With a roof over my head and a comfortable soft quilt beneath me, and a candle flickering on the table, my suspended heart finally relaxed. But my nerves were still on high alert, making it hard for me to sleep.
Sitting against the wall, I kept muttering that it would be good if I had a cigarette.
To be honest, since practicing the cultivation technique passed down by Master Yu, I hardly smoked. It was poisonous, not only harming the body but also disrupting the body's qi, making it a big taboo during training. However, when troubled, I always wanted to smoke to ease my mental burden.
Since I couldn't sleep, I walked to the door and looked outside. The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the night sky was adorned with twinkling stars, making it a beautiful sight. I sighed and thought that if I could find Fatty early the next morning, I could evade any trouble. Ling Qian probably wouldn't give up easily, and reasoning with her would likely be futile.
In fact, I acted impulsively back then. Qin Qianqiu's life and death had nothing to do with me, and I could have just let him die. I and Fatty wouldn't be the culprits and wouldn't have to be heroes, allowing us to leave unscathed.
And now, I had gotten involved with Ling Qian. I wasn't afraid of her, but her brother was what worried me. He seemed like a tough character.
I had a lot on my mind, and the more I thought, the more confused I became, making it even harder to sleep. Suddenly, I heard a noise outside. I peeked outside and saw the temple's young monk walking in the courtyard, holding a wooden fish and moving around, tapping it as he went.
"Hey, young master, what are you doing?" I asked curiously.
Upon hearing my voice, he hurriedly made a hushing gesture and then walked over hastily, asking, "Venerable guest, why aren't you asleep yet?"
His young face looked somewhat flustered, piquing my curiosity even more. "I can't sleep. Why are you tapping the wooden fish in the middle of the night? Did you make a mistake and get punished by the master?"
I just casually mentioned it, but I didn't expect the young monk to frown and hurriedly say, "That's not true. I've always been obedient. Master assigned me this task, and I have to do it every day."
"Task?"
As I was asking, my eyes fell on the courtyard and I saw a small wooden basin in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly containing some black round objects.
"What's in that wooden basin? Did you place it there?" I asked, pointing at the wooden basin.
"Yes, this is the steamed bread offering to the mountain ghosts and wild creatures. It's wrapped in a layer of black Chinese medicine. Before, it was the older disciples who fed them, but they left the mountain and secular life, so now it's my responsibility. Please rest, I still have tasks to do."
After saying this, he pushed me and I took a few steps back. The young monk then closed my door and continued to knock on the wooden fish, making a "dong dong dong..." sound, while circling around the courtyard.
Offering steamed bread to mountain ghosts and wild creatures? This was the first time I had heard of this. How could such a strange thing exist in this world? By doing this, isn't he just feeding these earth-bound creatures? Moreover, this is a temple, a place blessed by Bodhisattvas. Can mountain ghosts and wild creatures come in here?
The more I thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed. Quietly, I opened a crack in the wooden door, and after circling around the courtyard for about ten times, the young monk moved to the side, took out some red beans from his pocket, and sprinkled them near his feet, then quietly watched the direction of the wooden basin.
Would the mountain ghosts and wild creatures really come to eat these steamed bread? Furthermore, isn't steamed bread supposed to be white? Why cover it with a layer of Chinese medicine for the wild creatures?
As I was filled with doubts, there was suddenly a commotion outside the wall, first some chirping sounds, then gradually more and more calls, and the air around seemed to become agitated. It was as if many earth-bound creatures were about to appear.
I crouched down slowly, and a few minutes later, a head suddenly popped out from a hole in the wall. At first glance, it looked like a sparrow with brownish-yellow feathers, a sharp beak, and alert eyes. It cautiously crawled out of the hole and immediately noticed the wooden basin and the black steamed bread inside. It then hopped over to the black wooden basin.
This was a type of earth-bound creature I had never seen before. It didn't seem fierce at all, and as soon as it landed next to the wooden basin, it immediately noticed the young monk. It didn't seem nervous, instead, it kept bowing, which even seemed like it was expressing gratitude to the young monk!
Then it began to peck at the black steamed bread, making sharp chirping sounds. Soon after, various earth-bound creatures started to emerge from the hole in the wall. They were all small in size and didn't seem fierce at all. Of course, if I hadn't consulted the "Wild Creature Tales," I wouldn't have known the names of many of these earth-bound creatures.
The peaceful courtyard suddenly became lively. I stood up and hid behind the slightly opened door, feeling the strange sensation returning. In fact, even today, I still have similar thoughts.
The world always shows its mysteries to us inadvertently, with too many secrets hidden in places we can't see or even imagine. When I walked from the city into the forest and witnessed so many strange monsters and earth-bound creatures, I thought they were all ferocious and terrifying.
However, the scene in front of me seemed to indicate that things always have two sides.
The black steamed bread in the wooden basin was quickly eaten by the various earth-bound creatures. They suddenly lined up, bowing towards the young monk surrounded by red beans, and their adorable appearance made them quite likable.
I couldn't help but be curious. I reached out and opened the wooden door, but unfortunately, my sudden appearance disrupted the peaceful scene in front of me. The startled earth-bound creatures quickly fled, and after a few minutes of confusion, they left me looking bewildered.
"Have you not gone to sleep yet? You frightened them all away!" the young monk picked up the red beans from the ground and reprimanded me.
I awkwardly smiled and said, "Sorry."
"Hmph, they've become so timid. I used to secretly feed them. It was hard to make them not afraid of me, and then you suddenly appeared and scared them off!"
The young monk pouted, still not very happy, and I laughed dumbly a few times, feeling embarrassed.
"Don't be so talkative."
Suddenly, an old voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw the old monk from the temple standing at the entrance of the courtyard. I quickly bowed, and the young novice ran to the old monk's side. The old monk affectionately patted his head and then said, "Go back to your room and rest."
After the young novice left, the old monk slowly walked into the courtyard, his light blue robe gently swaying in the breeze. Standing next to me, he said in a low voice, "When you first entered, there was some hostility on your face. I think you must have experienced a lot during the day."
I hesitated and felt like he had seen through me. I smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I nearly died during the day. Master, were those earth creatures your pets?"
"They can't be considered pets. They're like stray cats and dogs in a big city, always someone kind-hearted to feed them. They are born weak, and my temple can provide them with some food, which is a form of accumulating blessings."
I nodded in understanding. Just as I was about to speak, the previously clear night sky suddenly became dark and the night wind turned chilling. The unusual situation seemed to be warning me that something ominous was about to happen!
"Master, you should go back to your room, it seems..."
Before I could finish my sentence, a figure suddenly emerged from a small hole in the wall, it was the earth creature that looked like a sparrow that I had seen before. It came in and kept making constant sounds, conveying a sense of urgency and intensity. Even though I didn't understand its cries, I knew in my heart that something bad was about to happen!
As the earth creature continued to cry out, another figure emerged from the hole outside, slender in shape, and suddenly bit the sparrow-like earth creature from behind.
The small creature screamed, and I could now see clearly that the one biting it from behind was a large black snake!
"Damn!"
I cursed and rushed forward with a dagger. But the snake reacted quickly, bit the small creature, and immediately retreated, disappearing from the hole outside. But from the hole, I could hear the chaotic sounds from the woods, not just the cries of the wild animals, but also the scattered sound of monsters running around.
Something was wrong, this thought kept appearing in my mind. Something was coming, and it was something terrifying the animals!