"I’ve gotten into trouble around North Burma, both the Patrol Defense Office and the United Federation are after . I want to survive, and I heard Buddha Mother is rciful, capable of sheltering Lost Souls and Wild Ghosts. I thought... I might try my luck, but alas, no one to vouch for . Fortunately, our paths crossed, brother, so please show the way," Zhang Songde said politely, bowing his hands.
"Do you want to join the cult?" Lou Huixiang’s expression paused, his face becoming distorted, startling Fang Zhou who stood silently beside.
Fang Zhou, being a newcor, knew nothing about the Black Buddha Mother. He maintained his silence throughout, knowing that staying quiet ant avoiding mistakes.
"Yes, I’d appreciate it if you could vouch for , brother. I won’t let you down!" Zhang Songde bowed again, extrely earnest, "A Top Grade of Fierce Level magic artifact, it’s the most valuable thing I can offer."
"Do you know the rules of joining the cult?" Lou Huixiang, seemingly uninterested in the so-called "reward," asked in return.
"I do!" Zhang Songde’s expression turned fierce as he mid a knife with his hand, slashing through the air fiercely.
Lou Huixiang slowly shook his head, leaning back against the bed as if drained of strength, "Not enough, before that, you must pass the test of Black Buddha Mother, those who fail the test aren’t qualified to end their lineage."
"You... won’t make it," Lou Huixiang shook his head.
"You made it, so why can’t I? I’m even willing to castrate myself; what could be harder to endure than that?" Zhang Songde argued, "If that’s not enough, I’ll sever one of my hands too. Surely that sincerity would move the elderly Black Buddha Mother!"
"Not enough..." Lou Huixiang watched Zhang Songde, whose face was filled with malevolence, still shaking his head, a slight sneer on his lips, but it was deeper and more complex than disdain.
"Then, may I ask, how did you join the cult?" Zhang Songde, his blood surging with frustration, pressed for an answer imdiately.
"To treat my daughter’s illness. She was very sick, beyond the help of dicine," Lou Huixiang’s eyes welled with tears, a sight that tugged at Fang Zhou’s heart. He could feel the intense emotional turbulence within this man.
"Then... did your daughter recover?" Zhang Songde asked.
Lou Huixiang nodded slowly, then shook his head again, which confused the anxious Zhang Songde who furrowed his brows, "What are you trying to say?"
"Do you know what the test for saving soone is?" Lou Huixiang looked at him, despair in his eyes.
"What?" Suddenly, Zhang Songde had an ominous premonition, stronger than he had ever felt before, chilling him to the core.
Lou Huixiang slowly closed his eyes, tears trailing down his cheeks, "They wanted ... to be my daughter’s husband!"
With a "snap," the teacup that Fang Zhou was holding fell and shattered on the ground, its contents splashing out like a blossom of despair.
...
As dawn broke, Yang Xiao was awakened by the knocking at his door, "Gentlen, sothing has happened!"
Yang Xiao wanted to observe more, but Xiang Fengchen, who had also just awakened, boldly walked over and opened the door. A servant-like man rudely barged in, his face full of panic, "Gentlen... gentlen, sothing has happened, Steward Wu is asking... asking you to co imdiately!"
"Don’t panic. Take it slow, what happened?" Xiang Fengchen asked, as the occupants of the other two rooms, now dressed, hurried over as well.
"Last night, there was an incident, soone died near the Ancestor’s Longevity Hall, the scene... the scene..." the man, pale with fear, suddenly vomited, releasing a foul, acidic stench that instantly spread.
"Quick, help him to the well to cool off, let him catch so cold air," Yang Xiao ordered, and several n helped the unstable man to the nearby well, then slowly retreated, keeping their distance from him.
If the man had anything to do with last night’s ghost in the well, he would likely act strangely near the well, which would be hard for Yang Xiao and the crowd to miss. Yet, the man behaved normally, vomited at the mouth of the well, wiped his mouth after a while, and walked back to apologize to everyone.
Seeing that they couldn’t pry anything out of him, everyone prepared to follow the man to see what was going on. Just as they were nearing the gate, Xiang Fengchen suddenly rembered sothing and hurried back to the house. The next second, everyone heard the sound of sothing shattering.
When Xiang Fengchen ca out, he held nothing in his hands and explained in a tone of self-reproach, "I was a bit careless and broke a mirror. Now... now let’s go."
It was clearly a lie. Yang Xiao deduced that Xiang Fengchen either went back to arrange sothing or intentionally broke the mirror to hide the shards on his person, considering the potential troubles they might encounter upon leaving.
Led by the man, the group passed through several courtyards and finally arrived at the courtyard where the longevity celebration was held the previous night. At this mont, n wielding knives and clubs guarded outside the gate, dressed like the estate’s Protectors, each looking nacing.
"Here they co, they’re here!"
Suddenly, a sharp-eyed Protector spotted Yang Xiao and his group approaching and shouted. At that mont, the tightly closed gates were pushed open, and Steward Wu quickly erged from inside.
Everyone looked into the courtyard, only to see a plain curtain drawn up, seemingly to conceal sothing.
"What did you all see last night?" Steward Wu imdiately asked, his eyes sharp as knives scanning the group.
"Nothing at all, we did everything as instructed," Chang Chuchu explained.
Before she could finish, Steward Wu angrily interrupted, "Impossible! If everything had been done according to the rules, how could this have happened?!"
"Don’t be hasty, let’s first clarify what exactly happened?" Yang Xiao inquired, his gaze moving past Steward Wu and into the courtyard.
"See for yourselves!" With that, Steward Wu turned and walked briskly into the courtyard, with everyone else quickly following.
They heard from a ssenger earlier that soone had died near the Longevity Hall, and Yang Xiao’s first thought was of the missing Tang Zerun. After a night had passed, they had finally found a body. However, Yang Xiao was more curious about how the family would explain the origin of the body.
Indeed, after bypassing the concealing curtain, they encountered a corpse in a bizarre pose, half sprawled on the ground, completely disfigured, barely together in human form, the ground soaked with blood and flesh.
This body wasn’t Tang Zerun’s; it was a woman’s, judged by her tattered clothes, likely a maid from the estate, not far from here lay a Paper Lantern dropped on the ground.
At the sight of the lantern, alongside the familiarity of the clothes, Yang Xiao suddenly felt an ominous premonition—it seed to be the maid who had led them the previous night.
"Whose body is this?" Nolan Shuo asked.
"It’s Qing Zui, a second-tier maid of our estate; you have seen her before." Staring at the body on the ground, Steward Wu furrowed his brow, his tone heavy, "Her death is minor, but the troubling part is how she died. She was murdered while paying respects, killed by... an Evil Spirit!"
"We have tried our best to avoid this calamity, but the temptation for these vile things on our ancestor’s birthday is too great!"
"How is the ancestor now?" Xiang Fengchen inquired.
"Not very well, probably frightened by the Evil Spirit, now resting." Steward Wu’s face tensed as he looked up sharply, warning the group, "Such an incident happening before and after the longevity feast has certain implications for families like ours. It’s clear what it ans. You should be aware, as this happened just after your congratulatory visit."
"What does this have to do with us?" Chang Chuchu argued vehently, unwilling to let such a weighty accusation fall upon them.
"Tonight at midnight, perform an Evil Exorcism for the ancestor," Steward Wu ordered bluntly, his hands tucked in his sleeves, making arrangents without further discussion.
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