Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  "Could it be that the inner elixir will actually drop in rank?"

  Ding Lingxu was also quite surprised by this. But he suddenly remembered the wisp of spiritual energy that had risen into the air after he defeated Huang Niu Jing, and things started to make sense.

  "You say that and I indeed see a wisp of spiritual energy flying into the air, could it be... that's also your inner elixir?"

  Zhang Shanyi did not respond, slowly mobilizing the spiritual energy in his body, and only spoke after a while:

  "It seems that I'm not wrong, my inner elixir has indeed lost a part of it, and the remaining second-grade inner elixir is also mixed with a strange and eerie aura. What's even more worrying for me is... this eerie aura will probably be difficult to expel from within for a while."

  Zhang Shanyi continued to manipulate his spiritual energy, smiling as he looked at Ding Lingxiu and said:

  "But it's okay, I'm already happy to have found my inner elixir. Let's go to the underworld first."

  Ding Lingxiu nodded slightly.

  "Alright, don't delay, Ah Yi, hurry up and get ready."

  Zhang Shanyi ran back to the room to pack his luggage, and two young monks brought some vegetarian dishes for Ding Lingxiu. Ding Lingxiu was already so hungry that he couldn't care about eating manners anymore, and he wolfed down the food in a short while. The plates were soon empty, without even any leftovers, and a pot of tea was also drunk clean by him.

  At this time, Master Fangzhang also walked out of the inner hall with a smile and sent off the female donor.

  Ding Lingxiu wiped her mouth and got up to welcome him.

  "Master Fangzhang, I didn't mean to be rude just now, but the situation was extremely urgent and I had no choice."

  The abbot smiled all over his face and said slowly:

  "Amitabha, Ding Shi Zhu, I already know about your situation. However, some people can't be hidden from for a lifetime just because they can hide for a moment. In this world, grievances are reported one after another. You should know that only compassion is the sole method to resolve hatred. As it's said, 'For those who harm me, my heart should hold compassion and sympathy.' If compassion doesn't arise, then anger shouldn't either."

  Although Ding Lingxiu didn't understand Zen language, he also understood Master Fangzhang's meaning. Ding Lingxiu nodded and said:

  "Master Fangzhang, what you said is absolutely right. However, Guo Mohan, that demoness, has already been consumed by rage and won't listen to reason. I've tried to make amends with her, but she's turned a deaf ear, only thinking of revenge and snatching the Hundred Ghosts Painting. Speaking of which, Master Fangzhang, wasn't it you who arranged for us to work together to catch demons? You knew that the Ding and Guo families are sworn enemies, so why did you still let her assist me?"

  The Abbot's eyes were as black as ink, filled with the wisdom of years, profound and far-reaching, and he said calmly:

  "The feud between the Ding and Guo families has nothing to do with you two."

  Ding Lingxiu was taken aback and thought to himself, "What is this Master Fang trying to get at? The Ding and Guo families are sworn enemies, and we two are the only descendants of these two families. What does he have to do with us?" However, Ding Lingxiu still replied politely:

  "Abbot, I'm afraid I didn't understand what you just said."

  Master Fangzhang saw Ding Lingxiu's dissatisfaction and smiled, pulling out a walnut from his kasaya.

  "What would you do if you wanted to eat it?"

  Ding Lingxiu took the walnut and looked at it, saying:

  "Of course, use a hammer to smash it..."

  Master Fangzhang smiled and said:

  "If you crack it with a hammer, the hard shell may break and destroy the kernel inside, leaving you to eat only the fragments. But if you use a small knife to pry it open from the gap at the back of the walnut, attacking its weak point and cracking open its hard shell, you can eat the intact kernel."

  Ding Lingxiu played with the walnut and didn't answer, Fangzhang Dashi continued:

  "Guo Mohan is like this walnut, Master. You want to resolve your grudge with her, but the result will be just like the kernel inside. The reason she can't listen to what you say isn't because of her own doing, it's because she was born with such a hard shell that no one can change. What you need to do is find an opening, find the key to enter her heart. Not use a hammer to crack it open all at once. Even if you succeed in doing so, what you'll get will just be the crushed remains inside the walnut."

  Ding Lingxiu felt that Master Fangzhang's words also made some sense, but he was still very puzzled in his heart:

  Why did you arrange for us to meet? You didn't say either. What's the point of cracking walnuts if we don't meet?

  Ding Lingxiu looked at Master Fangzhang with a spring breeze and a gentle face, and it was not good to continue asking questions, so he went straight to the topic:

  "The Master's words are indeed enlightening. However, I have urgent matters at hand, so I'll get straight to the point. Master, where is the entrance to the underworld, the Gate of Hell, located from this temple?"

  Master Fangzhang's expression changed greatly when he heard that Ding Lingxiu was going to the Gate of Hell, his smile from earlier frozen on his face. He said solemnly:

  "Why does Ding Shi want to go to the underworld immediately?"

  "Of course, I'm going to collect the reward. Master Fangzhang, my next stop is planned for the Huangdi City ruins. Since we don't know what situation will arise on this road, we must first prepare sufficient funds." Ding Lingxiu replied truthfully.

  The master of Fangzhang hesitated for a moment before continuing:

  "No, I'm not asking you about the purpose of going to the underworld, but rather the timing of going to the underworld."

  Ding Lingxu didn't understand immediately, but after a while he heard out Master Fangzhang's meaning.

  "Oh, so that's what Master Fangzhang meant. Actually, one of the main reasons I'm in such a hurry is also because of Guo Mohan, I'm afraid she'll catch up with me."

  "It seems that although Ding Shi's mouth agrees, in reality he doesn't actually want to try to resolve it now. If you continue to evade like this, it will only make the resentment accumulate deeper."

  "But Master Fangzhang, although that's true, compared to making amends with Guo Mohan, I really have something even more important to attend to." What Ding Lingshu said was indeed the truth.

  Since Ding Lin fought with the cruel ghost and flew away on a crane, Ding Lingxiu has always felt that Ding Qinyu's disappearance is also related to the cruel ghost. The cruel ghost, although he is the king of ghosts, has committed many evils, but he rarely appears in the world, his whereabouts are mysterious, and Ding Lingxiu searched for a lot of information before discovering that the cruel ghost had only appeared once in Huangdi City, Zhouluo, since the Wenchuan earthquake. This time, he went to Huangdi City to look for any clues left behind by the cruel ghost.

  Ding Lingxiao knew that wanting to find the evil spirit through these clues in a short period of time would be an unprecedentedly enormous difficulty.

  Even if the road ahead is arduous, Ding Lingxiu often thinks of Ding Qinyu's life and death being unknown, not knowing what kind of hardships she is suffering at this moment, he still feels like a knife cut, hating that he can't rush to her side immediately.

  Master Fangzhong closed his eyes and didn't speak for a long time before saying:

  "Amitabha, Master Ting Shi, this time you go to the underworld, there will be more disasters than blessings. As for the reason, Master Ting Shi doesn't need to ask, and I won't answer either. However, if Master Ting Shi insists on going, I won't stop him."

  Ding Lingshu was taken aback by the words of Master Fangzhang, because previously Master Fangzhang's words had almost all come true, but this time he told himself that the timing of going to the underworld was not right, and it would be more disastrous than auspicious, which naturally made him feel a chill run down his spine.

  Ding Ling swallowed his saliva, hesitated for a moment, but thinking of Ding Qinyu, he still felt that as long as he could find Ding Qinyu, even if it meant going through mountains of knives and seas of fire, so he made up his mind and bowed to the abbot, saying:

  "Master Fangzhang, I have made up my mind. No matter what happens when I go down to the underworld this time, I will not look back."

  Master Fangzhang slowly opened his eyes and gazed at Ding Lingxiu's determined expression, smiling as he replied:

  "Love is inseparable from parting, resentment from reunion. Sorrow and joy, grief and happiness - all are of a kind. The hopes in one's heart are nothing but empty flowers before one's eyes, an illusion."

  Ding Lingxiu listened more and more mysteriously, and I actually talked about the sorrow of parting? Ding Lingxiu thought to himself that it was unlikely that this Master Fangzhang even knew where Ding Qinyu was. He was just about to ask further when Master Fangzhang waved his hand and looked aside. It turned out that Zhang Shanyi had already packed up his bag and walked towards the two of them, bowing his hands to Master Fangzhang and saying:

  "Master Fangzhang, these two days of warm hospitality, I am deeply grateful."

  Master Fangzhang smiled and nodded, his face full of warmth and kindness. He turned to Ding Lingxiu and said:

  "Two donors, you have already decided to go to the underworld now. Please pack your luggage well, and I will open the gate of the underworld for you."

  Ding Lingxu was taken aback, seeing that Master Fangzhang didn't seem to want to move. He thought to himself, "Could it be that the entrance to the underworld is right in front of us? Why hadn't he noticed anything unusual about this place after all this time?"

  Ding Lingxiu shouldered his backpack and pointed at the Spirit Gathering Orb placed on the table, saying to Master Fangzheng:

  "Master Fangzhang, we have made preparations, but this Spirit Gathering Orb is Guo Mohan's treasured item. We hope Master Fangzhang will hand it over to Guo Mohan."

  The master nodded and ordered two young monks who were sweeping the floor to close the door and go out.

  The Venerable Master closed his eyes, stretched out his arms, then clasped his hands together and began to recite the scriptures.

  As the sutra was being chanted, Master Fangzhang suddenly changed his expression, his face turned solemn and majestic, like a full moon in autumn, his eyes were like lotus flowers, his voice was prolonged and heroic, just like the Buddha's reincarnation.

  The chanting voice became more and more solemn, until finally it had a faintly murderous tone.

  "May the merit and virtue of this act adorn the Buddha's Pure Land, repay the kindness of our parents, teachers, and all sentient beings, and bring peace to those suffering in the three lower realms. If there are any who see or hear this, may they all awaken to the Bodhi mind, and at the end of this life, be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Homage to Amitabha Buddha."

  The Earth Store Sutra's Dedication of Merit? Ding Lingxiu was taken aback. Could it be that the gates of hell were really just before his eyes?

  Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hall, and the incense candles were abruptly extinguished.

  As Master Fangzhang finished his chanting, Ding Lingxu suddenly felt a thick and intense yin energy enveloping him. Immediately afterwards, Master Fangzhang's entire body became illusory, and a surge of powerful evil energy filled the entire space. Master Fangzhang's figure twisted in mid-air, transforming into a massive bronze gate.

  "This...this Gate of Hell is actually a person?" Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi were both stunned.