Chapter 153 If it were possible...
If she could go back six months, she would never have transferred the shop to that man.
The old man had made a solemn vow in his heart, but it was all in vain.
Presumably, it was because she handed over her ancestral business to foreigners that her ancestors in the underworld made her suffer this bitter consequence. What's done is done; her past recklessness cost her her youth, forcing her to become an old woman in her twilight years. And her child, too, suffered the backlash of karma, becoming what he is today.
The old woman lowered her eyes, like a sculpture devoid of life.
How could the ghost messenger be killed?
People in the underworld are often protective of their own; if this Ajarn has committed such a transgression, he will surely be hunted down. Nezha's frozen face cracked at her words, revealing boundless astonishment. The old woman's voice lowered even further, as if she had a handful of sand stuck in her throat, each word escaping unnoticed:
"I... my name is Xu Fei. If we calculate according to normal age, I should be twenty-eight years old now."
No wonder her hair was dyed such a stiff black; she was clearly in the prime of her life.
“I was worried that my child would be affected by the evil spirits and become unhealthy, but after we moved away, he contracted the flu and became seriously ill.”
When Xu Fei was young and naive, she hastily married a man. After the flame of love faded, the remaining embers only added to the stubborn ashes. Finally, as the last trace of warmth dissipated, they divorced. This hasty marriage left Xu Fei with only a stomach that could injure her spine.
Despite the numerous disadvantages of childbirth, she still insisted on giving birth to the child.
The child was someone she had given birth to with her life on the line; Xu Fei felt this child was like a second version of herself. So when the child cried, her heart ached. If the child was weak, she felt she might die at any moment. Therefore, naturally, for the sake of her own and her child's lives, she left the shop. At that time, Ajarn somehow learned of her intention to transfer ownership and came to her door, sincerely requesting that she transfer the shop to him.
Ajarn is a very polite Thai person.
At that time, he was a handsome old man, dressed in white, with Buddhist beads around his neck, looking very refined. Xu Fei's shop had been advertised for rent for months, but people avoided her unless it was a special occasion, claiming the shop had an unlucky atmosphere. Fearing that missing out would plunge the shop into another period of sluggish sales, Xu Fei signed the transfer agreement without hesitation.
She thought everything would get better once she left. But not long after, her child fell ill. The outside air seemed toxic, causing Xu Fei's fragile life to be infected with the flu. She took her child to several hospitals, but the condition only worsened.
“I thought he wouldn’t make it,” Xu Fei said, glancing at the swaddled baby beside her. The child was wearing headphones and sucking his fingers. He seemed reluctant to open his eyes, resting lazily.
Recalling the dark eyes he had just seen, Nezha wanted to examine the child's soul. But Xu Fei continued talking, so he unusually patiently waited.
"Because I was completely helpless with my child's illness, I decided to seek help from gods and Buddhas. I told my friend about it, and she told me that the Thai Buddhist temple at No. 44 Baishui Street was very famous. It was the one I had transferred... My incense and candle shop was doing so poorly, but his Buddhist card shop was booming. With nothing to lose, I went back to my old shop. There were already monks waiting at the door, and they led me into the temple."
Unlike Xu Fei's disheveled appearance, Ajarn on the top floor was beautiful and radiant.
Xu Fei remembered clearly that when she met Ajarn for the second time, he was wearing a robe made of fragrant silk, pure white. However, it was adorned with jewels, and the hem swayed lightly with his steps, the sharp light falling on Xu Fei's face as if slicing through her features.
Did I really hand over the business to someone like this? Just one glance at his face filled Xu Fei with a sense of awe.
“I had a premonition that you would come today,” Ajarn said, gesturing with both hands. “So I sent someone to wait here. Homeowner, what brings you here?”
Xu Fei waved her hand, declining the title of "owner." She had already transferred ownership of the shop and naturally couldn't accept that title. Ajarn smiled without speaking, waiting for her to explain her purpose. Xu Fei handed the infant to Ajarn for examination, hoping he could pray for the child, ensuring his safe growth and freedom from illness. Ajarn only glanced at the child before letting out a series of sighs.
He said, "Your child's lifespan has come to an end."
A deafening roar shattered Xu Fei's eardrums, causing her to tremble and collapse, looking around helplessly. Ajarn's room was still the same as before, the same place where gods and Buddhas had imprisoned her since childhood. The two-faced Buddha looked down at her, and among the hundreds of faces, she seemed to see several ghostly figures flickering. They wore expressions of reproach, silently cursing her. Xu Fei's already fragile defenses crumbled in just half a sentence. She looked pleadingly at Ajarn, repeating indistinctly, "Save me, please save my child."
"He's still so young, it's all my fault."
"It's all my fault, my fault, my fault..."
Xu Fei paused, speechless. She didn't know what she had done wrong, nor did she understand why, despite her meticulous care, her child's health had deteriorated. If she had to blame someone, it was only that the child had taken away the unfortunate part of her life. In a daze, Ajarn looked at her gently. His expression was so compassionate, as if every wrinkle on his face held pity.
“It’s not your fault,” Ajarn’s voice rang out from the top of her head, as if light was pouring down on her, bathing her in it: “If you want to save him, you have to give up your life. Are you willing?”
Xu Fei had no reason to refuse.
“He stole my youth to prolong my child’s life,” Xu Fei said, stroking her face as she knelt tremblingly before Nezha. The young man looked at the “old woman” kneeling with an expressionless face and shook his head almost imperceptibly: “There is no such magic.”
The life and death of a person is a rule ordained by Heaven.
In some countries, even gods experience the five signs of decay.
"Yes, there is no such spell."
Xu Fei's voice lowered again and again, until finally it became increasingly shrill, like fangs, as if she wanted to chew on Ajarn over and over with her words: "He lied to me."
"He lied to me."
The old man's words were written in tears.
There is no righteous path, but there is an evil path.
Ajarn told her to bring her child to White Water Street in three days.
He set up the ritual site, the ground covered with white wax made from corpse oil. When it burned, it emitted a strong, foul odor of human oil, the same smell as the scalp grime between the fingers when scratching one's scalp. Ajarn arranged the ritual site with lamps and candles, dismissing all the monks. In the empty balcony, only the three of them were surrounded within the ritual array.
Ajarn warned her: "No matter what I say next, you must say 'yes'. If you answer 'no' at any point in the process, both you and your child will die because your souls will be scattered."
Xu Fei's family ran a funeral business, so she naturally had some knowledge of these kinds of spells. The spell to exchange lives was a forbidden incantation, not something easily performed. She nodded, indicating she understood. But now, thinking back, she realized she had already been carried onto the rooftop, and there was no way she could leave.
The spell took effect the moment she nodded.
A howling wind caused the hundreds of candles present to slump slightly before flickering back up. The wind stung her eyes, casting many shadowy figures in the candlelight. Faces flickered and blurred. Xu Fei touched the back of her neck, her hands covered in goosebumps. She shivered suddenly, blinked, and opened her eyes again, only to find everything had vanished without a trace.
"Is she too nervous?" her own inner voice told her.
Ajarn asked, "Xu Fei, did you willingly exchange your life for this child through my hands?"
"yes."
Xu Fei had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but Ajarn's next question came even faster, catching her off guard and leaving her no time to think it through. Ajarn said, "For this, no matter what happens, no matter what needs to be done, you will have no regrets and will absolutely comply?"
"yes."
The hairs on her body stood on end, even more prominently. The unease intensified; a sense of oppression, coldness, and dread slowly crept towards her.
Why did he ask that question?
Xu Fei's eyes widened suddenly, her instinct being to refuse. But Azan saw through her thoughts and pointed in a certain direction. Xu Fei looked, and there was the circle of candles where her child was. Despite the strong wind and the surrounding firelight like rampant demons, the child showed no fear. He slept peacefully, sucking his fingers, as obedient as a pebble thrown on the ground.
If the answer is "no," the child will be terrified.
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