The oil lamps placed in the four corners burned silently, illuminating the four paper figures riding paper horses standing quietly at the door, as well as the three coffins standing on the altar in the middle of the hall.
In front of the coffin, there were some items that looked like they would be used during ceremonies.
Although Li Leping wanted to find out the purpose of the tributes placed on the altar, due to the lack of information, he had no clue at the moment and naturally could not see the purpose of these seemingly ordinary objects.
If I had to say that I saw something wrong, it would be the wooden fish placed in front of the red lacquer coffin.
This wooden fish seems ordinary, but only after you actually pick it up, you will realize how strange this wooden fish is.
"Crack!"
The moment I picked up the wooden fish, the black wooden fish split from the middle without any warning.
It seems that the wooden fish was originally torn apart, but was just glued back together. In addition, the color of the wooden fish is dark, so people can never see the cracks on the surface.
However, when Li Leping picked up the wooden fish, the fragile adhesive force could no longer be maintained.
In an instant, the wooden fish that was originally one piece split into four pieces.
Li Leping grabbed one piece in his hand, and the other three pieces suddenly fell to the ground, making a dull sound that was particularly noticeable in the quiet environment.
"what's the situation?"
Jiang Hao, who was unaware of the situation of the wooden fish, suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at Li Leping and the wooden fish fragments in his hand with only a part of them remaining in bewilderment.
From his perspective, Li Leping picked up the wooden fish, and then the wooden fish suddenly broke and fell all over the floor.
"This has nothing to do with me."
Li Leping frowned slightly and looked around the hall to confirm that the collapse of the wooden fish would not cause any changes. He weighed the wooden block in his hand and explained to Jiang Hao: "This thing was originally like this, but it was simply put back together.
When they come together, if they touch a little bit, they will return to their original broken appearance."
"Is this how it was originally?"
Jiang Hao bent down and picked up the pieces of wooden fish that fell on the ground, expressing his disbelief at the weirdness of the wooden fish.
After being a monk for many years, he had never heard of any temple treating magical instruments like this. They were so damaged that they cracked, but they could still put them on the altar.
Aren't you afraid that the Buddha you worship will cause trouble for you?
Taking the broken pieces picked up by Jiang Hao, Li Leping reassembled the broken wooden fish into a whole like building blocks, and then placed it back on the altar.
After the wooden fish returned, everything in the hall returned to its original state. Except for the pure bottle that was taken away by Jiang Hao, everything here seemed to have never changed.
Li Leping, who could not figure out how to use the tributes for the time being, was not in a hurry to find a way to use them.
Although danger may occur at any time in this supernatural world, since there is no new danger at the moment, Li Leping plans to take advantage of his free time to quickly sort out the information.
"Based on the time we arrived here, the time when the evil ghost came to the door was probably at two in the morning. But is this time a fixed time for this ghost place to start the Dharma assembly process every day, or does it only apply to the first day, or is it two in the morning?
Is it just a coincidence?"
He randomly found a place, and then began to sort out all the things that had happened before, trying to deduce some of the rules of the Dharma Assembly.
"Although the time cannot be determined, the previous success of sprinkling water to exorcise ghosts is enough to confirm that this place must hold an eight-day ceremony, and the people who hold the ceremony are none other than those of us who came to the temple.
The one who controls the ghost."
"Every day, people in the temple must complete the day's procedures for the Dharma assembly, otherwise signs of loss of control, such as the evil ghost breaking into the door just now, cannot be contained."
"That is to say, once a mistake is made, everyone in the temple will die. Even if you survive a crisis, the danger caused by one wrong step will only become stronger and stronger, and you will not be able to escape the end of death no matter what."
Thinking of this, he looked at Jiang Hao next to him.
It was Jiang Hao who first proposed the concept of puja, and it was he who figured out the correct way to use the purification bottle.
The most important thing is that he is one of the few people present who understands the procedures of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly.
Those ghost masters from Taixiang Kingdom may also know some things about the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, but compared to Jiang Hao, who has been preparing for today, the knowledge of the Dharma Assembly involved by the ghost masters from Taixiang Kingdom will obviously be inferior.
"Jiang Hao, since everything that happens here is connected to the Water and Land Dharma Association, then if the first day is the purification ceremony, the second day should be the so-called 'chanting and repentance'?"
Although before the operation officially started, Jiang Hao had already shared some knowledge about the Dharma Assembly with Li Leping.
However, this knowledge only applies to normal rituals, and may not necessarily apply to such haunted places.
In other words, the theory of the traditional Dharma assembly must be combined with the reality happening in the temple at the moment. Only then can the people in the temple have a chance to find the key to solving the problem.
Information must be updated at all times, and previously acquired information may be eliminated at any time.
"The normal process for the next day is like this, but as you can see, the way of doing the purification here is completely different from that outside. In reality, the purification is done by going around the temple and sprinkling the nectar of poplar branches, but this
The local purification ritual is for people to sprinkle the contents of the purification bottle on the door to block the invasion of evil spirits outside the door."
As Jiang Hao spoke, he couldn't help but recall the dangerous experience just now, and a somewhat heavy look reappeared on his face.
Judging from the current situation, they successfully held the first day of sprinkling ceremony.
But this is the result of Jiang Hao's right bet.
If you guessed wrong and did not sprinkle the water in the clean bottle on the door, then even if there is some remaining liquid in the clean bottle, this remaining liquid alone will not be enough to completely stabilize the two doors and drive them away.
The evil spirits outside.
At that time, the ghost outside the door will definitely break in.
"So there are no mistakes in this place. Although the first day was passed safely, this stability is based on our analysis of how to hold the purification ceremony. If it fails, the consequences will be disastrous."
"So there can be no mistakes in the next day's inference." Li Leping said.
Only if this Dharma ceremony is successfully held, the people in the temple will have a real chance of survival.
"Having said that, in reality, the sutra chanting and repentance ceremony on the second day of the Dharma conference is performed by the masters at each altar, reciting sutras and worshiping repentance according to the Dharma."
"But now you have seen that, let alone the mouth of the altar, there is not even an exit."
Jiang Hao frowned and expressed his opinion.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be the so-called altar. The actual rules of the ceremony may not apply to this temple today, but we may be able to infer what needs to be done the next day from the name of the ceremony."
Li Leping put forward a new view: "Just like the first day, although no one thought before that the sprinkling ceremony required us to splash on the door, the meaning of sprinkling itself has not changed. In other words
, the method of holding ceremonies in this place is actually hidden in the words of process, and these words may be the key to breaking the situation."
"It makes sense." Jiang Hao agreed after thinking for a moment.
However, his expression soon tightened and he raised a new question: "But there is still one biggest problem, and that is that the process of the Dharma conference in most places is not fixed."
"Although the process on the first day, that is, the cleansing of the barrier should be a fixed ceremony, after all, it is the announcement of the start of the ceremony, and it is rare for people to skip this part of the process."
"But then, different process arrangements will appear in different places."
"For example, some places will hold a ritual of chanting sutras and worshiping repentance on the second day, and then officially start issuing talismans and hanging flags on the third day. But in some places, they will start immediately after the first day, that is, after the purification ceremony.
The rituals of issuing talismans, hanging flags, and even chanting sutras and worshiping repentance are skipped, and one day is used to support others for three days."
When he thought of this, Jiang Hao's expression worsened again.
Because if we follow this line of thinking to speculate on the laws of this ghostly place beneath our feet, we probably won’t be able to figure it out even after ten days of guessing.
If it doesn't work well, even the previous inferences will be eliminated immediately.
Because the process arrangements in different places will be different, the rituals performed every day will also be different.
Some places even change the number of days it is held, ranging from three days to ten days, and some even choose to hold it for seven to forty-nine days.
All kinds of interfering information undoubtedly made it difficult for Jiang Hao to predict what they would encounter next.
"Perhaps this is the reason why your master did not tell you how the Dharma gathering here will be conducted. After all, it has been a long time since we planned today's mission. After a long time, no one can guarantee that the procedures in this place will be carried out according to
The design as expected is carried out.”
Li Leping also felt the difficulty of this incident.
"Then what should we do next?" Jiang Hao asked.
Li Leping did not answer in a hurry, but thought about it again.
After a moment of silence, he spoke: "If you can't accurately predict what will happen in the next few days, then don't pursue accuracy. After all, there is never a fixed statement about supernatural things."
"What we need to do now is to roughly judge the process that will be involved next, because judging from the way the oil lamp is lit in the main hall and then the evil ghost comes to the door, there will be a reminder before the ceremony begins. This kind of reminder should be the same in the following days.
will appear, and once the prompt appears, it means that the ceremony has officially begun, and what we have to do is to combine what happens next with the theoretical process of the ceremony to find a way to perform the ceremony correctly."
Hearing this, Jiang Hao nodded immediately, and at the same time, his brain was working, and he began to sort out the information about the Dharma Conference according to what Li Leping said.
Only this time, he would not speculate on what they would encounter each day in the next seven days.
This time, all he had to do was determine the ceremony that would be held at the ceremony.
Maybe when temples in different places hold Dharma meetings, the daily rituals will change.
But even if there is a change, it will be a change in the time of the event.
Either advance or postpone, but it won't be cancelled.
With this idea in mind, the general ceremony was finalized.
"Chanting sutras and worshiping repentance is a ritual that will be held in most places, but there is a low probability of being skipped. As for the subsequent issuing of charms, hanging flags, please come to the hall, please come down, make offerings to the lower hall, and go to the perfect offering.
, these processes of sending the saint off will definitely be carried out.”
Jiang Hao touched his chin and sorted out the rituals that must be held at the puja.
"Okay, let's remember these key parts first, and then see what changes will happen to this place next." Li Leping nodded.
Although there is no way to accurately analyze what rituals will be performed in the following days like predicting the sprinkling ceremony.
But it is better to have a general idea than to have black eyes and not know anything when something happens.
After confirming that the ceremony would definitely be held, Li Leping and Jiang Hao discussed it again.
But he hasn't said a few words yet.
Suddenly.
Outside the main hall, the ghost controllers who went to investigate the bamboo forest ran back. The noise from a dozen people instantly broke the tranquility of the temple. Even Li Leping and Jiang Hao who were in the hall could clearly hear these people walking.
The sound of footsteps on the stone road.
The two looked towards the door.
Just in time, I met the few ghost masters who were the first to run up the steps and planned to report the situation to the captain, Li Leping.
However.
Although Li Leping saw the ghost masters in front of the team, those ghost masters also saw him wearing a mask.
However, the moment those ghost masters saw him, their expressions became frightened, and their eyes shrank, as if they had seen something terrifying.
In fact, what these guys saw was truly terrifying.
Because the first people to catch their eye were not Li Leping and Jiang Hao in the hall, but the four paper figures and horses placed at the entrance of the hall.
As the oil lamps in the hall lit up, the strange darkness in the room was also dispelled, and the situation inside was clearly illuminated.
Because of this, the four paper figures placed at the entrance of the hall are no longer hidden in the darkness, but are openly displayed in front of everyone. However, because the hall is located on the steps, only after climbing the steps,
Only then can you see these paper figures.
"Jiliguala!"
The sudden appearance of several paper figures suddenly caused everyone to panic, because most of the ghost masters had not yet had time to investigate the main hall, so they were frightened by this surprise.
It is not difficult to imagine how frightened the first few ghost masters who entered the hall were when it was dark.
Although these ghost masters were also in the crowd at this moment, they were very naughty and did not remind others.
However, the other ghost masters were not fools. After seeing Li Leping walking back and forth in the hall, they also figured out that these four paper figures should not be dangerous.
Even if there is danger, the killing patterns of these four paper figures should not be easily triggered, otherwise Li Leping and Jiang Hao would not be able to survive in the hall unharmed until this moment.