Day of Imprisonment

"Hide over there!"

Lin Qiqi gave Luo Xi a look at this moment.

As the bell rang, all the Remembrancers were trying to hide. It wasn't safe to hide in places that seemed to have no Buddha statues, because these Buddha statues were very fast, running like a 100-meter champion.

Moreover, each time the bell rang, the effect produced was different.

The first time the bell rang, the relatively safe place was the Buddha-worshiping spot near Manjusri Bodhisattva. This was the experience that the Remembrancers had constantly explored and summarized in the past.

Because the first time the bell resounded, those large Buddha statues would not cross the area, but would only move in a fixed area. That is, in one place, you could only encounter fixed large Buddha statues.

But from the second time the bell resounded, the situation was different.

The large Buddha statues could 'visit' each other.

This was definitely not a good thing for the Remembrancers, but there was no way around it. The rules were the rules. Because collecting seven sigil interpretations brought great benefits, the Remembrancers would come even if it was dangerous.

The buzzing bell sound carried a strange rhythm. You could see many people starting to move away from the wellhead and the dilapidated wooden pagoda over there.

Immediately afterwards, dense small Buddha statues crawled out of the wellhead.

Some were as small as the palm of your hand, and the larger ones were only as tall as a person's thigh.

"How can there be so many small Buddha statues down there?" Luo Xi was seeing such a scene for the first time and was quite surprised.

Lin Qiqi was obviously used to it: "You'll know what's going on when you go down later, but don't worry, most of these Buddha statues don't have mouths, eyes, or even facial features, so they can't ask questions."

Luo Xi suddenly understood.

If, according to his previous understanding, all the Buddha statues could perform 'sigil interpretation exchange', 'alms begging', and 'asking for Buddha's interpretation' during the bell's resonance, then with so many small Buddha statues, it was estimated that all the Remembrancers who came this time wouldn't be enough to fill the gap.

In addition to the Buddha statues of various sizes crawling out of the wellhead, there were also things coming down from the wooden pagoda over there.

Upon closer inspection, even Luo Xi was stunned.

It was a dragon!

Carved from wood.

But without a doubt, it was a dragon.

"It is said to be the Dragon Deva from the Eightfold Devas and Nagas. It is an auspicious beast. Whoever encounters it will make a fortune," Lin Qiqi said, looking at the wooden dragon that was descending.

"What do you mean?" Luo Xi asked.

"This wooden dragon will only do one thing: ask for water or pray for rain. If you have water on you, give it a bottle, and you can get a fixed card, [Dragon's Roar], which can deter evil spirits, but it requires [mana] to activate."

A large centipede, topped with a Buddha's head.

This combination can be said to be so bizarre that it makes one's scalp tingle.

"Be careful, this is the Insect Buddha. The thing enshrined in the Buddha Temple under the well is this thing. Avoid it, and don't let it stare at you." Even if Lin Qiqi didn't say the reason, Luo Xi could guess it.

Extremely dangerous, certain death if touched.

But other places in Youzuo Temple were not safer than here.

Luo Xi could see huge Buddha statues walking out in the distance. As the bell resounded, there were even flying stone bats, as if when the bell rang, the originally solemn and sacred place suddenly became a terrifying place where demons danced in a frenzy.

The scene at this time was quite chaotic. Even the most experienced Remembrancers could only resign themselves to fate.

Some people were targeted by small Buddha statues with mouths, either begging for alms, asking for solutions, or exchanging sigils.

Luo Xi glanced at the position below. There, several Remembrancers were running up in horror, and behind them was a four-armed Vajra with two heads, with a terrifying aura.

Under the resonance of the bell, there was no safe place.

But Luo Xi was very curious.

"There is a bell sound, so there must be a bell, but where is the bell?"

He had walked all the way here and had taken a tour of most of the area in Youzuo Temple. Moreover, Luo Xi was different from others. He didn't just take a quick look. He observed every place and every detail and remembered it in his heart.

Some people may ignore or forget some things.

But he wouldn't.

So he could be 100% sure that he had never seen a bronze bell along the way.

Without a bell, how can the resonance of the bell be explained?

This question could be asked to Lin Qiqi. She comes here often and should know some inside information.

As a result, Luo Xi pulled Lin Qiqi and asked, but the latter shook her head: "I don't know either. I've never seen it. Speaking of which, this question you discovered has been raised by others before, and some people have even come here specifically to look for it, but no one has ever found a bell in Youzuo Temple."

"This is obviously not right."

"Yes, but here, there are many things that are not right. Not every one can be explored for an answer." Lin Qiqi was obviously used to it.

But Luo Xi, who has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, couldn't stand this.

If he discovers a problem that is obviously key and doesn't dig for the answer, or rather, there is no irresistible force preventing you from exploring the answer, then he must figure it out.

"Qiqi!"

"Yes?"

"How much do you know about the content of the sigil interpretations?"

"Quite a lot. What do you want to ask?"

"Are there any sigil interpretations about sound, about bells and bell sounds?" Luo Xi knew that even the most powerful checkpoint scenes were designed by 'administrators', and the core principles of designing checkpoint scenes were 'reasonableness' and 'fairness'.

That is to say, if a mechanism is designed, there must be a reasonable explanation, and 'clues' must be provided for the Remembrancers, or rather, the players in the scene.

Administrators cannot design a puzzle that is completely unsolvable.

The bell sound is a mechanism. From the current point of view, it is to reduce the number of Remembrancers in the scene.

Not to mention the Buddha statue monsters that are awakened by the bell sound, just talking about the bell sound, since it is designed, then the sound cannot appear out of thin air.

Moreover, the 'bell' thing must be very important.

Because if it is not an important thing, there is no need to 'hide' it.

This is quite similar to the meaning of 'hiding three hundred taels of silver here', or even deliberately 'hiding' the bell prop is already clearly telling the Remembrancers who come here, 'the bell' is very important, so I hid it, if you want to find it, you have to spend a little thought.

Lin Qiqi said that in the sigil interpretations, there is indeed content about bells and bell sounds, and she remembers some of it.

"Supreme Luck: In a quiet place with morning drums and evening bells, Zen enters the dreamland; Medium Luck: The ancient temple's bell sound foretells good or bad fortune, fortune and misfortune depend on a single thought; Worst Luck: Evil spirits seek life from the Six Thieves, the only chance lies with the bell ringer." Lin Qiqi spoke with great certainty.

Clearly, she had thought about investigating the bell sound from the divination slips, and may even have actually investigated it.

But obviously, there were no results.

"I've only heard of these three types of divination slips, and I've never actually drawn one myself." Lin Qiqi meant that at this critical juncture, figuring out the secret of the bell sound was simply unrealistic.

Luo Xi naturally understood her meaning.

But with things like divination slips, obtaining one naturally is best, as you can actually understand the specific effects produced. But even if you haven't obtained one, you can still glean some truth from the content of the divination slip.

Otherwise, why design these cumbersome words to describe the divination slips?

"Dreamland? Is there a dream realm in Youzuo Temple? Good or bad fortune—as soon as the bell rings, everyone thinks it's a bad thing, extremely ominous, but there's also luck hidden within, good things concealed. As for the bell ringer, it could be a 'character' here, or it could be a Memory Gatherer..."

Luo Xi was quickly analyzing the three divination slips.

Because he was too focused, he didn't notice the changes in his surroundings at all.

"Careful." Luo Xi felt someone pull him.

It was Lin Qiqi.

After pulling Luo Xi away, she moved and switched places with him, and almost at the same time, a huge centipede body with a Buddha head appeared behind her.

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Lin Qiqi felt immense pressure. She glanced at Luo Xi and pinched the back of his hand.

"What are you spacing out for? Run!"

After speaking, she pushed Luo Xi.

The terrifying oppressive force brought by the huge centipede Buddha head frightened all the Memory Gatherers into fleeing far away, wishing they could hide as far as possible. Clearly, they all believed that this short-haired girl was doomed.

Because in the past, all the Memory Gatherers caught by this insect Buddha had no chance of survival.

Not only that, but the way they died was also extremely terrifying. Even knowing that they could be resurrected in the next cycle day after dying, absolutely no one wanted to try being killed by this insect Buddha. It could create indelible psychological shadows.

Lin Qiqi turned around to face the insect Buddha.

Besides facing it, she had no other choice.

However, it was clear that the insect Buddha had set its sights on Luo Xi. She had seen it, so she exchanged places with Luo Xi at the last moment.

She was clearly planning to take his place.

Of course, Luo Xi couldn't just watch this happen.

Almost instantly, he stepped forward and forcibly pulled Lin Qiqi back.

"Don't argue, you two can be together." The Buddha head of the insect Buddha emitted a strange sound.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiqi glared at Luo Xi, the words 'Are you sick?' almost overflowing from her expression.

Before, only one person had to die, but now, a pair would have to die.

Luo Xi smiled and pulled her behind him.

In the instant Lin Qiqi was stunned, looking at Luo Xi's back, she had an unprecedented feeling. This feeling was hard to describe, it just made her heart beat faster.

A smile couldn't help but appear on her face, surprise, emotion, and self-entanglement mixed together.

Because in the past, she was the one protecting others, and no one had ever protected her.

This was the first time.

"Dying like this is pretty cool!" This was the only thought in Lin Qiqi's mind right now.

At this time, she noticed that Luo Xi was holding a card in his hand behind his back. The next moment, the card dissipated.

It was activated!

"What is he going to do? Attack the insect Buddha? It's impossible to succeed, or is it some other ability? But no ability is effective in front of the insect Buddha, it's just a waste of resources."

At this time, the insect Buddha's question had already been asked.

"You two tell me, how can I become a Buddha?"

This question was almost fixed.

Why was it said that being caught by the insect Buddha was certain death? It was because the question it asked every time was fixed, just this sentence, 'How to become a Buddha?'

Become a Buddha? Who the hell knows?

If they knew, they wouldn't have to suffer in the human world, reincarnating in the Day of Imprisonment.

In the past, some people had said many answers, from different angles, containing Buddhist principles, some profound Buddhist scriptures, and some people had even brought out the Taoist cultivation formulas.

They wanted to fool the insect Buddha.

But the outcome was invariably tragic, a miserable death, each one more miserable than the last.

The insect Buddha doesn't kill people all at once. It first bites, paralyzing the person, so they can't move, but they can feel, think, see, speak, even shout, but they can't move.

After that, it will drag the person back to the underground Buddha courtyard and eat the person little by little.

It is said that the insect Buddha's venom has an extremely strong paralyzing effect. The person being eaten will feel their body being chewed up little by little. That feeling is unbearable for even the strongest-minded person.

Anyone killed by the insect Buddha, even if they don't go crazy or mentally deranged, may never dare to come to Youzuo Temple again.

Lin Qiqi had already started waiting for death. She knew how she would die. She might be tough on the surface, saying she wasn't afraid, but in reality, she was scared to death.

But the next moment, Luo Xi said a few words to the insect Buddha.

"Hey yo hey, listen to me and don't be bewitched,

There are no shortcuts on the path to Buddhahood, formulas are just idle talk.

Close your eyes, quiet your mind, and observe yourself, between breaths, discard worries,

Do a good deed every day to accumulate merit, with love in your heart, Buddhahood comes naturally.

Don't be entangled by greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, the light of wisdom illuminates your heart,

All things are empty, yet not empty, understand the true meaning to gain freedom.

Morning and evening, examine yourself, with compassion, save the world,

If the formula really had miraculous effects, why would there be ascetic monks in the world?

Remember, ha ha laugh, cultivation lies in understanding the Tao, let go of attachments and widen your heart, walk firmly on the path to Buddhahood. Don't forget, ha ha laugh, silently recite the formula eighty thousand times!"

When Lin Qiqi heard this, her legs went weak. She thought to herself, 'Brother Xi, we're about to die, and you're still making up this rhyme to fool the insect Buddha, you simply don't know how to write the word death.'

She had even imagined the scene of the insect Buddha flying into a rage.

Thinking of the pain and despair brought by having her body eaten little by little, even she felt her whole body tremble.

But the next moment, the centipede insect Buddha actually asked, "Really!"

"With your wisdom, can I deceive you?"

"That's true!"

"In short, just trust me, remember, smile, smile!"

"Haha, hahahaha ~"

Lin Qiqi was dumbfounded, her mind blank in the insect Buddha's demonic laughter.