"Zhong Langjun, look at this surging river, it goes away but never returns."

Monk Ming sighed, "The same is true in life!"

"You and fellow Daoist Li only think that I am greedy for money, but you don't know the root cause."

"I was originally a young novice from the Tiefo Temple in Xishan. When I was young, I accidentally knocked over an oil lamp and burned an ancient temple to ashes."

"Afterwards, the monks in the temple did not blame me and went around asking for alms to raise money. The temple was rebuilt a few years later."

Zhong Sheng thought to himself, it’s so easy for a monk to make money.

"But why should others bear my sins?"

"That day, I stood in front of the brand-new hall, and suddenly I had an enlightenment."

"The temple in my heart, the temple I burned with my own hands, has not been rebuilt."

"We have a saying in Buddhism called karma. The karma created by oneself will eventually be repaid on oneself."

"The Iron Buddha Temple is my karma."

"So, I knelt down and kowtowed, and vowed in my heart that I would travel all over the world and rebuild Buddhist temples with my own strength."

"Gold and silver are common things, but they are indispensable in this world."

When Zhong Sheng heard this, he said, "Monk, I don't like how you are pretending to be sophisticated."

"After all, it's the same truth: eat by yourself and wash the dishes by yourself."

When the monk heard this, he was happy and said, "Yes, your words have great potential."

Zhong Sheng glanced in the direction of Qingfeng Li and said, "Daoshi Li has a vicious mouth, but his heart is not bad. Sometimes his words are harsh."

"I know that there are many duplicities in this world, and there are not many sincere gentlemen like him who mean what they say."

"As for the skinned ghost, it is a public case that has been disputed between Buddhism and Taoism for hundreds of years."

"Monk Min has a humble status and dare not argue for Buddhism."

"However, as long as there is a skinned ghost, the young monk is obligated to do so."

Monk Min put his hands together, picked off an eyebrow, pinched it on his fingertips, and said, "Go."

The eyebrows flew away with the wind, turned into a black light, and penetrated into the roaring river.

After a while, seven or eight whirlpools rose from the water, mixed with blood-stained rags and fragments of bones. "Fellow Daoist Li, we have a clue."

On the dam, there are a few residues dripping with water, which is shocking.

The mutilated corpse clearly bears mottled tooth marks, the remains of flesh and skin that had been chewed away.

The head of the village stood nearby and was frightened, "Lord County Magistrate, what on earth is this?"

"A fish demon, that's why we're here to subdue it."

Li Qingfeng said seriously, "Be careful when doing work in the future and don't go near the river."

The captain breathed a sigh of relief. The monster that couldn't go ashore was much less scary.

However, Zhong Sheng and Monk Min knew that the so-called fish demon was just an excuse.

The tooth marks on the remaining bone fragments seem to be unique to human teeth.

"Monk, the skinned ghost comes from the Buddhist path of hungry ghosts, and the move you just made came from the same source."

When there was no one around, Li Qingfeng spoke to Monk Min.

The skinned ghost is one of the living beings in the realm of hungry ghosts. The traces left behind by the hungry ghosts were found by the monk.

Monk Min nodded, "Young monk can use the bones to track down the skinned ghost."

Without further ado, the three of them set off immediately.

……

"Boss, long time no see."

Several Zheng Jun men wearing leather armor playfully surrounded Mancang who had just left the house.

Mancang looked up haggardly, coughed a few times, and said, "Master Jun admitted the wrong person."

"Nothing wrong."

One of the tall soldiers said with a smile, "We are all cannibals. Even if we change our skins, the stench in our bones cannot be changed no matter what."

"Boss, you escaped from the army. The captain was very sad and ate his beloved concubine that night."

"Well, I didn't expect that you would hide in this remote place and raise two meat men."

Mancang sighed, "As the king's elite soldiers, you are the great Zheng Dongliang. What are you doing here?"

The tall soldier said happily, "I had military orders, but I didn't expect to meet Lord Duizheng. It was just a coincidence."

"Gentleman, now my brothers are willing to help you, and help you to make meritorious service and return to the king's command."

Mancang shook his head, "I'm seriously ill now, so I'm afraid I won't be able to serve the king."

"It's not up to you."

Several other Zheng soldiers looked unkind, and the tall soldier even said, "What kind of serious soldier disease? Just eat a few people and it will be cured."

"You were originally the strongest among us, but after you escaped, you hid in hiding, and no one dared to eat you. All your divine power was cut off. No wonder you could only hide in the countryside and become a useless person."

"Captain, do you still remember what you taught us? We are meat-eating wolves, not scavenging maggots!"

Mancang sighed, "Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Several soldiers looked at each other and pointed in the direction of the embankment.

"The generals in the city were incompetent and could not stop the Tang army, so they were defeated and died."

"We came all the way and it won't help, but Tang Jun's actions reminded us."

"Digming embankments to flood the city was a brilliant plan. Several of us joined forces to blast through the embankments and turn this county into a water country."

"The Tang army in the city will also be completely wiped out."

"Gentleman, think about it. After you have made such a great contribution, when you return to the army, not only will you not be punished, but you will be rewarded generously."

Other soldiers also started shouting, "That's right, that's right."

"Team Zheng, you are working on the dam, so you can take us there to do it."

Mancang listened, his eyes showing sadness, and he couldn't help coughing.

The tall soldier on the side asked thoughtfully, "How long has it been since you had enough to eat?"

"If you want to do big things, you can't do it without strength.

"You have raised that mother and daughter for a long time. Although they have lost a little weight, they are still full."

When Mancang heard this, he raised his head suddenly.

A soldier came up from the side, grabbing his bloody arm and thigh, "Come on, dinner is ready."

Mancang's whole body was trembling, and his pair of green eyes were burning with despair.

The despair that surged from the bottom of his heart was just like when he was captured in the army and watched his parents and brothers being hacked to death and put into a pot to be cooked.

The world is so big, but in the end, he still has nothing.

He is not Mancang, he is just an evil ghost who borrowed the skin of Mancang, a lost dog.

A member of the skinning army under the command of King Garuda was tired of fighting and cannibalizing, so he tore the skin of a common man at night, wrapped him in his skin and escaped.

In the days to come, he lived a low-key life as Mancang, resisting the urge to eat people.

Sometimes, even he himself doesn’t know what he is protecting in this troubled world.

Until now...

Looking at the bloody corpse, his heart felt cold.

"I'm going to tear you beasts to pieces."

Mancang's voice was hoarse, his eyes and nose were sore, but he couldn't shed any tears.

From this moment on, he completely lost his bottom line and dignity as a human being, and degenerated into a crazy beast.

"You all deserve to die if you eat people."

The person he was twenty years ago and the person he was twenty years later shouted this desperate accusation at the same time.

The surrounding soldiers looked confused. What's wrong with eating people?

"Captain Zheng, if you don't like this, we'll change it to another flavor."

The desperate howl came from Mancang's mouth. It was not like a living person could make it, but closer to the howl of a wolf or the cry of a ghost.

He ripped open the flesh on his body, and the stench in the air became ten times stronger.
Chapter completed!