With those words spoken, Dazhu was immediately tackled to the ground by several black-furred monsters, who began to tear and bite at him.

Although I still held no affection for Dazhu, since he had risked his life to save us, I certainly wasn't going to watch him be sacrificed in vain.

So I said to Number 2, "You take Number 12 and go first. I'll pull Dazhu out!"

Number 2 calmly replied, "Amitabha. Since we are to save him, let us save him together. I actually have a trump card I haven't used, though I never expected the situation would demand it."

As I listened, I channeled my telekinesis, raised my hand, and conjured a giant palm made of pure mental energy, then swung it through the air.

With a massive whoosh, the black-furred monsters were flung away as if they were flies being swatted.

Dazhu, gasping heavily on the ground, seized the opportunity to scramble free and slowly got up. He spoke in halting, crude human language: "Why aren't you leaving yet!"

I told him, "We will save you. There are many things we still don't understand."

Dazhu said nothing further, but charged toward the recovering black-furred monsters with eyes full of intense hatred.

Just then, Number 2 interjected, "Quickly restrain Dazhu! Stop him from engaging the monsters! My next move is highly destructive and might accidentally injure him."

I understood immediately and used my telekinesis to create ropes, binding Dazhu's legs to impede his charge.

At this moment, Number 2 uttered a soft "Amitabha," then formed his right hand into a ring, placed it to his mouth, and chanted, "Ama mami mimi..."

Suddenly, several sparks erupted in the air before him, illuminating like fireflies.

I assumed he was about to breathe fire and was prepared to scoff at how cliché the situation was becoming.

However, those sparks never coalesced into pillars of flame. Instead, they drifted slowly toward the black-furred monsters, resembling dandelion seeds caught on the breeze.

The scene was breathtaking, like scattered starlight illuminating the night sky.

Even the black-furred monsters were momentarily stunned by the beauty, reaching out their hands as if to catch the crimson sparks.

But the instant their hands brushed against the sparks, there was a sudden boom, and their entire bodies ignited with vivid, scarlet flames.

Then came a series of roaring explosions, and the black-furred monsters were engulfed in fire, beginning to shriek and roar in frenzy.

I noticed that although the sparks moved slowly, each one seemed to have a target; they would not stop flying until they reached their intended mark. Furthermore, the sparks that accidentally touched trees or dry leaves on the ground failed to ignite, suggesting this was a strange flame that only burned living creatures.

Number 2 seemed to sense my confusion and explained, "This is the karmic fire of Buddhism—the Fire of Karma. Only those burdened by sin invite the karmic fire to consume them. Grass and wood are innocent."

Hearing his profound explanation, I felt I had gained a deeper understanding of Buddhist teachings.

As we watched the black-furred monsters slowly turn to ash in the karmic fire, Number 2 urged, "Let’s go quickly. We need to get Old Man Li out of this village."

I frowned and asked, "Did you sense something?"

Number 2 nodded. "Karmic fire can incinerate all sin in the world, but even though these demonic manifestations have turned to ash, they are not dead. They are returning to a mysterious destination underground, and that evil power is expanding."

"I fear something terrible will happen soon, something even I cannot control."

I nodded, recognizing the gravity of his words. I went over and helped Dazhu up, asking, "Are you alright?"

By now, Dazhu had returned to his human form, staring at me with vacant eyes.

Number 12 commented, "What’s wrong with this person? Why is he so dazed?"

I remembered that Number 12 hadn't accompanied us to see Old Man Li the night before, so he didn't recognize Dazhu.

I told him, "He just gets occasionally bewildered. He should be fine in a moment."

As soon as I finished speaking, Dazhu grabbed my collar, shouting, "My father! Save my father quickly!"

I tried to calm him. "Don't panic. Where is your father? What happened?"

He didn't answer but scrambled up and sprinted toward the courtyard.

We hurried after him, jogging to the small courtyard from yesterday.

When we arrived, I saw the courtyard gate had been smashed to splinters, and the interior was a wreck.

We rushed in and found Old Man Li lying motionless on the ground.

Dazhu lunged forward, gathering his father into his arms and crying out, "Father!"

Seeing this, we rushed forward too.

We observed that Old Man Li had no visible external injuries, but he was completely unconscious, offering no response when called.

Number 2 said, "Amitabha. Dazhu, remain calm, put your father down first."

Knowing that many monks from Shaolin Temple were skilled in medicine, I said to Dazhu, "Listen to him. Number 2 might be able to save your father."

Dazhu seemed to listen to me especially well. He carefully placed his father on the ground as directed.

Number 2 felt Old Man Li's pulse and stated, "There is still a faint breath, but it is extremely weak."

I quickly asked, "Can you tell what caused this?"

Number 2 replied, "From his pulse, I suspect poisoning, and it appears to be the same toxin you encountered."

I frowned. "You mean the snake from the earthen forest came here?"

Number 12 scoffed, "Impossible. That snake was enormous. If it had come here, the level of destruction would certainly not be this minimal."

At this point, Dazhu interjected, "It must have been it! We have to leave the village, go to the old house, or that thing will emerge, and many people will die!"

With that, he picked up Old Man Li and rushed toward the door.

We hurried to follow, shouting, "Wait for us! We haven't injected the antidote for your father yet!"

Dazhu seemed locked in some sort of trance, completely ignoring us, focused only on his frantic escape.

We had no choice but to follow his desperate run.

Fortunately, the house they lived in was already near the edge of the village, so I thought we wouldn't need long to reach the outskirts.

But the journey seemed longer than we anticipated. Dazhu wasn't running straight out of the village; instead, he seemed to be winding his way through the surrounding woods.

Although we couldn't comprehend his actions, we kept pace.

As I ran, I yelled for him to stop, but he wouldn't listen.

I considered using my telekinesis to knock him down from a distance, but Number 2 stopped me with a hand gesture.

Number 2 told me, "Dazhu isn't running aimlessly. The path he's taking is deliberate, as if he’s actively avoiding something. If we ran in a straight line out of the village, we might run into danger."

Hearing that, I looked closer at Dazhu's gait. He wasn't just running wildly; he executed sharp turns every so often, genuinely appearing to evade something unseen.

I kept my eyes on the ground as I ran but noticed nothing.

"Not trail markers!" I thought. "Is there something we can't see, but only Dazhu can perceive?"

Just as I had this thought, Dazhu ahead suddenly halted.

We caught up quickly, only to hear him say, "There's no road! We're trapped!"

I looked ahead. It was a sparse patch of woods, and between the trees, a clear path leading straight out of the woods was visible. There was plainly a road, so why did Dazhu claim there was none?

Intrigued, I tentatively took a step forward, but Dazhu yanked me back, his voice gruff. "What are you doing! If you go further, you'll die!"

Startled, I asked, "There's nothing there. How could we die? Are you hallucinating?"

Dazhu gently placed his father on the ground and pointed ahead. "You can't see it. This is the village's boundary wall—an invisible wall. Usually, the gates in the boundary are open, allowing smooth passage, but now all the gates are closed!"

Seeing Dazhu put his father down, Number 2 exchanged a look with Number 12, signaling him to administer the antidote.

Unexpectedly, Dazhu roared at us, "This is all your fault! You came looking for my father for no reason, causing him to end up like this, and you attracted those creatures! They must have reported back to the Toad King, which is why the gates were shut. Tonight is the total lunar eclipse, occurring once every twenty years. I've played the fool and suffered all these years just to get my father out of the village, but now hope is lost. When the eclipse happens tonight, we will all die!"

Before we could ask why, Dazhu continued, "Not only will we die, but the surrounding villages will be affected too. In time, a hundred-mile radius will become a lifeless wasteland."

I raised my hand to stop him mid-sentence. "Then tell me exactly what is going on! What exactly is this Toad King? If you tell us, maybe there's still a chance."

Dazhu shook his head. "It's useless now. Nothing said matters anymore."

With that, he adopted a posture as if preparing to ram into something, then violently struck forward with his shoulder, seemingly trying to smash through an obstruction.

However, after only a few steps, he was thrown violently backward by a massive rebound force, tumbling hard onto the ground.

Seeing his reaction, which didn't seem faked, I was startled, wondering if there truly was an invisible wall ahead.

I instinctively reached out to touch it, but Number 2 held me back again. He instructed, "Look at Dazhu's shoulder..."

I looked up and saw that the skin on Dazhu's shoulder, where it had struck the invisible barrier, was gone, revealing a large patch of flesh resembling a scar corroded by acid, still steaming faintly, causing him to grimace in pain.

Number 2 then stated, "This isn't a wall. It’s something like a barrier, similar to what we encountered in the earthen forest—it’s a formation."

I muttered in frustration, "I told you the village layout was problematic! Damn it, we're still trapped!"

The moment my words ended, Number 12 vanished silently from his spot, and a mole appeared exactly where he had been standing.