Mutated Tao

“Master, there’s no need to explain so much to a simple guest like me; I won’t bother you guys either. Please leave, I’m about to head to sleep,” said Li Huowang.

Jian Dun clasped both hands together and bowed toward Li Huowang before walking toward the door. As he passed by Li Huowang, he softly whispered, “Don’t underestimate Buddhism. I used to be a Taoist before I became a monk. Taoism is similar; it’s just that you’re unaware of it.”

Jian Dun walked away, leaving Li Huowang alone in the room. Li Huowang turned around to look at the temple that was shrouded in darkness. Now, it no longer seemed to have a sense of majesty or dignity. Li Huowang sighed.

This place is also really dirty. Isn’t there anywhere that is clean and pure?

Ever since the events of that night, Li Huowang tried his best not to leave his room at night to avoid disturbing the monks’ ‘good deeds’ and incurring their resentment.

Days passed one at a time, and Li Huowang’s mental state slowly improved; he no longer had nightmares. Just as he was going to ask the abbot about when they were going to begin the ritual, the abbot sent a messenger over first.

“Benefactor Xuan Yang, the preparation for the Great Fast is about to begin. The event requires a considerable amount of effort. So, please refrain from moving around too much in the coming few days,” said the messenger.

“Got it. You can report back to the abbot,” Li Huowang responded to the young monk.

When the young monk left, a familiar figure came in, looking excited. “Little Taoist, if you had been staying here, why didn’t you inform me?”

It was the old monk from before, but he looked quite different now. He was dressed in brand-new yellow monk robes, while his face and body were free of dirt. He appeared much more spirited than before.

Even though they had only interacted with each other briefly, Li Huowang still felt a sense of kinship with this acquaintance of his in this foreign place.

“Monk, how are you doing here?” asked Li Huowang.

“It’s fine. I have enough to eat and am able to dress well. It’s just that there are no good deeds to do within the temple, which makes me a little uncomfortable,” replied Monk.

Upon hearing the mention of good deeds, Li Huowang immediately thought about the events of that night and sighed. “Don’t think about it too much. Stay well over here. Though this monastery’s a little dirty, at least you won’t go hungry.”

“Come, young Taoist, let me show you the place where I work. It’s quite big there.” Monk enthusiastically pulled Li Huowang toward the door.

“The sun is too bright right now. Maybe another time,” Li Huowang replied half-heartedly. He wasn’t too interested in exploring this monastery.

“Come and see! You won’t regret it; there are many interesting things here!” said Monk as he dragged Li Huowang.

In the end, Monk was successful in dragging Li Huowang with him.

After going through a meandering path, they came to a spacious open courtyard within the Righteous Monastery.

Only now did Li Huowang realize just how big the monastery was.

Clang clang clang!

Dust flew around within the courtyard as some monks with bandaged hands used their chisels and hammers to sculpt Buddha statues. The statues were lined up in two rows that stretched left and right toward the end of the courtyard.

As the monks focused on carving their works of art, they became drenched in sweat, and their bald heads reflected the bright sunlight.

“So you work here? The environment is so-so,” Li Huowang said while frowning slightly and pinching his nose to prevent the dust from entering.

“Yes, I’m in charge of taking away the useless shattered rocks. I play a part in the building process of these statues as well.” Monk seemed to be very proud of his role.

The two of them walked along the road that was in between the two rows of incomplete Buddha statues and observed the different forms of the various sculptures.

Meanwhile, the monks that walked by them did not pay any attention to them, almost as though they did not exist.

These sculptures made by the Righteous Monastery are definitely not for their own use. One look and it’s clear that they are made to be sold to the worshipers. Seems like these monks are quite adept at generating revenue.

Li Huowang was not too surprised after the previous incident that he had witnessed.

“That’s not all! There’s even more up ahead!” Monk exclaimed excitedly, heading into the house before them.

Just as Li Huowang was about to follow, he felt a wave of dizziness suddenly wash over him, causing his body to start swaying.

“Hey, little Taoist, what’s wrong?” Monk asked as he hurried back to support him upon seeing that something was amiss.

“What’s the matter?” asked Monk.

When Li Huowang stabilized himself and shook his head, that strange feeling of dizziness gradually vanished.

“Are you alright? Did you catch a cold or something? Do you want to go back and rest first?” asked Monk, worried.

Li Huowang declined Monk’s kind intentions, “It’s alright. I’m fine. Let’s continue.”

“Alright. If you really have caught a cold, then you should get some more sunlight. Let’s continue,” said Monk.

Li Huowang looked up at the scorching sun.

Did I get a heat stroke? But the New Year was just a little while ago, and I don’t feel hot either.

After feeling that there was nothing unusual with his body, Li Huowang lifted his foot to continue following Monk.

But as soon as he raised his foot, he found that the sounds around him had changed. It was no longer the clanging sound of chisel hitting the stone, but the sound of flesh slapping against flesh.

Eh?

Li Huowang felt puzzled and looked toward the stone statue on his right.

He immediately froze up.

The stone statue beside him had vanished, and what took its place was a mass of white flesh. The stone carvings representing Buddha that had their eyes closed in devotion were all piled together, their bodies wriggling continuously like maggots.

This… this is?

Li Huowang took a step back, his eyes widening in shock.

He slowly looked up to squint at the glaring sun; his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

He slowly turned around to look at the statues behind him. He was not surprised to find that they had all changed into dozens of mountains of flesh as well.

“Hey, little Taoist! Keep up!” Monk shouted in excitement like a kid eager to show off something to his companions.

Trembling, Li Huowang took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Soon, they passed through a huge gate and arrived at another spacious courtyard. This courtyard was also filled with heaps of flesh, just that these heaps were no longer humanoid, but even included other things like pigs.

Those heaps of flesh howled in agony, but then a mountain of flesh depicting a devout monk engulfed them like a sinkhole and buried them within.

“Look at these life-like statues of the qilin[1] and the stone lion. I wish I had such skills,” exclaimed Monk.

Li Huowang mechanically followed the old monk and continued to observe the ‘artwork’ of the Righteous Monastery’s monks. Along the way, he saw many things, like dogs, horses, cows, and donkeys.

After some examination, he found something even more peculiar—the monks were all intersex!

Li Huowang’s mind was currently buzzing with confusion.

Suddenly, Monk reached out and led him to a spacious hall with quick steps.

However, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh did not vanish and was even getting louder now, echoing inside the spacious hall.

Li Huowang looked inward.

The higher up he looked, the more his pupils shrank.

“Look quickly! Such a massive Buddha statue!” Monk exclaimed, as he pointed upward, marveling at the giant statue with a child-like grin on his face.

1. one-horned beast in Chinese mythology ☜

Chacha and Char’s Thoughts

So this is how the novel is going to be huh