Time's up? A demon of death? What time? Why would a nun turn into a demon?
At this point, Dreaming Nun sighed and recounted events from a few years prior.
The presiding officer of this nunnery, or the abbess, is known by her monastic name, Kongzhi. She is the master of Dreaming Nun. Kongzhi has a younger sister whose monastic name is Kongqing.
Kongqing is extraordinarily beautiful, so much so that some people visit the nunnery specifically to catch a glimpse of her. Countless men, under the pretense of worshipping the Buddha, come to spy on her.
This is a Buddhist pure land, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, the abbess had no choice but to forbid Kongqing from going out.
Kongqing also abided by her duties, remaining secluded in the hall to fast and chant scriptures, never once revealing her face.
But when a woman possesses astonishing beauty, men swarm around her like flies—even if she is a nun!
Later, a handsome foreign man began sneaking into the nunnery frequently. It was said that he was the son of a wealthy merchant, influential and charming. His name was Arturo.
Each time he slipped in, he claimed he only wished to discuss Buddhism with Kongqing. Anyone with eyes could see his true motives. However, Arturo donated countless offerings to the nunnery, and since Kongqing did not reject his presence, the abbess turned a blind eye.
But the abbess was not trusting Arturo—rather, she trusted her elder sister, Kongqing.
Kongqing had always been indifferent to men. In her eyes, there were only scriptures and the Buddha—not a trace of worldly desire. She would never be swayed by any man. The abbess believed this firmly, which was why she allowed Arturo to approach Kongqing.
Yet things took an unexpected turn. Before long, the two not only fell in love—Kongqing actually became pregnant.
This, the abbess could not tolerate. To speak of love before the Buddha, and even bear fruit—do her eyes still hold reverence for the Buddha? Does she still regard me, her sister?
The abbess immediately decreed that Arturo was henceforth forbidden from entering the nunnery.
As for Kongqing, the abbess demanded she abort the child and never see Arturo again.
Kongqing refused, insisting she would renounce monastic life instead. Furious, the abbess trembled with rage, slapped her, and locked her in a dark chamber for reflection.
But later, Kongqing tried every means to escape and went down the mountain in search of Arturo.
When the abbess found out, she immediately went to Arturo to demand her return. What the abbess never expected was that that day happened to be Kongqing and Arturo's wedding.
Of course, the abbess would not accept this. She made a scene, dragged Kongqing out, and tore off her wig. She called Arturo shameless and inhuman for even taking a nun as his bride.
At the time, Arturo's family hadn't even known Kongqing was a nun. After this commotion, everyone found out. Humiliated, Arturo's family immediately kicked Kongqing out, declared the wedding void, and ordered her to leave. They called her a shameless, stinking nun who dared to scheme her way into a wealthy family.
And Arturo was no courageous man. He wasn't the only son in his family—if he lost his father's favor, he would be cut off from the inheritance. He didn't dare disobey his father at all.
Arturo didn't utter a single word in protest. On what should have been his wedding day, he watched as Kongqing was thrown out of his house in front of a crowd.
A large gathering had formed. Kongqing was pointed at, cursed, and even spat on by everyone. A nun getting married? Utterly shameless!
Kongqing, heartbroken and distraught, ran back toward the mountain like a madwoman. But though the abbess sent people to search the entire mountain, they found no trace of Kongqing.
After a month of searching, they finally discovered Kongqing's body at the mountain's peak.
She was dead—hanging from a large tree, wearing a wig, her face frozen in a ghastly smile. Her tongue lolled out, and her eyes were stretched wider than brass bells.
A peerless beauty in life, yet in death, her appearance was more terrifying than any evil spirit.
When they cut down Kongqing's body, they also found a black comb clutched tightly in her hand. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't pry it loose.
With no other choice, they buried her with the comb still in her grip on the mountain.
After Kongqing's death, the abbess was consumed by guilt. She believed she bore responsibility for Kongqing's demise and desperately recited sutras daily, hoping to guide Kongqing's departed soul to peace.
Yet not only did she fail to bring Kongqing salvation—she began seeing Kongqing's apparition frequently. Before long, the abbess also died. Like Kongqing, she hanged herself from a tree. The eerie part was that her corpse looked identical to Kongqing's—she too wore a wig and clutched a black comb in her hand.
The only difference was that the comb in the abbess's hand was much darker, its surface pulsating as though veins ran through it, making it seem almost alive.
Some say the abbess didn't kill herself—that it was Kongqing returning to claim her life, that she was the one who murdered the abbess.
But this was holy Buddhist ground, where evil spirits should never dare tread. So no one dared voice such thoughts aloud.
After the abbess's death, a new abbess took office. Everyone thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, nuns began frequently seeing Kongqing sitting at the doorway, combing her hair with that black comb.
Yet in the blink of an eye, Kongqing would vanish. As this rumor spread through the nunnery, the new abbess forbade any discussion of it, so no one dared speak of what they'd seen.
But the horror didn't end there - this was merely the beginning of the nightmare.