Chapter 95: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 95

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Shenpo took the money, a hint of satisfaction on her face, and slowly nodded.

Then she began to channel her power.

She muttered incantations under her breath, no one knew what she was saying.

Suddenly her whole body began to convulse.

After convulsing for about three minutes, she finally came to.

"I just asked the immortals," the immortals said, "your hardships are paying off the debts you owed from your past life."

Shenpo said this to Li Xiulan.

Li Xiulan hurriedly asked:

"What debts did I owe in my past life?"

Shenpo said:

"In your past life you were a concubine in a landlord's household, enjoying a life of ease for a lifetime and committing many misdeeds. In this life you must pay off the debts of your past life before you can have good days."

Li Xiulan asked:

"How can I pay off the debts of my past life? I can't take it anymore, I'm suffering so much now."

Saying this, Li Xiulan couldn't help but shed tears.

Shenpo comforted her:

"Don't be discouraged. As long as you are sincere, the debts owed from your past life can soon be paid off. The immortals say you must contract a temple. Every New Year and festival, go there to offer incense. Only then can you eliminate the debts you owed in your past life."

The so-called "temple contract" is a local custom: you choose a temple, equivalent to signing a "contract" with it, and then go to offer incense and worship every New Year and festival. That temple will then protect you and let you live good days.

Besides "temple contracts," there are also "stone contracts," "tree contracts," "river contracts," "mountain contracts," and other customs. Their general meaning is similar to "temple contracts": signing contracts with stone immortals, tree immortals, mountain immortals, and so on, and then offering incense and worship to them every New Year and festival for a lifetime, so these immortals will protect you.

Stone contracts are mostly for children, meaning to make the child as firm as a rock, able to withstand falls and bumps, and not easily die young.

Tree contracts are mostly for people who are mentally unstable, meaning to make their spirit stable like a tree, so they won't act crazy and strange.

As for mountain contracts, river contracts, and other such contracts, they each have different meanings and different functions. The ins and outs of all this are not understood by ordinary people; only professionals like Shenpo understand.

"Contract a temple... which temple should I contract?"

Li Xiulan asked earnestly, her face full of sincerity.

"Any temple will do: Earth God Temple, City God Temple, Guanyin Temple, all are fine. What matters is sincerity. Do you understand? Sincerity brings results; without sincerity, even if you go before the Tathagata Buddha, the Tathagata Buddha won't protect you."

Shenpo said this.

Li Xiulan hurriedly said:

"I will definitely be sincere. When I go back, I'll contract a temple!"

Shenpo nodded with satisfaction, then said again:

"The immortals also said your husband is out there and has his difficulties. If he betrays you, heaven will punish him on its own. You don't need to worry too much, and don't be depressed because of it. Just live your life well at home. Don't meddle in his affairs. The more you meddle, the further he leaves you; the less you meddle, the closer he will come to you."

Li Xiulan nodded vigorously:

"Okay, okay, I will definitely do as the immortals say! I won't meddle in his affairs anymore. I'll live my own life well!"

Shenpo said again: "The immortals also said your mother is about to go to heaven to enjoy blessings. You should be happy for her. You shouldn't be sad. If she were going to hell, then you should be sad. She's going to heaven to enjoy blessings—what is there to be sad about? You just need to do what you should do as a child before she ascends to heaven."

Li Xiulan nodded vigorously again:

"I understand. I will definitely fulfill my responsibility. The immortals say she's going to heaven to enjoy blessings, so I'm reassured now."

Shenpo said again:

"As for the illness on your own body, those plague evils have invaded. When you go back, hang a cactus on your main gate, hang peach branches on your room doors and windows, and bathe with lemongrass. Then rest quietly for a while, and you should recover. Remember: before spring next year, don't do any heavy work. Just stay at home and recuperate. Otherwise, if the plague evils invade again, I'm afraid no one will be able to save you."

Li Xiulan nodded vigorously again:

"Immortal Granny, I'll listen to you. When I go back, I'll do exactly as you say!"

Actually, Zhong Jianguo had also told Li Xiulan to rest and recuperate before, but Li Xiulan wouldn't listen.

Now that Shenpo said it, Li Xiulan listened.

One can only say that in the heart of a rural woman like Li Xiulan, immortals carry far more authority than doctors.

Most importantly, Shenpo had planted an impression of authority in Li Xiulan's heart from the very beginning. Li Xiulan racked her brains but couldn't figure out why Shenpo, after just looking at her Bazi, could speak out all the hardships she had encountered.

She could only use "communing with spirits" as a reason to explain Shenpo's abilities.

She never thought that, actually, before coming to see Shenpo, while waiting in the courtyard, her chats with other "customers" had already been recorded by shills arranged by Shenpo, and passed into Shenpo's ears.

Shenpo got this information, and only then did she let her go in to ask the immortals.

If she hadn't gotten this information, she might have had to wait in line even longer, until Shenpo knew some of her information, before she could go in.

However, even if all this is superstition, all fraud.

But the help to Li Xiulan's psychology was real and tangible.

The effect of asking the immortals could even be said to be immediate.

When she came out of Shenpo's house, the burden on her mind was already not as heavy as before.

She no longer felt self-pity, no longer pessimistic and negative.

None of it was her fault. She was just suffering a bit now to repay the debts left from her past life.

As long as she contracted a temple, as long as she went to the temple sincerely to offer incense and worship, she could pay off the debts.

She would soon be able to live good days.

As for her unfaithful husband, don't bother with him. Shenpo said he would have his own retribution. Why bother with him?

As for her own waist injury, she only needed to follow Shenpo's instructions to exorcise evil, and it would heal.

Having already lost her job, she would rest at home for two months; actually, there was no need to take work so seriously—there was rice and dishes at home in the rural area, and though poor, they could be completely self-sufficient and definitely wouldn't starve, so what was the rush to earn money?

After Li Xiulan finished asking the god, she returned home and immediately did as Shenpo instructed.

She found a cactus and hung it in front of the Main Gate, found peach branches and hung them before the windows and room doors, and found lemongrass to boil water for bathing.

That very evening, she felt her body had improved quite a bit, and her sleep was much better than before.

She slept at ten o'clock at night, slept straight through until dawn, and when she got up the next day, she felt wonderfully refreshed.

After finishing all the housework she needed to do in the morning, and once Eldest Brother and Second Brother had gone to school, she went to the Temple Contract.

Outside Shangou Village there was an Earth God Temple, quite close by, reachable on foot in ten-odd minutes.

She went to that temple of the Temple Contract, to worship it properly from now on and repay the debt of her past life.

She believed that as long as she repaid the debt owed from her past life, her days would surely improve.

Doing everything as the immortals instructed, Li Xiulan felt her days were beginning to have something to look forward to again.

One can only say that this kind of change in her truly verified that saying:

Sincerity brings efficacy; insincerity brings none.

Sometimes the reason a person doesn't live well is that their emotions play a very large role.

Too many negative emotions, and naturally nothing they do will go smoothly.

But facing things positively, life will naturally clear up and see the light of day.

If you ask whether asking the god works, for those who don't believe, it naturally doesn't work.

And for someone as superstitious about gods and buddhas as Li Xiulan, asking the god is more useful than going to a Big City Hospital to see a Psychologist, with effects that are even more immediate.

And it doesn't cost that much money either!