A slightly dull knocking sound echoed in the not-so-large room, as if directly striking everyone's heart.

Here it comes again... Long Yuehong felt a burst of palpitations.

This is endless!

Jiang Baimian frowned and pondered for a few seconds, then said to Shang Jianyao:

"Ask who it is, but louder."

She wanted to attract the attention of the monks on the same floor in this way, letting those "Enlightened Ones" use whatever skills they had to solve this very strange matter.

Shang Jianyao, who was right next to the door, let out a loud voice:

"Who is it?"

His voice carried out, but no one responded, and there was no echo, as if outside was a bottomless, endless abyss.

"Dong!"

The same knocking sound rang again, and the wooden door seemed to tremble slightly.

If they didn't open the door and didn't sense anything, based solely on this performance, a picture of someone standing outside would naturally appear in Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao's minds.

He was separated from Shang Jianyao by only a door.

"The sound doesn't seem to be able to travel too far." Bai Chen, who was also by the door, expressed what she had just felt.

"We're isolated, cut off?" Long Yuehong's heart tightened.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said:

"If someone is indeed using the ability to interfere with matter to manipulate the air, change the wind pressure, and simulate the sound of knocking, then they can naturally limit the sound to this area."

"Dong!"

As soon as Jiang Baimian finished speaking, the door moved again.

The person outside seemed impatient to come in.

"Open the door?" Shang Jianyao sought the team leader's opinion.

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said:

"Wait a little longer."

This wait lasted for nearly half an hour, and the outside was completely silent, with not a single sound reaching them.

The knocker seemed to have completely given up after waiting bitterly.

Jiang Baimian got out of bed and walked to the door, carefully sensing for a while, then said:

"I'll try opening the door, you guys be prepared."

Bai Chen took two steps back and aimed her gun at the wooden door, Long Yuehong did something similar, but he was in front of the bed further away from the door.

Shang Jianyao took down the flashlight hanging on his armed belt and took out a mirror.

Seeing Jiang Baimian looking at him, he earnestly explained:

"I learned this from Master Zhou. What if it's really a ghost?"

But Master Zhou's methods weren't for dealing with ghosts... Jiang Baimian slowly took a breath and exhaled.

She raised her left hand slightly and twisted the doorknob with her right palm holding "Ice Moss", pulling it open.

The light from the distant street lamp flowed into the room through the gradually widening gap, making the faces of the "Old Task Force" members alternately light and dark.

On the corridor, no one was coming or going, and even in the areas that the street lamp couldn't reach, the shadows seemed to have fallen asleep.

"There's really no one there." Jiang Baimian carefully observed for a while and came to this conclusion.

She cautiously closed the door again to see if there would be any more knocking sounds.

The "Old Task Force" waited for another half an hour, and the "dong" sound never rang again.

This made their previous experience feel like an illusory dream.

If it weren't for Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen still waiting there, Long Yuehong would definitely have thought that there was no knocking sound, and that it was all just his illusion.

"It seems to have stopped..." Jiang Baimian "mm"ed.

Bai Chen frowned and said:

"What exactly was that 'person' knocking for?

"They didn't do anything and just 'left'...

"Could it be that if we opened the door between the last three 'dong' sounds, we would have had a bad encounter?"

Shang Jianyao laughed:

"When did you get the illusion that we don't have bad encounters?

"Maybe we've been unknowingly affected, but it hasn't manifested yet, just like in the Wasteland 13 ruins."

Thinking of the three "Hunters" who committed suicide due to Wu Meng's hidden influence, Long Yuehong couldn't help but shudder:

"No way..."

"Don't rule out that possibility." Jiang Baimian didn't dare to be careless about this. "Anyway, we're taking turns on night watch, keeping an eye on each other. If we find anything abnormal, immediately remind the other party."

In this regard, they still had some experience.

Still tied up, enjoying the feeding treatment, "Garibaldi" Giuseppe interjected quietly:

"I don't think you need to worry so much.

"This is the headquarters of the 'Crystal Consciousness Church'. No ghost can cause any trouble here.

"When some places in First City are 'haunted', they often invite monks from the 'Crystal Consciousness Church' to purify them."

"It's just that I'm afraid it's not a ghost." Jiang Baimian sighed.

She didn't give Giuseppe any more explanation, and said to herself:

"If there really is an abnormality, you can indeed inform the monks of the 'Crystal Consciousness Church' and ask for their help.

"If there is no subtle and hidden influence, then the focus of what happened just now is on the act of 'knocking', um, this doesn't contradict the subtle and hidden influence. Since Wu Meng can use radio waves to transmit power, it's not too unacceptable that the person just now relied on the sound of knocking to exert influence.

"Besides this, 'knocking' may be trying to pass some information to us, like the paper slipped into the scriptures."

Jiang Baimian linked the "knocking" incident just now with the previous "Holy Land Directory".

After all, these things happened after they entered the Xicaluo Temple and witnessed the Chief's Nirvana.

"Passing information..." Bai Chen's eyes moved slightly and said, "The previous group was seven knocks, and the later group was three. What does that represent?"

The "Old Task Force" has special courses to train on codes and ciphers.

"From a simple and direct perspective, it represents the numbers 'seven' and 'three'." Jiang Baimian gave her answer. "Since we are passing information to outsiders like us, it won't be too complicated."

"Seven, three..." Long Yuehong began to think about the meaning of these two numbers.

"Plus it's now early morning." Shang Jianyao confidently gave his idea, "The answer is seven days later, at three in the morning, let us go to see him."

"Did you think someone knocked you on the head three times?" Jiang Baimian couldn't help but smile.

She had already shared the corresponding story within the "Old Task Force".

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to respond, she further asked:

"So, where are we going to meet?"

"I don't know." Shang Jianyao answered very simply.

Long Yuehong helped to remember the reason:

"Maybe seven days later, at three in the morning, he will come here to find us again?"

"Then why didn't he just come in just now? Why did he have to wait seven days?" Jiang Baimian skillfully picked out the loophole.

Long Yuehong was speechless and couldn't answer.

"But according to your logic." Bai Chen joined the discussion, "If he wants to pass on some information, he can just come in directly. Why does he have to leave a code by knocking?"

"That's indeed a problem." Jiang Baimian nodded, "Maybe the person knocking can't communicate with us directly, and can only use this method. Uh, so we can't rule out that seven days later, he can talk to us, and will visit at three in the morning, but why did he come to knock on the door in advance? Why didn't he be patient and wait until that time?"

"Ritual!" Shang Jianyao answered quickly, "His condition is special. He must complete the knocking before he can communicate with us in seven days."

Bai Chen offered another possibility:

"Maybe he's afraid we'll escape from Xicaluo Temple in the next few days."

Jiang Baimian nodded lightly:

"Both of these explanations have some rationality. The only way to verify it is to wait until seven days later."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian looked up at the ceiling:

"The numbers 'seven' and 'three' may have other meanings.

"From the perspective of the 'Crystal Consciousness Church', 'seven' represents the seven-level pagoda, and also represents this seven-story high Xicaluo Temple, representing the floor above us."

This is very reasonable... Long Yuehong nodded almost imperceptibly.

Compared to Shang Jianyao's somewhat empty guess just now, Jiang Baimian's speculation based on the characteristics of Buddhist organizations seemed more credible.

Jiang Baimian continued:

"If 'seven' represents the seventh floor of Xicaluo Temple, then 'three' may be the number of a room there.

"Is the person knocking trying to get us to go find him?"

This... Long Yuehong and Bai Chen exchanged glances, feeling that this explanation was indeed quite possible.

"Go now?" Shang Jianyao asked eagerly.

Jiang Baimian was silent for a long time and said:

"Don't rush.

"What if it's a trap? We have no way to judge whether that person is good or bad. Maybe... he can't directly confront Master Chanaja and compete for the position of Chief, so he uses this method to lure us over, accusing us of violating the temple rules, in order to affect Master Chanaja...

"Perhaps, his power is limited to that room, and only a small part can be revealed outwards. He must lure us in to exert his power..."

Hearing the team leader's assumptions one after another, Long Yuehong deeply believed that it was better to be cautious.

At this time, Jiang Baimian looked around and said:

"Wait until dawn to find a chance to inquire about what's on the seventh floor of the temple, who lives in room number three, and then make a decision.

"Um, go to sleep, the people on night watch keep an eye on each other and guard against abnormalities."

The discussion ended there, and the "Old Task Force" did not encounter anything strange that night.

...

In the morning, the young monk from before brought oatmeal and toast.

Jiang Baimian said as if unintentionally:

"Who lives in the rooms on the top floor of your temple? It sounded like there was some noise at night."

The young monk said with a confused look:

"No one lives there."

"..." At this moment, Long Yuehong really understood what a ghost story was.

"Is it a place to store scriptures and books?" Jiang Baimian further inquired.

The young monk nodded:

"There is also a small hall to enshrine my Buddha Bodhi."

"There's no World Honored One?" Shang Jianyao curiously interjected.

"We mainly enshrine my Buddha Bodhi." The young monk didn't hide this fact that could be inquired about anywhere.

"What else? What other rooms are on the seventh floor? Maybe mice got in?" Jiang Baimian began to probe from the side.

The young monk thought for a moment:

"Impossible, it's very strict... There is also a room for storing magic items, and also..."

His expression suddenly became solemn:

"There is also the meditation room where the 'Buddha's Manifestation' sleeps."