The little bird made of yellow talisman paper circled above the woman's head once and then flew outside.
The woman looked at the dimly lit underground corridor. Trembling violently, her hands clutched tightly at her clothes.
"G-great master, could you please take me up? I'm scared."
After witnessing my skills, especially how I managed to immobilize the zombie in the statue, she immediately wanted to stick by my side. It would make her feel a lot safer.
"We're going to catch ghosts. What can you do tagging along?"
I told her bluntly, "Be a burden?"
"But what if I run into a ghost on my way?" Remembering how she had mocked me in the parking lot at the foot of the mountain, she was afraid I might take revenge. "Will that little bird you folded protect me?"
"Believe it or not!"
I knew what was on her mind. I bit my finger and dripped some blood onto the head of the yellow talisman on the mummy's head. Instantly, the zombie began to tremble and leaped towards the woman like a spring.
The woman let out a shrill scream. She never expected that I was so different from other masters. I had no mercy or kindness in her eyes. The zombie was lunging at her neck.
Screaming in horror, the woman rolled and crawled to avoid the zombie and then fled along the brick steps we had come from.
Seeing how fast she ran, even the little yellow bird could barely keep up with her. I finally felt relieved. I gently patted the zombie's forehead. "Take us to the villain who harmed you."
The zombie's soul was trapped by the corpse - suppressing talisman and bound to me by the blood - contract. Naturally, it obeyed my order. With stiff joints, it leaped straight towards the broken fake bronze statue.
Behind the statue was just an ordinary earthen wall. The dried - up zombie leaped two or three times and reached the wall. Without hesitation, it jumped through and instantly disappeared into the wall.
"An illusion!"
The underground was dimly lit, and the gaudy brass statue of the God of Wealth had caught my attention. I hadn't noticed there was something fishy about this wall.
Just as I was about to follow the zombie through the wall, Si Jiangchen grabbed my shoulder.
"Stay behind me." He said in a deep voice and took a long - legged stride into the gloomy earthen wall before me.
Holding my hand, as I watched my body gradually sink into the wall, a sense of panic welled up inside me. It was as if a non - swimmer was slowly being submerged in the dark and bottomless water.
A feeling of suffocation came over me. I forced my eyes wide open to keep myself from falling asleep.
Before my eyes were a series of grotesque patterns. One moment it was the snowy mountaintop, the next it was a lake as calm as a mirror. There were also countless vultures circling above the cliff, swooping down on the bloody and dismembered corpses...
On the stone steps of Barkhor Street, there was a bearded man with extremely dirty matted hair. Different from the Tibetan beggars who begged for a living, he just sat stupidly in the corner, staring blankly at the passing tourists.
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a woman turning from the street corner. The woman was wearing a Tibetan robe, adorned with amber, turquoise, and bright red coral.
"Shanshan!! I've been waiting for you for days!"
The man scrambled over and grabbed the woman's skirt.
"Fang Aiguo, I've already said we're done. Why are you still pestering me?"
The girl named Shanshan was very good - looking, with the healthy complexion typical of people on the plateau.
"I... I gave you all my money. I wanted to spend my whole life with you. How can you say we're done?"
The man looked anxious as he clung to the girl named Shanshan...
Watching this entangled scene, I immediately realized as an onlooker that I must have fallen into the remaining memory world of Fang Aiguo... my former landlord...
What did he want me to see this for?!
Shanshan impatiently shook her skirt. "Stop pestering me. Your money was for the Goddess Buddha Mother. It has nothing to do with me!"
"Nonsense! We've lived together. How can we have nothing to do?"
Fang Aiguo was staggered by the shake but still stubbornly reached out to grab Shanshan's skirt.
Unexpectedly, several red - robed lamas emerged from behind Shanshan. Each of them had half of their chest bare, with the sleeves of their red robes tucked into their belts. One of them grabbed Fang Aiguo by the collar and cursed, "You poor wretch! How dare you pester the dakini? Are you tired of living?"
Fang Aiguo was obviously stunned for a moment. He knew what a "dakini" was. In some temples of the Hinayana sect, there were young and beautiful girls specially raised to entice pilgrims. They would have relationships with the pilgrims. Nicely put, they were called "dakinis", but in fact, they were a kind of "temple prostitutes".
"No! Shanshan is not a dakini."
After coming to his senses, how could Fang Aiguo accept their explanation?
No matter how much money the pilgrims gave to the dakinis, it was considered a dedication to the gods of the temple where the dakinis served.
Fang Aiguo met Shanshan in a Tibetan homestay. He fell in love with her at first sight and decided to stay in her family's homestay. That night, Shanshan took the initiative to climb into his bed. After a night of passion, Fang Aiguo thought he had fallen in love with this passionate girl. He willingly gave her all the money he had, just to spend his life with her.
Unexpectedly, after only two or three days of such a wild and amorous life, Shanshan left without saying goodbye.
The real owner of the homestay kicked Fang Aiguo out. Penniless, he had to wander the streets. He couldn't leave this small street for fear of missing Shanshan.
After waiting for two or three months, Fang Aiguo begged with the beggars during the day and slept on the stone slabs in the corner at night. Today, he finally saw Shanshan. How could he believe that Shanshan was a so - called "dakini"?
"I'm the dakini of the One - Eyed Goddess Buddha Mother of the Bon religion. I come out every day to beg for the Buddha Mother." Shanshan boldly opened her collar, revealing her snow - white chest, and pointed at the tattoo on it. "Didn't you ask what this was when we were intimate before?"
The tattoo on her chest was a huge black eye, slightly rolling upwards. Countless tiny skeletons surrounded the eye in a state of worship, looking strange and mysterious.
"Now, I'll tell you!"
A smug smile appeared on Shanshan's face. "This is a brand. Every dakini of the One - Eyed Buddha Mother has this tattoo. It's your honor to offer your money to the Buddha Mother. You'll be blessed in your next life!"
Fang Aiguo stared blankly at the tattoo on Shanshan's skin. Suddenly, he rushed over like a madman, hugged Shanshan's waist, and kissed her bare skin wildly. "Shanshan, I love you. No matter if you're a dakini or not, I want to marry you and live a good life with you!"