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墨書 Inktalez
"Mangrai! How could you betray the Buddhist Sect and join the Curse Clan?!" The White-Bearded Monk clearly could not accept this fact and continued to question him relentlessly.
I reaffirmed my judgment; the White-Bearded Monk's adaptability was indeed lacking! In such a situation, instead of thinking about how to respond, he just kept asking questions. What good was that?
However, this dramatic turn of events left me unsure of what to do. I thought to myself that the Human Pupa was already dead, and Mangrai was just a man in his fifties. Even if we fought hand-to-hand, we wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
"What a pity for the Human Pupa I have nurtured for so many years. Because of the premature war, they weren't fully refined, leaving behind their strongest consciousness from life." Mangrai held the Buddha statue and kicked at the two Human Pupas clasped together with disgust. "Still pretending to be in love even in death!"
"Ajahn, when I failed the test of temptation back then, it was you who mercilessly expelled me from the Buddhist Sect. It wasn't me who betrayed! Do you know what a great shame it is for someone of royal blood? I was mocked endlessly; even children of lower status dared to throw stones at me! They wouldn't sell me anything! I felt like a stray dog, scavenging through garbage every day! The despair I felt back then—how could you fools who receive offerings every day possibly understand?"
"It wasn't until I was on the brink of starvation that I met the heir of the Curse Clan! He fed me, gave me water, cared for me like a father, and provided me with faith. If it weren't for him, I would never have survived!"
"You Buddhists have suppressed us Curse Clan for nearly a thousand years. Are you really in the right? The ancestors of the Curse Clan learned that book of sorcery to help those who suffer. Although their methods were somewhat extreme, it was still better than your daily chanting while letting the common people endure suffering without doing anything! But when discovered, they were burned alive! Is this what the compassionate Buddhist Sect should do? You... you actually know nothing! When you saw that our Curse Clan was gaining popularity among the people and affecting Buddhism's standing in their hearts, you labeled our sorcery as evil and stifled it!"
I recalled the story about "human skin kites" that the girl on the plane had told me. Could everything she said be true? Had her disciple learned sorcery from that book left by a scheming official's daughter and faced a fate of being burned when discovered by his master?
Yet I felt there was some truth in Mangrai's words. Everything in this world has its meaning if it exists. Copernicus's heliocentric theory challenged the geocentric view held by the Church and ended with him being burned at the stake.
Such matters involving spiritual doctrines are inherently difficult to judge right from wrong.
Only time can prove everything.
"Mangrai..." The White-Bearded Monk listened quietly until he finished speaking before smiling bitterly. "Back then, you did not violate the Lustful Precept. Rather... it was an ordeal that those of royal blood must endure. I never expected you would become so radical and stray into the Curse Clan. The abbot before me was of royal lineage as well. Except for me, all past abbots have been royalty! I only took on this role because during the last Buddha Curse War, all the elites perished, leaving me no choice but to step up as abbot. Even without this incident, I had planned to pass on the position to you before this Buddha Curse War."
"What did you say?" Mangrai stared at the White-Bearded Monk in disbelief. "You're lying!"
"Every word I say is true!" The White-Bearded Monk straightened his posture; his robe billowed as if inflated like a balloon until it burst with a loud pop, revealing his muscular form beneath.
"Today, I, Chen Changping of China, current abbot of Chiang Mai Temple, will battle against the Curse Clan!"
It was then that I learned that the White-Bearded Monk's name was Chen Changping.
"Hehe..." Mangrai tossed the Crystal Buddha aside, lowering his head as he chuckled coldly. His black and white hair stood on end, instantly turning snow white.
Suddenly, Mangrai lifted his head, veins bulging on his forehead, his face a deep blue, and two fangs protruding from his upper lip. "Then let's..."
"Fight!"
In an instant, two gray shadows collided with faint energy orbs surrounding them. The speed was so fast that I couldn't see what they were doing; all I heard was the thunderous sound of their impact echoing in my ears. Red mist sprayed from the point of collision, splattering onto my face with a searing sting.
I strained to catch a glimpse of their forms, trying to discern who the two gray shadows were, but I realized it was impossible. I could only pray in fear that Chen Changping would defeat Mangrai.
This heart-stopping battle lasted less than a minute before the two gray shadows bounced apart. Chen Changping stood tall and proud, while Mangrai knelt on the ground, clutching his chest with one hand, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Chen Changping won!
Mangrai's hair returned to its normal color as he raised his head to glare at Chen Changping with resentment. In that brief moment, his face became lined with wrinkles, as if he had aged decades, and his body deflated like a punctured balloon.
I felt relieved yet pitied Mangrai's curled-up form.
"I've schemed for so many years, only to end in failure," Mangrai said, his fingers digging into the stone crevice. His knuckles turned pale from exertion, blood oozing from under his nails and trickling down into the cracks.
"Evil cannot triumph over good," Chen Changping coughed violently, clearly suffering from serious internal injuries. "Your combat power is much higher than mine, but your heart is filled with hatred; you have been defeated by yourself."
"Oh?" Mangrai twisted his neck with a creaking sound. "Who says I've lost?"
Suddenly, the blue stone slab beneath Chen Changping cracked inch by inch, revealing a pair of bloodied hands that reached out and grabbed the wooden stick on his left foot, snapping it. Chen Changping lost his balance and fell to the ground. Another pair of hands emerged, seizing his right leg and pulling it apart forcefully; I distinctly heard the sound of bones breaking.
Chen Changping's right foot twisted into an unnatural shape.
Countless hands reached out to grab his neck, body, and arms; with just a slight pull, he would be torn apart.
I let out a gasp and rushed to Chen Changping's side, trying to pry the hands gripping him apart. But those hands felt as if they were welded to his body, not budging an inch.
"Don't worry, you'll get your turn soon," Mangrai said, staggering to his feet while leaning on his knee. "I need the Crimson Eyed One to retrieve the Relic from the Crystal Buddha. Until then, I'll make sure you stay alive."
Chen Changping was tightly bound and unable to move, shouting hoarsely, " Blood Curse! When did you bury the bodies inside the tower?"
Mangrai pointed at the blood flowing through the cracks in the stone, "Did you forget? Those lovely Senior Brothers who mocked me just now? They were just buried beneath the tower! This is the freshest corpse for using Blood Curse! Stop struggling and tell me the incantation to retrieve the Relic, and I might spare your life!"
Chen Changping smiled apologetically at me, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. You've had to endure things you shouldn't have."
My mind was completely in chaos; all I could do was desperately try to pry off the hands gripping him. I knew it was futile, but I truly didn't know what else to do!
"I knew you wouldn't talk," Mangrai said as he pulled out a small bamboo tube from his pocket. He removed the stopper, and a colorful spider crawled out, settling on his hand before biting down. Its distended belly quickly became shiny with blood.
I watched in despair; was I really going to die here?
At that moment, I felt no fear of death. The events of these short years flashed rapidly before my eyes. I felt a strange calmness inside; so this is what death feels like!
Just then, behind Mangrai, two figures moved! They lunged at him with a roar—one wrapped around his leg while the other clung to his neck. With a sudden snap of their jaws, the flesh sewn over their mouths tore apart, revealing gleaming white teeth as they bit down!
It was those two Human Pupas, their hands tightly clasped together!
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