Chapter 266: The Strange Temple (1/2)

“Dude, there’s something off about this place!” Dali whispered through gritted teeth. ”Let's just get the hell out of here!”

”Where are we supposed to go?” I asked. “It's raining like cats and dogs out there. We might as well wait till the weather eases up.”

I walked over to examine the wooden fish that was covered with a layer of dust and cobwebs, showing no traces of having been drummed. Yet as soon as I placed it back down, the loud creaking of a door broke the silence of the prayer hall. The creak sounded dragged out, as if a door was being pushed in slow motion. I was certain there weren’t any doors in the hall. So how exactly did the sound come about?

The scariest part of a horror movie isn’t the ghost itself, but the sound effects. If you don't believe me, try watching ”The Ring” with any song from Phoenix Legend. I promise you won’t feel a thing!

The inexplicable sounds had Bingxin frightened like a little rabbit, hands clutching my shirt as she cried, ”Song Yang-gege, let’s stop moving around. As soon as the rain stops, we’ll leave, alright?”

“Okay!” I nodded.

The storm quickly subsided, but the rain continued in a light drizzle. Outside, the sky was still dark, overcast with heavy, large clouds. We huddled together, waiting as three or four hours dragged on. Finally, Dali stood up and cried, ”I can't stand it anymore!”

I thought he meant the gloomy atmosphere, but then came his next sentence, ”My bladder is about to burst! Dude, follow me to the backyard so I can relieve myself!”

”Just use an empty incense burner,” I suggested.

Zhu Xiaohao immediately shot me an angry glare. ”I’ll fight you if you dare!”

Dali had long grown impatient with his nonsense and couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. ”You’re acting as if you built the temple!” he mocked. “The Buddha isn’t so narrow-minded to hold it against me for pissing in his territory. I think you're making a fuss out of nothing!”

”You dare disrespect the Buddha?!” threatened Zhu Xiaohao, the veins in his neck throbbing from anger.

”Fine, let's just go round the back,” I said. “Bingxin, do you have to go too?”

”No, I’m alright.” Bingxin’s cheeks colored with embarrassment.

When we went to the back, I noticed another smaller hall to the side. In the middle of the courtyard was a large incense burner made out of stone, sitting somewhat crookedly on the ground that was filled with overgrown weeds. There were wings on both sides of the courtyard that appeared to house the monks, though they were now unoccupied.

Dali and I found a secluded corner where he quickly unzipped his pants and pulled out his little guy. Thud! A sudden noise reverberated through the courtyard, frightening Dali so he jumped in shock and lost control of his aim, almost getting piss all over me.

After a brief pause, the thud sounded again and again in a weird rhythm. Dali quaked like a leaf as he asked, ”What's that?”

I heard footsteps that resembled Bingxin’s and immediately urged, ”Hurry up! Put away your dick!”

True enough, a few seconds later, Bingxin came running towards us. ”Song Yang-gege, did you hear that? There are really strange sounds coming from God knows where!”

”Let’s go and check out the situation!” I said.

We passed the side rooms and found an abandoned smaller courtyard in the rear. There were odds and ends piled up all over the place, and unfinished Buddha statues carelessly laid on the ground.

”Fuck! It’s a ghost!” shouted Dali.

With that, he scurried behind me and pointed with trembling fingers.

I looked in the direction of his finger and gasped, shocked to see a monk standing under an old locust tree. Half of his face had been completely disfigured, his features mashed together like melted wax. Part of his gums was exposed from his mangled lip. But the other half of his face was perfectly intact. Like a combination of angel and devil on the same face, he reminded me of the villain Two-Face from Batman. Just a glimpse of that face was enough to give anyone nightmares.

The monk was chopping up wood with a sharp axe, a pile of firewood heaped near his feet. So that was the sound we heard earlier!

I walked over and politely said, ”Hello, venerable one, we’ve come to take shelter from the rain. I’m sorry to disturb you. We’ll leave some incense money before we go.”

The monk paused his actions and flicked a gloomy gaze over me. Then, as if he hadn’t heard anything, he went on chopping wood wordlessly...

Dali tugged my sleeve. ”Dude, the rain isn’t as heavy. Let's go now. This guy looks like he’s off his rocker.”

As soon as the words left his lips, a deafening thud sounded, almost scaring the living daylights out of a timid Dali. Two-Face pounded the axe onto the tree stump he used as a chopping block, his voice cold and harsh as he growled, “My face might be disfigured but my ears work perfectly! Watch your mouth kid. If you make me unhappy, I might just use this axe on you! Get the fuck out of here once the rain stops!”