Ten liang of gold for just one night—how was that not expensive?
Nan Zhi could not help but secretly click her tongue in disbelief upon hearing this.
One must know that one thousand copper cash made a guan, and ten guan equaled one liang of gold. For ordinary folk, an entire year's worth of living expenses wouldn't add up to that much.
The money required to stay a single night in this Ghost Buddha Temple was enough to lodge in the grandest restaurant in Bianjing for half a month, dining on mountain delicacies, seafood, abalone, ginseng, and shark fin every single day without repeating a dish.
“One may also pay the room fee with other things in this temple—financial fortune, lifespan, cultivation base, or Yin merit. Since we open our doors for business, even if you chop off your own head and pledge it here, valued guest, poor monk will accept it.”
The monk Huiyuan raised his lantern slightly. The faint green ghost fire reflected off his deathly pale face, making him look all the more horrifying.
“Naturally, if guests do not wish to stay, we will not force you. It is merely that seeing as valued guests appear to be entering this Yin Yang Road for the first time, it is better to exercise caution lest you lose your lives inexplicably.”
Was there some hidden mystery in this temple?
Why did it sound, from this monk's words, as if staying outside the temple might bring fatal peril?
Nan Zhi pondered inwardly, yet her expression gave nothing away as she said nonchalantly:
“I am not particular. As long as the place is clean, it will do. However, I wish to share a room with my friend, and I dislike noise. I must trouble Master to find us a quieter nunnery cell.”
The moment she spoke these words, a smile immediately bloomed on Huiyuan’s face:
“Poor monk knew it. With valued guest’s wealth and resources, why would you hesitate to stay comfortably for a few nights?
Our temple provides dedicated service—washing, sweeping, and meals served morning and evening are all delivered directly to your door by specialized little ghosts.
If valued guest is unaccustomed to underworld food, you may also order the temple attendants at will to go to the mortal realm and purchase food for you to enjoy.
There is only one thing: while there are many rules in the temple, the absolute most important is that fighting and brawling are strictly forbidden. I hope valued guests keep this in mind. Please follow poor monk this way, valued guests.”
Nan Zhi adjusted Xu Zi on her shoulder, taking large strides as she followed Huiyuan through an archway, rounding half a patch of eerie bamboo forest shrouded in ghostly aura, until they came upon a stone wall.
For reasons unknown, every corner of this Ghost Buddha Temple was covered in a blue-grey mist.
Walking through it, if one did not carry a lantern, one would likely be bewildered by this strange mist and lose one's way after taking only a few steps.
“This is the residence for the two of you.”
Huiyuan led the two to a nunnery cell, hung the lantern in his hand in front of the door, pressed his palms together, and chanted:
“On the Yin Yang Road, there is no black or white, no distinction between day and night, light and dark. Thus, every two shichen, a brother responsible for tolling the bell will strike it as a reminder.
The temple is home to a mix of good and bad elements. If valued guests wish to venture out, remember to carry this lantern with you. Should you encounter any unreasonable fools, any monk of this temple who sees the lantern will step in to resolve the matter on your behalf.”
Nan Zhi nodded to thank him. She watched him walk away until his figure dissolved into the mist before turning to push the door open and step inside.
The room was simply furnished: only a purple-wood bed and a square table. The curtains on the bed were the plainest gauze drapes, devoid of any pattern.
There wasn't even a blanket on the bed, only two soft cattail cushions sitting on top. The teacups on the table were made of coarse porcelain, and the teapot even had a chipped rim, making the place look truly "frugal."
Although the floor and table were free of dust and swept spotless, Nan Zhi still felt the distinct illusion of having been tricked.
This was the room that cost one hundred liang of gold for a single night?
And to think that big monk had kept calling her "valued guest" and himself "poor monk," looking gentle on the surface, while being a complete scammer on the inside!
Seeing that Xu Zi was still asleep, Nan Zhi had no choice but to take off her outer garment to cushion the bed so Xu Zi could lie down comfortably.
However, before Nan Zhi could let go, the person in her arms suddenly opened her eyes and said with a grin:
“That monk Huiyuan is sharp-eyed indeed. I was pretending to sleep on your shoulder, yet he recognized me at a single glance and deliberately made things hard for us by giving us such a crude room.”
“You know that monk?”
Nan Zhi let go, causing Xu Zi to land on the bed with a thud. Unbothered, Xu Zi tilted her head and complained:
“Plenty of people in the Demon Suppression Division know this monk. Normally, we have to deal with demons, ghosts, and soul reapers, which often requires us to travel the Yin Yang Road. This Ghost Buddha Temple sits right on the Yin Yang Road, so I’ve dealt with him a few times.
Don't let his gentle look fool you. He’s actually a petty moneybags! The Demon Suppression Division accidentally offended him once, and he’s been holding a grudge ever since!
If you hadn't pulled out that money today, he probably would have led us straight to the Gates of Hell to feed the Blood Rakshasa!”
“So I got dragged into this because of you? Since we're disguised to investigate, why didn't you stop me from entering the Ghost Buddha Temple earlier?
Now that monk Huiyuan recognized us, won't he tell others about our identity?”
Nan Zhi walked to the table, picked up the teapot, and gave it a shake, discovering—unsurprisingly—that it was empty:
“When I spoke with the monk earlier, listening to his tone, it sounded as if there is something fishy about this Ghost Buddha Temple.”
“You don't know, but we have to stay in this Ghost Buddha Temple whether we want to or not.”
Xu Zi rolled over, grabbing the purple gold bells at her waist and shaking them playfully, as if deliberately trying to scare Nan Zhi:
“Did you see the mist along the way when you came? That wasn't ordinary mist—it's Heart Mist.
You must know that the Yin Yang Road doesn't just connect the mortal realm and the Underworld. This path is neither Yin nor Yang, indistinguishable between day and night, and unpredictable in its shifts.
Perhaps one moment it is at the ends of the earth, and the next moment it is in the Nine Abyss. In the blink of an eye, it could be in the frigid lands of the far north.
If you are careless inside it, you are extremely likely to lose your direction, fall into the Yellow Springs, and plunge straight into the Wangchuan River.
In the Wangchuan River, there are eight hundred li of bone-grinding gales that can grind human bones to dust, as well as the desolate battlefields of the ten directions, where all spiritual energy is drained completely if you fall in.
And living at the bottom of the Wangchuan River is the ferociously evil Blood Sea Rakshasa clan. Born filthy, they are great demons of crime and bad karma who love nothing more than devouring human flesh and living souls.
Even if an immortal fell in, they would end up dead, their Dao destroyed, and their soul scattered into nothingness.”
Hearing this, Nan Zhi hurriedly looked out the window. Sure enough, the main road leading to the Ghost Buddha Temple had indeed changed:
Amidst the hazy mist, surrounding the headless Buddha statue was an indistinct expanse of glacial snowfields.
Snow stretched boundless across the wilderness; with every breath, she could almost smell the chill of ice and snow.
Yet as her gaze lingered, that scenery dissolved into the grey mist and disappeared, turning once more into endless darkness.
“In other words, the Yin Yang Road is unpredictable and constantly shifting, and only this Ghost Buddha Temple remains constant.”
Nan Zhi said thoughtfully:
“So these hundred liang of gold don't buy a place to stay, but rather the pass to remain on the Yin Yang Road and proceed to the Ghost Market.”
If the Yin Yang Road was a surging, dark-current-ridden deep sea, then the Ghost Buddha Temple was the sole island on this vast ocean where one could briefly rest.
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