The Silent Sanctuary

　　The night was dark, and the group, holding torches, walked through the biting cold wind.

　　The heavy snow that had been falling had stopped, but the wind was still chillingly cold.

　　 Lin's feet crunched on the ground. 

　　He was wearing heavy clothes, his hat pulled down to cover his ears and the lower half of his face, his body slightly bent as he carried the beautiful girl on his back

　　The entire group walked in silence, the atmosphere eerily quiet.

　　Finally, someone broke the silence when the temple mentioned by the carpenter appeared before them.

　　"Is this the temple?" Zhang Zishuang said, "This temple looks... too strange."

　　The temple in the night truly seemed strange. 

　　At first glance, it looked ancient, but upon closer inspection, you realized it was quite exquisite. 

　　Just the carvings on the two pillars at the entrance were extraordinary.

　　Lin put Ruan down and, holding the torch, looked at the details of the carvings on the pillars. 

　　He noticed that the carvings depicted scenes from the Eighteen Levels of Hell. 

　　The evil spirits and the souls suffering in torment were all depicted vividly on the pillars.

　　"These pillars are so beautiful," Ruan suddenly remarked.

　　"They are pretty," Lin agreed.

　　These carvings were completely unlike anything you'd expect to see in this backward mountain village. 

　　They were almost on par with works of art.

　　If they didn't have a more important matter at hand, Lin would have spent some time studying them.

　　"Who goes first?" Chi asked.

　　He was asking who would go in first, but no one responded. 

　　It was too dangerous. If entering the temple triggered death, wouldn't the first person to go in be a sacrifice?

　　"Why do we have to go in one by one?" Ruan said suddenly. "What if that old man lied to us?"

　　Chi said, "But it's better to listen to him than to defy him."

　　Ruan said, "Not necessarily."

　　 She turned her head to look at Lin, "Lin, I'm scared. Let's go in together."

　　Lin hesitated slightly. "But what if going in as a pair triggers something?"

　　Ruan said, "We don't know the answers to anything right now. I'd rather take a gamble. After all, if one person goes in and something happens, no one will know." 

　　She looked at the dark temple in front of them. 

　　"After all, … whoever goes in might not be the same thing that comes out."

　　Her words sent a shiver down everyone's spines, including Lin. 

　　He rubbed his arms and looked at Ruan's expression. 

　　Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay."

　　Chi frowned. "Do you know what you're doing? What if going in as a pair..."

　　He seemed about to continue his warnings, but Ruan cut him off. 

　　" Who knows for sure?"

　　It was true. Chi fell silent.

　　"We don't care how you arrange the order," Ruan said softly. "It's too cold. Lin, let's go in first, and go home to sleep early."

　　The mention of sleep reminded everyone of the terrifying night that was about to begin. 

　　If they lingered here any longer, they might waste the entire night. 

　　Who knew what would happen to them then.

　　"Let's go." Ruan held Lin's hand, leaning against him.

　　Lin was used to Ruan's clinginess. 

　　He nodded and gritted his teeth, saying, "Let's go."

　　They walked towards the temple.

　　The others looked at their backs and fell into a brief silence.

　　The temple had a wooden door that was half-open. 

　　It was pitch black inside, and you couldn't see anything.

　　 Ruan reached out and gently pushed open the door.

　　With a creak, the door opened, and the air from inside rushed out.

　　Lin smelled a faint fragrance.

　　 It was very subtle, but it was completely out of place in this environment.

　　Using the faint light from the torch, Lin could see the temple's decor.

　　The temple wasn't large and its structure was very simple. 

　　In the middle, there was an incense table and some statues of gods, and beside it, a large donation box. 

　　There seemed to be some writing on the donation box, but Lin couldn't make it out because he was too far away.

　　"Let's go," Ruan said.

　　They continued forward, walking towards the cushions in front of the statues.

　　The statue was a Buddha, a Buddha that Lin didn't recognize, but it had a benevolent face that radiated an aura of saving all living beings.

　　Ruan's expression was calm. 

　　She knelt down on the cushion and bowed to the Buddha.

　　Lin stood beside her, holding his breath.

　　After a quiet wait, nothing happened. 

　　The Buddha remained compassionate, his half-closed eyes silently gazing at the believer in front of him. 

　　Apart from the howling wind, the temple was serenely quiet.

　　Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

　　"It's okay," Ruan stood up, brushing the dust off her knees. "Your turn."

　　Lin nodded, handed the torch to Ruan, and knelt down on the cushion to bow. 

　　He didn't know what Ruan had been thinking while she was bowing, but when he bowed, he was very sincere, praying for the protection of the god in front of him.