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Chapter 37 The Second Temple
Zhou You instinctively took it from his hand.

Then, a system notification faintly echoed in his mind.

"You have obtained the green consumable: Ghost Shaped Plastic".

"When using this item, you can temporarily create a 'flesh doll' that is extremely similar to yourself. Some monsters will be misled by this doll and take it as your own. The doll can last for a maximum of 5 minutes and multiple dolls cannot exist at the same time."

"You witnessed the creation of the ghost sculpture, but because you lack the relevant knowledge, you are unable to learn the skill to create it."

Zhou You carefully pinched the statue with two fingers, looked at the face on it that was exactly the same as his own, and then turned around and asked.

"Monk...no, is this how your Buddhist magic works? Something feels off about me."

To everyone's surprise, the other person's expression was completely bewildered, and they even asked a question in return.

"What are you talking about, benefactor? Isn't this how Buddhist magic works?"

"Well, normally Buddhist magic shouldn't be the kind that's aboveboard and righteous, anyway..." Zhou You carefully recalled the fantasy dramas he had watched before, but in the end, he just sighed and gave up explaining. "Fine, then monk, how do I use this thing?"

"All you need to do is make a cut on your finger and drip your blood onto this. The monster will naturally be attracted to it, and you can take the opportunity to put a face on it. Don't waste too much time; this thing won't last long and it will break at the slightest touch."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You was about to cut his finger, but after thinking for a moment, he peeled off the ointment, squeezed out a little blood from the wound, and then touched the sculpture.

—Although he was already used to being injured, it would still hurt if he was going to, so he would avoid getting cut if possible.

The deep red liquid gradually seeped in, and when the last bit disappeared, the sculpture suddenly opened its eyes wide and revealed a chilling smile to Zhou You.

Then, before Zhou You could react, it leaped down from his hand and staggered toward the female ghost.

"Please be careful, benefactor. The monster's attention will be drawn to the ghost-shaped sculpture. It will initially only be suspicious, but it will soon discover the truth. You just need to take advantage of this opening."

However, before the old monk could finish his whisper, a sharp shriek suddenly came from ahead!
Both of them looked up in astonishment, only to find that the female ghost seemed to have discovered something she hated extremely. She threw the broken corpse in her hand aside and rushed straight towards the flesh puppet without any regard for anything else!

The old monk still looked bewildered, but Zhou You was the first to react.

—Damn, all I did was kick you and use you as a knife, why are you being so petty?

However, there was no time to speak at this moment. He directly slashed his arm with the dagger, creating a brand new wound, and his body suddenly accelerated!
The pain stimulated his mind, but it only made Zhou You more clear-headed. He carefully calculated the distance between himself and the female ghost. The skinned, bloodied face was getting closer and closer. Finally, the other party grabbed the doll and squeezed it hard!
A scream of agony erupted from Zhou You—

However, it was not Zhou You himself who spoke up.

The ghost-shaped sculpture screamed and struggled as if it were a real person, seemingly trying to escape from her grasp, but in the end it was still squeezed into a ball in the female ghost's hand. At this moment, the female ghost finally realized that she had grabbed the wrong target. She turned her head forcefully, but suddenly felt a cold touch on her face.

—The mask was completely stuck to its face.

In an instant, all movement stopped.

"My face, my face has finally been found." The female ghost stroked the wrinkled skin that clearly did not belong to her. She stopped looking at Zhou You, who was so close at hand, and instead took a staggering step and squatted back down at the street corner, reverting to the posture of hugging her knees as when they first met.

“This is also a pitiful person.” The old monk dragged his heavy steps forward. “Unfortunately, this humble monk has no ability to help this person pass on. He can only let it be trapped in this nightmare, repeating the cycle every day. Benefactor, time is limited, let’s go quickly.”

"Yes, let's go then."

Zhou You nodded and followed the old monk.

Before leaving, however, he turned his head thoughtfully and glanced at the spot where the ghost's form had been completely shattered.
-
The temple on the left side of the road is similar to the ones we've seen before.

They were all the same—dilapidated and desolate, with broken tiles and crumbling walls.

The old monk frowned, forcefully pushed aside the thatch that was already more than ten feet tall at the entrance, and said breathlessly.

“These monks in the city make a fortune every year, yet they refuse to even repair the three temples that form the foundation of their temples. They won’t let us, the people of Qingjing Temple, get involved, saying it would break the rules—and after all these years of wind and rain, this is the state they’ve become, and they’re about to collapse!”

There was already a hint of gritted teeth in his words.

Zhou You wisely refrained from responding, and just as he stepped into the temple, a system notification appeared.

"Players have arrived at the hidden location: the Temple of Weituo, the Heavenly Protector of the Three Transformations Temple."

"The script's completeness has been greatly improved."

"The player has gained 50 Soul Stones, and now has a total of 160 Soul Stones."

Upon entering the temple and seeing the blood-stained statue, the old monk's eyes filled with even more sorrow. He found a relatively clean prayer mat, knelt down, and bowed to the statue. Then he stood up, dragging his thin body, and walked to its side.

Zhou You thought he was going to use some kind of magic to purify it, but who could have expected that he would lean forward and crash straight into the Bodhisattva statue!
"careful!"

Before he could even utter those two words, Zhou You witnessed an incredibly unbelievable sight.

The bloodstains on the statue suddenly stopped changing, and then, like fish that have smelled bait, they surged wildly into the old monk's body—and the old monk's withered body swelled up like an inflating balloon, and soon expanded to the limits of human potential with a terrifying momentum!

It took four or five minutes for the old monk's body to barely return to normal. He slowly climbed down from the Buddha statue, his entire body seemingly covered in a layer of blood. Then he raised his increasingly ferocious head and said to Zhou You with a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh. I cultivate the hungry ghost realm, one of the three evil realms. I usually use the method of 'offering food' to absorb the filth on the Buddha statues into myself. But this situation cannot last long. Please help me complete the remaining three paths as soon as possible."

How much of what this person said is true, and how much is false?
Zhou You recalled the ghostly sculpture that could be described as an evil art, and looked into the old monk's eyes—which still held that righteous and peaceful quality. After pondering for a few seconds, he finally nodded.

"Then let's speed things up."

(End of this chapter)