Wedding ceremony tomorrow

Chapter 56 Demonic Transformation

Inside the main hall of the temple.

Under Yunhai's guidance, the monks began chanting sutras and performing rituals to cleanse the temple of its sins.

The sounds of wooden fish drums and chanting filled the entire temple.

The entire ritual lasted until evening.

As the sun began to set, the monks' stomachs started to rumble.

After all, a vegetarian diet doesn't keep you full for long.

Huigen, who was in charge of the kitchen, left first and went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook.

Smoke quickly rose from the chimney.

After cooking a large pot of thin porridge, Huigen picked up his vegetable basket, pushed open the wooden door next to him, and entered the vegetable garden.

The large wolfhound tied up in the vegetable garden immediately stood up upon hearing the sound and began wagging its tail at him.

Huigen first pulled up a few radishes from the vegetable garden, and then picked some green vegetables.

After filling his basket, he got up and walked towards the straw shed where the wolfhound was tied up, muttering to himself, "Ah Huang, Ah Huang, you're living better than most people."

The shed was built with a few pieces of wood and some thatch, and it was filled with pine needles and thatch. It was the doghouse for the big wolfhound.

Huigen went inside and cleaned things up, then took a sickle, went to a corner, cut some things, and left the thatched hut.

"Time to cook."

He carried his vegetable basket out of the garden, and just as he reached the kitchen door, he suddenly stopped there.

Silence lasted for several breaths.

A figure walked out of the kitchen.

Looking at the mask on his face, Huigen subconsciously gripped the sickle in the vegetable basket, her face full of doubt. "Exorcist? I saw you at noon, didn't you leave? Why are you hiding in the kitchen again?"

Luo Qingfeng looked at him and said, "A demon slayer is naturally here to exorcise demons. How could I leave before the demons are eliminated?"

"magic?"

Huigen looked utterly bewildered: "Where is the demon? Didn't Huitong do those things? Didn't he flee to avoid punishment?"

Luo Qingfeng shook his head and looked at him, saying, "Not only did he not escape, but he was also killed."

Huigen did not speak again.

Luo Qingfeng looked at him and said, "Aren't you going to ask who killed him?"

Huigen suddenly sneered, "I think you're the one who killed him. You wore a mask, appeared in our temple out of nowhere, and then returned. You claim to be an exorcist, so you are? I think you're the murderer! The disappearances that have happened recently are probably all related to you, aren't they?"

Luo Qingfeng said, "What a clever scheme to shift the blame onto someone else. But can a trick be used twice in a row?"

As he spoke, he threw something on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a piece of charred, blackened bone.

"I found it in the stove."

Luo Qingfeng looked at him and asked, "Do monks eat meat too?"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached.

Then, Abbot Yunhai led a group of monks and strode in through the door.

Huigen immediately cried out, "Abbot, fellow disciples! This man is the murderer who killed those women! He was hiding in the kitchen, intending to poison them and wipe out the entire temple! He is utterly vicious!"

"Oh?"

Luo Qingfeng asked calmly, "What's in your shopping basket?"

Huigen gripped the vegetable basket tightly and sneered, "The basket is naturally full of vegetables! Radishes, cabbages, bok choy! What's it to you?"

"Whoosh!"

Just then, a cold glint flashed behind him, and the vegetable basket in his hand instantly split in two and fell to the ground.

Radishes and greens fell to the ground.

At the very bottom, a bloody lump of flesh was revealed!

Upon seeing this, Yunhai and the other monks' expressions changed drastically.

"What is this?"

Luo Qingfeng asked.

Huigen hurriedly explained to Yunhai, "Abbot, this is rabbit meat. I picked it up from the back mountain and was preparing it for Ah Huang to eat..."

Yunhai's face was deathly pale, and his lips trembled slightly.

The pieces of meat on the ground don't look like rabbit meat at all; they look more like...

"It must have been brought from the vegetable garden, right?"

Luo Qingfeng glanced at the pieces of meat on the ground and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the missing Huitong should be there."

Upon hearing this, Huigen's expression changed drastically.

Luo Qingfeng then looked at him and said, "If you want to frame him, you should kill him first. Only the dead can't speak up and defend themselves."

"Nonsense! You're talking nonsense!"

Huigen gripped his sickle tightly and shouted excitedly, "Abbot, he's the murderer! He's the murderer!"

Luo Qingfeng said, "Look at the sickle in your hand. The bloodstains on it haven't been wiped off yet. You're too careless."

Huigen trembled and hurriedly looked down at the sickle in his hand, instinctively reaching out to wipe it on the vegetables on the ground.

But the sickle was clean and free of blood.

"Look how scared you are, I was just kidding."

Luo Qingfeng suddenly spoke again.

Huigen paused for a moment.

Luo Qingfeng then slowly said, "You must have known beforehand that we were coming to the temple, which is why you fabricated the story that Huitong was lustful at first sight, kidnapped someone, and then fled immediately upon being summoned by the abbot for fear of being exposed. Let me guess when you found out..."

"It should be around lunchtime, when you come back and see signs that someone has been in the kitchen, or you made some kind of mark at the entrance to the vegetable garden. As long as someone opens the door or goes in, you'll notice, am I right?"

"Unfortunately, the mud on the trees, the mud on the walls, and the footprints in the corner were all too clumsy. If the murderer were really that careless, the constables would have found out long ago. Also, when I told you in the main hall that the woman had been killed, you couldn't control the expression on your face, and you also acted very strangely on the way from the main hall to Huitong's room..."

"Of course, these are all just guesses. The evidence is that there was some stove ash and the smell of cooking oil and food on the woman's clothes and body. When you carried her up the tree and over the wall, you used too much force, and the stuff from your fingernails accidentally got on her body. After you took off her clothes, you probably couldn't help but touch her a few times, right?"

"You just finished cooking and haven't washed your hands yet, have you?"

Huigen's face turned pale, his body trembled, and he gripped the sickle tightly, retreating towards the entrance of the vegetable garden.

Luo Qingfeng then said, "Take your hands out and let everyone see your fingers and nails, and they'll know."

Huigen trembled instantly, hurriedly putting one hand behind his back and hiding the other hand holding the sickle at his abdomen.

Upon seeing this, Yunhai and the monks had no more doubts and looked at him with disbelief and anger.

Luo Qingfeng suddenly said, "Abbot, shall we go take a look at the vegetable garden?"

Just as Yunhai was about to speak, Huigen hurriedly brandished his sickle and retreated to the entrance of the vegetable garden, his face contorted with rage as he shouted, "Don't come any closer! I'll kill anyone who comes near!"

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a cold glint flashed, and the blade of the sickle in his hand fell to the ground.

He held the empty hilt of the knife, paused for a moment, and turned to look at the corner beside him.

A petite figure wearing a white rabbit mask stood there silently, holding a gleaming sword in her hand.

Yunhai, trembling, roared, "Huigen! Kneel down and confess your sins!"

Huigen looked at him, his body trembled a few times, and his face became increasingly ferocious: "Confess your guilt? What crime have I committed?"

Yunhai roared, "You killed someone, you killed your own senior brother, and you still dare to say you're innocent!"

Huigen lowered his head, his eyes gradually reddening. After a long silence, he suddenly gave a pitiful smile: "I just wanted to eat some meat, is that a crime?"

His expression suddenly turned sad and resentful, and his eyes filled with tears.

"I was sold here as a child, to be your slave. I chop wood, start fires, grow vegetables, cook, sweep, and do laundry all by myself. When I have a little free time, I have to chant sutras while striking a wooden fish. Hahahaha... I'll chant your sutras! I've worked so hard for so many years, and all I got was a burnt rabbit I found on the back mountain. I couldn't resist bringing it back and eating a few bites, and you beat me so badly I couldn't get out of bed and made me kneel for three days and three nights..."

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this!"

"Just because I can't earn money for your offerings? Just because I'm just a cook? Just because I'm a slave you bought, is this how you treat me?"

Yunhai clasped his hands together, his face filled with sorrow: "Amitabha, Buddha said, suffering..."

"Hahahaha..."

Huigen suddenly burst into maniacal laughter: "Old man! Even at this point, you're still pretending to be kind with such a straight face? When you were secretly counting the incense money in the meditation room, did that greedy and disgusting look make you look like someone who wants to suffer? Why don't you go and suffer? Besides chanting scriptures, meditating, sleeping, eating, and lecturing people, what else can you do? Have you ever suffered?"

"Amitabha……"

Yunhai closed his eyes and lowered his head, offering no argument.

His disciples behind him glared angrily, their faces contorted with rage: "Huigen! Still spouting nonsense! Surrender now!"

Huigen suddenly looked at them with red eyes, and laughed loudly, saying, "You're no better than me! Every time a female pilgrim comes, you sneak a few glances, and every night when you get back to your room, you discuss which female pilgrim has a big butt and is good at having babies! Hahahaha... You're all a bunch of hypocritical, lewd, and shameless bastards!"

The monks were so angry that their faces turned red, and they all cursed and tried to grab him.

"Grab him!"

"Catch this villain!"

Huigen laughed a few times and suddenly retreated into the vegetable garden behind him.

"Chase him! Don't let this villain escape!"

The crowd immediately surrounded Yunhai and chased after him into the vegetable garden.

Huigen didn't run away. Instead, he squatted down in front of the thatched hut, hugged the big wolfhound, and stroked it tenderly, tears streaming down his face, saying, "Ah Huang, Ah Huang... only you are the best to me. Only you never order me around, never scold me, never look down on me... only you truly love me..."

When the large wolfhound saw the monks approaching menacingly, it immediately bared its fangs and let out a ferocious howl.

Huigen gently stroked it a few more times and slowly untied the rope around its neck.

Upon seeing this, the monks hurriedly retreated.

Someone immediately grabbed sticks, stones, and other items to protect the abbot.

"Ah Huang, Ah Huang... Let's go, let's go quickly, go far away, and never come back to this place of false compassion..."

Huigen slowly rose, walked into the thatched hut, dragged a corpse out from under the straw, tore off a piece of flesh, and placed it in front of the large wolfhound, his eyes full of doting: "Eat, this is the last time I can feed you..."

Ah Huang took a big bite and began to chew it.

Upon seeing the corpse on the ground and witnessing this scene, the monks were filled with horror and couldn't help but vomit.

Huigen sneered, raised his head, and stared at them with bloodshot eyes, saying, "Disgusting? No, it smells delicious. I've killed so many people, but I've never forgotten you. Didn't you always eat my cooking with great relish? And you, Abbot, I always cooked the most for you, and you always ate the most delicious food, not leaving a single drop of soup in your bowl..."

"vomit--"

Upon hearing this, Yunhai and the remaining monks who had not yet vomited all changed their expressions drastically and bent over to vomit, their faces filled with terror.

"Hahahahaha..."

Huigen laughed loudly, his mouth suddenly split open, revealing two sharp fangs, and his hands quickly transformed into ten sharp bone claws!

His body also began to grow larger, and his monk's robe ripped open with a "rip".

His face was torn apart, revealing his white bones!

"Ah! Demon! Demon—"

Upon seeing this, the monks were terrified and scrambled out of the vegetable garden.

Yunhai was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

(End of this chapter)