Chapter 53: Rainstorm Wild Temple 15 Part 2
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On all four walls of the main hall, from top to bottom, up to the ceiling, were murals depicting hundreds of characters, including men and women of all ages.
If Yan Shixun’s guess was correct, these murals, created using souls as markers, meant that hundreds of people were under the control of this “god.”
Even considering the two villagers he had met just a few hours ago, it was likely that the entire village, which highly regarded the Mountain God, had already been “painted” onto these murals.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brows as he watched the actions of the figures in the mural, suddenly feeling that the scene and terrain depicted in the painting looked somewhat familiar.
Thanks to his excellent memory and eyesight, Yan Shixun still remembered the approximate terrain they had traversed along the way.
Even in the pouring rain and darkness, where he couldn’t see the specifics, he had remembered glimpses of the scenery outside the car window—a vast expanse of farmland with scarecrows guarding the fields.
Although he hadn’t seen the village houses if he compared the terrain of the farmland with the current landscape depicted in the mural…
Yan Shixun furrowed his brows and observed for a while, and to his astonishment, his conjecture turned out to be true.
—The two terrains were exactly the same.
Upon realizing that the villagers were likely inscribed onto the mural with their souls, Yan Shixun no longer naively believed that these farmland houses and forests were mere decorative scenery.
If these farmlands and forests were connected to the marked villagers and served the same purpose, could it mean that—
Not only do the villagers worship me as a god and remain loyal followers, but even these mountains, rivers, and lands all belong to me. I am the sole controller of this place.
Yan Shixun’s sharp gaze immediately turned toward the center of the temple’s main hall, where the statue of the deity was located.
There, it was in the direction where all the figures in the mural were bowing.
The towering golden statue reached up to the ceiling, its hands holding menacing weapons, resembling guardian deities of old that people used to ward off evil spirits and place at their doorways.
But unlike those righteous door gods with a strong aura, Yan Shixun did not sense any majestic righteousness emanating from the deity. On the contrary, despite being covered in gold and radiating light, the deity still carried a gloomy and depressive aura, as if it had been hiding somewhere for a long time, even looking at people with a sidelong, nauseating glance.
Above the deity, on the ceiling of the canopy, an exceptionally vivid and colorful painting depicted a gigantic creature covered in fur. It resembled a rat at first glance but upon closer inspection, it seemed more like a yellow weasel-like animal, covered in yellow fur, with a plump and enormous body, appearing almost as large as the deity in the mural.
Surrounding the creature, there were no auspicious symbols typically found in traditional paintings. Instead, it was surrounded by various gold and silver jewels, banknotes, cars, and even beautiful women, giving it a very modern appearance.
If one didn’t know this was a mountain temple, one might mistake it for some sort of scam to attract people.
Previously, Yan Shixun hadn’t seen it clearly, but now, he felt that the creature’s two pitch-black eyes seemed to be watching the entire hall from above, occasionally swirling around.
A sense of annoyance surged in Yan Shixun’s heart. If he didn’t know that he couldn’t currently use spells to expel evil spirits, he would have tried immediately to test the authenticity.
However, Yan Shixun didn’t linger in the main hall for too long. Instead, he immediately walked towards the back of the deity, intending to check the condition of the old, worn-out deity.
Since it had been confirmed that the true deity had encountered trouble, the solution to the current dilemma lay on the completely different side of this “temple” now.
Everything that this “temple” seemed to disdain was likely remnants left behind by the true deity.
But just as Yan Shixun’s leg was about to step into the small space behind the deity, he suddenly sensed a faint breeze behind him, as if something was moving and causing the air to stir.
His gaze sharpened, and he swiftly turned around, simultaneously thrusting his palm forward like lightning, directly grabbing at what was behind him.
Yan Shixun’s dry palm clutched something wet, slippery, and icy cold as if it was coated in blood and rainwater, colder than what a normal person should be.
Then, his narrow, upturned eyes widened slightly for a moment.
—Standing behind him, even reaching towards him, was a scarecrow dressed entirely in red.
It was the same as the ones Yan Shixun had seen in the fields as he passed by in the car earlier, the red-clothed scarecrows stuck in the fields.
The scarecrow’s hat was nowhere to be found, revealing its rain-soaked, white, and miserable paper money face. The square holes in the paper money, painted blood-red to resemble a mouth, were now faded by the rain, like streaks of blood dripping from its face and into its clothes.
It also carried a long red pole inserted into its head, as if pierced through the body, and yet also as if bearing something heavy.
Yan Shixun quickly snapped out of his surprise. His other hand reached out rapidly, gripping the scarecrow’s other arm and locking it under the same hand, preventing the scarecrow from breaking free with a strong and steady grip. His other hand remained ready to fend off any sudden movements.
“Mountain… God…”
The scarecrow couldn’t break free from Yan Shixun’s grip and could only futilely attempt to attack him, but was forcefully subdued.
Even without his current ability to use spells and charms, he was by no means a weakling who couldn’t do anything without them. Physically exorcising spirits? He was quite skilled at that.
Ask the malevolent spirits already sent to the underworld if his punches hurt, huh?
Yan Shixun sneered, unflustered, and locked eyes with the scarecrow at close range, attempting to find any clues related to the Mountain God from this suddenly appearing entity.
And the scarecrow, with its eyeless black eyes, stared straight at Yan Shixun, opening its paper money mouth and uttering a hoarse and desolate cry, “Mountain… God…”
“Mountain God, birth…”
The lifeless voice echoed in the empty hall, layer upon layer overlapping and blending, creating a spine-chilling echo of emptiness.
It felt like Yan Shixun was no longer in the human world.
Just a minute ago, when Yan Shixun first entered the temple, he hadn’t seen any scarecrows. But in less than a minute since he arrived, the scarecrow suddenly appeared and even reached out its hand as if to touch his neck.
Yan Shixun recalled what Anthony had mentioned about something touching his back earlier.
Back then, he had thought it was something trying to make contact with human vitality. But based on Anthony and Rourou’s descriptions, what they encountered should have been something black and easy to conceal in the darkness.
Yan Shixun had strong suspicions that those were the so-called charred corpses that his previous client had mentioned.
However, what was now in front of him was a scarecrow covered in blood-red, which didn’t facilitate hiding in the darkness. It likely wasn’t the same entity that Anthony and Rourou had encountered.
So, did these moving and suddenly appearing scarecrows also seek human vitality? What did it mean when they mentioned the “Mountain God’s birthday”?
…Wait.
Yan Shixun’s thoughts, which had been racing at high speed, suddenly came to a halt.
This wasn’t the first time he had heard the term “Mountain God’s birthday.”
Several hours ago, when the intoxicated villagers had gone to check on the guests, they had mentioned that they needed to go to bed early to prepare for the upcoming Mountain God celebration.
It was likely that what they were celebrating was indeed the Mountain God’s birthday.
And the time for that celebration was tomorrow.
Yan Shixun suddenly understood the meaning behind the figures on the wall bowing down—they were likely celebrating the Mountain God’s birthday.
But which Mountain God?
The true deity had met with an unfortunate fate and was no longer able to control the land and forests in this area. The things celebrating… could only be the birthday of an evil god.
The scarecrow was still making a determined effort to move forward, even lifting its own blood-dripping leg. However, Yan Shixun swiftly and decisively grabbed its leg with his other hand.
Crack!
The scarecrow’s leg snapped.
There was no sign of pain or distress on its face. It appeared as if it couldn’t feel pain, resembling a piece of wood or plant that was inherently devoid of pain.
Yan Shixun looked at the severed leg he held in his palm, raising an eyebrow with a hint of surprise in his expression.
— What he held in his hand wasn’t the straw he had imagined.
Instead, it was a leg of a deceased person, with veins and muscles, covered in straw as if it were skin. However, it had no warmth, and its blood no longer flowed.
Even after the scarecrow’s leg was broken, a putrid odor immediately filled the hall, like the smell emanating from a long-dead body soaked in water.
It was hundreds of times more foul than spoiled meat left at home, enough to make an ordinary person vomit on the spot and sting their eyes.
Yan Shixun, caught off guard, was also hit by this foul stench.
He immediately took two steps back, tossed the scarecrow’s severed leg aside, and without hesitation, used his palm to crush the remaining limbs of the scarecrow.
Of course, this time he controlled his strength, preventing the limbs from detaching and emitting an even stronger foul odor. He only shattered the bones inside.
Crack!
After a few crisp sounds, the scarecrow, which had been struggling to attack, collapsed weakly to the ground. It could only use its limbs, which had lost their strength, to wriggle in place, attempting to get up.
But it was all in vain.
“Mountain God…”
The paper-faced scarecrow had a wide, crimson mouth that almost reached its ears, but its black eyes were running black tears due to fading.
Its expression was twisted and complex, like a mix of laughter and tears.
“Mountain God, I offer you this, my…. God…”
“Grains, in the fields, no birds can eat the seeds, no one can harvest the seeds, grains, a bountiful harvest…”
“Settle my debts…”
The scarecrow writhed continuously, attempting to crawl toward the gilded statue behind Yan Shixun.
Sounds kept emanating from its mouth, a mixture of joy and regret, more like wailing for mercy than speaking.
Underneath it, a trail of blood stains dragged from where it originally stood, a gruesome sight to behold.
At the same time, as if awakened by the scarecrow, the villagers who had been zealously bowing to the statue in the mural, stopped their actions one by one. They stiffly turned their heads and looked at the scarecrow.
Their expressions varied; some showed disdain, as if they looked down upon the scarecrow’s actions, while others exhibited anger as if their revered deity had been insulted.
Yet, some villagers displayed sorrow and empathy on their faces, even covering their faces and shedding tears, as if to say that their choices were not entirely by their own will.
Although Yan Shixun had lowered his gaze to watch the scarecrow crawl towards the statue, he had always divided his attention, observing the situation in the mural.
He had sensed it keenly the moment the mural began moving. Silently, using his keen eyesight in the faint light, he had taken note of the expressions of all the people in the mural.
And then Yan Shixun realized that those who displayed anger, disdain, or indifference were the young and strong individuals who had previously been depicted in the altered mural, where they were depicted as abusing their family members. These included husbands who physically abused their wives, sons who disregarded their elderly parents, and young adults who had rallied with friends against others’ objections to go up the mountain.
Among those who were crying and grieving, there were the victims of the violence—wives, elderly individuals, and even children who clung to their mothers, sobbing.
This made Yan Shixun somewhat surprised.
Initially, he had assumed that the figures on the mural, since they were bowing to the deity, were followers of the “god” who had replaced the true deity.
However, it seemed that not everyone was a willing participant.
Judging by the scenes constantly changing and displayed on the mural, it appeared more like some people had disagreed with their family members’ actions but were unable to stop them, so they were drawn into the mural and became believers in the “god.”
The scarecrow’s wailing continued, drowning out the sound of the pouring rain and other faint noises.
Behind Yan Shixun’s view, above the main hall’s ceiling, the enormous creature depicted in the central part of the entire mural, receiving the obeisance of all the mural’s figures, suddenly shifted its eyes and fixed its gaze on Yan Shixun.
Its face, covered in coarse fur, twisted into a malicious and greedy grin, revealing a bright red tongue that licked over its sharp teeth.
It seemed as though he couldn’t wait to try and figure out the taste of this overly clever soul who had even faintly sensed the truth.
Meanwhile, the eyes of the gilded deity statue, which had been glaring straight ahead, slowly shifted, redirecting their gaze towards the much smaller Yan Shixun, looking down on him as if observing an ant.
The deity statue suddenly shifted its heavy, sharp weapon in its hand. In the next moment, as it turned its gaze towards Yan Shixun, its eyes revealed a menacing glint.
Then the deity statue suddenly moved.
The statue, which stood at a towering six to seven meters, straightened its slightly hunched posture into an attacking stance, its face contorted in anger. It raised its gilded axe high, fully charged with power, and then brought it down heavily, heading straight for the spot where Yan Shixun stood.
The sound it produced as it cut through the air was drowned out by the “pitter-patter” of the pouring rain, and it was completely masked by the scarecrow’s mournful cries, becoming a low, indistinct noise that went unnoticed by anyone.
All the mural figures covering the entire wall witnessed this scene.
Some wives with soft hearts had turned their heads away, unable to bear to look. The children who had been crying initially were now frozen in shock, too afraid to continue crying. However, some villagers showed expressions of excitement, and a few couldn’t help but rise from their kneeling positions, cheering and jubilating.
Yan Shixun, who had been continuously observing the mural, sensed that something was amiss. What had suddenly changed the figures on the mural? They had just seen the scarecrow, but now, what were they seeing?
Without waiting for Yan Shixun to ponder further, he suddenly heard a “thud” sound in his ears, like the noise of the deity statue hitting the ground.
Yan Shixun immediately reflexively turned to look at the source of the sound.
And then he saw it – behind him, the colossal gilded deity statue was swinging a massive axe towards him.
His entire field of vision was completely dominated by the fierce face of the deity statue.
“Boom——!”
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