SWDnovel Chapter 384 The Contract is Settled
Chapter 384 The Contract is Settled
The lottery ceremony continued.
The moment each sheet of paper was turned over, a group of people held their breath—
Some felt fortunate, some despaired, and some felt as if they had lost their parents.
After the last group finished drawing lots, Xia Ning's gaze swept across the entire room:
"All groups, the contracts are finalized."
"Now, I will announce the precautions for the guidance."
The crowd immediately fell silent, and all 107 pairs of eyes turned to her.
Xia Ning raised her hand, her fingertips making a virtual tap in the air.
A huge light screen unfolded in front of them, depicting an aerial view of the Silent Sanctuary. The main entrance was marked with a red dot, and a golden dotted line meandered along the outer wall, eventually returning to its starting point.
"The route around the temple has already been explained—start from the main gate, go clockwise around the outer wall once, and return to the starting point; that is one loop."
"Three consecutive laps complete the task."
"There are no rest breaks between the three laps; once you start, you have to stay with the whole team."
She paused, her gaze darkening.
"In other words, you will have to endure three rounds of karmic afflictions."
"If you run out of energy, have a mental breakdown, or make a mistake while reciting the mantra—"
She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood the weight of that word.
Xia Ning's gaze lingered on the crowd for a moment, finally landing on Lin Feng before quickly looking away:
"Now, I will explain the specific responsibilities of the facilitator."
She raised her hand, and the image on the screen changed, showing an illustration of three human-shaped icons surrounding a pilgrim icon.
"Guiding is not about following pilgrims around like a lackey; what you need to do is assist pilgrims in completing the circumambulation ritual."
"Role 1: Guiding the way."
"Most pilgrims are either confused or obsessed, and will not actively follow the correct route."
"You need to send one person to walk about one meter ahead of the pilgrims and guide them with a slow and steady pace."
"If pilgrims stray from the path along the wall, you must guide them back to the correct path by gestures or a soft voice."
"Role Two: Protection."
"During the pilgrimage around the temple, the karmic aura on the pilgrims will attract the attacks of animals such as birds, rats, snakes, insects, and ants."
"You must promptly discover and drive them away, and not let these things disturb the pilgrims."
"Responsibility Three: Appeasement."
"The karmic burdens of pilgrims are continuously released during the circumambulation, causing you to experience negative feelings."
"But at the same time, your peace and sincerity will also have a positive influence on the pilgrims."
"If you can maintain a calm mind and a respectful attitude, the karmic obstacles of pilgrims will dissipate more quickly."
"Conversely, if you show fear, disgust, or impatience, the pilgrims' resentment will intensify, and their karmic burdens will become even stronger."
Xia Ning slightly turned her head, her cold gaze sweeping across the entire room like frost and snow.
"In other words, your emotional state directly determines the ferocity of the pilgrims."
The more afraid you are, the fiercer it becomes; the calmer you are, the quieter it becomes.
As soon as he finished speaking, a low wail rose from the crowd.
"Easy for you to say... Your life is hanging by a thread, how can you stay calm?"
"Yeah, I don't know if it's fierce or not, but I feel like I'm going to wet my pants right now."
"..."
Complaints rose and fell, and the words "I can't do it" were written all over the faces of the vast majority of people.
But there are always exceptions.
Lin Feng's group remained calm, showing no sign of panic.
The old woman stood with her eyes lowered, her expression serene, as if she had long since become indifferent to life and death.
The monk Amirka clasped his hands together, his expression serene.
"Fourth duty," Xia Ning's expression turned serious, her cold, sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room once more, "to respond to the pilgrims' normal inquiries."
"Pilgrims may speak with you during their circumambulation."
"You must answer, and your answers must be sincere, respectful, and not perfunctory."
"If a pilgrim does not receive a response after three inquiries, it is considered a failure to provide adequate service!"
She paused, then added:
"But Rule Four remains in effect—do not respond to any of their whispers, groans, or shouts."
"You need to judge for yourselves which of the pilgrims' words are 'normal inquiries' and which are 'whispers of karmic retribution.' If you make a wrong judgment, you will bear the consequences yourself."
"Finally—" Xia Ning raised her hand, made a gesture of clasping her hands together and bowing slightly, "May your merits shine like golden light."
"After circling three times, a wisp of golden light will emanate from the pilgrim and drift toward the guide."
"You must stand still, put your hands together, bow slightly, and receive the golden light into your body."
"You must not hide, speak, or make any movement that resists."
She lowered her hand, her gaze turning cold:
"After the golden light enters your body, you will suffer the pain of being burned alive—that is the backlash when your karmic obstacles are stripped away."
"This process will last about a minute. If you can endure it, all your karmic obstacles will be eliminated, and your spiritual practice will progress; if you can't endure it—"
She paused for a second, a cold smile curving her lips:
"The golden light will burn you to ashes from the inside out, leaving not even your bones behind."
Everyone gasped in shock, and some people's faces turned pale on the spot.
"It's over, it's over, I definitely can't hold on... I'm going to be burned to death..." A tall, thin young man's voice trembled, and his hands unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes.
"It's only a minute, just grit your teeth and it'll be over, no problem!" Someone next to me tried to encourage me, the volume was quite loud, but the last syllable of their voice was weak and wavering.
"No matter how painful it is—can it be more painful than childbirth?" A woman's voice broke out from the crowd, carrying a hint of stubborn defiance. "I survived a natural birth, what am I afraid of?"
Xia Ning scanned the crowd, her gaze finally settling on Lin Feng: "Did everyone understand?"
"Understood!" The voices of the crowd answered in a disjointed and unconvincing manner.
Xia Ning nodded slightly and waved her hand: "Let's go, head to the main gate of the temple."
The group descended the stone steps, their footsteps a jumbled mess.
Someone started it, and gradually a low chanting began to rise from the crowd—
"When the mind is clear as a mirror, karma will not cling to the body; when thoughts return to their original stillness, all obstacles will be cleared away."
Time is running out, I need to memorize the mnemonic quickly.
Xia Ning walked ahead, but kept an eye on the movements behind her out of the corner of her eye.
She noticed that everyone was frantically memorizing, except for Lin Feng, who was as quiet as if he were taking a walk.
She slowed her pace, turned her head to look at him, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes: "Why aren't you carrying it?"
Lin Feng smiled faintly: "You'll get it after watching it once."
Xia Ning was slightly taken aback, a hint of admiration flashing in her cool eyes.
………………
Studio:
"Damn it, you got tricked again!"
"You think you can learn it after watching it once? I watched it ten times and I'm still worried I'll forget my lines if I get nervous..."
"Is this the difference between a top student and a poor student? I'm crying."
Xia Ning: This kid's got something. Lin Feng: He always has.
........................
Led by Xia Ning, the 107 people quickly arrived at the main gate of the Silent Mirror Temple.
Xia Ning stopped in front of the main gate, turned to face the crowd, and said, "Please wait a moment, the pilgrims will arrive shortly."
Those in the crowd who hadn't yet memorized the formula were wiping away cold sweat while their lips moved frantically, as if they wanted to carve those four lines into their bones.
Just then, a thick, dark cloud drifted overhead.
The entire Silent Mirror Temple was suddenly shrouded in a cold and dark light.
"They're here!" Xia Ning's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.