Chapter 55: Hate to Part, Please Expel Me from the Temple
The sound of rain is sobbing.
There was a coffin placed in the charity hall. The people inside passed by the coffin and looked as if they were just sleeping, no different from usual.
The disciples gathered in the hall, chanting scriptures in the muffled sound. Outside, birds were crying mournfully, and the sky was dark.
Fang Ya knelt on the mat with his fists pressed against the ground. The undried rain slid down his temples, condensed into water droplets on his chin, and fell drop by drop onto the floor tiles.
He gritted his teeth, his throat rolling, and finally stood up angrily and grabbed the collar of the Taoist boy who was sitting next to him.
"explain."
Fang Ya's voice choked: "How could my brother..."
Nan Huai let him do whatever he wanted in a daze, with a panicked expression. He tried several times to confirm who the person on the coffin was, but he didn't dare to look at the corpse.
"Lan Huai! What a Lan family member!" Fang Ya's shoulders trembled: "Mysterious insect poison... Do you know what it feels like when the Mysterious Insect Poison attacks?"
Nan Huai's eyes were red and bloodshot, his chest was heaving violently, and he seemed to be unable to breathe.
Fang Ya's voice was like thunder striking his ears, and then it continued to buzz, making it difficult for him to find peace.
The disciples in the hall suddenly split apart, and Yusheng, who was missing a small section of his arm, also came in pushing Baihe.
"Fang Ya," Bai He also called out his eldest disciple's name, but ultimately didn't finish the second half of the sentence. He paused and sighed, "Let's take a closer look at Fang Xu."
The burial time has been calculated, tomorrow morning.
At that time, yang energy was just beginning to emerge and evil spirits were nowhere to be found. Most importantly, his younger brother always liked to get up early.
Fang Ya finally couldn't help wiping away a tear, but still didn't want to see the sleeping face on the coffin. He turned around and ran away, letting out a few cries in the rain.
Nan Huai suddenly stood up in a daze, prostrating himself before Bai Heye, bowing his head and speaking in a flat voice, "It was I who revealed the location of the inner formation to Lan Qingsi, and it was I who allowed them to pass through the mountain gate. Nan Huai has repeatedly violated the rules and deceived his master. I am unworthy of being a disciple of Changfeng Temple. Master, please... expel me from the temple."
He kowtowed several times.
Bai He also looked down at him, but did not stop him. Finally, he replied, "Okay."
"Thank you, Master." Nan Huai raised his head, his forehead already red. He hesitated for a moment, then clenched his hands. "...After tomorrow morning, I will leave."
"It's up to you." Bai He closed his eyes and said no more.
The charity hall was soon drowned out by the buzzing sound of chanting.
Save all sins and overcome all disasters.
Nan Huai thought, does this so-called "everything" include me?
-
Wang Fengxu is packing his luggage.
Wang Tianfu sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the rain outside the window.
"Uncle Master, are you really not going to stay until tomorrow morning?"
Wang Fengxu listened to his thick nasal voice, paused, and sighed: "There will be many more separations in life and death in the future, so it's better to see them less."
"Oh, I just can't figure it out," Wang Tianfu hugged his knees and sighed, "What kind of treasure is that Taiyin Immortal Law? Why do you want so many of them?"
"It's a treasure that can make people become immortals," Wang Fengxu patted his head, "Who wouldn't want it?"
"Master asked you to stay. Did he know there was an ambush in the back mountain?"
"Maybe, what a pity, I thought the incident happened in the cave, but it turned out to be in the temple..." Wang Fengxu also sighed with the other party.
Wang Tianfu suddenly stood up and said, "Speaking of the cave, has anyone from the Abnormal Control Bureau arrived?"
"Yes, they arrived this morning," Wang Fengxu browsed through the forum on his phone. "Everyone has been admitted to the hospital, and the things in the cave have been cleared out."
"That cave is connected to the four children's graves, so it wasn't very clean to begin with. Coupled with the parents' constant complaints, their resentment was unbalanced, and they actually raised something like this. It's fate, I guess."
"The students are all receiving 'psychological counseling' from the commissioner, so I don't think they will remember this incident."
"Li Tong—while climbing over a wall to explore the mountains behind him, he slipped and fell off a cliff. His family is probably going to have to file a lawsuit against the summer camp organizers."
"Mr. Chu's injuries are too severe to survive, but the female doctor still has hope," Wang Fengxu said, looking at the chat logs on his phone with the Paranormal Control Bureau staff. "Mr. Chu came up with the idea for 'Judge'. The doctor, perhaps feeling guilty, has been begging her companion, 'Di Ting', to lend her collected thoughts to children with incurable diseases."
Wang Tianfu thought of the pilgrim Fang Xu mentioned, and his eyes dimmed: "Doesn't that mean..."
"A borrowed life must be repaid," Wang Fengxu said after a pause. "The only one to blame is the one who wrote the Book of Life and Death."
After a moment, he continued, "The Abnormal Control Bureau checked Chu's background. It seems his wife had gone to the Three Death Gates because of their daughter's incident years ago."
Wang Tianfu slapped the edge of the bed and said, "I was wondering why Teacher Chu suddenly mentioned the Four Judges. That's such a coincidence! - What about his wife?"
"Dead," Wang Fengxu gave him a half-smile, "What's the suspense? You've seen enough of the consequences of making deals with the Three Death Gates."
Wang Tianfu looked angry and subconsciously grasped the beads on the red string on his chest.
"Even if the Three Death Gates killed her enemy for her, she also paid with her own life," Wang Fengxu muttered. "But it's understandable if you think about it. My daughter died so young, and her enemy is still at large because of her young age. If it were me, I would—ahem."
He accidentally flipped over the lid of the teacup and stopped talking.
"Speaking of which..." Wang Tianfu looked out the window.
Wang Fengxu took a sip of tea and pricked up his ears to listen to what his junior apprentice nephew was going to say next.
"This time when we return, it will be the day of the actual martial arts competition, right? Uncle Master, have you made a promise that you will not be the last one?"
"Cough, cough, cough—" Wang Fengxu spat out a mouthful of tea: "How did it get to this point?"
"It just occurred to me," Wang Tianfu touched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "Because you came in third from the bottom last time, it was raining the day our master punished you to do horse stance, which is very similar to today."
"Don't always remember these trivial things," Wang Fengxu said with a sour face: "I just disdain to fight with those people. Keep your incompetence hidden, understand?"
Wang Tianfu: “Oh.”
Wang Tianfu: "Uncle Master, this is actually a good thing."
Wang Fengxu: “?”
Wang Tianfu: "Master Xiao Meng secretly set up a game to bet on who will come last. I'm betting on you, and when we win, we'll split the winnings."
Wang Fengxu said coldly: "Are you still making money from me?"
Wang Tianfu: "...How about 28?"
Wang Fengxu: "I earned it through my own ability, why should I give it to you?"
Wang Tianfu: “…”
After the two of them argued, the sadness mixed with the rain outside the window seemed to ease a little.
-
Ginkgo Building.
Fang Qing skillfully shook the shaker and mixed a cocktail for Song Yuqu.
"Just let Lan Qingsi die like this?" While expressing his surprise, he did not forget to decorate the wall of the cup with a lemon slice.
Song Yuqu said casually, "It's not a loss for him to die at Bai Heye's hands."
Fang Qing pushed the goblet over: "But how did he die?"
"The generals we sent out couldn't get too close," Song Yuqu sighed. "It seems the rumors were true. That kid's leg really does have a restriction. The price he paid was so high, so it's no wonder his magic is so powerful."
Fang Qing was silent for a moment: "If you are willing to help, Lan Qingsi may not die."
Song Yuqu glanced at him with a smile: "I can't hide anything from you."
"The Lan family is not to be trifled with," Fang Qing frowned. "That crazy woman Lan Qianhuang would even kill her own father if she got ruthless."
"It wasn't me who killed Lan Qingsi," Song Yuqu lit a cigarette for himself and laughed vaguely, "I just sold some gossip to his nephew."
She turned her head to look at Fang Qing with an ambiguous expression: "How do I know that he will die at Bai Heye's hands?"
Fang Qing understood immediately and murmured, "I guess the entire Lan family will hear this bad news next."
"How interesting! The competition on Qingcheng Mountain is about to begin, right?" Song Yuqu brushed the short hair by her ear. "Without the Young Master, who will Lan Qianhuang send? The kid from Qingcheng Temple has been involved in quite a few things. Hmm... there will be a lot of fun to watch."
Fang Qing sighed: "You really want them to fight."
"Of course," Song Yuqu nodded as a matter of course, "It's fun to watch those people laugh at me."
"Should we send some people out?" Fang Qing pondered. "Let Xiao Hei and the others sneak in during the chaos. Wouldn't that make the scene more interesting?"
Song Yuqu looked at him without saying anything.
Fang Qing: "What's wrong?"
Song Yuqu: "I find that you are getting worse and worse."
Fang Qing: “…”
Who is this all for?
Song Yuqu laughed twice and said, "Let's forget it this time."
She raised the corner of her mouth and said, "They are busy with their own affairs, so I don't need to add to their burden."
"The Meng family will also go to Qingcheng Mountain this time."
Fang Qing said: "If you want..."
Song Yuqu tapped the table with his fingertips: "Not the right time."
She looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the neon scene.
I thought to myself: The higher you fall, the more painful it will be, so it’s not the right time yet.
"But if you don't do it now..." Fang Qing's voice was tinged with sadness: "In the future, because of that variable, you may not get the outcome you want."
Song Yuqu raised his eyebrows: "Variable?"
Fang Qing smiled: "That Xiao, isn't it?"
He raised his head, his neck white and transparent under his shirt collar: "I have a premonition..."
"She will be a person that even Tianjiu will have a headache with."
Song Yuqu thought of the judge he had little contact with, and blurted out subconsciously: "Absolutely impossible."
Fang Qing didn't refute, but just curled the corners of his mouth slightly: "So it's just my hunch."
-
Hecheng, Huayi Xingtu Company lounge.
Assistant Xiao Zhang had just bought some coffee and came up. When he pushed the door open, he saw Chen Songling slumped on the sofa with his legs crossed, holding a tablet in his hand, flipping through it intermittently.
"Why do you always ask me to participate in these live variety shows?" He frowned and complained.
Xiao Zhang was terrified and tried to comfort him, "Sister Tan said that you can create a more authentic persona by going live, which will make it easier for you to get business later, and also help clear up the rumors spread in the previous negative articles."
"It's hilarious! No one believed me when I presented evidence to refute the rumor, but they believed me when I set up a camera and said it was a live broadcast. Do these people have any brains?" Chen Songling cursed. "I heard we're going into the mountains? Shu City again? No way, I have PTSD from that place."
Xiao Zhang said hesitantly: "Brother, you are right. Then I will call Sister Tan to reject her?"
He scratched his head and dialed the phone: "...Hello, Sister Tan? It's that variety show 'The Call of the Mountains', yes, the one about going to Qingcheng to watch..."
Chen Songling suddenly sat up: "Wait, Qingcheng Temple?"
Xiao Zhang didn't react, covered the receiver and turned to explain: "Ah, the one in Shucheng."
Chen Songling reached out and snatched the phone: "Sister Tan, are you sure? Is the Taoist temple recording a variety show?"
A female voice enthusiastically introduced the story over the receiver, "The recording happened to coincide with the temple fair in the mountains, so the buzz is quite high. You should show some energy. The last time we filmed, the crew was quite popular. The company has decided to give you a character who looks cool and handsome, but is actually a timid crybaby. You should think carefully about this."
Chen Songling: "..."
I'm a little confused about the entertainment industry.
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