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墨書 Inktalez
"Bang! Bang!" Two more statues of Buddha broke off their bases and crashed down, but fortunately, this time no one was hit. As the statues rolled on the ground, the earth cracked open again, dragging the statues into the depths below...
I could no longer endure this atmosphere of "not knowing what was happening yet being inexplicably involved." I shouted, "What on earth is going on?"
"If we survive this, I will tell you," the White-Bearded Monk said, looking up at the Tathagata Buddha in the center of the tower. The statue had one hand raised to its chest while the other hand lay horizontally, holding a square wooden box about a foot wide. "I hope you can retrieve it and open it."
My stomach churned with nausea from the jostling. "Why should I take that Wooden Box? What does this have to do with me?"
"This is fate."
"To hell with fate! I'm just an ordinary exchange student here at Chiang Mai University to study, not to help you get that damn box! Besides, can't you get it yourself? Why do I have to do it?" I yelled angrily. Deep down, I knew that even if I were foolish, I understood that today's events were extremely dangerous and somehow connected to me. However, I also noticed that although the monks were in a state of panic, no one dared to leave their mats. Remembering the monk who had fled and how the statues were dragged underground, I guessed that any movement would lead to a similar fate.
In other words, the Piper controlling the Human Pupa outside couldn't see what was happening inside Changlong Tower, but somehow he could sense moving objects and used those grayish-white shadows to drag targets underground.
If I ran over to retrieve the box, I would be in motion. The White-Bearded Monk looked pious but insisted on handing this task to me, which I found unacceptable!
"Only those with Red Eyes who can sense the sound of the Human Curse Flute can avoid his searching for sound through the ground. He must be holding a stick and pressing his ear against it," the White-Bearded Monk explained with some resignation as he noticed my fear.
It suddenly occurred to me that I had caught a glimpse of the flutist earlier; he indeed held a stick in his arms. At that moment, I wondered if the Piper was blind.
"You are also Red Eyes and can sense Flute Sound; why don't you go?"
The White-Bearded Monk's Red Eyes glowed with a red halo, casting a layer of red mist over his bald head. If it weren't for our current situation, I would have found this scene particularly comical.
"I've been there once and lost a leg," he pointed to where his left leg used to be with a stick. "The Crystal Buddha can only be opened by us, but it can only be opened once in a lifetime."
Looking at the stick on his leg made me shiver; cold dread washed over me. "What if I refuse? And I'm not Red Eyes."
"Then the thousand-year-long struggle of the Buddha Curse will finally come to an end, and we will all perish," he said with a bitter smile. "Every ten years, there is a Buddha Curse War. We shouldn't have needed to rely on the Crystal Buddha this time; however, this time the Curse Clan has gathered all Seven Human Pupae—no wonder we can't hold them off."
"Moreover, don't you know whether or not you're Red Eyes? At such a dangerous moment, another Red Eyes has appeared—couldn't that be fate?"
I had already come to believe what he said (the situation before me left me no choice), and I was less than ten meters away from the Wooden Box. However, the thought that this ten meters might be the most dangerous journey of my life made me realize that losing an arm or a leg would be considered good luck...
After all, it was a matter of life and death; if I exerted myself, there might still be a chance to survive! I steeled myself, gritted my teeth, and tightened the muscles in my legs, preparing to dash forward at full speed when the White-Bearded Monk suddenly reached out and grabbed me. "Wait!"
I was filled with a surge of energy but was forcibly held back by him, like throwing a punch that landed nowhere, leaving my chest feeling heavy and uncomfortable.
Before I could speak, I understood why he stopped me!
At the base of the tower's wall, several round bulges had formed, as if something was burrowing up from underground. These bulges seemed alive, gathering toward the center of the tower until they took on a very familiar shape, perfectly blocking the space between me and the Tathagata Buddha.
The more I looked at this shape, the more familiar it became. I counted carefully—there were seven bulges of varying sizes. The largest was over half a meter tall, while the smallest barely protruded from the ground. The things inside were pulsating, ready to burst forth at any moment. A pale yellow viscous liquid seeped out from the cracks in the raised blue bricks, accompanied by a foul stench.
"Are these those Human Pupas?" I recalled the seven jars outside filled with various sizes of Human Pupas, matching the number of these bulges.
"Yes, there are seven in total! And they form the shape of the Big Dipper," the White-Bearded Monk's eyes finally revealed fear. "Could it be that Buddha's Relics will really be taken by the the Curse Clan today?"
I didn't have time to ask what Buddha's Relics were as I watched the soil slowly slide off the tops of the bulges. Bony hands emerged from the earth, covered with a thin layer of human skin, followed by arms, swollen heads, and shoulders until all seven Human Pupas broke through the surface and stood silently before me, emitting hissing cries.
This was an absolutely nauseating and horrifying scene!
The Human Pupas were completely naked, dripping with a viscous liquid resembling honey. Some had feet fused together by rotting flesh; others were covered in tiny lumps resembling sesame seeds; some had their bodies split open like fish scales, revealing pink rotten flesh inside...
I couldn't bear it any longer and bent over to vomit, but all that came out was a few mouthfuls of bile. The Monks finally succumbed to this visual assault; someone shouted in panic, and they began rushing toward the tower door.
The only one seemingly unaffected was Mangrai!
He remained seated on his mat with utmost seriousness and devotion, eyes focused inward as he fought to resist. Yet blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and mouth...
As the Monks fled collectively, the seven Human Pupas sniffed the air and accurately lunged toward them! I didn't want to describe the horrific scene in graphic detail; within minutes, the Monks had been reduced to severed limbs and torn bodies amidst pools of blood scattered with various colored entrails.
I felt like I was going insane. "Why won't you save them!"
"I am powerless. The Human Pupa rushed into the tower, and the formation we set up has been broken. We have lost..." The White-Bearded Monk's eyes streamed with murky tears, cascading down his wrinkled face and soaking into his beard. "Mangrai, you have done your best! You did not disgrace your surname or your name!"
Mangrai forced a bitter smile. "Ajahn, I'm sorry. This is all I could do."
"There must be a way!" I watched as the Human Pupa resumed their positions, wishing I could grab a machine gun and spray them down, killing them all.
The Human Pupa sniffed the air, swaying as they began to wander around the tower in search of remaining targets. One nearly collided with me shoulder to shoulder, and I instinctively shifted aside to let it pass.
The stench of decay clawed at my throat, making me cough involuntarily. But the Human Pupa didn't seem to hear me. I noticed a small red circular birthmark on its neck.
Another slightly taller Human Pupa closely followed behind it.
I began to understand: the Human Pupa couldn't hear! They relied on the Piper outside to judge the sounds of objects falling or running within the tower to carry out their killings.
When we spoke, the Piper couldn't hear us.
"Your hesitation earlier cost us the best opportunity," Mangrai said, wiping blood from his face. "If you had opened the wooden box and taken out the Crystal Buddha while we were setting up the formation, allowing the Shining Relic to shine, we would have undoubtedly won."
I looked at the corpses strewn across the ground, feeling a mix of bitterness and sorrow. Was my indecisiveness responsible for these people dying in vain?
But who could remain calm in such an uncertain situation?
I remained motionless while the Human Pupa quietly searched around, as if the earlier hellish slaughter had nothing to do with them. Mangrai appeared to have exhausted all his energy, curled up weakly on the mat, while the White-Bearded Monk gazed upward, eyes closed tightly, fists clenched in frustration.
"Mangrai, you can't blame him," the White-Bearded Monk said slowly. "This is fate; no one can escape it."
"Ajahn, I know," Mangrai's voice grew weaker until it finally faded away completely.
Mangrai was dead?!
This blow was devastating for me! Although I hadn't known Mangrai for long, he was the person I was most familiar with in Thailand. He had taken good care of me along our journey, and I admired his character and eloquence.
I took a deep breath, allowing my frantic heartbeat to gradually calm down as I carefully observed the Human Pupa and everything around me: there had to be a way! I was determined to break through this Human Pupa hunting barrier, open the wooden box, and retrieve that damned Crystal Buddha!
I am an orphan; I have had no friends since childhood and have never been respected by anyone. Never before have I been burdened with such high expectations, tasked with fulfilling an impossible dream of salvation. Though those people are now dead, I can feel their souls watching me from the blood-soaked ground, waiting for me to realize their last hope in life!
I will avenge Mangrai!
My blood was boiling, hot enough to ignite!
With patience, there must be a way!
I scrutinized everything around me until my gaze landed on the White-Bearded Monk. Suddenly, I realized I had found what I was looking for!
"Ajahn!" I said slowly, word by word. "I have a plan, but I need to borrow a few things from you."
"Really?" The White-Bearded Monk's eyes lit up, igniting the last flicker of hope within him. "As long as you can protect the Crystal Buddha and the Relic, you can take my life!"
"No, I only need this thing of yours." I smiled slightly.
Life is singular; opportunities are rare; and when it comes to a fight, there is only one strike!
One strike to victory!
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