White Bone Monkey King

As taboo as ghosts and gods are in the hearts of ordinary people, Zhang Zhuzi's inner struggle at this moment is so painful.

Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but he was too scrupulous to speak openly.

They have ghosts and gods right in front of them, and it's like they are talking about ghosts and gods in front of them.

Those who blaspheme ghosts and gods will die without a burial place.

Jin An saw Zhang Zhuzhu's embarrassment, but he did not embarrass Zhang Zhuzhu. He turned around and continued towards the statue with a stern look.

Zhang Zhuzi subconsciously reached out to grab the corner of Jin An's clothes, trying to stop Jin An from "doing something stupid". This time Jin An did not pause and walked towards the statue fearlessly.

Kindness outweighed fear, Zhang Zhuzhu chased after him: "Taoist Master Jin'an is here..."

"What's there?" Jin An stopped and gave Zhang Zhuzhu a third chance to explain.

As the old saying goes, nothing matters more.

If Zhang Zhuzhu still doesn't explain this time, it means that the ghosts and gods are so deeply entrenched in people's hearts that it is difficult to save themselves or be rescued.

Just when Jin An was about to raise his feet and continue walking towards the statue, intending to take a closer look at which ghosts and gods were enshrined here, Zhang Zhuzhu grabbed Jin An's Taoist robe. This time his eyes were much firmer: "A plague once occurred here. ."

When talking about the plague, an expression of pain appeared on Zhang Zhuzi's face. He held his head in pain, as if some painful memories were recalled in his mind at this moment. These painful memories are better than the cycle of life and death, and seem to have penetrated into the deepest part of his soul.

Jin An looked back at the tall statue behind him hidden behind the shadow of the sutra cloth, and helped Zhang Zhuzhu to walk to the first temple to prevent Zhang Zhuzhu from causing irreversible damage to his soul by forcing his memory.

As soon as he got outside, Zhang Zhuzhu's headache symptoms were reduced by most. At this time, his face was pale, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, and the back of his clothes was soaked with cold sweat.

Jin An comforted: "Try to take a deep breath to calm down and don't think too much."

After Zhang Zhuzi took a deep breath for a while, his face slowly returned to rosy color.

Although at the last moment, Zhang Zhuzhu's kindness defeated his fear, ghosts and gods have stayed in people's hearts for too long. This is a mark passed down from generation to generation by ancestors for thousands of years. It is not something that can be resisted immediately.

Zhang Zhuzhu just took a crucial step in front of ghosts and gods, which was already very valuable.

Between saving people with kindness and fearing ghosts and gods, he chose the former.

It was from here that Jin An finally understood how deep Zhang Zhuzhu's obsession was with returning here to collect the bodies of the villagers and keeping his vows during his lifetime.

This kind of obsession is so deep that even if you know you have to face the ghosts and ghosts of people's hearts, they still come back like moths to the flame.

This obsession has surpassed everything else.

It's just a pity that none of those infected people survived in the end, and they were all buried in the mountains and forests where they will never see the light of day, becoming lonely ghosts.

It was precisely because he learned more about the inside story that Jin An became more sympathetic to Zhang Zhuzhu's experience. He looked at Zhang Zhuzhu with concern: "Are you feeling better?"

Zhang Zhuzhu looked gratefully: "Okay, it's better. Thank you, Taoist Master Jin'an."

Jin An waved his hand: "Thank you for what I did, but actually I didn't help you with anything."

Zhang Zhuzi shook his head: "No matter what, I have to thank Taoist Jin An just now."

Jin An waited for Zhang Zhuzhu to calm down for a while, and then asked what happened just now: "What is the plague you just mentioned?"

Mentioning the plague, Zhang Zhuzhu looked painful again, but this time he recovered quickly after taking a few deep breaths.

"Have you ever heard of the plague-repelling tree, Taoist Priest Jin'an?" Zhang Zhuzhu glanced at the depths of the temple with palpitations. The hollow darkness in the depths of the temple was like an open ghost door, capable of swallowing up fear in people's hearts.

Zhang Zhuzhu subconsciously approached the torch held by Jin An, leaning against the warmth of the fire to drive away the fear in his heart.

Jin An's eyes flashed, and sure enough, there were important clues hidden in Zhang Zhuzhu.

He pondered for a while and then said: "Yes, I have heard of it."

"Plague ships are used on the coast, plague trees are used inland, and plague caves are used in the Gobi. When encountering a plague that cannot be cured by medicine or stone, some local officials can only drive the affected people away from the city to prevent the spread of the plague. Villages and towns.”

Zhang Zhuzhu suddenly grabbed Jin An, with a look on his face that showed fear, pain, and kindness: "This is the place where people with the epidemic are expelled and imprisoned. Taoist Jin An listen to my advice and leave as soon as you still have the chance! Here is There is only a plague, whoever comes will die!"

Jin An was unmoved: "You said this is the place where people with the epidemic are deported and imprisoned. Where are those people with the disease? How come we haven't met anyone since we've been in the temple for so long?"

Zhang Zhuzhu's face changed drastically when he heard this. He looked fearfully through the layers of tattered sutra cloth and looked into the depths of the temple. He immediately turned around in fear and did not dare to look.

Jin An turned his head and looked around. There was only silence and darkness in the depths of the temple, and there was nothing unusual about it.

"Did you see something?" Jin An turned back and asked Zhang Zhuzhu.

Zhang Zhuzhu shook his head hurriedly and stammered nervously: "No, I didn't see anything."

Jin An just nodded and said nothing, without asking any questions.

After Zhang Zhuzi's nervous expression calmed down for a while, he asked the above question again.

Zhang Zhuzhu burst into tears: "Dead, all dead."

Listening to Zhang Zhuzhu's incoherent cry of grief, Jin An did not interrupt and chose to pat Zhang Zhuzhu's shoulder to comfort this simple man who had the courage to go to the old temple in the mountains alone.

Zhang Zhuzi's eyes were red with tears, and he stared at the deepest part of the temple: "Everyone is trapped in the wall, and no one can escape!"

"Didn't Taoist Jin'an ask me what my purpose was for coming here alone?"

"Like them, I have suffered from the plague. When we were expelled into the forest, we swore that in the future, whoever is lucky enough to survive and not die among the dead will be responsible for collecting the bodies for everyone. Don't let everyone Exposing corpses in the wilderness to become a lonely ghost!"

"The only relative I have left is my younger brother. It is rare for our old Zhang family to have a scholar and scholar. Because he could not bear the blow of being infected by the epidemic, in the end... he chose to hang himself to preserve his moral integrity as a scholar. My parents died early, and my brother died before his death. Entrust it to me, that is my only relative!"

Zhang Zhuzi cried in grief.

"I don't know why everyone died. I was the only one who survived. Even my symptoms of the plague were cured. But I always remember our oath. Whoever survives will collect the bodies for everyone!"

After Zhang Zhuzhu vented his anger and finished crying, Jin An continued to ask: "Did you use 'escape' just now?"

"Could it be that there was something else hidden about the plague back then?"

At this point, hatred arose in Zhang Zhuzhu's eyes and he gritted his teeth: "We are not epidemic people! None of this is a natural disaster, all of this is man-made!"

"We thought about resisting and escaping, but it was useless. No matter how far we escaped, we would eventually be caught. Once caught, our heads would be chopped off!"

"Humanity? Who are those people?" Jin An raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect there to be so much inside information, and he was closer to the truth.

"When you return here, aren't you afraid of meeting those people again?"