Open a Clinic to Cultivate Myself Chapter 212 The Lamp with Dead Body Fa

A newly-built asphalt road, which led to the top of the mountain, ended in a flat ground. A temple was built on that flat ground. The temple had three rows of rooms and three rows of side rooms on each side. The whole pattern was grand.

Hanging on the lintel of the temple's front hall was a large plaque that said “Temple of Dead Tree”.

When Ning Tao saw the large plaque, he was filled with curiosity. “Isn't the Temple of Dead Tree torn down?”

“We split up. Senior Yin, you and Miss Bai go to their monitoring room together, and I will go in with Qing Zhui to find clues. We'll meet at the third hall.” Ning Tao made up his mind quickly.

Then the four acted separately. After Yin Molan and Bai Jing left, Ning Tao led Qing Zhui to the front door of the hall. The door of the front hall was closed, and cameras were installed in the corridor and doorway so that people entering the corridor and approaching the door were photographed.

Ning Tao cast a look at the roof, took a deep breath, and pumped his spiritual power into his legs. Then he jumped up, tapped the air twice, and climbed as if on a ladder to the roof of the front hall. As he practiced and performed the Ladder under Feet more and more, he became more and more adept at the skill.

Qing Zhui jumped, too, landing lightly on the front roof. Her green dress fluttered, and the way she flew through the air was pleasing to the eye.

Ning Tao stepped on the yellow glazed tile and came to the herringbone daylight opening of the front hall, then bent down and got in. Then he stepped on the beams and entered the interior of the front hall. Qing Zhui followed, only half a step away from him.

In the front hall, there was a sculpture, which was neither Buddhist idol nor Taoist idol, but a very avant-garde and abstract sculpture, made of several cuboids, which looked like a model of a building.

What the hell was this?

Ning Tao was surprised but didn't pay much attention to the sculpture. He roused the eyes and nose to the state of looking and smelling. A large number of odors poured into his nasal cavity, among which the most and strongest was undoubtedly the odor emitted by Qing Zhui beside him, followed by the various smells in the front hall.

It had been nearly 10 days since the five deaf girls disappeared. Even if they had stayed somewhere, the scent they left behind would have been very faint. So the longer time passed, the less hope there was of finding them.

A few minutes passed, and Ning Tao was filled with disappointment. He was going to give up. Then, suddenly, a hint of familiar smell wafted up to his nostrils. The underwear he had smelled in the dorm room at the Hope Special School came to his mind.

This scent corresponded to a missing deaf girl, and it lit up Ning Tao's dying hope. Everything comes to him who waits. On both trips, they visited dozens of temples. At last, he found a clue in the last temple.

“Here it is. Let's go to the third hall.” Ning Tao turned around and said to Qing Zhui.

But Qing Zhui was still looking at the sculpture, which looked like the sand table of a building with little strange eyes.

Startled, Ning Tao asked, “Have you ever seen such a sculpture?”

Qing Zhui thought for a moment, then shook her head and answered, “I can't remember. Let's go.”

The two stepped on the beam back to the front hall's roof, overlooking. Ning Tao saw two figures—Yin Molan and Bai Jing—moving quickly from the roof of the left side hall toward the third hall.

Just then, a few men and a dog came along a corridor on the right. The men wore white uniforms, looking very impressive in the light. The dog was a black-backed wolfhound, tall and robust. As someone led it out of the corridor, it looked up to where Ning Tao and Qing Zhui were.

Ning Tao was worried it would bark, but it wagged its tail at him. He was filled with curiosity. “All the dogs I've seen are friendly to me and never bark at me. Does this have anything to do with Chen Pingdao biting me? Chen Pingdao is Taoist Heavenly Hound. Is he the dog king of the world?”

A man suddenly said, “The bishop said these are not normal times. All of you, keep your eyes sharp and check it carefully. Not even a mouse can come in.”

Several men in white uniforms answered in unison, with a sound of discipline.

Ning Tao said to himself, “A bishop is a member of the Christian, Catholic or Orthodox Eastern Church. Here is clearly a temple named Temple of Dead Tree. Why is there a bishop? This place is weird.”

They led the dog somewhere else, and the wolfhound looked back at Ning Tao again, wagging its bushy tail.

As the men with the dog disappeared from sight, Ning Tao and Qing Zhui jumped off the front hall's roof and snuck quickly toward the third hall.

In a dark corner, Yin Molan waved at Ning Tao. As soon as Ning Tao and Qing Zhui got close to him, he asked, “Buddy, this place is weird. Have you found anything?”

Ning Tao answered, “I'm sure those five girls were here. Their disappearance was also linked to the temple. Did you find anything?”

Yin Molan handed a hard drive to Ning Tao and said, “There are two people in the monitor room, and they were knocked unconscious by Miss Bai. This is the hard disk of the monitoring terminal. I unplugged it, so even if the camera caught us, it wouldn't store it.”

“I keep this hard drive. If they haven't deleted it, we could see images of the five girls coming here.” Ning Tao put the hard drive in the medicine chest, and then added, “Let's go in.”

Then they pushed open the door of the third hall. Ning Tao's eyes were round when the door opened. It was not a god nor a building's sand table, but a big jar in this hall.

The big jar, standing beside the facade wall of the hall, was at least one story high. It was all white and genuine china.

Just from its size, it could be concluded that it was not ordinary porcelain, because there was no kiln in the world that could make porcelain as high as a floor. It was either refined by the practitioner or the demon.

At the foot of the jar was a big chair filled with dead wood, a bit like the wooden version of the Iron Throne in the “Game of Thrones”.

“How strong evil energy!” Yin Molan blurted out.

Ning Tao felt the same way. The evil energy they said was not the cool air from the cold wind, but a kind of weird smell of death that could penetrate the bones. It was like the smell of a hospital morgue. Even without air conditioning, people would feel cold and afraid to stay in it.

Bai Jing looked at the huge jar and uttered, “There really is the Lord of Jar!”

Yin Molan said, “It is not the dragon ascending to heaven, but the monument where ghosts gather. There must be demons here!”

“Could it be Bai Sheng?” Qing Zhui asked.

“How do I know?” Yin Molan rolled his eyes at her.

Ning Tao stepped over to the jar.

“Brother Ning, what are you going to do?” Qing Zhui followed.

Ning Tao didn't answer. He stopped beside the jar and reached for the chair, trying to lift it. But he failed, and then he wanted to push it aside. Suddenly, the flagstones below between the chair and the big jar opened, and a tunnel appeared. The tunnel went underground, its walls lighted with oil lamps, but there was no end in sight.

The oil lamp gave off a yellow light and a peculiar smell. Ning Tao frowned at the smell. That was no ordinary oil lamp, for there was a disgusting oil in the lamp—the dead body fat!

“Let's go down there. Be careful.” Ning Tao reminded, and walked into the tunnel first. As he walked, he pulled out the Unbreakable Fan and opened it gently. The refined Mauser pistol was also on his belt. Although he did not pull it out and hold it in his hand, his right hand was always on his waist. If anything happened, he could pull out his gun to fire in a second.

Qing Zhui, Bai Jing, and Yin Molan followed Ning Tao down the tunnel. The three demons were also on their guard for all possible dangers. Yin Molan pulled out his Blade of Brotherhood, and Qing Zhui and Bai Jing released their snake claws, ready to fight.

As they passed two corners, they came to a depth of about 50 meters above the ground, and ahead came the faint sound of chanting.

“…My new God, I am your pious child. I give you my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my ears, my heart. I give you everything I have. The world will end, but you will live forever. I pray for your protection to place my soul…”

It was a whispering and buzzing sound, and it had all the characteristics of girls' voices.

Ning Tao's nose picked up more familiar smells. He pictured shoes, socks, bras, and briefs. Without further confirmation, the scent he had picked up was that of the five missing girls from the special school.

Could the deaf chant?

Ning Tao was thinking about this when suddenly there were footsteps around the corner ahead.

Considering there was nowhere to hide in the tunnel, Ning Tao moved forward instead of backward. He put spiritual power into his legs, held his breath, and rushed up to the corner. Yin Molan, Qing Zhui, and Bai Jing followed.

Several men in white came out from behind the corner. They were four “security guards” and two girls. The two girls wore long white robes and high pointed hats. Their eyes and noses were covered, leaving only their mouths exposed.

Suddenly the two groups met. The four “security guards” started but fell to the ground before they could cry out. The two girls were not spared. Ning Tao didn't have the heart to attack them, but Qing Zhui and Bai Jing unequivocally knocked them unconscious.

“Change into their clothes. Let's go in,” Ning Tao said.

A minute later, the four stepped around the corner. When they had gone a little further, the space in front of them opened up…

Chapter end