Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

The Pilu Pavilion is located in the northeast corner of the temple. It is a small Buddhist hall with blue bricks, gray tiles, and upturned eaves.

Huiming pushed open the door to the pavilion, and a sandalwood scent wafted out, mixed with a faint aroma of incense and candles. Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting shadowy shadows inside the pavilion.

The interior was minimalist in its furnishings. In the center stood a statue of Vairocana Buddha, with lingering incense in the burner before it, a few embers flickering in the darkness. On either side of the Buddha were rows of tall bookshelves, filled with scriptures, their pages yellowed and their contents vast.

The most eye-catching feature is the two coffins placed side by side on the east side of the pavilion.

The coffin was made of ordinary pine wood, unpainted, with the wood grain clearly visible. The lid was tightly closed, and each coffin was draped with a piece of yellow silk, on which the Rebirth Mantra was written, the ink still dripping.

Upon seeing the two coffins, Huihai recoiled as if electrocuted, pointing at them and shouting, "Those are them! The monster is inside! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Huiming frowned slightly, walked to the coffin, and pushed the lid open.

With a muffled "click," the coffin lid slid open half a foot, revealing the scene inside.

Moonlight shone into the coffin, illuminating a pale face.

It was the body of an old man, his hair and beard all white, his face withered, and his eyes closed. The body was dressed in clean burial clothes, his hands folded in front of his chest, his fingernails bluish-gray, indicating that he had been dead for many days.

Huiming then pushed open another coffin, inside which was also the body of an old man, dressed in ordinary clothes.

The two bodies lay quietly in the coffin, without any abnormality or movement; they were just two ordinary bodies that had been dead for several days.

"This was sent from the Wang family in Wangjia Village at the foot of the mountain." Huiming closed the coffin lid, turned to Fang Cunxin, and said calmly, "These are the bodies of the Wang family's father and uncle. These two men passed away on the same day, and their families felt it was unlucky, so they sent them to the temple to ask this humble monk to perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife."

Fang Cunxin stepped forward and stood beside the coffin for a moment, carefully examining the two corpses. Although she was not a coroner, she had been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for many years and had seen many dead people. She could tell whether a death was real or fake, whether it was a natural death or a violent death.

But after looking at them for a long time, she couldn't see anything unusual. The two corpses were indeed just ordinary remains.

She turned to look at Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi also stepped forward and looked down at the corpse in the coffin.

He didn't notice anything unusual either.

"Miss Fang," Huiming said calmly, his hands clasped together, "besides the scriptures and Buddha statues, there are only these two coffins in this Vairocana Pavilion. If you two are worried, you are welcome to look around and see if there are any monsters or man-eating creatures."

"No need," Fang Cunxin said, clasping her hands in a fist salute. "I was overthinking it. Please forgive me, Senior Brother Huiming."

Huiming smiled slightly and waved his hand: "It's not Miss Fang's fault, it's just that Huihai's hysteria is really giving this humble monk a headache. If it's not properly treated, I'm afraid it will only get worse."

He turned to look at Huihai, his gaze gentle, his tone tinged with pity: "Huihai, come back with me!"

Huihai shook his head frantically, took two steps back, and said in a trembling voice, "No... I won't go back... Miss Fang, please, take me with you... I'm telling the truth..."

Fang Cunxin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

at this time,

Gu Guanqi suddenly spoke up, "Wait a moment."

Everyone looked at Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi said, "I am a doctor, may I examine this young monk's illness?"

Huiming frowned slightly and asked, "And who are you?"

Fang Cunxin quickly said, "Senior Brother Huiming, this is Doctor Gu. He's very skilled in medicine. Let him take a look at Huihai!"

Huiming hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, then I'll trouble you."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly, then walked towards Huihai.

however,

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly drew his sword and thrust it directly at the white-haired old man. The sword was swift and ruthless, aimed straight for the man's throat.

The sword light clashed with the moonlight.

In the blink of an eye, the sword was at his throat.

But, at that very moment,

The white-haired old man suddenly pushed off with his feet, instantly flying more than ten feet backward and landing against the corner of the wall. Then, he pushed off with his feet again, rose into the air, and landed on the roof.

"There really is a ghost!"

Fang Cunxin thrust her spear at Huiming.

Huiming quickly retreated.

Fang Cunxin did not pursue, but instead twirled and struck with her spear, sending the two monks who were holding Huihai flying. The sound of bones cracking came from their chests as they crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out blood.

immediately,

Fang Cunxin quickly shielded Huihai behind her.

at this time,

The white-haired old man standing on the wall looked at Gu Guanqi with great surprise and asked, "Gu Guanqi, where did I give myself away? Over the years, no more than ten people have been able to see through my disguise. How did you see through it?"

Fang Cunxin and the others also looked at Gu Guanqi with curiosity.

Gu Guanqi chuckled, "I didn't see through it. I just found it a bit strange. Why would an old, lonely sweeper like you follow Huiming around so late at night? So I was just testing you!"

"you……"

The white-haired old man retorted angrily, "Aren't you afraid of testing the wrong person? What if I really am just an ordinary old man who happened to be there?"

Gu Guanqi said, "I can sheathe my sword at any time, but are you willing to gamble?"

"Very well!" The white-haired old man took a deep breath and said, "I never thought I would be tripped up by such a small matter. Gu Guanqi, you're doing a great job..."

Before he could finish speaking, the white-haired old man suddenly raised his hand, scattering a cloud of grayish-white dust from his sleeve. Under the moonlight, the dust sprayed towards Gu Guanqi, and then he was about to use his lightness skill to escape under the cover of night.

Gu Guanqi slightly raised his hand and flicked his finger.

A steel ball shot out from the fingertip with a sharp, piercing sound, as fast as a shooting star.

The white-haired old man hurriedly drew a short knife from his waist and turned to block.

"when--"

The deafening clang of metal clashing exploded in the night sky.

The finely crafted steel dagger was shattered in two by the steel ball; half of the blade flew off, tumbled several times in the air, and landed with a clatter on the roof tiles. The steel ball, still carrying considerable force, pierced the white-haired old man's right shoulder with a soft thud, splattering blood.

The white-haired old man screamed, lost his balance, and fell straight off the roof, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The white-haired old man clutched his shoulder, blood gushing from between his fingers, struggling to get up.

Gu Guanqi quickly fired two more steel balls, striking the white-haired old man's pressure points. The old man, who had just stood up, instantly froze, unable to move.

Almost at the same time, Huiming's expression changed drastically. He turned around abruptly and ran wildly into the Pilu Pavilion.

Fang Cunxin's eyes sharpened, and with a sudden jerk of his right hand, the spear flew out of his hand like a black lightning bolt, whistling through the air.

"puff--"

The spear pierced Huiming's back, its tip protruding from his chest, leaving a trail of blood mist, pinning him to the wall.

Huiming screamed in agony.

Immediately afterward, he endured the excruciating pain, tilted his head back, and let out a sharp whistling sound.

The sound was high-pitched and piercing, unlike a human voice, more like the roar of some wild beast, spreading far into the night sky and causing the roof tiles to tremble slightly.

The whistling sound had not yet faded—

"Bang! Bang!"

The bottoms of the two coffins inside the Pilu Pavilion suddenly exploded, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

The hidden compartment at the bottom of the coffin was smashed open from the inside, and two gray-white figures rushed out, revealing their true forms in the moonlight.

They were two humanoid beings, with hands, feet, and torsos, but no human faces. Their faces were smooth as if they had been smoothed out by something; they had no eyes, no eyebrows, no noses, only a huge mouth.

It was the monster that the young monk Huihai had mentioned.

One end went straight for Gu Guanqi, and the other went straight for Fang Cunxin.

Gu Guanqi twirled his Autumn Water Sword, its light flashing like a bolt of lightning as he charged forward, his figure brushing past the monster.

As the sword flashed, a gray-white head flew high into the air, tumbled twice, and crashed to the ground, rolling about ten feet away.

The headless body took two more steps forward before collapsing to the ground with a thud, its limbs twitching a few times before falling still.

Golden liquid gushed from the severed neck, gleaming strangely in the moonlight and emitting a strong yet refreshing medicinal fragrance, like the aroma of brewed herbs, permeating the night breeze.

Without pausing, Gu Guanqi turned around to help Fang Cunxin, since Fang Cunxin was now unarmed.

But, the moment Gu Guanqi turned around,

But then they saw Fang Cunxin bending down, her hands gripping a paving stone slab on the ground. The slab was two or three inches thick and weighed at least four or five hundred pounds. With a exertion of her arms, she actually lifted the entire slab off the ground.

"rise--"

She gave a low shout, her waist and stance becoming one, and swung the huge stone slab up, slamming it down hard on the charging monster.

"boom--"

With a dull thud, the stone slab struck the monster squarely on the head, slamming it to the ground. The bluestone slab shattered, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing everywhere.

The monster was crushed under the rubble, twitched a few times, and then fell silent. Golden liquid slowly flowed from the cracks in the stone slabs, seeping into the gaps in the blue bricks, and the strong medicinal fragrance became even more intense.

The two monsters fell to the ground, and silence returned to the area outside the Pilu Pavilion.

The moonlight, like water, shone on the golden liquid on the ground, giving it an eerie glow.