Chapter 58 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part XII)

Chapter 58 – Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part XII)

As he brushed back his long hair, the twisted face opened its eyes, which were completely white without any pupils, reflecting the light under the beam of the flashlight.

The grotesque face opened its mouth, and its distorted features began to squirm. The veins on the face writhed like worms, indescribably nauseating.

At that moment, the squirming face attempted to burrow into the brain of the special forces soldier, causing him to tremble all over in pain, yet, he still did not open his eyes.

Chen Shaoxian thought to himself that this was not good. He hastily pulled out a paper packet from his bag, tore it open, and sprinkled the incense ash inside onto the writhing face. As soon as the face came into contact with the incense ash, it quickly began to petrify, and tiny cracks even appeared in some areas. The face made a squeaking noise and writhed even more violently, crumbling bits falling off as it twisted intensely.

Chen Shaoxian quickly moved to the front, facing the special forces soldier, and placed his right hand over his left, softly chanting, “Supreme Celestial Star, Constantly Adaptable, Dispel Evil and Bind Spirits, protect life and guard the body.” Then, with a push from his right hand to his left, he slapped his left hand onto the forehead of the soldier.

The moment his hand hit the forehead, all the flashlights’ beams suddenly increased in brightness. At the same time, Xiao Zhuang and Song Yumu could feel a strong air current being generated around Chen Shaoxian’s hands, which turned into a powerful gust of wind at the instant of the slap, blowing the hair of the grotesque face straight back, causing it to fall to the ground with the sound. The special forces soldier collapsed as well.

The fallen face twitched twice on the ground and then immediately petrified. Chen Shaoxian walked over and stomped on the petrified face several times, crushing it into fine pieces.

Chen Shaoxian then moved behind another special forces soldier and used the same method to rid him of the grotesque face at the back of his head. Following that, he methodically removed all the grotesque faces from behind the heads of everyone kneeling on the ground, including those of three blond foreigners.

After finishing, Chen Shaoxian looked somewhat tired and sat down on the ground to smoke a cigarette. Taking advantage of this moment, Xiao Zhuang took out some military medicine, administering two pills to those on the ground and also injected each with a syringe filled with a high-concentration nutrient solution to help them quickly regain their strength.

After catching his breath, Chen Shaoxian pulled out a knife and tore off a large piece of his shirt. He then cut the fabric into many small pieces, held them in his hands, and vigorously rubbed them together. He distributed some of the small fabric pieces to the others, instructing them to stuff the crushed pieces into their ears.

Chen Shaoxian then took out a water bottle and sprayed a mouthful of water on each person’s face. The water quickly revived them.

Seeing their comrades awaken, Xiao Zhuang and his group, with tears welling in their eyes, embraced them and encouraged them to move their bodies.

The awakened comrades opened their eyes to find themselves surrounded by their own team members, realizing they had been rescued. Their faces lit up with excitement, and tears filled their eyes.

At this moment, the blond foreigners also opened their eyes. As they did, they began yelling wildly and started punching and kicking the air.

After a short period of flailing, they paused, confused, seeing nothing in front of them. Then, they noticed a group of soldiers in camouflage uniforms with black hair and yellow skin staring blankly at them.

The three foreigners cautiously eyed the soldiers in front of them. One of them mustered some courage and shuffled forward a few steps, then said something.

Song Yumu stepped forward, pointed to his ears, and shook his hand. Then he brought over three pieces of clothing and handed them to the foreigners.

The foreigners, still puzzled, took the clothes. They then looked down at themselves, and one’s face turned red with embarrassment. He quickly put on one piece and tossed the other two to his companions.

The other two only then realized they were nearly naked, especially the woman who, upon noticing her near nudity, let out a shriek and hurriedly crouched down to cover her chest. After receiving the clothes, she quickly dressed.

Once clothed, the three foreigners approached Chen Shaoxian and his group to express their gratitude, now understanding that they had been rescued by this unknown band of people.

Chen Shaoxian and his team simply nodded and then paid them no further attention.

The three foreigners, taking the hint, stood aside and watched the group.

Xiao Zhuang gestured, “What do we do now?”

Chen Shaoxian glanced outside and gestured back, “Those two are still PKing outside, so we definitely can’t go out for now. Plus, after I’ve dispelled the soul bindings from these people, the Inu Oni outside will definitely know. Once they break free, they’ll be back soon. We can only go deeper inside and find a place to hide.”

After a quick regroup, they placed the three foreigners in the middle and the group headed further inside.

They hadn’t gone far when Chen Shaoxian cursed, “Damn it, a dead end.”

Standing before them was a vividly lifelike deity statue, glaring angrily ahead. The statue’s eyes fixed on the group, with flames sculpted behind it. In front of the statue knelt three individuals in kimonos, two wearing tall black hats, and the third with his head fallen to one side, emitting puffs of black smoke from his neck.

Chen Shaoxian frowned at the sight before him and gestured to Xiao Zhuang, “This statue is of Fudo Myo-o¹, and those three in traditional dress must be Japanese Onmyoji. Something about this feels sinister. I’ll go check it out first, and if there’s nothing wrong, I’ll call you over.” Having said that, he started to move forward.

Xiao Zhuang stopped him with a hand, gesturing, “I’ll come with you for backup.” He then turned to brief Song Yumu.

Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang walked towards the statue.

They had only taken a few steps when the headless corpse suddenly turned into black ash and collapsed. Startled, Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang stopped, guns ready, and stood still for a moment to make sure nothing else happened. Once it seemed clear, they cautiously approached.

Upon reaching the two bodies, seeing their faces clearly made Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang’s skin crawl.

The two were bizarrely human with dog-like faces, mouths agape as if they were still breathing.

Chen Shaoxian stared for a moment, then pulling Xiao Zhuang aside, gestured, “These creatures are Inu Oni.” After signaling, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger at them.

Footnote:

1. Fudo Myo-o(不动明王):Fudo Myo-o, also known as Acala, is a prominent deity in Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the esoteric traditions like Shingon and Tendai.