Chapter 34 Stone Buddha Sheds Tears

According to Wang Butcher, the Wang family of butchers had ventured deep into Ten Mile Mountain more than once, searching every blade of grass and tree, but had never found any trace of the Bai family grandmaster.

If we went to Ten Mile Mountain again, we might just be following the same old path as the Wang family.

I had Feng Ruoxing drive while Ye Yang and I studied the map in the back seat several times, but we couldn't find any clues.

I put down the map and muttered to myself, "Could it be that we're heading in the wrong direction?"

Ye Yang said in a deep voice, "You've already adjusted the direction once."

My first adjustment was to break free from the mindset of tomb raiding and demon subjugation. The Wang family hadn't found any clues because they were stuck in their habitual way of thinking, trying to find Bai Hongzhen using methods for finding demons.

The places where demons and beasts could live were nothing more than hidden places like ancient tombs and caves. Ten Mile Mountain probably didn't have either of these things, which had put the Wang family in a stalemate.

What I was thinking about was how to find a prison!

Since ancient times, in addition to being heavily guarded, the external environment of prisons holding serious criminals was also a factor in preventing prisoners from escaping. Prisons surrounded by the sea, the desert, or desolate and cold places hundreds of miles away from civilization were common.

I had been looking for dangerous terrain on the map, but there was no such place on the map!

According to the markings on the map, most places couldn't even stop herbalists who often entered the mountains, let alone experts in the art.

I picked up the map again, "No, there must be something here that I haven't thought of."

Feng Ruoxing reminded me, "Li Po, have you ever considered that there might not be any prisoners in that prison?"

My eyes suddenly lit up, "Keep talking."

Feng Ruoxing said, "Think about it, going back from Wei Junyong, the Wei family has been guarding the prison for at least three generations. The prisoners in the prison can't be humans, unless they can survive by borrowing life like us."

"If the prison is holding demon beasts, that's even less likely."

"Whether in the eyes of those in the art or in the eyes of secular imperial power, there's no need to imprison demon beasts. The best way is to kill them directly once and for all."

"After leaving these two aside, what else is the use of the prison? It can only be a suppressing prison. The existence of the prison is to suppress something. Or to seal a demon!"

I couldn't help but gasp. What Feng Ruoxing said made sense. Moreover, according to Feng Ruoxing's idea, there was indeed such a place on Ten Mile Mountain that was suitable for building a suppressing prison.

Seeing that I didn't speak, Feng Ruoxing thought that I was embarrassed because I hadn't deduced the specific location of the prison, and quickly explained, "I can guess that there is a suppressing prison in the mountain because I come from the Judge lineage."

"Borrowers of the Judge lineage have some understanding of criminal matters."

"I was able to think of this also because of Wei Junyong's words. He said that Old Man Wei didn't go home, but had to wait until 'thunder rumbled three times and it rained once' before entering the house."

"Thunder rumbles to suppress demons, and rain washes away sins."

"So, I've been thinking, Old Man Wei doesn't dare to go home, is it because he's afraid that the demonic energy on his body will be brought into the house? Reasoning backwards, I think that it should be a suppressing prison."

I shook my head slightly and said, "That's not what I'm thinking."

"I'm thinking: Will we be breaking a taboo that has existed for hundreds of years by rushing to Ten Mile Mountain now?"

"You're overthinking it!" Ye Yang said calmly, "There is a fixed number for the birth of evil spirits. When a demon wants to be born, even if no one is nearby, it can still break free from the seal."

"Before the time for the emergence of demons and monsters, even if you remove the seal yourself, someone will take action to suppress it."

I thought for a while and said, "That's right! Feng Ruoxing, speed up. We must get to the Sitting Buddha Stone on Ten Mile Mountain before noon. That's the only place on the map that's suitable for building a suppressing prison."

The Wang family had specifically introduced the Sitting Buddha Stone on the map. The naturally formed stone, which looked like a Buddha statue, seemed to have been deliberately placed on top of a huge rock, and from a distance, it looked like a Buddha statue enshrined in the mountain.

When I arrived near the Sitting Buddha Stone, it was not yet noon. I looked up at the moss-covered Sitting Buddha Stone and said, "This place is surrounded by cliffs. The sunlight doesn't reach the Sitting Buddha Stone until noon."

"As soon as noon arrives, the sunlight will directly shine on the stone, creating the spectacle of Buddha's light shining everywhere. At that time, we can calculate the area covered by the Buddha's light and roughly figure out where the entrance to the dungeon is."

While I was speaking, the light above my head began to become stronger and stronger. The sunlight falling from the sky was moving towards the top of the Sitting Buddha Stone, when Feng Ruoxing suddenly said, "Li Po, take a closer look at that stone Buddha! Is the stone Buddha crying?"

When I looked at the Sitting Buddha Stone in horror, I saw a tear stain on the stone Buddha's face.

When I looked more closely, I clearly saw a teardrop sliding from the stone Buddha's eye.

Ye Yang took a step forward with his hand on the hilt of his sword, "The stone Buddha is crying, a sign of great misfortune! A demon is about to be born."

While I was in shock, I suddenly felt the light in the sky dim. When I looked up, the scorching sun in the sky had already been covered by dark clouds. The dark clouds seemed to have been pushed to the tip of the mountain by an invisible hand, completely blocking the sunlight that should have been shining on the stone Buddha's head.