Chapter 274: Wanted Criminal

Standing in the center of the memorial hall, I looked at the giant Double-Faced Buddha Statue on the wall.

The Double-Faced Buddha Statue had appeared many times in my previous live streams. Most of the time, however, only the Double-Faced Buddha Head was carved, leaving out the body. Bridge No. 3 Crematorium was the sole exception.

An endless sea of suffering had been carved across the entire wall. A double-faced Buddha stood in the center, hands spread open to form the Great Mercy and Compassion Seal, surrounded by the eight Buddhist treasures.

The precious umbrella, the golden fish, the treasure vase, the lotus, the conch shell, the dharma wheel, the endless knot, and the victory banner.

The eight treasures were arranged to correspond with the Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism: eye, ear, nose, sound, heart, body, mind, and storehouse.

Although I didn't understand Mahayana Buddhism, I knew a little about these basics.

Using Chasing Eye to inspect it, I slowly realized something was wrong. The eyes of the Double-Faced Buddha Statue on the wall had been dug out, leaving behind only four small pits.

As the saying goes, drawing a dragon and dotting its eyes brings it to life. With its eyes dug out, the Buddha statue had lost its spiritual resonance. No wonder things felt off the moment I walked in.

'Why did Lu Xing dig out the Buddha's eyes? What use is that thing?' I thought quietly. Buddhism had the eight Buddhist treasures and the Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism, while Daoism had the eight trigrams and the eight characters. The Two-Faced Buddha had prepared eight different locations for people with eight different sets of eight characters. Even more coincidentally, connecting these eight locations on the city map formed the exact shape of a Daoist eight trigrams compass.

I already had a few ideas. The seven locations I had visited during my own live streams were all part of the scheme set up by the Two-Faced Buddha many years ago.

To ensure these places wouldn't be destroyed and could operate normally, he had left something akin to a formation core at every location.

According to my deduction, these formation cores might just be the so-called Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism. They were the greatest secret hidden within the Double-Faced Buddha Statue.

'The eight characters have been gathered, and now Lu Xing has started recovering the Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism. No, I have to stop him!'

Assuming there were no flaws in my theory, the Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism were hidden within eight Buddha statues, and these eight Double-Faced Buddha Statues guarded eight different locations across the city. If Lu Xing wanted to collect them all, he would definitely have to re-enter those buildings filled with urban legends!

Only now did I feel a hint of sudden realization. There was likely a specific reason the Underworld Live Show sent me to stream at these places: it wanted me to scout out the locations of these Double-Faced Buddha Statues.

Unfortunately, I had streamed seven times and still hadn't found where all the Buddha statues were.

'There was a Buddha statue in the passage leading to the shallow burial well in the Anxin Hotel. I even took a picture of it at the time. I could have Blind Liu dig it out ahead of time, but it's a pity I can't contact him right now.'

Aside from the Anxin Hotel and the Bridge No. 3 Crematorium, I didn't think I had seen a Double-Faced Buddha Statue in any of the other locations.

'Right! I also know where the Double-Faced Buddha Statue at Xinhu High School is!' A flash of insight struck my mind. I remembered the live stream inside Huang Xue's dream, where the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends used the power of the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman to recreate the nightmare of Xinhu High School. In that nightmare, I saw the Double-Faced Buddha Statue appear.

While the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends' female homeroom teacher was playing "games" with the masochistic principal, I found a hidden compartment in the wall of that room containing the Double-Faced Buddha Statue.

'Xinhu High School is also a place Lu Xing intends to go. Now that I know the locations of two of the Buddha statues, my chances of stopping him are much greater.'

I was wanted across the whole city, but Lu Xing wasn't doing much better. He couldn't be in two places at once. Running all over Jiangcheng to gather the Eight Consciousnesses of Buddhism in a single night would be no easy feat.

My confidence rekindled. I told Mr. Gu to call the 120 emergency line, while I prepared to head to the Anxin Hotel to regroup with Blind Liu.

"Wait! Gao Jian, I have something to give you."

Seeing me walk out of the memorial hall, Mr. Gu struggled to his feet and took a Black Wooden Box out of his clothes.

"When I was fighting Lu Xing and the others to the bitter end, I knew I was in danger, so I deliberately held something back. When he wasn't paying attention, I planted a pair of Mother-Child Gu on him." Mr. Gu opened the Black Wooden Box. Inside was a peculiar, plump insect that looked like a giant silkworm. "This is the Mother Insect of the Mother-Child Gu. The child insect burrowed deep into Lu Xing's collar; he shouldn't have noticed it."

"The Mother-Child Gu has a mild temperament and isn't venomous, but the mother and child are connected by the heart. Even if the child insect is a thousand miles away, the Mother Insect can sense its presence. Look at the Mother Insect's head; the direction it's facing is exactly where the child insect is. Another thing—once the child insect comes within a hundred meters of the Mother Insect, the Mother Insect will ram its head against the wooden box. The moment you hear strange noises coming from the box, you must be extremely careful. The closer the distance, the more intense the Mother Insect's reaction will be."

I took the Mother-Child Gu as if I had just received a priceless treasure. "Mr. Gu, this Gu insect of yours is doing me a massive favor!"

"With the heavy rain pouring constantly, the sensory range might be somewhat reduced. As long as it helps... Truth be told, I feel truly ashamed as a Miaojiang Gu master." Mr. Gu reminded me of a few more precautions, then waved his hand, signaling for me not to worry about him.

I called for Bai Qi and got back into the taxi. Placing the Black Wooden Box next to the steering wheel, I kept a constant eye on the direction the Mother Insect was facing.

'From the moment I learned Mr. Gu was in trouble to the time I arrived, about thirty minutes have passed. Lu Xing and the others should have already returned to the city.'

This night was destined to be restless. I took off the hood of my raincoat and drove toward the city. 'The closest live stream location to Bridge No. 3 Crematorium should be Jiangcheng Medical College.'

Following the Route 14 bus line, I drove straight to the vicinity of Jiangcheng Medical College in one breath. Probably because the Balding Uncle had drawn away a large portion of the police force, there were no police around here.

After driving a lap around the campus, the Mother Insect consistently pointed in the opposite direction. It was impossible for Mr. Gu to lie to me, which meant Lu Xing and the others probably weren't here.

During my previous live stream, I hadn't found the Double-Faced Buddha Statue inside the medical college. If I had to go in and search for it on such short notice, it would be far too inefficient.

Moreover, there was another possibility: Lu Xing and the others had already retrieved the Buddha statue from the medical college and had long since left.

'The forces I can mobilize are too small; I can't afford any errors in judgment. The safest approach is still to follow the Mother Insect's guidance in pursuit.'

I turned the car around. What I lacked most right now was time. Running back and forth, I was getting closer and closer to the midnight start of the live stream. Finding Qiu Ren and Lu Xing was both a live stream task and my key to turning the tables tonight.

Following the Mother Insect's direction, I drove recklessly through the desolate city. I didn't care if the traffic cameras captured my figure; my heart was growing increasingly anxious.

'Where could they have run off to?' Seeing that the hour was almost up, I remembered my agreement with Blind Liu, but I didn't have any communication devices on me. 'I absolutely must get my hands on the Double-Faced Buddha Statue at the Anxin Hotel.'

There were only a few minutes left until the hour. Terrified of missing the window, I had no choice but to set my sights on the pedestrians nearby. Whether by stealing or robbing, I had to make this phone call.

I slowed the car down. The heavy rain was pouring, and it was nearly midnight. Not a single pedestrian could be seen on the road, and even passing vehicles were rare.

'I can't miss this hour!'

Fearing that long nights bring many dreams, I drove the taxi toward the most bustling city center. It was heavily monitored by cameras, making it extremely dangerous for me, but I couldn't care about that right now.

With about three or four minutes left, I found a convenience store with light spilling out.

The store's door was closed but unlocked, the light shining through the crack.

I hurriedly parked the car, stuffed the Black Wooden Box into my pocket, and got out with Bai Qi.

"Is anyone there? Flood peak warning, I'm a police officer from the Municipal Sub-bureau."

After a moment, the sound of slippers shuffling across the floor came from inside the small store. "Coming, coming."

The speaker was a girl who sounded quite young.

The store door cracked open, revealing a highly delicate face devoid of makeup. "Police? Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, it's like this: I'd like to borrow your phone." My expression was calm, showing no signs of abnormality. The girl nodded dubiously and pulled the door open half a finger's width wider.

"Jiajia, wait a second. It's the middle of the night; did you even ask clearly before opening the door?" A woman around forty-five years old turned off the TV and walked out from behind the counter.

"Mom, he said he's a police officer here to borrow the phone." The girl hadn't realized anything was wrong. But as soon as she finished speaking and turned to look at her mother, she suddenly noticed her mother's face was deathly pale, as if she had just seen a terrifying monster.

"What's wrong?"

"Quick, shut the door! He's the wanted criminal from the TV!"