However, immediately after saying those words, Xin Hui realized his mistake and placed his hands together, praying toward the western direction with his eyes closed.
"Amitabha! This disciple is in the wrong. I will write down the sutras a hundred times afterward to atone for my wrongdoings," said Xin Hui.
After that, Xin Hui turned back to calmly look at Li Huowang once again. He thought about it for a moment before lightly nodding his head. "I think I may know why you saw those things. Benefactor Xuan Yang, please follow me."
Looking at how the other monks were staring at him angrily, Li Huowang had no choice but to sheathe his sword and follow the abbot.
Xin Hui brought him back to the place where he had seen the monks sculpting the statues. "Benefactor Xuan Yang, was it here that you saw those filthy things?"
Li Huowang, surrounded by the other monks, was shocked to see that the various masses of flesh had transformed back into incomplete statues. It was as if they were mocking him. "Wait…"
"Benefactor, follow me." Xin Hui started moving once again.
Under Xin Hui's lead, Li Huowang was brought back to the place where he had seen the livestock and animals.
However, now there were none. The only thing he saw were incomplete statues of Qilins and lions, all of them aligned neatly, their stone eyes gazing at them lifelessly.
Just then, Xin Hui suddenly took Li Huowang's sword and slashed at the statues, causing one of the stone lion's heads—about the size of Xin Hui's palm—to be severed from its body. He then grabbed the head of the stone lion and placed it in Li Huowang's hand.
Li Huowang gently touched the head of the lion; the texture and weight told him that it was indeed made of stone!
They then arrived at the large hall, where Li Huowang saw a giant statue of Buddha sitting in lotus form. Its left hand was holding a bowl meant for receiving alms, while its right hand was pointing its index finger directly toward the ground. The Buddha statue appeared completely motionless in front of him.
"Impossible! I saw all of it so clearly! How could it all be fake?" Li Huowang questioned himself.
Hearing his words, Abbot Xin Hui sighed. "Amitabha! Benefactor, it seems that the severity of your illness is not light."
Li Huowang paused and considered a possibility.
Did my hysteria return? Was everything I saw simply an illusion?
Xin Hui nodded lightly, as if he could read Li Huowang's mind. "Benefactor, you are much more aware of the nature of your illness than we are."
"But I ate so much of the Black Taisui flesh. Was all of that only able to last this long? Did my hysteria really return?" Li Huowang mumbled as he placed both hands on his head.
Hearing his words, the monks around him whispered to each other, telling the others what they had just heard.
"We chased him for so long and it turns out he's just someone sick," lamented one of the monks.
"If there's no issue, it would be better to send him out of the monastery. What if his hysteria worsens and he starts cutting people up?" commented another monk.
"Quiet!" Xin Hui shouted, silencing everyone.
Xin Hui then entered the hall, lit four incense sticks, and offered them to Li Huowang. "I'm fine with you disturbing my disciples, but it's not good to disturb the Buddha. Please admit your mistakes and offer these incense sticks."
"Offer these incense sticks?" Li Huowang glanced toward the massive Buddha statue, then toward Xin Hui and the four incense sticks. His body tensed up again.
"Benefactor, what are you waiting for? This was your mistake, after all," Xin Hui said, shaking the incense sticks.
However, in Li Huowang's mind, he could not forget the mass of flesh and the monks around the monster's body. If all of that was real, wouldn't it consume him if he went up to offer the incense sticks?
"Benefactor, why are you hesitating?" asked Abbot Xin Hui.
At that moment, Li Huowang saw that Xin Hui's face was beginning to show signs of impatience.
For a moment, he looked up toward the sun while holding the stone lion's head. In the end, he threw the stone lion's head aside and took the incense sticks with both hands. Then, he walked past the door and slowly approached the gigantic Buddha statue.
He walked slowly due to his tense muscles and the fact that his mind was racing. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
Soon, he arrived at the base of the statue.
The statue did not move, nor did it transform into the vile thing he had seen earlier.
Li Huowang held the incense sticks with both hands while standing in front of the incense burner. He looked up once again, only to see the Buddha's stony eyes watching him, devoid of any emotion. At that moment, Li Huowang felt a sense of respect for the statue.
As he held the incense sticks above his head to pray, the four incense sticks lightly shook, and the white smoke slowly drifted toward the top of the hall.
After praying three times and placing the incense sticks into the incense burner, Li Huowang turned around and walked out of the hall.
Seeing that the conflict had been resolved, the monks slowly dispersed, returning to their workstations before continuing with their tasks. Soon, the sound of chisels striking stone echoed throughout the courtyard.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang followed Xin Hui down the brick path and exited.
"Benefactor Xuan Yang, since your illness is so serious, you should stay here and wait for the Great Fast instead of wandering around. Even though your illness is troubling, Dan Yangzi is even more dangerous. We should take things slowly, step by step, just like how we eat rice one mouthful at a time," Xin Hui said as he held his prayer beads.
Li Huowang raised his head and stared at the bright sun. He stretched his body and asked, "Abbot, is there a method to cure my illness here at the Righteous Monastery?"
"I will let my disciples know. Maybe they can help, or maybe they can't. After all, the Righteous Monastery doesn't specialize in medicine, nor do we have the necessary medical knowledge," replied Xin Hui.
"It's alright. I was just asking. I'm already used to my illness." Li Huowang said.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Huowang asked, "Wait, how did you do that just now? How did you take the bell that was on my body?"
"Hoho. It's just a children's trick. Nothing much," replied Xin Hui.
"Abbot, no need to be so humble. If you say it was nothing much, then it would mean that I'm even less than an insect," said Li Huowang with a wry smile.
"Benefactor Xuan Yang, that's not the case. Even though Dan Yangzi was not as strong as me, he was still very skilled. Nonetheless, wasn't he eliminated by you?"
"Dan Yangzi was strong? Then how strong are you? How do you categorize people like him?" asked Li Huowang.
"There is a way to categorize them into Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, but that's just something made up by people. As monks, we are not interested in fame, so I don't know much about it," replied Xin Hui.
As they walked, they talked for a long time, allowing Li Huowang to learn many new things about this world.
When they finally left the courtyard, Li Huowang stopped, bowed, and thanked Xin Hui. "Thank you for helping me, abbot."
"It's nothing. Just a simple matter. If your body is feeling unwell, then you should head back and rest," replied Xin Hui.
After some pleasantries, Li Huowang left. When he looked around after a while, he didn't see the abbot following him, so he started walking back to his place.
He walked slowly, as if busy thinking about something. Finally, after one hour, he reached his room. The moment he closed the door, his expression twisted into one of anger as he punched the wall. He didn't know what trick the monk had used to deceive everyone's senses, but Li Huowang was someone who had a lot of experience dealing with illusions due to his illness. This was why he was extremely sensitive to them. He had already felt something was off about the massive stone Buddha, just like the hospital in his illusion, but he just didn't know what it was.
"The statues were all fake! Even the giant Buddha statue was fake! They must've cast an illusion spell! I know what I saw, and those filthy things were not some illusion!"