"Something with the previous incident must have been left undetected. The entrance to the mausoleum is within the Kofun-ji Temple, and Kofun-ji bears us a deep grudge. It is undoubtedly related to what happened back then."
"Yang Guiji... became the fuse. If he hadn't caused the problem last night, today wouldn't have been like this. Old Chu also had issues... We know nothing about Kofun-ji Temple."
"Old Gong said, 'As long as your skills are sharp, anywhere is an entrance, and anywhere can be a place to dig a tunnel for thievery.'"
"In the tomb, we can find many clues and traces of your parents..."
"Leave the village of Hoi immediately. We will go up to the mountain top, find that abandoned observatory, since Yang Guijin has mentioned that place, it must have some use. And through Old Gong, we will find the right location to dig a tunnel for thievery and enter the mausoleum."
"All dangers will be resolved effortlessly." Her voice was very soft, and her eyes were very complex.
For a moment, I remained silent, words stuck in my throat.
"Yao Ying's personality is very decisive. Although she is very gentle with me, her decisive actions in the past, such as dealing with Ma Sanzui or solving Lu You with a dagger, all prove her clean and neat."
Indeed, following her way of doing things, we would be completely unrelated to Kofun-ji Temple...
Tunneling, entering the mausoleum from a safe place, then returning the same way, finding all the clues I can, and maximizing risk avoidance...
But, can we really do that?
Even if Old Chu's behavior and handling of things never considers us, the thing he often says at the tip of his tongue is, that's your business.
Yang Guijin is indeed my father's friend, and Old Chu has never denied the fact that they are close friends..."
Emotionally, had it not been for my actions, even if Yang Guijin was uncomfortable, Old Chu wouldn't have brought him here.
Rationally, if they come because of me, saying I give up is equivalent to letting them die here.
This is not suitable.
With my thoughts settled, I shook my head and rejected Yao Ying's idea.
"But this..." Yao Ying opened her mouth, then stopped abruptly.
Silently for a moment, I took out my mobile phone and dialed the police emergency number.
The content was brief, yesterday we entered the Hoi village, at night, one of our friends went missing, suspected of entering the Kofun-ji Temple. Today we came to Kofun-ji Temple to look for people, led by someone into an annexe, and then beaten on the head by a monk inside. Another friend was left inside. We are left with only two people, running out in a disheveled manner.
After hanging up the phone, Yao Ying and I exchanged surprised looks.
Exhaling lightly, I finally said, "There are some things that require improvisation. If there's a problem with Kofun-ji Temple and we're scared away, it will greatly disrupt our whole mission."
Treating Old Chu and Yang Guijin as expendable, this is unacceptable.
Yao Ying forced a smile, nodding, but her eyes still looked somewhat uneasy.
Soon, two police cars arrived at Kofun-ji Temple. After Yao Ying and I approached, I stated that I was the person who made the call and explained the situation for a few more sentences.
Then, several police officers led us back into the temple.
Below the previous grand hall, we met the abbot in charge of Kofun-ji Temple, a middle-aged monk in his fifties or sixties.
This person was tall and rotund, white and clean, with a constant smile on his face, giving people a naive and endearing feeling. He was completely different from the old abbot.
Besides him, there were several other monks. The way they looked at us was full of doubts.
The police explained the situation, and the middle-aged monk immediately called out, gathering all the monks within the temple.
Additionally, other relevant personnel started clearing the scene, ushering out all the tourists from the temple.
Soon, there were more than a hundred monks gathering below the main hall.
After identification, we didn't see the old abbot.
Yao Ying led the way to the annexe where she was taken earlier.
Upon entering, we indeed saw two rows of statues. Relying on my experience in the nine arts, I recognized them at a glance. These were all bodies that had been filled in and processed through a special method of drying to form sculptures.
Regarding this, the explanation of Kofun-ji Temple was that these were all bodily Buddha statues, which had all been reported and registered by relevant authorities and had various procedures in place.
Bodily Buddha statues come from the passing away of Buddhist masters throughout history.
After finding nothing, the police were discussing checking the surveillance footage when I received a call from Old Chu.
He sounded slightly tired and told me he was outside the temple with Yang Guijin.
My face immediately turned dark.
The chubby abbot who had been following us, still wore the same endearing smile.
Yao Ying whispered to me, asking what was wrong.
I didn't say anything, but first told the police that our friend had reappeared and was outside the temple right now.
At this, all the other monks breathed a sigh of relief.
The police followed us out of the temple.
When we saw Old Chu, he looked somewhat miserable, with a new large cut on his head. Yang Guijin beside him seemed normal, aside from being slightly dirty, he had no injuries.
However, there was a problem. When the police asked Old Chu why he had gone missing and how he ended up at the temple, he said that he had never entered the temple. He had been searching all over the village for his big brother who went missing last night, and the wounds on him were caused by a fall.
At this point, we became the passive ones.
Kofun-ji Temple failed to locate the old abbot, and Old Chu's story didn't match ours, making it a fact right in front of us. My words turned into white lies.
The final result was that I received a verbal warning and was warned once before the police left.
Old Chu remained silent, leading Yang Guijin back.
Yao Ying's face wasn't looking good, and I had a stern expression as well.
When we returned to the guesthouse and entered the room, Old Chu's complexion turned pale. Before I could speak, he twitched his eyelid and asked me how dare I report the police? How dare I involve ordinary people?
I remained silent for a few minutes before saying, "If we didn't do this, you might not have been released. But why did you lie?"
Lao Chu calmed down after a few minutes, and finally told me that he didn't want to provoke Kofun-ji Temple anymore, as they seemed quite strange.
However, when I asked Old Chu specifically about what was wrong with Kofun-ji Temple, he wouldn't say anything.
Though the situation was dangerous and bizarre, thankfully it ended without any harm.
I told Lao Chu that we wouldn't provoke Kofun-ji Temple anymore, nor would we care about the entrance to the mausoleum. We wouldn't take the same path my parents might have taken, and instead would go up the mountain, trying to find a way to dig a tunnel.
Lao Chu had no objection to this and simply said that we should bring enough food and drinks. We should head up the mountain as soon as possible tonight.
Alright, Old Chu and Yang Guijin returned to their room.
I massaged my temple and felt tired and weary. Just as I was about to say that I would go out to buy some dry food and make all the necessary preparations,
However, Yao Ying kept her lips tight and looked at the just-closed door.
She shook her head and said in a thin whisper, "He's still not right."
I frowned again. Old Chu indeed had a problem.
But with the current situation, he's unwilling to talk, and there's no way for us to open his head to see what's inside.
Without waiting for me to speak, Yao Ying said very seriously, "We have to keep him here."
