493 [Turns out he's a late-term baby]

He Zhao was busy conning the Possessing Ghoul into spilling all its little schemes like beans from a bamboo tube, when a deafening voice suddenly rang out by his ear.

"From this moment forth, my name shall be: Great Vehicle!"

Immediately after, it was as if the murmuring whispers of tens of thousands of people appeared beside his ear. Then, little by little, they rose from soft chanting into fervent cheers, as though welcoming the birth of a "god."

And the sound lingered by his ear for a long, long time, constantly rolling back beside him, never stopping, never fading, irritating him to no end.

"Demonic noise drilling into my ears."

"Look. Buddha's Son has descended."

The Possessing Ghoul smiled faintly. Even the gloomy expression on its face dimmed somewhat, becoming a little... sunny?

What the hell!

Wait. It was a ghoul to begin with, wasn't it?

Oh. Then that was fine.

"Great Vehicle. Pretty badass name."

"Great" carried the meanings of vastness, loftiness, and boundlessness. A "vehicle" was a carriage drawn by four horses, as in a nation of a thousand vehicles. The Great Vehicle, then, was an infinitely vast means of transport capable of carrying and delivering all living beings.

In Buddhism, it referred to the wisdom that could achieve Buddhahood.

"Hm?"

The next second, he sensed something was off.

The Plateau Witch's Buddha's Son had been named Great Vehicle.

"Buddha's Son. Great Vehicle."

Fuck!

"Great Vehicle Buddha?"

He looked as if he had unearthed some massive scandal, disbelief showing in his eyes.

Could it be that the Great Vehicle Cult, which had run rampant for hundreds of years, had been founded by the Buddha's Son born in Ghost Lake?

"Great Vehicle Buddha. A fine name. I can suggest that Buddha's Son style himself as Great Vehicle Buddha