Chapter 8: The Image of One Hundred Monks Chanting Sutras

  I raised my hand, signaling to them: 1, 2, 3. The three of us simultaneously turned on our flashlights and shone them forward, but strangely, there was nothing there. We ran towards the front and saw that the iron gate we had come down from was closed, definitely not blown by the wind. Someone must have come down earlier, but why did they just disappear? I started searching again, and as they were tapping on the ground to listen for any hollow sounds, I thought of something - we had only been searching around the two entrances, neglecting the corridor we had been walking back and forth on. I quickly pulled Pengpeng and Coffin along to start searching the corridor. Having watched too much TV, I knew that secret doors would definitely be hidden in places like this, because this corridor was built too smoothly, completely out of place with the large pits at both ends.

  My head is spinning, and my breathing has become rapid. This isn't good; it's hypoxia. Even if the iron door to the heating vent was closed, there should still be some airflow. To be safe, we should go prepare to open the only ventilation window. (The place where the coffin fell had automatically sealed itself off.) But no matter how hard I tried, the iron door wouldn't budge; it was as if it had been welded shut. The more I struggled with it, the more anxious I became, and the faster my breathing grew. And the faster I breathed, the less oxygen there was.

  "Don't mess with it anymore. Let's find another exit, if someone really came in earlier, they wouldn't just disappear like that, there must be a hidden door." The coffin had sat down and was no longer moving, and we were now holding our breath.

  We turned our heads towards the long corridor again, and when we shone our flashlights over there, everyone was startled. Somehow, another person had appeared there, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a copper man, only half as tall as a human. We walked over and took a closer look, and saw that it was a life-sized copper statue of a monk with his hands clasped together, apparently in meditation.

  But then how did it appear? I'm not afraid of strange things, I'm just afraid that nothing will happen, because in this way we have a theme and can start with the bronze man.

  "I know, it's often performed on TV." Pengpeng stepped forward and hugged the bronze statue.

  "Look left turn. Ah!" Didn't move.

  "Turn right again." Ah! Still didn't move.

  "That's not going to move it. Ah!" Still didn't budge.

  He was so tired that he sat down on the ground with a lot of sweat.

  The coffin came over and joked: "I say, old friend, regret not exercising usually, huh?"

  "Super, you're really working out, try making a trial one."

  "I'll tell you a joke." The coffin suddenly said this, and we were all confused.

  "There was a man who came to a hotel, the door wouldn't open no matter how hard he pulled it. He got very angry and wanted to smash it with a brick. Just as he bent down, he saw a character written on the doorknob that said 'push'."

  The coffin finished speaking and gently pushed the bronze statue, only to see the ground and the wall behind it slowly retreating with its rhythm. It turned out that this door was push-opened. As if they had reached the end, the three of them immediately walked in, fortunately, the air here was still very sufficient. The coffin didn't idle and said to me:

  "Quickly find a brick to block the doorway, or we won't be able to get out."

  I immediately looked down, and here was also a dust-free place. Where would there be any bricks? The coffin seemed to be in great pain, could it be that the door had to close by itself? Suddenly, a huge force shook open the coffin, and the bronze statue automatically turned around and filled the entrance just now, facing inward and sitting down.

  We lifted the coffin and looked around, only to find that there were many bronze statues lined up against the walls on both sides, each with the same posture of sitting in meditation. With a flashlight, it seemed like there was a path ahead and behind, but we didn't know whether to go forward or backward.

  "Do you still remember Tong Ren's position just now?" Coffin asked.

  "Here." Pong pong walked in front of a bronze man.

  "Are you sure?" I asked.

  "No mistake, I've always had a good memory. That piece of silk book, I just took a look and drew it out, isn't that easy?"

  The coffin pulled out a oily pen from the bag and drew a big "X" on the wall behind the bronze statue.