Chapter 306: The Statue

As soon as they entered, Wu Shulan closed the door without a second's delay, and the old-fashioned bolt lock was slammed shut with a "bang."

It seemed the Wu Xingzhou matter had put significant pressure on her.

"Xiao Cai, I'm telling you, this is the last time I'll talk to you about this, otherwise they won't let me off," Wu Shulan said, leading them through a long, messy corridor and lifting a tattered bamboo curtain to bring them into a dim room.

Qi Fei looked around the old house; cups, chopsticks, bowls, and dishes were messily left on the table, all for one person. He said, "You live alone?"

"That's right. If I weren't alone with no attachments, I wouldn't be babbling so much to you," Wu Shulan said with a wave of her hand, sitting down on a dirty rattan chair without bothering to greet them.

Dog barks suddenly came from outside, and Qi Fei knew nightfall was approaching.

In the dim light, Wu Shulan skillfully felt for the switch on the side, and a dim yellow light bulb lit up, making the cobwebs and dust on the walls even more obvious.

"Can you tell us about the day you discovered Wu Xingzhou's body first?" Qi Fei pulled over a wooden stool, wiped the dust off it, and sat down facing Wu Shulan.

"I've already told Xiao Cai the same thing." Wu Shulan seemed slightly impatient, but she still cooperated and recalled the situation that day. "I don't know what kind of bad luck I had; the day the incident happened, it just happened to be my turn to be on duty as a volunteer. I remember it rained heavily all night that day, and it didn't stop until the second half of the night. Like my previous shifts, I arrived at the ancestral hall at four o'clock, before dawn.

Originally, there was nothing major that day. If there were no sacrificial activities, no one would usually come to the ancestral hall. I usually just sweep the courtyard, wipe off the dust, and replenish the incense and offerings, and that's it. I didn't expect that as soon as I entered the courtyard, I would see someone 'kneeling' in the main hall of the ancestral hall.

At that time, the lights in the main hall weren't on; there was only the light of the incense candles, just a tiny bit. I couldn't see the person clearly, only a dark mass. I thought it was someone who had been punished to kneel all night and had fallen asleep.

I had encountered elders in the family getting angry and making descendants kneel before the ancestors as punishment before. I thought it was some unlucky kid from someone's family, so I really didn't think much of it and walked over with a broom, wanting to wake him up. He was facing inward, just like that, facing the ancestral tablets as if he couldn't get up from a kowtow." Wu Shulan gestured as she demonstrated. "Then I pushed him with my hand, and he fell to one side, just like a roly-poly toy. As soon as I saw him, I recognized him as Wu Xingzhou, the eldest grandson of our clan. He didn't make a sound. I realized something was wrong, so I picked up the candle from the shrine and brought it closer to look. Oh my god, it didn't matter if I didn't look, but once I did, I was terrified. His eyes and mouth were full of blood; he was dead!"

As Wu Shulan spoke, she gestured on her face with both hands, as if it were her own eyes and mouth bleeding. Under the dim light, she seemed to have returned to the Wu family ancestral hall that day, her face full of terror.

"And then you called the police?" Qi Fei asked.

"I was also scared silly at that time; I don't even know how I dialed 110. I just kept babbling that someone was dead. After I hung up the phone, I remembered to call Brother Dayue. His son was dead; this was a huge matter.

I didn't expect Brother Dayue's reaction to be different from what I thought."

Qi Fei couldn't help but lean forward upon hearing this: "How was it different?"

"Heh, I'll state first, this isn't because they expelled me from the clan genealogy later that I'm saying this. Anyway, in the old society, women couldn't be in the genealogy; I don't care.

When I got through to Brother Dayue's phone, I didn't dare to say directly that his son was dead; I just said Wu Xingzhou had an accident at the ancestral hall and told him to come quickly.

I didn't expect him to ask me back if Wu Xingzhou was dead.

You tell me if that's strange or not. If I were a parent, and someone told me my child had an accident, I certainly wouldn't think in the direction of death. That tone sounded as if he had known Wu Xingzhou was dead all along.

Plus, later, look!" Wu Shulan winked at Cai Ding and continued, "Little Cai and the others know, Brother Dayue brought so many people, and as soon as he came up, he had the posture of wanting to snatch the dead body from you, clearly not wanting the police to intervene.

The first thing Brother Dayue did after being released was to call me over and scold me, blaming me for notifying the police. He said Wu Xingzhou's death was a matter for the Wu clan and not for outsiders to intervene."

Qi Fei frowned upon hearing this, and Wu Shanqiu, who was on the side, couldn't help but complain: "What era is this? The ancestral hall is not a place outside the law. Wu Xingzhou died so suspiciously; doesn't his father want to investigate the cause of death?"

Wu Shulan shook her head: "You are a city girl; you won't understand many things here. Yesterday, Brother Dayue just hired a shaman to perform a ritual to transcend Wu Xingzhou.

They said Wu Xingzhou's cause of death was that he went out to play a while ago and, being ignorant, invited a Bodhisattva statue from outside and brought it home without properly worshipping it, just throwing it in a corner. This was retribution for offending the gods.

Now that Buddha statue has been hired by Brother Dayue at a high price to be specially worshipped at the Huang Daxian Temple. They say that this way, it can protect the Wu family's peace."

"Great Immortal?" As soon as Qi Fei heard this term, he felt his heart jump violently. "Could it be your town's Zhong Kui?"

"That's right, there are no other shamans in our town. Brother Dayue specifically made a wish in the merit box to invite the shaman out of the mountain, and the shaman actually pointed out that Wu Xingzhou had brought a Bodhisattva statue back from outside in one go. It's truly divine." Wu Shulan looked convinced, but Qi Fei was torn between laughter and tears. He knew Zhong Kui too well; this little matter was nothing more than her having done her "homework" in advance to fool Wu Chongyue and the others.

"Bodhisattva statue..." At this time, Cai Ding on the side muttered, "I remember when I examined Wu Xingzhou's body, he was clutching a Bodhisattva statue tightly in his arms. Could it be the Bodhisattva the Great Immortal mentioned?"

"It's very simple to find out. Didn't they say it's already being worshipped at the Huang Daxian Temple? We can go and verify it right now," Qi Fei said, standing up and saying to Wu Shulan, "Will you come with us?"

Wu Shulan shook her head like a rattle, her yellow, soft hair flying: "I'm not going out. Don't come looking for me about this matter in the future; I don't want to get involved."

Night had fallen, and the two lanterns at the entrance of the Huang Daxian Temple, bright as blood, were already lit.

The door was wide open, as if waiting for Qi Fei and the others to arrive. A draft blew in, mixed with the smell of incense. The curtain in front of the Huang Daxian statue in the center of the temple was blown, as if the statue's face had moved, watching the three people walk into the temple.

"Cough, cough, you finally came." An aged voice came from behind the statue. Everyone except Qi Fei screamed in fright in unison. ===== CHAPTER 307 =====