Chapter 47: Offering Incense

Xinhui had barely finished speaking when he seemed to realize his slip of the tongue. He quickly clasped his hands together, closed his eyes slightly, and bowed towards the west.

"Amitabha, a sin, a sin. This disciple has broken the precept against anger. I must copy the scriptures a hundred times afterward as penance."

After uttering these words, Xinhui raised his head again, looking at Li Huowang calmly. After observing him carefully for a moment, he nodded gently. "This old monk knows why. Benefactor Xuanyang, please follow me."

Seeing the group of monks watching him intently, Li Huowang had no choice but to follow. He sheathed his long sword behind his back, then turned and walked after Xinhui.

Xinhui did not lead them elsewhere but brought everyone back to the previous site where the Buddhist statues were being carved. "Benefactor Xuanyang, was it here that you saw those defilements earlier?"

Surrounded by monks, Li Huowang was stunned by the sight before him. The unfinished stone statues, which had previously transformed into mountains of flesh, now reappeared as if mocking him. "How can this—"

"Benefactor, please continue to follow me."

Accompanied by Xinhui, Li Huowang slowly walked forward, past the statue carving area, and arrived at the place where he had previously seen livestock.

Here, too, there were no animals, only unfinished stone Qilins and stone lions. These stone auspicious beasts, large and small, were neatly arranged, silently gazing straight ahead.

Just then, Xinhui suddenly drew the long sword from Li Huowang's back and struck forcefully, severing a palm-sized lion's head.

Xinhui picked up the stone lion's head and placed it in Li Huowang's hand.

Li Huowang gently stroked the stone lion's head with his fingers. The texture of the stone and its substantial weight clearly indicated it was real!

"How could this be—" Perplexed, Li Huowang remained unconvinced. He walked over, touching each sculpture with both hands, only to find that they were indeed all real.

Finally, he stood at the entrance of the grand hall and looked inside. There, an imposing giant stone Buddha sat cross-legged on a lotus throne, holding an alms bowl in its left hand and pointing vertically downwards with its right, strikingly present before Li Huowang.

"This is impossible! I saw it clearly just now, distinctly! How could it be fake?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, Abbot Xinhui sighed softly. "Amitabha, Benefactor, your illness is quite severe."

A bewildered Li Huowang turned to Xinhui and asked in astonishment, "Am I having an episode? Were all those things I saw just now my own hallucinations?"

Xinhui nodded gently. "Benefactor, you surely know your own illness better than us outsiders, don't you?"

"Could it be that all the Black Grand Lord I ate can only sustain me for this long? Am I having hallucinations again?" Li Huowang muttered to himself, clutching his head in agony.

Upon hearing Li Huowang's words, the group of monks nearby, their faces showing aversion, gathered and whispered amongst themselves.

"So, he's mad after all."

"If there's nothing else, please ask him to leave quickly. It wouldn't be good if he had an episode and harmed someone."

"Silence!" Xinhui's single word silenced all the monks.

He entered the hall and lit four incense sticks, then turned and offered them to Li Huowang. "It's no trouble for us Buddhist disciples, but it wouldn't be good to disturb the Buddha. Please offer incense to the Buddha."

"Offer incense?" Li Huowang's muscles instantly tensed. His gaze darted between the Great Buddha, Xinhui, and the four incense sticks.

"Benefactor, what are you waiting for? You were at fault first in this matter." Xinhui extended the four incense sticks in his hand.

In Li Huowang's mind, he again recalled the wriggling mass of monster, the creature covered in monks.

If that thing were real, wouldn't offering incense to it be like feeding it directly into its mouth?

"Benefactor, why do you hesitate?"

Li Huowang looked at Xinhui, who was speaking, and noticed a hint of displeasure beginning to show on his face.

He touched the genuine stone lion in his hand, then looked up at the dazzling sun overhead.

Li Huowang dropped the lion's head, took the incense sticks with both hands, stepped over the doorframe, and slowly walked towards the stone statue.

He walked very slowly, his body and mind highly tense, cold sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

No matter how slowly he walked, Li Huowang eventually reached the Great Buddha. The Buddha remained the Buddha; it had not transformed into the nauseating mass.

Holding the incense sticks in both hands, Li Huowang stood before the incense burner and looked up again. From this angle, he could see the giant Buddha gazing at him with eyes that showed neither joy nor sorrow, inspiring involuntary awe in his heart.

As Li Huowang raised the incense high above his head, the four sticks trembled slightly, and white smoke swirled in the air, drifting towards the hall's ceiling.

After bowing three times with the incense, Li Huowang solemnly inserted the sticks into the incense burner, then turned and returned outside the hall.

Seeing the conflict resolved, the group of monks gradually dispersed, returned to their places, and picked up their tools to resume carving, the "clink-clank" sounds echoing continuously.

Xinhui and Li Huowang slowly walked outwards along the stone-paved path that ran between the statues.

"Benefactor Xuanyang, since your illness is so severe, please don't wander around aimlessly from now on. Just wait patiently for the Universal Deliverance Grand Ceremony."

"While your illness is troublesome, Danyangzi is undoubtedly more dangerous compared to your condition. We'll take things one step at a time, just as you eat one mouthful at a time," Xinhui said to Li Huowang beside him, twirling the prayer beads in his hand.

Li Huowang looked up again at the bright sun overhead, then stretched his arms high above his head with a yawn. "Abbot, does Zhengde Temple have a way to cure my hysteria?"

"Hmm... this old monk can have my disciples try, but whether they succeed remains to be seen. After all, this temple does not possess the legacy of Huang Qi's techniques."

"No worries, I was just asking casually. I've been mad for so long, I'm used to it," Li Huowang said indifferently. "By the way, Abbot, how did you do that just now? How did the item in my arms suddenly appear in your hand?"

"Hehehe, it was just a small trick, nothing worth mentioning, nothing worth mentioning."

"Abbot, there's no need to be modest now. If that's nothing to mention for you, what am I then? Not even as good as an insect."

"Benefactor Xuanyang, that's not how it's calculated. Danyangzi, despite being less powerful than me, was still considered a mid-tier expert outside, yet you ultimately eliminated him, didn't you?"

"Danyangzi, and people like him, are considered mid-tier? How powerful must the upper-tier be then? Abbot, among masters like yourselves, is there a hierarchy?"

"There is, yes, things like 'Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow,' but those are merely arbitrary classifications invented by idle people. We monastics do not seek false fame and do not care for such things."

Though the path was not long, they walked for a considerable time and spoke at length, and Li Huowang gained much useful information about this world from Xinhui.

After leaving the carving site, Li Huowang stopped and bowed to Xinhui. "Thank you, Abbot, for clearing my doubts."

"Not at all, it was merely a small effort. Benefactor Xuanyang, you are unwell, so please go back and rest."

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Huowang looked around but, finding no trace of the old monk, turned and walked towards his own lodging.

He walked very slowly, appearing troubled and deep in thought.

After walking for about half an hour, Li Huowang finally arrived at his lodging. The moment he closed the door, his expression instantly turned distorted. He clenched his fists and forcefully slammed them against the wall.

Although he didn't know what method the monks used to confuse his senses, as a patient who frequently alternated between hallucinations and reality, Li Huowang was exceptionally sensitive to such things.

The Great Buddha from earlier had felt distinctly wrong to him; it had an indescribable quality, similar to the hospital in his hallucinations.

"Those stone carvings are all fake! The Great Buddha is also fake! They were all conjured by illusion! What I saw before was not a hallucination at all!"