Huihai.
"Senior Brother!" Huihai also recognized Hui Chuan, who was wearing an old kasaya. He immediately said to the soldiers behind him, "You two, go save the girl and incidentally loot the bodies of the Neon people; you two, help them move things, and the rest, take the supplies and the wounded, and follow me up the mountain!"
As he spoke, the soldiers behind him began to get busy.
Huihai came before Hui Chuan and gave him a big hug, then said, "Senior Brother, there's no time to delay, let's go back to Lotus Temple and chat."
Huihai had also changed greatly: he was wearing a military uniform, his original bald head was gradually growing hair; a pistol was tucked at his waist, and a red band was tied to his arm, making him look like a little captain.
Hui Chuan nodded, leading a few people and this team of soldiers up the mountain along a small path.
There was no other way. A human tragedy was unfolding below. To prevent the Neon people from killing people on the mountain, Hui Chuan had to lead people to block the mountain path first, and then clear out the path used for carrying water as a secret passage.
Fortunately, the Neon planes had all been dispatched to the front line, and Jinling only had one army division stationed there (for slaughter).
Huihai followed Hui Chuan into Lotus Temple and asked, "What is the Abbot doing now? Making porridge to treat illnesses? I probably can't help anymore..."
"The Abbot has entered Nirvana."
"..." Huihai was clearly not expecting this answer. He was stunned for a while before recovering and saying, "Let's settle the people down first."
The group entered the outer meditation hall, and Huihai was astonished by the scene before his eyes: many women and children were distributing porridge mixed with wild vegetables to the elderly, the wounded, and the disabled.
A few old women and older children who still had strength were diligently cooking everyone's food, and some hale elders were placing small bundles of firewood next to the stove.
Not to mention that there were at least nearly a hundred people housed here, Huihai was even more surprised by the demeanor of the people here—not the walking dead hiding outside the city, but living people who all had the desire to survive.
"Senior Brother... these civilians... you took them all in?" Huihai asked Hui Chuan in disbelief.
Hui Chuan chuckled and said nothing.
After settling everyone down, Hui Chuan led Huihai to a stone pagoda and said, "Abbot, Huihai has returned."
Huihai couldn't hold back his tears and kowtowed several times to the stone pagoda before collapsing on the ground and weeping bitterly.
That night, after Hui Chuan had checked all the defenses and the condition of the refugees, he went to the Grand Hall for his night class and found Huihai sitting alone in front of the Buddha statue.
Hui Chuan knew that this kid probably couldn't get over the Abbot's passing, after all, he was only seventeen. So, he spoke to comfort him, "What's going on outside, why did we lose."
Hearing Hui Chuan's words, Huihai shook his head. He instinctively reached for a cigarette, but remembering that this was Lotus Temple, he merely adjusted his cap with his hand and said, "Among the enemy Neon devils, there is a supernatural being whose ability is extremely wicked. He can turn anyone or any corpse with a complete head and heart into monsters without consciousness, fatigue, pain, or fear of death."
"And these monsters can self-destruct." Huihai seemed to recall something painful, and he trembled as he said, "Senior Brother, do you know that the soldiers and civilians we killed initially were all from our Dragon Country, and one out of every three had bombs strapped to them. After killing thousands of people, we finally saw their army. Then, after one wave of fighting, these people resurrected, and then fought another wave."
Huihai's lips were a little dry as he spoke. He licked his lips, rubbing the prayer beads he used to use, and said, "In reality, there were less than twenty thousand people, but we managed to kill nearly sixty thousand. Similarly, of the twenty thousand-strong army, only a little over a thousand remained. We people are also a makeshift group of dozens of people."
After listening, Hui Chuan simply said, "You go and rest. I need to pacify the souls of Jinling City."
Huihai said nothing, but watched Hui Chuan chant the "Immeasurable Life Sutra," "Heart Sutra," and "Great Wisdom Sutra."
But then, something astonishing happened to Huihai:
As Hui Chuan chanted the Buddhist scriptures, the hall suddenly became golden and radiant, and golden lotuses bloomed on the floor; the Arhats and Vajras in the hall appeared as phantoms and bowed towards Hui Chuan; the Bodhisattvas and Arhats chanted along with Hui Chuan in unison, casting golden scriptures onto the hall's walls.
"This..." Huihai rubbed his eyes, then quickly widened them. After confirming that what he was seeing was not an illusion, he then saw something even more astonishing:
A large number of light spots, like fireflies, flew from outside the hall and gathered towards Hui Chuan like a tide, finally merging into Hui Chuan's prayer beads.
And within the temple, all those tormented by hunger, illness, injuries, and memories involuntarily closed their eyes and peacefully drifted into a comfortable sleep.
Huihai listened and also slowly closed his eyes. In his dream, he dreamt again of when the Abbot took him and his senior brother to dig potatoes in the back mountains when he was a child.
...
In Jinling City, at the command headquarters of the Neon Army's Third Division.
"Lieutenant General Matsui, please look." A Neon soldier handed a military telescope to Matsui Shigeki (you can search for the name Matsui yourself, it's not explicitly stated).
Matsui Shigeki took it and looked in the direction the soldier was pointing. He saw a large number of light spots floating in the city, gathering like fireflies, and then drifting towards Mount Zijin in the northeast of the city.
"Did the troops go to that mountain before?" Matsui Shigeki lowered the telescope and asked.
"Yes, but the mountain path was destroyed, so clearing it should be quite difficult."
"Notify the First and Second Battalions. Prepare tonight, and use explosives to clear the way tomorrow to go up the mountain and investigate."
"Yes!"
...
The fifteenth day.
Hui Chuan was about to go down the mountain to search for supplies and survivors as usual, but was stopped by Huihai, who wished to go together.
"Huihai, you stay here. If any Neon soldiers find their way here, you must kill them. You absolutely cannot expose these civilians!"
Before the two could finish arguing, a deafening explosion sounded from afar.
"It's the Neon people's explosives!" Huihai immediately realized something and hurried with his men towards the mountain path leading to the main gate of the temple.
Hui Chuan also immediately realized something and hurried back to the temple to transport the civilian refugees.
...
On the mountainside.
Matsui Shigeki watched the mountain path being gradually cleared and smiled, saying, "First Battalion, continue clearing the path! Second Battalion, deploy in batches at the foot of the mountain and on the mountainside!"
However, just as several hundred people had gone a few miles up the mountain path, several gunshots immediately rang out, hitting and felling several Neon soldiers, even causing them to fall off the cliff.
"Form ranks! Free fire! Supernaturals, do not use your powers for now!" Matsui Shigeki was also quite calm. He immediately issued orders, causing the somewhat panicked soldiers to gradually begin to fight back.
Although they had spent days burning, killing, looting, and ravaging in the city, their basic combat capabilities had not been lost. Before long, the numerically superior Neon soldiers began to continue their advance along the mountain path.
Seeing the enemy retreat, Matsui Shigeki chuckled and said to the soldiers behind him, "Pass the order to the Second Battalion at the foot of the mountain to surround Mount Zijin. Any Chinese people who descend the mountain are to be shot."
"Yes!"
"Hehehehe..." Matsui Shigeki rode his horse, slowly and leisurely following the army up the mountain.