svetikya Page 193
Page 193
Isabella's smile froze on her face for the first time.
Long Yan continued, “This humble monk’s power does not belong to me, but is the Buddha’s compassion, used to protect all living beings, not as a bargaining chip for trading with others. Your so-called immortality is nothing but a lingering existence sustained by consuming the lives of others, filled with bloodshed and sin. Beneath your beautiful exterior, this humble monk only smells… the stench of decay and regret.”
"presumptuous!"
Isabella's elegance vanished instantly! A terrifying pressure, like a ton of ocean water, crashed down on Long Yan!
The lights in the entire lounge flickered instantly, and the shadows seemed to come alive, twisting and writhing on the walls. The air temperature plummeted to freezing, and a layer of white frost silently condensed on the wine glasses on the table.
"A lowly mortal dares to presume upon my existence!" Isabella's voice turned sharp and icy, her eyes now a terrifying blood red. "I gave you a choice; it was you who... chose to walk into hell!"
However, at the center of this terrifying pressure, Long Yan's figure remained as steady as Mount Tai.
He didn't even move, but simply closed his eyes slightly and softly recited:
"When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnaparamita..."
The text of the Heart Sutra flowed slowly from his mouth. Each word transformed into a golden Sanskrit character, swirling and dancing around him.
The chilling, oppressive aura melted away as soon as it touched the golden Sanskrit characters, like snow meeting the blazing sun. The distorted shadows retreated into the corner, the flickering lights returned to normal, and the air temperature warmed up again.
Isabella's pupils contracted sharply. The mental pressure she was so proud of had been so easily neutralized by the other party!
After reciting the scripture once, Long Yan reopened his eyes, his gaze filled with a trace of pity.
“Your hunger is your hell 2.2. I cannot save you; I only hope you take good care of yourself.”
After saying that, he stood up, no longer looking at Isabella's beautiful face twisted with anger, and turned to walk towards the door.
“You’ll regret this, monk!” Isabella’s scream rang out behind him. “You’ll be begging me for protection! When the real monsters come knocking, you’ll regret refusing me today!”
Long Yan's steps did not falter in the slightest.
"boom!"
He heard the crisp sound of a crystal glass being crushed behind him.
When Long Yan walked out of the Crimson Lounge and stood once again in the night wind on the mountaintop, he knew that the first negotiation had broken down.
An enraged vampire nobleman who has lived for hundreds of years will be an enemy ten thousand times more troublesome than a street thug.
The nights in Hong Kong are fraught with hidden dangers.
Chapter 141 Wulong Temple Slandered
It was already past midnight when Long Yan returned to Wulong Temple.
The main hall was brightly lit. Master Changmei, Master Zhihui, Uncle Da, and Xiao Zhen were all anxiously waiting, none of them asleep. When they saw Long Yan safely enter the mountain gate, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"How are you? Boss, that female demon didn't do anything to you, did she?" Uncle Da was the first to rush up, looking Long Yan up and down as if afraid he was missing something.
"Amitabha, this humble monk has nothing to report." Long Yan calmly and concisely recounted the conversation that took place in the "Crimson Lounge."
Upon hearing Isabella's tempting "cooperation" proposal and her final, venomous threat, Master Longbrow stroked his beard with a worried expression, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. Xiao Zhen, meanwhile, quietly clenched her fists, feeling both anger towards Isabella and lingering fear for Long Yan's safety.
After listening, the wise master fell into a long silence. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes slightly closed, as if he were deducing something.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and said in a solemn tone, "Nephew Long Yan, your decision to reject her this time was the right one, but it also pushed her to the opposite side. I'm afraid... what we'll be facing next is not just a direct attack from a monstrous beast."
"What do you mean by that, Uncle-Master?" Long Yan asked.
“These ‘descendants of Cain’ who have survived for hundreds of years are no longer the monsters of the Middle Ages who only hid in ancient castles.” The wise master’s eyes gleamed with wisdom. “Their most terrifying weapon has never been their fangs and claws, but rather the power and wealth that they have infiltrated into every aspect of human society over the long years.”
He paused, then said, word by word, "She won't easily attack a temple protected by the power of an Arhat's golden body; the cost would be too high, and it would easily expose us to other prying eyes. She will use mortal methods to deal with us. From the outside, she will gradually... strangle us."
The wise master's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the "bring it on, or we'll face it" spirit in everyone's hearts. They still had the courage to fight against unseen ghosts and monsters; but how could they contend with the rules of modern society? This was a completely unfamiliar battlefield for them.
Sure enough, the wise master's prophecy began to come true the very next day.
Uncle Da was the first to notice something was wrong. As usual, he went down the mountain with his shopping basket at dawn to buy groceries for the day at his usual market. But as soon as he reached the bus stop at the foot of the mountain, he saw a local best-selling gossip magazine on a newsstand with a sensational headline about Wulong Temple.
A mysterious temple hidden deep in the mountains, where an unnamed monk is gathering people to collect money, is suspected of being an illegal assembly!
The article goes to great lengths to smear Wulongyuan Temple, portraying this peaceful little temple as a cult den that harbors evil and deceives unsuspecting believers. It includes several photos, seemingly taken from an unknown angle, in which the temple's dilapidated gate appears sinister, the seemingly benevolent Master Changmei's face is depicted with a strange look, and even Uncle Da drying cured meat in the courtyard is interpreted as performing some kind of evil ritual.
"Outrageous! Nonsense!" Uncle Da trembled with anger. He wanted to step forward and argue, but he found that the citizens waiting for the bus around him were looking at him with a strange look, a mixture of contempt and fear. Those looks were more hurtful than knives.
He slunk back up the mountain and slammed the magazine on the table. After everyone read it, they were all furious.
"This is outrageous! This is slander! It's pure fabrication!" Master Long Eyebrows was so angry that his face turned red.
However, this is just the beginning.
Around lunchtime, a midday news program on the old television set at Wulong Temple was broadcasting the same news. On the screen, a masked man claiming to be an "insider" was speaking eloquently to the camera, accusing Wulong Temple of encroaching on the mountain land, having numerous illegal buildings, and severely damaging the mountain environment.
Immediately afterwards, the phone rang.
The call came from the owner of a grain and oil store that had been supplying rice and cooking oil to Wulongyuan for a long time. He stammered on the phone and apologized profusely, saying that due to "problems with the supplier," he would no longer be able to deliver goods to Wulongyuan.
In an instant, an invisible pressure swept in from all directions. Media attacks, public opinion pressure, and the cutoff of supplies... Isabella hadn't even shown her face, yet she had already pushed Oolong Courtyard into a helpless and isolated situation.
This is a kind of torture that cuts you like a soft knife, where you can't see the enemy but are surrounded by barriers.
In the afternoon, the worst happened.
Two government vehicles bearing the logos of the Lands Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department parked outside the gate of Wulong Temple. Several uniformed staff members, carrying folders, stepped out with serious expressions.
"Excuse me, who is in charge here? We received complaints from citizens and need to conduct a routine inspection of the building's structural safety and environmental sanitation," the leading official said in a businesslike manner.
Looking at the official document in their hands, both Master Longbrow and Uncle Da panicked. The Wulong Temple had fallen into disrepair over the years, and many parts did not meet modern building standards. If it were shut down, they would have nowhere to live.
The entire Wulong Temple was shrouded in gloom and despair.
Only Long Yan remained seated cross-legged on the prayer mat in the main hall from beginning to end, chanting scriptures without the slightest change in expression. It was as if all the disturbances of the outside world could not shake the Mount Sumeru within his heart.
But he knew better than anyone else what was going on.
The real battle has begun.
Chapter 142 Xiao Zhen's Demonic Energy is Restless!
The government inspection was like a meticulous, slow torture.
Instead of immediately sealing off Wulongyuan, they began a lengthy investigation and measurement process with an extremely "professional" and "meticulous" attitude. Today, they found the fire safety facilities to be substandard and issued a rectification notice; tomorrow, they measured a section of the wall and determined it to be an illegal structure that needed to be demolished within a specified period; the day after, they pointed out that the kitchen's hygiene standards were far from meeting the requirements for commercial operation.
Each notice was like a death knell, leaving Master Longbrow and Uncle Da deeply troubled. Renovation required money, demolition required manpower, but the Wulong Temple was now deserted, its incense offerings cut off, and even its basic rice supply severed. Where would they find the resources to cope with all this?
Uncle Da tried to go down the mountain to ask his old friends for help, but found that those who used to call him brother now avoided him like the plague. Isabella's influence was like mercury, pervasive and all-pervasive, and had long since blocked all their channels for seeking help from the outside world.
Within just a few days, Wulongyuan was plunged into a dire situation, running out of ammunition and food. They barely managed to survive on the little bit of vegetables they grew in the yard and the few small fish that Uncle Da managed to catch from the stream behind the mountain.
People's hearts began to waver.
This kind of pressure from the mortal world is far more despairing than facing a monstrous, blue-faced creature. Because you can't see the enemy, but you can feel that invisible hand slowly tightening, suffocating you.
"This can't go on!" That night, Uncle Da couldn't hold back any longer. He paced back and forth in the main hall, saying anxiously, "The rice jar is almost empty! If we don't find a way, we'll starve to death on this mountain! Boss, how about... how about you go and talk to that she-devil again? As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Let's soften our stance first and get through this difficult time."
"Uncle Da!" Xiao Zhen couldn't stand it anymore, her brows furrowing. "You're asking Brother Long Yan to bow down to that monster? What's the difference between that and offering your own flesh and blood to her to eat?"
"What can I do? I can't just stand by and watch everyone go hungry!" Uncle Da's eyes also reddened, his voice full of grievance and helplessness.
Master Long Eyebrows sighed deeply, his face full of sorrow, yet he couldn't utter a single word. He was a monk, who should have no desire for material things, but seeing everyone starving, his heart ached as a monk.
The atmosphere inside the hall was more oppressive than ever before. This was exactly the result Isabella wanted—to break their will from within without bloodshed.
Just then, the wise master, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Uncle Da, Xiao Zhen, both of you, please calm down. The other side is using an open strategy. The more panicked we are, the more we play into her hands."
He turned to Long Yan and asked, "Junior Nephew Long Yan, what do you think?"
Long Yan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over the anxiety and unease on everyone's faces.
"As the art of war says, if the enemy wants to move us, we should remain calm. If the enemy wants to exhaust us, we should rest and recuperate." His voice was not loud, but it carried a strange, calming power. "She wants to throw us into chaos, but we must not be chaotic. She wants to exhaust us, but we must wait and recuperate."
"But there's no food left, boss!" Uncle Da said with a bitter face.
Long Yan smiled slightly: "Buddhist practice has a concept of 'fasting'. Only by abstaining from food and water can the internal organs be purified and the mind tempered. Starting tomorrow, we will take this as our practice, turning this siege of the secular world into a spiritual retreat. She cuts off our food, so we cut off our thoughts."
Then, he looked at Xiao Zhen, his eyes softening: "Xiao Zhen, your 'Turtle Breathing Technique' can be most effective in this situation. Hunger in your stomach is the best time for you to feel and mobilize the energy within your body. Don't be afraid, follow my guidance."
Long Yan's words were like a shot in the arm, gradually calming the previously panicked crowd. Indeed, they were cultivators; if they couldn't even pass this test of basic sustenance, how could they possibly fight against demons?
Thus, a peculiar "collective fasting" practice unfolded within the Wulong Temple.
However, Isabella's methods are far more complex than that.
On the fifth night of the siege, an even more insidious attack came stealthily.
At midnight, Xiao Zhen, who was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, suddenly felt a strange palpitation. She tried to calm herself, but found that the demonic energy in her dantian, which had been well suppressed, suddenly began to stir uncontrollably. A cold, violent thought, filled with a desire for killing and destruction, frantically assaulted her consciousness.
"Kill...kill them...devour their flesh and blood...you will become stronger..."
A seductive voice seemed to resonate directly from the depths of her soul.
Xiao Zhen's face turned deathly pale instantly. She bit her lip tightly, trembling all over, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She knew it was a demonic invasion! It was that vampire countess using her mental power to remotely lure the demonic energy within her!
This is more dangerous than any sword or blade! Once she loses her grip and her mind is devoured by the demonic energy, she will become a demon who only knows how to kill, and the first people she will harm are those around her whom she wants to protect the most!
"Ah—!" Xiao Zhen let out a painful growl, and an ominous red light gradually appeared in her eyes.
Just as she was about to lose control!
"Hum!"
A Buddhist mantra, seemingly emanating from the heavens, resounded like thunder throughout the entire Wulong Temple!
It is the last word of the Six-Syllable Mantra that the wise master taught to Long Yan, and it is also the most powerful mantra for subduing demons, the "Hum" syllable!
The voice was filled with boundless compassion and majesty, like a golden sun that instantly illuminated Xiao Zhen's heart, which was shrouded in darkness. The sinister, tempting voice let out a shrill scream under this truthful incantation, and then vanished into thin air.
The restless demonic energy within Xiao Zhen's body subsided instantly, like a wild horse being tamed. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, her back soaked with cold sweat.
The doors to the main hall were pushed open, and Long Yan walked out slowly. He came to Xiao Zhen's side, but did not speak. He simply reached out a hand and gently placed it on the top of her head.
A warm, peaceful, and serene Buddhist power slowly entered her body, soothing her wounded mind and disordered breathing.
"Thank you... Brother Longyan..." Xiao Zhen's voice was hoarse, filled with lingering fear.
Long Yan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the brightly lit city below the mountain, his eyes deep and cold.
"She started to get impatient."
Psychological attacks are far more insidious than physical sieges. Isabella has already begun to utilize her supernatural powers.