My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 18: Compassionate Monk

Jiang Xinghuo advanced to the new map, Baishui River.

As for other places in Longcheng, Jiang Xinghuo decided to put them aside for the time being and explore other places after finishing the task line of Baishui River God.
"The Baishui River, also known as the Ghost River and the Pingjinkou, was once an important waterway connecting the north and the south during the reign of the old dynasty. Ships carrying salt and grain passed through the river all year round. It was the place where the world's first-class money and grain gathered."

"There is another legend about the Baishui River. It was during the reign of the old dynasty. In August, it was the flood season. The winds were high and the waves were fierce. Not to mention people, even large ships sailing on it could easily be overturned by the wind and waves."

"But that morning, people were surprised to find that the Baishui River had suddenly dried up, revealing not only the muddy riverbed, but also countless shipwrecks and treasures buried under the mud."

"When the people around saw this, they couldn't hold back their greed and rushed to the bottom of the river to dig for treasures in the sunken ships, looking for gold and silver wrapped in mud. They did find a lot of good stuff."

"But just as they were happily digging for treasure, something happened that no one expected. The turbulent river water came back with a vengeance. In just a few seconds, it rushed down from upstream and drowned everyone. Hundreds of lives were lost."

"Ever since so many people drowned at Pingjinkou, this river has started to become weird. Every few days, people fall into the water and boats have accidents. It has suddenly become a section with frequent accidents. Especially at night when no one is around, you can still hear loud noises."

"Some people say that many people died in vain at the Pingjinkou Pass in the past, and the resentment is great, so they are all looking for replacements. Over time, the Baishui River has been called the Ghost River."

"This is a strange river. Legend has it that if you take a boat down this river on a moonless night, you can enter the underworld from the living world."

"Do you want to go for a walk around Baishui River? Or do you choose to make a detour now and try your luck at the next place."

There are two options: go to the Guishui River or take a detour.

Jiang Xinghuo would definitely choose Baishui River, because the corpse-stitcher’s head was carried on its back.

"You came near the White Water River."

"You see that the dock at the ferry has long been abandoned and overgrown with weeds. Under the seemingly clear surface of the river, it seems to hide a terrifying depth. Occasionally, there are ripples on the water, probably fish and shrimps at the bottom of the river dipping their toes in the water, but you always feel that they are not fish or shrimps, but something else.

"At this moment, you notice something glimmering under the water. Do you reach out and pick it up?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought he was lucky as he had gained something as soon as he arrived at the new map.

"You come closer."

"You reached out to pick up treasure from the river."

"You feel like there's a hand under the river grabbing you tightly."

"Gululu, gurulu..."

"You were dragged to the bottom of the river."

"Fortunately, you have been blessed by the White Water River God and have the ability to move freely underwater."

“You saw the truth about Whitewater.”

"In the seemingly clear river water, there are countless pale and swollen figures floating."

"There's a greedy look in their eyes as they slowly surround you, as if they want to eat you up."

“But at this moment, a golden light suddenly appeared, and a monk with a compassionate face emerged from the bottom of the river. The scriptures condensed into a big hand, and forced the water ghosts back.”

"You were brought to shore by that monk."

I didn't die! Jiang Xinghuo was a little surprised. He thought he would be killed by the water ghost, but he didn't expect to be saved by someone.

"You were rescued by the Compassionate Monk."

"You saw a suicide note beside you." "You got the suicide note of the compassionate monk."

"You opened the suicide note and learned the monk's origins from it."

"The Compassionate Monk was originally a great monk in the Ten Directions Zen Forest. He practiced the Law of Compassion and traveled the world to save people. One day, he came to Longcheng and heard about the Ghost River. So he wanted to come here to save the souls with the Law of Compassion. He happened to see a child falling into the water."

"In order to save the child's life, the compassionate monk was willing to feed the tiger with his own body and sank into the Baishui River, thus saving the child's life."

"Afterwards, the compassionate monk did not go to the underworld to reincarnate, but stayed at the bottom of the Baishui River, being bitten by hundreds of ghosts day and night. He wanted to use the law of compassion to free the souls at the bottom of the river, but unfortunately he could not hold on for too long and his soul would soon be scattered. If he could save one person before he died, it would be a merit."

Jiang Xinghuo was a little surprised. He didn't expect that in this world, there would be such a great cultivator who was willing to give up his life to save others.

"You have obtained the power of the Vajra to subdue demons."

"The power of the Vajra to subdue demons. Use the ten powers to destroy demons. The Great Vajra Power among the ten powers of Buddhism. The attacking technique cultivated by the compassionate monk himself."

"The Vajra's angry eyes subdued the four demons, which contains a faint trace of the law of compassion. After you integrate it, you can obtain the blessing of the Vajra Buddha's power, which can subdue demons and greatly improve your physical fitness."

"Do you want to merge with the Vajra Force?"

Jiang Xinghuo directly chose yes.

next moment.

An extremely gentle force filled his whole body, and Jiang Xinghuo clearly felt the changes in his body. Buddhist scriptures emitting golden light wrapped around his body like chains, slowly transforming his physique. The whole process lasted about half an hour before those golden scriptures merged into his body.

"You have merged the Law of Mercy (0.00002%)."

"You have gained the power of the Vajra."

Jiang Xinghuo seemed to sense something in his heart as well. He clapped his right hand in the air. Suddenly, Buddhist music lingered and golden smoke and cloud turned into a Buddhist hand with scriptures. It easily smashed the wooden stool in front of him, and a faint palm print also appeared on the cement floor.

"I'm a good boy..."

Jiang Xinghuo picked up the phone, looked at the text prompt on it, then looked at his palm. It took him a long time to come back to his senses.

"You stood by the Baishui River and remembered what the Corpse Stitcher had asked you to do. You wanted to salvage its arm, but you had no tools, so you could only go to the Corpse Salvagers to see if you could borrow some equipment from them."

"You have come to the river temple on the Baishui River."

"Legend has it that the river god will protect all those who make a living on the water, including corpse retrievers, and the captain of the corpse retriever team is the descendant of the Baishui River god."

"It is now sitting in the river temple, blessing the new corpse retrievers who have joined the corpse recovery team, so as to protect them from being disturbed by water ghosts at the bottom of the river."

“You walked into the river temple.”

"You found something interesting in the river temple."

“These things shouldn’t have been in the River Temple.”

"Tathagata's talent is triggered."

"You have gained insight into the secrets behind the River God's offspring."

"........."

(End of this chapter)