The Black Buddha, while named "Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes," was merely a moniker; the statue itself possessed neither literally a thousand hands nor a thousand eyes. The statue, carved from rotten jade, stood as tall as a normal person, boasting dozens of arms behind its back, some clutching esoteric ritual implements, others forming precise mudras. Over a hundred eyes adorned the figure, all of which had been closed. Now, they suddenly snapped open; these eyes lacked pupils, yet they writhed ceaselessly, appearing unnervingly alive.

Father Thomas, utterly unnerved by the myriad maggot-like eyes on the Black Buddha, frantically questioned Elder Liaochen: “What… what is this? When did these eyes open? Are they eyes or are they insects?”

Although Elder Liaochen was widely learned, he had never personally witnessed the rotten jade or the Black Buddha. He had only heard legends recounted by his predecessors about these two rare artifacts, which had vanished long ago. Those accounts were exceedingly limited, leaving him to wonder: could the Black Buddha truly house the lingering spirits of the deceased? Otherwise, how could it possess such life-like qualities?

From the statue's hundreds of grotesque eyes, thick plumes of black mist, dense as congealed shadow, began to pour forth. These dark vapors coalesced within the chagezi structure, and by the flickering light of the candles, one could discern the hazy silhouette of a Black Buddha taking shape within the black cloud.

At that moment, "Zhegushao," who had just spat blood, regained his senses. Seeing the terrifying black mist, he shared the astonishment of Elder Liaochen and Father Thomas. Strange and secretive phenomena were common in the ancient tomb; throughout his career as a grave robber, "Zhegushao" had encountered much that could scarcely surprise him, yet this black mist was truly beyond expectation. Had he not witnessed it firsthand, he would never have believed such an uncanny thing existed in the world.

Father Thomas instinctively felt it was an evil spirit. He retrieved a vial of holy water, unstoppered it, and flung the contents toward the black mist. The ink-spill-like black fog, which had been moving sluggishly, suddenly split open in the center with swift, decisive force; Father Thomas’s holy water flew harmlessly through the void, splashing onto the tomb floor beyond. The gap formed precisely in the center of the Buddha's silhouette, as if the Black Buddha were opening its cavernous, hideous maw, roaring silently at the three men.

Seeing that the black mist seemed to recoil from the holy water, "Zhegushao" urged Father Thomas to splash more. Father Thomas shrugged, replying, "That’s it; only half a bottle left."

Elder Liaochen, holding his prayer beads, declared, “The Western monk’s technique is not without merit. It seems this evil fog fears ritual implements. The moment for its utter destruction has passed; how can mere crooked devils stand against me? Watch as this old monk handles it.” With that, he snapped the cord of his prayer beads and hurled the strung beads headlong into the black mist.

Unexpectedly, the extraordinarily dense black mist offered no reaction. It was as if the beads had made no impact, and the cloud continued its slow, relentless advance. Elder Liaochen muttered to himself in private: “This is truly bizarre! Can the boundless divine power of my Buddha be inferior to Western holy water? Alas, what kind of age is this?”

Seeing Elder Liaochen falter, "Zhegushao" quickly pulled him back. Forced backward by the advancing mist, the three retreated. This type of black fog emanating from the rotten jade presented two possible outcomes upon contact: one, like the white skeleton they had seen earlier, where flesh and organs would instantly rot into pus, leaving only bone; or two, as Elder Liaochen suggested, it was a haunting by Yin spirits that would immediately possess any living being it touched.

Either prospect was horrific. They were already backed against the corner of the wall, with no retreat left. Staring at the slowly encroaching black fog, "Zhegushao" knew their end had arrived. He said to Elder Liaochen, “Today, this disciple has burdened my Master; a thousand deaths could not atone for it.”

Elder Liaochen was about to offer some profound Buddhist wisdom to show his detachment from the matter of life and death, when he noticed the wall-like black mist a short distance away was not moving toward them, but rather lunging toward the candles tucked into the chagezi structure. The Mojin Xiaowei's instinctual reaction to the candles triggered a sudden jolt in his heart: “Why are these black mists moving toward the candles…”

"Zhegushao" also noticed this shift: “The black mist…”

Elder Liaochen, Father Thomas, and "Zhegushao" spoke almost simultaneously: “The candles!”

When they first entered the ancient tomb, "Zhegushao" had used the phosphorescent tube on his Jingang umbrella for illumination. The phosphorescence emitted a blue, cold light, generating no discernible heat, which is why nothing unusual had occurred from entry until they encountered the Black Buddha and the skeleton. It was only when they attempted to retreat—when Father Thomas, who had been at the rear, suddenly moved to the front and lit the candle "Zhegushao" had given him—that the black mist erupted from the passage beneath the Jade Gate. The group was forced by the fog into the chagezi for shelter until Elder Liaochen lit a candle for illumination and opened the chest, causing the multi-limbed, multi-eyed Black Buddha to suddenly change, its eyes opening and emitting plumes of black smoke.

Yes, it had to be the temperature. Although the mechanism was unknown, these black mists were drawn to the candles like moths to a flame. The fog likely only appeared once the air in the tomb reached a certain critical temperature—a sufficiently high one. If no candles or torches were lit, the mist might never have materialized at all. These vapors seemed to exist in a dormant state, and once awakened by the high temperature of flame, they would proceed to eradicate every object in the tomb that possessed a temperature above ambient before subsiding.

Indeed, the black mist first targeted the candles on the floor. The dense black vapor, seemingly formless yet strangely substantial, instantly smothered the candle flames, plunging the chamber into absolute darkness.

Seeing this, "Zhegushao" and the others knew that after consuming the candles, the black mist emanating from the Black Buddha would immediately seek the next targets possessing a temperature higher than that of the extinguished flames—which would certainly be the three living beings within the chagezi.

(Author’s Note: Rotten Jade, also known as Jade or Bug Jade, originates from a valley in Afghanistan and is an exceedingly peculiar substance. This Bug Jade possesses numerous strange characteristics and has always been a material steeped in legend, exceedingly rare. The ancients believed this seemingly living, strange stone harbored some form of malevolent spirit. Whenever a flame was ignited near the Bug Jade, it would exude a massive volume of thick, congealed black mist; after the mist passed, all matter nearby exceeding a certain temperature would be corroded into pus. It was not, as Elder Liaochen had heard, that merely touching the Rotten Jade would instantly dissolve the body into pus. Instead, the high temperature had to first induce the release of the black mist, which then caused the corrosive effect on surrounding matter; the Bug Jade itself did not possess this property.)

(Anciently, a cult utilized the feature that the black mist from the Bug Jade would form the vague outline of a multi-limbed humanoid figure. They materialized this silhouette into an anthropomorphic image, proclaiming that darkness would ultimately replace light, attracting numerous followers. Later, this cult was utterly annihilated. Since then, the already rare Bug Jade disappeared from the world for a time, until the modern era in 1986, when it was rediscovered during a joint archaeological excavation at the Karaman höyük site in Turkey—a strange stone only documented in ancient texts. Why this Black Buddha appeared at the Karaman höyük site remains unverified; it can only be surmised that it might have been passed down from ancient times.)

(The secret of Rotten Jade was unlocked by American scientists in the late nineteenth century. This mysterious veil was easily pierced: the material is analogous to the Chinese Dong Chong Xia Cao [Cordyceps Sinensis]. Just as Dong Chong Xia Cao is the complex of the fruiting body of the fungus Cordyceps sinensis parasitic on the larva of the ghost moth and the larva's corpse—as its name implies, worm in winter, grass in summer—this stone is like jade at normal temperature, but when ignited by flame, high temperatures transform it into a mass of worms. This large cluster of tiny black insects, individually barely discernible, appears like dense black smoke when gathered in great numbers. In its usual state, it is dormant; when massed together, the piled-up corpses resemble black jade. The internal corpses, sensing a sudden change in the ambient air temperature, undergo a rapid metamorphosis, shedding their white exoskeletons and emerging together as flying creatures. These emergent insects secrete a highly corrosive substance through their continuous deaths, consuming all nearby high-temperature objects, including extinguishing flames.)

(In a certain sense, Bug Jade can be considered a formidable tomb guardian. The countless insects emerging from the stone form an insect canopy capable of covering the entire tomb chamber.)

(Naturally, both "Zhegushao" and Elder Liaochen were Mojin Xiaowei steeped deeply in superstition. Encountering the legendary, malevolent Bug Jade for the first time, especially in an era before its mystery was solved, led them to believe the phenomenon must be the work of evil spirits.)

"Zhegushao" and the other two had discerned that the black mist prioritized targets with higher temperatures. To divert the cloud, they hastily lit several spare candles. Attracted by the heat, the black mist swirled toward the corner where the wall met the chagezi, revealing a significant gap in the hinged wall panel.

Before entering the tomb, Elder Liaochen and the others had consumed the Hong Lian Miaoxin pill, a secret medicine that lowers body temperature and slows respiratory rhythms. This meant that while the black mist was drawn to the candles' heat, it would not easily detect the three living men. Seeing that turning back to dig a new escape route was impossible, "Zhegushao" decided to stick close to the wall, evade the mist, and attempt to return through the chagezi to the main chamber to draw the shadowy fog there out through the passage beneath the Jade Gate.

As he left, Elder Liaochen snatched the inscribed dragon bone from the chest. The bone was covered in strange symbols, many of which resembled the Muchen bead. He reasoned that the whereabouts of the Muchen bead, the "Phoenix Gall," might ultimately be revealed by this inscribed dragon bone; its hidden placement within the chagezi suggested great significance.

By then, "Zhegushao" and Father Thomas had already engaged the mechanism for the Changming lamp on the hinged wall, signaling Elder Liaochen to follow quickly. Elder Liaochen rushed to catch up, but as the mechanism wall rotated with a clatter, it stopped halfway, as if jammed somewhere—leaving them caught between enemies, unable to advance or retreat.