96: Chapter 96: The Floral Cotton-padded Jacket and the Bronze Mirror in Hand!

Wang Ruozi nodded and continued to the next stone tablet.

"Morning bell and evening drum, doom is inescapable... This should correspond to the drum tower and bell tower in the temple, meaning that if the bell is rung or the drum is beaten, one will encounter an inescapable calamity."

Immediately after, she trotted to the fourth stone tablet, her finger tracing the carvings as she whispered, "Stained with dust and mud, one can avoid the Buddha's gaze... Does it mean that by getting dust and mud on oneself, one can evade the Buddha's sight?"

As she spoke, Wang Ruozi's voice grew lower, sounding increasingly less confident.

"Big Brother, I can only interpret the literal meaning of these inscriptions. I really can't say what the deeper meaning is."

Chu Xuan pondered, "I think I roughly understand the meaning of these inscriptions."

"Ah?" Wang Ruozi looked puzzled and subconsciously asked, "Is there some other special meaning?"

"No need for deep interpretation, because these are hints intentionally left by the other party. We only need a literal understanding."

Chu Xuan pointed to the third stone tablet: "Using the process of elimination, since the morning bell and evening drum lead to doom, we can only use the bronze mirror's light, which corresponds to the second stone tablet..."

As he spoke, Chu Xuan pointed to the second stone tablet again: "With a clear heart mirror, reflect the shadows of past lives! Use the bronze mirror to shine on the Great Buddha, reflecting its original form to freeze its body."

Wang Ruozi didn't know about Future Tang Zheng's hints, so she was completely lost. "What process of elimination? And what's the deal with the bronze mirror? It clearly says 'heart mirror' here..."

Chu Xuan waved his hand, signaling Wang Ruozi to be quiet for a moment, his eyes showing deep thought.

"Only this last sentence has no reference... Stained with dust and mud, one can avoid the Buddha's gaze? The 'dust and mud' here might not necessarily be literal soil, but we can try it. At worst, we'll just get a bit dirty, but if it works, our chances of survival will increase."

Wang Ruozi still didn't quite understand and wanted to ask, but she swallowed her words. She thought to herself: I just need to know what to do; why ask so much?

"Let's go."

After finishing with the stone tablets, Chu Xuan didn't linger. He pulled Wang Ruozi away and hurried toward the small mud-walled courtyard to the right of the corridor.

As they passed the small vegetable garden, Chu Xuan was shocked to find more than a dozen corpses of Strange Creaturess lying there. Some were incomplete, while others looked like they had been flattened by some heavy object.

The Old Woman had been standing behind the mud wall the whole time, staring fixedly in the direction of the temple.

As Chu Xuan and Wang Ruozi approached, the Old Woman's gaze shifted with them. When they reached the outside of the courtyard, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up into a weird smile.

Chu Xuan stopped abruptly.

Wang Ruozi tightly grabbed Chu Xuan's sleeve. "Big Brother, her smile is so eerie. Are we really going over there?"

"Stand behind me." Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He definitely had to go there because the bronze mirror and the Flower Cotton Jacket were inside. However, he still felt some wariness toward this Old Woman.

The other villagers acted collectively at the foot of the mountain, and their clothes and appearance were like city people. Clearly, they were 'passengers' who had failed Spirit Washing and became Lost Ones.

Only this Old Woman lived right next to the temple, and her attire was that of a standard peasant woman—a set of brownish-gray granny clothes and white hair.

However, her withered appearance combined with that eerie smile was truly spine-chilling.

"Son, you're back!"

A raspy voice, sounding like metal scraping, popped out of her throat.

The Old Woman opened the courtyard gate, her cloudy eyes staring straight at Chu Xuan, the corners of her mouth curling into a deep arc.

After a brief silence, Chu Xuan slowly said, "Yeah, I'm back."

"Then come in."

The Old Woman seemed to truly treat Chu Xuan as her son, looking up and gazing deeply at him.

Chu Xuan glanced at the several bizarrely shaped corpses outside the courtyard wall and shook his head.

"No, I came back to get a Flower Cotton Jacket and a bronze mirror. Please help me get them."

Chu Xuan's voice suddenly changed, becoming extremely gentle and full of magnetism.

"Flower Cotton Jacket... bronze mirror... Oh, okay, Mom will get them for you... Mom will go get them for you..."

The Old Woman spoke with long, drawn-out syllables and turned shakily to go back into the house.

Wang Ruozi whispered a warning: "Big Brother, this Old Woman is very wrong. Could she be..."

Chu Xuan shook his head and said calmly, "She's a normal person. I can sense heartache and pity from her emotions; she doesn't have the greed and bloodlust of those villagers. She really does consider me her son. And look..."

Chu Xuan raised his hand and pointed to the room the Old Woman had opened. A candle was burning on the table, and next to it, on a plate, were half a leftover steamed bun and a dish of pickled vegetables.

"Is that so? But this place is really wrong..." Wang Ruozi looked at the monster corpses scattered all around.

Chu Xuan said with a calm expression, "Don't worry about those. We'll just stay outside this mud wall and not go in."

Seeing Chu Xuan's consistently indifferent and calm demeanor, as if everything was under control, Wang Ruozi also gradually felt at ease, and her trembling body slowly steadied.

Before long, the Old Woman came out holding a woman's Flower Cotton Jacket covered in patches and a polished bronze mirror.

The Flower Cotton Jacket had been washed until it was fading, and it was full of patches, but it was very clean. It didn't feel damp to the touch, and the hem was trimmed with lace. One could imagine that the owner of this jacket must have loved beauty.

The bronze mirror was also polished particularly smooth, capable of clearly reflecting a person's image.

Chu Xuan had thought these were special items like the 'ghost-forbidden lamp,' but they felt very ordinary to the touch, and the System gave no prompts.

"Son, come in. Mom will cook for you."

The Old Woman shakily handed the jacket and the mirror to Chu Xuan. When she spoke, her mouth was almost toothless, making her lips look very strange.

"Next time for sure."

Chu Xuan could clearly feel her expectation and longing, but he didn't hesitate. He turned and left with Wang Ruozi.

He instinctively felt this place was very dangerous. Since he had successfully obtained the Flower Cotton Jacket and the bronze mirror, there was no need to risk his life exploring further. It was better to leave early.

"Son... Son..."

The Old Woman stared blankly at Chu Xuan's departing back. Even after Chu Xuan and Wang Ruozi's figures had disappeared, she still didn't look away, her mouth constantly murmuring:

"Son... Son..."