【Wine Ci】Ksitigarbha Statue

Chapter 4

They walked very slowly.

Before going on the road, a samurai tore a piece of cloth to bandage the scarred boy.But the conditions are still rough, and when this team walks on the winding mountain road, the blood will still ooze out due to the bumps.After walking a few more steps, it dripped on the ground with a thud.

Ibaraki followed them.Seeing the blood drop melted into the ground, his pupils darkened a bit, he licked his lips uncontrollably, and his Adam's apple moved slightly.

Echigo Temple was built extremely large.

This group of temples was built on the basis of Ibuki Mountain, and it is solemn and magnificent.It happened that the sun had fully risen when they arrived.The brilliant golden light is spread on the roof tiles of the temple, shining into a flickering spot of light, which makes people dare not look directly at it.The incense and white mist in the temple rises elegantly, with a majestic treasure appearance.

The barrier when entering the door blocked Ibaraki a step.It took a lot of effort for the big ghost to come in without being visible or noticed.He chased after the smell of Shutendouji on the little monk, and also chased his rich bloody smell.Not only did the smells not dissipate — on the contrary, they seemed to become more pronounced over time.

An old monk was coming out of the door of the wing room across several corridors.When he was walking, he turned his head and looked into the room frequently, and let out a long breath: "Why are you hurt so badly..."

"A monster is coming to Mount Yibuki." The young monk headed out to find people followed the old man step by step, "All the adults who walked with my brother have encountered accidents...Fortunately, my brother is the son of God, so I escaped the catastrophe. God bless."

The old monk frowned and sighed: "He is smart, has aura, and can learn everything quickly; although he always says it is because he is the 'son of the gods', after all, he has a mortal body, and he will still suffer from illness and die. Ah Chan, you Take good care of him."

Guan Chan respectfully said: "I will. But Master, this time when I was walking with my junior brother, everyone else has suffered misfortune. Among these people are people from other sects and nobles. We...?"

"I'll deal with it." The old monk frowned and said, but in the next moment, his demeanor changed, the Zen staff in his hand shook slightly, and a golden light followed by the seal rushed towards Ibaraki's hiding place.The golden light weaves into a huge net.The old monk twirled the rosary quickly, chanting words; however, the spell still captured the air, and dissipated softly in the air.

"...Master? What's wrong?"

"There is a ghost!" The old monk hurriedly said, "Although it was only for a moment--A Chan, go to inform other people and invite the onmyoji at the foot of the mountain--this incident is definitely the same as the extremely powerful ghost I felt. Qi is closely related!"

Before he left in a hurry, he still had time to write a scripture in front of the little apprentice's room.Guan Chan's movements were a step slower, but Guan Zhen, who had gone down the mountain with him, came to him.

"Brother? Is little brother okay?"

There was no one around.Guan Chan looked around, lowered his voice, and sneered like a person: "How else can you say he is the Son of God? Son of God, this life is as tenacious as weeds and insects."

Guan Zhen opened his eyes wide: "You're not dead?"

"Not dead." Guan Chan said disgustedly, "I negotiated terms with monks from other monasteries before and asked them to kill that guy on this trip. I didn't expect Shenzi to be really lucky, and everyone else died when they met monsters He's all right. That's not all, he looked like he was going to die when we found him--after all the delay, he's all right. Just wait, sooner or later the guy will be standing again after he recovers. We are arrogant."

"Then, what to do then?"

"This time the matter will definitely not be over. What are the identities of those who died, why did they live as junior disciples? Master will definitely give an explanation. Just now master said that he felt a ghost-" He looked around again Look, he shrank his neck as if he was extremely cold, "Maybe there is a ghost. We just need to find a way to associate the little junior with ghosts and goblins; he is so valued, after all, he is just a 'son of the gods'." The title. Give it to me, God knows how much better I can do than him."

The two young monks walked away while talking.

Ibaraki hesitated for a while - he could hear that what those two guys said was not good, he didn't want to listen, but it was annoying after all, and the murderous intention was ready to move in his heart, but this was someone else's territory after all, and the solemn Buddha atmosphere was heavy Pressed on this big ghost; but none of this is the reason, every time he smells the familiar scent of the little monk in the side room, Shuten-douji can't remember when or why the words he said suddenly hit him It sounded in my ears, even though it was too far away, it was not fuzzy at all.

"Let me tell you, Ibaraki." The Ghost King said casually, "It depends on the time to kill anything."

So Ibaraki stopped.The surrounding people have already left, and there is a complete emptiness.Ibaraki walked towards the little monk's wing without hesitation, and pushed the door open to enter, bypassing the seal with a ghostly spirit.

The young monk who should have fallen into a coma due to serious injuries was awake, wearing a thin monk's robe, and was copying scriptures at his desk.

His wound was well bandaged; the smell of blood was subdued, and mixed with the spicy aroma of herbs, it smelled like a well-prepared meal.However, there is also Ibaraki's unusually familiar scent, which blends in unobtrusively and harmoniously; but it is not exactly the same as the smell that Ibaraki recognizes.It has stripped away the vigor of prey, stripped the smell of fermented rice, and is even full of sandalwood and linden.But their essences are the same, pungent like fir trees in the snow, bright like metal burning in flames—that is the breath of Shuten-douji.

Ibaraki Doji wanted to ask him something, so he appeared and walked towards him.His movement was not light, the little monk couldn't hear it, but he didn't turn his head, he just copied the scriptures.When Ibaraki approached, he put down the pen, and the Sanskrit on the scripture instantly separated from the paper and floated.Glowing golden light tightly wrapped around Ibaraki.

For this boy, Ibaraki did not set up defenses.

He squinted at him coldly: "This method of yours only trapped me for a moment. If it wasn't for the smell on your body, you would have died long ago."

The little monk raised his eyes to look at him.

Because of excessive blood loss, his face was terribly pale.There was only one pair of eyes, indifferent jet black, as if they came from the bottom of a cold abyss.

The little monk smiled—this smile was still bloodless: "One moment is enough. There is no big ghost like you within ten miles of Mount Ibuki. Where did you come from?"

"I'm here to find my dear friend. Hey, little monk, have you ever seen a red-haired monster?"

"I've said it before. There are no big monsters within a ten-mile radius of Mt. Ibuki—unless your friend is just a small mountain spirit."

This sentence obviously offended the big ghost.Ibaraki Doji narrowed his eyes dangerously and angrily.

He said in a cold tone: "Be careful what you say, little thing. Comparing my friend with the monsters in the mountains? How courageous. Even I can only look up to my friend's ability. He is a man standing at the peak of the ghost clan. How could it be you?" This kind of ants who only know how to hide in enchanted temples can talk nonsense?!"

"I haven't seen him." The boy in front of him said calmly, "If you're only here for this, you can leave."

"It's all nonsense." Ibaraki frowned.His attitude and tone were extremely arrogant; he couldn't find an answer in words, and the ghostly aura around Ibaraki suddenly evaporated.The Sanskrit script engraved with the Dharma seal still coiled around his side like a snake, and the golden light wrapped the menacing black mist, but the color was a bit dim.Ibaraki's ghost claw tore a hole in the magic circle, grabbed the young monk in front of him by the collar and picked him up, and sniffed close to him—"Then how do you explain the smell of your body?"

The ghost's fangs are not obvious.But the canine teeth are still sharp.The little monk clasped the ghost's claw tightly with both hands in order to get a breath of air; the touch under the skin was also hard.Whether it's claws or teeth, this kind of beast, the most straightforward and naked power, can easily kill the young man.

It's bad.Not only the brothers, who are also human beings and very close, wanted this life, but the evil spirits who jumped out of nowhere seemed to want it too.

Under the hold of the ghost, the little monk showed a smile.He said suddenly, "You want my blood?"

"……what?"

"It seems that I want it very much. You followed us all the way, it seems—" The little monk poked Ibaraki's throat.This position was too sensitive, and Ibaraki, who had sensed the opponent's movement for a moment, almost crushed the boy's throat.Yet he suppressed this instinct.At the same time, the young man's cool fingers lightly touched the ghost's Adam's apple, and under his touch, the evil ghost's Adam's apple twitched violently.He lowered his eyelids and said in a pitiful tone, "You are very thirsty. What kind of best friend are you looking for? You clearly want to bite my throat and drink up my blood."

Ibaraki was very close to him; but even Ibaraki didn't see the distorted and icy pleasure in the little monk's downcast pupils in his compassionate tone.

The little monk continued on his own: "Let me go." He said, "I will give you what you want. If I die, you will never find the blood of the next 'Son of God'. As long as you let me go ...I can give you a lot of long-lasting blood, and I will also keep it hidden for you, and I will not tell the master or the onmyoji at the foot of the mountain."

The little monk showed weakness.

Ibaraki understood the deal under the boy's words.He was indeed thirsty - the bloodthirsty nature in Ibaraki's bones had been ignited the moment he smelled the blood.However, for Ibaraki, the desire to find Shuten-douji is stronger than satisfying his bloodthirsty desire.Shuten is too important, especially in this unknown situation; Ibaraki needs to find him as soon as possible, so Ibaraki needs to be more careful than ever, not letting go of a clue.That's why he hid and hid, suppressing the idea of ​​killing again and again.

Ibaraki thought about it; but somehow let go of his hand and put the little monk down.

The rhythm of the confrontation between them was unknowingly controlled by the fragile human being in front of him; it was as if he was born with the talent to command the world.

The little monk took a few steps back.When he retreated, his dark eyes were still fixed on Ibaraki's movements.In fact, both of them knew that such vigilance was useless.It is impossible for a human boy to escape from the hunting range of a big ghost like Ibaraki Doji. Before the little monk finds a way to fight back, his chest may be completely penetrated.

He retreated to the table, bent down and dug out a delicate knife and an ebony bowl from the cabinet.He put the bowl upright on the table, rolled up his sleeves, revealing a white wrist showing a few traces of paleness.The little monk didn't raise his eyes to look at Ibaraki when he moved - at this moment, he showed a kind of indifference to the world.Holding a knife in one hand, he cut his arm——

pat.

The first drop of blood seeped out, and the bright red and fresh blood flowed down along the wound to the human youth's arm.It dripped into the ebony bowl and unscrewed a tiny flower of blood.At this moment, Ibaraki Doji, who was not far from the little monk, hummed and couldn't feel anything.

Incomparably clear—the too sure Shuten-douji's breath enveloped him tightly and airtightly.It was as if a branch had sprouted from that drop of blood, and the branch quickly grew out of vines tightly entwining Ibaraki; or it was the wind called Shuten-Douji—there was no clearer answer than this.

Shuten-douji said, "This kind of time disorder, Ibaraki, do you know what it means?"

Before Ibaraki's brain realized the answer, he took a step.Ibaraki grabbed the little monk's arm—thankfully, he still remembered to retract the ghost claws, and he still remembered crushing the fragile human boy's bones without a single grip.He didn't even realize that he was trembling slightly because of his fear: "My...my friend—what are you doing! You...!"

The little monk turned to look at him: "Aren't you going to drink?"

"Who said I want to drink your blood!" Ibaraki said angrily, "Even if my friend is what he is now—it is because my friend is what he is now that he can't be injured casually! Human beings are very fragile! When you become You must not die before you become strong—I, no, I don't need to drink your blood!"

He found the answer while incoherent - a very incredible, jaw-dropping answer; the moment the fog separated him and Shuten, they were indeed both tricked.Undoubtedly, the land where Ibaraki Doji stands is not only no longer Settsu Ibaraki, but even time and space have changed.The inexplicable time disorder brought Ibaraki Doji hundreds of years ago; in this time period, the ghost king Shuten Doji was still a human being, a young monk who had not yet turned into a ghost.

The little monk frowned, as if trying to figure out the expression of the ghost in front of him with a sudden change of attitude.

Ibaraki frantically rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find a piece of leftover bandage, and clumsily bandaged the boy's wound.The little monk stretched out his hand and let Ibaraki move without hiding or forcing him.However, it is obvious that Ibaraki is not good at bandaging humans; as ghosts, they mostly ignore wounds.He repeated many times and failed to tie a knot. The little monk stared at him and suddenly said, "Hey, don't move."

Ibaraki stopped, and looked at the boy blankly.

The little monk pulled the bandage out of Ibaraki's hand, applied the medicine skillfully, and made a simple bandage.After quickly treating the wound, he stopped for a while, looked at the ghost standing beside him, thought for a moment, and then poured out the remaining blood in the bowl with his hand.

The blood was splashed on the ground, but a black mist strangely evaporated.

Seeing that Ibaraki didn't respond, the little monk tilted his head and showed a malicious smile.

"You were right in not drinking my blood." The little monk said with a relaxed tone, "Although it may smell good, it will be bad if you drink it."

Ibaraki thought, it really is my friend!Even in the age of humans, it's a no-brainer!

The little monk thought for a while and called him: "Hey, I don't care if you recognize me as something else—a monster, you might as well stay and play with me."

-tbc-