Chapter 33: It’s Decided! We’ll Save This World!

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While the captain questioned the monk for information, Yuan Zhu had already come up beside Meng Xiyue and lightly poked her backpack.

Feeling the bag sway, the pink-haired girl turned around. The moment she saw Yuan Zhu, she put on a kindly smile. “Little Brother Yuan, what can Big Sister do for you?”

“Give it a rest. We’re the same age. Tell me, what is a Buddhist cocoon? You’ve read a lot, so don’t try to fool me.”

At that, Meng Xiyue tilted her head and looked him up and down, a layer of reflected light gleaming across her lenses. She asked curiously, “You’ve really never heard of it?”

Yuan Zhu thought for a moment. He truly had no memories concerning the subject, so he nodded seriously. “No. That’s why I’m curious. What, is it common knowledge that everyone is supposed to know?”

“Not exactly. There aren’t any temples near your home? You’ve never encountered Buddhist monks in all your life, nor traveled to temples to worship Buddha and pray for blessings?”

“...What?”

Traveling?!

Yuan Zhu was utterly stunned. In this cannibalistic world, people could still go on vacation?

“I really never had anything to do with Buddhism growing up. My family seems to believe in the Yellow Heaven... probably? Anyway, all my religious beliefs are tied to things like physical health, work efficiency, discount benefits, extra annual leave, and so on. They change every year according to the Faith Benefits Handbook.”

The people of Runing were practical. They squeezed the potential of their eleven available religious registrations dry, down to the very last drop.

Every year-end, the newspapers were filled with headlines like: The Ultimate Faith Combination Guide for Maximizing Next Year’s Benefits! There were professional combinations tailored to women, men, different occupations, different hobbies, and everything else. Their calculations were even more mysterious than the scientific methods used to predict lottery numbers on Earth.

So Yuan Zhu truly had no energy to believe in, honor, or worship Buddha. For one thing, the nearest Buddhist temple was far too distant. For another, it offered few benefits. Worse still, all of them were private temples, and ordinary people could not enter.

“Got it, got it.” Meng Xiyue nodded repeatedly. The faiths she had listed with her school were also related to guaranteed exam passes, improved learning efficiency, academic brilliance, and skincare. For the sake of her studies, she had even given up the annual-leave package.

“Then let me explain. If you lived near a Buddhist temple, you would often find knots growing on the branches of the ancient trees nearby. As the years passed, those knots of varying sizes would become clearer and gradually take on the shape of Buddha heads. It isn’t limited to plants, either. Censers, walls, stone pillars, and wooden beams that have been steeped in Buddhist incense will all grow Buddha heads made from different materials. These Buddha heads are collectively called Buddhist cocoons, or Buddha-head cocoons.”

A chill crept up Yuan Zhu’s back at the description, raising gooseflesh all over his body. “You mean the walls of Buddhist temples can grow densely packed Buddha-head cocoons?”

Meng Xiyue nodded as though it were only natural. “Of course. Genuine ancient temples with centuries of history, or famous monasteries that have stood for millennia, must possess a deep foundation of their own. That means Walls of a Thousand Buddhas and Walls of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There are also golden-bodied Buddha statues whose surfaces grow dense clusters of natural Buddha-head cocoons. A small statue with seven or eight natural Buddhist cocoons is regarded as a Buddhist treasure blessed with sacred power. No expert appraisal is necessary; it can fetch an exorbitant price and be bought by some tycoon to worship at home.”

“Hiss...!”

Yuan Zhu drew in a sharp breath. His previous incarnation truly had known nothing about Buddhism. He had only known that it was something accessible to the wealthy. People at the bottom rung believed in the free Twelve Lords of Fate, or other cheap gods and discounted deities.

Buddhism, on the other hand, charged people in reverse—and did not guarantee blessings for the poor. As the saying went: “My Buddha does not save the penniless!”

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Yuan Zhu asked, “So a Buddhist cocoon is actually a good thing?”

“More or less. It carries an auspicious meaning. You can always find them around Buddhist temples. There are stone Buddha cocoons on rocks and wooden Buddha cocoons on trees. Some animals, after being steeped in Buddhist teachings, even grow flesh Buddha cocoons. If you peeled one off and gave it to someone, it would be like giving them a rat-shaped sachet during the New Year. But there is one thing: Buddhist cocoons need to be exposed to Buddhist teachings over a long period, or they will wither. They shrink from Buddha heads into skeletal Buddha skulls, and that symbolism is not very auspicious. So unless the recipient believes in Buddha, it is better not to give them a Buddhist cocoon. If it is not properly maintained, you may end up offending them.”

Yuan Zhu shook his head. Who in their right mind would give someone a Buddha-head cocoon? If you strung a few around someone’s neck and gave them prayer beads to finger, wouldn’t that just turn them into Sha Wujing from the Flowing Sand River?

“Then what about this little monk? Is he a good sign too? Auspicious and blessed?”

Meng Xiyue shook her head. “I’m not very knowledgeable either. I’ve only visited temples as a tourist and never had much contact with monks who possessed real magical power. I’ve heard that genuine monks all have true Buddha cocoons on their bodies. They are a sign that someone has entered the Buddhist system, as well as organs that convert Buddhist magical power. Apparently they are called... um... flesh relics?”

What on earth was she talking about?

The Buddhism of this world was downright unhinged. An animal covered in Buddhist head-shaped fleshy growths of every size was not regarded as a hideous mutation. Instead, it was considered an auspicious manifestation, the earthly descent of a bodhisattva or arhat’s mount.

It was simply beyond reason. Didn’t it hurt the bodhisattva to sit on those things?

By then, the captain had finished his questioning. From the young novice monk’s answers, he had extracted several useful pieces of information.

This bubble world was not very large. It contained only a small city called the Naye Buddhist Kingdom. Its civilization remained in a backward, ancient feudal age, governed by an even more backward religious system. Yet precisely because the nation was small and its population sparse, it had fallen into a peculiar self-sustaining cycle.

Until a force suspected to be the Underworld shattered the balance.

That was right. The Duling Planet truly possessed an Underworld. It was a special dimension of death, distinct from the Spirit Realm Layer. The different religions and cultures of the living world all possessed their own concepts of hell.

These privately established hells were different manifestations of the Underworld.

Death was everywhere, and the final destination of death was always the Underworld.

Therefore, the living beings of this bubble world would also have their souls dissolved after death and enter the Underworld. It was entirely reasonable that the Underworld, running through this already fragile little world, would pour deathly energy back into it, giving rise to ghosts and undead spirits.

This little bubble world contained only a single Buddhist kingdom. It had never directly clashed with the eight external universes. Not only had it emerged unscathed, but it had even found the time to weave itself a Spirit Realm Layer as a buffer. For such a world to be pierced through by the Underworld was nothing unusual.

The captain sighed and added, “Bubble worlds connected to the Divine Space will always suffer every kind of corrosion. Everyone needs to get used to it. Unfortunately, this Underworld Corrosion offers no benefit whatsoever to Happy Home. What we need even more is a fertile world rich in natural resources and possessing a stable environment. The Underworld’s infiltration will only accelerate this world’s decline, pushing it toward a ‘death form.’ That does not mean the world has no value. Once we have thoroughly explored and marked it, we can sell the intelligence and coordinates to other teams inclined toward death attributes or the Underworld system.”

Yuan Zhu said, “I have learned a lot!”

Zhou Chu, walking ahead of him, suddenly turned around and glared at him. “We should do everything we can to aid the local residents and try to save this world! If we can stop the Underworld’s deathly energy from infiltrating it, then the environment here should be suitable for growing raw materials for the Woolly King, shouldn’t it? The Buddhist people here are gentle and obedient, which also makes them suitable laborers. We can provide them with more advanced farming techniques and crop varieties, then trade and cooperate with them.”

As a modern person, the Security Bureau investigator possessed integrity, refinement, and ideals. She was more than willing to lend a hand to the backward natives of a bubble world. It was also a way of upholding her Code.

The captain smiled and nodded. “It is worth trying. I support your idea. Why don’t you lead this mission and help the natives as much as possible, saving their world in the process? Even if you fail, you can absorb the lessons and experience. It will be a worthwhile accumulation.”

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Zhou Chu nodded readily. “All right. I accept this mission! Everyone, follow my orders. Withered-Grass, take us to where you lived before. I’m going to save people!”

“Thank you, honored benefactors! The Buddha Lord will bless you with a long life of one hundred years!” The little monk grew excited at once. There was hope! He had finally found a great savior. Anyone could see that these people were extraordinary. They resembled the extraterrestrial visitors the adults had once mentioned in their idle conversations.

“Stop, stop, stop! No, no, no!” Meng Xiyue hurriedly waved her hands. “I don’t want to live to be a hundred. My lifespan is guaranteed to exceed three hundred years. Don’t curse me.”

“What?!” The novice monk stared at the beautiful older sister before him in shock. Sure enough, she really was an extraterrestrial visitor!

“What?!” Lu Rang, who had assumed that the other party was an ordinary person like him, was dumbfounded. Did people from Taixi all live that long? He wanted to immigrate too.

“What?!” Yuan Zhu, unwilling to accept it, cried, “How are you able to live that long?!”

“Little Sprite, tell me loudly: As a Tiger Demon, how long can I live?”

“I don’t know! You’re one of my first test subjects. Only after we find out how long you can live will your lifespan be useful as a reference for everyone else. So, Boss, you need to work hard and stay alive. Let’s set a small goal first: outlive this pink-haired girl. How about... three hundred and one years?”

Having taken command of the group, Zhou Chu raised her rifle and performed a practiced inspection. After confirming that everything was in order, she said, “Everyone, raise your weapons and stay alert! Little monk, take hold of this sheep and lead the way for us.”

Yuan Zhu and Meng Xiyue were summoned to her side to scout ahead. Grandma and Bread Girl stayed in the middle of the formation, under protection. The Black Butcher and Lu Rang brought up the rear.

Yuan Zhu, who had suddenly been entrusted with an important position despite originally intending to lie low and play it safe, asked, “Should I switch places with Lu Rang? I’m worried he’ll shoot us in the back and wipe out the whole team.”

Of the seven people in the squad, Zhou Chu had the best impression of Yuan Zhu, whose aura was the cleanest. She did not want him to die on the mission so soon. Thus, she decisively refused and kept him by her side.

Even though they were both Security Bureau members, a certain man surnamed Han targeted her at every turn. That was the refinement of big-city people!

“No need. Your senses are keen, and you handled the trek through the deep forest with ease. So you’ll act with me. As for Lu Rang shooting us in the back, aren’t you wearing clothes?”

“Huh?”

“Although the Woolly King is an untrustworthy god of anti-law, the clothes she provides are highly defensive and impervious to bullets.”

Lu Rang loudly declared his resolve. “Everyone, rest assured! I won’t fire recklessly again!”

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