Chapter 16: Cui Wangsun, the lame boy dressed strangely

After instructing the butler to entertain the guests, Mr. Hu rushed into the bedroom. His old wife and several maids were gathered around the couch, wringing their handkerchiefs with tears in their eyes.

"Mother Heng, how is Zhu'er?"

"I'm afraid it was hit by something unclean." Heng Niang wiped the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief.

She had a son when she was old, and she usually held him in her hands for fear of dropping him, and held him in her mouth for fear of him melting. Now, she saw her only son lying silently on the bed, breathing more than he exhaled, and she felt extremely panicked.

"The City Goddess is traveling today, how could there still be evil spirits causing trouble?" Mr. Hu said as he walked to the couch and looked down.

Zhu'er had her eyes closed, her face was sallow, and her lips were slightly open, as if she was calling someone's name.

Mr. Hu leaned over, wanting to hear clearly what Zhu'er was saying. As soon as he bent down, he smelled a fishy odor.

He was slightly startled, opened the quilt, and looked inside: "This, this is..."

He suddenly let go of the corner of the quilt, turned around in surprise and looked at Heng Niang.

Heng Niang nodded with tears in her eyes.

Mr. Hu's eyes went dark. He leaned on the head of the bed to relax a little. Not believing in evil, he lifted the quilt again and took a look inside.

The only son's lower body was half naked, leaving a pool of turbid liquid. His penis was like a dried earthworm, shrunk to the point that it was not even as thick as his little finger.

He slammed the quilt shut, turned around and called the servants: "Go and invite ..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a servant came to report: "Master, there is a lame young man with strange clothes at the door. He calls himself Cui Wangsun and says he can help my family out of their urgent need."

Mr. Hu's heart moved.

It took no more than an hour for Zhu'er to get drunk and pass out. Even if the servants were not careful about keeping their mouths shut, it would be impossible for the news to have spread outside the house.

As the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. This young man must be quite extraordinary.

Mr. Hu hurriedly said, "Please come in."

Heng Niang frowned slightly, thinking that this was too much of a coincidence.

But she was a loving mother, and although she had some doubts about the young man, she did not stop Mr. Hu.

After receiving the master's order, the servant did not dare to delay and ran out to invite Cui Wangsun.

The opera troupe, which had already left the stage, crowded backstage, craning their heads to look at the servants who were hurrying to and fro.

Zhao Guihua was lingering at the door, and took advantage of the opportunity to grab a servant and said, "Has your husband woken up? I know a master with extraordinary magical powers..."

"The immortal master has come to treat my husband." The servant impatiently broke free, "Master Zhao, please wait in the backstage for a while and don't walk around casually."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Guihua nodded submissively. After the boy left, her face suddenly darkened.

Mr. and Mrs. Hu were worried and confused. The young man came in a strange way. Who knew if he was good at predicting or if he knew that something would happen in the Hu Mansion.

Apart from the person behind the scenes, who else would know about it in advance?

I just don’t know how this matter is related to Sister Hua.

"Er Gou." He called his apprentice and whispered, "You disguise yourself as a servant of the Hu family and go home to invite the young Taoist priest."

Zhao Erbao muttered, "Erbao, Erbao," and walked out the door.

Zhao Sulan glanced at her senior brother who had left after receiving the order, then walked up to Zhao Guihua and said softly, "Master, Sister Hua will not harm anyone."

Her voice was not loud, but very firm. She looked at her master's face and continued, "Sister Hua showed up a few days ago, but she didn't do anything to us, did she?"

"Why else would I ask the young Taoist priest to do that?"

Zhao Guihua glanced at her and said, "If it's true about Sister Hua, I don't trust that so-called immortal master."

Even if Sister Hua has become a ghost, it would be fine if we ask a master to help her to be reborn. But who knows what the evil spirits will do to her?

As they were talking, a servant was leading a lame young man in strange clothes to the inner room.

The young man's upper body was naked, with holes all over his earlobes, arms, chest, and back. Each hole was pierced with a golden hook. As he walked, the golden hooks trembled, making people feel pain all over just by looking at him.

Although the distance was far, the young man seemed to have heard what Zhao Guihua said. He turned his head and stared at Zhao Guihua with his golden pupils, making the latter's scalp tingle and his whole body uncomfortable.

He quietly moved his feet to block Zhao Sulan and other disciples. Zhao Guihua felt bitter in her mouth and suspected that she would be poisoned by this young man before the young Taoist priest came.

Just as he was feeling increasingly depressed, the young man looked away, took out the small chime he carried with him, and sang loudly while striking it: "I sincerely surrender to you~"

"Thank you, mother~"

As the high-pitched singing sounded, Zhu'er on the couch suddenly trembled, then closed her mouth, and her frown relaxed a little.

Mr. Hu and Heng Niang looked at each other, with delight on their faces, and their suspicions about the young man had mostly disappeared.

"Mr. Cui is indeed a man of virtue." Feeling that Zhu'er was saved, Mr. Hu stroked his goatee and said with emotion.

…

Li Zhou is dreaming.

The college entrance examination was approaching, and she was dragged along by several classmates to worship the Wenchang Star God, who was in charge of examinations.

Li Zhou had just walked to the gate of Xingjun Temple with the prepared green onions, fans, pens and a red envelope with four coins inside. He heard a sharp brake sound and the frightened shouts of his classmates:

"careful!"

"Bang!"

Before she could react, Li Zhou was knocked into the air by a huge force. She looked down in a daze, looking at herself covered in blood and the semi-trailer that had dragged her body for dozens of meters. She couldn't understand how this car appeared on the pedestrian street in the downtown area.

Wait, wasn't I already dead?

Why is there still consciousness?

Is there really a heaven and hell in this world?

With doubts in his mind and as he was looking around, Li Zhou felt a huge suction force.

The suction came from the top of her head, as if someone had put a vacuum cleaner on her head, sucking out all her brains.

Her soul was shattered in an instant by this terrifying force, and she became a shapeless mass, swirling into the sky with the air flow.

She looked up at the starry sky above her head and saw the stars hanging on the dark curtain, the sun, the moon, and countless planets in the distance.

She saw that behind the blazing fireball, there was a huge ancient corpse. It looked like it had been dead for a long time, with worms constantly falling from the cracks in its cracked skin. It also seemed like it was just sleeping, with twisted streams of air rising from below and constantly merging into its body, making one wonder if it would wake up at any time.

Opposite it is the uneven moon shrouded in coldness and silence.

There is a palace on the moon, surrounded by mist, sometimes visible and sometimes invisible. From the palace comes an obscure song, as if mourning and expressing loneliness...

Further away, there are seven mouths that form a bucket shape. Every time they open, you can see the dense teeth embedded inside...

What is this… Is the sky full of monsters…

Li Zhou tried to retreat away from these things, but the huge suction force still continued. It was not enough to beat her into a pulp, it also sucked her into the depths of the starry sky and turned her into the same existence.

Just as Li Zhou was enveloped by the bone-chilling cold and was about to be sucked away, a mysterious voice sounded in her ears.

"Only when you are free from thoughts and worries can you know..."

"There is no place without clothes, only peace can be achieved..."

"Nothing can lead to the Way..."

In an instant, an invisible force drove away the fear in Li Zhou's heart, and at the same time, made her give up thinking and all actions.

She closed her eyes without any desire, her heart became confused and she went with the flow.

"Little Taoist Priest!"

A call woke her up from her dream.

Li Zhou suddenly opened his eyes, was at a loss for a moment, and looked at Zhao Erbao who was standing in front of him and leaning forward: "Ergou?"

"Call me Erbao." Zhao Erbao breathed a sigh of relief. "Little Taoist priest, you finally woke up. I've been calling you for half an incense stick. Stop talking nonsense. The troupe owner sent me to invite you. We were performing at Mr. Hu's house, but who knew that the young master of Mr. Hu suddenly had hysteria and even asked Sister Hua to come with him. The troupe owner was afraid that something might happen, so he asked you to go over and take a look."

Zhao Erbao quickly explained the purpose of his visit. Li Zhou sat up and scratched his head: "Then let's go."

She seemed to have forgotten something?

Never mind. It doesn’t matter.

Li Zhou stood up and asked, "Is the banquet at Mr. Hu's house delicious?"

"The guests had barely taken a few bites when something bad happened. We hadn't even started eating yet."

"Oh," Li Zhou's eyes lit up, "Then there must be a lot left."

She quickly quickened her pace and became extremely active.

Just as Li Zhou was in a hurry to finish his work and have a meal, thousands of kilometers away in the capital, Chi Yangzi, the chief inspector of the Demon Hunting Division who was in charge of all affairs of the entire division, looked at the "Great Zhou Treasure Scroll" which was automatically opened and glowing in front of him with a very solemn expression.

On this page of the treasure scroll, eight words slowly emerged:

The gods are about to return, but they will retreat when they see day.