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Chapter 23 The Mysterious Bodhisattva

Zhou You's chrysanthemum immediately tightened.

"Holy crap, seriously? You set up a surprise attack trap here? How the hell am I supposed to play 'game' in this tiny space?"

However, after waiting anxiously for half a day, the charred child showed no sign of moving.

It simply raised its small head and 'looked' at Zhou You for a while with its cracked face, then suddenly turned around and walked towards the door.

"This is... not planning to play the game? Wait, it seems to mean I should come with it." After thinking for a moment, Zhou You decided to follow the monster.

Since he was completely clueless about this place, instead of wasting time searching each room, he might as well follow this seemingly friendly child and see what it all meant.

Of course, the main reason is that he still has enough resurrection coins, so he's not afraid of dying here—on the bright side, he can also reset the daytime.

The child didn't walk fast, but its figure kept flickering. It seemed different from the one at night, and it was difficult to solidify, especially under the sunlight. Its entire body would suddenly disappear and then reappear on the other side after a long time.

It led Zhou You through the two doors and up to the second floor. But it didn't stop in any room, not even glancing at highly suspicious places like the "Staff Dormitory," "Database," or "Dean's Office." Instead, it went straight to the innermost part and stopped in front of an unremarkable wall.

Then, the charred figure stopped, raised its head, and looked at Zhou You.

"You mean you want me to come in?"

There was neither affirmation nor denial, only a gaze.

Zhou You had no choice but to walk over by himself. He first knocked on the wall as usual, but didn't hear any strange sounds. Then he looked around, but still didn't see any mechanism to open it.

It looks like a very ordinary wall.

But Zhou You did not give up. After thinking for a while, he suddenly turned around, took a few steps, and came to a window that had already been burned. He then leaned out and began to observe the building's exterior again.

A few seconds later, a playful smile appeared on his lips.

The wall is the wrong size.

Compared to the end of the corridor, the exterior wall has a significantly larger blank space—normally, a house would never be built like this unless the designer is out of their mind, so there is only one conclusion.

"There must be a hidden room here, or a hidden compartment."

Realizing this, Zhou You's search became much more meticulous, even checking the surrounding rooms. After searching for a full ten minutes, he finally discovered a hidden mechanism under a desk.

Reaching into the narrow gap, he pulled it down with great effort, and with a dull thud, the wall opened.

After crawling out covered in dust, Zhou You glanced once more at the silent, ghost-like figure. Seeing that it still didn't react, he could only shake his head slightly before stepping into the dark room.

At first glance, it was just a tiny room, barely two meters wide, filled with dust. But unlike the outside, there were no signs of fire damage; only the light remained dim as always. Zhou You turned on his flashlight and shone it inside.

But the next second, his gaze was drawn to something.

That was a statue of a Bodhisattva.

Unlike the Bodhisattvas commonly found in temples, this clay sculpture shows no trace of pity or compassion. Seated cross-legged on a lotus pedestal, its face contorted and crazed, its right hand resting on its knee, fingers touching the ground in the Buddhist mudra of subduing demons. Yet, beneath the pedestal are not any demons or monsters, but countless souls writhing and screaming in a sea of ​​blood.
—At this moment, He looked at Zhou You as if he were looking at an offering on an altar.

There were no other emotions, only pure appetite.

Then, the clay statue opened its mouth right in front of Zhou You, and a shrill chanting sound rang out.

"Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Amitayus Vajrasattva Hum She."

The Buddhist chanting entered his ears, and in a daze, Zhou You saw the Bodhisattva covered in blood, with all the souls struggling in that sea of ​​blood, begging for liberation, but only receiving despair from which they could never be reborn. Amidst the roars, the Bodhisattva's face grew increasingly ferocious, and spiral-shaped teeth grew out of his throat, about to swallow Zhou You's head— "Fuck your mother!"

Just as he was about to be swallowed up, Zhou You gritted his teeth and immediately entered a state of selfless meditation.

The rapidly declining sanity finally stabilized, and then all the scenery receded like the tide.

Looking again, the Bodhisattva statue was still ferocious, but there was no longer any sign of movement.

It was as if the previous events were just an illusion.

"You have discovered an erosion point."

"You have received a reward of 70 Soul Stones."

The current number of Soul Stones is 260.

"You have discovered a crucial point in this world, and a corner of the hidden story has been revealed to you. Please note that if you uncover the complete worldview before the end of the script, you will receive an additional reward."

At this point, Zhou You touched his forehead and realized it was covered in sweat.

Normally, given his personality, he wouldn't show this behavior even if he encountered the most terrifying ghosts or monsters—but the situation just now was completely different, utterly different. Facing this Buddha statue, Zhou You felt like a mouse being targeted by a cat—it was an absolute crushing blow from its natural enemy, and he couldn't put up any resistance at all, only close his eyes and wait for death.

Even now, he still feels a lingering sense of fear.

Fortunately, Zhou You has a strong ability to adapt, or rather, a strong ability to self-regulate.

He closed his eyes, took a moment to catch his breath, and when he opened them again, there was no longer any extra emotion in his eyes.

"—It now seems that this strange Bodhisattva is another key point in this instance. Although there is no direct evidence, it should be directly related to that wealthy man surnamed Liu. It's just a matter of what the details are."

Zhou You looked down and noticed that there were several lines of small characters engraved on the lotus platform.

"The good shall go to day, and the bad to night."

"The living return to the day, the dead to the night."

"The formless return to the day, the formed return to the night."

"Those who have not gone mad return to the day, and those who have gone mad return to the night."

"To offer sacrifices to the living and to perform rituals for the dead."

"To achieve one's desires and to dedicate one's heart."

It's neither poetry nor a eulogy; the entire passage doesn't rhyme at all, and it's mostly incoherent, like something a illiterate person would force out to pretend to be cultured.

But these few paragraphs still provide a great deal of information—so much so that they are only a tiny fraction of what's left to connect all the clues.

After pondering for a while, Zhou You suddenly revealed a peculiar smile. Then, instead of looking at the Bodhisattva, he turned around and faced the charred child.

Whether the dark room was opened or a hallucination occurred, the spirit did not move at all from beginning to end. Only when Zhou You turned around did it slowly dissipate in the sunlight, as if it had completed all its tasks.

Zhou You remained silent for a few seconds, sighed softly, then turned and left.

(End of this chapter)