Chapter 52: Rainstorm Wild Temple 14 Part 2
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Countless viewers in front of their screens heard the whispers in their ears.
It was as if something had penetrated through the screen and the waves, reaching them from the Mountain God Temple, standing behind them, bending over, tempting them to open their mouths and voice their desires—
“I, I want ghosts to disappear!”
Brother Goose, whose sanity had been wavering, finally summoned the courage to voice his desire.
Ever since the previous episode’s trip to Gui Mountain Villa, Brother Goose, originally an atheist, had his entire worldview shattered. He had come to realize that the world wasn’t just inhabited by humans but also by ghosts.
This realization had left Brother Goose sleepless, even in the brightest sunlight of midday, with all the curtains open, filling the room with sunlight. Whenever he closed his eyes, he still felt a blood-red shadow standing behind him, glaring at him malevolently.
Whenever there was a noise at home, whether it was the subtle sound of water flowing through the pipes, footsteps upstairs, or the sound of the elevator moving, Brother Goose would nervously believe that there were unclean entities in his home. Even changing his phone wallpaper to screenshots of Yan Shixun and plastering the room with printed photos didn’t completely alleviate his anxiety; it only suppressed it.
If you were to ask Brother Goose about his deepest wish, it would surely be… for all the ghosts to disappear, so he could finally get a good night’s sleep!
Just as Brother Goose finished speaking, it was as if some presence was momentarily taken aback.
Then, it emitted a shrill and brief scream that shattered in the air and disappeared.
It was as if some kind of barrier that had been raised around them had shattered, and after a loud “crash,” the once-thin air began to flow freely again, with fresh and cool air blowing in through the room’s windows.
At the same time, Brother Goose, as if suddenly awakened, regained his senses. He shook his head and looked back at the screen before him.
“This, this is?”
Brother Goose remembered the voice he had just heard in his daze and, when he looked at the camera focused on the main hall of the Mountain God Temple on the screen, he couldn’t help but be startled. He instinctively raised his hand, frantically patting his shoulder as if trying to brush off the dust, making him look like a madman.
Not only Brother Goose, but many viewers also had similar experiences of auditory hallucinations. Whether it was under social media hashtags or in the comments section of the video platform, viewers who had just snapped out of their trance were frantically sending messages to confirm an answer with others.
“Am I the only one who heard that voice? Damn! It’s so scary! I was feeling upset because I failed my college calculus exam, and I just wanted to relax by watching a variety show. But just now, I actually heard someone telling me that they could help me pass the exam?? Did I have an auditory hallucination because I was too anxious?”
“It’s not just you! I was about to be scared to death. I just got my medical check-up report this afternoon, it said my liver isn’t in good shape, and I might need surgery. But just now, I actually heard someone behind me saying they could make me healthy! As long as I kneel and worship them. Oh my god, I was already terrified because of the surgery, and I almost agreed to it.”
“You guys heard it too? I thought it was just me! I’ve been worried for months about not having enough money to pay for my child’s extra lessons, and a voice kept telling me that as long as I believed in him, he could give me a lot of money.”
“Me too! I just turned thirty yesterday, and I felt really anxious. I was even thinking about whether to get some cosmetic procedures done tomorrow, but then that person said they could make me forever young!”
“Oh my god, me too… According to what you guys are saying, does it mean that everyone heard different things? Could that person see through what we’re thinking?”
“Was there a hacker attack just now or something? Making our phones play sounds automatically for us to hear, and then knowing what we’re thinking because they accessed our big data, even recording our conversations and search history through our phones? Otherwise, I can’t imagine how something so unbelievable could happen.”
“I don’t think so? Who would be so bored to do something like this? Besides, even if they did it, what’s their goal? What do they want to gain from us? If they can’t get anything and there’s no benefit, I don’t believe someone would put in so much effort to do something like this.”
“Um, you guys are talking all scientifically, but I feel like it’s because of the Mountain God Temple. I thought about it carefully, and it seems like I only started hearing the voices after I saw the footage of the Mountain God Temple.”
“I felt the same way… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but during the previous episode, before anything happened, when I was watching Brother’s split-screen, I felt his room was particularly cold. Those white curtains looked just like a woman ghost in white clothes. Now, watching this episode, that statue of the Mountain God in the Mountain God Temple is especially terrifying. It’s different from the warm feeling I get from the god statues in my hometown’s temple. This one terrifies me, and I feel like throwing up, like something is staring at me.”
“So, is it because of the Mountain God Temple? But honestly, how can a temple mural have so many eyes? Isn’t it said that painting the eyes on a dragon or any other creature will make it come to life? So, many places avoid doing this, whether it’s statues, paintings, or anything else, they don’t draw the eyes of the depicted characters or animals, to prevent them from coming to life or becoming malicious.”
“Now that you mention it, in my hometown, we do have a similar tradition. In places with a high flow of people like Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, or parks, the stone lions or other stone statues at the entrance are not carved with eyes. They’re afraid these things will soak up human energy over the years and come to life or turn malicious.”
“Oh, I didn’t know about that custom, but these eyes are really bothering me. I just tried moving to the side, and those eyes followed me. Wherever I hid, they looked in that direction. Those eyes are particularly dark, just staring, really creepy.”
As Brother Goose looked at the rapidly increasing dynamics and discussions under the hashtag, he hesitated for a moment and asked softly, “So, how did you all recover? I mean, the voices, why did they stop ringing in your ears?”
The discussion seemed to pause for a moment as if stuck, but after a few seconds, it resumed.
“Uh, I… I’m ashamed to say I spoke out my wish.”
“I’m sorry, I know it sounds weird, but that voice said it could make my mother’s health improve, and I couldn’t help but say that I’d start believing in it from today. I was just too afraid of my mother’s health deteriorating further.”
“I… I wanted my boyfriend to come back, and I thought nothing would happen, so I said it out loud.”
“Huh? Did you all make the voice disappear like that? I did speak out my wish, but that person seemed to get really angry, yelled loudly, and then ran away. I called him again, but there was no response. I’ve been very anxious about the failure of our research tasks in our group in recent years, so when he asked, I said I wanted the manned rocket to successfully reach Mars and walk around for surveys. I hadn’t even finished speaking, and that person ran away. Ugh! Scammer, wasted my emotions.”
“Oh, this? I learned a bit of astrology from my family before. When that voice asked me, my divination showed that he should be a deity, although the divination was a bit strange, and I don’t know why I felt like the answer was given somewhat hesitantly. But maybe it’s because I’m not very skilled. But yours… Maybe even the deity didn’t expect that someone’s wish would be something so scientific… You’re asking for the sword of Earth to cut through the officials of the universe, even it can’t control that!”
“I know a bit of Western astrology. Originally, when the voice started, I was about to say it out, but suddenly the astrological device next to me fell down, and it woke me up. The device fell into the constellation chart, and it seemed to be pointing to a demon… Did it mean that the voice was a demon and deliberately reminded me not to trust it? But I agree with the sisters before me; the voice should be some kind of deity.”
“Ah? So, according to what you’re saying, does it mean there really is a god in the Mountain God Temple? One that can grant people’s wishes?”
“I think so, but I don’t believe it. After all, I’m also an anime watcher. What’s the fate of those who blindly believe in those ‘make a wish’ machines in anime? I’m not that foolish.”
Brother Goose watched the intense discussion sparked by his question and hesitated for a moment before sharing his own experience.
“I said, ‘I hope for ghosts to disappear,’ and then the voice ran away, it sounded particularly pitiful…”
The discussion section was filled with rows of “…”, and it took a while before someone finally recovered their senses.
“Brother Goose, you’re awesome!”
“Did it run away after you said you hope there are no ghosts? It sounds like that thing that can grant wishes, was a ghost in the first place.”
“Wow, is this turning the tables on them?”
“Oh, why are you still chatting here? I’m so anxious! Hurry up and switch to the split-screen view! Without the barrage comments, I got so scared that my scream woke up even my mom.”
“…I don’t really want to go see it, it’s so scary. But at the same time, I’m kind of curious and excited.”
“+1”
……
Yan Shixun, who had originally opened the split-screen to prevent the show from being too boring and to avoid Zhang Wubing’s complaints that he didn’t do anything, did not expect that just by doing this for a short while, the discussion and engagement would be so high.
The viewers didn’t find it boring at all.
—If they still find this level of content boring, was the plan to scare them to death?
Having successfully opened the locked door with all possible precautions to avoid detection, Yan Shixun, who had entered the Mountain God Temple, was still surveying the murals on the main hall with a serious expression.
Perhaps due to the psychological suggestion caused by realizing the abnormality of the Mountain God Temple, or maybe the rain distorted the lighting, causing the objects in the paintings to appear distorted as well.
At this moment, as Yan Shixun looked at the murals, he suddenly noticed that some of the figures had changed positions.
Because he was surprised that the Mountain God culture was still so well-preserved, Yan Shixun had carefully examined the content of the murals during his previous investigation. With his photographic memory and keen observational skills far beyond the average person, he had roughly memorized the contents of the murals.
But now, those figures were not in the positions they were supposed to be in according to his memory.
In the originally painted scenes of rural bliss, a young couple was depicted carrying farming tools in one hand and holding their child’s hand in the other, covered in mud but smiling happily as they walked back home. But now, the husband had a sinister look on his face as he gripped his wife’s neck, and the child’s head seemed to emerge faintly from the nearby well.
On the other side, in the heartwarming scene of grandparents doting on their grandchildren, the grandfather should have been lying on a wicker chair, smiling and watching the children playing in the courtyard, while the younger adults worked in the fields. But now, the children joyfully ran out of the yard, the young adults abandoned their farming tools and headed up the hill, and the grandfather was crawling on the ground, desperately clutching his son’s trousers, tears streaming down his face as he begged for something, only to be kicked away by his son with a stern expression.
……
The originally warm and harmonious scenes of a family happily busy with farm work had turned into a veritable hell on earth.
Yan Shixun stood in front of the mural, looking at the scenes in the painting, and a hint of anger briefly crossed his sharp eyebrows.
The lifelike figures, the moving mural, and the unusual occurrences within the Mountain God Temple… a terrifying suspicion began to take shape in Yan Shixun’s mind.
If something had happened to the Mountain God, the deity worshiped at the main temple hall, and yet the Mountain God Temple still retained its powers, making the nearby villagers highly reverent of the Mountain God, was it possible that within the temple, there was indeed a deity, but its….
Not the upright god.
But one that responded to the villagers’ desires, an evil god?
What was the story behind these murals? How could they depict such detailed scenes of life, capturing every nuance of the characters’ expressions? Yan Shixun doubted that these were the creations of mere artists or craftsmen. It was more likely that they were records of real events that had occurred.
But who exactly had painted the walls full of murals in the Mountain God Temple, which had fallen under the sway of an evil god, remained a mystery.
Furthermore, it was even possible that these paintings were not actually painted at all.
— Instead, it was something that had actually happened.
Throughout China’s long history, there have always been legends of “people in paintings” and “worlds within bottles.” Later, these stories were written down by Pu Songling in “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.” One of these stories, “The Buddhist Temple,” where a scholar entered a temple’s mural and discovered a completely different world, became widely known. The concept of “worlds within bottles” became more recognized.
Many people regarded these stories as imaginative tales created by literati, while others believed that these were simply forms of entertainment in a time when information was limited, and there were not many forms of entertainment available.
However, Yan Shixun knew that it wasn’t quite like that.
Many real-life incidents were transformed into interesting stories by Taoists or shamans responsible for handling such matters and suppressing evil spirits. These stories included the causes of the incidents and their resolutions, all woven into narratives. These narratives were then entrusted to storytellers or shared with villagers, passed down orally and widely known.
In an era with limited information exchange, where written records were not easily preserved or circulated, many people learned how to prevent and defend against supernatural entities and what to do if they encountered them.
But, in Yan Shixun’s eyes, the murals in the Mountain God Temple’s main hall served a different purpose.
Although he didn’t know the exact reason why he had temporarily lost his abilities to divine, consult the gods, or use spells, his years of battling supernatural entities had developed an almost instinctive intuition and combat skills.
From the mural, Yan Shixun didn’t sense any well-intentioned reminders left by fellow Taoists. On the contrary, he felt malevolence from the spirits.
It was as if these images were all records of actual events, displayed on the walls as a form of arrogant boasting, as if to say to others: “Look, these are my achievements, the servants under my control.”
As his thoughts gradually fell into place, Yan Shixun had a daring hypothesis—
Perhaps, these murals were never paintings to begin with.
But it was not created by a mere artist’s brush. Instead, someone or something used supernatural means to engrave those past events onto the walls. And the method wasn’t with a paintbrush, but rather, with souls.
This explanation would also account for why the murals could come to life.
When the benevolent god was absent, it would inevitably face opposition from the malevolent.
In the dire circumstances where even communication with heaven and earth was impossible, Yan Shixun had started to sense the danger and the arduous situation in this place. He no longer believed that his instincts were overly suspicious; instead, he was planning for the worst.
——With this in mind, if all of his speculations were true…
Yan Shixun’s heart sank.
He had traversed many perilous places inhabited by gods and demons. Even as a child over a decade ago, he ventured into Fengdu Ghost City when he faced evil spirits trying to attack him, witnessing countless tormented souls.
Yet, he had never felt fear.
Because he knew that the universe’s laws, like the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars, governed everything, even the interactions between heaven and earth.
Now, for the first time, Yan Shixun sensed a pressing weight descending upon him.
——If even the benevolent god could face trouble, and this entire place had been abandoned by heaven and earth, to the extent that divination and communication with the gods produced no results, then what could have occurred here a long time ago?
Even though he still had confidence in his abilities and was unafraid, there were other guests inside the Mountain God Temple, the program crew members who had yet to join them, and Zhang Wubing…
Yan Shixun stood in front of the mural for a moment, and his previously stern expression gradually softened. He regained his emotionless and icy demeanor.
Since he was surrounded on all sides and didn’t even know who his enemies were, he decided to abandon all defenses and adopt an offensive strategy to tackle the crisis at its root.
This was the only way to ensure everyone’s safety in a situation with so many people scattered around.
With a slight click of his tongue, a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes filled with excitement. Dealing with so many people and their complex karmic relationships was truly troublesome. After dealing with Zhang Wubing, he would definitely demand extra compensation.
Furthermore, after this program ended, he was determined to be eliminated as the last-place participant. He didn’t want to deal with such intricate karma again.
Lately, he had noticed an increase in people focusing on him, and he could sense that many were mentioning his name. Even his powers had become more diverse and complex.
With a disdainful snort, he turned around and walked toward the altar where the deity was enshrined to inspect the statue.
Earlier, behind the gilded deity in the front, he had discovered an old and dusty statue. At that time, he assumed it was due to a change in deities or the improper placement by inexperienced caretakers.
Furthermore, he had also cleaned the old deity statue and relocated it to a relatively cleaner spot. If the mural could move, he wanted to confirm whether the old deity statue had also shifted.
After all, even if the main deity had encountered problems, it was still their temple, and it shouldn’t have been completely abandoned without leaving a trace
Moreover, now that he knew about the unusual occurrences in the Mountain God Temple, he couldn’t simply assume it was due to a change of deities.
It seemed more likely that there were originally two different deities being worshipped, each depicted in a separate statue based on their unique characteristics.
Yan Shixun suspected that the old deity statue might be related to the missing main deity.
However, just as he took a step forward, he suddenly noticed movement in the adjacent mural.
His gaze instantly sharpened, and his look at the mural was no longer calm.
The ones that had come to life on the mural were actually two villagers.
Right in front of Yan Shixun, those two villagers threw down their farming tools, ran to the foot of the mountain, and knelt down, raising their hands high before prostrating themselves repeatedly toward the mountain.
Yan Shixun keenly noticed that from the direction the villagers were bowing, they were actually worshipping the creature standing atop the head of the deity statue, the one with fur covering its body.
When the villagers lifted their heads, Yan Shixun was astonished to realize that he recognized the faces of these two people.
——It was precisely the two villagers who had brought them to the Mountain God Temple.
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