Chapter 92 Inquiry
Every word the cat said just now was imprinted in my ears. It knows the secret of the bardo realm.
I was so nervous that I could hardly breathe. The most urgent thing now was to rescue my mother. To achieve this goal, I had to wake up Liu Yang or find Meng Po directly.
These two tasks are currently just a dream, and I can only think about them, but I am totally unable to achieve them. But this cat spirit said that he knew all this, no wonder Elder Keats said that I was here by chance, and I got this opportunity.
But what should I do next? I want to talk to this cat spirit and see what it knows. As soon as this thought came to my mind, I felt itchy all over.
He Qingyou called me over, and I was wondering what to do. Should I directly tell the two elders that I wanted to talk to the cat spirit, or what?
We came to the yard, and He Qingyou helped Chen Meiyu to lift the woman up. The woman was drenched in sweat and unconscious, but He Qingyou was really a gentleman, and without saying a word, he carried the girl on his back, and Chen Meiyu helped him, and the two of them crossed the back hall together.
I followed behind slowly and leisurely. If this old fellow wanted to show off, let him do so. There was no need to steal his limelight.
The three of us came out from the back of the yard. Other monks were outside guiding us out of the core area and into the tourist area outside. There were guest rooms specially provided for lay Buddhists who wanted to stay there. They found two rooms for us to stay in.
Putting the woman down, He Qingyou wiped the sweat off his face. It was hot, and he was soaked all over, with a large area of his armpits wet. He still asked with concern, "Is she okay?"
Chen Meiyu frowned, her expression expressionless. Her mind was not on us at all. She was staring at her best friend with worry.
He Qingyou wanted to say something, but I pulled him, shook my head, and motioned for him to go out.
He Qingyou came outside unwillingly and complained to me, "Miss Chen is in need of help right now, how can we leave?"
I thought to myself, forget it, we are all men, I don't know what you want to do. I still said politely: "We can't help much, let them have a good rest. Let's go back to the house."
He Qingyou suddenly asked: "Mr. Lin, do you have a partner?"
"I've been in a relationship, and I'm single now. What's wrong?" I asked.
He Qingyou sighed, "I can see clearly at my age, but how can you be so dull as a youngster? The fashionable word is straight man. These two girls need someone to care for them, but you don't show your courtesy but come out early. You really don't know how to seize the opportunity."
I didn't want to get angry after hearing what he said, so I said, "Lao He, I don't agree with you. No matter how single and anxious you are, you still have to know your limits. Being impatient will only make you lose your limits, right? I have my own view on love. If you think they need care, then go back. I'm going to sleep now."
He Qingyou is more than twice my age, but he is still young at heart. He keeps labeling me, saying that I have no tact, and then he goes on to talk about the art of love.
It's so awkward to listen to a man in his fifties talking about how he falls in love and looks at women. Who the hell wants to hear you say that?
But out of politeness I couldn't refuse to listen.
Back in the room, I pretended to sleep and lay down early. Seeing that I didn't respond, He Qingyou went to wash up.
After he left, I turned over and sat up to smoke a cigarette, but then I thought, forget it, I'll just endure it for one night in the pure land of Buddhism. This He Qingyou gave me a worse and worse feeling, he is definitely a playboy, at his age, when he saw a young girl, he was like a fly sniffing something.
Actually, there is another question that has been lingering in my mind. The story told by He Qingyou, how his son disappeared in the flood, there is a blind spot in the whole story, and I just figured it out now.
According to his description, he and his son were the only ones who escaped the flood, so where was his wife?
Could it be that he was divorced at the time and had no wife?
After waiting for a while, He Qingyou came back and saw that I was still awake. We exchanged a few words. I asked, "Old He, I suddenly remembered something. When you and your son were escaping the flood, where was your wife?"
Lao He wiped his head with a towel, sat on the bed and said: "My wife ran away. She couldn't stand the poverty and ran away with a carpenter from the neighboring village. This woman abandoned her family and children. I will never forgive her in my life! Later, I became rich and met her once. She wanted to get back together. How could it be possible? It's ridiculous. I have a lot of young girls at hand now, and I went to find an old woman like her?! She also wants to share my property. Do you think my head was kicked by a donkey?"
"Are you married now?" I asked.
He Qingyou laughed: "Why get married? I'm stupid. Women are just for fun. How can I afford to buy myself a house with such a huge fortune? I'm sick."
"You should have another child and train an heir," I said.
He Qingyou laughed: "Mr. Lin, you don't have to worry about this." He blinked mysteriously, "Let me tell you a secret. I now have three or four women, which were called concubines in ancient times. Some of them are undergraduates who have just graduated from music colleges. I signed an agreement with them, guaranteeing you three or four years, one million a year. During these three or four years, your task is to give birth to children for me and serve me. After the job is done, we will go our separate ways and you can take the money and leave. If you want to start a career in the future, I will support you. If you want to find an honest person to fall in love with, I won't stop you. Just give me a son. If you give birth to a son, I will reward you 1.5 million, and if you give birth to a daughter, I will reward you 1 million!"
I was stunned: "Lao He , I admire you, you really know how to play."
He Qingyou smiled frivolously: "Mr. Lin, you are still young. When you make money in the future, you will understand that this world still belongs to the rich and powerful. If you are rich, you have everything. If you are powerful, you can't say anything."
"But if you do this, what will happen to the child when he grows up without a mother?" I asked, "It will be an incomplete family."
"What era is this? Why do you still care about this?" He Qingyou said nonchalantly, "My oldest son is already six years old. It's fine without a mother. When he's old enough to go to elementary school, I'll send him abroad to be educated in an aristocratic school."
I shook my head. I really couldn't agree with this old guy's values.
He Qingyou fell asleep after chatting for a long time. I leaned against the bed with a heavy heart, and I always felt that something was wrong. In He Qingyou's office, I heard the voice of Chen Jian's mother. Was it an auditory hallucination? Or was there something wrong with He Qingyou? Was there something else going on?
In fact, what bothered me the most was the cat spirit. I had a strong feeling that I would have an intersection with this cat spirit in the future, and it could bring me very important information. I had to think of a way to have a conversation with this cat spirit, even if it was just a few words.
I fell asleep without realizing it, and had nightmares all night long. Sometimes it was a big cat, sometimes it was He Qingyou's son falling into the water, and everything was a mess. I woke up around five in the morning, and my mouth felt bitter and dry. He Qingyou, the old man, was sleeping so soundly that his snoring almost blew the roof off the house.
I sat up and thought to myself, if I were a woman, I wouldn't work with you for 2 million, let alone 1 million a year. But if I calculate the accounts carefully, it seems that I am not losing money. I can just put up with it for three or four years and think of it as working. Otherwise, where can I find a job that pays 1 million a year?
I got out of bed and saw a monk sweeping the courtyard outside the window. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Monk Yuantong, who was sweeping with a broom, apparently concentrating on his work.
I quickly put on my clothes and went out, greeting him, “Elder Yuantong”.
When Monk Yuantong saw me, he made a gesture to keep quiet and then waved the broom at me, meaning that he was working and it was not convenient to chat.
I had no choice but to watch as Yuantong cleaned up the yard bit by bit. More than 40 minutes passed, and when he finished sweeping, he gathered the stolen goods and garbage on the ground together.
I hurried over: "Elder Yuantong."
"Something?" He looked at me.
"The one from last night." I coughed. "Was the cat spirit caught?"
"You have seen it all." Yuantong said, "Master has taken him into the Arhat Hall. This spirit has evil spirits and evil spirits all over its body. It should listen to the Dharma and wash away the evil spirits in its body. It will also be beneficial to its practice."
"Yeah, we don't understand either. You are all great monks." I was beating around the bush for a long time.
Yuan Tong said: "Mr. Lin, if you have something to say, just speak frankly."
This Yuantong is very shrewd. He looks like a monk, but he doesn't look like one either. He has a kind of cunning air. I try to be cunning and bend around in front of him, which is not good enough.
I simply asked bluntly: "Does Luohan Hall allow outsiders to enter?"
Yuantong looked me up and down and repeated what he had just said, "Donor Lin, if you have something to say, just speak frankly!"
I said, "It's like this. A relative of mine passed away. He was very kind to me when I was a child. I have missed him very much since he passed away. I heard that there are places in foreign countries where one can see the underworld and learn about the underworld. I want to see him again. The cat spirit said that it knows the secrets of the underworld. I want to communicate with the cat..."
Yuantong smiled and said, "Mr. Lin, you can only say this once, and never say it again. Not to mention Master, even I will not agree. The Arhat Hall is a forbidden area of our temple, where 108 Arhats are enshrined. Even I cannot enter and leave the place at will, let alone you. Besides, the cat spirit is full of evil spirits, and what it says may not be true, so why bother to stick to it."
