"Where is that clay doll now?" Shen Cuiyu's eyes were clear and sharp as she directly asked the crucial question.
Mrs. Xu quickly replied, "After I 'invited' it back, I didn't dare to be negligent. I offered devout worship to it every day until Jiaojiao was safely born... After the baby's full - moon celebration, I followed the rules and sent the doll to a temple, leaving it to the temple keeper for disposal."
Of course, Mrs. Xu didn't dare to send it back to the Temple of the Goddess of Children where she had stolen the doll. Instead, she sent it to another Temple of the Goddess of Children in the south of the city with good incense offerings, just to ease her conscience.
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Since the clue pointed to the sent - away clay doll, they had to go to the temple that received it. After some discussion, they decided to set off immediately to investigate.
Before leaving, Liu Ruyan suddenly took light steps and walked to the sickbed. She leaned over and looked at Jiaojiao, who was breathing weakly. Her face showed just the right amount of pity and tenderness.
She stretched out her slender fingers and gently smoothed the sweaty strands of hair on Jiaojiao's forehead. Her voice was so soft that it seemed to drip water, "Jiaojiao, be good. Don't be afraid. Sister will surely find a way to save you from this苦海."
Seeing this, Zhong Shengwan rolled her eyes without hesitation. She was quite disgusted with Liu Ruyan's act of always showing off her "kindness"!
At this moment, Shen Cuiyu also stepped forward. Without saying a word, she directly took out a talisman paper from her bosom.
The talisman paper was of extraordinary quality, with a gentle spiritual light faintly flowing on it. It was obviously a high - quality Soul - soothing Talisman, which was very valuable.
With a flick of her fingertip, the talisman paper moved without wind and gently landed on Jiaojiao's chest. A soft and stable spiritual light instantly spread out, like an invisible protective shield, temporarily stabilizing Jiaojiao's shaky soul.
This action immediately attracted the approval and exclamation of several disciples around.
In contrast, Liu Ruyan's action seemed rather redundant. She was secretly annoyed in her heart but didn't dare to flare up. She just glared angrily at Shen Cuiyu.
................
Everyone didn't have time to care about other things. They walked very fast. Soon, led by Mrs. Xu, they arrived at the Temple of the Goddess of Children.
Although it wasn't a temple fair day, there was still a constant stream of people in front of the temple, and the incense was booming.
The curling smoke almost submerged the eaves and upturned corners. The air was mixed with the smells of incense, candles, and various snack stalls.
On the open space in front of the temple, there were a lot of stalls. Peddlers selling incense, candles, and paper ingots, those who wrote blessing tablets on behalf of others, and craftsmen making dough figurines and sugar figurines were shouting one after another, mixed with the prayers of the believers and the laughter of children, full of the unique hustle and bustle and expectations of the mortal world.
Women seeking children, accompanied by their families, held baskets full of tributes in their hands. With different expressions, some shy and expectant, some pious and nervous, they slowly walked into the temple.
The light inside the main hall was much dimmer than outside. The golden statue of the Goddess of Children was kind - faced, looking down at the pious believers at her feet with downcast eyes.
Shen Cuiyu and her companions were wearing the unified disciple uniforms of the Myriad Phenomena Academy. They looked extremely out of place among the ordinary pilgrims, attracting a lot of curious looks.
The group didn't stay in the main hall for long. According to the guidance of the temple keeper, they went straight to the side hall where those "accomplished - merit" clay dolls that had been returned to the temple were placed.
However, as soon as they stepped into the side hall, even the well - traveled academy disciples were shocked by the sight in front of them.
In the huge side hall, on the layers of wooden shelves and altars, there were countless palm - sized clay dolls arranged densely as far as the eye could see. These dolls were of different genders and forms. Some were wearing red bellybands, some were naked, and they all had a similar, slightly stiff smile on their faces.
What was most uncomfortable was that there was no "Tai Guang" in their eyes, only empty eye sockets. Under the flickering light of the long - burning lamps in the hall, hundreds and thousands of empty eyes seemed to "stare" at the visitors in unison. The sight, while still retaining a hint of the appearance of a mascot, also exuded a kind of eerie and dead silence that made one's hair stand on end...
"This... When will we ever find it?!"
Dongfang Xiao gasped in surprise. Her eyes wandered in this silent "sea of dolls" in shock, and her face was full of unbelievable amazement.
Trying to find the one that belonged to Mrs. Xu from these thousands of almost identical clay dolls was like looking for a needle in a haystack!
Liu Ruyan looked at Mrs. Xu with hope in her eyes, "Mrs. Cui, you worshipped this clay doll for a full ten months back then. You should be very familiar with it. Take a look and see if you can recognize which one it is?"
"This..." Mrs. Xu showed a look of embarrassment when she heard this. After so many years, she had long forgotten what the doll looked like. How could she recognize it?
Just when everyone was at a loss, Shen Cuiyu wasn't intimidated by the dense array of dolls.
She took a step forward. Her eyes were calm as she slowly scanned those clay figurines that were different in form but equally empty. It would indeed be extremely difficult to find a specific one just by the naked eye.
But as a celestial master who could communicate with the underworld, her perception was far beyond that of ordinary people, especially when it came to the aura of souls.
So Shen Cuiyu closed her eyes, held her breath, and slowly spread out her spiritual sense, trying to explore the surroundings with her five senses.
In an instant, the noisy prayers of the pilgrims and the smell of incense and candles around gradually faded from her perception. Her mind sank into a more subtle realm, carefully capturing any trace that might be related to Jiaojiao.
At first, there was only silence. Most of these clay dolls that had lost their "Tai Guang" were like ordinary stones and earth, without any vitality. However, when Shen Cuiyu explored a certain corner, an extremely weak but faintly sinister fluctuation, like a stone thrown into a quiet lake, caught her attention.
That aura... was somewhat similar to the remaining soul on Jiaojiao's body, but it was also mixed and impure, as if it had been contaminated by something unclean, exuding an uncomfortable stickiness and coldness...
Shen Cuiyu suddenly opened her eyes. Her jet - black eyes accurately locked onto the lower layer of an unremarkable wooden shelf in the northwest corner of the side hall. She walked straight over, ignoring the other clay dolls, and stretched out her plain hand to take out one of them from among the many dolls.
That clay doll looked no different from the others around it. It was wearing a red bellyband and grinning. But if one carefully sensed it, they could find that there was a faint, grayish - black aura lingering around it, which was completely different from the other completely "dead" clay figurines. When Shen Cuiyu's fingertips touched the doll, she could even feel a cold sense of resistance.
"I've found it." Her voice was calm but carried an undeniable certainty.
Hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around. Their eyes were all focused on the seemingly ordinary but eerie clay doll in her hand.