Chapter 307: God of a Foreign Land

Qi Fei said speechlessly: "Meng Apo, do you have to appear in such a terrifying way?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a thin, withered old woman appeared from behind the statue. Under the candlelight, her eye sockets and cheeks were even more sunken; if one saw her for the first time, one would really think she was a ghost returned to the human world.

"The thing you are looking for is here." After she finished speaking, she turned and walked toward the back door.

Cai Ding saw Meng Apo for the first time and couldn't help but be surprised: "She knows we are looking for the statue?"

"Ha, it must be that Zhong Kui calculated we were coming." Wu Shanqiu was inexplicably excited, a reaction that made Cai Ding even more suspicious.

"Sister Shanqiu, we are police officers, materialists. You seem to believe in this shaman named Zhong Kui very much, this..." Cai Ding muttered while following along.

Wu Shanqiu laughed: "Do you really think she has supernatural powers? Don't worry, Xiao Kui just likes to play god and act like a ghost..." Before she finished speaking, a "pop" sound suddenly came from behind, which was particularly harsh in the quiet temple, startling Cai Ding again. He looked back and saw that it was just the wind blowing over the fake flowers on the shrine—a false alarm.

While talking, the four of them had reached a small room in the back hall, about a dozen square meters in size. A square table served as a temporary shrine, on which a small wooden Buddha statue was worshipped. The offerings on the table were not common fruits or pastries, but milk, honey, and the like. In front of the square table, many small oil lamps were piled into a swastika shape, and the bean-sized candle flames burned together, actually illuminating the entire room.

Meng Apo walked to the oil lamp array, picked up a bamboo stick to pick at a wick that was about to go out, and kept her lips tightly shut without saying a word, as if saying anything here would be inappropriate.

By the light of the oil lamps, Cai Ding recognized that the Buddha statue on the square table was indeed the one Wu Xingzhou was clutching in his arms when he died. He pointed his finger at it and said excitedly: "It's it, that's right, this Buddha statue is very special; I won't recognize it wrong."

A gust of wind blew, and the 108 lamps on the pagoda lamp flickered in unison, making the Buddha statue's face appear and disappear, as if responding to Cai Ding's identification.

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu carefully observed the statue, which was only a few centimeters tall. There was a vertical eye on its forehead, half-closed as if asleep, and three white stripes crossed this eye on the forehead. Unlike the central ushnisha of a Bodhisattva, the statue's hair bun was in the shape of a crescent moon, tilted to the left, with hands raised and standing on one leg, as if dancing.

"Brother Fei, look at its hands!" Wu Shanqiu's voice was filled with fear. Qi Fei looked carefully and saw that the round object held in the statue's hands was not a common lotus, but a human skull. He looked at the compassionate and silent face again, and after staring for a long time, the face actually changed. Hidden within the kind eyebrows and eyes was a terrifying anger, as if it wanted to destroy the entire world.

"What kind of Buddha is this?" Qi Fei muttered, suddenly feeling an unprecedented sense of disillusionment.

"You are all wrong; it is not a Buddha." A woman's voice drifted in from outside, startling Cai Ding again. He looked back reflexively, only to see a woman in a silver cheongsam and black veil appearing before them under the moonlight. She walked to the side of the statue without looking aside, chanting, "He is fire, he is the sun, he is the wind, he is the moon, he is also the destroyer."

Qi Fei knew clearly in his heart that he had joyfully accepted the mission and ran to Sanwu Town just to find Zhong Kui. However, looking at Zhong Kui standing in the lamplight at this moment, he didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Wu Shanqiu spoke first: "Xiao Kui, stop keeping us in suspense. You already know the origin of this statue, don't you?"

When Zhong Kui looked at Wu Shanqiu, she smiled rarely: "Of course, this is not a Bodhisattva statue in Buddhism, but Shiva."

"Shiva? Why does it sound so familiar?" Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but look at the statue again. "Looking closely, this appearance is a bit terrifying..."

"You have a terrifying feeling because Shiva is the god of destruction in Hinduism."

"Ah, so inauspicious, why worship it?" Wu Shanqiu said bluntly.

"Don't talk nonsense. In Hinduism, Shiva is one of the Trimurti. Destruction is for rebirth. In their doctrine, Shiva represents the ultimate law of the universe and cannot be profaned at will," Zhong Kui said seriously.

Qi Fei barely inserted himself into their conversation: "That, we didn't come to discuss religion tonight. This Shiva statue was held in Wu Xingzhou's arms when he died; there must be a special reason."

Cai Ding followed up: "They burned Wu Xingzhou's body, and the ancestral hall was cleaned inside and out under the guise of removing filth. This statue is the only remaining physical evidence. Regardless of whether it is profaned or not, we must take it back."

Zhong Kui looked at Cai Ding and stared for a long time until Cai Ding felt uncomfortable before looking away and saying to the statue: "Isn't it only by worshipping it that no one will touch it again? I don't know why Wu Xingzhou held this Shiva statue so tightly, but I have already found out where he brought this statue from."

Qi Fei was overjoyed and couldn't help but say: "You move so fast?"

"That's right, Wu Chongyue is so rich, he certainly spares no cost for his son's affairs. I must earn this money," Zhong Kui said without concealment.

Cai Ding was stunned upon hearing this: "You actually earn money from this kind of thing?"

"Why, Wu Chongyue gave me money voluntarily, and I helped you find clues. Is there a problem?" Zhong Kui was sharp-tongued, leaving Cai Ding speechless for a moment. He only heard her continue, "A month ago, Wu Xingzhou went to India. It is highly probable that he brought this statue back from India. As for why he died holding this statue, I don't know yet.

However, when I was performing the ritual for Wu Xingzhou, I discovered an interesting thing. Wu Chongyue and Zhu Haitang, Wu Xingzhou's parents, don't look sad at all. This point is indeed very abnormal."

"It seems that Wu Chongyue and Zhu Haitang have major suspicions of committing the crime," Qi Fei said with a solemn expression.

"That may not be so." Zhong Kui expressed a different opinion. "When I came down the mountain, I knew they had obstructed the police from investigating Wu Xingzhou's cause of death in the early stages. At first, I also suspected that Wu Chongyue killed his own son, but I have repeatedly observed him and Zhu Haitang, and they show no signs of guilt. This does not match the reaction after killing someone, let alone their own son. Therefore, I tested them several times without their knowledge and can confirm that these two people are in a normal mental state."

"So strange..." Wu Shanqiu touched the back of her neck, puzzled. "A pair of mentally normal parents who are neither sad nor guilty about their son's death—what kind of parents are they?" ===== CHAPTER 308 =====