NOVEL WEB Chapter 11: Midnight Hour
Chapter 11: Midnight Hour
————
Lin Yao stared blankly at the first line on the ox hide.
This was the first time the prophecy had foretold his death right from the beginning.
He couldn’t help but continue reading.
[I used the prisoner’s dilemma to lure the three young monks into killing each other and arrived at Lankā Temple.]
[The Lankā Bodhisattva invited me to watch a grand performance.]
[The remaining two young monks fought each other on stage, eventually becoming a monster.]
[The Lankā Bodhisattva wanted to take me as his disciple, and I had no choice but to agree.]
[I met the Weaver Girl. She was wary of something and hinted that we should meet tonight at midnight.]
[Then I learned another shocking truth.]
[This is Lankā Temple, and the Lankā Bodhisattva is actually Fahai.]
[I don’t know what happened here, but I’m certain that things are far more complicated than they appear.]
[Midnight arrived quickly.]
[Strange sounds came from outside.]
[Remembering the Weaver Girl’s warning, I didn’t leave my room.]
[The sounds of fighting erupted outside, and the Weaver Girl burst in, covered in blood and looking utterly disheveled.]
[Before I could speak, she grabbed me and dragged me out of the room.]
[When I stepped outside, I nearly vomited—corpses littered the ground, and blood flowed like rivers.]
[The Weaver Girl took me to the main hall of Lankā Temple.]
[It turned out we had only been outside the temple gates yesterday. This was the real Lankā Temple.]
[At the center of the temple, I saw the Lankā Bodhisattva.]
[Unlike the radiant figure from the day, he now resembled a demon.]
[The lotus of Buddha’s hands was harvesting the lives of the devotees inside the temple.]
[The devotees, too, were no longer their usual selves. They devoured each other, charging relentlessly toward Lankā.]
[Just as I was about to ask the Weaver Girl what was happening, Lankā opened his eyes—and saw me.]
[The lotus of Buddha’s hands descended from the sky, and the Weaver Girl vanished.]
[I died, my corpse hung on the temple’s plaque.]
The text ended there.
Lin Yao put away the ox hide, his thoughts in turmoil.
During the day, Lankā Temple had seemed unremarkable. Aside from the devotees and the banquet, all he had seen were the few monastic quarters where he now stayed.
But after midnight, the temple gates would open, and this sacred Buddhist ground would transform into a hellish slaughterhouse.
“Extreme kindness by day, extreme evil by night?”
Lin Yao sat by the door of his room. The sky outside remained dark, as if time stood still within Lankā Temple.
“No.”
He stood and opened the door.
Looking up, the sky was no different from what he had seen outside the bridal chamber.
“There’s no way to tell what time it is here.”
Lin Yao frowned deeply.
Since arriving, he hadn’t seen any means of tracking time.
“According to the ox hide and the Weaver Girl’s hints, midnight must be the most dangerous hour of the day.”
Lin Yao returned to his room.
But more than that, what puzzled him most was this:
The Weaver Girl had to know what happened in Lankā Temple at night.
So why had she brought him here?
Lin Yao leaned against the door as time slipped away.
He still hadn’t figured out how to survive the coming midnight.
—
Inside Lankā Temple
The Weaver Girl pushed open the doors of the main hall.
The moment they parted, countless arms lunged for her.
Red threads danced wildly, slicing through the Buddha’s hands.
“Have you come to kill me?”
“Clever.”
Behind the Weaver Girl, embroidery threads filled the air.
Her plain white robes were pristine, her long hair cascading loosely over her shoulders.
“Tell me—do I look like that snake?”
Her light laughter echoed through the hall.
Fahai’s hand, poised over the wooden fish, froze mid-strike.
“Chanting sutras by day, slaughtering souls by night. How do I compare, Bodhisattva?”
The Weaver Girl sat behind Fahai, pressing against his back.
“Get lost!”
The lotus of Buddha’s hands exploded. Arms and red threads tangled in midair.
Under the gaze of the golden Buddha statue, the hall reeked of blood.
“What’s wrong, Bodhisattva? Do I displease you? Or does that snake still haunt your heart?”
Her laughter came again—
mocking, prodding at Fahai’s weakest point.
“You seek death!”
Fahai finally lost control.
The Weaver Girl was flung to the ground.
Her hair splayed around her as she lay there lazily, gazing at the heavenly murals on the ceiling, a faint smile on her lips.
Fahai’s chest heaved.
This celestial maiden had come unannounced. At first, he’d assumed she was here for her robe and promised to return it tomorrow.
But after seeing Lin Yao solve his riddle, his plans had changed.
Yet now, she had come in the dead of night.
“Lady, restrain yourself.”
Fahai felt the filth at his feet creeping upward.
He fought back the urge to strike.
Damn it, that snake is stirring again.
“Restrain myself?”
The Weaver Girl burst into laughter, covering her face as her body shook.
“Bodhisattva, oh great monk—where was this self-control when that beast made a deal with you to spare its life?”
Fahai’s hand twitched.
“This humble monk—”
Before he could finish, the Weaver Girl’s face was inches from his.
“Who knew a bodhisattva could harbor worldly desires?”
The filth climbed higher. Fahai’s mind was in chaos; he could no longer suppress his malice.
“What’s wrong, Bodhisattva? Can’t hold back anymore?”
The Weaver Girl leaned in, her breath brushing his ear.
“That snake, and the others—they’re all inside your lotus throne, aren’t they?”
The moment she spoke, the Buddha’s light around Fahai vanished.
The hands battling the red threads retracted.
The Weaver Girl flashed to the temple entrance.
Where she had stood, Fahai’s arm stabbed through the air like a blade, piercing empty threads.
“You run fast.”
The Weaver Girl flicked her wrist, recalling her threads.
Her expression was grave.
The man before her now was the true Lankā Bodhisattva.
“Should’ve let me out sooner. I could’ve enjoyed the night with you.”
His eyes roamed over her.
“A goddess without her celestial robe, her power halved—yet you dare come here? You’ll do as material for my Three Bodies.”
Lankā returned to his lotus throne.
“All Six Transcendental Powers mastered. Impressive.”
As he sat, red threads and Buddha’s light clashed.
Lankā flicked a finger.
The Weaver Girl was hurled backward.
“Cough—”
She crashed into the temple courtyard, her aura weak.
The Buddha’s light shattered. Lankā turned to the statue in the hall.
His eyes were now pitch-black, his blue robes writhing with agonized faces struggling to break free.
Lankā closed his eyes, savoring their screams.
“Old relics who’ve faded into obscurity—why cling to this world?”
The golden Buddha statue trembled—then collapsed.
The Weaver Girl forced herself up, blood streaking her body.
“Clang!”
The bell tolled.
The gates of Lankā Temple swung open.
The devotees shuffled in, their bodies gaunt, their faces blank.
Lankā appeared before the Weaver Girl and drove his hand through her chest—
only to frown at the emptiness in his grasp.
“Weaving Fate? How troublesome.”
He glanced at the approaching devotees and licked his lips.
“I’m so hungry.”
(End of Chapter)