The headless yin spirit and the evil monk reacted to each other—a swirl of purple-blue mist formed an eye, which moved from his left wrist into his palm. Hatred surged within that eye, staring fixedly at the evil monk’s back!

Brian Cooper’s soul merged with the old corpse. After the Wheel of Life and Death of the Heavens spun for an instant, he also began to connect his qi with the “tenants,” gradually sensing their emotions.

The eye that opened in his palm belonged to the yin spirit with a blood-soaked dog’s head and ominous markings all over its canine body.

The dog-headed yin spirit’s hatred for the evil monk was so intense that part of its power broke through the suppression of the Wheel of Life and Death, surging out from the acupoints on his arm!

Brian Cooper clenched his palm, hiding his left hand behind his back to prevent the two monks from noticing anything unusual, and tried to soothe the dog-headed yin spirit in his mind: “Do you have a deep grudge against this person?

If there’s a chance in the future, I promise you, I can help you take your revenge.

Being angry now is useless, and will only expose you.

If he discovers you’re residing in my body, he’ll surely kill me on the spot, and then your hatred will never be avenged!”

As soon as Brian Cooper finished this thought, a canine howl suddenly echoed in his mind: “Woof—” The cold yin aura in his left palm immediately withdrew, quickly vanishing without a trace!

When he opened his left palm again, it was empty, but a purple-blue mark coiled around his palm lines, as if reminding Brian Cooper to keep his promise.

When you have many lice, you stop fearing their bites; when you have many debts, you stop feeling their weight.

Given his current state, what did it matter to make a promise to a yin spirit?

Brian Cooper stared at the purple-blue mark in his palm for a moment. Just as he lowered his hand, the burly monk walked over to him.

Chapter 3 Heart Buddha Temple

The burly monk, full of apology, bowed to Brian Cooper.

“Elder, this humble monk is from Heart Buddha Temple, twenty li from here. This is my junior brother David Grant. We were passing by to escort new disciples to the temple. My junior brother acted rashly just now and mistook you for one of those demons that lurk by day and roam by night, frightening you.

I apologize for our mistake.”

Brian Cooper’s eyes flickered as another thought occurred to him.

The two monks crossed the river as if walking on flat ground—clearly not ordinary people.

Given their origin from “Heart Buddha Temple,” it was unlikely to be an ordinary Buddhist temple.

Could Heart Buddha Temple contain spiritual opportunities that might help him activate the sign-in system?

He had nowhere else to go, and being old and frail, even if he longed for the bustling world, the world would not long for him.

Since that was the case, why not hitch a ride on their “coattails” and try to settle down as a monk at Heart Buddha Temple?

Intent on catching a free ride, Brian Cooper also thought it would be good to become a monk at Heart Buddha Temple and enjoy an easy life. As the burly monk approached, inspiration struck, and he immediately clutched his thigh, crying out, “My leg, ah, old man’s leg, it’s hurt…” “Your leg is hurt?”

The monk called “David Grant” by the burly monk approached with a sinister smile. “Let this humble monk take a look. I’ve learned a bit of bone-setting and massage!”

“Aiya, aiya!”

How could Brian Cooper let this fellow examine his leg?

He immediately cried out and scooted backward.

“David Grant!”

The burly monk’s face darkened, and he scolded David Grant, stepping between David Grant and Brian Cooper: “You’ve already frightened this elder, don’t torment him further!”

David Grant was clearly wary of him, stopping in his tracks and saying resentfully, “If he’s really an ordinary old man, who would come to the riverside at this hour?

He might well be a water ghost from this river, trying to confuse passersby.

If you keep shielding him like this, you’ll regret it when disaster strikes!”

“There’s vitality in the elder’s body—you can’t fake that.”

The burly monk shook his head and ignored David Grant.

He squatted beside Brian Cooper, took out some dry rations, and handed a portion to Brian Cooper, speaking gently: “Elder, it’s not yet dawn. Why are you alone by the river?”

It was indeed suspicious.

If he couldn’t explain himself, others would remain doubtful.

Fortunately, though Brian Cooper’s body was that of a decrepit old man, his soul was in its prime, quick-witted. While the two monks conversed, he had already thought of an explanation.

He accepted the dry rations from the burly monk, and two streams of hot tears suddenly flowed from his cloudy old eyes. Wiping his tears, he said, “This old man has lived long enough…” With that, he recounted the original owner’s posthumous experience to the burly monk in detail.

Of course, in his version, after fainting, he was placed in a coffin by the villagers, had a long, muddled dream, and came to understand the true meaning of life.

After awakening from the dream, he broke out of the coffin, scaring his fellow villagers half to death.

He couldn’t explain it, nor could he stay in the village, so he slipped away at night and ended up by this small river.

Brian Cooper shook his head repeatedly, sighing long and short: “Life and death are but a great dream; in the end, all is emptiness…” He spoke with intention, his words tinged with Zen, which made the burly monk’s eyes light up.

When he finished, the burly monk exclaimed, “How many in this world have experienced what you have, elder?

In my view, you have, through this strange experience, already glimpsed the mystery of life and death and possess great wisdom.”