I shook my head and said, "Because I didn't completely believe you at that time."
Zhi Hui said in a deep voice: "What do you mean?"
I said slowly, "First, I have always suspected that the magic box that suddenly appeared near our base is closely related to the Prajna Temple. In other words, you deliberately sacrificed a disciple and sent the magic box to us."
Zhihui nodded and said, "That's understandable."
I raised another finger and said, "Second, on the way here, some of us felt that there was an evil creature nearby, but some of us didn't notice it at all. Even after we all opened our magical powers, we still didn't find the so-called evil creature. Don't you find it strange?"
Zhihui nodded and said, "At that time, I also suspected that Mr. Wu had used some secret method to deliberately hide the evil things. Especially every time the magic box was opened, Mr. Wu would enter a state of meditation and empathy, which made me feel even more strange. At that time, I even suspected that Mr. Wu himself deliberately manipulated the magic box."
I nodded and said, "It was my negligence."
I immediately changed the subject and said, "After I began to doubt Wang Fugui, Master Zhixing also began to attack us, and I became even more suspicious of Prajna Temple's motives. At that time, I pretended to know nothing, but in fact I was ready to assassinate you when the opportunity arose. Otherwise, I would not have given in again and again."
"Amitabha." Zhihui clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wu, for being frank."
I waved my hands and said, "I am only wise after the event. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to pay such a high price."
I continued, "Before I spoke to Dou Ma, all my suspicions were scattered and had not been connected by a main thread. It was not until Dou Ma's words reminded me that I finally figured out everything."
Zhihui raised his head and asked, "Which of Donor Huangdou's words gave Mr. Wu a flash of inspiration?"
I explained, "It's the last sentence of Dou Ma. She said that Master Kong Ming had worked in the antique business for a while before he became a monk. He was especially good at making antiques look old."
I pointed at Ye Jin and said, "Ye Jin is like a middleman in the secular world. Sometimes he will naturally take on antique business. His habit of looking at things is different from ours. We look at secret arts, but he looks at antiques."
"When Ye Jin was looking at the Songlong Stele, he once leaned over to sniff the stele twice. I didn't pay much attention to his subconscious action at first, but after hearing Dou Ma's information, I suddenly thought of one thing: What if someone deliberately made the stele look old?"
"If the person who aged the stele was Master Kongming, then everything would be inexplicable. Master Kongming left a secret Sanskrit mark and aged the stele. Isn't that just an attempt to cover up something? Was his purpose to conceal something or to show off?"
Zhihui nodded and said, "My judgment is consistent with Mr. Wu. I also suddenly woke up after hearing what Donor Huangdou said."
Monk Zhixing suddenly asked, "You mean that the other party's arrangements were actually extremely hasty, and many details were not fully considered. They just took advantage of our psychology to advance step by step?"
"Yes!" I said in a deep voice, "It is very likely that the other party started to make arrangements after we left the manor. And..."
I looked at Zhihui and said, "I suspect that they can manipulate the magic box. The ghost attack we encountered on the way came at the right time and delayed us for one night. All of their arrangements were completed that night, including taking away all the villagers of Beigou Village."
Zhihui whispered, "Get rid of all the villagers? Is that possible?"
I picked up the phone and called Dou Ma: "Dou Ma, help me check if there is any big movement in Beigou Village recently."
Dou Ma soon sent me a message: "Beigou Village had planned to occupy the land a long time ago. More than 90% of the villagers left a year ago. Only two or three stubborn households remain."
Zhihui's expression suddenly changed: "So, those villagers we saw that night were all fake?"
I asked back, “What do you think?”
Zhihui said gloomily, "What is their purpose in doing this?"
I shook my head and said, "This is what puzzles me the most. The other party's calculation is nothing more than to delay our time to find the truth, or even make us kill each other. But even if we fight to the death, what can it do? What good will it do to him?"
"This..." Zhihui also hesitated, "I don't understand it either."
According to common sense, every conspiracy has its purpose, and it is also developing in the most advantageous direction for them. What can the other party gain from my fight with Prajna Temple? It seems that they can gain nothing. Then why did the other party go to such great lengths to lay out a big plan
When Zhihui and I talked about this, we stopped at the same time. Zhixing, who was far away, seemed to have lost all his strength and suddenly fell to the ground: "I was wrong... I killed my two junior brothers. I..."
I shook my head and said, "Maybe, you only killed one person."
Zhihui looked up at me and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Wu?"
I said in a deep voice, "I admit that one monk died from my backhanded sword. Another person whose back I chopped open can be said to have died from my hands, but you can also say that he didn't."
Zhi Hui nodded and said, "Yes! Junior Brother Zhi Xin has extraordinary agility. Although you and Mr. Ye attacked Zhi Xin one after another, with his agility, he will not be killed in one blow. At least he should be able to dodge one of the attacks."
Ye Jin also said: "The monk didn't move at the time, I thought he was frightened and stupid."
I continued, "So, I suspect one of us is the other party's mole."
Immediately, a monk retorted: "Nonsense!"
I turned around and said, "Since you say I'm talking nonsense, let me ask you a question. When we encountered the ghost on the first day we arrived here, if no one tried to cover it up, and so many of us were using our magical eyes, why didn't we see even a trace of evil?"
"This..." The monk was suddenly speechless.
I continued, "That monk named Zhixin could have suppressed Ye Jin, so why did he suddenly stop at the critical moment of life and death? Is this the reaction of a martial arts master?"
I pointed at Monk Shi again and said, "And Monk Shi, when he charged into the battle formation, he could have easily moved aside, but why did he crash into your sticks?"
The man opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, no words came out. Zhihui said, "The other party wants us to fight to the death!"
I nodded and said, "Yes! We will fight to the death only when both sides have lost people. Of course, I am not trying to shirk responsibility. We should remember the life that was lost in my hands. Now that we are done with this, we can find another opportunity to fight to the death."
Zhihui nodded and said, "That would be best."
The wise man changed the subject and said, "Mr. Wu, since you have seen through the other party's plan, I wonder what your next plan is?"
I hesitated for a moment before saying, "There are some things I need to confirm."
I looked at Zhihui and said, "Master, would you mind telling me why you think our Master has the potential to decipher the magic box?"
Zhihui hesitated for a long time before saying, "My master has been obsessed with lock making all his life, especially mechanical locks. Many years ago, for some reason, he made a bet with someone that he could unlock a strange lock in the world, and then he hung the lock on himself. As a result, he never opened the lock again. It was also because of that strange lock that my master's wife and children were separated, and his family was destroyed. But all this, in a sense, was caused by him. Since then, my master has become disheartened and decided to become a monk."
"Although my master is devoted to Buddhism, he also believes that everything in the past is a result of karma. In fact, the magic lock has become his inner demon, and he has always called it the magic lock."
Zhihui said: "The abbot once said that if my master can't open the magic lock, he will never be able to achieve enlightenment in his lifetime. This is indeed the case. I have practiced with my master for many years, and I have seen my master go crazy about the magic lock twice. Once was because of the magic box, and the other time was because of Zhan Qing."
"It is rumored that Zhan Qing once entered a secret realm with mechanical devices, where he encountered the same strange lock as my master. After hearing this rumor, my master left Prajna Temple to look for the secret realm that Zhan Qing had experienced, and never returned."
Zhi Hui said: "I once heard from my master that there should be a compass wheel in the magic lock, and it is very similar to the wheel on the magic box..."
Zhihui hesitated for a moment and said, "My master once said to his disciples that if you can't open a lock from the outside, the best way is to open it from the inside."
"The master's metaphor actually comes from his habit. If you want to crack a secret lock, it is often easier to crack it from the inside out. Take... Take the magic box for example. Opening the box is more conducive to studying the secret lock."
After Zhihui finished speaking, my heart couldn't help but tremble slightly.
I have seen Zhan Qing's past. The secret place that Zhihui mentioned is actually in the hands of Xuan Jingsi. As for the strange lock, it should be the Seven Emotions Sealing Heart Lock. That lock is indeed unbreakable by anyone, not even Zhan Qing. Moreover, Zhan Qing's sworn brother almost fell into the devil's way because of the Seven Emotions Sealing Heart Lock.
I guess that Monk Kongming's cultivation level cannot be higher than Zhan Qing's sworn brother. It is natural that he went astray because he was wearing the Seven Emotions Heart Lock. According to the information from Dou Ma and others, if you want to open the magic box, you have to slowly fill it with human lives. No wonder Zhihui and Zhixing suspected that Kongming killed innocent people in order to solve the mystery of the magic box.
I was secretly shocked, but I didn't show it on the surface: "I see. I have understood the general situation, but I always feel that all the doubts we can see in this whole thing are specious, and there are even some doubts right under our noses, but we didn't notice them."
I stopped here and said, "There are some things I want to verify. I wonder if the master is willing to help me?"
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Thank you all for your support, and stay tuned for the next episode!
Thanks to: Qimei, Roubaozi, Doudou for the tips! (To be continued)