Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 115

Looking at his eyes, which were almost completely covered by layers of wrinkles, I suddenly felt that this world-renowned Japanese monk was living a truly pitiful life, imprisoning himself in a tree hollow to cultivate asceticism. No matter how great his reputation, martial arts skills, or talent for saving the world were, in the end, he would just decay and perish along with the ancient tree and dust.

"Do you...believe that Princess Tengjia...can wake up...?" His voice grew weaker and weaker, clearly from overexertion and sudden exhaustion.

"I believe you." I meant it from the bottom of my heart. The clues to finding my older brother need Tengjia to continue. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will do everything in my power to save Tengjia.

"Okay...okay..." He turned sideways and groped around in the corner of the tree hole.

I could feel his life force rapidly draining from his body; I was facing a dying old man whose life could end at any moment.

“Young man… take these two ‘Extreme… Extreme… Extreme Fire Pills’ here. Eat them, and they will… increase your body’s… potential… three times… to awaken the princess… to awaken her…”

He held a palm-sized black brocade bag in his hand, which was bulging with contents, presumably the "Extreme Fire Pill" he had mentioned.

These scenes, which only appear in martial arts movies, were once again experienced by me personally—"Increase potential by three times? Is that possible? Can a Japanese high monk have such selfless kindness?" I took the bag with some skepticism. At this moment, his body was trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf caught in a turbulent current.

Suddenly, he let out a roaring laugh like a dragon and a tiger: "Good...good! My destiny has finally ended. It turns out that my purpose in existence was to wait for your arrival...From now on, I can immediately begin the cycle of reincarnation, hahahaha...hahahaha..."

The laughter made my ears ring, and I involuntarily stepped back. To my surprise, even though I was just retreating hastily, I ended up back against the wall, slamming into it hard. I felt a sharp, indescribable pain in my elbow and hip.

“You’re not… an Earthling… really not, really not… you’re not an Earthling…” He pointed at me, and the wrinkles on his forehead, eyebrows, chin, and neck suddenly smoothed out, making his skin look as radiant and beautiful as a freshly picked Fuji apple.

Before the laughter subsided, with a "poof," orange-red flames rose from the tree hole, instantly engulfing the body of the man sitting cross-legged in cloth shoes.

Such spontaneous human combustion without warning only occurred when eminent monks in ancient times attained enlightenment and "passed away in meditation."

With a whoosh, the partition behind me was violently pulled open, and the three monks, Elephant, Lion, and Tiger, rushed in, shouting in unison, "Master! Master! Master..."

Tiger Monk, with his most impatient temper, turned around and shouted towards the door, "Go and fetch water... go and fetch water..." Master Shenbi followed him in, knelt down before Bumenlu, and bowed with utmost piety.

Although you can see Bumenlu's body burning, there is no smell of smoke or fire in the air.

I was still holding the black cloth bag in my hand, and before I could put it in my pocket, the monk shouted, "Wait a minute, what are you holding?" He strode over and made it look like he was going to rob me.

The flames had already engulfed Bumenlu's hair and covered his entire body. I was the only person present before and after the fire started, and it was clear that the Elephant Monk had already turned his attention to me.

"This is the 'Extreme Fire Pill'—" I sneered, deliberately waving the bag in front of him a few times. Martial arts practitioners are most superstitious about consuming these magical pills, and foolishly believe that the drugs can enhance the lethality of their martial arts, but they can't calm down and think about it: medicine is just medicine, it works for a while, how can it work forever?

At this, even Master Shenbi, who was kneeling and kowtowing, exclaimed in surprise: "It's the sacred medicine left by the master! How could he... give it to you?" The eyes of all four people lit up at the same time, staring at the bag in my hand.

The elephant monk stretched out his large hand, slashing towards my right wrist with a whooshing sound, giving me no chance to explain. The lion monk and tiger monk slid down, circling around to my side and rear, forming a pincer movement with the elephant monk.

Seeing that things were not going well, Xiao Lai reached for his gun, but was struck on the shoulder by Master Shenbi's palms, and his arms immediately fell limply to his sides.

For the sake of two "Extreme Fire Pills," the four remaining senior experts of Fengge Temple actually went so far as to openly steal them, which was truly astonishing.

I loosened my grip on my right hand, and the bag fell downwards, landing right on my feet. My free right palm then gently pushed forward, landing on the monk's chest. In fact, I didn't exert much force; his body spun and crashed into the side of the tree hollow with a loud thud, followed by a series of cracking sounds as bones broke.

The lion monk and tiger monk had already pounced over, but in my eyes, their attack speed was incredibly slow. Even when I struck their shoulders with both palms at the same time, their punches and kicks still lacked full force.

What struck me as bizarre was that the force I exerted with both palms was exactly the same, yet after their bodies spun out, one tumbled clockwise into the courtyard outside the gate, making a clattering sound that lingered for a long time, knocking down four or five young monks who were meditating. The other spun counterclockwise, slamming into the side wall before falling to the ground unconscious without a sound.

Master Shenbi jumped up, cried out "Ah!" and dared not make any more rash moves.

Xiao Lai quickly jumped to the side, gritted his teeth and endured the pain to pull out his submachine gun: "Mr. Feng, you are so amazing, so impressive, what kind of kung fu is this?"

I didn't know what kind of kung fu it was, because I suddenly discovered that after receiving the magical internal energy from Bumenlu, my movements became effortless and my speed was extremely unrestrained, several times stronger than my original martial arts. With a flick of my toe, the cloth bag fell into my suit pocket.

"This is... Master's 'Yin-Yang Divine Power'. For generations, almost every monk in our Fengge Temple who practices martial arts has longed to receive guidance from Master Bumenlu, even if it's just a word or a phrase. Mr. Feng, you are truly... blessed..." Master Shenbi looked up and sighed, his body trembling, extremely disappointed.

Those who practice martial arts are driven by a lifelong urge to master advanced techniques; this is human nature's inherent greed. Having unintentionally received instruction in internal energy from Bu Menlu, I now feel as if a massive fireball is burning fiercely between my chest (Shanzhong acupoint) and lower abdomen (Dantian), growing increasingly intense. Looking down at my hands, I see two faint, flickering red lights dancing in my palms.

I walked back to Tengjia's side and whispered repeatedly, "Wake up... wake up..." Although I couldn't predict when she would wake up, I had a strong premonition that Tengjia would wake up soon, as if there was a thin layer of window paper waiting for me to reach out and gently break through it.

As I gazed into her eyes, I felt that perhaps in the next second, those eyes would open, and the unconscious Tengjia would transform back into the proud and beautiful girl she had been in the desert. Regardless of her identity, I only wanted to know the secrets of the *Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Sutra*.

Once again, I slowly placed my palms on her temples. This time, the surging, fiery internal energy within my body was abundant, just enough to pour all my strength into her.

"Wake up... wake up..."

"Wake up...

Her eyelids began to twitch again, like the premonition of a person about to wake up from a deep sleep.

The candles scattered on the ground had been trampled and knocked askew, with less than a third still lit. All the monks were stunned by the violent skill I had displayed in defeating the Elephant, Lion, and Tiger monks; none dared to approach, much less make a move. Xiao Laiping, holding a submachine gun, stood five paces away from the coffin, providing cover for me.

"Why would Bumenlu pass on his internal energy to me? Is it possible that among all these disciples in the temple, there isn't a single one worthy to inherit his mantle? Besides, I am Chinese, an enemy in the eyes of the Japanese..."

To my surprise, I found that my internal energy had improved significantly. I could now effortlessly channel internal energy into Tengjia's body while simultaneously letting my mind wander. After this state lasted for fifteen minutes, I noticed that Tengjia had not woken up as expected, but had returned to a deep coma, and her eyelids no longer twitched.

“Mr. Feng, something seems wrong! Could you please pause for a moment?” Xiao Lai’s words made a lot of sense. I withdrew my hand, feeling no fatigue at all, which made Master Shenbi keep turning around to look at me.

Time flies. I looked at my watch and it was already one o'clock in the morning.

Xiao Lai glanced at Teng Jia's eyelids, tapped the back of his head, and frowned thoughtfully.

Suddenly, I sensed a strong killing intent emanating from the rooftop, and immediately looked up. Fengge Temple was going through a turbulent time; countless forces were stirring, openly and secretly monitoring its every move.

Xiao Lai reacted extremely quickly, leaping out of the door in a flash. His toes stomped across the stone benches and courtyard walls, and he was already on the roof in a flash. He then shouted, "Who's there? Don't go—" The "clattering" sound of his toes touching the roof tiles continued as he chased after them eastward.

The murderous aura was so intense that I feared Xiao Lai wouldn't be able to handle it. Just as I was about to chase after them, Master Shenbi was already urgently calling me from inside the treehouse: "Mr. Feng, here... this letter, come and take a look..."

He held a square, black iron box in his hands, the lid of which was already open, and his face was full of bitterness.

The letter was written on a piece of smoothed birch bark, the ink old and worn, at least ten years old. It was written in three languages: Japanese, Chinese, and English. I only glanced at it; the Chinese line read: "'Yin-Yang Divine Power' and the Extreme Fire Pill will be obtained by a destined person. The destined person will surely reach the center of the 'Underwater Divine Tomb,' he is the future hope of Maple Temple, and all the disciples of the temple must serve him wholeheartedly and without disobedience."

The word "fate" is truly wondrous, because people all over the world, from ancient times to the present, value the word "fate" the most. It seems that anyone who encounters "fate" possesses supreme power and can stand on equal footing with all the gods and Buddhas in the sky.

"If I am truly the one destined for this, then let me revive Tengjia first—" Yelan remembered mentioning these two words very carefully when relaying the dragon's words.

The birch bark, about forty centimeters square, fit perfectly flat in the box without leaving any gaps.

Master Shenbi paused for a moment while holding the box, then suddenly turned around and knelt down in front of me with a thud: "Mr. Feng, we must obey Master Bumenlu's last wishes. From today onwards, you are the master of Fengge Temple, and all 422 monks in the temple will be under your command."

This is a huge joke! I waved my hands repeatedly and took several steps back.

Master Shenbi raised the box above his head with both hands: "Please accept Master Bumenlu's dying wish, decipher the 'Underwater Divine Tomb,' revitalize Fengge Temple, and let the light of the 'Wrath of the Sun God' shine throughout the sea." His expression and tone became increasingly respectful.

I snapped out of my daze, grabbed his arm and pulled him up. I was sure he wasn't joking, and I gave a wry smile. "Master Shenbi, I'm not a monk. How could I possibly lead Fengge Temple? We can discuss this later. Right now, the most important thing is to wake Miss Tengjia up!"

If he were to become the abbot of a Japanese temple out of nowhere, who knows how long this trouble would drag on... Master Shinbe walked toward the door and raised his voice: "Disciples of the temple, listen up! Mr. Feng has inherited the mantle of Master Bumenri and is hereby appointed abbot of this temple. All disciples, remember this well!"

In just a few hours, I went from being a suspect in Fengge Temple to becoming its leader. The changes in this world are truly unexpected.

Suddenly, a burst of submachine gun fire came from the east; without a doubt, it was Xiao Lai firing his gun.

I had no time to pay attention to Master Shenbi anymore. I leaped out the door, zipped onto the roof, and ran eastward. Lightness skill was my forte, and with the help of the internal energy taught by Bumenlu, my running speed reached an unimaginable level. After a dozen leaps and bounds, my toes landed with only a very slight "snap" sound. After crossing the last roof ridge, there was a bare hillside in front of me, with a few sparse ginkgo trees standing alone in the night.

"Xiao Lai—" I shouted, passing through the gaps in the ginkgo trees, and arrived at the cobblestone path outside the "Meditation Hall".

Xiao Lai lay sprawled on the ground, his submachine gun lying three steps away in the withered grass, while there was no one around.

I helped him up. Thankfully, it was just a temporary fainting spell. The person who attacked him had used just the right amount of force, only striking his neck with a palm strike, without any intention to kill. It seems that the intense killing intent was only directed at me. Since Xiao Lai was chasing in this direction, the person fleeing must have entered the "Meditation Hall" area.

The mist was drifting slowly along the cobblestone path, and the white house in front seemed to be within reach. Just a few hills and undulations along the path would lead to the door.

"Mr. Tanino Shinshu, I am Feng, a friend of your brother. May I have the honor of meeting you?" I should be considered a "friend" of Tanino Shinshu, who died in the Egyptian desert, right? After all, we went through a life-or-death battle with the sea of snakes inside the Tulku Khan Pyramid together, and I even risked my life to save him.

The white house was quiet, and the mist, shaken by the ripples, seemed to open a strangely shaped hole.

Xiao Lai groaned and reached for his gun. To our horror, we discovered that the submachine gun, which had just fired a burst of bullets, was twisted beyond recognition, like a piece of roughly destroyed clay. The muzzle was bent and stuck to the side of the handle.

"This...this..." Xiao Lai was speechless.

The ability to twist steel with profound internal force is something only an unparalleled master of internal martial arts can achieve, and Gu Ye is undoubtedly a top-tier, mysterious master.

“I saw a gaunt night traveler lying on the roof. I thought it was one of the ‘Crimson Flame’ men. After chasing him here, I fired a warning shot when we were less than ten meters apart. But the man suddenly flew back and struck me on the back of the neck with a palm strike, and then I passed out…” Xiao Lai rubbed his neck hard and threw away the broken gun.

The Night Walker has escaped into Tanino's territory, and we need to meet with him—but breaking through these intricate ambushes will be difficult, especially in the dim light of night, which is the perfect time for the Japanese art of escaping to unleash its deadly power. Don't be fooled by this seemingly ordinary cobblestone path; who knows what strange things might happen once you step onto it!

A flurry of footsteps sounded behind me. Master Shenbi, leading a dozen or so capable young monks, caught up. Seeing Xiao Lai and me standing just outside the path, he patted his chest in relief: "Mr. Feng, please don't cross the path! It's... a cursed formation... please don't go across..."

They stopped at least twenty paces from the path, and the young monks' faces already showed expressions of fear.

"We didn't intend to go there. Someone was eavesdropping on the roof of the 'Marrow Cleansing Hall' and then escaped here." Accepting the internal force of the Bumen Shoes will probably make the people of Fengge Temple resent me for life. After all, it's a treasure that others have coveted for more than ten years, and I won it without lifting a finger. No one can easily swallow this insult.

"Eavesdropping? What kind of person would flee here?" Master Shenbi asked curiously.

Xiao Lai tilted his head and thought for a moment: "He is a short and thin person with excellent lightness skills. His leaping posture is a bit like a frog or an Australian kangaroo that keeps jumping."

Master Shenbi immediately shook his head: "Impossible. There are no such people or people with such lightness skills in Fengge Temple. Moreover, if they were to escape here, they would have already been trapped by the formation surrounding the 'Meditation Hall' and would have suffered a fate worse than death..."

He pointed to a low-lying area in a dried-up stream and continued very seriously: "Look there... Two summers ago, a petty thief was being chased by monks and wandered into that area. He suddenly got stuck and couldn't move. Nobody dared to go in to catch him or rescue him. After several torrential rains, the thief was bitten to death by mosquitoes... Young man, I can tell you with certainty that without Mr. Tanino's lifting of the ban, anyone who trespasses will only become a pile of bones..."

Xiao Lai shrugged: "Really? Is it that amazing? Hmph hmph hmph..."

In my understanding, the two ancient Chinese masters, Guiguzi and Baopuzi, were the true founders of Qimen Dunjia. The Japanese, clinging to outdated techniques, learned only a few superficial aspects and then developed them in a sinister and treacherous direction, resulting in the almost "low-class" ninja art of modern times. Even worse, ninjas openly claim their essence is "assassination," using any means necessary to kill their enemies—a practice that completely contradicts the original intentions of Guiguzi and Baopuzi in creating Qimen Dunjia.

Just as Westerners used gunpowder to make firearms and cannons to kill people after the Chinese invented it, this is a far cry from the right path.

Xiao Lai muttered under his breath, "What's so great about this? When Master Zhang comes, breaking these messy things will be a piece of cake!"

Indeed, Zhang Baisen, as a master of Chinese special abilities, has become the leader of China's extraordinary people. He is highly skilled, not to mention that he has the Shao brothers following him. If such a lineup cannot break through the Qimen ambush set up by Gu Ye, then the extraordinary people of China's Five Elements will have completely lost face.

Master Shenbi spoke to me in a humble tone: "Mr. Feng, it's late. Would you please go to the 'Marrow Cleansing Hall' to rest? That courtyard has always been reserved for the abbot of this temple. I hope you can spend a pleasant night there."

Xiao Lai watched Master Shenbi with great interest, not understanding how the other party's sudden change in attitude had occurred.

Even after we returned to the "Marrow Cleansing Hall," Master Shenbi remained respectful.

I pointed to Tengjia's coffin and smiled humbly at Master Shenbi: "Master, tonight I hope to sleep next to the coffin, so that I may receive some inspiration from Miss Tengjia's thoughts and understand the secret of saving people." Actually, what I really meant was that I was afraid the Night Walker would cause trouble again. Seeing that there was hope for Tengjia to be awakened, I didn't want to cause any more complications.

Everyone has their own selfish motives, and I am no exception.

When I went to bed, my watch already pointed to three in the morning, and everything around Fengge Temple was quiet.

The monks all left, as Master Shenbi had already explained to everyone that Princess Tengjia would naturally awaken, and there was no need for them to trouble themselves with the matter. From tomorrow onwards, all the monks would continue to perform their duties and complete their tasks step by step.

Tenga's breathing kept piercing my ears. Despite being exhausted, I kept my eyes wide open, carefully considering everything from the first time I met Tenga until now, including every detail of rescuing her from the deep well inside the pyramid—"Since the Great God Tu Liehan didn't absorb any energy from her body, what caused her to faint? The power of the Resurrection Sand exists, and combined with that incantation, there should be hope of breaking through that thin layer of paper..."

Tina hasn't called me yet. Perhaps she's still struggling to cope with the incessant questioning from reporters? Transforming the Pyramid of Tsar into an underground tourist attraction has cost a fortune in terms of money and time. It's become such a waste of resources and manpower, and she's bound to face criticism and impeachment from the Egyptian opposition… And what about Suren? What's he doing now? Continuing that inexplicable "search for the Epang Palace"?

And Xiao Keleng, will she be thinking about me tonight...?

The fifth film, Sea Horror

— Chapter 2 — Reincarnation and Resurrection —

More and more strange ideas kept swirling in my mind, when suddenly I heard a "click" sound, as if the spring of a clock was ringing.

In a daze, I felt as if I were back in the living room on the second floor of Xunfu Garden, and all I could hear was the chime of the clock held by the bronze warrior. As far as I know, there are no clocks in the "Marrow Cleansing Hall," at least I didn't find any.

Two more "clucking" sounds came from inside the treehouse.

The monks had just cleaned the treehouse and placed the ashes of the burned cloth shoes into a black porcelain urn, preparing for a burial on an auspicious day. Apart from the two ancient trees, the house had been empty for a long time. So why was there a clock ticking?

I sat up abruptly, threw back the covers, and heard Tengjia's heavy, labored breathing. The night outside was the darkest hour before dawn, utterly silent, without a sound. Through the north wall, I heard a clattering sound again, like a clock whose hands were stuck, struggling to break free from its restraints.

I quickly got up, walked to the north wall, gripped the handles with both hands, and when the noise started again, I pushed the wall open to the left with a whoosh. A faint smell of blood lingered in the treehouse; it was the trace left by the severely injured elephant monk I had knocked away, who had coughed up blood.