Chapter 38: Crooked Ways I don’t have the courage to take the crooked path.
Lin Zhuyue explained to the Huang family father and son who followed in:
"The Bodhisattva sits upon a lotus pedestal, yet his heart is concerned with all living beings. Therefore, his eyes are always looking downward, his eyelids always lowered, a look of compassion."
Huang Xingping asked, "You mean there's something wrong with the Guanyin statue?"
Lin Zhuyue nodded and explained seriously:
"Well, the face is not carved right. The face of a Buddha statue is very important. If the carving gives people the wrong impression, there is a 60% chance that there will be a problem. If there is someone with good inspiration in your family, they might be terrified when they see this Bodhisattva statue."
"Also, this Bodhisattva statue hasn't been consecrated. It hasn't received the blessings of the true Dharma. It's not a genuine Bodhisattva statue from a temple. It's probably produced by some unreliable small workshop."
"How could that be?"
Huang Xingping shook his head and said,
"This is what our Master Tuo Gao brought back from Puji Temple. He spent over 50,000 yuan. Would he even cheat us out of something like buying a Bodhisattva statue?"
Ye Yangjia reminded: "Don't think too highly of others."
Wen Miyan walked forward with the compass. When she got closer to the Bodhisattva statue, the needle on the compass turned a little faster, but it still looked very steady.
Lin Zhuyue stretched out her hand and touched the Guanyin statue. Her fingertips, as white as scallions, landed on the statue's eyes and then gradually slid towards the jade bottle held in the statue's hand.
"There are usually some bad things staying in here."
Lin Zhuyue looked at the "Yuan" screwed onto the Guanyin statue and said,
"But they are not here for the time being, and the Guanyin statue is empty."
Zhang Duoli, who had gone out to make tea, also came back. She didn't see anyone in the living room, but she heard the noises, so she knew that the father and son and the guests had gone to the "Buddhist hall" at home.
"…What is it?"
Huang Xingping thought that the thing he usually worshipped and knelt here was not a Buddha, and he felt absurd, angry at being deceived, and afraid of the unknown.
After a moment's thought, Lin Zhuyue walked towards the window. She took the yellow paper with the ingots printed on it and folded it into a pile every three sheets she counted. She counted three piles in total.
Although it's the coldest time of winter, the weather is good today, and the sun is shining brightly. However, the sunlight outside seems unable to penetrate Huang Zhengan's home, especially this "Buddhist temple", which gives people a bone-chilling cold feeling.
Shi Can handed the brush, cinnabar liquid and talisman paper to Lin Zhuyue.
Lin Zhuyue took it. She held the pen in her right hand and poured spiritual power into it. The cinnabar liquid at the tip of the pen left a mark on the yellow paper, and the talisman was completed in one go.
Shi Can took out a seal and stamped it on the talisman paper, saying:
"Let me burn it."
He took the talisman paper and the three stacks of yellow paper that Lin Zhuyue had just counted out. He took out a lighter from his pocket, lit the yellow paper and the talisman paper together, and threw them into the ingot basin.
Choking smoke rose from the room.
Ye Yangjia opened the window for ventilation.
The nine sheets of yellow paper burned up quickly, turning gray and black under the flames, and wrinkled and shrunken into balls. Strangely, these wrinkled embers looked like animal heads.
"Come, come and see."
Shi Can asked Huang Xingping to come over and said,
"The things that live in the Guanyin statue look like this: one, two, three, four... nine, ten, eleven. There are a total of eleven things living in it. Don't you think your house has been very noisy lately?"
Huang Xingping just felt creepy.
Zhang Duoli was so frightened that she didn't dare to say a word for a while.
Huang Zhengan, who has been very depressed, said:
"I've been dreaming recently of a lot of people eating, drinking, and watching TV at my house. I remember a few days where my dad and mom started arguing right after getting up in the morning, saying the other one hadn't turned off the TV."
Huang Zhengan bit his lip and lowered his head. He was very sad:
"They're arguing over a trivial matter and wanting to divorce. It wasn't like this in our family before."
Speaking of the quarrel, Zhang Duoli felt a little regretful, but more confused. She sighed:
"I've been losing my temper quite easily lately. I don't even realise when I'm losing my temper, and only after we've had an argument do I realise why I'm doing this..."
"I don't want to quarrel either."
Huang Xingping shook his head and said,
"But I can't help it."
Shi Chan is no longer surprised by this situation:
"That's perfectly normal. These filth is likely related to that 'Master Gao'. He just wants to keep your family from having peace. If your family were at peace, how would he make money from you?"
Huang Xingping asked, "Are these things ghosts?"
"No." Wen Miyan said, "It's a demon."
Huang Zhengan suddenly burst into tears.
He seemed to have suffered a great injustice and cried:
"I always wake up at some point after falling asleep at night and feel someone strangling me... Someone is pulling my feet and dragging me out of bed... I chant the Buddha's name, begging the Bodhisattva to save me, and after I finish, someone makes a mocking sound in my ear."
"I told my parents, and they said I was hallucinating and dreaming."
Shi Chan couldn't understand the couple's behavior:
"You've already gone this far, searching for folk masters and contacting the Spiritual Masters' House. Why are you still saying the child is dreaming?"
"I never thought he was dreaming, otherwise we wouldn't have invited a Taoist priest or a Bodhisattva to our home."
Zhang Duoli shook her head and said,
"I just don't want him to think about these supernatural things. Once the matter is resolved, I will quickly forget about these messed up things."
Shi Chan twitched the corners of his mouth.
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia also raised their hands to rub their foreheads at the same time.
Lin Zhuyue could see that the three of them wanted to call him "crazy" now, but they didn't say anything because they saw that the victim was in a very difficult situation and didn't want to cause any disputes.
Huang Xingping asked with a glimmer of hope:
"Can this matter be resolved?"
"Your family has two problems. One is the problem with the Buddha statue, and the other is the problem with your son's legs."
Ye Yangjia concluded,
"The demons that inhabited the Bodhisattva statue have all left. We must wait for them to return before we can deal with them. So, let's deal with your son's leg problem first."
They left the "Buddhist hall" and returned to the living room.
Wen Miyan asked, "What did Master Gao tell you?"
"He said this child was a fairy who had sneaked down here and was being taken back from up there. So, first his legs and feet lost their function, then his body and hands, and finally he lost consciousness completely. Furthermore, there were evil spirits that were after his spiritual power and were constantly haunting him."
Zhang Duoli said distressedly,
"So we need to give the child a substitute and let him believe in Buddhism in the future. If he believes in Buddhism, the higher-ups won't be able to control him, and evil spirits will avoid him."
Shi Chan held Huang Zhengan's hand and said:
"How do you know it belongs to a fairy boy?"
Huang Xingping replied: "It is calculated according to the eight characters."
Shi Can: “…”
Ye Yangjia was also quite speechless and asked:
"How many people in the world have the same horoscope? They can't all be immortals, right? Whether they are immortals depends on the soul's past life, not the horoscope."
"And this substitute thing, did you really return it to him?"
Zhang Duoli replied, "I paid it back."
"You can't even fool humans with a stand-in, and you're going to fool gods with it? Gods are not fools."
Ye Yangjia drank a cup of tea and said with emotion,
"Folk scammers are quite capable of doing things."
Shican called his partner over:
"Lin Zhuyue, come and take a look."
Lin Zhuyue held Huang Zhengan's other hand and closed her eyes.
Huang Zhengan had a magical feeling, as if a force had entered his body, turning his soul and mind over and over again.
Lin Zhuyue told what he saw:
"At dusk, by the river, many students..."
Huang Zhengan, Zhang Duoli and Huang Xingping were all a little surprised, because the high school Huang Zhengan attended was indeed by the river.
"Have you ever seen a little yellow dog?"
Lin Zhuyue measured Huang Zhengan's calf with her hand and said,
"Not very big, probably only up to your calf."
Huang Zhengan opened his eyes wide.
Shi Chan said, "It seems you have discovered the problem."
Zhang Duoli asked anxiously, "What's going on?"
"That Friday after school, a little yellow dog rushed out and bit a girl's ankle. I went over and kicked it, and then it ran away..."
Huang Zhengan was filled with guilt.
"Is it...dead?"
Lin Zhuyue stood up and said:
"Well, it wasn't long before his hind legs became paralyzed, and he starved to death."
Huang Zhengan felt very sorry:
"I, I didn't mean to..."
Although they are all animals, cats and dogs are different from poultry. Cats and dogs are often raised as friends of humans, and their death often causes people more pain than the death of poultry.
Huang Zhengan just wanted to protect his classmates, he didn't mean to kill the puppy.
Although the puppy looked pitiful, Zhang Duoli was still surprised and couldn't help asking, "How could a puppy turn him into this?"
“Don’t underestimate the power of the spirit.”
Wen Miyan said,
"A weak life may possess a very powerful soul."
"I can understand your approach."
Shi Chan said to Huang Zhengan,
"But it's true that you owe this puppy."
Shi Can took out a paper man and recited a spell to it.
Soon, the paper man began to move.
It lay on all fours in Shican's palm, its body shaking constantly, looking quite like a puppy.
Lin Zhuyue intentionally guided Huang Zhengan:
"Apologize to it."
Huang Zhengan's voice was filled with guilt:
"I'm sorry, I killed you. I was just trying to protect my classmates, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll chant sutras and pray for you, hoping you can quickly reach paradise, never to wander again, never to suffer again. ...Also, I'll adopt a stray dog. I'll do everything I can to help you."
Lin Zhuyue vaguely heard a "woof" sound.
The next moment, the paper figure in Shican's hand collapsed and lay flat in his palm.
The "connection" that had entwined Huang Zhengan's legs was gradually dissipating. In the end, only a faint shadow remained, proving that this "connection" had once existed.
Huang Zhengan stood up from his wheelchair, took two unsteady steps, and then fell to the ground. He held onto the floor and said,
"I can move now. My legs can move now..."
"He hasn't walked in a long time, so he might need some rehabilitation."
Wen Miyan said to Zhang Duoli and Huang Xingping, who were all beaming with joy but couldn't help crying because of the difficulties they had faced during this period,
"I'll find a better hospital and enroll in the rehabilitation department later."
Zhang Duoli and Huang Xingping agreed to Wen Miyan's instructions one after another. The family of three huddled together, as if they felt that the biggest problem had been solved.
But the spiritual masters knew that the real tough battle had not yet begun.
Huang Zhengan and his family, arranged by spiritualists, checked into a guesthouse on the south side of the complex. Shi Chan used a spool of red thread to create a barrier around the guesthouse room, aiming to prevent malicious entities from invading and to prevent Huang Zhengan and his family's presence from leaking out and being detected by spirits outside.
After setting up the barrier, Shican cut three paper figures.
Lin Zhuyue took a blood collection pen, pricked the fingers of Huang Zhengan's family, and squeezed out the blood.
Shi Can rubbed the blood squeezed from their fingers on the three paper figures, and asked them to breathe into the paper figures.
Before nightfall, the spiritual masters returned to Huang Zhengan's home.
They placed the three paper figures in two rooms: Huang Xingping and Zhang Duoli's in the master bedroom, and Huang Zhengan's in the second bedroom. The spiritualists also chose to split up and keep watch, with Shi Can and Lin Zhuyue staying in the second bedroom, and Ye Yangjia and Wen Miyan in the master bedroom.
Shi Can smeared some grave soil and pot ash on Lin Zhuyue's face.
The soil in a grave is extremely yin and can cover up the yang energy of a living person.
Pot bottom ash can make people invisible to low-level spirits, but if the person wearing pot bottom ash is too noisy, he will still be noticed by the spirits.
After Shi Can wiped off the grave soil and pot ash, he took out a projector from his travel bag and asked:
"Watching anime?"
Sitting on the bed, Lin Zhuyue, holding a bow and arrow, said in surprise:
"You're carrying this on a mission?"
Shi Chan doesn't think there's anything wrong with his behavior:
"Is it better to carry this than a hammer?"
While attending an engagement party, Lin Zhuyue wanted to fight but couldn't find a suitable weapon. After that, in order to have a weapon when she needed to blow the enemy's head off, Lin Zhuyue stuffed a giant hammer into her bag.
Ye Yangjia gave Lin Zhuyue a new nickname - Thor, the God of Thunder.
The sky gradually darkened.
The cold and gloomy energy seeped in through the door.
Shi Can and Lin Zhuyue stood by the bed and watched with their own eyes as the compass needle rotated faster and faster.
A translucent shadow in a yellow robe walked through the door. He nimbly "jumped" onto the bed, with a ferocious look on his face. He pinched the paper man's neck with both hands, greedily absorbing the little bit of vitality that existed on the paper man.
After sucking almost all the life out of the living person, he let go of the wrinkled and miserable paper man, jumped off the bed, walked out through the door and left.
Lin Zhuyue asked: "What is he?"
Shi Chan replied, “Weasel.”
The two of them walked quietly towards the door. Shi Can turned the door handle and walked out of the room. Wen Mi Yan and Ye Yang Jia from next door also came out. Two shadows left the master bedroom and rushed into the dining room.
There was a faint light in the restaurant in the middle of the night, and there was also singing, which didn't sound very cheerful, as if there were ten resentful women and widowed men hugging each other and crying.
Lin Zhuyue walked towards the restaurant with a bow and arrow.
When she got closer, she stuck her head out to see what was going on in the restaurant.
On the round table in the restaurant stood a cement-colored statue of a Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva’s eyes were smiling into crescents, and his eyeballs were slightly glancing to the side, giving him a cunning look.
Eleven translucent "people" in yellow robes sat beside the round table. They were men and women, young and old, clapping their hands rhythmically and singing an eerie song. They were all laughing happily, their faces and eyes identical to the Bodhisattva statue in the center of the table.
Shi Can whispered a reminder: "Look carefully at '缘'."
These "people" possess numerous connections, most of which are scattered. Yet, each possesses a strong connection to the Bodhisattva statue on the round table. They seem to be channeling their faith into the Bodhisattva statue, and in turn drawing strength from it.
Shi Can said, “Don’t let any of them go.”
"Yes, I understand."
Lin Zhuyue drew his bow and aimed at the Bodhisattva statue.
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia dug out the end of the red rope from under the mat.
They had carefully arranged the house during the day, wrapping each room with red rope. However, instead of tying the rope ends together, they hid the ends beneath the mats. Now, if they could find the ends and tie them together, the ropes encircling the rooms would form a barrier, trapping the spirits within.
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia quickly tied the rope.
Lin Zhuyue let go of his hand, and the bow and arrow with golden amber fire shot straight at the table.
The cement-colored Bodhisattva statue is almost entirely composed of yin and evil energy, so the golden amber fire has a strong restraining effect on it.
The Bodhisattva statue was quickly ignited by the amber fire, and the golden flames quickly extended along the edge of the Bodhisattva statue to each of the yellow-robed "people" sitting at the table.
After being touched by the amber fire, shrill screams and cries were heard, the chairs in the restaurant were knocked over by the flying and panicked spirits, the tables were hit with "creaking" and "banging" sounds, and there was chaos.
After the Bodhisattva statue was completely burned by the amber fire, the restaurant finally calmed down.
Shi Can walked into the restaurant with a compass, but there was no trace of any supernatural reaction detected here.
He took the compass and went to the "Buddhist hall" in the house.
The Guanyin statue on the table in the Buddhist hall had broken into pieces at some point, and the incense burner had fallen over, with the rice and incense ash inside spilling all over the table.
Shi Can held the compass close to the ceramic fragments. The compass needle only shook slightly when he moved.
Shi Chan announced, “Perfect solution.”
However, there is still a problem in the mission.
Wen Miyan called Fu Xingwei and said:
"Teacher, the 'Master Gao' who deceived the victim during our mission might not just be a common con man. He is supporting evil spirits, or perhaps there are filthy creatures around him who are supporting evil spirits without his knowledge. In short, the Spiritual Master House cannot let this person go easily."
Fu Xingwei, who was on night shift, responded:
"I also think he's no ordinary con man. Not long ago, people from our Spiritual Master House noticed him and wanted to contact him. We had just contacted the local police when he closed his shop and ran away. We haven't heard from him since. For a con man, he's quite astute."
Wen Miyan asked, "Can we still catch him?"
"Wait a moment, there's new information..."
There was a sound of a mouse coming from Fu Xingwei's side. After a long while, Fu Xingwei said,
"According to the fingerprints collected, 'Master Gao''s' real name is Gao Zhan. He is a graduate of the Spiritual Master Academy. Shortly after graduation, he disappeared while on a mission... This year, he was 32 years old...?"
"Thirty-two?"
Shi Can was surprised.
"According to the victim, Master Gao was an old man in his fifties. This time, the victim is a bit clueless, but he shouldn't be so confused as to distinguish between someone in their thirties and someone in their fifties, right?"
Fu Xingwei said, "Maybe it's makeup. Isn't there a makeup method that can make people look older?"
That's ridiculous.
"The next matter will be handed over to the Spiritual Master House. I know you are capable enough, but according to the rules of the Spiritual Master House, this kind of graduated spiritual master who has gone astray should not be dealt with by an apprentice spiritual master."
Fu Xingwei said to the students,
"Have the victim sign a confidentiality agreement and return to Tiancheng."
At noon the next day, they went to the B&B to pick up Huang Zhengan and his family.
After returning to the house, the family couldn't help but exclaim.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, brightening the room. When I stood by the window, the sunlight bathed my body, creating a warm sensation. Before I brought back the Guanyin statue, my home had been like this: safe and comfortable, never a chilly feeling.
Huang Xingping had already made an appointment for Huang Zhengan to go to the city hospital's rehabilitation department, and they would leave early tomorrow morning. He believed that soon, life would be completely back to normal.
Wen Miyan smiled and warned:
"Regarding the chanting and adopting the puppy, you must keep your word. It's not uncommon for ghosts to leave and then return because the owner didn't keep their promise."
Huang Zhengan nodded quickly: "Of course it counts."
He had always wanted a puppy, and he had grown up with it since it was very small, shaking its hand every day, rolling around with it, and watching it drool while people ate. He would do his best to love his puppy.
All three signed confidentiality agreements.
"This is the phone number of the Spiritual Master's Mansion."
Wen Miyan handed over a card and said,
"If that Master Gao appears again, please call the police and contact the Spiritual Master Mansion immediately."
After explaining what they needed to do, the little spiritual masters left Huang Zhengan's house carrying a box of 4J cherries that Zhang Duoli insisted on giving them.
"I know some people will go down the outer sect's evil path."
Lin Zhuyue sighed while sitting in the back seat of the car.
"But can a spiritual master who has received training at the Spiritual Master House also do it?"
Wen Miyan replied: "Yes, and quite a few."
"It is precisely because of the education I received at the Spiritual Master's House that I understand the limits of proper growth. When I stray from the right path, I am more determined than anyone else—'I know this is wrong, but I'm going to do it.'"
Shi Can supported his face with one hand and looked at the sunlight outside the car window.
“Those who stray from the path of metaphysics on their own are easier to pull back.”
Lin Zhuyue said thoughtfully: "Is that so..."
"The Spiritual Master House is afraid that Shi Can will go astray."
Wen Miyan said to Lin Zhuyue,
"It's always been like that in novels set in the world of cultivation, where the righteous are worried about the Sword Master becoming possessed by the devil—if he becomes possessed, how can the righteous continue to function?"
"Then you came. Now the Spiritual Master House is not only afraid that Shican will go astray, but also afraid that he will lead you astray."
"Me? No."
There was a faint smile in Lin Zhuyue's eyes.
"I don't have the courage to go astray. Speaking of which, it's almost Christmas Eve..."
“Huh…?”
It took Wen Miyan a long time to react.
"Do you have a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day routine?"
"Well, I went to a private school for both elementary and junior high school. There were a lot of foreign students there, and the school was closed from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day every year."
Lin Zhuyue shared the snacks in his hand with Wen Miyan.
"My mom would pick me up and take me to London for Christmas Eve. But she didn't contact me this year. Maybe she thought it would be difficult for me to ask for leave since I'm in my third year of high school."
"Speaking of which, why don't you come?"
Shi Can turned around and asked Wen Miyan,
"Aren't you of Chinese and French descent?"
Wen Miyan took the snacks handed to her by Lin Zhuyue:
"Because no one around here wants to celebrate, my family won't celebrate either. But my grandparents might, since they're both in France now."
Shi Can asked again: "Lin Zhuyue, does your family celebrate the New Year?"
Lin Zhuyue replied with some pain:
"Yes, my sister is really addicted to celebrating holidays. She celebrated Christmas Eve in London, New Year's Day in Japan, and Lunar New Year back home. The whole family, young and old, had to accompany her."
She was tormented a lot...
But sometimes I feel envious...
Shi Can called the housekeeper:
"Ms. Lin said she wants to celebrate Christmas Eve and needs to find a way to prepare. No Christmas tree? No problem, I can take care of that."
Shi Can made another call:
"Hey, Principal Liang, can I chop down a cypress tree at your house? My partner is going to spend Christmas Eve here. Since you assigned her to be my partner, you shouldn't complain if I accompany her today. Hang up, I'll ask my housekeeper to go over and chop down the tree."
Lin Zhuyue: “…? Hey! Wait!”
Shi Can didn't wait, he made another call:
"Hey, Mom, today is Christmas Eve. Do you have anything for Lin Zhuyue?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
