Seeing the Evil Buddha Statue held by Qin Liuxi, the father and son of the Ren Family leaned in for a closer look, letting out a surprised murmur.
"This seems to be the one enshrined in my mother’s small Buddha hall," Ren Ting hesitated.
He had never prayed in the small Buddha hall, but had glanced there inadvertently when going to speak with Mrs. Ren, although he wasn’t sure if it was exactly the sa.
Ren Mingguang’s face darkened: "It is that statue."
Qin Liuxi squinted his eyes and asked, "You have seen it?"
There seed to be a breath of turbid air in Ren Mingguang’s heart, and his eyes showed so disgust towards the statue as he said, "More than seen, ever since she brought back this Buddha, she completely changed."
Qin Liuxi’s interest was piqued: "Tell . Actually, could you take to see it?"
Ren Mingguang was already vaguely aware that there was sothing wrong with this item and nodded, but upon seeing the coffin, he said, "It can be done, but regarding my wife, if what you said is true and she hasn’t left yet, should we move her out first?"
Otherwise, it’s not right to always leave her lying in the coffin.
Qin Liuxi was not in a hurry, letting them handle things themselves.
At Ren Mingguang’s command, the Ren Family’s servants sprang into action, and the Mourning Hall had to be dismantled, since if the person was still there, keeping the Mourning Hall would only invite bad luck.
Once word got out, everyone in the Ren Family, including the visitors who ca to offer condolences, was stunned: Mrs. Ren was found to have contracted a strange false death disease instead of actually being dead, which a Daoist doctor recognized.
How bizarre.
After moving Mrs. Ren back to the bedroom and changing her back into ordinary clothes, under the curious eyes of the Ren Family mbers, Qin Liuxi had no choice but to draw several talismans in Mrs. Ren’s bedroom to stabilize her soul and spirit, since she wasn’t truly ill but had lost her soul, and dicine alone couldn’t wake her up.
"Junior Temple Master, if my mother’s soul cannot be retrieved, what will happen?" Ren Ting asked.
Qin Liuxi pondered for a mont and replied, "Two possibilities. One, like now, keep existing as a living corpse until her life span ends, then her soul and spirit will leave the body automatically, because then she would truly be dead, and you can arrange a real Mourning Hall. Second, her body could be possessed by other Wandering Ghosts, and it will be her but not her."
The faces of the Ren Family mbers looked extrely distressed.
Either scenario wasn’t good; being a living corpse ant being unaware of surroundings and requiring constant care, otherwise lying alone for too long without moving or turning could even lead to bedsores, and without eating, her body would likely beco just skin and bones, death not far off.
Having an otherworldly possession, honestly, they would rather Mrs. Ren be dead than have so other entity take over her body and use her identity to do things which would be absolutely disgusting.
Ren Mingguang requested, "Please, Junior Temple Master, make an effort to help retrieve my wife’s remaining soul and spirit, my Ren Family will surely be grateful."
Yet, Qin Liuxi did not agree outright, rely saying, "The situation of the lost soul is unclear, whether it can be retrieved, I dare not guarantee, I can only promise to do my best."
"Regardless, thank you for your kindness, Junior Temple Master." Ren Mingguang bowed again.
Qin Liuxi said, "Can we now go to that small Buddha hall? Also, you ntioned that after worshipping the Buddha, Mrs. Ren started acting oddly. What happened exactly?"
Ren Mingguang led the way to the small Buddha hall himself, while explaining, "After worshipping that Buddha, the madam started behaving strangely. Every now and then, she insists on going to pray, and stays there for many days, claiming she needs to help in the Buddhist Temple with almsgiving and accumulating rits, leaving all household duties to her eldest daughter-in-law..."
Since the eldest daughter-in-law had joined the family, managing dostic affairs was acceptable, but she was neglecting everything, utterly fixated on worshipping and serving the Buddha. She would spend her days in the small Buddha hall, chanting and hitting the wooden fish, almost wishing to reside permanently in the temple.
If it were only Mrs. Ren herself, that would be one thing, but she also encouraged everyone to believe in the Buddha known as the Holy Venerable Buddha, causing chaos in the household, and bringing sha that reached beyond our estate.
Why, as Mrs. Ren preached about Buddha, she beca a devout Buddhist, actively engaging in social interactions with the official’s wife, fervently praising the Holy Venerable Buddha’s spiritual energy. If anyone spoke ill, she would frenziedly retort back.
This stunned everyone.
Because Mrs. Ren was known in the circles of the officials’ wives for being incredibly agreeable and adept at social connections, rarely offending anyone. Yet, she chose to offend others for her faith, fearlessly confronting even those of higher status than her, spewing harsh words, accusing them of disrespect towards the Holy Master, threatening divine punishnt—curses that would infuriate them trendously.
It’s unclear if it was her ’curse’ or re coincidence, but that official’s wife broke her leg that sa day. Whether it was a coincidence or not, it intensified their resentnt towards Mrs. Ren, vowing to never interact with the Ren Family again.
And that wife’s husband, protective as ever, rigidly cold-shouldered Ren Mingguang, mixing open derision with covert sabotage, making Ren Mingguang tread carefully as if treading on thin ice.
Naturally, Ren Mingguang was upset. Previously, Mrs. Ren’s social skills were top-notch, stabilizing his household and fortifying his social circles. Everyone comnded his choice of spouse. But now? Not only was she dragging him down, she was also boldly offending those above them. Was she implying his position was too secure?
The couple had a huge fight over this, Ren Mingguang demanded Mrs. Ren no longer go out for social interactions, to stay peacefully at ho, but what did Mrs. Ren do?
Instead of mingling with those she now deed heartless officials’ wives, she took her dowry Silver, exchanged it for a substantial amount of provisions, and went to the City God Temple’s refugee camp in Qi State to do almsgiving, promoting the efficacy of the Holy Venerable Buddha. Her devout deanor altered everyone’s established beliefs.
"...Ever since she worshipped that Buddha, in her eyes, nobody compares to the Buddha," Ren Mingguang said with a mix of disgust and exhaustion. "In my view, she’s beco foolish from excessive prayer, neglecting everything else, convinced that the Buddha is only good. Any slight criticism, and she reacts furiously."
Listening, Qin Liuxi felt as if Mrs. Ren had been brainwashed.
In this world, whether people believe in Buddha or Dao, she had never witnessed anyone so obsessively stubborn. Mrs. Ren’s behavior was bordering on manic fanaticism.
"What about the night before she was found lifeless, anything unusual?"
Ren Mingguang replied, "It was just advising her not to be too invested, that alienating family mbers for the sake of worship wasn’t worthwhile, right? She got angry, we argued, and I harshly suggested she might as well beco a nun and serve the Buddha directly if she was so devoted. She said she’d go, turning instantly to head to the Buddha hall. I didn’t follow up, thinking she was rely speaking in anger. I went to sleep soon after, only to wake up during the third watch and discover she was breathless."
Qin Liuxi appeared contemplative; could the loss of her soul be related to her vow to serve the Buddha?
Arriving at the small Buddha hall, Qin Liuxi stood at the entrance. A malevolent, oppressive aura assaulted her, spontaneously eliciting a surge of vicious energy within.
It was the sa aura as the Evil Buddha Statue in her hand.
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