Chapter 44: Returning Home (XI)
Zong Chen was cursing in his heart at this moment because he was busy fighting with Zong Nian.
To be precise, it was not a fight, but he unilaterally pinned Zong Nian to the ground and hammered him: "You are so naughty at such a young age, talking to your brother like that!" He pressed Zong Nian's left cheek with one hand to ensure that Zong Nian's right face was tightly pressed against the ground, and used the other hand to slap Zong Nian's head hard.
Zong Nian, who was hit, had a good temper and did not fight back. He just kept shouting, "Brother! Calm down, what did I say wrong?"
The cause of the incident is as follows:
After Zong Chen and Lu Ren separated, he saw the evil Buddha chasing Lu Ren, getting farther and farther away. At that time, it was impossible for Zong Chen to say that he was not secretly glad in his heart. But Zong Chen understood more clearly that his life was now gambled by Lu Ren with his own life, and he had to find a way to make the most of it.
So Zong Chen rushed back to Lu Guoqing's house while the evil Buddha was away. The only thing he could do now was to find a way to save the remaining people. However, when he rushed into Lu Guoqing's house, he saw his cousin Zong Nian, who he didn't know whether he was an enemy or a friend, leisurely burning incense at the empty Buddhist shrine. Zong Nian's face was calm, and his movements of burning incense looked very familiar, even with a bit of the flavor of a lay Buddhist.
The moment he saw this scene, the veins on Zong Chen's forehead jumped involuntarily. But Zong Chen held back, telling himself that Zong Nian was just deceived by the evil Buddha and was a victim. Moreover, Zong Nian did not hurt anyone, it was just some harmless rituals, so he should not be bothered with him.
On the other side, Zong Nian finished burning incense and turned around to finally see his cousin who was in a mess. He was shocked and asked, "Cousin, did you just come back from running?"
Running? The kind that kills you if you fall behind.
Zong Chen's forehead was throbbing again at his cousin's insane question. But he told himself to stay calm. There was no time to explain to Zong Nian. Zong Chen pulled Zong Nian directly to the room where Lu Yang and Guan Eryue were kept, and then said to Zong Nian seriously: "The situation is urgent. You carry Lu Yang on your back, and I will carry Guan Eryue. Let's run out of the village quickly. We can even find a cave to stay overnight."
Zong Nian didn't know what happened to his cousin, but if it was the Zong Nian before "rebirth", no matter what his cousin said, he would nod and agree unconditionally. The problem was that the person standing in front of Zong Chen at this moment was not the previous Zong Nian, but the reborn Niu Hulu Zong Nian. This Zong Nian had experienced too many life-threatening situations and was very determined, not to mention that he now believed in the Bodhisattva in the village wholeheartedly.
Zong Nian stopped Zong Chen's action and said to him seriously: "Cousin, I think you should calm down first and don't be impulsive. We can solve any problems together. If we can't solve them, we can ask the Bodhisattva for help."
Once this was said, the third time was the limit. Zong Chen was not going to endure the throbbing veins on his forehead any longer, he decided to vent his emotions. So he impulsively beat Zong Nian up, although he didn't hit him hard, but Zong Nian didn't look like he would be in a good situation.
In fact, the seemingly normal Zong Chen was only seventeen years old. Although he was highly respected in the Zong family, he was still a child who had not graduated from high school. Other children's only worries at this time were summer homework and the girl they had a crush on, but he was choosing how to minimize the number of deaths. Moreover, Zong Chen had never seen such a terrifying scene as the evil Buddha in Lu Guoqing's house before. In fact, his sanity value had dropped almost to the point that the string in his head would break with just a little stimulation.
The collapse of a half-grown child is understandable. But Zong Chen was controlled by his emotions at the wrong time. He should not let his emotions control his actions at this critical moment. As a result, all of them missed the best time to escape.
Zong Nian, who was pinned to the ground, was the first to notice something was wrong. He pointed outside the window and said to Zong Nian, "Brother! Brother! Calm down first, there are people over there!"
After hearing Zong Nian's cry, Zong Chen finally regained his senses. He let go of Zong Nian, stood up, and looked in the direction Zong Nian pointed. A dozen villagers were standing in front of their windows in groups of three or five, some near and some far away. These villagers were still uniformly dressed in black, and their faces were pale. At first glance, they looked like they were dying, neither human nor ghost. What was even more terrifying was that they were staring at the room with blank expressions, as if they would break into the room in the next second, but they all stood there motionless, without any further action, as if they were waiting for something.
When Zong Chen saw this scene, a bad premonition came to his mind. However, before he could take further action , he heard chaotic footsteps coming from the door of the room in the house.
On the other hand, Ali and Lu Ren in the mountain temple were exchanging the information they had collected so far.
Ali told Lu Ren everything he knew, "The evil Buddha was probably brought back by your uncle during the Chinese New Year this year. There are only old people left in the village at the foot of the mountain, and young people never come back except during the Chinese New Year. The young people you see now are all believers brought by the evil Buddha when he came."
Ali was explaining things to Lu Ren seriously while pretending to be Qi Yu, and it seemed that he had no intention of changing back to his original appearance.
Lu Ren couldn't help but ask, "Sister A Li, why did you appear as Qi Yu?"
"I didn't appear in his form, but he asked me to possess him." Ali explained patiently, "I have been sleeping for many years after you left, and my strength has been declining. When the evil Buddha appeared, I was awake for only a moment before I couldn't hold on and fell asleep again. That day, the young man fled to the mountain temple with something and performed the art of summoning the gods to wake me up from my sleep."
Lu Ren asked doubtfully: "Things?"
Ali nodded: "Yes, I hid it behind my statue. According to this young man, it is the only thing that can suppress the evil Buddha."
After hearing this, Lu Ren felt relieved. It seemed that what Qi Yu said about finding a magic weapon must be true. If it could be used to deal with the evil Buddha, it would be great.
Speaking of evil Buddha, Lu Ren couldn't help but ask: "What exactly is that evil Buddha?"
Ali guessed: "If I'm not mistaken, He should be from the Pratyekabuddha Realm."
This was not the first time Lu Ren had heard the term Pratyekabuddha Realm. After all, Si Yuan had just introduced it to him not long ago: "Is it the Pratyekabuddha Realm that is governed by the Realm Bureau of Shanjian City?"
After hearing this, Ah Li looked at Lu Ren with a hint of surprise: "You actually know about Jie Si?"
Lu Ren touched his head embarrassedly and explained: "Actually, I am working in the Immigrant Household Registration Bureau now, which is also a department manager, although I am just a cleaner."
Ali showed a surprised expression when he heard this: "Since you were a child, I have felt that you are smart and will definitely have a bright future. I didn't expect that you would go to Jiesi now." Lu Ren looked at Ali's expression and knew that she was indeed very satisfied with his current situation, and he also unconsciously developed a sense of pride.
It is said that Lu Ren encountered some supernatural things along the way when he returned home. He never really experienced the feeling of being warmly welcomed by his family and being cared for. Perhaps it was because Lu Ren had lived alone for many years, so he was used to it and didn't think there was anything wrong. But he didn't know that at this moment, he was with the mountain ghost, and his slightly relaxed expression made him feel more like he had returned to his real hometown.
However, the topic only strayed for a moment, and soon Ali pulled it back: "Regarding the Pratyekabuddha Realm, I only heard about it from others. I heard that since the Arhat Realm, Pratyekabuddha Realm, Bodhisattva Realm, and Buddha Realm were incorporated into the Realm Division of Shanjian City, the other two realms except the Buddha Realm and Bodhisattva Realm seemed to have disappeared. I haven't heard about those two realms for many years, and I haven't seen anyone with great supernatural powers appear again. Who would have thought that such an evil Buddha would suddenly appear out of thin air." Ali frowned, looking a little worried, "I don't know if something happened in Shanjian City."
But Lu Ren suddenly discovered a blind spot in his knowledge: "Wait, he comes from the realm of pratyekabuddha, is he a real bodhisattva?"
Ali shook his head and said, "Of course not. The people of the Pratyekabuddha Realm call him Moli. It is said that he is only one step away from becoming the resident of the Bodhisattva Realm, Posada. But for many years, no one knows which step this step is. The human world and the four realms of Shanjian City have been at peace for thousands of years. The news we have received is just some gossip with a few words. No one knows whether it is true or not."
Although the news was not very accurate, it was much better than Lu Ren's previous state of being in the dark. Lu Ren's originally anxious heart finally settled down a little.
Lu Ren thought of Zong Nian's situation, so he asked A Li, "So, my friend's statement that he was reborn because of the evil Buddha was just a trick."
But to Lu Ren's surprise, Ali shook his head: "It's fake, it's fake, it's true."
This answer really made Lu Ren dumbfounded for a moment: "What do you mean?"
Ali explained, "Outside Shanjian City is Mount Xumi, and outside Mount Xumi there are three thousand great worlds, three thousand middle worlds, and three thousand small worlds. The evil Buddha has no way of creating non-existent memories out of thin air. He just found a memory that is beneficial to Him for your friend in this endless world."
If a person develops a parallel universe for every choice he makes, then there will be billions of parallel universes in this world. In some universes, your friends will become enemies, and in some universes, everything you lost will still exist. Zong Nian just received a memory of himself in a different universe. He was not reborn, but he did live a life like that.
Is it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of the butterfly, or is it the butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?
However, as soon as Ali finished speaking, Lu Ren turned around and saw a beam of fire rising from the ground and rushing into the sky in the direction of the village.
