Here Lies The Wicked

Chapter 11: Every Man Has His Flames

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The hunger after training wasn’t a priority at the moment. 

It could be set aside for now. 

The scripture made of human skin was the priority. After killing the Ghost Driver, another section of the runes had begun to glow. 

Here was another chance for evolving himself. 

He had not pulled out the scripture and studied out of caution and fear at the hotel. 

There was a myriad of news reports about women, whose names were censored, running to the police. They looked pale and claimed that videos of them having sex had been found in secret camera groups, selfie groups, or within their own circles. Secret cameras were found in the light switches, bulbs, on the legs of tables, in vents and other places in the room. One could find a camera in any nook of the room. 

For that reason he did not pull out the manuscript of human skin, while in the room. 

He had trained for the ‘Golden Immune Arhat’ and then feasted for six or seven hours. It was the reason for delaying the matter of the scripture. 

‘Golden Warrior Seal! 

‘Evolve!’

The ‘Golden Warrior Seal’ came from the Buddhist scripture of ‘Golden Warrior Sutra’. The ‘Golden Warrior Sutra’ was as revered in Buddhism, as the ‘Golden Sutra’ is in Taoism. 

It was used to fight demons and evil spirits. 

The ‘Golden Warrior Seal’ was one Buddhism’s secret stratagems. 

If one looked closely, they would realize that the handprints or seals on the statues of Buddha and Guanyin were important. Each statue possessed different seals that were representative of the different powers and strengths. For example: the ‘Meditation Seal’ was derived from Buddha’s hand position as he sat meditating beneath the bodhi tree; the same was for the ‘Emperor Ming Seal’, ‘Jizo Bodhisattva Seal’ and the ‘Dragon Emperor Seal.’ 

After his battle with the Ghost Driver, Fang Zheng realised that he lacked battle tactics. 

Granting he had strength, all his tactics came from street fighting. 

He had no knowledge of the techniques of controlling his strength and muscles to the martial arts of: Tong Bei, Xing Yi, Wing Chun, Ba Gua Zhang, Ba Ji and the other forms of martial arts. 

Practitioners of the aforementioned forms of martial arts could inflict twice as much damage using the effort they put in. It was effective and the most efficient use of his energy. 

Done ruminating, Fang Zheng resolved to train for the ‘Golden Warrior Seal’.

As for the ‘Golden Immunity Shield’ based on defence, he decided he would attempt it once he had obtained more white smoke. 

When the time comes, he’ll simultaneously develop his attack and defense tactics. 

Could he enhance his mastery over the ‘Golden Immune Arhat’ again? He felt uncertain of his ability to evolve it again. He did not want to take the risk, especially when he had yet to discover the ramifications of a failed evolution. As of now, the white smoke was extremely valuable to Fang Zheng. 

He couldn’t afford to waste it, not even for a single evolution. 

The book dazzled brightly, as if golden flames danced upon its pages. The pages swiftly swept, like a movie being played at 50 times its speed. 

The words, paragraphs and illustrations came to life. They moved with the turning pages, pushing each other over as they rearranged themselves. It was being refined into a genuine training manual. 

The glow faded. 

The counterfeit simulacrum of the ‘Golden Warrior Seal’ had been successfully transformed into the genuine ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’! 

‘Exorcist?’

Fang Zheng’s eyes lit up. 

It was exactly what he had expected. 

The ‘Golden Warrior Seal’ was capable of fighting demons and evil spirits in itself. It was no wonder that its evolution went in the direction of exorcism. 

It was the reason Fang Zheng chose to evolve the ‘Golden Warrior Seal’. 

Fang Zheng was excited, now that his expectations had been fulfilled. 

If he ever encountered anything similar to the Ghost Driver, the ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’ could be used to slay these nefarious spirits. 

Not long after that, Fang Zheng realized that the ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’ was not simply a style of combat. 

According to the preface of the ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’, it was both a demon-fighting technique and a secret practice of the Buddhist tantras. 

Legend has it that every man has three lamps–one on his head, and one on each side of his shoulder. They were the three flames of men.

There was another saying: if you are walking alone at night, and you hear someone calling to you, do not look back. If you turn around the lamp on your head will be extinguished, and if you look to the left and right, the other two lamps on your shoulders too will be extinguished. If a single lamp goes out, the flame representing your life would weaken and your soul would be incomplete. Evil would find it easier to cling onto you. 

A normal person would have three strong flames warding off evil. 

Science explained the three flames as states in one’s life. If one was strong enough, his energy and vigour would be at their optimum levels, making it impossible to contract diseases. If one was weak, he would be easily distracted, confused, and susceptible to disease.

The ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’ reinforced the three flames of men, that was it’s secret. When the flames of life burn strong, the yang within oneself would be able to withstand evil. For adepts of the secret art, their aura of yang was so powerful that it would vanquish evil within a radius of a 100 meters or a kilometer. 

A simple example would be a crowded place. The more crowded a place is, the stronger the yang aura within the area. Thus the reason why many schools and housing districts were built atop mass graves. 

The preface of the ‘Exorcist Golden Seal’ made for an intriguing read. 

It was as intriguing as the ‘Golden Immune Arhat’. 

“Men have three lamps on them?

“Three flames of life on their shoulders and heads?

“Why do these terms sound so familiar? Aren’t these from ‘Strange Stories From A Chinese Studio’, ‘Notes On A Minutely-Observed Hut’, and ‘In Search Of The Supernatural’?”

Fang Zheng was stunned. 

He started getting terrified–he had the chills!

‘Why did the contents of the evolved book seem to match the horrifying happenings of late? It felt as if the demons and malicious spirits were rising from the dead.’ 

The more he dwelled on the matter, the more chills he felt coursing down his back. 

The origin of the white smoke, reaped by the scripture of human skin, was just as appaling. Fang Zheng thought about the Ghost Driver–

‘So!’

He had pondered about it for two days. ‘Was this cousin of Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider a superhuman? Or a ghost?’ 

Fang Zheng had already been complaining about it for two days. 

However, there was one thing Fng Zheng was certain of: 

‘The world… was going astray; the world was no longer peaceful!’

Half an hour later…

Fang Zheng blinked. His body was easily mastering the formations. No matter what he trained for, it was easy. 

For example, within half an hour, he had completed his ‘Golden Immune Arhat’ training; he had done the same for the ‘Exorcist Golden Warrior Seal’. 

Fang Zheng was sure that his body was going through unexplainable changes! So, what did the Liuwei Dihuang teapills from the other day do to his body? What did he evolve into?

What made him pick up all the formations this easily? 

Whatever he had been training for, it seemed like he was mastering everything effortlessly!