Chapter 405: Chapter 346: Death Coins
Mangjia Village had already vanished into the river of history, and the villagers now living in Du Family Village, who seemed neither human nor ghostly, were once the people of Mangjia Village.
"Could it be that the Du Family Villagers who were killed truly believed in Buddhism, and precisely because of this, they were unwittingly laying the groundwork for being deceived into opening the gates?"
Following this hypothesis, Liu Haiping continued, "When the desperate people of Mangjia Village arrived at the town walls, the original inhabitants of Du Family Village were reluctant to open the gate, fearing treachery. But at that moment, an itinerant monk stepped forward. Unable to bear seeing the women, children, and elderly slaughtered, he sat down cross-legged under the town walls, lit an incense as an offering to Buddha, and vowed to vouch for the people of Mangjia Village."
"The good-hearted Du Family Villagers, touched by his genuine Buddhist devotion, and convinced by the realistic performance of the people of Mangjia Village, unfortunately found that these beasts turned their backs as soon as the gate was opened. Relying on pillaging year-round, the combat capacity of Mangjia Village was no match for the Du Family Village’s, and thus the entire village was quickly slaughtered. The well-meaning monk did not escape either, but before he died, overwhelmed with grief and indignation, he swore a venomous oath, cursing the treacherous beasts of Mangjia Village to live in fear for generations, unable to step half a foot outside the Du Family Village, enduring the punishment of the Five Precepts, neither alive nor dead, not careful nor annihilated."
Looking at the current clues, everyone agreed that Sui Chengguo’s account was very close to the truth, and Quan Doufeng finally managed to straighten out the clues, "What is the punishment of the Five Precepts?"
"The Five Precepts refer to the five major precepts in Buddhism: the first is the Precept against Killing, the second the Precept against Stealing, the third the Precept against Illicit Sexual Conduct, the fourth the Precept against False Speech, and the fifth the Precept against Intoxication. These five are the basic precepts, and must be observed whether one is ordained or a layperson," added Cheng Cha, "In fact, these five precepts are just representative of the major precepts. It is said that in the Vinaya Pitaka, there are 250 precepts for bhikkhus to maintain, and for bhikkhunis, even up to 348."
Based on the current task structure, the people believed that each night’s challenge related to one of the Buddhist Five Precepts. Specifically, each night they had to violate one of the precepts. The five days coincidentally corresponded to the five precepts, and to survive and leave, they at least needed to successfully break one of the precepts, shattering the unbreakable cycle.
"The task the night before last, carried out by Liu Haiping, undoubtedly corresponded to the Precept against Illicit Sexual Conduct, and last night, Hu Yanming’s ordeal corresponded to the Precept against Killing," stated Yang Xiao with certainty.
"What does fishing have to do with the Precept against Killing?" Lu Youcheng was puzzled.
"Not killing is a general term, which requires followers not to harm any living being, embodying the doctrine’s kindness and compassion," Cheng Cha answered for him.
"Exactly like that," Yang Xiao nodded, looking at everyone, "Now that the precepts of illicit sexual conduct and killing have been experienced, the remaining three nights will cover stealing, false speech, and intoxication."
The thread of the tasks had been nearly sorted out, and all that was left was to wait. Meanwhile, everyone seized the time to rest; sleeping during the day at least spared them from nightmares.
In the late afternoon, as Yang Xiao was drinking tea, a young maid he had met once hurried in, reporting that someone had fainted in the Buddhist Temple again, this time it was Aunt Du from the village, and she had already been carried back home, guarded by someone sent by the Patriarch.
Just as they were about to leave, the maid stopped them, stating that the Patriarch had ordered that only three of them could go, while the rest had to stay at the ancestral home and await orders.
The way she delivered the message was rather unpleasant. Orders, awaiting commands... It was clear that they were being ordered around by someone in authority. Not long ago, Patriarch Du met them with such reverence, calling them benefactors; it was unexpected how quickly this changed.
But Yang Xiao and the others did not have time to care about this; eventually, they chose Yang Xiao, Tong Han, and Cheng Cha to go, while the others stayed at the ancestral home under the leadership of Sui Chengguo, watching for any changes.
Guided by the maid, the three of them exited the ancestral home’s main gate and followed the cobblestone path, turning left and right before arriving at a courtyard. The heavy gate was firmly closed, and a yellow paper was pasted on it, scribbled with chaotic symbols that looked like ghostly talismans.
Yang Xiao stepped forward and knocked on the door. Rapid footsteps came from inside, and as the thick wooden door was pulled open, Du San appeared behind it. Seeing Yang Xiao, he urgently pulled them inside, surprisingly strong, "You’ve finally come, hurry in; this person... this person is almost gone!"
As they entered the house and before even reaching the inner room, a putrid stench of rotting flesh struck their nostrils, crazily assaulting their senses and casting a dark shade over their moods.
Opening the curtain in front of the inner room’s door, they saw a bloated human figure lying on the bed, with a face obscured by an old cloth, clothes opened wide, body severely decomposed, flesh peeling, pus oozing out, and some areas even revealing ghastly white bones. If not for the slight heaving of the chest, Yang Xiao would have thought this person was already dead.
"Can this person still speak?" Yang Xiao asked Du San quietly, pulling him aside.
Shaking his head, Du San’s voice was very hoarse, as if he had just cried, "No longer; the person could still speak when carried back, but... but now..."
After choking back tears, Du San rubbed his reddened eyes and regained his spirit, "Aunt Du briefly regained consciousness once. She had a dream where a chanting voice told her to go out after the Third Watch of the Night tonight to find someone and take something from that person."
"Whom is she supposed to find?" Tong Han inquired.
Du San took a deep breath, "It’s the chief of Mangjia Village."
"He’s dead, isn’t he?"
"Patriarch, he must have told you that every night after the third watch, the villagers of Mangjia Village who were once killed by the rioting soldiers turn into resentful spirits wandering within the village. The Chief of Mangjia Village is among them, and tonight, you need to identify the Chief among the many resentful spirits."
Du San continued seriously, "Aunt Du mentioned in a daze that on this Chief’s body lies a sinister object. The demon monk uses this object to control the spirits of the Mangjia villagers. If you can find this object, you can rescue the villagers from the demon monk’s control, which would also be a meritorious deed. Amitabha." After speaking, Du San brought his palms together and posed in a prayer gesture to Buddha.
"What exactly is this object?" Yang Xiao asked.
"I don’t know. Aunt Du didn’t say either. She just mentioned that once you see it, you will definitely recognize it," Du San emphasized.
"Then what does this Chief of Mangjia Village look like?" Cheng Cha pressed.
"I don’t know," Du San shook his head, "but Aunt Du said his legs have issues, one of his legs is made of wood."
Apart from these clues, Du San could provide no more information. After confirming that Aunt Du had nothing valuable to add, the trio decided to leave. Surprisingly, Du San, who was the only one accompanying Aunt Du, also picked up his clothes and walked out of the courtyard with Yang Xiao and the others.
The four of them hurried back. After passing another slightly larger courtyard, Du San stopped, asked Yang Xiao and the others to wait outside, pushed the door open, and walked into the yard familiarly. Yang Xiao and his companions saw many dried herbs being dried behind the courtyard door and, at the same time, a bamboo basket tipped over next to a grinding stone in the courtyard. Laid across the grinding stone was a broad-backed cleaver that, even in daylight, emitted a chilling gleam and a sharp edge that was terrifying.
This cleaver was very likely the ominous instrument used to kill Liu Haiping and Hu Yanming. And this place seemed to be the home of the village’s top assassin, Du San.
The three stood outside the door in unspoken agreement, not stepping inside. About five minutes later, Du San rushed out carrying a bundle, stuffing it into Yang Xiao’s arms, "These are all items Patriarch instructed to give you, which you will need tonight. It includes three copper coins, three sticks of soul-attracting incense, and three face covers. Tonight, dispatch three people, each with a copper coin in their mouths, wearing a face cover, and holding a stick of soul-attracting incense. Remember, do not speak, do not let the copper coins fall, or it will reveal the breath of the living. The soul-attracting incense can temporarily stabilize those lost souls and wild ghosts. You must return to the ancestral home before the incense burns out."
Du San gave a few more instructions, which Yang Xiao and others committed to memory, then the group split up, with Du San locking the door and turning towards Aunt Du’s house, while Yang Xiao and the others headed to the ancestral home, with Yang Xiao discreetly memorizing the location of Du San’s courtyard door before leaving.
After returning to the ancestral home, Yang Xiao placed the bundle on the table and opened it, recounting the situation in detail. Everyone’s faces looked grim, as tonight’s task sounded very daunting.
Before he could finish, Quan Doufeng darkly sneered, "Tonight it’s Aunt Du who suffered the disaster. She is a woman, so should we not also send a woman to deal with it?"
Tong Han turned and looked at him, then suddenly laughed the next second, "What did you say? Please repeat that, I didn’t hear clearly."
Feeling Tong Han’s smiling gaze, Quan Doufeng stiffened his neck, and after holding back for a long time, he dared not speak again. Following Yang Xiao’s suggestion, they still resolved the issue by drawing lots.
However, the results this time came as a surprise to everyone. The three picked were Cheng Cha, Tong Han, and Yang Xiao.
Mirroring exactly the people who had visited Aunt Du shortly before, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but take a deep breath, knowing this was no coincidence.
Time ticked away swiftly, and the night soon fell completely dark. Yang Xiao picked up a copper coin and sniffed it. The coin was very clean, as if someone had diligently polished it, but upon closer sniff, there was still a faint smell of decay.
"It’s death coins," Cheng Cha suddenly said.
Yang Xiao knew about death coins, which were placed in the mouths of the deceased, also known as "coins placed in the mouth of the deceased"—symbolizing the hopes that the departed would have money to use in the netherworld. Such coins were said to ward off evil spirits.
There were different grades of death coins, generally, ordinary households used such copper coins, while the richer families often had jade in the mouths of their deceased.
Yang Xiao and the others gathered, contemplating their night’s tasks as the night grew deeper, the pot of strong tea also reaching its end. Suddenly, a muffled sound of a clapper echoed within the quiet ancestral home.
That was the signal.
The third watch of the night... had arrived.
