Faced with the gold plaque of the Old Lady of Viewing Flowers that Tian Guoqiang had produced, Liu Dashao directly shook his head in fierce objection, like a drum spinning wildly. “No, no, absolutely not! We can’t go find that old hag!” His tone was extremely firm.
“Why not? The Old Lady of Viewing Flowers is very powerful,” Tian Guoqiang couldn’t understand why Liu Dashao reacted so strongly at the mere mention of her name.
“Just no!” Liu Dashao pouted, “If we go ask her, the moment we step out the door, she’ll run straight to our parents and tell them everything. Then, hmph, at best we’ll be kneeling on rice paddies, at worst, we’ll be getting a serious beating! Besides, even if she doesn’t snitch, she’ll definitely give me a cold reception, maybe even mock me and deliberately mess things up!”
“What happened? Do you have a grudge with her?” Tian Guoqiang immediately developed several black lines across his head.
“Don’t you remember? Last year, I and Xiao Mazi couldn’t stand her arrogant attitude, so we sneaked into her vegetable field during harvest season and blew up an entire acre of pumpkins with homemade explosives!” Liu Dashao explained.
“Oh yeah, that’s right! I was running slow, and that old hag kicked me in the butt. That old hag, so damn old, still had such strong legs!” Xiao Mazi added gleefully, as if trying to stir up more trouble.
“You guys! All you ever do is bring trouble to me!” Tian Guoqiang was practically speechless. With this, the path to the Old Lady of Viewing Flowers was blocked. Helplessly, he once again cupped his cheeks in his hands, sinking into thought, trying to figure out a solution.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi, so after thinking back and forth, he only ended up with a headache and no ideas at all.
“Brother Tian, maybe we should just wait a couple of days and see. If everything remains calm, it’ll probably blow over. We can just be careful not to go near that demon temple again,” Xiao Mazi suggested at this point. By now, the sun had modestly hidden half its face behind the clouds, and the temperature had noticeably dropped. The previously pleasant environment had suddenly become quite chilly, and Xiao Mazi, unable to bear the cold, started whining.
“Easy for you to say, ‘just wait a couple of days.’ What if something happens during those days? If we offend those gods, we might all be dead tonight!” Goudan shoved his hands into his sleeves and snapped.
“Go back where you came from! You pessimist!” Tian Guoqiang glared at him. Seeing Goudan’s round face, the anger he had barely managed to suppress flared up again. “Even if someone is going to get eaten, it’ll be you first, fatty!”
“Pfft,” Goudan, unlike his timid self in the temple, now acted boldly, as if he had some kind of assurance. “Whatever, my family has a statue of Buddha, and we burn incense morning and night. I’m safe at home with Buddha watching over me tonight!” With that, Goudan stood up, brushed off the grains of rice on his pants, and without saying goodbye to the other three, headed straight home.
“Isn’t his grandma into Buddhism?” Xiao Mazi murmured, watching Goudan’s retreating figure.
“Big deal! Superstition! When Wen Qing comes down to investigate the local conditions, the first thing I’m going to do is ask my village chief dad to smash all your family’s Buddha statues into pieces, so you and your grandma can cry over the pieces!” Tian Guoqiang spat a thick wad of saliva onto the ground and cursed.
“Wait a second…” Liu Dashao’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline. “Brother Tian, what if we also invite a god to worship? That way, those ghosts and monsters won’t dare mess with us.”
“Actually, that might work!” Tian Guoqiang slapped his head. “How come I didn’t think of this good idea earlier?”
“But where do we get a god from? And which one would be the most effective?” Tian Guoqiang was now stuck.
“That’s easy!” Liu Dashao, having a solution, was naturally in a much better mood, his previously gloomy face now brightening up. “I often hear storytellers say that Guan Yun Chang, Lord Guan, is the most powerful, known for his loyalty and righteousness. With his Red Hare horse and Green Dragon Crescent Blade, if any lowly ghosts come to cause trouble at home, kacha, kacha, kacha, their heads will be chopped off by Lord Guan’s divine spirit. It never fails!”
“That makes sense!” Tian Guoqiang nodded repeatedly. “We’ve also read the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms.’ Guan Yu is a real man, a genuine one.”
“As for where to get it…” Liu Dashao frowned. “If necessary, we can make the effort and go to the town to buy one!”
“To the town? That’s too far!” Tian Guoqiang smiled bitterly. Indeed, from Xiushui Village, they had to cross two valleys and walk for hours on the main road to reach the town.
“You don’t expect to find a statue in Chen Da Nao’s tiny store where even rats cry when they see it, do you?”
“It’s still early, so we should be able to make a round trip. As for the money, let’s split it three ways! We can afford a small statue,” Liu Dashao said, rummaging through his pockets and counting the secret stash he had hidden in various places on his body.
“What do you think, Xiao Mazi?” Tian Guoqiang was somewhat convinced. After all, at this critical moment, having some psychological comfort was better than nothing.
“I’ll go with you guys,” Xiao Mazi smiled.
“Alright, it’s settled!” The three of them clapped their hands together and immediately left the village, taking a shortcut through the mountains.
The journey was uneventful, except for a few crows cawing noisily in the woods, which made the boys a bit nervous. Fortunately, on the main road, they happened to meet Old Hu, who was just about to drive his corn into the city for sale.
Old Hu was driving a tractor, which made a loud noise like thunderclaps, hurting their eardrums. But back then, it was a real treasure. So Liu Dashao suggested hitching a ride, but Old Hu wasn’t too willing, saying that more people would cost him more fuel. After much persuasion, and with Tian Guoqiang bringing up his village chief father, Old Hu finally reluctantly agreed.
With black industrial smoke rising thinly into the sky, the tractor carried them toward the town.
The town, though called a town, was actually even worse than the rural areas that had already achieved a moderately prosperous society. Looking around, there were only a few small buildings of three or four stories. The roads were paved with asphalt and fairly well-connected. Red banners of all kinds were hanging on the walls and utility poles. The alleys were filled with all sorts of goods, bustling with activity.
Since time was pressing, Liu Dashao and the others quickly said goodbye to Old Hu, agreeing on a meeting place to return, and without hesitation, went directly to the second floor of the department store. There, they bought a cheap but imposing statue of Lord Guan, planning to place it at home for protection against evil spirits.
The statue looked heavy, but it was actually hollow, which was why it was so cheap, right? They packed it in a plastic bag and entrusted it to Tian Guoqiang, who was relatively steady, while Xiao Mazi and Liu Dashao walked in front and behind, guarding it through the crowd. Although the stairwell was still dim, the light was sufficient to see everything clearly.
Something strange happened in the brightly lit lobby in broad daylight!
As Liu Dashao reached a turn in the stairs, he stepped aside to let Tian Guoqiang, who was carrying the statue of Guan Gong, go down first so he could catch his breath. Just as he was about to follow, he suddenly felt a hard shove on his back and was thrown forward uncontrollably.
Luckily, he instinctively stretched out his hands and grabbed Tian Guoqiang’s arm, preventing himself from falling flat on the ground. However, the sudden impact caused Tian Guoqiang to loosen his grip, and the statue of Guan Gong fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Tian Guoqiang looked at Liu Dashao in shock, about to ask if he had slipped on the stairs, but Liu Dashao, his face full of panic, cried out, “Someone… someone pushed me!”
Xiao Mazi, standing nearby and visibly startled, immediately waved his hands to deny any involvement. “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!”
The moment those words were spoken, there was no need for further explanation; all three understood: something had latched onto them!
Liu Dashao immediately rushed up the stairs. Indeed, within a ten-meter radius, there was no sign of anyone. Even those few people present were eyeing the items behind glass counters, clearly having neither the motive nor the opportunity to commit such a prank. This proved it wasn’t a human prank.
It was only the afternoon, yet they were already so eager? We merely stayed in their temple for a while, played some poker, and ate some offerings. What deep grudge could we possibly have with them to warrant such a deadly intent?
Liu Dashao’s face turned pale with fury, his heart in turmoil.
It seemed tonight would be a matter of life and death! At the very least, it would definitely not be a peaceful night!
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