Chapter 32 Red Lotus Sect
As soon as the word "holy water" came out, Zhou Yunshu instantly thought of two words, "cult".
It's just a pity that in her previous life, after Ji Sheng went on an expedition to the northern border, she and her child were moved to a remote courtyard in the palace by Ji Sheng and cut off from any news from the outside world. Otherwise, if a church organization appeared in Luzhou that even the county magistrate had to open a bed to welcome it, there would have been news in the capital.
"Sir?" Du Mazi asked Zhou Yunshu, who had been silent.
"Go back to the inn."
When the three returned to the inn, only half of the door was left, and the other side was closed.
Wei Zhong and the waiter immediately stood up to greet Zhou Yunshu and the other two when they saw them return. Wei Zhong saw that only Du Mazi and the other two were with Zhou Yunshu, so he asked, "Where are Lao Er and the others?"
"The water we bought earlier was confiscated by the government, so Manager Liang took Brother Du to refill the tank."
Zhou Yunshu explained as she entered the inn. Only Wei Zhong's men were sitting in the lobby, their knives habitually placed beside them. They looked as if they were ready to start a fight and leave at any moment.
"How's your water?"
Wei Zhong said, "It's all full, but you haven't come back yet, so I'm a little worried."
"Don't worry, it's okay."
The waiter named Xiao Miao'er also smiled and said, "I told you not to worry. As long as you don't go to places where the Red Lotus Envoys often go and provoke them, there are generally no dangerous places in the county."
"Are these Red Lotus Envoys so scary?" Zhou Yunshu asked casually.
"It's not that scary, it's just..." Xiao Miao'er frowned and tried to organize his words, "Their followers are a little crazy."
"Yeah?"
"Yes! My neighbors to the west are followers of the Red Lotus. My mother told me that Ping's wife had been married to Dong Lao San for two years and hadn't gotten pregnant. But after receiving a baptism of Red Lotus holy water, she got pregnant. She's been pregnant for two months now. They can't stand anyone saying anything bad about the Red Lotus."
“That’s not all!”
The inn's chef happened to hear Xiao Miao'er's voice and continued, "Xiao Song's father, who came to our inn to deliver food, was nearly dead. He came back to life after receiving the Red Lotus Cult's holy water. He looks even more energetic than I am!"
Xiao Miao'er and the chef talked back and forth about the strange stories that the Red Lotus Cult had done. To sum it up, if you believe in the Red Lotus, you will be immune to all diseases; if you believe in the Red Lotus, you will always be successful.
"So, what does the Red Lotus believe in?"
"We believe in the Red Lotus Mother, who lives in Wolong Mountain, which is far away from us!"
The chef was different from Xiao Miaoer who stayed out of the matter when talking about the Red Lotus. Everyone could vaguely feel his fanaticism for the Red Lotus.
Wei Zhong looked at the chef and said, "The Red Lotus Cult hasn't registered with the government, has it?"
You should know that in the Zhou Dynasty, not just any sect could preach. It had to be certified and approved by the imperial court.
In the Zhou Dynasty, or in other words, in all dynasties, the religions with the most believers were Buddhism and Taoism, as well as the sects affiliated with them.
Although the Red Lotus Sect in front of him seemed to have many followers, there was always an indescribable weirdness about it.
"Who said there isn't one?" The chef unconsciously raised his voice, as if dissatisfied with Wei Zhong's questioning of the Red Lotus. "The Virgin Mary is a distinguished guest of Lord Yang, the governor of Luzhou. Would Lord Yang participate in the Red Lotus's rituals without registering?"
After the chef finished speaking, Zhou Yunshu and Wei Zhong exchanged a glance. Zhou Yunshu then picked up a cup and placed it in front of the angry chef. She poured him a glass of water and said, "Don't be angry, Chef. We are the ones who are ignorant."
Seeing that they admitted their mistakes in a good manner, the chef calmed down a little and nodded.
"You know so much about the Red Lotus, so I guess you're a follower of the Red Lotus, right?"
The chef nodded proudly and said, "I just became a third-level cultist yesterday."
When Xiao Miaoer heard this, she frowned and said, "Uncle Li, the shopkeeper said that it is not allowed..."
"The shopkeeper said everything, I didn't sell it to him!"
The chef slammed the cup in his hand onto the table and said with a tone of complaint, "Back then, I was in dire straits and wanted the shopkeeper to help me out. Not only did he not help me, but he also tried to kick me when I was down..."
Before the chef could finish his words, he heard footsteps and voices outside. He shut his mouth and walked forward to open the closed door of the inn.
The people outside the door were Manager Liang and Du Laoer who had returned with more water.
"You haven't left yet?" Shopkeeper Liang asked puzzledly when he saw the chef still in the inn.
The chef's expression was a little unnatural, and he didn't dare to look directly at Shopkeeper Liang. He just said, "I'm leaving now."
After saying that, he left the inn first without waiting for Du Laoer and the others to bring in water.
Wei Zhong called on his people to help Du Laoer and the others bring in the water. Manager Liang felt that the atmosphere in the inn was not right and subconsciously looked at Xiao Miaoer, the only one of his own in the lobby.
"What's wrong?"
Xiao Miaoer didn't hide anything and immediately complained, "Uncle Li still believes in the Red Lotus Sect and is now a third-level believer!"
When Shopkeeper Liang heard this, his face instantly turned gloomy. It seemed that he didn't take his words to heart!
Zhou Yunshu looked at the gloomy Liang and asked, "Are there still different levels of believers?"
"Of course there are." This was said by Du Mazi beside her, "There seem to be seven levels in total."
"It's level nine," said Shopkeeper Liang. "Anyone who believes in the Red Lotus Sect is a level one believer. To become a level two believer, one must bring ten people into the sect and pay a membership fee of ten taels of silver. To become a level three believer, one must bring fifty people into the sect and pay a membership fee of fifty taels of silver."
Shopkeeper Liang looked at Xiao Miao'er and asked, "Li Dachui has been entertaining guests in the lobby recently, right?"
Xiao Miao nodded timidly. He thought that Uncle Li came out to help because he was too busy. Who would have thought that he came out to recruit people into the religion.
Shopkeeper Liang raised his head slightly and took a deep breath. Anyone would be angry if they knew that someone was using their place to do something they didn't like.
Fortunately, Shopkeeper Liang was able to remain calm. He looked at Xiao Miao'er and said, "Let's talk about this tomorrow. Go see if there's any food in the kitchen. Everyone's been busy for so long and must be hungry. Nothing is more important than eating."
"Alright..."
"Wait a minute." Zhou Yunshu interrupted. She looked at Shopkeeper Liang and said, "We are outsiders. It's not appropriate for us to interfere in your affairs."
"But I really don't feel comfortable letting my people eat the meal prepared by that chef just now."
Shopkeeper Liang frowned and said, "In our inn..."
"Your chef has a deep grievance against you. Since he dares to use your territory to seek personal gain, I'm even more afraid that he will tamper with the food and poison it to retaliate against you because of his dissatisfaction with you."
The reason why Zhou Yunshu said this was because she had a good impression of the shopkeeper in front of her. Also, they were leaving tomorrow, so if anything really happened, it wouldn't be their fault.
"I'll give him three courages...Puff!" Before Manager Liang finished his angry voice, he spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt on the ground.
"Shopkeeper!"
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