Chapter 40: Returning Home (VII)
As Zong Chen expected, the car that Lu Lan mentioned did not show up the next day, and Lu Ren did not see his seriously ill uncle.
In fact, early the next morning, Lu Ren expressed his wish to visit his uncle to Lu Lan: "I want to go and talk to my uncle."
Lu Lan's answer was always the same: "Dad has already taken the medicine and gone to sleep."
During breakfast, Lu Ren asked indirectly when his aunt and the car would be back, and Lu Lan just answered perfunctorily: "My mother called last night and said she would be in the city for two days. I'm afraid she won't be back for a while."
Lu Lan's words were flawless, so Lu Ren couldn't say anything else, and just shook his head at Zong Chen to express his difficulty. However, the two of them knew that no matter how logical Lu Lan's words were, there must be something fishy going on.
So the two of them went back to their room after breakfast to discuss countermeasures. Zong Chen said to Lu Ren: "Everything in the world has a cause and effect. Since you said before that your cousin's family was originally normal, then their behavior shouldn't have become so strange for no reason. We need to consider the reason. By the way, what did your uncle do originally?"
Lu Ren answered honestly: "My uncle was originally just an ordinary worker in the factory. Later, he encountered a wave of layoffs and started a small business. Although the business was quite prosperous, it was only enough to support the family."
"It sounds quite normal. But your cousin is so mysterious: if your uncle is sick, why doesn't he go to the doctor? If he is not sick, why doesn't he let us visit him?"
Lu Ren naturally thought of this, so he and Zong Chen planned to sneak upstairs to see if his uncle was dead or alive while his cousin was not paying attention: "I'm back now, and I still feel uneasy if I don't see him."
Zong Chen did not reject this plan: "Okay, since your cousin doesn't let us watch, let's stay away from her. It's not like we can stare anyone to death, so nothing should happen." While looked through the window glass at their cousin who was chatting with Zong Nian in the yard.
After Zong Nian came back from worshipping the Buddha, he started chatting with his cousin in the yard. The two were talking and laughing at the moment. Compared with Lu Lan's coffin-like expression when facing Lu Ren, her expression when facing Zong Nian could only be described as amiable. If someone came to tell Lu Ren now that Zong Nian was Lu Lan's relative, Lu Ren would definitely believe it without saying a word.
Zong Nian and Lu Lan seemed to have finally finished chatting and were about to go their separate ways. Lu Ren noticed that when they parted, they both made a strange gesture to each other at the same time. The gesture was very complicated, and at first glance, it looked like a blooming lotus. Lu Ren vaguely remembered that Zong Nian seemed to have made the same gesture when he parted with the group of villagers this morning.
Zong Nian walked into the room with a smile.
Since last night, Zong Nian, Zong Chen and Lu Ren have been sharing a room. Zong Chen has set up a barrier in the next room. It is said that this is a secret technique of the Zong family. In short, it can ensure the safety of the souls and bodies of the two people who are in deep sleep. It was originally used to preserve the bodies of the fallen people, but now it is used in a place like this.
Zong Chen properly placed Lu Yang and Guan Eryue in the next room. The three people who were not asleep lived together. This arrangement also helped Zong Chen and Lu Ren to better observe Zong Nian.
Although Zong Nian was able to make his own logical arguments, the two of them were still skeptical of Zong Nian's "rebirth". After all, this statement was unheard of and seemed a bit too far-fetched.
At this moment, facing Zong Nian who had just returned from an outing, Zong Chen took the initiative to talk to him: "Why did you go to worship the Buddha so early today?"
Zong Nian explained, "Brother, you forgot that I came here in my previous life. At that time, I already knew that the villagers here usually went to the mountain stream outside the village to worship the Buddha at six in the morning to show their piety."
Zong Chen asked indirectly, trying to find a flaw: "I remember you hate getting up early the most."
"I have caused so much trouble to the Bodhisattva, but the Bodhisattva is still willing to give me a chance, so I will naturally do my best." Zong Nian took a sip of water and continued, "Waking up early to burn a stick of incense is just a small thing I can do. Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire in the future, I dare not refuse too much."
Zong Nian's words and deeds showed a certain degree of loyalty to the so-called Bodhisattva here. Although Zong Chen did not agree with his ideas, he was still in someone else's territory after all, so he could not say anything blatantly. After a long while, he could only say in a gloomy tone: "You are very pious."
Zong Nian thought Zong Chen was praising him, so he touched the back of his head sheepishly and said with a smile, "This is just the beginning. It would be great if I could become like Sister Lu Lan one day."
After hearing the information revealed by Zong Nian, Lu Ren couldn't help but wonder, and couldn't help but interrupt, "Like my cousin?"
Zong Nian showed a fascinated expression on his face: "Yes, Sister Lu Lan said that she can often hear the voice of Bodhisattva in her dreams. Not only her, but many people in the village have this ability. It would be great if I could be like this one day."
Lu Ren asked tentatively: "Then do you know what Bodhisattva usually tells them in their dreams?"
"Of course, it is to tell them how to live a happier life."
After hearing this, Lu Ren gradually had some ideas in his mind: that is to say, the Bodhisattva here will directly communicate with the villagers in their dreams. But is this Bodhisattva real or fake? If it is real, this small village is full of weirdness; if it is fake, Zong Nian has indeed learned the fire talisman that he should not have learned, and this matter itself cannot be faked.
Lu Ren felt as if he was walking through a layer of fog. He was only one step away from the truth, but it was always hazy and he could not see its true face.
That afternoon, Lu Ren and Zong Chen saw through the glass window that Lu Lan was walking out of the village alone, carrying a bamboo basket.
So Lu Ren winked at Zong Chen, who understood and slapped a sleeping charm on Zong Nian's back. The moment the sleeping charm was pasted on Zong Nian, he closed his eyes and fell asleep on the bed. Zong Chen didn't want to use this method to deal with his cousin, but he didn't want the weird Zong Nian to secretly report to his so-called Bodhisattva. It was a small matter to ruin the plan, but who knew if the Bodhisattva would retaliate against them. After he made sure that Zong Nian was asleep, he followed Lu Ren and tiptoed to the second floor.
There was a glowing red shrine in the main hall of the Lu family, so one could smell a strong scent of incense as soon as they entered the main hall. But the strange thing was that the further up the stairs they went, the farther they should be from the shrine, but the smell of incense increased instead of decreasing. By the time they reached the second floor, the fragrance was so strong that it seemed to have substance.
On the second floor, except for the room closest to the inside, the doors of the other rooms were all open. Lu Ren stood at the door of the rooms with open doors and checked them out. He could clearly see that none of these rooms were his uncle's residence. So the two of them quickly determined that his uncle's room must be behind the closed door.
Lu Ren walked to the closed door and tried to open it. It was locked. While he was still thinking about whether to kick the door, Zong Chen patted his shoulder and motioned him to move aside. Lu Ren did as he was told.
Zong Chen stepped forward , half-knelt down, then made a gesture with one hand and whispered to the keyhole: "Open!"
Lu Ren heard a "click" from the keyhole, and the lock opened. Then the wooden door that was originally closed "creaked" and opened a crack by itself.
If it weren't for the wrong time and place, Lu Ren would have wanted to stand at attention and applaud Zong Chen.
But when Lu Ren walked into the room and saw the scene inside clearly, he instantly gave up the idea of joking.
In the empty room, there was only a huge clothes hanger placed in the middle of the room, and there was only one thing hanging on the hanger, that is, a whole piece of human skin. The window in the room was open, and a gust of wind blew in from outside, and the human skin began to float in the wind, like a piece of laundry being hung out to dry after washing.
An ominous premonition lingered in Lu Ren's heart. He walked two more steps inside and looked at the human skin carefully. He found that he did recognize the human skin. It was his uncle's face.
The rich aroma of incense on the second floor came from this room, or to be more precise, from the human skin.
Zong Chen, who was standing by, was no fool. Seeing Lu Ren's face suddenly turn pale, he could guess the origin of the human skin. He could only comfort Lu Ren softly: "My condolences."
Lu Ren was speechless at the moment. He felt that everything he had experienced was beyond the limit of what an ordinary person could bear. He even felt that his soul was split into two halves, one half screaming in despair, the other half crying helplessly, but in reality, he just stood there without saying a word.
At this moment, Lu Ren heard Zong Chen beside him suddenly shout, "Be careful!" Then Zong Chen flew towards Lu Ren and threw him to the left. At the same time, Lu Ren heard a loud "bang" explosion in his ears. A huge object seemed to fall where he had just stood.
When Lu Ren regained his balance, he looked again and found that a huge Buddha head had fallen from the beam. He was shocked and asked, "Why is there a clay Buddha head here?"
However, just as he finished speaking, he saw the Buddha head, which was originally facing away from Lu Ren, turned around and faced him with its front. The Buddha head spoke, and the words it spoke were full of regret: "Oh no, you dodged me."
What a monster!
Seeing this, Lu Ren and Zong Chen quickly stood up and ran towards the door. While fleeing in panic, Zong Chen took the time to look back and saw that eight hands and feet had grown from under the Buddha's head, chasing after them, muttering, "Don't run, my new clothes!"
