"Master Zheb, I never thought that this so - called sacred place of yours would turn out to be a haunt for evil spirits," Si Jiangchen said in a steady voice. His smile remained unchanged, but as his words rang out, an eerie silence fell over the vast open space in front of the temple.
Master Zheb, wearing a high yellow crown, showed a look of surprise on his face. He exchanged glances with the other Buddhist monks before putting his palms together and saying, "Mr. Si, we don't quite understand what you mean. Please clarify."
"You're slandering Buddhism! You ignorant fool!" The "big benefactor," Boss Lin, who had been ignored by the monks of Hongluo Temple, now pushed his way forward and pointed at Si Jiangchen. "Since you know this is a sacred place, how dare you claim that evil spirits are lurking here?"
"Which donor is this? Please take a stroll around the temple or rest in the monk's quarters," Master Zheb didn't seem impatient with Boss Lin's interruption. Instead, he said to the supervisor monk beside him, "Danba, since he's your friend, please take them there."
Danba had already learned about Si Jiangchen's identity from others. He was eager to stay by the abbot's side to get in touch with Si Jiangchen. Now, hearing Master Zheb asking him to receive Boss Lin, a look of annoyance flashed across his face.
"Venerable Lin, please follow me," Danba said. Although he was reluctant, he didn't dare to disobey the abbot's order. He bowed slightly and motioned for Boss Lin and his wife. "You've come from afar. Please rest in the monk's quarters first. We'll come to attend to you after we've received Mr. Si."
"That won't do! I have urgent matters!" Boss Lin grabbed Danba's wide sleeve. "That's why I came to find you so early. The Buddhist ceremony I mentioned on the phone yesterday should be done as soon as possible."
"Uh, I know, I know!" Danba paused noticeably. He nervously glanced at our group and lowered his voice. "You go and rest first... I'll come right away."
My ears were sharp. Even though they lowered their voices, I could hear them clearly. It was just a Buddhist ceremony. All temples had such activities. Why were these two acting so furtively? I couldn't help but look at them a few times.
"Right away? That means I still have to wait..." Boss Lin was very unhappy about being constantly left out. His fat face turned red, and he began to pant heavily.
I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows and unconsciously tightened my grip on Si Jiangchen's fingers.
"?" Si Jiangchen, who was chatting with Master Zheb, noticed my abnormality. He lowered his eyes and looked at me.
"… It's okay," I shook my head gently, but my eyes still fixed on Boss Lin. This undisguised staring annoyed Boss Lin's wife. She walked in front of me and blocked my sight.
"What are you looking at!" She rolled her eyes at me. "My husband is very picky about women."
"Oh... How picky is he?" I already believed what this woman said.
Because now that we were in the temple, I could clearly see a faint red thread extending from the Baihui acupoint on the woman's head, like a tentacle, wrapping around Boss Lin behind her.
This was the marriage thread. All legitimate couples had such a thing. It was said that the matchmaker tied this red thread for people who were reincarnated on the Stone of Three Lives.
I saw that the woman had only a thin thread, while Boss Lin, her husband, was wrapped in a dense layer of them.
This was exactly what surprised me just now.
Outside Hongluo Temple, this couple showed no signs of abnormality. Their strange way of getting along even made me suspect that the woman was just a mistress kept by Boss Lin.
But when we arrived at the mountain gate of Hongluo Temple, their strangeness was immediately exposed to my eyes.
The layers of red threads on Boss Lin were almost like a cocoon, tightly wrapping him up. And the woman's only red thread was wriggling like a worm, tightening around Boss Lin's neck, contracting and tightening again and again, making Boss Lin's face turn red. He thought his collar was too tight and was busy untying the knot of his casual clothes.
"My husband is very particular about the birth - dates of women he gets involved with!" The woman said proudly, raising her eyebrows. She was about to say something else when the supervisor monk, Master Danba, reached out his hand to stop her. "This female donor, please also follow me to the monk's quarters..."
The woman glared at Danba dissatisfiedly, but she didn't want to offend this high - ranking monk in the temple. She snorted contemptuously at me. "Don't think that being beautiful means you can marry into a wealthy family. Only those with a lucky birth - date that can bring good fortune to their husbands are the lucky ones!"
"Let's go, let's go." Boss Lin felt that he was getting more and more out of breath. He didn't care to argue with Danba anymore. He dragged the woman over and seemed to press all his body weight on her. The woman supported him with difficulty and whispered, "I told you to lose weight, but you didn't listen. You're crushing me..."
"Hehe," Although Boss Lin looked like a mummy wrapped in red threads to me, he was in a good mood. He pinched the woman's face greasy - faced. "You didn't complain about my weight when I was on top of you last night!"
"You're so lewd!" The woman gave him a coquettish look and tilted her head towards Danba who was leading the way in front. She whispered quietly, "The master is in front, and the Buddha is watching. How dare you talk nonsense?"
Unexpectedly, Boss Lin laughed even more obscenely. He leaned over and whispered in the woman's ear, "Don't be fooled by their pious looks in public. They've done a lot of tantric practices in the meditation rooms..."
"Um~~" The woman pinched Boss Lin's back waist quietly. "If you dare to slander the holy monks, you'll go to the Hell of Tongue - Pulling."
They spoke very softly. Maybe only I could hear them. I heard Boss Lin snorted disdainfully. "I've got plenty of money. I'll buy this temple later and make them do... cough cough cough..."
Before he could finish his words, the red threads tightened around him even more. He coughed and gasped as he looked at Danba walking in front. "Master, this... I think the Buddhist ceremony for me must be done right away!"
"…" Danba was silent for a moment. He waved to Boss Lin and his wife quietly and pointed to the back of the main hall mysteriously. "Venerable Lin, the Buddhist ceremony venue is at the back."
"I want to go too!" The woman wrapped her arm around Boss Lin's. "I want to change my luck too!"
"Of course..." Danba glanced at the woman. There was a coldness in his smile, like a hyena eyeing its dying prey. "Without your wife's good luck, Venerable Lin wouldn't have made such a big fortune!"