave the hall, Yang Xiao and his party fell silent, Sopa frowned after a while, "Do you think he knows about this?"
"He doesn’t know," Adila shook his head.
"How do you know?" Sopa curiously stared at him.
"I said I don’t know," Adila corrected, then shrugged, "But it doesn’t matter now, that guy is smart, and as long as we don’t talk big and spread it around, he won’t touch us before this matter is fully resolved."
"But once it’s resolved, with his character, he won’t let us go," Adila, who was an old hand at this, had seen many similar situations.
Musa sighed, "First trick the donkey to grind, then dismantle the mill and kill the donkey."
"What’s next with this thing?" Hafeez looked fearfully at the eerie statue embedded in the Buddha Statue, "Should we take it away?"
"Go get some candles," Yang Xiao patted Hafeez on the shoulder.
Candles are plentiful in this Buddha Hall; once brought, Yang Xiao used the candlelight to carefully examine the statue and soon found a seam at the base.
At the deepest part of the seam, there was a very small, almost square hole.
The statue seemed hollow inside; Yang Xiao gestured for the others to step back as he held a candle towards the small hole to look inside.
Initially, it was not clear, but with continuous angle adjustments, seconds later, Yang Xiao saw a terrifying sight: a foot.
A nearly completely black, shriveled foot.
Inside, there stood a shriveled black corpse!
It’s the murderer, Painted Woman!
Although he had mentally prepared, seeing this scene firsthand was inevitably haunting.
Yang Xiao’s reaction quickly alarmed the others, and Musa, Adila, Maria, and Datou all stepped forward, peering through the small hole with candlelight.
Everyone showed the same frightened expression after looking, especially the last, Datou, who was so terrified he sat backward, his firm face fully overtaken by fear, sweating profusely.
