God's Gift

Shen Minghua and Ye Li passed by one shrine after another, and their expressions became more serious as they looked at the Bodhisattvas placed in the shrines.

The two of them tacitly did not speak and continued walking towards the top of the mountain.

From the first shrine, there were more shrines along the way. The Bodhisattvas inside must have been there for some time, and the glaze had fallen off and became mottled. The Bodhisattvas had different shapes, but all had serious expressions and angry eyes.

Shen Minghua looked at the expressions of those Bodhisattvas, and his brows were twisted into a knot.

Logically speaking, Bodhisattvas seek supreme Bodhi with wisdom and transform all living beings with compassion. They are the embodiment of compassion among the people, and their faces should be solemn, respectful, and compassionate.

Seeing a Bodhisattva like that can make people feel peaceful and calm, but seeing a Bodhisattva with angry eyes like this can only make people panic.

A bleak cold wind blew through the autumn woods, and the yellow fallen leaves on the ground were blown up by the wind and fell into the Buddhist shrine, blocking the eyes of the Bodhisattva.

The sun in the sky began to move towards the west, the temperature of the earth's surface was taken away, and the air became a little chillier.

The two finally reached the top of the mountain as the sun was setting.

"It's here." Ye Li looked at the small Buddhist temple below the cliff and said to Shen Minghua.

When we got here, the Buddhist shrines placed around us came to an end.

"Villagers have been here." Shen Minghua glanced at the footprints on the mud around the temple, then walked towards the temple. When he arrived in front of the temple, he slowed down a lot and stood at the door looking inside.

Ye Li walked around the Buddhist temple and didn't find anything special. She walked to Shen Minghua and looked at the temple as well.

There is a mirror covered with red cloth hanging on the door of the temple. Through the thin cloth, you can vaguely see two words inside:

Shen Minghua used his mental power to lift a corner of the red cloth covering the mirror, revealing two words written in red cinnabar inside.

"Good Buddha?"

Ye Li read out the two words on the mirror, with some confusion in his eyes.

Isn’t it called the Ten Thousand Faces Buddha?

Why do they write the words "Good Buddha" in front of the Buddhist temple and cover it with red cloth, as if they are shameful to be seen by others?

Shen Minghua looked through the door at the Buddha in the clay niche in the temple. He paused for a second, then walked in, stood under the Buddha statue, and looked at it carefully.

The Buddha's eyes are looking straight ahead, and are reflected in the mirror hanging on the door frame inside the temple.

When the incense in the altar had burned down to one third, wisps of white smoke rose up, which were blocked by the loess roof covered with scriptures and trapped inside the temple. Only a small part of it floated out through the temple gate.

Shen Minghua coughed due to the smell of smoke. He turned around and saw Ye Li about to enter the temple. He took out a handkerchief from the storage space and handed it to Ye Li.

"The smell of fireworks is strong, use a handkerchief to block it out."

"Thank you." Ye Li took the handkerchief and covered his nose with it, then stepped into the Buddhist temple, walked to the clay niche, and looked up slightly at the Thousand-Faced Buddha in the niche.

Except for the face, this Buddha is no different from the Buddha statues Ye Li saw in historical materials.

Ye Li carefully scanned the Thousand-Faced Buddha, and finally put her gaze on the eyes of the Thousand-Faced Buddha. She looked for a second and gradually frowned.

"Shen Minghua, come and take a look."

Shen Minghua was looking around the temple. When he heard Ye Li's voice, he turned around and walked towards Ye Li.

Ye Li pointed at the eyes of the Thousand-Faced Buddha and said to Shen Minghua who was coming over: "What did you see the eyes of this Buddha look like just now?"

"Look straight ahead, facing the mirror at the door." Shen Minghua answered Ye Li's question and looked again carefully. The Buddha statue's eyes were still looking straight at the mirror.

Shen Minghua was puzzled by Ye Li's question and asked, "What's wrong? What do you think is wrong with it?"

"I just saw that its eyes seemed to be looking down."

And right below was Ye Li.

Ye Li looked at the Buddha statue, but found that the statue's eyes were not facing downwards as she had seen, but facing straight ahead as Shen Minghua said.

It was as if she was just dazzled by what she saw just now.

Ye Li moved closer, put on gloves, stretched out his hand and was about to touch the Buddha statue when a message came from the intelligent brain.

"Ali, Yu Youyou is in this trial, please come back and take a look!"

Fang Ziang's excited voice came from the other side, drawing Ye Li's attention away. She withdrew her hand, turned around and walked to the door.

When Shen Minghua heard Fang Ziang's voice, his gentle expression faded. He stayed where he was for a second and followed as if nothing had happened.

"What did you say, Yu Youyou is in the trial? Why didn't she teleport here with us?" Ye Li's voice was a little anxious, and he immediately replied to Fang Ziang.

Before Fang Ziang could reply, Shen Minghua's voice came from behind, answering before Fang Ziang could.

"Since she didn't teleport with us, Youyou should have chosen the experiencer mode."

"Experiencer mode?" Ye Li turned his head to look at Shen Minghua when he heard his words.

"Yes." Shen Minghua explained to Ye Li patiently in a gentle voice, "This is a mode that the intelligent brain has just developed. It has not been fully used yet. It is normal that you don't know about it."

"So that's how it is." Ye Li nodded and immediately said, "Then let's go back first..."

Both of them had their backs to the Ten Thousand Faced Buddha and did not notice that after Shen Minghua left the spot, the eyes of the Ten Thousand Faced Buddha painted in black in the clay niche moved and looked straight at them.

As the eyes of the Thousand-Faced Buddha moved, the Bodhisattva in the niche among the withered yellow weeds outside the temple began to shake, and the Bodhisattva closest to the two people fell out of the niche, hit the ground and broke into two pieces.

The sound of the Bodhisattva breaking interrupted the conversation between Shen Minghua and Ye Li. Ye Li stared at the broken pieces of the Bodhisattva on the ground and was stunned for a second.

Ye Li subconsciously wanted to turn her head, but Shen Minghua suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly, stopping her movement.

Ye Li looked into Shen Minghua's eyes and saw a bit of seriousness in his eyes. Shen Minghua shook his head calmly, pulled Ye Li out of the temple gate, and walked quickly down the mountain.

He was moving very fast and never looked away.

Shen Minghua didn't stop until he got down the mountain and reached the foot of the mountain.

"What was that just now?" Ye Li calmed his breathing, his chest rising and falling, and looked towards the mountains behind him.

"That Buddha is watching us." Shen Minghua's eyes darkened a lot when he thought of the scene he had just seen in the mirror at the door.

After hearing this answer, Ye Li fell silent, then said, "The situation is unclear, don't act rashly."

"Yes." Shen Minghua nodded, "Let's go back and find Youyou first."

-

As the sun sets, the mountain air grows cooler and in the crowded village smoke rises from between the grey tiles.

Grandma Li had a linen apron tied around her waist and was holding a spatula, looking at the young man in front of her who was holding Yu Youyou.

"Why are you back again?"

"There was a landslide on the road out of the mountain, blocking the only road. The village chief said that it would take some time to repair it. We left too late and were trapped in the village." Lu Keming changed his arrogant look of the past, put away his minions in front of Grandma Li, and looked like a good young man.

He looked at the gradually darkening sky and praised Granny Li without changing his expression: "It's getting dark now. I see Granny has kind eyes and must be a kind person. That's why I took the liberty to come and disturb you. I want to ask Granny if she can take us in for a few days."

After saying that, Lu Keming added another sentence.

"But we won't be staying here for free. We will pay for the accommodation."