NHWSG chapter 87

He had noticed earlier that the golden light in the room was hidden in that wooden cabinet. But what puzzled him was that the room was filled with seaweed vapor, which seemed to concentrate the most above that wooden cabinet.

The entangled seaweed hung down, almost wrapping the wooden cabinet layer by layer tightly. Even though Zhang Jian could clearly perceive the scent of Buddhist seals from inside, he could only barely glimpse a faint golden light through the gaps in the seaweed.

“What kind of powerful evil is this?” Zhang Jian thought anxiously.

He recited a mantra in his palm, trying to see through the water vapor and foul smell inside. After struggling for a long time, he only managed to see a faint golden outline.

“What’s in there?” Mr. Sun asked in confusion. “Oh… there’s a Buddha statue there.”

“A Buddha statue?” Zhang Jian asked. “Has it been consecrated?”

“My wife invited it, so it should have been,” Mr. Sun said uncertainly.

Hearing his hesitant tone, Zhang Jian wanted to furrow his brows. Patiently, he asked, “Do you believe in Buddhism?”

“No,” Mr. Sun shook his head honestly. “This Buddha statue was brought by my wife. I’m not very clear about it—heard it’s very efficacious, many locals have it. Last year, my business wasn’t going well, so my wife brought in this Buddha statue to pray, just in case.”

“…,” Zhang Jian swallowed the words “nonsense” that were about to come out of his mouth.

Nowadays, people who don’t understand taboos often get into trouble. Seeking divine help is very important. How could one make such a decision lightly? Moreover, if they just wanted to have a psychological effect by bringing a statue to pray, it would be fine, but they actually invited a consecrated Buddha statue and didn’t properly worship it. Really…

If Mr. Sun hadn’t paid a high consultation fee, Zhang Jian would have scolded him long ago!

“Can I open it and take a look?” Zhang Jian asked patiently.

“Yes, yes, please,” Mr. Sun hurriedly agreed. “Please.”

With his permission, Zhang Jian no longer hesitated. He directly pulled Hu Huanyang forward and walked to the wooden cabinet next to the window.

The seaweed entangled on it threatened, but Zhang Jian remained calm, as if these disgusting things hadn’t touched his eyes.

He calmly unlocked the lock on the wooden cabinet, exerted a little force, and pulled open the cabinet door.

The seaweed was just a yin object, able only to secretly absorb human essence and fortune. They hadn’t cultivated a physical form yet. Therefore, with just a light touch from Zhang Jian, those things were brushed off the cabinet door.

With the cabinet door wide open, the golden light inside was no longer concealed. Like needles piercing through the darkness, Zhang Jian subconsciously tilted his head, almost being pierced by the brightness.

“Ho… how?” Mr. Sun couldn’t see the scene of those yin objects, naturally, he couldn’t see the Buddha light on the object either. Startled by Zhang Jian’s inexplicable dodging action, he asked, “Is there something wrong with it?”

“No,” Zhang Jian said, “It’s just that the Buddha light is quite strong, and I’m not used to it for a moment.”

Although Mr. Sun didn’t understand these metaphysical matters, he could tell that this object was good. Subconsciously, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Jian took a slight pause, then turned his head to look inside the wooden cabinet. There sat a white jade Buddha statue, with a young monk sitting next to it on a lotus platform. The monk had a clear face, dressed in robes, with slightly closed eyes, emanating a compassionate aura. Even with just a casual glance, one could sense a feeling of compassion from him.

… It’s a good thing, Zhang Jian thought puzzled, how could it attract such evil things?

“Zhang Jian, what kind of Buddha is this?”

Zhang Jian was still pondering when he felt Hu Huanyang leaning over from the side, resting against his shoulder and looking inside.

The little fox, fed with Zhang Jian’s blood, was lively and no longer had a headache. He wasn’t afraid of the Buddha light anymore and was enjoying watching the excitement. Tilting his head slightly, he carefully observed the statue inside and asked in confusion, “Isn’t he too young? He doesn’t look like one of the eighteen arhats… Who is he supposed to be?”

This question indeed stumped Zhang Jian. He had been thinking about it since earlier. Generally, in private households, either Guanyin or Maitreya was worshiped, and most of them had a clear lineage. However, Mr. Sun’s statue, although kind-looking and emanating Buddha light all over, Zhang Jian couldn’t figure out its identity, nor could he connect it with the orthodox system.

Turning his head, Zhang Jian subconsciously wanted to ask if Mr. Sun knew, but as soon as he saw the other’s puzzled expression, he knew he probably didn’t know either. It would be pointless to ask.

So Zhang Jian changed the question, “Mr. Sun, do you know where this Buddha statue was brought from?”

“I know, I know,” Mr. Sun answered quickly this time. “My wife went to Beihai for vacation and got it from a small village by the sea there. It’s said to be very efficacious, and several major cities nearby go there to burn incense.”

Zhang Jian glanced at Hu Huanyang subconsciously.

“Beihai?”

…………….

From the bathroom, Sheng Zhao poked out half of his body, inexplicably asking, “Now?”

“Yes,” Xing Yingzhuo said, “Let’s investigate.”

Sheng Zhao was full of question marks, not knowing what Xing Yingzhuo was up to in the middle of the night. But although he was puzzled, he was very efficient. After wiping his hands, he walked out of the bathroom and casually took out his phone.

“I’ll just confirm it first,” Sheng Zhao said as he opened the weather app. “Are we talking about the same Beihai, Beihai City?”

Xing Yingzhuo frowned, annoyed by his fussiness. Instead of replying, he reached out and took the phone from him, manipulating it himself.

Sheng Zhao wasn’t angry. Leaning against the back of the sofa with one hand, he bent slightly forward, leaning over to watch Xing Yingzhuo’s movements.

He saw him first check the recent weather in Beihai, then exit and look at the calendar for the next few days. Finally, he opened the compass app, left and right, adjusting the latitude and longitude for a while, making Sheng Zhao dizzy and confused, before finally throwing the phone back into his lap.

“Pack up,” Xing Yingzhuo said.

“What are we packing?” Sheng Zhao was still completely oblivious to the situation, asking in a daze. “The clothes we washed this afternoon? They’re already packed.”

As he spoke, Xing Yingzhuo had already stood up. He took off his bathrobe and threw it on the sofa, then went to the dryer and pulled out a T-shirt to put on.

He glanced sideways at Sheng Zhao, his expression ambiguous as he said, “You’re not changing? Then I won’t take you.”

Sheng Zhao stood still for two seconds, then suddenly realized what Xing Yingzhu meant. He exclaimed and rushed into the bedroom, pulling out a suitcase from the wardrobe.

“How could you do this so suddenly?” Sheng Zhao complained. “Didn’t you say we should wait for the right time?”

“The time has come,” Xing Yingzhu replied.

“You were just watching ‘Law Online’!” Sheng Zhao protested. “Who knew the time had come?”

Xing Yingzhu casually changed into clothes while Sheng Zhao scrambled to change, complaining about the suddenness of Xing Yingzhu’s decision. As he hurriedly packed, Sheng Zhao grumbled, “Your timing couldn’t be more last-minute.”

Xing Yingzhu had already leisurely changed clothes and, like a gentleman, leaned against the door frame, smiling ambiguously as he watched Sheng Zhao stuff socks into the suitcase.

“Didn’t you hear just now?” Xing Yingzhu said.

“Hear what?” Sheng Zhao replied without looking back.

He was busy thinking about whether to bring toothpaste or buy it upon arrival, so his tone sounded somewhat distracted.

Unfortunately, Xing Yingzhu wasn’t too pleased. He walked over, blocked the spinning Sheng Zhao with one arm, grabbed his chin discontentedly, and turned him around.

“Look at yourself, not even packed yet, and here you are causing trouble. What if we can’t make it in time…” Xing Yingzhu said.

“…,” Sheng Zhao said nothing.

He didn’t even pause to catch his breath. Wasn’t he afraid of choking?

Sheng Zhao was about to complain about Xing Yingzhu’s manipulative behavior, but he had already become more obedient, and even subconsciously licked his lips.

“Look at me,” Xing Yingzhu said.

…Fine, fine, fine, I’ll look at you, Sheng Zhao sighed inwardly, feeling that Xing Yingzhu’s intermittent possessiveness was out of control again.

“Just now, there was a message from far beyond. Didn’t you hear it?” Xing Yingzhu said with a smile.

“…,” Sheng Zhao.

He had just been mocking Xing Yingzhu for being childish in his mind, and now he felt chills running down his spine from his words, his hair standing on end.

Trembling, he looked at Xing Yingzhu and asked slowly, “Just now… there was a voice?”

“Yes,” Xing Yingzhuo said with a slight squint, imitating a serious and solemn tone. “The depths of the Forbidden Sea are near, the time has come, do not delay—

Sheng Zhao was chilled by his words, feeling his trust in this world collapsing. Who knew Xing Yingzhu looked at him for a long time with narrowed eyes, suddenly burst into laughter, and leaned on his shoulder, laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten up.

Sheng Zhao was dumbfounded by his laughter, taking two full seconds to come to his senses—he had been tricked again by this childish demon!