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Watching the monks hidden inside the Buddha say such things with a straight face was both absurdly eerie and comical.

To starve until their skin was as thin as paper—even as ghosts, they had to have been hiding in the Buddha’s belly for years.

How could all of this have happened in a single day?

Yet these ghost monks insisted they were still alive, convinced their master had left that morning and would definitely return by nightfall.

The monk looked down at Jiang Yang and Gao Tian, swearing in all earnestness, ”We have indeed sensed strange occurrences in this temple. But if you ask us what exactly is strange about them, we couldn’t say.

”If you two really want to know, you might as well rest in the front hall. After the sun sets, my master will definitely return. You only need to ask him then, and the truth will come to light.”

Gao Tian didn’t buy a single word of this dead man’s nonsense. ”Your master is coming back tonight?

”The way I see it, he might not even return in ten years.”

Among the many haggard faces in the dark hollow, the youngest monk grew indignant. ”Monks do not lie. What good would it do to deceive you? Just wait here. Once night falls, you’ll see whether our master returns or not. Waiting won’t cost you a thing.

”Our master has never deceived us in his entire life. Not in the past, and not in the future.”Intent on toying with them, Jiang Yang sneered and asked, ”And what do you plan to do if the sun sets and your master hasn’t returned to this temple?”

Another equally emaciated monk with a broad facial structure spoke up. ”Before leaving, Master told us to hide in the Buddha’s belly for just one day. That means we’ll have fulfilled his request and can leave here to move freely outside.

”The dozen of us will rely on our own strength to investigate the hidden anomalies occurring in Longshu Temple. We’ll give you a proper explanation and respectfully escort you out.

”How does that sound?”

Gao Tian noticed that the large monk had mentioned a key phrase:

Leave the dark hollow.

These monks hiding in the Buddha treated the single sentence left by their master as absolute gospel. They had probably hidden in the dark hollow for an unknown amount of time, starving to death to become starving ghosts, yet they still stubbornly believed their master would return shortly.

Their reverence went so far that they had only eaten the portion of Lan Zhu that reached into the dark hollow. They absolutely refused to touch the parts left outside.

Right now, the Inner World’s green sun had almost completely set.

The starry sky outside was gradually transitioning from blood-red to grayish-black. The Inner World’s night would arrive in less than an hour.

Jiang Yang and Gao Tian exchanged a glance.

They decided not to expose the starving ghost monks’ true nature for the time being.

They still had to survive in Longshu Temple for six and a half days. Falling out with them now would bring no benefits and would only add another horde of ghosts to deal with.

The current Killing Rule of these starving ghost monks was also very simple. As long as no one voluntarily reached into the dark hollow and triggered their cravings, the ghosts couldn’t step out of the giant Buddha on their own.

They could still chat with outsiders, and perhaps Gao Tian and Jiang Yang could coax some information out of them.

”Alright, we’ll trust you for now.

”The two of us will impose on you and stay here for the night. We’ll wait for your master to return from the outside.

”I believe that once your master arrives, all these strange events will come to light.”

Regardless, they had to spend the night here.

Several starving ghost monks nodded, agreeing to let them stay the night in the ruined temple. They slowly shrank back beneath the dark hollow and disappeared.

Seeing that night was fast approaching, Jiang Yang made a hand gesture, signaling Gao Tian to follow him. They hid themselves behind a Guanyin statue.

Setting aside whether the ”master” mentioned by the starving ghost monks could actually return—if he really did come back to Longshu Temple tonight, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he had become an extremely vicious Fierce Ghost who would massacre the living on sight.

Therefore, Jiang Yang prepared for the worst. Before night fell, they had to hide, tucking themselves into a spot where they could observe the outside situation without being discovered.

Before hiding under the Bodhisattva statue, Gao Tian naturally sent the Wind Attendant Buddha over to inspect the area, ensuring no new Fierce Ghosts had spawned beneath it.

The two crouched underneath. The starving ghost monks in the giant Buddha’s belly wouldn’t know where they had hidden, and if ”someone” from outside the temple pushed the doors open, they wouldn’t spot the two people concealed in the main hall.

Conversely, through the holes in the dilapidated wooden baseboard beneath the Bodhisattva statue, Jiang Yang could easily observe the situation outside the main hall and see whether the front doors were open. Looking the other way, he could monitor the movements of the giant Buddha whose belly was full of starving ghosts.

It was an ideal location, perfect for both offense and defense.

After Gao Tian and Jiang Yang concealed themselves, they waited for night to fall to see what would happen.

The two locked eyes. Beneath the Bodhisattva statue, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive. No matter what they did now, two residents were dead forever. They could never return to the Living Apartment alive.

With only the two of them left, their hopes of survival were slim. Up until now, they hadn’t gathered a single clue; they could only take things one step at a time.

The rest was up to fate.

”What do you think actually happened to the monks inside this giant Buddha’s belly?”

Jiang Yang kept his voice to the absolute minimum, whispering so that only Gao Tian could hear.

His task required him to investigate the truth behind Longshu Temple’s past. He couldn’t help but care about these matters.

Gao Tian thought for a moment before speaking slowly. ”They’ve clearly been trapped here for many years and have all turned into ghosts. Yet, from their perspective, only a single day has passed.

”I suspect something went wrong with Longshu Temple’s progression of time.

”The ghosts in Longshu Temple have entered some sort of endless loop. No matter how many years pass outside, there is only ever one day here. The second day will never arrive.”

Although Gao Tian lacked concrete evidence, it was a relatively plausible theory for the time being. Jiang Yang looked thoughtful and nodded.

In Yusheng’s room, a massive amount of physics books related to time were piled up. Why was he so obsessed with time? Was it because he had known all along that there was a problem with time in Longshu Temple?

Wang Wenbo’s task when he was alive was to free the temple monks from their endless suffering. Were these starving ghosts in the giant Buddha the ones he was supposed to free?

Perhaps the starving ghosts were forever trapped in the same day—that would explain everything.

Of course, a veteran resident naturally wouldn’t jump to conclusions so easily. He could only acknowledge it as a possibility.

Jiang Yang raised his head, peering through the holes in the baseboard at the deep blue starry sky outside. ”Shh, don’t speak.

”Night has fallen.”

The whole truth would soon be revealed.

Would the master the starving ghost monks spoke of—who had supposedly only been gone for a single day—actually return as promised?

How would the first day at Longshu Temple end? Or had it truly entered a loop, making the second day an unreachable shore?

The last two living people waited in the darkness. An unknown amount of time passed.

On the plaza outside the main hall, absolutely no one had pushed open the temple doors to step inside.

Gao Tian gradually began to feel that those starving ghost monks had indeed been lying to him.

’Whatever. I knew all along that ghosts wouldn’t tell the truth.’

Right at that moment, a terrifying, low roar suddenly echoed from the distant woods in the wilderness outside Longshu Temple.

What kind of thing could produce such a bellow? How massive must the creature be?

Gao Tian couldn’t even imagine it.

That stormy, furious roar showed no sign of stopping, ringing out over and over. It echoed throughout the entire Inner World.

Logically, whatever appeared in other parts of the Inner World shouldn’t have much to do with their task at Longshu Temple.

”Is that... a bear’s roar?

”Why would a giant bear appear near Longshu Temple?”

The slight trace of drowsiness Gao Tian felt was thoroughly banished by the successive bear roars.

Unknowingly, warm blood slowly began to drip from his nose.

He didn’t pay it much mind, casually wiping away the nosebleed. He tried to find something to plug the warm flow in his nose.

At that moment, blood also slowly began to seep from the edges of his eye sockets.

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill washed over Gao Tian. As if realizing something, he immediately turned his head and looked toward Jiang Yang beside him.

Horrific—

Jiang Yang was already completely motionless, bleeding from his seven orifices. His body was stiff as a stone; he had died in his sleep some time ago.

The distant bear roars were like a death-invoking demonic sound, rolling in wave after wave without mercy.

’The bear roar is a Killing Rule!’

Abruptly, Gao Tian realized the truth.

Jiang Yang had died after hearing the bear roar. He was next.

He hurriedly grabbed fallen leaves from the ground, rolling them up in a desperate attempt to plug his ears. But it was already too late. The world spun before his eyes, and everything around him blurred.

Until, with a thud, he collapsed headfirst onto the ground.

The playing card you drew this time is—

Queen of Diamonds

There is no point conflict on your soul. Resurrection successful.

With five playing cards attached to his soul, under the effects of the Ghost Card, Gao Tian slowly opened his eyes once more.

’The bear roar... there’s something wrong with that bear roar. I can’t listen to it—’

Just as cold sweat beaded on his forehead and he was about to leap up from the ground, the warm sunlight shining on his face caused him to freeze in place.

Opening his eyes, the first thing that entered his vision wasn’t Jiang Yang’s corpse-like face, bleeding from his seven orifices with eyes wide open in death.

Instead, it was Lan Zhu, her face full of curiosity, leaning right in front of him. Her pale, rough-skinned face and the two scars stretching back from the corners of her mouth filled Gao Tian’s entire field of vision.

In his extreme shock, Gao Tian even forgot to push her away.

”Did you have a nightmare? We asked you to send the Wind Attendant Buddha in to scout the way, and you actually fell asleep?

—

”Do you have some mental issues? I know a really good doctor who specializes in prescribing tranquilizers. Want me to recommend him to you?”

Before Lan Zhu’s bombardment of words could even finish, Jiang Yang’s lazy voice sounded once more. ”Alright, Gao Tian has already done so much. It’s completely normal for him to exhaust his stamina and fall asleep. Don’t give him a hard time.

”I’ll be the one to head into Longshu Temple first to explore.”

Wang Wenbo was still fiddling with his Electronic Wristwatch. ”Wait a moment, you guys. I’ll use my watch to record these voices and analyze exactly what scriptures these ghost monks are chanting.”

’This isn’t right.’

’This isn’t right.’

’This isn’t right.’

—

’This isn’t right.’

’The time is wrong.’

’The place is wrong.’

’The people around me are wrong too.’

’How did I... return to the starting point again?’