Chapter 20 Bodhi Messenger's Cassock_1

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Lin Baici didn't pay attention to them but watched the black-awning boat, focusing on the lake surface nearby.

The intense hunger suggested that there were Taboo things nearby, meaning spiritual pollution could occur at any moment, or might have already occurred.

Splash! Splash!

The sounds of tourists swimming disrupted the tranquility of Lotus Lake.

"Paddle faster!"

The hawk-nosed man sneered at those who were attempting to swim over; if they dared to get in front of him, they shouldn't blame him for being rude.

The black-awning boat moved quickly, only about ten meters away from Lake Heart Island.

"Damn, I predicted wrong!"

Jiang Hong was vexed, fretting over what to do when suddenly the black-awning boat flipped over and disappeared into the water.

Plop! Plop!

The hawk-nosed man and his gang fell into the water like dumplings, vanishing in an instant.

"What's going on?"

"What the hell?"

"Why did it capsize?"

The tourists on the shore were still okay, but those in the water nearly died of fright, quickly coming to a halt.

The black-awning boat sank without warning, as if a toy ship suddenly got yanked beneath the lake by a giant hand.

The tourists on the two small paddle boats panicked.

One paddled hard to return to shore, aiming to reach land quickly, but in the next second, it too went splash and sank into the lake, with the tourists falling into the water; after a couple of shouts, they fell silent.

Seeing this, tourists on the other boat put all their might into reaching Lake Heart Island, figuring it was closer and best to get ashore first; however, after paddling just three or four meters, it sank as well.

The tourists floating in the lake, who had planned to swim over, were thrown into chaos, turning around and swimming back desperately.

But it was too late.

Splash! Swish!

They were pulled under as if the Water Ghosts were claiming their lives.

"Save me!"

"Help me!"

"Don't kill me!"

Shouts for help, curses—all vanished within ten seconds, leaving not a single one of the fifty or so swimmers in sight.

Only ripples spread slowly across the lake's surface.

Everyone standing on the shore felt a chill all over.

Dozens of people,

wiped out in an instant.

It was truly terrifying.

Jiang Hong, who had just regretted not leaving, now filled his chest with relief.

"Thank heavens! Thank heavens!"

Jiang Hong glanced at Lin Baici, thinking that following this young man was indeed the right choice.

After about two or three minutes, the black-awning boat and the two small paddle boats resurfaced, drifting back toward the dock leisurely.

But this time, no one dared to fight for them.

"Bai Ci, what should we do now?"

The old lady was drenched in sweat, whether from heat, anxiety, or fear, soaking her clothes through, clinging to her body.

"Look around; there should be some Taboo things nearby. Destroy them!"

Lin Baici finished speaking and stepped on the grass, strolling along the lake.

The willow trees planted here were lush, with emerald green leaves like newly spun spider silks.

The crowd hastened to follow.

Lin Baici ignored them; he was using his hunger to search for the Taboo things, the increasing intensity indicating their proximity.

What he dreaded most now was the Taboo things being on Lake Heart Island; that would be troublesome.

Sister Xiao Li was about to speak when Hua Yue Yu held her back.

"Don't disturb him!"

Hua Yue Yu turned back to advise, "Everyone, go look for the Taboo things; don't just follow him!"

No one moved.

Everyone was worried; what if you sneaked onto the island while we were away?

"Stop trying to persuade them; they are all counting on Oppa now!"

Kim Myungjin looked up, trying to spot any wildflowers apart from those on Lake Heart Island, but after a full circle, she found none.

Lin Baici felt even hungrier.

He turned his head, looking in the direction of 10 o'clock, thirty or more meters away from the shore, where there was a cluster of stone Buddha statues, roughly thirty in number.

These stone Buddha statues were a meter tall, not quite reaching Lin Baici's waist.

Their bodies were feeble, limbs slender, as if they were severely malnourished, starving nearly to death.

And yet they had huge heads, especially the eyes, bulging out.

"This design is simply disgusting!"

The old lady felt very uncomfortable.

Lin Baici and the others approached.

The Buddha statues bore the marks of being weathered by the wind and sun.

"They won't suddenly start moving, will they?"

Hua Yue Yu was worried.

"Don't scare me!"

The old lady began to tremble, inching closer to Lin Baici for comfort.

"Let's go in and take a look!"

Lin Baici noticed one Buddha statue that was different; it was draped in a Kasaya.

The crowd followed, but as soon as they approached the group of Buddha statues…

Whoosh!

All of the Buddha statues simultaneously turned their heads, staring at them.

"Ghosts!"

"Damn it!"

"Run!"

Everyone was frightened, except for Lin Baici, who only took a step back while the others turned and ran.

Kim Myungjin took a few steps before realizing that Lin Baici hadn't run; she stopped: "Oppa?"

[A group of starved Buddhas with big heads is murderous and greedy towards any food, but since they can't move, they can only watch, not eat!]

"Can't move? Does that mean if we don't get close to them, we'll be safe?"

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Lin Baici felt relieved and his gaze fell on the red kasaya.

It was sewn from red fabric, just like the kind worn by abbots in ordinary temples, but this one had lines of golden symbols on it, probably some kind of script.

Who cares, let's burn it and be done with it.

Lin Baici, holding a pine torch, approached a stone Buddha and forcefully scraped it against the Buddha.

Zi la!

The torch lit, and its orange-red glow dispelled some of the chill.

The others stayed where they were, watching Lin Baici walk into the cluster of stone statues.

This...

How bold!

Suddenly, the big-headed stone statues started tilting their heads back, puckering their lips, and screaming strenuously.

Ah!

The eerie tone spread throughout the entire Lotus Lake, even causing ripples on the surface of the water.

Ouch!

Lin Baici covered one ear with his hand.

The others fared worse; the screaming was like sharp iron drills being hammered brutally into everyone's skulls by a giant, piercing their brains.

But what was even more terrifying was that along with this round of screaming, there was a loud splash from the shore of Lotus Lake, and a three-meter-tall monster burst forth from the water and charged straight at them.

The monster appeared to be a Buddha statue, with knobby protuberances on its head and long ears hanging down, with a string of prayer beads around its neck, but beyond these, there were no other Buddhist elements to be found.

The creature's muscles were knotted, completely bulging, as if it had been fed on protein powder, with veins and tendons protruding on its skin.

And this guy was only wearing a pair of leather shorts, tightly wrapped around his body.

As it ran frantically, its muscles contracted and expanded, and with each stomp on the ground, mud and grass splattered, leaving half-a-finger-deep impressions.

Such a display was simply full of explosive strength and visual impact.

Huala!

The tourists turned and ran.

Kidding me, this monster was so strong it could participate in bodybuilding competitions, killing everyone present in less than a minute would be an understatement.

"Oppa, run fast!"

Kim Myungjin shouted loudly.

Lin Baici only glanced at the Buddha monster before immediately sprinting.

He was going to burn that kasaya.

This ghostly thing, it must have been caused by that.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The Buddha monster chased after Lin Baici at full speed.

Luckily, he was close enough to the kasaya, arriving just in time, but as he extended the torch to set the kasaya ablaze, the Eater God spoke.

[This is a Bodhi Messenger's Cassock. Wearing it, you can summon a Buddha to do your laundry, cook, chop wood, and feed horses. If you want to fight, it can hand you a knife and bury the dead.]"

The Eater God suggested: [As a professional gourmet, you need some servants to attend to you. This Buddha Messenger can be made use of for the time being.]

"What is this?"

Lin Baici became utterly confused.

This thing can be a servant?

If it punches me, I won't just cry for a long time; I'd ascend to heaven on the spot.

Lin Baici was resolute in his will, regardless of what it was, burn it first, otherwise, when that thing comes over, he himself would be the one to die.

[Wrap the kasaya around you, and you can enslave it, easy to use.]

This comment from the Eater God made Lin Baici move the torch away at the moment he was about to light the kasaya.

"That easy?"

Lin Baici couldn't believe it. He thought about the dark Buddha in the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and if he had such a Muscle Buddha as a fighter to face that great Buddha, surely he'd stand a chance, right?

With that thought, Lin Baici quickly reached out his hand to tug the kasaya from the stone statue.

The Buddha monster charged, bent over with a stride, and his right fist, like a meteor chasing the moon, aimed a blow at Lin Baici's head.

"Oppa!"

"Bai Ci!"

Kim Myungjin and Hua Yue Yu could not bear to watch any longer.

Swish!

Lin Baici flicked his wrist, draping the kasaya over his shoulder, neatly covering half his body.

The golden scriptures were exceptionally dazzling among the willow stone statues.

Whoosh!

The wind from the punch rustled Lin Baici's Manchester United jersey.

The Buddha monster's heavy fist stopped just short of his forehead.

"Mommy, that was scary!"

Only now did Lin Baici realize how dangerous his action had been. If the Eater God's advice had been wrong, or if he had been half a beat slower in donning the kasaya, his brain matter and blood would already be coloring the stone statues.

The Buddha monster stood firmly, straightened its body, then brought its hands together in a bow towards Lin Baici, slightly bent over, and then its entire body faded and disappeared.

"Oppa!"

Kim Myungjin ran over frantically, crying her eyes out, "You almost scared me to death!"

Although they had not known each other for long, Lin Baici's wisdom and bravery, and of course, the most important thing, his good looks, had already made this Goryeo beauty develop a fondness for him.

If he escorted her home that night, Kim Myungjin would definitely invite him into her bedroom for a bowl of ramen.

Lin Baici shrugged his shoulders and properly wore the kasaya.

In fact, it was just a piece of cloth that was placed over his shoulders and left arm and tied with a strap.

Seeing that the crisis had been averted, everyone came over.

"Bai Ci, don't ever do something like that again, it's too dangerous!"

The voice of the elderly lady trembled; she didn't understand why Lin Baici was unafraid.

"Was that Muscle Buddha monster responsible for killing those swimmers just now?"

Jiang Hong was excited. If that was the case, doesn't it mean it's now safe to cross the lake?

Speaking of which, where's that Muscle Buddha?

Had Lin Baici subdued it?

Jiang Hong's gaze fixed on the kasaya on Lin Baici's body; it must be something good.

I want it!

"Oppa, that kasaya is a Taboo thing, and wearing it could contaminate you!"

Kim Myungjin was worried.

"There's no choice!"

Lin Baici figured he had some chance of resisting such rules of contamination, otherwise, the Eater God would definitely not have let him use it.

[You won't be contaminated, but it might beat you up!]