Buddha's Birthday.
Devotees randomly selected gathered at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple to attend the ceremony.
In front of the Great Heroic Treasure Hall, it was a sea of people, all in gray monk's robes, standing in neat rows, silent as the grave.
All around were long banners of bright yellow erected, adorned with twisting, bizarre patterns, the result of a fusion between Buddhist scripture and forbidden formation runes.
Beneath the banners, high monks sat in meditation, chanting scriptures in unison, their droning voices like a demon's incantation piercing through the ears.
The youths attending the Buddha's Birthday ceremony, who had never endured such torment, thought it a test of their Buddhist practice. The prospect of witnessing the Buddha ascending to Ultimate Bliss and their families enjoying wealth and honor made them grit their teeth and persevere.
From dawn until midday, under the scorching sun, they were tormented until their vision blurred.
