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墨書 Inktalez
The moon had risen, and a gentle breeze swept through the air. The copper bells hanging from the eaves of Hongli Temple's Buddha Hall chimed softly, adding to the stillness of the night.
The young monk Huizhen carried a stack of freshly washed and dried monk robes as he made his way to the monks' living quarters. His master and senior brothers had been busy all day, and if everyone continued working like this, they might not even have time to do laundry.
Hongli Temple was located in the southern outskirts of Chang'an, a historic ancient temple. The temple now covered over forty acres of land, making it quite a large monastery.
Hongli Temple was divided into two courtyards: the Southern Courtyard, which housed the Buddhist Hall and main hall where monks worshipped and studied, and the North Courtyard, where the monks rested and lived. Behind the North Courtyard, on a nearby mountain, stood a Tower Forest that enshrined the relics of previous ancestors.
Originally, this was a tranquil Buddhist temple where the monks spent their days chanting scriptures, studying, working, and practicing their faith. Time flowed slowly here, and one could hardly feel its passage within the temple. However, everything changed after Hongli Temple received an important mission.
An imperial edict had been issued from the palace. On April Seventh, a ritual ceremony required eight exceptionally gifted young boys to serve as attendants for the Eight Holy Monks chosen for the event. These Eight Young Boys had been selected from major cities like Chang'an and Luoyang and were sent to Hongli Temple three days ago. The temple's task was to ensure that these boys could focus on their meditation and preparation before carrying out their duties, as well as providing assistance to officials from the Ministry of Rites who would explain the ceremony's procedures to them.
The Eight Young Boys were indeed remarkable Spirit Children; each one was exceptionally intelligent and well-mannered. After settling into Hongli Temple, they followed the Abbot in chanting scriptures to maintain their spiritual purity while also learning etiquette from the Ministry of Rites officials. Each task was quite demanding. Today was March twenty-first, and with little time left before April Seventh's grand ceremony, their training needed to accelerate.
The boys would take on their responsibilities during the ceremony itself. On the morning of that day, Qingliang Temple in Chang'an would announce which eight Holy Monks would participate in the Ritual Ceremony and Topknot Ceremony. Once this decision was made, each Holy Monk would be served by one of the Eight Young Boys during their ritual cleansing and changing of garments before attending the Thanksgiving Ceremony in Qingliang Temple's main hall.
The rituals involved in cleansing and changing garments as well as participating in the Thanksgiving Ceremony were quite intricate, requiring officials from the Ministry of Rites to teach them step by step. Fortunately, the eight boys were bright and eager to learn, allowing them to grasp everything quickly, which reassured the Ministry officials.
Huizhen was one of the younger monks at Hongli Temple and held a lower rank; thus he could not accompany the boys for meditation training but took on the role of overseeing their daily lives. The boys were friendly, and their simple lifestyle made it easy to care for them. However, with clothing, food, shelter, and daily necessities all combined, there were many chores to attend to, making Huizhen feel busier than usual.
This was his first time encountering such young individuals. Huizhen himself had entered monastic life at twelve years old after shaving his head; he had cultivated wisdom early on. Yet these boys were not monks; each exuded an aura of tranquility that enveloped them like a gentle light, bringing a sense of relaxation and comfort to Huizhen's heart.
In this vast world filled with countless beings, there truly were all kinds of people. Huizhen admired these boys greatly and often found himself praising them in his heart. Thus, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his work.
The night sky was serene; only the occasional chime of wind bells broke the silence—not even a single night bird could be heard. Suddenly, Huizhen felt an odd sensation; was there something different about the scent carried by the night breeze? Why did he feel an inexplicable unease? Was it perhaps too quiet?
Returning to his living quarters with his clothes in hand, he found soft light illuminating the room. It wasn't too late yet; most monks were still in the Southern Courtyard performing evening prayers. Calculating the time, they should be returning soon. Normally Huizhen and his peers wouldn't be present in the North Courtyard at this hour, but due to special circumstances today, they had made an exception to stay in their quarters to maintain order.
Moreover, there were officials from the Ministry of Rites residing in the North Courtyard who were unfamiliar with everything and needed assistance.
The candlelight flickered in their quarters as three shadows danced across the paper windows.
Hmm, there are only three people here, Huizhen thought as he pushed open the door.
"Back already?" His senior brother Huineng turned around upon seeing Huizhen and greeted him warmly.
Huizhen was stunned; in the entire meditation room, only Huineng remained, with no trace of anyone else.
"Brother... Brother, just now, was there anyone else here?"
"Just now? There was no one else; it was just me!" Huineng replied, puzzled.
Huizhen's mouth fell open in surprise. There was no way she had been mistaken; just moments ago, she had clearly seen three shadows!
"Don't move, Brother!" Huizhen exclaimed as she threw the basket of clothes onto the floor, leaving a bewildered Huineng behind. She turned and rushed out, shutting the door behind her.
Under the dim light, only Huineng's shadow remained, lonely against the door.
Could it be that I really saw it wrong? But it had seemed so real just a moment ago!
Huizhen opened the door again and carefully scanned the meditation room, scrutinizing the beams above. Yet, aside from Huineng, there was nothing else.
Could it be... haunted? But if it were a ghost, how could there be shadows?
Just then, the monks who had finished their duties began to return one after another. Although Huizhen doubted her own vision, driven by her concern, she decided to tell Abbot about the strange sighting.
After pondering for a moment, Abbot joined his palms together and recited a few verses. He then said solemnly, "This is a sacred place of Buddhism; we are protected by the Buddha. No evil spirits would dare approach. Everyone should quickly check if anything has gone missing."
The inspection caused quite a stir. In all the meditation rooms of the Southern Courtyard, including where the Ministry of Rites officials resided, everything with writing—papers, scriptures, scrolls—had vanished without a trace!
Had they been robbed? Yet this thief took no valuables or possessions but only scriptures and books, which was truly... perplexing.
Moreover, someone had been reading those scriptures before they disappeared. After dark, nearly every room in the North Courtyard had monks present. If it were indeed a thief at work, how could no one have seen them?
Or perhaps, as Huizhen had observed, these visitors were mere shadows without form?
Were they truly human?
At this critical time for the temple, any unexpected occurrences were unacceptable. Abbot immediately summoned all the monks and requested officials from the Ministry of Rites to gather everyone without exception in the largest meditation room of the Southern Courtyard.
The original intention of the Abbot was to ascertain the situation, clarify the current state, and decide on the next steps. However, when everyone gathered in the same room, something strange occurred.
As everyone found their seats, before the Abbot could speak, all the candles in the large hall suddenly extinguished at once. A chill ran through everyone's hearts, but before panic could set in, a strong gust of wind swept through, causing bodies to sway uncontrollably. Those who were more frail fell directly to the ground, and cries of surprise and pain filled the room.
Once the wind passed, everything returned to silence. People shook off their astonishment and hurriedly fumbled in the dark for Flint to relight the candles.
After counting heads, no one was missing and there were no injuries reported.
After a long inspection, people discovered an astonishing fact.
All of the nearly one hundred individuals present had lost every single personal item they carried—nothing remained!
Everyone felt incredulous and quickly sent someone to report to the authorities. The Official Authorities dispatched personnel overnight to investigate, but found no traces left in the entire North Courtyard of the temple. If it weren't for everyone confirming that their belongings were missing, the whole incident would have seemed like a fabrication.
Then, on the evening of the second day, a monk passing through the Back Mountain Pagoda Forest was astonished to find a chaotic pile of various scrolls and items heaped on the ground between several Master's Reliquary Pagodas, forming a tall mound.
The monk hurried back to report this to the Abbot. The Abbot took people to verify and discovered that it was indeed the missing items from last night's North Courtyard meditation room. The monks transported these items back to North Courtyard and counted them one by one, inviting people from the temple to come claim them. In the end, they found that all of the lost items were there—none were missing.
The investigation into this matter stalled here because there were simply no leads, and it did not seem like an act of human doing; there was no apparent motive. It was as if a Demon God had played a prank on the monks of Hongli Temple.
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