I Grind to Martial Saint

”That Blade Master went out just now,”

Han Yuan said calmly.

He had known when Wang Yang slipped out, but he couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.

Li Da, Li Xilun, and Zhang Qiang were all startled by Han Yuan’s words.

”Could that scream just now have come from the Blade Master?”

”It did sound a bit like him.”

”Let’s go take a look.”

As they discussed this, the three of them instinctively turned to Han Yuan.

They had no idea what dangers lay ahead, and they wouldn’t dare go if Han Yuan, the martial artist, didn’t lead the way.

”Then let’s go join the fun,” Han Yuan said with a smile.

”Then wait for me a moment, sir. I’m going to get something.”

Li Da turned and went into the room, emerging a moment later with a lantern.

Even with the bright moonlight, the lantern’s glow was a small comfort.

And so, the four of them headed toward the source of the scream.

After weaving through a maze of shadowy buildings, they arrived at the plaza in front of the main hall.

”Strange... there’s no one here.”

”Yeah, the scream was so loud it woke us all up. Is it possible none of the monks in the temple heard it?”

”This is so eerie.”

These unsettling signs made Li Da and the other two feel that something was deeply wrong.

Combined with the temple’s naturally sinister and strange atmosphere after nightfall, a vague unease began to stir in their hearts.

Han Yuan, however, paid the trio no mind. He walked over to an empty patch of ground, a thoughtful expression on his face.

”Sir, have you found something?”

Li Da followed him and asked in a low voice.

Han Yuan didn’t answer, merely pointing at the ground.

Li Da held the lantern closer, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

There on the ground was a pool of blood.

Zhang Qiang and Li Xilun came over as well, their expressions a mixture of shock and suspicion when they saw the blood.

As merchants who had traveled far and wide for years, they could tell at a glance that the blood was fresh, likely spilled only moments before.

”Could this blood have been left by the Blade Master?”

Zhang Qiang said with a frown.

”If that’s the case, I’m afraid that fellow has met with a foul end.”

Li Xilun’s expression was grim.

’To think something like this could happen even after we took refuge in a temple.’

”Who would commit murder inside a temple?”

The scholar, Li Da, couldn’t understand.

”My guards killed him.”

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out.

The voice startled Li Da and the other two so badly they felt their hearts lurch.

Han Yuan turned calmly to look.

A noblewoman, flanked by two guards, was approaching from another passageway.

Seeing it was the noblewoman and her guards, Li Da and the other two breathed a sigh of relief.

”Madam... why did you kill the Blade Master?” Li Da asked in a low voice.

”That Blade Master had ill intentions. He tried to sneak into my room in the middle of the night to murder and rob me.”

”Fortunately, my guards discovered him in time. They chased him all the way to the main hall’s plaza before cutting him down,”

the noblewoman explained.

”I see.”

”I knew that guy didn’t look like a good person.”

Zhang Qiang believed the noblewoman’s words.

Li Da and Li Xilun didn’t doubt her either.

Their impression of the Blade Master had been poor to begin with, so it wasn’t a stretch to believe he would do something like that.

”Then where is the body?”

Han Yuan narrowed his eyes.

”We were just disposing of the body. After all, this is the hallowed ground of a Buddhist Sect. It wouldn’t be right to leave a corpse lying around, so we dumped it on the mountain behind the temple.”

”Tomorrow, I will of course report this to the local Government Office,”

the noblewoman explained.

Hearing this, Han Yuan gave a faint, unreadable smile but didn’t press the matter further.

”Since everything is cleared up, let’s all go back to sleep,”

Li Da suggested.

”Right... let’s go back to sleep.”

Zhang Qiang and Li Xilun agreed.

’It’s not like they’re the ones who died. The most important thing is to get back to their rooms, sleep until dawn, and then leave this temple.’

Han Yuan didn’t say anything more either.

But the noblewoman spoke up. ”Everyone... don’t you find this temple a bit too strange?”

”All this commotion, and not a single monk has appeared.”

”You think you’ll be able to sleep soundly if you go back?”

At her words, the faces of Li Da and his two companions stiffened.

It was a point they had actually noticed earlier but had been unwilling to confront.

”Then let’s look for them. See where all these monks have gone,”

Han Yuan said softly.

”Then let’s go look,” Li Da said, gritting his teeth.

Seeing how things were, Zhang Qiang and Li Xilun certainly didn’t dare go back to their rooms to sleep. They could only bite the bullet and follow behind Han Yuan and the others.

”When I arrived earlier, I saw many monks chanting sutras in a side hall from a distance.”

”Why don’t we go over there and check first?”

Li Da suggested.

”I saw it too when I came in,”

Zhang Qiang added in agreement.

”You both only saw it from a distance?” Han Yuan suddenly asked.

”Yes... I didn’t get a clear look,” Zhang Qiang nodded.

”Then let’s go see,” Han Yuan said softly.

The noblewoman had no objections and followed Han Yuan with her two guards.

They quickly passed through the corridor to the left of the main hall and soon arrived at the side hall, only to find its doors shut tight.

”Looks like no one’s here. Let’s go check the monks’ living quarters,”

Li Xilun suggested upon seeing the situation.

”No... I’m afraid there’s something inside.”

Han Yuan shook his head, then, without a change in expression, kicked the side hall’s doors.

BAM!

The earth-shattering crash seemed to make the entire side hall tremble.

The doors to the side hall had been blown to splinters by Han Yuan’s kick.

Li Xilun, Li Da, and the others were all dumbstruck.

’This is a temple! Even if it’s just a side hall, it must enshrine a Bodhisattva or something similar.’

’Yet this man was so brazen, kicking the doors to pieces with a single blow.’

Han Yuan took the lantern directly from Li Da’s hand and strode into the side hall.

Li Da, Zhang Qiang, and the others quickly followed.

By the lantern’s light, they could finally see what was inside the side hall.

It was filled with huge jars, each one sealed with clay.

They looked like enormous funeral urns.

The entire hall was filled with a rotten, nauseating stench.

Horrifying, bizarre, and foul.

Everyone’s scalp tingled with fear; they couldn’t begin to comprehend the situation.

”I think I’ve heard something about this...”

”This seems to be a method for creating a Nirvana Bodhisattva... A monk, on the verge of death, consumes a special potion and nothing else. After starving until they are skin and bones, they are sealed inside a specially made jar.”

”If the monk’s spiritual attainment is high enough, their corpse can transform into a Flesh Body Buddha...”

Zhang Qiang said, his voice trembling.

”But... there are just too many jars.”

Li Da stared at the scene before him, filled with terror and dread.

’I’m sure I saw many monks chanting in this side hall earlier.’

’And now they’ve all become jars?’

The very thought filled Li Da with horror.

”Now it all makes sense.”

But Han Yuan laughed.

”No wonder not a single monk came out despite all the commotion.”

”Turns out they’ve all been turned into jars.”

But just then, Li Xilun said, ”Wait... the old monk! He should be alive. Where is he now?!”